Forced Confessions

Dear all — I’d like to mention my new article which came out yesterday:

Forced Confessions as Identity Conversion in China’s Concentration Camps.” Monde chinois 2020/2 (N° 62), 28-43. (not open access, unfortunately abstract only)

What I propose is that the entire Xinjiang camps system is set up to enforced a daily ritual self-denial, used to accomplish an involuntary ethnic identity “conversion” which is the purpose of the camps. While the method is fundamentally the same as in the forced confessions in mainland China, in the brainwashing of captured Falungong sect members, etc. — in Xinjiang it’s turned into a tool of genocide: to erase ethnic identities by turning people into Chinese parrots.

I’m building on my earlier work on the Chinese forced confessions (not in Xinjiang): “The Return of the Show Trial: China’s Televised ‘Confessions.'” Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus 15.13.1 (June 25, 2017).  (open access)
–In these Chinese confessions, broadcast on Chinese TV, it is not the ethnic identity of the victims that is assaulted, as in the Xinjiang camps, but rather the victim’s professional and personal identity, as lawyers, journalists, writers, and the like.

On the topic of coerced “confessions” in Xinjiang (East Turkistan), also don’t miss this excellent video report by laowhy86 on Youtube, about the ongoing wave of state TV produced (CGTN) confessionals by people in Xinjiang forced to parrot the party line — these are people who are outside the camps, but likely to be threatened with “studying” in the camps, or other punishments, unless they comply.

This type of state-produced coerced-confessional propaganda videos were also reported on here: “China is using forced confession playbook for Uyghur propaganda videos.” Safeguard Defenders, 11 Feb 2021. And here: “China takes forced confessions to new platforms.” Safeguard Defenders, Oct. 19, 2019.

… and, such state-choreographed videos were recently discussed in depth in this online seminar: “China’s Uyghur Proof-of-Life Videos: A tool of intimidation and violation of Uyghur family unity.” Uyghur Human Rights Project, March 2, 2021.
–Here the focus is the Chinese government’s coercion of family members to denounce family in exile abroad, who have dared to criticize the Chinese government. The people who have remained at home are located, coerced, prepped, and then filmed denouncing their own sisters, mothers, and so on, using a state-coerced script.

See also the full report by Emily Upson, “The Government Never Oppresses Us”: China’s proof-of-life videos as intimidation and a violation of Uyghur family unity,” Uyghur Human Rights Project.

A curious example of a staged “confessional” presented as a (faked) newspaper interview, was reported in this New York Times article:

In China, Where ‘Education’ Is Indoctrination and ‘Students’ Are Muslim Detainees.” By Chris Buckley and Steven Lee Myers. NYT, Aug. 9, 2019.
–This is about a coerced “interview” with the supposedly recently-released camp inmate Abduweili Kebayir with his wife and daughter, under the watch of Chinese officials. The apartment in which the interview took place later seemed abandoned, and the man could not be relocated for further questions: “It was not even clear that the house where Mr. Kebayir was interviewed was actually his. The closet held nothing except for a few dresses, and the refrigerator was empty except for a plate of uncooked dough. There were no toys around for their toddler. Only hours later, Mr. Kebayir and his wife and daughter were no longer at the house and could not be reached, not even through the officials who set up the interview. One of them said Mr. Kebayir had business to deal with and had turned off his phone.”

Unfortunately, this is the sort of coerced Chinese arrangement which will face the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, if indeed she manages to visit China, as her office and numerous supportive countries have been demanding that she be allowed to do. Bachelet has asked to have a visit without preconditions — unsurprisingly, the Chinese government is refusing. (She is the world’s conscience, appointed personally by the Secretary-General, but the Chinese government is unable to bring itself to recognize that higher authority).

Sincerely,

Magnus Fiskesjö, nf42@cornell.edu

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