Entry of 25205
57
F
Uyghur
government
Korghas
---
sentenced (2019, 5 y)
Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018
related to going abroad | other, "terrorism"
has problems
(residence)
(伊犁哈萨克自治州霍城县兰干乡光明村)
testifying party
Testimony 1: Jewlan Shirmemet, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son)
Testimony 2|5: Jewlan Shirmemet, originally from Qorghas County, but now living in Turkey. (son)
Testimony 3: Jewlan Shirmemet, as reported by Daily Express. (son)
Testimony 4: PRC consulate-embassy staff, a staff member at a People's Republic of China embassy or consulate.
Testimony 6: Jewlan Shirmemet, as reported by Bitter Winter. (son)
about the victim
Suriye Tursun was an employee of the Management Office of Trade and Industry in Qorghas County.
In 2013, she visited Turkey with a Chinese tour group, to see her son and his university, travelling for 15 days and going back.
Family address: West Central Street, Lengger Township, Shuiding Municipality, Korgas County, Xinjiang (新疆霍城县水定镇兰干乡中心西街).
current location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
chronology of detention(s)
Suriye was detained at the beginning of 2018 and sentenced in early 2019. [Exact dates unclear.]
suspected and/or official reason(s) for detention
According to the Radio Free Asia report, she was allegedly detained for "having looked down on the Chinese education system" [possibly an informal reason]. According to the staff of the PRC consulate in Istanbul, she was officially sentenced for "assisting in terrorist activities".
In the interview to the Daily Express, Jewlan says that she was detained for having visited him while he was studying in Turkey.
last reported status
Currently in prison, presumably serving a 5-year sentence.
According to her son, she is not in good health.
how testifier(s) learned of victim's situation
Jewlan does not state how he learned about the detention, saying only that he lost contact with the family on January 13, 2018, when he found that they had all deleted him on WeChat.
The confirmation of her arrest and sentence was provided by a Chinese government representative, and may be considered as official.
additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/jewlan-shirmemet-01152020222320.html
New York Times coverage: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/world/asia/china-coronavirus-xinjiang.html
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR066
Crimean News Agency (Turkey) coverage: https://qha.com.tr/haberler/dogu-turkistanda-aileler-toplama-kampina-atiliyor/146690/
Daily Express coverage: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1282764/China-news-Beijing-nazi-concentration-camps-muslim-Uyghur-Xinjiang-coronavirus-latest
Bitter Winter coverage: https://bitterwinter.org/visited-her-son-in-turkey-she-went-to-jail/
official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Mission in Turkey
----------
-- February 12, 2020 (first call with Istanbul consulate) --
Jewlan: …[provide some] proof, or maybe you can explain it to me clearly? I went to high school here. I’m a tour guide with a travel company here. I have never even participated in a single illegal activity. I promise this is - even the police knows, and you at the Chinese embassy all know, that this is completely made up. It is made up. You’ve sentenced my mom to five years, taken my family… my dad and younger brother… to a concentration camp. Now I don’t even know their whereabouts.
Consulate staff: This situation, I think, has already been checked and confirmed in the mainland. Your father and younger brother are not in an education and training center. They’re both outside.
J: I know, they’ve already been released…
CS: Now it’s just that they don’t want to, they aren’t willing to…
J: Then what is my mom’s crime? What is my mom’s crime? My mom’s crime is that she, as a mother, came to Turkey in 2013 on a vacation with her work unit, with a Chinese holiday tour group. That group had Han, and Uyghurs, and Hui, coming here together to travel. After returning, she continued working as she always had. I also frequently travelled back and forth without any issues, until 2013 [misspoken: 2016], when we stopped communicating all of a sudden. After that, I didn’t know… So as to not bring them any trouble - since I knew that contact with people abroad would bring trouble at that time - I didn’t contact them, because I didn’t want to bring them any trouble. Until later when I received the news that, at the beginning of 2018, my dad, my mom, and my younger brother were all taken by the police and brought to a concentration camp, the so-called “training center”. But they are all high-school graduates, and my parents are both civil servants. I also have never participated in a single illegal activity to this day.
After receiving this news, do you know whom I immediately went to look for? I immediately went to my contacts in the mainland, looking for people in the government, but they also wouldn’t reply to me. Then I went to contact you guys, the people at the consulate, but you’ve also been dragging it out. Now you come out and tell me that I “participated in illegal activities”. If that’s so, can you please find some piece of evidence that I participated in illegal activities? Also, another point. Where in the national law does it say that, when a child does something wrong, it is the rest of the family who should be punished? Never mind that I have not even done anything wrong. I have never even participated in any illegal activities.
