Entry of 25205
18-40
F
Kyrgyz
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forced job placement
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testifying party
Adil Zhunus, as reported by New Survey of the Silk Road (丝路新观察). (uncle)
about the victim
Dinara Kamil is the niece of Kyrgyzstan member of parliament Adil Zhunus and Kyrgyz historian Asqar Zhunus.
current location
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chronology of detention(s)
It is not clear when Dinara was first sent to "training", but according to her uncle she was recently released [probably at the end of 2018] after "completing her studies" (结业) in a "training center" (培训中心). The government then gave her a choice between working in the neighborhood administration (社区) or a kindergarten.
suspected and/or official reason(s) for detention
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last reported status
Released from detention and working [presumably in forced job placement].
how testifier(s) learned of victim's situation
Not stated.
additional information
Original story in the Chinese state media: https://archive.vn/mhrtg
state-media report(s)
Source: https://archive.vn/dbQLS
KYRGYZSTAN MP: "XINJIANG VOCATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL TRAINING CENTERS ARE A GOOD MEANS OF PREVENTING EXTREMISM"
Lately, a number of fake videos and news have been circulating on social networks in Kyrgyzstan, creating rumors and distorting the nature of the vocational and educational training centers (hereafter referred to as “training centers”) in Xinjiang, presenting them as “re-education camps” and the like. Because of this, a reporter from the New Survey of the Silk Road interviewed Adil Zhunus, a Kyrgyzstan parliament member, to have him tell the readers, based on his own personal experience, what kind of place Xinjiang really is. The vocational and education training centers have brought Xinjiang happiness, not disaster.
XINJIANG IS CHINA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL PROVINCE, AND ONE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD TREASURE
An ethnic Kyrgyz, Adil Zhunus was born in Xinjiang’s city of Ghulja on May 15, 1963. His father, now retired, used to work as a teacher at the Ili Veterinary College. After graduating from Xinjiang University with a major in geography, Adil was appointed to the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Xinjiang Ecology and Geography Research Laboratory in 1987.
Adil went to Kyrgyzstan for the first time in 1991, to visit relatives and to travel. In 1993, he moved to Kyrgyzstan to study at Bishkek’s newly founded humanities university, where he taught Chinese and learned Russian. He later created his own company and started his career in commerce. He spent over ten years as the vice-president of Kyrgyzstan’s overseas-Chinese association, doing very much to help maintain good relations between the two countries.
Adil obtained Kyrgyz citizenship in February 2001. In 2015, he successfully ran for a seat in the country’s sixth parlimentary elections. He also served as the vice chairman of the China-Kyrgyzstan relations group, continuing to contribute to collaboration between China and Kyrgyzstan.
According to Adil, his parents, siblings, relatives, old classmates, and friends and colleagues are all in China, and he often comes to China to see family and travel despite already having gotten Kyrgyz citizenship. China, he says, is his favorite place. In his opinion, Xinjiang is China’s most beautiful province. As the people of Xinjiang themselves say: "Our Xinjiang is a great place – home to the Han, Uyghur, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, Mongol, and 47 other ethnic groups."
"There were people of 15 different ethnic groups living in the courtyard at the Ili Veterinary Hospital, where I was born and raised," Adil reminisces. "We lived harmoniously without paying attention to ethnicity or financial status. At that time, all of Xinjiang lived that way – everyone getting along peacefully."
He then adds, with sorrow:
"But later, terrorism, separatism, and extremism destroyed the original, harmonious Xinjiang. A lot of families were destroyed, and a lot of people started to go down criminal paths after being influenced by extremist demagoguery."
Adil expresses his heartfelt desire to see Xinjiang regain its initial tranquility. He doesn’t want to hear about or see those bad things anymore. He hopes for peace in China, peace in Kyrgyzstan, and especially peace in Xinjiang. He hopes that all ethnic groups can live harmoniously in Xinjiang, and cherish this wonderful place.
