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Document: What Chinese Officials Told Children Whose Families Were Put in Camps https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-detention-directive.html

Document: What

Chinese Officials

Told Children

Whose Families

Were Put in Camps

PART 2

Published NOV. 16, 2019 | New York Times | Posted November 16, 2019 |

This document, part of 403 pages obtained by The New York Times, tells Chinese officials in Xinjiang how to explain the disappearance of parents and families detained in camps built to hold Muslim minorities. Anguished students asking about their parents were told they had nothing to worry about.

LEAKED FILES EXPOSE HOW CHINA ORGANIZED MASS DETENTIONS OF MUSLIMS

Annex:

Tactics from Turpan City for answering questions asked by the children of concentrated education and training school1 students

1. Where are my family members?

They’re in a training school set up by the government to undergo collective systematic training, study and instruction. They have very good conditions for studying and living there, and you have nothing to worry about. Tuition for their period of study is free and so are food and living costs, and the standards are quite high. The provision for food is 21 yuan or more a day — that’s even better than the living standards that some students have back home.2 Our officials accompany them at study every day, offering counseling and assistance, and they eat the same food and live in the same dormitories, so you have absolutely no need to worry about how they’re doing. If you want to see them, we can arrange for you to have a video meeting.

2. Why do my family members have to take part in studying?

Your family member has been sent to study because they have come under a degree of harmful influence in religious extremism and violent terrorist thoughts. If at some point the “Three Forces” or people with ulterior motives incited or bewitched them, the consequences would be severe. 3If they came under the sway of extremist ideas and the “Three Forces” and did something that they shouldn’t do, they would injure not just innocent members of society, but also themselves and other family members, relatives and friends, including you. I don’t think that’s something you would ever want to see happen. So for everyone’s security, for the happiness of your family, and so that you can focus on your studies, we had to send them to a school at the first opportunity to undergo concentrated education and study.

______

Q. and A.

1 This is one of the euphemistic terms the Chinese government uses to refer to the sprawling network of indoctrination camps it is using to detain an estimated one million Muslims in Xinjiang. The region in the country’s far west borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries and is home to the Uighurs, a Turkic group, and other Muslim ethnic minorities.

2 Former detainees say facilities are sometimes overcrowded and unsanitary, with food that can be poor quality and withheld as punishment. The provision of 21 yuan is about $3.

3 The “Three Forces” refers to terrorism, separatism and religious extremism. The government’s definition of extremism often includes behavior that would be considered ordinary elsewhere, such as growing a beard or praying five times a day.

See Document

______

We have recruited the very best teachers so that your family member will be able to escape from the poison of religious extremism. The teachers will give them free instruction in the Chinese language, the law, national policies and job skills. 4That way, after they graduate, they won’t do anything harmful to themselves or others, and they will have learned skills that improve their job prospects. Currently, we are bringing in business and investment and attracting companies, and they will need many skilled workers. In the future, they will be able to find work in these enterprises and lift the family’s income and improve living conditions.5

3. My relative watched only one terrorist video, or participated in one illegal sermon. They have already recognized their mistake. Is it all right if they don’t study?

It is to their credit that they have been able to see the error of their ways and done some quick soul-searching. But never underestimate how mistaken one’s thinking has become. Because they will never be able to thoroughly unmask and understand the reactionary nature of religious extremism unless they undergo an extended period of standardized study and training that is comprehensive, systematic and behind closed doors,6 with correct instruction and guidance from teachers. Otherwise, they will never be able to thoroughly eradicate this stubborn cancer in their thinking and could easily again be swindled and exploited by criminal organizations and the Three Forces to break the law and flout the rules. Then they will fall into an abyss of criminality that would ruin your fine, happy family. Treasure this chance for free education that the party and the government has provided to thoroughly eradicate erroneous thinking, and also learn Chinese and job skills. This offers a great foundation for a happy life for your family.

Let me give you an example: A lot of people think that catching a cold is a little problem that doesn’t need treatment or attention. There is this happy-go-lucky mind-set that it’s no big deal. But actually, if a little cold doesn’t get attention and treatment is put off, this little illness could

______

Q. and A., page 2

4 Language is a source of discontent in Xinjiang, where the government has emphasized the teaching of Mandarin over the native languages of the minority groups. Former detainees say these camps have a heavily regimented routine in which they must repeatedly renounce Islamic beliefs and pledge their loyalty to the Communist Party.