CS: This thing with your mom… I can tell you that it was definitely not because of you. It was because she violated China’s laws. This…
J: Which laws? Since you’re saying that, can you give me the court verdict? I want to find a lawyer. I want to find an international lawyer. Can you provide me with the verdict?
CS: Look, there’s no need to get so agitated. The mainland has also already told us that your case may not be that severe. Or maybe it was a case where other people’s influences played a role, like being in contact with some wrong people - what I mean is, maybe you could write down whom you’ve been in contact with, starting from the last time that you left the country up until now, including when you were in Egypt before and in your current situation now.
J: Let me tell you…
CS: I feel like… I feel like you should think about doing this. Once you’ve got it, you could send it via the e-mail you used to e-mail us before. Because this situation of yours… Some of it we’ve already talked to the mainland about. The mainland might also think that your situation is not that serious. I feel like you should go ahead and clearly write down all this information. If there’s an error somewhere…
J: Let me just tell you here…
CS: …you can also tell us.
J: Alright, first…
CS: In that case, the mainland might reconsider your family’s situation.
J: I’ll tell you now. No need to write anything down. I’ll just tell you now.
CS: Hmm...
J: First, you asked me just now whom I had contacted in Egypt, and now in Turkey. You can look at the entry and exit information in my passport. All the records are there. I have never been to Egypt. I have only been to Turkey. In 2011, I came to Turkey to attend university here. I went to Istanbul Commerce University, the law department, and after graduating started working here. Originally, I was able to go back, and wanted to go back after graduation, but didn’t because I lost contact with my family. All this time, I’ve been working here, at a travel agency. You can look at the relevant travel agencies - I’ll give you the names of the mainland Chinese travel agencies and the names of the Turkish ones too, and you can go search. You can find all my travels, all the plans that the group made for me… Where would I have the time to go contact other people, seeing as how I’ve been receiving travel groups nonstop? And then I started working independently, started to create my own travel company. I have not contacted any anti-Chinese organizations. I never even wanted to. I have always stayed far away from politics. I have not even brushed shoulders with politics. While here, I have always stuck to doing my own work, even on social media. No matter if it was Instagram or Facebook or whatever, I have not posted even a single sentence of anti-Chinese speech.
I also know about the concentration camps over there. I see all those things on the news over here, but I have not even had a single crazy thought in that regard - I’ve always been like this, just living my own plain, normal life. I’ll have you know that, over here, I’m probably in contact with more Han than with Uyghurs or Turkish. I’m often with them over here, and when their families come, I take them out and show them around. I simply haven’t been involved in any other activities apart from the regular tour group leading ones. Up until when I contacted the Chinese embassy, calling the embassy over and over and over again but getting no reply. Finally, I contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry, but they didn’t reply either. So, at last, I realized that I needed to go to the media. I want to… In order to save my family, in order to save my mom, I will furiously battle to the end. Now, I…
CS: Actually, actually… I, let me say this… Actually, we are all certainly very willing to help you. After all, we’re all Chinese people, so we’re willing to help you. But going to the media won’t actually help you with your problem, right? Right now, the mainland doesn’t think that your situation is very serious either…
J: My… My “situation” isn’t very serious…
CS: These things that you’ve said… You can send us an e-mail…
J: This is not a “situation” - I simply do not have a “situation”. And my mom? My mom is a… Three months after the last time that she contacted me in 2018… She was planning to retire three months after that. A retired… Someone who, for thirty years… Both my mom and my dad were Party cadres for thirty years in the Industry and Commerce Bureau, in Qorgas County’s Industry and Commerce Bureau. They worked for thirty years. If this country actually has law and order, if it’s obliged to protect its citizens’ rights, then why go and arrest a Party cadre with thirty years of work history and then sentence her? Can you think about this for me: if you were in my shoes, what would you do? If your mom was sentenced just because you attended university overseas, and she had come to visit you, with her travel group, and then got sentenced? What would you think? I just want to ask your thoughts here, or ask if you could put yourself in my position. You think about it.
I really want to ask: those who sentenced my mom, or issued the order to have my mom arrested, issued the order to have my family taken to a concentration camp (although my dad and my younger brother were released I heard, but I still don’t know their situation) - I really want them to put themselves in my position and think about it, really, really, extremely carefully… I really want them to think about this with regard to their own humanity, all right? You said just now that these are Chinese people. Right? I… But I only realized this point now. Clearly, they are Chinese people, with the rights of Chinese citizens, so then why sentence my mom? Saying that I attended some “activities” in Egypt and in Turkey, when I have not even been to Egypt. I can even take a photo of every page in my passport for you - you look and see if there’s an Egyptian visa there. Or you can check the entry and exit records that are recorded in my passport. I can also send my passport to you now. You take a look. See if there’s Egypt.
