Washington, D.C. [US], July 29 (ANI): Rushan Abbas, Founder and Executive Director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, has exposed the ongoing atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, describing the situation as an “active and full-fledged genocide” in a discussion with The Epoch Times.
Abbas, a prominent human rights advocate and Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the World Uyghur Congress, outlined a range of abuses—including mass detentions, forced labor, sterilizations, and organ harvesting—committed in full view of an indifferent international community.
Abbas shared that her activism has come at great personal cost. In 2018, shortly after she publicly addressed the mass detention of Uyghurs at the Hudson Institute, her sister was detained by Chinese authorities in what she believes was a retaliatory act.
“I’ve been a U.S. citizen since 1995 and have lived in the United States since 1989,” she stated. “But that didn’t make a difference. They abducted my sister to retaliate against me.”
She labeled this tactic as “transnational repression,” a method used by the Chinese government to target overseas activists by punishing their families back home. Abbas also cited the existence of over 100 secret Chinese police stations around the world—including in the United States—that surveil and intimidate diaspora communities such as Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hongkongers, and Falun Gong practitioners.
Commenting on conditions in Xinjiang, Abbas stated that all aspects of Uyghur identity—language, religion, and ethnicity—have been criminalized. The Chinese government, she alleged, views Uyghurs as needing to be “re-educated” into becoming Han Chinese.
“In the eyes of this barbaric regime, we are not even viewed as normal human beings,” she said, citing forced sterilization of women, the separation of children from their families, and the destruction of Uyghur businesses and agricultural lands.
Abbas illustrated what she described as a systemic effort to eradicate Uyghur culture while profiting from their oppression. She reported that over 3 million Uyghurs were subjected to forced labor in the past year alone. Much of China’s cotton exports, she added, are picked by Uyghur workers under coercive conditions.
“From the garments you wear to the tomatoes in your pasta, they all might be stained by the blood, sweat, and tears of Uyghur slaves,” she warned.
She further claimed that crematoria have been built near detention centers, and in cities like Kashgar, airport lanes have been set up for fast-tracking human organ transport. These developments, she said, align with China’s collection of Uyghur DNA and mandatory health screenings initiated years ago.
“The Chinese government has transformed genocide into a lucrative enterprise,” Abbas asserted, pointing to reports that 13 tons of human hair from Uyghur prisoners were shipped to the United States.
Abbas also criticized Western influencers and social media personalities for participating in Chinese state-sponsored tours of Xinjiang, which she described as staged propaganda efforts.
“They are presented with a fabricated version of Uyghur life, featuring rehearsed locals and lavish meals,” she explained. “Meanwhile, anyone who dares to reveal the truth simply vanishes.”
Expressing deep frustration at global indifference, Abbas stated, “Tyranny persists due to silence. Silence is its fuel.” She called on the international community—particularly Western democracies—to hold China accountable and reject economic normalization at the cost of human rights.
She also highlighted pending legislation in the U.S. Congress, including the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act and the Falun Gong Protection Act, and urged lawmakers to act swiftly.
“If we don’t halt the CCP now, future generations will bear the consequences in a world devoid of freedom or rights,” she warned.
Abbas concluded with a message of unity for the Uyghur diaspora:
“Hope is the only thing we have left, but it is a powerful force if we stand together.”
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