DOCSLIB.ORG

China's Forced Assimilation Policy Toward the Uyghurs in Xinjiang

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
China's Forced Assimilation Policy Toward the Uyghurs in Xinjiang 國立中山大學亞太事務英語碩士學位程 碩士論文 International Master Program in Asia-Pacific Affairs National Sun Yat-sen University Master Thesis 中國針對新疆維吾爾族的強迫同化政策 China‟s forced assimilation policy toward the Uyghurs in Xinjiang 研究生：米華 Michal Cieslik 指導教授：林文程 教授 Prof. Lin Wencheng 中華民國 109 年 7 月 July 2020 i 摘要 本研究之目的在探討新疆維吾爾族與中華人民共和國政府之間的衝突起源及現狀並著重於 1949 年人民解放軍發起和平解放後，中華人民共和國政府所實施的種族政策。本研究同 時從中華人民共和國政府以及新疆維吾爾少數民族兩方角度出發，探討這些政策所帶來的 影響並於最後一個章節研究國際對此衝突的回應。本文以文件分析法為主要研究方式，探 討強行同化政策的可行性。然而，根據本文所引述之資料所顯示，其可能性極低。除此之 外，若中華人民共和國政府不改變對維吾爾少數民族的執政方式，維吾爾族將持續激烈的 反抗並可能引發一些暴力衝突。 關鍵詞：維吾爾族，新疆，少數民族政策，中華人民共和國，衝突 ii Abstract This study seeks to explore the origins and the current situation of the ongoing conflict in Xinjiang, China, between the region‟s Uyghur ethnic minority population and the PRC government. Special attention is paid to the Chinese government ethnic policies since the region‟s “peaceful liberation” in 1949 by the PLA. The study also explores the aftermath of these policies from the perspective of the Chinese government and the Xinjiang‟s Uyghur minority. The last section of the study explores the international responses to the conflict. Through utilizing a document analysis as a primary research method, this paper aims to answer whether the forced assimilation policy works. The findings presented in this study strongly suggest that the answer to the above question is no. This paper also suggests that unless China changes its approach to the region‟s Uyghur minority, the strong resistance among the Uyghurs will continue, leading to occasional violent incidents. Key words: Uyghur, Xinjiang, ethnic minority policies, PRC, conflict iii Table of contents Thesis Validation Letter……………………………………………………………………………i 摘要..................................................................................................................................................ii Abstract...........................................................................................................................................iii Table of contents.............................................................................................................................iv Chapter 1 – Introduction..................................................................................................................1 I. Who are the Uyghurs? ........................................................................................................1 II. Motivation............................................................................................................................4 III. Aim and research questions.................................................................................................5 IV. Literature review..................................................................................................................6 V. Theoretical framework.......................................................................................................10 VI. Methodology and study limitations…...............................................................................11 Chapter 2 – History of Xinjiang.....................................................................................................13 I. Ancient times.....................................................................................................................14 II. Islamicisation of Xinjiang..................................................................................................19 III. Qing conquest and incorporation of Xinjiang....................................................................24 IV. Xinjiang under the Republic of China...............................................................................29 Chapter 3 – PRC state and integration of Xinjiang........................................................................32 I. The communist rule begins................................................................................................32 iv II. The „opening up‟ of Xinjiang............................................................................................39 III. The 1990s and the „Strike Hard‟........................................................................................44 IV. Xinjiang in the aftermath of the 9/11.................................................................................53 V. Xinjiang under the leadership of Xi Jinping......................................................................60 Chapter 4 – Uyghur voices and the international response............................................................67 I. Uyghur grievances.............................................................................................................67 II. Uyghur diaspora.................................................................................................................72 III. International perspective....................................................................................................79 Chapter 5 – Conclusion…………..................................................................................................91 Bibliography..................................................................................................................................94 v Chapter 1 – Introduction I. Who are the Uyghurs? China is a huge and diverse country with a population of over 1.4 billion people. About 92% of this 1.4 billion people comprise of the ethnic Han Chinese. Only the remaining 8% are the different ethnic minorities, thus we could say that China is a very homogenous country. However, with such a vast population like China even 8% is a lot of people, in this case about 100 million. Among these 100 million people there are about 10 million Uyghurs who are primarily located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) which is located in the northwestern corner of the country and borders countries such as Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia and Mongolia. Xinjiang is the biggest administrative region of China and its total land mass