CS: All right… With this situation, I believe that the mainland also have their reasons. I feel like, now, if you have your passport information, or other kinds of proof that you did not attend those activities, then, I feel like, you can send it over to our e-mail, and we can help you report that to the mainland.
J: I can do that. I can take photos one by one and send them to you.
CS: Yes, and if there’s some other situation, or if you want directions for dealing with some problem, you can just write an e-mail and send it to us. I see that you wrote e-mails to us before, and even writing in Chinese wasn’t a problem. You send those things to us and the mainland might be able to help. They’ll certainly help.
J: Yes, I… I will send it over to your e-mail in a bit. There’s another thing that I want to ask: what’s my mother’s crime? I really want to understand. Can you send me my mother’s written verdict? Can you provide it to me? What is the crime?
CS: This… We don’t really have this on our side. It’s not something we handle.
J: Can you, from the Xinjiang government…?
CS: But your mom… I’m pretty sure the crime was “assisting in terrorist activities”.
J: “Assisting in terrorist activities”? When did she “assist in terrorist activities”? I…
CS: This… I believe that if the mainland gave the sentence, then they must have evidence. To tell you the truth, that’s to say, as a warning, this is… They… There’s no way to keep up with what they do over there. I suggest… I think the best thing that you can do now is to clarify your own situation, so we can let the mainland take a look, and then see if you can first make contact with your dad and your brother.
J: I… I do want to contact my dad and my brother, but I really, absolutely want to know my mother’s verdict. Send it to me. I want to look for an international lawyer. I want to look for an international lawyer to defend my mom. My mom… Just now you said that my mom was involved in some terrorist… My mom doesn’t even know what terrorism is - she is just a plain and ordinary, an extremely, how to put it, law-abiding… Always respecting the country’s laws. She’s never even broken the law, never even had the idea of breaking the law. She’s a Party cadre who spent thirty years always working for the country, contributing to the country. I…
Even while at the Industry and Commerce Bureau, when my mom wanted to retire early - because of her health, she wanted to retire early - she ended up realizing that her work unit couldn’t do all the things that someone in her position needed to do, and so she kept waiting until she could retire regularly and not because of poor health. That’s how giving of a person she is. All of a sudden, “terrorist” something… “Assisting in terrorist activities”? Let me tell you: when I went back… I came out here by myself, going to school while also leading tour groups, and I never even asked [my parents] for a single cent. I know that relatives sometimes send money overseas, to children studying overseas, the tuition fees, and that this can be the cause of their arrest. But my mom didn’t even do that. Not even this. There aren’t even any records of her sending me money. It’s all money that I earned myself. I work here with a Chinese travel agency, collaborating with them, leading tour groups, keeping myself alive with the money that I’ve earned myself.
CS: These, these… These feelings I can understand. But at the same time, I personally feel like right now what would be best for you would be to gather the materials, first explaining your own situation, and then see if we can help you get in touch with your family members in the mainland first. I feel like this is the more urgent thing right now, and also what would help solve your problem?
J: I… I want… I want to contact my family members, and right now I also want to have my mother’s written verdict. Her written verdict. Written verdict. Can you give that to me? You said, in the e-mail…
CS: We don’t have that either. This…
J: I’m asking you to request it from the Chinese government, from the court. This written verdict. Because I want to go look for a lawyer. I can look for one in Beijing, or look for one outside the country. I want to find a lawyer.
CS: I feel like the more urgent thing right now… I feel like the more urgent thing right now is to first explain your own problem to the mainland, and then to talk about other things. If your situation can be clearly explained, then it can help resolve your mom’s problem. But if the mainland thinks that you did some bad things here, they will not trust you, and there’ll be no one [there] who trusts you. So, you… I feel like you should clearly explain your own situation first. This is more important.
J: Yes, even my passport I can…
CS: …don’t you think so?
J: …every page…
CS: Mainly, whatever materials you have, you can directly… Or these things you’ve said. You can write all of it up as text and send it over to our e-mail.
J: Okay then. All the information from Turkey onwards. How I went to university, and then even every page of my passport. And you take a look to see if I’ve been to Egypt?
CS: Yes. Uh-huh.
