MillenniumPost
Editorial

Clamping down

The horror of the cultural re-education and forced labour camps in China's Xinjiang region is a well-known fact that the Chinese Government has spent considerable effort trying to obscure and explain away. Critics saw the camp as a sign of things to come as China attempts to forcefully integrate different cultures into a homogenous Chinese mainstream culture that does not tolerate differences. The global pressure was supposed to induce China to admit its wrongdoings and change track, as unlikely as that prospect was from the start. But far from achieving any significant gain in this regard, it seems as if China has decided to use the same strategy of 're-education' with other 'problematic' ethnic groups that stand in the way of complete uniformity. As per a report by Reuters released this week, it appears that China is expanding its mass labour programme to Tibet. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have been 'trained' as part of the project during the first six months of 2020. The goal of the project, at least the one that is openly announced, is to provide loyal labour for Chinese industries. Information gathered by Reuters stated that while some have found work within Tibet itself, most have been sent to other parts of China for largely low paid menial labour. On the face of it, this can be seen as part of China's well-documented strategy of moving around surplus labour to boost the economy and combat unemployment. Look deeper at the programmes themselves and something decidedly sinister appears as a possibility. These programmes have been shown to have a significant portion of what is referred to as ideological training as noted by the many reports that have already covered the confinement of the Uighurs. Add to this the fact that areas like Xinjiang and Tibet have a large ethnic population and underlying notes of friction and unrest, it becomes easy to see what such programmes may look to achieve. Organisations and researchers have also pointed out the fact that compelling a traditionally nomadic and farming based community to exclusively switch over to wage-based labour can only be called a coercive lifestyle change.

Add to this the structure of the programme and the information available regarding it and it is hard to see the initiative as a benevolent measure aimed at upliftment. Each of the officials assigned to the programme appears to have set quotas to reach and incentives have been made available for those who manage to go above and beyond in 'recruiting' local Tibetan labour. These officials are also responsible for organising the anti-separatism sessions which make use of song and dance routines to demonstrate the right attitude and frame of mind for the soon to be labourers. Coupled with the supposedly military-style drills and vocation courses to iron out the 'laziness' of the Tibetan people, such programmes appear to be as much about stamping out separatist tendencies as they do about generating employment in the region..

Ultimately, it is hard to be conclusive about the intentions of the Chinese Government in this regard or the ultimate fate of those who undergo such programmes. China has made every attempt to obscure international knowledge of such programmes, only admitting the bare minimum when forced to. A wage-based system indeed allows China to better track development in the region using its system. It may also be possible that some of this work and training that is offered may indeed be voluntary. But, ample examples inform that China sees homogeneity before the eyes of the CCP as a prime directive. Not only are these workers being acclimatised to mainstream Chinese culture there are attempts to even induce gratitude and loyalty as part of this training. Given the track record, it seems unlikely that China will take heed of any international pressure to course correct a strategy that they do not even admit to using.

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