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Indeed. I have an otherwise quite reasonable friend whose stance on Xinjiang province is: "The camps aren't real, it's just an exaggeration. And if they're r

Indeed. I have an otherwise quite reasonable friend whose stance on Xinjiang province is: "The camps aren't real, it's just an exaggeration. And if they're real, it's because the Xinjiang people are there voluntarily. And if they're not there voluntarily, it's probably better anyway, since it would be a really bad thing long-term to have a large minority of people that is not culturally united with the rest of China. It's not pretty but it's for the common good."

winrid 5y ago
How do we know your friend is wrong about their existence? I can say that at least, it's hard not to be surprised by such opinions. I've been to Xinjiang and know people that live there. Pretty sure you could live your whole life without seeing said camps. I also know people that have had family members die from attacks from the Uighurs. If real, I suspect the CCP started the camps after the terrorist attacks - if you look up cities like Korla you'll know what I mean - the security there is insane, complete with officers with submachine guns escorting school children. I didn't have the balls to take a picture...
- tablespoon 5y ago
  > How do we know your friend is wrong about their existence? Because if they're right, there's no way to know anything about the world. Even the PRC government now admits the camps exist, and their propaganda approach has moved on from outright denial to other tactics.
  - winrid 5y ago
    > Even the PRC government now admits the camps exist Oh neat, I missed that. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/22/from-denial-to-pride-how-china-changed-its-language-on-xinjiangs-camps https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/...
    - tablespoon 5y ago
      > Oh neat, I missed that. I think that was pretty impossible to miss if you were following the story at all. And if you weren't following the story, why comment on it?
      - winrid 5y ago
        I never said I was following the story. I just traveled there and have Chinese friends/family in the US and in China. That's why I commented.
deleted 5y ago
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winrid 5y ago

How do we know your friend is wrong about their existence? I can say that at least, it's hard not to be surprised by such opinions. I've been to Xinjiang and know people that live there. Pretty sure you could live your whole life without seeing said camps. I also know people that have had family members die from attacks from the Uighurs. If real, I suspect the CCP started the camps after the terrorist attacks - if you look up cities like Korla you'll know what I mean - the security there is insane, complete with officers with submachine guns escorting school children. I didn't have the balls to take a picture...

tablespoon 5y ago
> How do we know your friend is wrong about their existence? Because if they're right, there's no way to know anything about the world. Even the PRC government now admits the camps exist, and their propaganda approach has moved on from outright denial to other tactics.
- winrid 5y ago
  > Even the PRC government now admits the camps exist Oh neat, I missed that. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/22/from-denial-to-pride-how-china-changed-its-language-on-xinjiangs-camps https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2018/...
  - tablespoon 5y ago
    > Oh neat, I missed that. I think that was pretty impossible to miss if you were following the story at all. And if you weren't following the story, why comment on it?
    - winrid 5y ago
      I never said I was following the story. I just traveled there and have Chinese friends/family in the US and in China. That's why I commented.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]