Protesting against China now results in activists being detained—and held in a unclear legal situation. Kazakhstan, a country that likes to present itself as a bridge between East and West, has once again shown how fragile that bridge can beRead More →
Ignoring international criticism, a new document declares victory against extremism, separatism, and non-Sinicized religion. Coinciding with Xi Jinping’s visit to Xinjiang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the so-called autonomous region, on September 25, 2025, the State Council Information OfficeRead More →
Inaugurated on July 19, the dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River will have a devastating ecological impact on Tibet and allow China to manipulate water flows against India. On July 19, 2025, China officially inaugurated the construction of the world’sRead More →
The 8th Congress of the major organization of the Uyghur diaspora elected a new leadership. Its task is now more important and difficult than ever. by Marco Respinti Recently, the largest organization of the Uyghur diaspora held an important meetingRead More →
Special “Regulations on Religious Affairs” for Xinjiang, of which “Bitter Winter” offers a full English translation, will further reduce the possibility of religion to survive, if not as a propaganda mouthpiece of the Communist Party. by Ma Wenyan From FebruaryRead More →
Qasim Sidiq is believed to have been targeted for content he composed as long as 15 years ago. A well-known Uyghur poet and literature teacher who went missing in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) nearly four years agoRead More →
The cousins are among a large number of Uyghur professionals taught ‘vocational skills’ in the centers. Two Uyghurs in the iron trade who expanded their business to Kazakhstan in recent years have been detained in an internment camp in northwestRead More →
The battle lines are drawn. Europe ignores human rights concerns and finalizes “the trade deals of all trade deals with China,” US and UK try to resist. by Ruth Ingram While the democratic world pontificates over sanctions against the behemoth,Read More →
The world has understood. Through this absurd decision, the CCP is punishing her sister Rushan, for her brave campaign on behalf of the persecuted Uyghurs. by Ruth Ingram Relatives of Dr. Gulshan Abbas, the mystery of whose disappearance two yearsRead More →
The global Jewish community is refusing to stay silent in the face of mounting human rights atrocities perpetrated against the Uyghurs. by Ruth Ingram With Holocaust memorial day in January around the corner, and World Human Rights Day on DecemberRead More →
A group of lawmakers in the U.K. called on the government Wednesday to “act urgently” in holding Chinese officials accountable for rights abuses against minorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). In a statement, the U.K. branch ofRead More →
Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have sentenced a septuagenarian Uyghur retiree who spent decades as a public servant to a lengthy jail term for attending a Muslim sermon during a wake held 13 years ago, accordingRead More →
Three who lost their loved ones tell their stories to Bitter Winter. Now, even being a member of CCP is not enough to escape detention if you are a Uyghur or Kazakh attached to your culture. by Ruth Ingram An eighty-year-oldRead More →
The U.S. announced Wednesday that it will detain all shipments containing cotton and cotton products originating from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC)—a key paramilitary group in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)—citing forced labor abuses. The U.S.Read More →
Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have removed the statue Mahmud Kashgary, one of the Turkic world’s most important scholars, according to satellite imagery. Using satellite imagery, RFA’s Uyghur Service was able to determine that Kashgary’s statue was removed sometime after Nov. 28, 2019.Read More →
One of four young Uyghur men convicted in 2015 of terror-related offenses in Indonesia has pled for help from members of his ethnic group and the international community after the other three were forcibly deported to China, saying he fears persecutionRead More →
Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have detained hundreds of Muslim imams, according to a Uyghur linguist in exile, creating an atmosphere in which Uyghurs are “afraid of dying” because there is no one to oversee theirRead More →
A hospital for infectious diseases in Aksu (in Chinese, Akesu), in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), has been turned into an internment camp as part of what some experts believe could be a system for harvesting organs fromRead More →
Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have detained a young amateur singer from Ghulja (in Chinese, Yining) city for viewing a Turkish television series, according to officials, who said dozens of others are also in custody forRead More →
Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have sentenced a young ethnic Kazakh wrestler to 15 years in prison for sharing a song by a Kazakhstani musician on social media, according to a former internment camp detainee. KastarRead More →
World Body Should Reject Beijing’s False Narrative The Chinese government is facing a barrage of bad press for its systemic abuses against Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims in China’s western Xinjiang region. Journalists have been spotlighting links between forced labor in XinjiangRead More →