5 The camps have been described as a way to provide job training, but many detainees had careers as scholars, civil servants and entertainers.

6 Former detainees have described facing round-the-clock surveillance and the constant threat of abuse.

See Document

______

turn into a serious one, and it could prompt an even more serious illness, or even become life-threatening.

After you become infected by religious extremism and terrorist ideas, unless you quickly receive “transformation through education,” it will be very difficult to ensure that there won’t be a recurring impact that leaves you open to being incited and bewitched. Your thoughts can be restored to health as quickly as possible only with systematic, enclosed “inpatient treatment” in our schools that thoroughly eradicates religious extremism and terrorist ideas.

4. Since it’s just training, why can’t they come home?

It seems that you’re still misunderstanding how concentrated education is run. Usually, you would return home for winter or summer vacation without any problem. But if you were careless and caught an infectious virus like SARS, you’d have to undergo enclosed, isolated treatment, because it’s an infectious illness. If you weren’t thoroughly cured, as soon as you returned home you would infect your family with this virus, and your whole family would fall ill.7 The party and government would not be so irresponsible that they would let a member of your family go home before their illness was cured and thinking thoroughly transformed, a situation in which they would do harm to others. I don’t think that you would talk lightly about coming home either. Besides, it is a school after all, and each school has its own strict management. Just like you would not impetuously show up late or skip class or take a break at your school. If everyone did that, running a school would be a mess, and that would also deprive you of many opportunities to acquire knowledge.

5. Did they commit a crime? Will they be convicted?

They haven’t committed a crime and won’t be convicted.8 It is just that their thinking has been infected by unhealthy thoughts, and if they don’t quickly receive education and correction, they’ll become a major active threat to society and to your family. It’s very hard to totally eradicate viruses in thinking in just a short time. It needs to be dealt with like detox for drug addicts.

______

Q. and A., page 3

7 Party propaganda routinely uses the language of disease to refer to the perceived threat of religious extremism. Scholars and rights groups have said such language serves to justify mass detentions and dehumanizes the people being targeted.

8 Detention in the camps can lead to imprisonment, and the region has seen a surge in arrests, trials and prison sentences over the past two years, according to official data.

______

They must receive treatment in a detox center for some time before the scourge of addiction is totally beaten. Currently, only actively undergoing education and training can thoroughly eradicate this “malignant tumor” in their thinking, and only with healthy thinking can you have a happy family. I’m sure that you will support them, because this is for their own good and also for your own good. Freedom is only possible when this “virus” in their thinking is eradicated and they are in good health.

6. When can my family member graduate and leave school?

Anyone who understands Chinese medicine knows that treatment has a cycle. While they’re in concentrated, enclosed education and training, they are mainly studying the standard national language, laws and rules, and jobs skills. Based on the school’s “dual direction” assessment standards, they must be diligent in their studies, abide by the school rules and do outstandingly in morning exercises, chores, dining, study and so on. And family members, including you, must abide by the state’s laws and rules, and not believe or spread rumors, and take an active part in collective life. Only then can you add points for your family member, and after a period of assessment they can leave the school if they meet course completion standards. It’s just like you can only graduate if you pass all your classes at school.

7. Are my family members bad people? After they get out, will they be discriminated against and be treated differently?

If they don’t undergo study in a school, if your family member isn’t fully awakened, it’s entirely possible that they will become wrongdoers (criminals). The goal of placing them in study is to rule out this risk or reduce it to the absolute minimum, and enable them to also master one or two job skills. After they complete their studies, they can be just like you when you graduate from university by becoming a valued member of society who understands the Chinese language and understands the law and abides by it. If your family member doesn’t have a job and they are willing to work, they can find a satisfying job in one of the businesses that we’ve brought in or established. They can realize their desire for a steady job there or open their own business, making wages of 3,000 to 5,000 renminbi a month. So we must take a long-term perspective. Your family member may be misunderstood for now, but look at this in terms of development and change. In the future, they’re sure to win the respect of society, neighbors and friends.

