Painting over genocide: China’s using tourism as a propaganda weapon

Over the last decade the Chinese government has used surveillance, detention and forced labor to suppress resistance from Uyghurs. The Diplomat reports that now the government has launched a propaganda blitz for domestic and foreign tourists inviting them to come visit the Uyghur region, to “see for themselves” that it’s “safe and good”. But the bustling shopping streets, food stalls and fake dance performances can’t paint over modern slavery hiding behind the facade.  

Forced labor and prison used to “decapitate” Uyghurs

China began persecuting the Uyghur people in 2017 through the forced disappearance of cultural leaders, artists and scholars. Effectively silencing any divergent voices. Detainees are forced into modern slavery not just in Xinjiang, but across China with recent evidence pointing to Uyghur forced labor even being used abroad, and those are the lucky ones. Hundreds of thousands of others are sent to prison with decades-long virtual death sentences.  

The Diplomat writes: 

“All this points to the intended outcome of the entire genocide project: The breaking and eradication of Uyghur identity – while fashioning Chinese-speaking factory workers out of the survivors.” 

In addition, to date over a million Uyghur children have been taken from their homes and families and forced to live in Chinese boarding schools. In these “schools” Uyghur language and culture is forbidden and young women are systematically sterilized. Further eroding Uyghur cultural identity, the government bulldozed countless historic monuments and holy places. With the evident success of the genocide, new infrastructure, remodeled cities and new attractions are being promoted. This is part of a far-reaching tourism campaign by the Chinese government called “Seeing is believing”. The goal is to lure both Chinese and foreign tourists to the region.  

Hide reality and push “alternate facts”  

Sadly, it seems the tourism campaign has been successful. Large numbers of Chinese are coming to see the new fake dinosaur parks and faux-historical “mystery” sites that re-appropriate Uyghur culture. China’s official newspaper, Xinhua, claimed 265 million tourists visited in 2023. And since news reporting in the region is strictly controlled, without images of the suffering happening behind closed doors, world media has gone silent. 

 The Diplomat stated: 

“The classic Communist Party strategy is to hide reality, and instead concoct and push sanitized alternative facts, a palatable alternative “truth” foisted on the public. This often works on both foreign and domestic tourists.” 

To the delight of China’s propaganda team, foreign tourists are ignoring accounts of forced labor and abuse. Instead they are buying the message of peace and tranquility, then relaying it abroad. But hiding behind the “seeing is believing” slogan is what tourists don’t see. Hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in prison, working in forced labor, locked in re-education camps. Authentic Uyghur heritage has been destroyed and people must either stay silent or be locked up out of sight. But at Freedom United we will not stay silent. Sign our petition join the growing number of voices shouting for China to free Uyghurs from forced labor. By drawing attention to the issue and putting pressure on China we can help end the use of Uyghur forced labor.