5/10/2022 - Looking for evidence to substantiate the claim of a CCP "genocide" against the Uyghurs. I found the following impressively documented report.
The Uyghur Genocide: An Examination of China's Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention - New Lines Institute - https://newlinesinstitute.org/uyghurs/the-uyghur-genocide-an-examination-of-chinas-breaches-of-the-1948-genocide-convention/
Chinas-Breaches-of-the-GC3-2.pdf (newlinesinstitute.org) - https://newlinesinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Chinas-Breaches-of-the-GC3-2.pdf
I was scrolling through it, quite impressed by the magnitude of sources and references. I was almost lazy enough to just accept it as probably true since so much effort went into it. But I finally convinced myself to put in a little effort to investigate some of the sources to see if there was any substance behind them. The section on "killing" seemed most substantial so I decided to investigate this topic.
This was the first source I randomly chose to investigate.
Xinjiang Authorities Sentence Uyghur Philanthropist to Death For Unsanctioned Hajj — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org) - https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/philanthropist-11212018131511.html
"sentenced a prominent Uyghur businessman and philanthropist to death for taking an unsanctioned Muslim holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, according to his brother."
"waiting for his execution"
“no lawyer”
"illegally sentenced to death"
"He was arrested and all of his family’s assets—totaling around 100 million yuan (U.S. $14.4 million)—were seized, he said."
“He is a philanthropist who enjoyed helping society … [but] now the government has taken away everything and destroyed his family’s lives completely,”
"wife had died in custody"
" the Chinese government is killing Uyghurs for no particular reason."
“The death certificate was given to the family by the authorities,”
“no one knows what has happened to their young children.”
RFA consistently 1) propped up Abdughapar Abdurusul as a hero, 2) demonized the Chinese government.
A quick google of his Abdughapar Abdurusul's name helped me find the following in Chinese media:
Truth about the 'death' of Uygur businessman - CGTN - https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-03-04/Truth-about-the-death-of-Uygur-businessman-OAMt9uNm4U/index.html
Just in case the above link gets shutdown in the future, I screen recorded the video on 5/10/2022.
In 2020, Abdughapar Abdurusul is speaking Mandarin Chinese with a Uyghur accent. I am fluent enough in Mandarin to confirm that the translation is correct. He confirms that he is 44 years old, 2 years older than the age reported by RFA in 2018, confirming that this is 2 years after the alleged claims by RFA. He refutes all the claims of RFA stating that foreign media is lying about his death sentence, his wife, his children, and his finances. He insisted that he and his family are fine and doing well.
If I can randomly bump into such a sketchy and unreliable source, it makes me completely lose confidence in the quality of the "The Uyghur Genocide" report, and perhaps in the reliability of the claims of Uyghur genocide.
But, of course, this is an extremely superficial investigation. The circumstances of Abdughapar Abdurusul could have been materially altered by exposure via the Western media. Perhaps the CCP reversed Abdughapar Abdurusul's situation and forced him to testify against Western media. But it seems clear that the RFA source was factually errant and propagandistic. At a minimum, the fact that the "The Uyghur Genocide" report cited RFA shows that they have low epistemic standards.