J: But I still want… I still want… You need to provide me with the written verdict. Because each day my mom spends over there, being tormented… I know what the situation over there is like, and right now the COVID-19 situation is also extremely severe. My mom, she…
CS: This thing… Right now, it’s definitely not a problem. That we can confirm for you. But I feel like the more pressing thing now is to first resolve your own problem. Only then can you talk about other things. If the mainland decides that you’ve done a lot of things here that aren’t right, then the mainland will not help you. Your family also isn’t willing to contact you right now, right? Explain your own situation clearly first. Only by doing that will you be able to make progress in resolving this problem.
J: I really want to know - is it that my family doesn’t want to contact me, or is it the government not letting me contact them? I don’t even know right now.
CS: Right now, it is your dad and your younger brother who don’t want any contact with you.
J: Why? As a child… For a father to not want to contact his child is an extremely unnatural situation, don’t you think?
CS: That’s why I feel like you should clearly explain your own situation first. Only then can these other things be resolved.
J: I will take my passport, where I went to school here, what I did here, when I received which tour groups… I will write every single thing out for you.
CS: That’s right. That’s right.
J: Okay. I will send it over.
CS: You can tell us all of this, send us all of this.
J: Can you tell me your name? If I want to directly… If I want to learn about my family’s situation, I will look for you directly and call this number.
CS: Uh… You send us the e-mail first, and then we’ll contact you again.
J: Then, the e-mail address is the one I wrote to before?
CS: Yes, that’s right.
J: Right now, my request… My request is that you provide me with my mom’s written verdict. I really must see its contents. What my mom’s criminal charge was - I really want to understand that. This is my… I feel that, for a Chinese citizen, this is an extremely normal request, right? The consulate should be able to provide me with this, right? Because the consulate is there to protect the rights of citizens who are overseas in the countries the consulates are in, right? This is my right, right?
CS: That’s why right now the issue is your mom, who is currently in the mainland. I feel like what’s most important right now is to change the mainland’s opinion of you. If you yourself have any…
J: The mainland’s opinion of me is a separate matter. The sentence given to my mom…
CS: This is not a separate matter. Right now, they are the same thing.
J: …which of China’s laws says that the issues of the child must drag down their whole family? Even though I don’t have any, regarding which I can provide you all the relevant information. But still: if a child, or anyone who is abroad, does a bad thing, why should that implicate their family members? That’s why I say that these are two separate things. For a citizen, what I request is an extremely normal thing. It is my mom who is currently in jail, who was sentenced. I really want… Because I… Don’t China’s laws also have this? The right to appeal, right? We can go to the Supreme People’s Court to appeal, right? In any case, going to the Supreme People’s Court to appeal is an extremely normal thing, a normal legal process. That’s why I want the consulate, if it really wants to help me, to ask the court for the written verdict.
CS: To be honest, this… Right now, it’s not… Right now, it’s not us helping you. Right now, it is you needing to help yourself. First, explain your own situation clearly. Tell us about your situation first, and only then will it be possible to talk about other things.
J: I… This… Like I said, I’ll send you everything about my travels, my studies here… I’ll send it all to you, even including my university graduation diploma, when I graduated… I will send it all. Where I studied, where I work…
-- February 12, 2020 (second call with Istanbul consulate) --
CS: …you need this to go look for people in Xinjiang…
J: When I try to contact people in Xinjiang, no one replies to me. I found someone from a police station the other day, someone who used to be in my WeChat contacts. After I found them, they deleted me.
CS: No… The reason why they aren’t replying to you now is because they think that, right now, you yourself have social problems. I think that, if you can clearly explain your issue, the mainland’s attitude towards you will also change. That’s what I can help you with right now.
J: I will provide you with all the information, but you also need to help me ask for the written verdict. Because I want to go find - I have already found - a lawyer. I have already found a lawyer. I have found a lawyer in Beijing and I have found a lawyer internationally: one in England. I want to appeal, so I need to see this written verdict. I think that this is an extremely normal process in Chinese law. To appeal, to refute, to go to the Supreme People’s Court and appeal, to find a lawyer - this is how the legal process works. I don’t think that this violates the law in any way. Right now, my request is also very simple.
CS: This… You might have the right to do this, but right now we over here don't have a way to help you appeal either…
J: No, no, no. I haven’t asked you to help me appeal. I just want the written verdict.
CS: What we can help you with now is… You should supply us with a description of your activities and your basic situation.
J: Okay. After I finish writing it up, I will send it over to you immediately.
CS: It will be best if there are other people who can serve as witnesses for you.
J: Other people serving as witnesses? Whom should I look for…? Should I write down the tour groups’ names? I’ve already led over 100 tour groups here.
CS: That works…
J: Where should I look? Which group…?
CS: Your own groups, or your travel agency’s person in charge. All are fine.
