Latest Xinjiang leak reveals more persecution

Chinese authorities detained more than 300 Uighur Muslims for reasons like having too many children or being friends with “a suspicious figure living overseas,” according to a leaked document published by the German news outlet Deutsche Welle. The translated 137-page document includes a database of names, identification numbers, and behaviors of more than 1,800 Uighurs from Karakax County in the Xinjiang region.

What does the database show? It provides additional proof of the Chinese government’s repressive and detailed tracking of the Uighur minorities. In one of the cases listed, authorities concluded a couple was “infected with religious and extremist ideas” after the man grew out his beard and his wife wore a veil. Officials detained others for going on an Islamic pilgrimage. The Chinese government previously said its detention camps serve as training centers for the minority group.

Dig deeper: Read June Cheng’s report on other revealing documents about China’s oppression of religious minorities.