Labour transfers as a means of ‘civilizing’ and forcibly assimilating ethnic minorities in western China

Jan Svec

Central Asian Survey, 2022, vol. 41, issue 3, 385-401

Abstract: The article provides supporting evidence of organized labour transfers of Turkic minorities, primarily Uyghurs, from Xinjiang to other regions in China. From a theoretical point of view, the article places these transfers in the context of the efforts by China’s authorities to ‘civilize’ and forcibly assimilate ethnic minorities, reminiscent of ‘civilizing missions’ carried out by colonizing nations in the past. The article presents an analysis of official Chinese documents and media reports and a content analysis of almost 80 unofficial online posts ‘offering’ ethnic minority labourers. The analysis reveals that at least 60,000 labourers could be ‘offered’ for transfers outside Xinjiang in the course of 2020 alone, thus suggesting that the scope of transfers has significantly intensified.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1080/02634937.2022.2054950

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