______

Q. and A., page 4

9 Former detainees have described point systems based on their performance and behavior that can affect when they are released. This passage also appears to outline a system of points for family members outside the camps that treats complaints or dissent as grounds for extending a relative’s detention.

________

8. Can my family members ask for leave to visit me?

This is strict, regulated and concentrated training behind closed doors. It’s just like when you did military training on entering high school or university. There is a very heavy emphasis on discipline. In general, leave won’t be granted while they’re in training and study. If you want to see your family member, we can arrange for you to see them through video.

9. Can public servants vouch for them so they can get out?

The school gives each student a dual-focus evaluation and a daily specialized assessment. The assessment covers every aspect of life and study, as well as the behavior of family members, including you. If their daily performance is outstanding, after a period of hard work and after they have finished their assigned classes and have mastered a certain level of conversational ability in the standard national language and have acquired one or two job skills, they can submit an application vouching for them, and the school will carry out an assessment and evaluation. If they meet the right conditions, the school will process their departure.

10. My family members are all in study, we have 10 mu of land, but there’s nobody to plant it; if I don’t have money for school, what will I do?

The party and government will do everything possible to ease your hardships. Your family member is undergoing instruction and training in a school, and they don’t have to pay for their language study or job training. The government also covers their food, clothing, housing, water, electricity and even medical care.

______

Q. and A., page 5

10 That is about $425 to $715 a month. Some exiles and researchers have said people from internment camps have been forced to work in factories with pay as low as $95 a month or even nothing at all.

11 The national language is Mandarin.

12 The detention program has caused widespread financial hardship among families who have lost breadwinners and businesses that have lost owners and employees. The campaign has even met internal resistance from some officials who were concerned that such sweeping internments would stall economic development. (The question refers to 10 mu, which is about 1.6 acres.)

_______

Village officials and the “visit-assist-unite” (fang-hui-ju) work team will also do all they can to help deal with family farming. Also, you don’t have to worry about your own tuition fees; the government will help you deal with that. As long as your situation is as described, we will help handle your tuition costs. At the same time, you can apply for a poverty allowance or a study loan at your school. It will never be that you won’t be able to afford tuition and your education held back because your family member is doing concentrated education and training.

11. My family has a lot of things to deal with and their length of time in re-education is a bit long. Is there any way their study period could be shortened?

If you’re worried that nobody is around to take care of your family and so won’t accept the training, that’s being irresponsible to your family and to society. Your family member’s thinking has been infected with a “virus,” and they definitely need swift “residential treatment” before illness breaks out and before they head down the road of criminality. One day sooner in eradicating this “malignant tumor” in their thinking means one day sooner that they may return to their family and society. Don’t ever take a happy-go-lucky attitude or become phobic about treating diseases and skip this optimum time for treatment. That’s how a small illness becomes a serious one, and could even reach the point where it becomes incurable. That would bring incalculable harm to society and to your family. By then, it would be too late for any regrets.

12. My family member is old, they would not do any harm to anyone, so is there any way they could be let out?

If they don’t undergo study and training, they’ll never thoroughly and fully understand the dangers of religious extremism, and then they will never thoroughly grasp that spreading extremist religious ideas and taking part in illegal religious activities are criminal acts. They will never grasp that they are on the road of no return, never grasp that they are becoming a public enemy, wrecking national and ethnic unity and endangering society. Participating in study and education is not just the right of every citizen, it also their duty. No matter what age, anyone who has been infected by religious extremism must undergo study. Only after they come to their senses will they stop spreading dangerous ideas to neighbors and friends who don’t understand the truth and can’t tell right from wrong. For instance, the poison of religious extremism is being deeply felt in Iraq, Syria and other Middle Eastern countries. The areas where Islamic State extremist forces have spread are in ruins and their people have fled, losing everything and suffering unspeakable hardship along with countless casualties. I’m sure that you and your family wouldn’t like to live in a country like that. Each of us makes our own small contribution to maintaining social stability and defending our home.

______

Q. and A., page 6

13 The “visit-assist-unite” program involves teams of officials visiting Uighur and other minority families to gather personal information, including religious and ideological views.