accounts for roughly 1.6 million square kilometers. If Xinjiang was a separate country its size would be comparable with Iran, which is currently 17th biggest country in the world. This clearly demonstrates the enormous size of that region. According to the 2010 Chinese government‟s population census, Xinjiang was primarily inhabited by two ethnic groups, Han Chinese and Uyghurs with the total population of around 22 million people. Uyghurs account for 45.84% of the total population, which translates to around 10 million people. The second biggest group was the Han Chinese and they represent 40.48% of the total population, which translates to around 8.8 million people. Right now Uyghurs still represent the majority of people in the region. However with the steady influx of the Han Chinese the situation is slowly changing. The remaining 3.4 million people who represent 13.68% of Xinjiang‟s inhabitants are: Kazakhs, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Manchu, Kyrgyz, Hui, Tatars, Tibetans, Mongols, Russians and other (Asia Dialogue, 2016). - 1 - Uyghurs are an ethnic Turkic group with their distinctive culture and language. They are predominantly Muslims and most of them live in the southern region of Xinjiang with the main center being Kashgar. Northern part of the region is the hub of mainly Han Chinese with Urumqi at the center, which is also the capital of Xinjiang and its biggest city (Millward 2007:30-31). Despite of the fact that Xinjiang is officially a part of China, culturally and ethnically the region‟s majority differ significantly from Han Chinese. Uyghurs have their own culture and language which are more closely related to the cultures and languages of Central Asian republics with Islam at the center. Because of that as well as the historical differences, which will be further discussed in the following chapters, the political situation in Xinjiang is very complicated with the majority of Uyghurs expressing dissatisfaction about their current circumstances. Simply put, many Uyghurs would rather see themselves outside of China, in their own country or at least having the real autonomy not just one on the paper, where they could freely express their true Turkic-Uyghur identity and religious freedom without the state‟s intervention. As a result of that attitude, Xinjiang for over a century has been a witness to nearly a constant struggle for independence and freedom, where the different interests of Uyghurs and Hans would often collide. Since the 1980s when the conflict has been increasingly ravaging the region, the situation has evolved into something that has a potential of being a destabilizing force for the communist rule (Holdstock 2015:3-4). As a response, since 1996 the Chinese government launched a punitive campaign against the so called “three evils” – terrorism, separatism and extremism (Millward 2007:341). This campaign includes security surveillance, home raids, imprisonment or forced participation in the so called “reeducation camps” of people suspected of the above mentioned activities. The government puts the blame on Islamic insurgents, who happen to be mainly Uyghurs and who, - 2 - according to the Chinese government, want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan in the province of Xinjiang (BBC 2014). Until July 2009, which was the time that had seen the most violent riots to date in China, in the city of Urumqi, where the bloody clashes between Uyghurs and Han Chinese resulted in nearly 200 people dead, many foreign media
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Trapped in a Virtual Cage: Chinese State Repression of Uyghurs Online
    Trapped in a Virtual Cage: Chinese State Repression of Uyghurs Online Table of Contents I. Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... 2 II. Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 5 III. Background............................................................................................................................... 6 IV. Legislation .............................................................................................................................. 17 V. Ten Month Shutdown............................................................................................................... 33 VI. Detentions............................................................................................................................... 44 VII. Online Freedom for Uyghurs Before and After the Shutdown ............................................ 61 VIII. Recommendations................................................................................................................ 84 IX. Acknowledgements................................................................................................................. 88 Cover image: Composite of 9 Uyghurs imprisoned for their online activity assembled by the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Image credits: Top left: Memetjan Abdullah, courtesy of Radio Free Asia Top center: Mehbube Ablesh, courtesy of
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of the Xinjiang Problem on the China's
    IMPACT OF THE XINJIANG PROBLEM ON THE CHINA’S EXTERNAL RELATIONS: 1990-2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY FATMA ÖZGE ATAY IN PARTICULAR FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE PROGRAM OF EURASIAN STUDIES DECEMBER 2010 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Meliha Benli ALTUNIŞIK Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar AKÇALI Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oktay TANRISEVER Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Sencer İMER (Aksaray U., Dean of FEAS) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oktay TANRISEVER (METU, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fırat PURTAŞ (Gazi U., IR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Fatma Özge ATAY Signature : iii ABSTRACT IMPACT OF THE XINJIANG PROBLEM ON CHINA’S EXTERNAL RELATIONS: 1990-2010 Atay, Fatma Özge M.S., Eurasian Studies Program Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Oktay F. TANRISEVER December 2010, 138 pages This thesis analyses the impact of the Xinjiang Problem on the foreign policy of China.
