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7 hours ago,
11 tweets,
3 min read
More than 400 pages of internal Chinese documents detail the origins and growth of the indoctrination program in Xinjiang, where a million or more predominately Muslim minorities have been held in a vast network of detention centers
Not going to be able to explain it all in a thread. We put months of reporting, analysis and translation work into this story. I’ve disappeared from Hong Kong coverage a few times recently (including this past week) with only mumbled excuses for my absence (Sorry!)
There were many days of huge protests here while I was holed up contemplating internal party speeches. As much as I wanted to see the action on the streets, my editors realized the significance of this material and gave us the time to sort it all out
The material was brought to light by a member of the Chinese political establishment who requested anonymity and expressed hope that the disclosure would prevent party leaders, including Xi Jinping, from escaping culpability for the mass detentions
There are nearly 200 pages of speeches by Xi Jinping, XJ party secretary Chen Quanguo and security boss Zhu Hailun. There’s another 150+ pages of directives and orders on controlling the Muslim population. I’ve reported on China since 2003, and can’t recall a leak like this
It is stunning to hear party leaders in their own words ordering a drastic crackdown on extremism, including mass detentions, and the cold calculations with which they weigh the consequences
The speeches record Xi in 2014 ordering an all-out “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism” using the “organs of dictatorship” and showing “absolutely no mercy”
Chen redistributes Xi’s speeches after he goes to Xinjiang in 2016, and calls for a “smashing, obliterating offensive” and issues a vague order to “round up everyone who should be rounded up”
But perhaps the most telling document is a guide for officials to explain the camps to children of detainees. It is full of veiled threats, pseudomedical language of psychological infection and assurances the party will take care of you
I don’t you usually say this about my stories, but please read, please share and please let us know what you think. Here's a condensed version with the key takeaways
The sources of information on Xinjiang are still very limited, so it is very welcome to have a leak like this. If you know of other things we should look for, please let me know
