Uighur leader: 10,000 protesters in China “disappeared”

Two days ago, the Chinese government expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with the visit of exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer to Japan. The Japanese government (whose record on Chinese human rights issues is not particulary strong) chose to let the visit go ahead anyways, despite China’s assertions that Kadeer helped spark the riots in Urumqi earlier this month (an accusation Kadeer has denied).

What China probably feared most has happened: Kadeer said today in Tokyo that “The nearly 10,000 (Uighur) people who were at the protest, they disappeared from Urumqi in one night.” Kadeer called for an internation investigation to uncover more about the riots. China claims that 197 people died in the riots, with a further 1,000 detained.

While China’s attempts to pressure other countries (and a movie festival in Australia) over the Uighurs have been pathetic, one point should be made in its favor: the Western media response has been rather curious – numerous publications are carrying the quotes, but none that I’ve seen mention any further proof, even from Kadeer herself, whereas the AP account before her visit to Japan noted that “China has not provided evidence” of Kadeer’s alleged role in the riots. This is not to question Kadeer’s account (China’s reputation for forging the facts when advantageous is well-established), but to ask: why merely repeat her words? 10,000 people in one night is a serious accusation by any country’s standards, and similar claims about other countries would not (and do not) get the same benefit of the doubt. 

TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images