Big Technology Podcast An Inside Look At China’s Internment of Muslims, with BuzzFeed News’ Megha Rajagopalan
Sep 16, 2020
Megha Rajagopalan, an International correspondent at BuzzFeed News, sheds light on the urgent and troubling situation of Muslims in Xinjiang, China. She reveals the chilling realities of mass internment and forced assimilation through her gripping on-the-ground reports. Rajagopalan discusses the innovative use of satellite imagery to uncover expanding internment camps and the ethical dilemmas journalists face when covering such sensitive issues. Her insights prompt a much-needed conversation about human rights violations and the responsibilities of the global media.
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Xinjiang Demographics
- Xinjiang is a large region in Western China, home to about 25 million people.
- Roughly half are Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities, while the other half are Han Chinese.
Worsening Conditions in Xinjiang
- The Chinese government's policies in Xinjiang significantly worsened during the Xi Jinping era.
- Mass internment and pervasive surveillance of Muslim minorities began around late 2016 and early 2017.
Reasons for Detention
- People are detained for minor offenses, like having banned apps or sending money overseas.
- Human Rights Watch documented a system called the IJOP, a big data program used to determine who gets sent to camps.