14 Former inmates and human rights groups have reported that people as old as in their 80s are held in camps.

13. You gave my relatives passports and let them travel, and on television it said it was all right to travel abroad, but when they returned, they were taken away.

______

Our national citizens can lawfully obtain passports and have the appropriate right to legitimate travel abroad. The party and government have always supported and encouraged this. But you have to clearly understand that the struggle against separatism in Xinjiang is grim, and hostile forces and elements abroad have not relaxed for one moment in subversion and sabotage in Xinjiang. They don’t like seeing how stable and unified our social conditions are, and don’t like to see our great picture of rapid economic and social development with the people living and working in peace and contentment. Whenever any of us visits a sensitive country, they will do their utmost to hoodwink and recruit them, try to fill them with religious extremism and brainwash them into becoming turncoats, pawns for subverting our government, pieces moved around at the behest of others. This must be taken very seriously by every citizen, because it concerns the lives and safety of our families and the stability of our society. Because they have visited countries where religious extremism is very serious and they may have come under its influence, the dangers are immense as soon as the buds of religious extremism appear. That’s why it’s really necessary to put them through legal-system education and patriotic education after they return.

Q. and A., page 7

15 Some detainees were targeted after they traveled to some two dozen countries, almost all Muslim majority, deemed sensitive by the authorities, including Turkey, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. Such a policy was a sharp reversal from previous decades, when the authorities increasingly allowed Xinjiang residents to travel abroad.

Turpan City’s “Three Immediates, Five-Step Work Method” for Effectively Strengthening the Education and Supervision of Returning Students Whose Relatives Are Being Punished

Turpan City is seriously implementing the spirit of the autonomous region party committee’s “Announcement Concerning Doing a Good Job of Ideological Education and Management Service Work for Middle School, High School, University and Technical School Students Returning Home on Summer Break Period and Whose Family Members Are Being Punished During the ‘Strike Hard’ Campaign.” Persevere in getting things done right away, immediately organize special subject meetings, promptly implement emergency deployment plans for the educational management of students returning home in the summer whose family members are being punished,16 inseparably unite practice, draw up and give instructions to subordinates on special item work plans, amply display the important function of township (town, farm, street), village (community), former school and police station, “three departments as one,” be at the front of every work item, conscientiously report as soon as possible, discuss as soon as possible, resolve family difficulties as soon as possible, completely implement the “Five-Step Work Method,” fulfill the education of returning students whose family members are being punished, seamlessly link up stability control, ensure thought stability, prevent the emergence of no support, no understanding, contradiction, conflict and similar situations.

I. Support the “Three Immediates”

Immediately report: Returning students from other parts of China have widespread social ties across the entire country. The moment they issue incorrect opinions on WeChat, Weibo and other social media platforms, the impact is widespread and difficult to eradicate. Students must undergo ideological re-education so that soon after they return, they understand the true significance of why their family members are undergoing concentrated education and the problem of infection on arrival is dealt with, the students’ thinking must be undergoing reeducation. Plainclothes police, village and neighborhood officials and family members must meet them as soon as they arrive, to show humane concern and stress the rules.17

Immediate discussion: As soon as students return home, carry out direct thought guidance,remove doubt or misunderstandings. Avoid having officials with low-level understanding of correct principles leave students unclear during their first heart-to-heart guidance. Ensure that the first talk is given by a leading official of the township (town, farm, street), the head of the class at their former school, or the chief of the local police station who has previously been familiarized with policies and the returning student’s fundamental situation; jointly list a discussion outline; and personally give heart-to-heart guidance.

Immediately solve family difficulties: Respond to students whose fathers or mothers are undergoing concentrated education and training and who have adjustment problems when they first return home and face a serious possibility of experiencing turmoil after seeing the range of work and hardship in their families.18 Their paired poverty eradication partners must visit the home soon after arrival to understand the practical hardships of students’ families and coordinate to solve them so that students feel the warmth of the party and government. This ensures that they are focused on participating in education and training, social practice and job internships.

_______

Directive

16 The document advises officials to inform students that their relatives are being treated for signs of extremism, but throughout its instructions to the officials it refers to the relatives as being punished.

