China threatens to open mass ‘re-education’ camps if it invades Taiwan in chilling echo of Uyghur genocide
CHINA has threatened to impose “re-education” on Taiwan to make its citizens “patriotic” if it successfully invades the island.
The warning is a chilling echo of the policy of mass re-education camps in China where millions of Uyghurs have been held, which has been described as genocide by several countries.
China regards the democratic and self-governing island of Taiwan as being part of its territory and vowed to re-unify it with the mainland, by force if necessary.
Beijing was infuriated when senior US politician Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and launched six days of war games around the island, which encroached just a few miles from its shore.
In the wake of Pelosi’s visit, two of China’s ambassadors said that Beijing would impose its will on the population by re-educating them to think correctly.
“We will re-educate,” Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France to local TV.
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“I’m sure that the Taiwanese population will again become favourable of the reunification and will become patriots again.”
After criticism, he later doubled down on his comments saying the government in Taiwan had turned the people there against China.
He asked “why do I say ‘re-educate?” and explained that the ese population are now “effectively indoctrinated and intoxicated”.
“It must be re-educated to eliminate separatist thought and secessionist theory,” he said.
"It shows that the Chinese government's re-education policy is unlikely to change for the time being, and that it was likely on strict orders from Xi Jinping," he said.
China has long been accused of using hellish “re-education” camps in Xinjiang province to crush political dissent and persecute Uyghur Muslims by stamping out their culture.
There have been allegations that women held in the camps have been forcibly sterilised while others have subject to electrocution.
Survivor Kayrat Samarkand told how guards used an iron maiden-style metal suit on him.
“They made me wear what they called ‘iron clothes’ – a suit made of metal that weighed over 50lb.
“It forced my arms and legs into an outstretched position. I couldn't move at all, and my back was in terrible pain.”
The Chinese insist the camps are there to prevent extremism taking hold and to provide training to help Uyghurs find jobs.
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The US, UK, Canada and the Netherlands are among several countries to have previously accused China of committing genocide in Xinjiang.