J: I will write down all of the tour groups that I’ve led for you. One by one, and you can just contact them. There are groups from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan… All of them.
CS: Or they could write you a letter of attestation. That might be better.
J: I can get this. But can you record that I have this request: that Jewlan Shirmemet requests the Chinese government for his mother’s written verdict. I will also state this request in my e-mail.
CS: That works, that works. Just write it all in the e-mail. We’ll get it all.
J: Okay.
CS: Okay. So, that’s it for today.
J: Okay. Bye.
-- April 21, 2020 (call with Ankara embassy) --
Embassy staff: Hello.
J: Hello. My name is Jewlan Shirmemet. I live in Istanbul. I have been requesting that the consulate let me contact my family for 4 or 5 months already, but I still haven’t received a reply.
ES: Oh, I see. The consulate, right? You mean the consulate in Istanbul?
J: Yes, yes.
ES: Oh. We’re the embassy…
J: I know…
ES: You can write down your e-mail, name, passport number, family information, and send it over to me, after which we’ll report it to the mainland. Does that work?
J: Okay, all right. What’s your e-mail address?
ES: I’ll text it to you, okay?
J: Okay.
ES: I’m just afraid you might write it down incorrectly.
J: Okay.
ES: Don’t worry, don't worry. I just need to ask: your family… Is it that you can’t contact them, or - sorry for asking - but did your family members do that…?
J: No, my family members… I…
ES: Was it because of that sort of, that sort of… You know, that kind of stuff… I mean, were they arrested by the local Xinjiang government?
J: Yes, my mother was detained by the Xinjiang authorities.
ES: Aiya…
J: My dad and my younger brother were also detained, but later released. Since their release, I haven’t… I didn’t… I haven’t been able to contact them. I told the embassy…
ES: Have you not returned to China for a very long time?
J: I have not gone back to China since 2016.
ES: Okay, got it. We’ll get in touch with the mainland, don’t worry. We’ll get in touch with the mainland. During this time, don’t get too agitated with your online activity, all right? It won’t be good for getting in touch with your family. Okay?
J: Look, I’ve never… I’ll send you the e-mail. It’ll be better if I e-mail you, right?
ES: Okay, I’ll send you the address now. All right.
-- May 5, 2020 (call with Ankara embassy) --
ES: Hello?
J: Hello, this is Jewlan Shirmemet.
ES: Hello?
J: Two weeks ago, I sent you an e-mail, but still haven’t received a reply.
ES: Was it about getting a passport or looking for family members?
J: Looking for family…
ES: Has our colleague contacted you?
J: He wanted me to send an e-mail, so I did…
ES: Yes, yes, this is something that needs time. This needs time…
J: Sir, I just want to ask… From December… In December, I sent an e-mail to the Chinese consulate in Istanbul. I kept waiting, then in February I sent another email. I still have not received any news. The embassy has its phone number posted on Twitter, so I called the number and was told to send an e-mail. I sent one and now it’s been two weeks. How…
ES: Two weeks is not… Two weeks is not too… Two weeks is not a long time…
J: How can it not be a long time? Here, I’ve been…
ES: We have a colleague who specifically handles this. I will have them give you a call. Based on my understanding… I’ll give them your phone number soon and tell them that you called. Based on my understanding, my colleague sent a collective report with the relevant information to a number of agencies in mainland China two weeks ago, including the five to six, or four to five… We should have a total of five requests for help contacting family members who are out of contact. Five in total. We reported all these cases together. But we are still waiting for the mainland’s reply, as we cannot decide this.
J: Sure, but this is very… I am a Chinese citizen, I’ve been in Turkey for five years, working in the tourism sector. Working while studying. When a Chinese citizen loses their passport, they can get it in two days, and any problem that comes up can be resolved in a day. My request is simple: let me contact my family, and release my mom. My illegally imprisoned mom. It’s that simple.
ES: It’s like this… It’s like this… Let me put it as…
J: I’m just requesting what I’m entitled to as a citizen. I don’t have any other requests.
ES: So… I know what you mean, but there are a lot of things I need to check. First, we are a country of law, and it’s not like the family members of anyone who says their family members have been arrested… have been arrested illegally…
J: Before, I requested the written court verdict. You didn’t give it.
ES: That’s…
J: I requested a lawyer…
ES: There are a lot of things that can be requested. We could also request a lot of things, but speaking within the legal framework… How to put it: I’m not in charge of this. I’m in charge of making ID-related documents. I will get my colleague to contact you, okay?
J: Okay, fine.