    [Show full text]
  • IITM CSC Article #76 14 August 2014 Xinjiang Conflict and Its
    IITM CSC Article #76 14 August 2014 Xinjiang Conflict and its Changing Nature Avinash Godbole, Research Assistant, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Violence returned to Xinjiang immediately after the month of Ramadan as more than a hundred people were killed in violence spanning last ten days. Unofficial estimates put the number of deaths at 1000, making this perhaps the bloodiest episode in the contemporary history of Xinjiang. Extremists also killed Jume Tahir, the government appointed Imam of China’s largest mosque. While the Xinjiang problem has been going on for a long time, 2014 has become one of the most violent years in the recent past as more than 250 people have been killed in various incidents of violent attacks. In 2013, according to official estimates, ethnic clashes had claimed 110 lives. These figures are contested arguing that China would not reveal the true scale of violence in Xinjiang to the outside world. 2014 has also had many other firsts as far as Xinjiang extremist violence is concerned. In an attack on a marketplace in the provincial capital Urumqi, 42 people were killed in what was the single largest death count in an incident of extremism inside China. Earlier in March this year, 29 people were killed in knife attacks targeting train travelers in the Kunming main railway station. In October there was an attack on Tiananmen Square that reportedly caused three deaths as suicide bombers crashed and exploded their SUV into a security barricade. What’s new about the violent incidents in the past two years is that ordinary citizens are being targeted unlike earlier when police stations and government offices were the primary targets of extremist violence.
    [Show full text]
  • Uyghur Identity Contestation and Construction of Identity in a Conflict Setting
    UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG School of Global Studies = Uyghur Identity Contestation and Construction of Identity in a Conflict Setting Master Thesis in Global Studies Spring Semester 2015 Author: Fanny Olson Supervisor: Camilla Orjuela ABSTRACT This study explores and discusses the dynamics of identity in conflict through examining Uyghur collective identity in the specific context of China as an emerging power. Particular attention is paid to how this identity is constructed and contested by different actors of the Xinjiang Conflict. The Xinjiang Conflict is a multifaceted conflict, consisting of both direct and structural violence. These dynamics of identity are based on different understandings of what it means to be a Uyghur, which is in line with existing research on contemporary conflicts that considers identity as a driving force of violence. Through a text analysis, this study sets out to assess how Uyghur identity is constructed and contested in the context of the Xinjiang Conflict, by primary actors; the Chinese government, Uyghur diaspora and the local Uyghur population in Xinjiang. As the Uyghurs’ identity has been contested, and discontent is cultivated among the Uyghur community, the conflict between Uyghurs and the Chinese government (dominated by the majority ethnic group Han Chinese) has escalated since the mid-1990s. The findings advanced in this research conclude that Uyghur identity, in the context of conflict, is contested within different areas, such as language, culture, territory, religion and even time. This paper suggests that within these areas, identity is contested though the different processes of negotiation, resistance, boundary-making and emphasis on certain features of ones identity.
