yeniseri wrote:It is not so much a war on Islam but on anything that is not Communist speaking against the state apparatus. Look at Falungong
If you are outspoken anti-communist or Anti-patriotic you might encounter some problems. Especially if you try to oppose your views on others. Then it doesn't matter if you are Christian, Moslem, Buddhist or non-believer, or if you belong to Han or any of the 55 minorities.
I know a Falungong-er. She presented me their book right before the Falungong's demonstration on Tiananmen square which had it banned. I remember reading out loud from it for friends. Damn we had a good laugh. It was the most ridiculously unbelievably stupid I've ever read. Anyway, I remember that she was later caught at a meeting. The police took them in. The Chinese were released and the foreigners had to leave the country. That was it. No torture. I know a Chines who one time was the biggest leader (CEO or what you call it) in a factory. He said that sometimes they had Falungong followers. He took them in and spoke with them, had a chat to see if they wee all right and make sure that it had no impact on their work. And that's all. Sometimes when the police find meetings or gatherings, it's more or less the same. They want to make sure that the people are doing ok and offer them help if they want. Maybe they'll get a small fine.
One of the problem in Xinjiang is that many are uneducated, not only Uighurs. But the Uighurs have schools where studying their own language and culture as well as the Koran is mandatory. But still some families refuse to put their children in schools, mostly because the families are poor and they need help on their farms. Other Uighurs are very wealthy. There are farmers and business people doing very well. When they put their children in high schools in Shanghai or Beijing, the children come in luxury cars with their own drivers. They are still Moslem, they study their own Uighur language and culture. And they are doing well.
Not meaning that everything is fine. Of course there are problems. I have no idea how much about those re-educating centers are true or false. But the idea that the Chinese government are trying to oppress Uighurs or Moslems just because they are Uighur or Moslem is something I find ludicrous and very far from the China I have personally met. I also find the idea that if you are a Falongong member you will be tortured ludicrous. But if you can, it's good to find and take part of many different versions of what is happening in China. There are many different sides telling different versions of the truth. Maybe somewhere in the middle of everything, you can find traces of what is really going on... Maybe...