Uyghurs died or poisoned from disinfectant spray
Radio Free Asia reported that local Chinese government officials confirmed at least 13 Uyghurs have died in Guma County in Xinjiang from disinfectant sprayed in homes to fight the COVID-19 virus. Many more have been poisoned, according to social media comments. Officials have reportedly been spraying the disinfectant inside homes, and aircraft with sprayers have flown over roofs and in yards.
Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers protested on China’s National Day
Uyghurs, Tibetans and Hong Kongers held protests in cities in the U.K., U.S. and Taiwan on China’s national day, Oct. 1, to protest the Chinese government’s human rights abuses.
Lack of Uyghur language emergency service contributes to Xinjiang deaths
Deaths and malnutrition prompted by COVID-19 lockdowns in the Xinjiang city of Ghulja have continued even after the lockdowns were lifted, Radio Free Asia reported, because of a lack of emergency services in the Uyghur language. A local official said neighborhood committee officials are usually the bilingual go-between for non-Mandarin speakers who are seeking help, but they are not always available.
Uyghurs in Ireland can’t freely communicate with family in Xinjiang
Some Uyghurs who live in Ireland have recently spoken out about the difficulty they have had communicating with relatives in Xinjiang since China increased its surveillance and control over the Uyghur population in the region.
China imposes travel ban on Xinjiang, citing COVID-19 concerns
After more than two months of residential lockdowns in Xinjiang, the local government announced on Tuesday that travel between the region and other parts of China has been suspended. The regional government said the ban was enacted to “strictly prevent the risk of spillover” of new variants of COVID-19.
News in brief
A draft resolution by the U.S. and some Western nations to debate China’s human rights record in next year’s U.N. Human Rights Council failed after a majority of countries either voted against the resolution or abstained.
Rights activists said they were disappointed, and the failed vote was a “betrayal of Uyghur victims.” China said the resolution was drafted on an “erroneous basis in an attempt to use U.N. human rights bodies as a tool to interfere in China’s internal affairs.”
Quote of note
“When I last met her [my aunt] she weighed about 100 kilos. She was a tall, strong woman. When she came out of the [China’s] concentration camps, she was 48 kilos. She was quite sick and her body was covered in lumps. Since then she is pretty much in the hospital, recovering,”
— Alice, a Uyghur in Dublin, Ireland, reported The Irish Times