    [Show full text]
  • India’S Disputed Borderland Regions: Xinjiang, Tibet, Kashmir and the Indian Northeast
    COMPARING CHINA AND INDIA’S DISPUTED BORDERLAND REGIONS: XINJIANG, TIBET, KASHMIR AND THE INDIAN NORTHEAST INTRODUCTION: India and China are seen as the rising giants on the Asiatic mainland today. After the East Asian miracle or miracle of the Asian Tiger economies of the mid-nineties, attention has shifted from the peripheral parts of the Asia Pacific, towards the Asiatic mainland, mainly towards India and China. Both countries have been experiencing impressive economic growth rates since they opened up their economies and exposed their domestic markets to international competition. China opened up its markets in the late seventies, and India opened up its markets in the early nineties. Before the seventies, both economies were by and large protectionist, and had a sluggish economic growth rate. Now, of course, both countries are seen as exciting economic destinations for international investors due to their adventurous markets, which western investors feel the need to tap into and exploit. India, of course, also has the additional prestige of being the world’s largest democracy. However, one area that still remains quite under researched, or at least gets side-lined due to all the talk on economic growth and development is the political situation and the on-going conflicts in the borderland regions of these two emerging powers. Having an understanding of the political situation in the borderland regions is important because if the situation ever blows out of proportion, this could potentially have an adverse impact on the economy, which indirectly impacts on our lives in the west, since western governments have invested so much money in these two countries.
    [Show full text]
  • The East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.) University Honors Capstone, Spring 2014
    The East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.) University Honors Capstone, Spring 2014 Author: Kathryn Appelman Advisor: Tricia Bacon, JLC This study investigates the motives, history, leadership, impact, and future of the East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.), a little-studied ethno-nationalist separatist terrorist organization in China’s Xinjiang province. Basing findings on existing literature, original Chinese news reports and press releases, and firsthand interviews with experts, it concludes that while E.T.I.P.-proper does not pose a significant threat to U.S. national security, issues surrounding it present significant foreign policy problems vis à vis China and the human rights community. However, ETIP members in Pakistan are likely cooperating with known enemies of the United States, and the United States should continue its CT efforts against them without infringing on China’s sovereignty. The East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.) I. Overview and Literature Review ETIP, or the East Turkistan Islamic Party, is a religious ethno-nationalist terrorist organization, made up of Uighur separatists who aim to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state in the West Chinese province of Xinjiang. In the United States, it is known largely for its connection to Al Qaeda, its threats against the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and its members detained in Guantanamo Bay. However, in China, ETIP is considered a serious threat to the internal security of the country. The study of active terrorist groups will always be a murky subject, but ETIP takes “murky” to a new level. Members of ETIP are Uighur Muslims; however, much further information, such as education level, structure, or community support, even the size of the organization, is tightly guarded by the PRC.
    [Show full text]
  • Uyghur Dispossession, Culture Work and Terror Capitalism in a Chinese Global City Darren T. Byler a Dissertati
    Spirit Breaking: Uyghur Dispossession, Culture Work and Terror Capitalism in a Chinese Global City Darren T. Byler A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2018 Reading Committee: Sasha Su-Ling Welland, Chair Ann Anagnost Stevan Harrell Danny Hoffman Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Anthropology ©Copyright 2018 Darren T. Byler University of Washington Abstract Spirit Breaking: Uyghur Dispossession, Culture Work and Terror Capitalism in a Chinese Global City Darren T. Byler Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Sasha Su-Ling Welland, Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies This study argues that Uyghurs, a Turkic-Muslim group in contemporary Northwest China, and the city of Ürümchi have become the object of what the study names “terror capitalism.” This argument is supported by evidence of both the way state-directed economic investment and security infrastructures (pass-book systems, webs of technological surveillance, urban cleansing processes and mass internment camps) have shaped self-representation among Uyghur migrants and Han settlers in the city. It analyzes these human engineering and urban planning projects and the way their effects are contested in new media, film, television, photography and literature. It finds that this form of capitalist production utilizes the discourse of terror to justify state investment in a wide array of policing and social engineering systems that employs millions of state security workers. The project also presents a theoretical model for understanding how Uyghurs use cultural production to both build and refuse the development of this new economic formation and accompanying forms of gendered, ethno-racial violence.