ES: Okay. Don’t be too worried about your situation. Also, I…
J: Put yourself in my position and ask yourself if you’d be worried. I haven’t talked to my family in over two years.
ES: I understand, I understand. If members of my family… If members of my family were arrested, I would be very angry too. I understand you… I understand you very well. But whether or not this situation is against the law is not something I can determine. Because this needs China’s…
J: We’re in the 21st century…
ES: This is up to China’s judicial system to determine…
J: China is a technologically advanced country. 21st century… It’s the 21st century and I have not been able to contact my family for over two years. Two and a half years. Surely, this is insane. I…
ES: I will have my colleague call you, okay?
J: Okay. Sure.
ES: Okay, then. Bye.
-- May 6, 2020 (call with Ankara embassy) --
ES: Hello?
J: Hello?
ES: Hello, how are you?
J: Hello. I’m Jewlan Shirmemet. I called you yesterday as well. I’m calling regarding my family.
ES: Yes…
J: Two weeks ago…
ES: You’re Jewlan, right?
J: Yes.
ES: Jewlan, it’s like this… We have already reported your situation to the mainland. Please wait a little. We are also waiting so as to be able to get back to you. Your situation, the letters you’ve written… The letters you wrote were quite long… Because we’ve also taken a look… From our perspective, we’re also quite sympathetic, you know? We’re all Chinese citizens, including the members of your family who are in this situation. First, we need to verify the situation. Additionally, see if there’s other ways. What I mean is: just wait some more. All right? Does that work?
J: But I’ve already waited for over five months, always contacting you guys…
ES: I know, I know. I know what you mean. I can only tell you that… We… It’s really an important matter. Once the pandemic is under control, you can come to the consulate general too… With everyone… You can also talk to everyone face to face. How about this: if we receive any news, we’ll call you? Does that work?
J: Can you be certain? Because I am extremely worried, this is… And you don’t…
ES: I understand, I understand. How about this… Because the pandemic in Turkey is really quite serious, you should take good care of yourself first. Which school are you at? I think you’re a student, is that right?
J: Yes, I’m in Istanbul. I’m in Istanbul…
ES: Right, right. Because in Istanbul, the pandemic is… There’s a lot of tourists…
J: This… Right now, I can take care of myself. It’s my family that I’m worried about. About my mother, because right now she is in jail…
ES: Because right now… It’s like this: I can tell you that right now in the mainland, when it comes to Xinjiang, there isn’t a single case right now. Before, there were 76 cases, right? 73 have recovered, which means that 3 people passed away, but 73 people have now left the hospital. And there hasn’t been a single infected case, you know?
J: Sir… Maybe there really isn't any illness there, but right now she is in prison. Think about it. Can you think of me for a second? Put yourself in my position…
ES: Yes, yes, yes. I know, I understand. I can understand your feelings. Really.
J: My mom is currently in prison, and right now, you see, the simplest… the simplest thing… I cannot even contact my family. It’s the 21st century. A Chinese citizen, in the world’s most scientifically advanced country… A citizen…
ES: Yes, yes. Yes.
J: I am unable to contact my family. Isn’t that absolutely crazy? This is really damaging to the country’s reputation too, no?
ES: Hmm, it’s like this… I mean, we actually have to do our jobs as well. Also, if you have any friends in Xinjiang, then you will understand that it’s not actually all like this. These are individual cases.
J: Yes, individual cases.
ES: What I meant… I hope you’ll understand, but our country, because of some not-so-good things that happened in Xinjiang in the past… It has to…
J: Those not-so-good things…
ES: It has to… I mean… Wrong things have happened in Xinjiang. I mean, these past few years, things have returned to normal. Listen, we can talk about this properly and slowly… Getting documents done, contacting your family, going back there to visit them. I mean, [unintelligible]… There is a process.
J: This…
ES: I do understand your feelings, but if you could have turned to the Chinese mission from the very start, your problem would have been resolved that much faster.
J: Mister, let me just tell you. The first thing I did was to turn to the consulate. That was the first thing I did. I called them every day. Called them every day. Sent e-mails every day. I can send you those e-mails. I even contacted the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Didn't get a reply there either. Beijing, Shanghai… I contacted… Including the Xinjiang…
ES: Look, the other places you got in touch with I don’t really care about. Since you’ve now addressed the embassy, we - I’ve told you this already - we are working hard to get in touch with the mainland, to see what the best way to resolve this is. All right?
J: These words… Because I am extremely, extremely worried. This… in China…
ES: I understand your feelings. I understand your feelings.
J: …not being able to contact your family is extremely crazy.
ES: You should… Look, if we get any news then we’ll contact you. All right?