_______

17 The crackdown in Xinjiang heightened the authorities’ concerns about returning students, whom the Communist Party saw as a key part of efforts to mold Muslim minorities into loyal subjects. This passage reveals fears that such students could spread criticism of the camps, and orders the police and school and local government officials to help monitor them.

See Document

II. Strictly Implement the “Five-Step Work Method”

Step 1: Fully assess the situation, set up a file and take the initiative to link up. For each township (town, farm, street), village (community), visit-assist-unite (fang-hui-ju) residents’ village work team, village (community) police service room, quickly carry out a concentrated assessment and inspection of students in the jurisdiction who are studying outside, check one after another, implement one after another, register one after another, take the initiative to link up, ensure preparation to grasp the students’ time of arrival and train number.

Step 2: Psychological guidance and thought inspection. The township (town, farm, street) Ministry of Justice office that will receive the students will first organize the main leaders of the township (town, farm, street), the police station chief and former school class teacher to wait at the Ministry of Justice office. They will prepare a discussion topic outline in advance, wait for the moment the student returns to enter discussions and exchange (see “Tactics from Turpan City for answering the questions asked by the children of concentrated education and training school students”), understand the students’ living situation, and do a good job of the “five things to explain clearly” work, and according to the students’ clothing, behavior, spiritual outlook and other external expressions, be sure to check the students’ mobile phones, MP3s, MP4s, USB drives, multimedia cards and computers and other mobile storage devices, as well as books, to accurately grasp the students’ ideological trends and make sure they have not become infected and are developing in a healthy manner.

_________

Directive, page 3

19 The document orders the authorities to investigate returning students and search their phones, computers and other devices. Local officials must meet with them daily and assess their thinking and behavior.

See Document

_______

Step 3: Report as soon as one returns to the village and pair up to assist. After students have had their first talk on ideological persuasion on return to their township (town, farm or street), village (community) officials and work team cadres must immediately visit their homes and make sure that “for each one who returns, a report is made and registration is filed.” At the same time, every student who has a family member being punished must be matched in a “trinity” with their officials from the village or neighborhood, former school and the police station to ensure they have daily meetings and conversations. Give them guidance, organize activities and promptly understand the returning students’ thoughts and how they are behaving in reality.19 For those students whose parents are both being punished and who do not have other immediate family or have immediate relatives who are unable to provide care, develop a special work program, a visit program or an aid program according to the living conditions of other relatives in the family, the family’s income and other conditions. And have the township’s (town, farm, street) party and political team members responsible for managing it as a whole set up an internship position such that each person is supported by one plan.

Step 4: Educational practice and quantitative assessment. Township (town, farm, street) party committees, based on the current stability maintenance trend, will promptly arrange training activities for returning students that focus heavily on “535”: (that is, “Five Classes”: security, job internship class, legal class, ethnic unity class and mobile internet security class; the “Xinjiang Three Histories,” which includes ethnic history, religious history, Xinjiang history; as well as the “Five Identifications”: identifying with the motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the Communist Party and socialism with Chinese characteristics.) They should adopt “point on point,” “one to one,” “many to one” and other methods, and patiently and carefully carry out the party’s policies on education and psychological guidance with returned students, provide them with employment and entrepreneurship positions, organize and develop volunteers and “ethnic unity family” cultural performances, visit their hometowns to observe the development and other activities, to let these students really feel the party and the government’s concern, so that they are not bearing an ideological burden, cherish their rare educational opportunity, and work at growing and become successful. Place returning students with family members being punished in concentrated education and training under “dual administration” and “dual assessment” with quantified assessment points administration. Assign quantified points every day to returning students’ words and actions, attendance in training, social practice, job internships, video meetings and other developments. At the same time, allow more frequent video meetings with family members while the students are on summer vacation, and tell the parents promptly how the students are doing at home, at internships; set up bridges linking the students with their parents to ensure that the individuals who are being punished are able to receive their education in peace while the returning students’ minds can be stable.