    [Show full text]
  • Comprehensive Encirclement
    COMPREHENSIVE ENCIRCLEMENT: THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY’S STRATEGY IN XINJIANG GARTH FALLON A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy School of Humanities and Social Sciences International and Political Studies July 2018 1 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: FALLON First name: Garth Other name/s: Nil Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: MPhil School: Humanitiesand Social Sciences Faculty: UNSW Canberraat ADFA Title: Comprehensive encirclement: the Chinese Communist Party's strategy in Xinjiang Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASETYPE) This thesis argues that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a strategy for securing Xinjiang - its far-flung predominantly Muslim most north-western province - through a planned program of Sinicisation. Securing Xinjiang would turna weakly defended 'back door' to China into a strategic strongpointfrom which Beijing canproject influence into Central Asia. The CCP's strategy is to comprehensively encircle Xinjiang with Han people and institutions, a Han­ dominated economy, and supporting infrastructure emanatingfrom inner China A successful program of Sinicisation would transform Xinjiang from a Turkic-language-speaking, largely Muslim, physically remote, economically under-developed region- one that is vulnerable to separation from the PRC - into one that will be substantially more culturally similar to, and physically connected with, the traditional Han-dominated heartland of inner China. Once achieved, complete Sinicisation would mean Xinjiang would be extremely difficult to separate from China. In Xinjiang, the CCP enacts policies in support of Sinication across all areas of statecraft. This thesis categorises these activities across three dimensions: the economic and demographic dimension, the political and cultural dimension, and the security and international cooperationdimension.
    [Show full text]
  • WUC Is to Promote Democracy, Human Rights and Freedom for the Uyghur People and to Use Peaceful, Nonviolent and Democratic Means to Determine Their Future
    Submission to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee the Customs Amendment of the Australian Parliament Banning Goods Produced by Uyghur Forced Labour- Bill 2020 05 February 2021 World Uyghur Congress Adolf-Kolping-Straße 9, 80336 Munich, Germany TEL +49 89 5432 1999 | FAX +49 89 5434 9789 | [email protected] The World Uyghur Congress, established in April 2004, is an international umbrella organization that represents the collective interests of the Uyghur people both in China and abroad. The principal objective of the WUC is to promote democracy, human rights and freedom for the Uyghur people and to use peaceful, nonviolent and democratic means to determine their future. Table of Contents I. Introduction...................................................................................................................................2 Key Takeaways...............................................................................................................................................3 II. Background ...............................................................................................................................................3 III. Forced Labour in East Turkistan ......................................................................................................4 Forced labour of detainees in internment camps settings.................................................................................................. 6 Forced labour in the apparel and garment industry...........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Doğu Türkistan'da Asimilasyon Ve Ayrımcılık
    DOĞU TÜRKİSTAN’DA ASİMİLASYON VE AYRIMCILIK Amine Tuna 2012 'RôX7UNLVWDQ¶GD $VLPLODV\RQYH$\UÔPFÔOÔN Yazan Amine Tuna Editör Ümmühan Özkan Ya\Ôna+azÔrOÔN .. ,++ ,nVani <aUGÔm 9akIÔ AUa÷WÔUma <a\ÔnOaU %iUimi ISBN 978-605-5260-01-9 1 %aVkÔ .aVÔm 2012 .aSaNYHSa\Ia'zHni M. Semih Taneri . ,++,QVDQL<DUGÔP9DNIÔ %u eVerin Wüm hakOarÔ mahIuzGur. <azarÔn Ye \a\ÔnFÔnÔn izni aOÔnmakVÔzÔn kiWaEÔn meWni herhanJi Eir IRrmGa \a\ÔmOanamaz kRS\aOanamaz Ye oRôaOWÔOamaz. AnFak ka\nak J|VWeriOerek aOÔnWÔ \aSÔOaEiOir. %ü\ük .araman &aG. Ta\OaVan SRk. 1R )aWih-,VWanEuO TeO 90 212 61 21 21 )akV 90 212 621 70 51 ZeE ZZZ.ihh.RrJ.Wr (-maiO inIR#ihh.RrJ.Wr 3eOikan %aVÔm MaWEaa Ye AmEaOaM San. TiF. /WG. öWi. .. MaOWeSe Mah. *ümü÷Vu\u &aG. 2Gin ,÷ Mrk. 1R.281 =e\WinEurnu-,VWanEuO DOĞU TÜRKİSTAN’DA ASİMİLASYON VE AYRIMCILIK Amine Tuna 2012 İÇİNDEKİLER GİRİŞ .......................................................................................................... 