J: Try to be faster. I am extremely, extremely worried.
ES: Okay, okay. Also, masks, protective clothing, and such… You have all that?
J: No [likely misspoken]. I do, I do.
ES: Right. If you do need anything, the Chinese mission can help out. We can send the things over to you, okay?
J: I’m all set. This…
ES: You have the embassy’s e-mail. Just like for our other overseas Chinese, if you need anything, you can just tell us what you need via e-mail: with your address, the quantity needed… It’s all doable.
J: This… Stuff like this… I have no problems when it comes to myself, it’s just… The only thing I’m worried about right now is my family…
ES: Look…
J: For me… Apart from…
ES: Listen, it’s not that I’m forcing you, but I hope that you’ll understand - we will certainly deal with this to our fullest ability.
J: Aren’t I extremely understanding…?
ES: Because we are all overseas Chinese in Turkey. You are also a Chinese citizen, right? I mean, we were always meant to… Overseas Chinese need to stick together. Second, the Chinese mission definitely wants to help overseas Chinese…
J: With the Chinese mission, I… I worry… Right now, I’m just thinking about how two months ago… with the Chinese mission… about how I have already sent all my documents to the one in Beijing…
ES: The Beijing one is… Beijing is not…
J: No, I mean the Ankara one. The embassy in Ankara. Two months ago, I sent them all of my information…
ES: In that case, look… You should…
J: I still haven’t received any news…
ES: If we get any news, we’ll contact you, all right?
J: I hope so… Can you also…
ES: Because, you know, two days ago the mainland was celebrating a holiday, right? Today’s the first day back at work. Right?
J: Sure. Then just please try to be a little faster.
ES: Can do. Okay. That’s it, then. Take care of yourself, all right?
J: Hmm.
ES: Okay, bye.
-- May 7, 2020 (call with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) --
Ministry staff: Hello, this is the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. How may I help you?
J: Hello, this is Jewlan Shirmemet. I’m now living in Istanbul, Turkey. I’m originally from Xinjiang, and my ID number puts me in Qorgas County of Xinjiang’s Ili Prefecture. I have not been able to contact my family for over two years - two and a half years - and I have learned that my mother was arrested by the Xinjiang government. My mother is a civil servant. A civil servant who had served the country for thirty years. The last time I contacted them was on January 11, 2018, on WeChat. After that, I lost all contact. At that time, my mother told me that she was going to retire in two months. A mother who was just about to retire… Why would she be arrested by the Xinjiang authorities and illegally imprisoned? I am now requesting that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contact Xinjiang, and allow me to establish normal contact with my family, as well as release my mother. That’s why I’m calling you now. I have already been communicating with the consulate in Istanbul, Turkey for over five months, but they have never given me a proper reply. Why does the consulate treat its own citizens like this?
MS: Can you provide us with your name and your ID number?
J: All right. My name is Jewlan Shirmemet [Mandarin: Jiawulan Xi’ermaimaiti]. “jia” as in “jiafa”…
MS: How do you write that?
J: [Explains characters used to spell his first name.]
MS: Jiawulan, right?
J: Yes, yes. [Explains the spelling of his last name.] Xi’ermaimaiti.
MS: Okay.
J: My ID number is…
MS: Jiawulan Xi’ermaimaiti, is that right?
J: That’s right. My ID number is 654123…
MS: 654123…
J: …1991…
MS: …1991…
J: …0506…
MS: …0506…
J: …0014.
MS: …0014.
J: Yes. For my mother, her work unit is…
MS: Do you have an ID num…? Do you have a passport number?
J: Yes, I do. One second… Let me get you my passport number.
MS: Hmm.
J: One moment… Passport number is… G… Please wait a moment. Passport number is: G… G…
MS: J? Is it that…
J: Not that one. G as in “Ge”. Yes.
MS: And then?
J: 5739…
MS: 5739…
J: …7606.
MS: …7606.
J: Correct.
MS: G57397606?
J: Correct. G57397606.
MS: This is your own passport number, right?
J: Yes.
MS: Please wait a moment. Umm, you just said that right now you’ve lost all contact with your family, is that right? That is…
J: Correct. My family…
MS: Apart from your mother, are there other members of your family that you can’t contact?
J: Correct. In my family, you have my dad and my mom, who are both civil servants, and my younger brother, who is also a college graduate. My dad and my mom both worked for the country for thirty years. My dad is a civil servant in the environmental protection bureau, the Xinjiang Ili Qorgas County Environmental Bureau. My mother was a bank teller at the Xinjiang Ili Qorgas County’s Bureau for Industry and Commerce - a national civil servant for thirty years. My younger brother is also a college graduate. In January 2018, I…
MS: And right now you can’t contact any of them, right?