TRAINING CENTERS ARE AN INGENIOUS MEANS OF DERADICALIZATION
Faced with complex and severe circumstances, the Xinjiang authorities have chosen the principle of "strike hard but emphasize prevention", developing the vocational and educational training center system to prevent the appearance and spread of extremism, thereby protecting the most fundamental human right of the populace and safeguarding them from terrorism and extremism in the greatest way possible.
However, following the premeditated incitement of certain destructive forces, some people have started to have misgivings about Xinjiang’s vocational and educational training centers. Some have previously asked Adil if the Kyrgyz in China were being locked up or tortured.
His answer is as follows:
"I feel pity for those who have been blinded by the fake news. The Xinjiang vocational and educational training centers are an ingenious means of deradicalization."
As he puts it, China is a country of law, but the "three evil forces" have encroached deeply into Xinjiang. With the help of teachers, people at the training centers learn the national language, obtain a better knowledge of the law, and acquire vocational skills that then help those having been influenced by extremism and those having committed minor crimes transform their thoughts and to return to normal society, effectively curing and preventing the apparition of the "three evil forces" and the spread of extremism.
Adil is fully supportive of the means and resolution of China’s preventive attack on the "three evil forces".
"In December 2018, I made a trip to China to see with my own eyes the Kyrgyz who graduated from the training centers," he says. "All of them have found good jobs now, and their Chinese has gotten a lot better. Their national awareness, awareness of themselves as citizens, and awareness of the law have clearly been strengthened. Most importantly, they all learned one or multiple trades to make a living, and aren’t idle do-nothings anymore."
As it turned out, Adil’s niece, Dinara Kamil, has just graduated from a training center recently.
"After she graduated from the training center, the government prepared for Dinara two jobs for her to choose from," Adil says. "She could go work for the neighborhood administration or go work at a kindergarten. The work is a reliable source of income, and her parents don’t need to worry about her."
Additionally, Adil’s younger brother, Askar Zhunus, is currently studying at a training center. Adil expresses that he has no right to get involved in this matter, seeing as his brother is a Chinese citizen. As an individual and a citizen, his brother acts responsibly so long as his actions are good and proper. However, if he has done something wrong, then it is only natural that he bear the responsibility according to Chinese law. As an older brother, Adil is also very worried about the other’s future.
THE FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND KYRGYZSTAN ARE A PRODUCT OF A LONG HISTORY, AND THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES CANNOT BE EASILY BROKEN
As Adil puts it, the friendly relations between China and Kyrgyzstan are a natural product of a long history. The two have been the friendliest of Silk Road neighbors since ancient times. Over the course of history, many ethnicities would come in contact with one another and engage in trade. Trade then led way to cultural exchange, which would only strengthen the links between the two areas.
He says that after Kyrgyzstan’s independence in 1991, the two countries have really put in motion the historically friendly relations to achieve many breakthroughs on the political, economic, and cultural fronts.
For example: following the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries opened up the Torugart and Erkeshtam border crossings. There are currently direct flights between China and Kyrgyzstan every day. Student exchanges have also became a highlight of the collaboration between Chinese and Kyrgyz institutes of higher education. One after another, Kyrgyzstan has conceived and implemented a number of large projects with China’s technological support. All sorts of cultural exchanges and tourism are developing rapidly in both countries.
Following a June 2018 meeting in Beijing between the highest delegates from both countries, the relations between China and Kyrgyzstan have evolved to those of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Adil believes that the establishment of this comprehensive partnership is a new page for the relations between the countries, and something that the people from both should cherish.
Adil states that China has always faithfully upheld the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and cooperation for mutual benefit, peaceful co-existence) since Premier Zhou Enlai proposed them in 1953. This set of principles has also seen approval from many other countries, and has become a fundamental guide for navigating relations between nations.
relatives
entry created on: 2019-01-20
entry last modified on: 2019-01-20
last update from testifier(s): 2019-01-20