China defends it's Muslim reeducation camps that may hold up to 1 million people.

Uighur Muslims in China. BBC.

In a rare public statement China has defended it's Uighur Muslim reeducation camps that may hold up to 1 million people. BBC. China says that the camps are used to give the Muslims job training and are useful in preventing terrorism. The Muslims are being held in the camps due to speaking out against the government, refusing to give DNA samples or speaking a minority language. China has said the Uighur home province of Xinjiang is struck with "three evil forces", terrorism, extremism and separatism. China released supposed testimonies from people that had graduated from the camps who said their lives ha been improved. 

My Comment:

Very hard to get an accurate take about what is happening in Xinjiang province. I don't think we can take China at their word that these people are being treated well, but I also think that western media is downplaying the very real danger that the more terrorist supporting members of the Uighur minority pose to China. 

The Uighur have had members that have committed some truly brutal terror attacks. They are usually mass stabbings and riots but that doesn't mean that they haven't succeeded in killing and injuring large numbers of people. There is a real and dangerous threat in China from Uighur separatists and there is also the fear that they will eventually hook up with more dangerous and capable terror groups like al-Qaeda or ISIS. 

That being said, it seems pretty clear that China's moves here are extreme even by their standards. They don't have a good human rights record to begin with but throwing a bunch of people into what is essentially concentration camps is beyond the pale. And the idea that they are doing it because people refuse to give up their DNA makes my skin crawl. They might not be at Holocaust level here, but it's at the very leas the equivalent of the Japanese Interment camps America had in World War II. 

Plus I don't know if this kind of thing is the way to go about addressing terrorism. One thing we have learned from the Iraq War is that sending a bunch of terrorist leaders into a group of criminals and other undesirables is that they can team up in prison and spawn new terror threats when they eventually get out. This is exactly how ISIS was formed and I fear that China may end up with the same thing. 

I also think that if what the Chinese are saying is true and that they are providing free food and job training to go along with the political indoctrination, it's probably not going to help much. The people will resent being forced into camps and will probably lie about the camps effectiveness just to get out. Some people might indeed drop out and rejoin Chinese society, but I think they might be the exception, not the rule 

I don't think that Europe's approach to radical Islam is working either. They don't try to integrate their Muslims at all so they are running wild. They have a huge problem with terrorism and sexual assault but they refuse to do anything about it. It's the exact opposite approach as China and it seems like it will be about as effective. 

I think America's approach is probably the best. Though we do occasionally have terror attacks, we also attempt to "Americanize" our Muslim population. We still give them normal rights that any citizen has but we do try and encourage them to be more like us. Despite all the media noise against "racism" against Muslims (who aren't a race), we do a much better job of making them feel like Americans than Europe does and don't just throw them into camps like China does. 

Finally, I have to say that there is a double standard here. Though there have been a few on the left that have been speaking out about what China is doing here, you would think that rounding up Muslims and putting them into camps would be huge news, but it really isn't covered that much. But if the American president doesn't allow people in from countries that have active terror armies rampaging through the countryside he's an irredeemable racist and Hitler 2.0... Rounding up people into camps is way worse but there isn't anywhere near the outrage.