9 1. Bölüm GENEL BİLGİLER .............................................................................. 15 Doğu Türkistan Kimlik Bilgileri ....................................................... 17 Coğrafi Özellikleri ve İklim Yapısı ....................................................18 Ekonomik Yapı .................................................................................. 20 Bingtuan .................................................................................... 24 Nüfus, Etnik Çeşitlilik ve Demografik Yapı ....................................27 Dil, Din ve Kültür .............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Migration, Identities and Cultural Change: History and Present Situation of the Santa People in Xinjiang, China*
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Apollo Journal of Cambridge Studies 73 Migration, Identities and Cultural Change: History and Present Situation of the Santa people in Xinjiang, China* Wenxiang CHEN Associate professor, Humanity College of Qinghai Normal University, PRC Email: [email protected] Abstract: Since the Qing dynasty, Santa people have been migrating to Xinjiang, and have subsequently become an important group there, both in terms of population and influence. This paper deals with the history of the four Santa immigration waves and the present situation of their ethnic, religious, and local identities. A deeper study of the cultural changes they have experienced follows, focusing on changes in language, traditional diets, marriages and religious beliefs. Finally, an analysis of the social transformations Santa communities have experienced is included, including views on the critical catalyst for Santa’s migrating to Xinjiang, the influence of the weakening of ethnic and cultural identities of them, ideas for the cultural changes in Santa communities of Xinjiang, and the further development of Santas in the future. Key Words: Santa, Dongxiang, Xinjiang, Migration, Identity, Cultural change * I will give my thanks to Dr. Duojie Caihang of Qinghai Normal University for his revising. Volume 7, No. 4 74 1. INTRODUCTION The Dongxiang, or Santa1, are one of the fifty-five ethnic minorities of the PRC. According to scholars, the main body of Santa the Huihui Semuren2 group from central Asia and the Middle East are the ancestors of the modern-day Santa, and Santa migration to China is directly connected to the conquest of central Asia by Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
    [Show full text]
  • Scotmun 2020 13​Th​ – 15​Th​ March Committee Study Guide: UN Human Rights Council
    ScotMUN 2020 th th 13 ​ – 15 ​ March ​ ​ Committee Study Guide: UN Human Rights Council Table of Contents WELCOME LETTER FROM THE CHAIRS 3 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ INTRODUCTION TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL 4 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ THE QUESTION OF CHINA’S RE-EDUCATION CAMPS 5 COMBATTING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN POST-CONFLICT SOCIETIES 14 2 Welcome Letter from the Chairs Dearest delegates, We are very pleased to welcome you to the Human Rights Council at ScotMun 2020 here in Edinburgh. I’m Jonas, the Director of this fine committee. I study Management at the London School of Economics and am currently in my final year. After having launched my MUN addiction in high school already, I attended a grand total of 28 conferences, with this being my 7th time chairing. This will be my first time chairing the UNHRC, so I’m excited to see how it will go and what you, dear ,delegates, will be doing with the topics! MUN takes up a disturbing amount of my time, but when I’m not working on a conference, you can usually find me either coding, trying to organise events with chocolate fountains, or playing Civilization. I’m Fiona, Co chair to this committee. I am currently doing my masters in Fine Art and History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, so I look forward to showing you what this city has to offer. Having started MUN in high school at the early age of 14, I have thoroughly enjoyed all 11 of my conferences in which my roles have varied, with the highlight being chairing a 400 delegate Human Rights committee At EAMUN which took place at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi.
    [Show full text]