China Accused of Erasing Uyghur Culture Through Village Name Changes
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns over China’s recent actions in the Xinjiang region, accusing the country of changing the names of hundreds of villages in an attempt to erase Uyghur Muslim culture.
According to a report by HRW, between 2009 and 2023, hundreds of villages in Xinjiang with names related to the religion, history, or culture of Uyghurs were replaced. Words such as “sultan” and “shrine” have been disappearing from place names, to be replaced with terms like “harmony” and “happiness”.
Researchers from HRW and Uyghur Hjelp found that out of 25,000 villages in Xinjiang, the names of 3,600 were changed during this period. Around one fifth of these changes removed references to Uyghur religion, culture, or history.
The Chinese embassy in London denied the allegations, stating that people of all ethnic groups in China enjoy freedom of religious belief and that Uyghur languages and cultures are protected and promoted.
However, HRW claims that the renaming of villages coincides with an escalation in hostilities against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang. Maya Wang, the acting China director at HRW, stated that these name changes are part of the Chinese government’s efforts to erase the cultural and religious expressions of Uyghurs.
This latest development follows previous reports by HRW accusing China of closing, destroying, and repurposing mosques in an effort to curb the practice of Islam in the country. Activists point to growing evidence of systematic human rights abuses against Uyghurs, although Beijing denies these accusations.
The situation in Xinjiang continues to be a point of contention, with China justifying its actions as necessary to combat “violent terrorism, radicalization, and separatism.” As the international community watches closely, the fate of Uyghur culture hangs in the balance.
