The US State Department has released a report on human trafficking, raising serious concerns about China’s treatment of ethnic and religious minorities.
The report, titled “2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: China,” released on Tuesday, has assigned China a Tier 3 ranking, the lowest rating, citing extensive evidence of forced labor and other human rights abuses.
“The Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; therefore the PRC remained on Tier 3,” the report stated.
The report further highlights a systematic government policy of widespread forced labor, particularly targeting Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, ethnic Kyrgyz, and other minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).
Detention under ‘vocational training and deradicalization’
These individuals are often detained under the pretext of ‘vocational training’ and ‘deradicalization’, the report stated.
“PRC authorities reportedly surveilled, harassed, threatened, attempted to discredit, and sought the extradition of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and other forced-labor survivors seeking asylum abroad in retaliation for their contact with foreign media outlets,” it stated.
Additionally, the report mentions that NGOs estimate that one in every 26 Uyghur and other ethnic minority individuals in Xinjiang is imprisoned under the Ministry of Justice’s jurisdiction. This demographic makes up 33.7 percent of China’s total formal prison population.
The US State Department’s report underscores that the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) “pervasive, state-sponsored labor trafficking” makes it less likely for the government to identify members of these minority groups as “trafficking victims.”
Over million subjected to mass detention and political indoctrination
The report also highlighted that since 2017, over one million Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, ethnic Kyrgyz, and other minority groups have been subjected to mass detention and political indoctrination.
“The government continued to transfer thousands of detainees into forced labor in dozens of other provinces, according to NGO estimates and media reports,” it added.
Citing PRC government documents, the US State Department report stated that local governments in China have at times arrested Muslims arbitrarily or based on spurious criminal charges and administrative violations, including violations of birth restrictions.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued to confiscate, cancel, or refuse to renew the PRC passports of Uyghurs and individuals from other mostly Muslim ethnic minority groups living abroad, including those with legal permanent resident status or citizenship in other countries, as a coercive measure to lure them back to Xinjiang and likely detain them within the camps,” it added.
Using discriminatory surveillance technologies
Furthermore, the report points out the use of discriminatory surveillance technologies, such as facial recognition and DNA sequencing, to monitor and detain predominantly Muslim Turkic minorities in Xinjiang. Similar technologies are reportedly used to collect DNA from ethnic Tibetans across Tibet.
According to the report, following their detention, many individuals are subjected to forced labor in factories producing a variety of goods, including garments, automotive components, footwear, and electronics, for both domestic consumption and international export.
“Despite phasing out of the internment camp system, forced labor in these industries likely continues under the auspices of former detainees who were transferred out of detention into forced labor at existing manufacturing facilities, and in the ongoing labor transfer program. Coercive conditions reportedly included threats of physical violence, confiscation of travel and identity documents, forcible drug intake, physical and sexual abuse, and torture, among others,” it added.
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