Step 5: Analysis and judgment and seamless connection. The person in charge at the township (town, farm, street) should compare the implementation of the “Three Immediates” and the “Five-Step Work Method” and seriously fill in the “Assessment and Control Files for the Returning Children of the Students of Concentrated Education and Training in Turpan City.” Hold daily seminars to comprehensively assess the returning students’ real-life performance and research solutions to existing problems and control measures. At the same time, carry out well the work of sending the student back to school by seeing them off at stations. The supporting cadres should take the initiative to connect with the head teacher who is receiving the student and inform the teacher of the student’s thoughts and actions to realize a seamless connection. After the students’ vacation is over and they return to school, every township (town, farm, street) should place the “Assessment and Control Files for the Returning Children of the Students of Concentrated Education and Training in Turpan City” under sealed management, make copies for the office of returning students’ management, the public security stations, and the concentrated education and training schools, for these files to be used as education and supervision reference material the next time the students return home.

______

Directive, page 4

20 The document orders officials to keep detailed files on each student, copies of which are sent to the police, the indoctrination camps and other offices.

See Document

______

To omit any identifying markings, these documents have been retyped to resemble the originals.

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Document: What Chinese Officials Told Children Whose Families Were Put in Camps https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-detention-directive.html

Document: What

Chinese Officials

Told Children

Whose Families

Were Put in Camps

PART 2

Published NOV. 16, 2019 | New York Times | Posted November 16, 2019 |

LEAKED FILES EXPOSE HOW CHINA ORGANIZED MASS DETENTIONS OF MUSLIMS

Annex:

Tactics from Turpan City for answering questions asked by the children of concentrated education and training school1 students

1. Where are my family members?

2. Why do my family members have to take part in studying?

______

Q. and A.

2 Former detainees say facilities are sometimes overcrowded and unsanitary, with food that can be poor quality and withheld as punishment. The provision of 21 yuan is about $3.

See Document

______

3. My relative watched only one terrorist video, or participated in one illegal sermon. They have already recognized their mistake. Is it all right if they don’t study?

______

Q. and A., page 2

5 The camps have been described as a way to provide job training, but many detainees had careers as scholars, civil servants and entertainers.

6 Former detainees have described facing round-the-clock surveillance and the constant threat of abuse.

See Document

______

turn into a serious one, and it could prompt an even more serious illness, or even become life-threatening.

4. Since it’s just training, why can’t they come home?

5. Did they commit a crime? Will they be convicted?

______

Q. and A., page 3

8 Detention in the camps can lead to imprisonment, and the region has seen a surge in arrests, trials and prison sentences over the past two years, according to official data.

______

6. When can my family member graduate and leave school?

7. Are my family members bad people? After they get out, will they be discriminated against and be treated differently?

______

Q. and A., page 4

________

8. Can my family members ask for leave to visit me?

9. Can public servants vouch for them so they can get out?

10. My family members are all in study, we have 10 mu of land, but there’s nobody to plant it; if I don’t have money for school, what will I do?

______

Q. and A., page 5

10 That is about $425 to $715 a month. Some exiles and researchers have said people from internment camps have been forced to work in factories with pay as low as $95 a month or even nothing at all.

11 The national language is Mandarin.

_______

11. My family has a lot of things to deal with and their length of time in re-education is a bit long. Is there any way their study period could be shortened?

12. My family member is old, they would not do any harm to anyone, so is there any way they could be let out?

______

Q. and A., page 6

13 The “visit-assist-unite” program involves teams of officials visiting Uighur and other minority families to gather personal information, including religious and ideological views.

14 Former inmates and human rights groups have reported that people as old as in their 80s are held in camps.

13. You gave my relatives passports and let them travel, and on television it said it was all right to travel abroad, but when they returned, they were taken away.

______

Q. and A., page 7

Turpan City’s “Three Immediates, Five-Step Work Method” for Effectively Strengthening the Education and Supervision of Returning Students Whose Relatives Are Being Punished

I. Support the “Three Immediates”

_______

Directive

_______

See Document

II. Strictly Implement the “Five-Step Work Method”

_________

Directive, page 3

See Document

_______

______

Directive, page 4

20 The document orders officials to keep detailed files on each student, copies of which are sent to the police, the indoctrination camps and other offices.

See Document

______

To omit any identifying markings, these documents have been retyped to resemble the originals.

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