Chinese state-affiliated social media accounts are using Israel’s fight against Hamas to highlight Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
A Chinese diplomatic mission has posted a politically loaded visual comparing the Gaza conflict with the current situation in Xinjiang.
China’s embassy in France posted on X, formerly Twitter, a photo comparing the buildings in Xinjiang province, which are standing intact, with buildings in Gaza that have been destroyed in the recent bombing. The Xinjiang province is where “The Chinese government has reportedly arbitrarily detained more than a million Muslims in reeducation camps since 2017. Most of the people who have been detained are Uyghur, a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang. Beyond the detentions, Uyghurs in the region have been subjected to intense surveillance, forced labor, and involuntary sterilizations, among other rights abuses,” Lindsay Maizland of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) wrote.
“The United States and several other foreign governments have described China’s actions in Xinjiang as genocide, while the UN human rights office said that the violations could constitute crimes against humanity,” Maizland said.
The conflict has escalated after an unprecedented attack by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, on southern Israel on October 7. As of Monday, over 1,400 people had been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli military. Over 8,000 people had been killed in Gaza, according to authorities there, the AP reported.
“Unlabeled,” said the post in French, along with two photos comparing Xinjiang with Gaza.
The Chinese embassy’s message appears to imply that the U.