J: Correct. My dad… The last time I contacted the embassy in Istanbul, they told me that my dad and my younger brother were taken to Xinjiang’s so-called “training centers”, but… I don’t understand… My dad and my mom were both civil servants for thirty years, and my younger brother is also a college graduate, so why take them to training centers? I don’t get this, sorry. It’s something I still cannot understand.
MS: Sir, please start by getting a hold of yourself and answering my questions.
J: All right…
MS: When you say so much, I don’t really understand what you’re saying.
J: All right, all right.
MS: Trust me.
J: Right, I…
MS: Your situation… What exactly is the reason for why you can’t contact them right now? Is it all of them, or just one or two that you are unable to contact? From what time have you been unable to contact them? Please explain these things to me.
J: All right. January 11, 2018 was the last time I contacted my family, on WeChat. On January 13, I’d discover that they had all deleted me on WeChat.
MS: On which date, again?
J: On January 13, I discovered…
MS: January 11, 2018, you said?
J: Yes.
MS: You mean that you lost contact with them then, is that right?
J: Yes, they deleted me on WeChat at that time.
MS: Sir, it’s like this… Even though our purpose here is to provide overseas Chinese citizens with consular [unclear] services [unclear], what you’re asking is not within the scope of our work, so unfortunately we are not able to assist you. You can try such agencies as the local police department. If people have gone missing, you can report it to the police. These are the methods that you can try to find your relatives.
J: Right now, I… No, right now, there’s something I just want to ask: what is it that the Foreign Ministry is supposed to protect? What aspect of the citizens’ lives? Just now, I found your number online and called you. This is one of the rights of an overseas Chinese citizen, right?
MS: Yea…
J: Right now, my rights are being infringed on by the Xinjiang authorities…
MS: The Xinjiang authorities are in the mainland, Sir. This is not, this is not our [unclear]… I mean, for example, when you are in Turkey and you experience some other kind of emergency situation in Turkey, this is where we come in. But if something happened to your relatives in Xinjiang, then you need to contact the local… For example, the police department or other departments. Do you understand what I mean?
J: Yea, I understand. But then why did I just spend all that time giving you all my ID numbers…? Okay. Heh. All right. I get it.
MS: These conversations are all recorded, but if you like we can also not record this.
J: No, no problem. If you can, when you have the time… If the foreign ministry has any news regarding this, and if they want to understand the situation, to go look, then you can call…
MS: This situation is not within our purview. There’s really nothing we can do.
J: Okay. All right.
MS: You can contact departments… I mean, the local police departments or others. All are okay.
J: All right.
MS: Okay, then. I’ll end the call here.
J: Hmm.
-- May 13, 2020 (call with Ankara embassy) --
ES: Hello, how are you?
J: Hello, how are you? This is Jewlan Shirmemet…
ES: I know, I know. I know you.
J: I… Has there been any news of my family?
ES: Uh… We’ve already… Our colleague has already sent all the information regarding looking for relatives to the mainland, and the mainland has not yet gotten back to us.
J: When will they get back to you? It’s already been over two weeks… three weeks…
ES: We’re also waiting… We’re also waiting… Waiting for the mainland… this is Xinjiang, right?
J: Yes.
ES: We’re also waiting for the Xinjiang government to get back to us.
J: You… This… I think about it over and over, and I just don’t get it. Three to four weeks. How is it that such a simple thing…? Contacting my family members, releasing my mother… It’s just such a simple thing.
ES: Aiya… I guess I’m not being clear. We’ve sent the information over. I mean, in the cases where Chinese citizens can’t contact their family, sometimes the mainland gets back to us and sometimes they don’t. Yours they haven’t gotten back to us about. Some they’ve gotten back to us on.
J: Some they got back to you about, some they still haven’t. In my case, they haven’t.
ES: Yes, that’s right. Sometimes they’ve gotten back to us. Some… There are one or two cases where the family members are in prison that they’ve got back to us on. For others, they haven’t. They still haven’t replied. I don’t know where your family members are, I promise. Aiya… I don’t know either. I’m waiting.
J: Oh…
ES: If we learn anything, we’ll contact you. We have a colleague who specifically takes care of this stuff.
J: All right. I’ll wait some more… Otherwise, I’ll find other ways.
ES: Okay, okay. That’s it, then.
relatives
supplementary materials
entry created on: 2020-01-20
entry last modified on: 2021-04-11
last update from testifier(s): 2021-10-06