Tesla opened a new showroom in the Xinjiang region of China. The country has been accused of human rights abuses against the region’s Uyghur Muslim population, which resulted in colossal backlash worldwide.
Tesla Inc., a well-known American Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturer headed by billionaire Elon Musk, recently opened a showroom in Xinjiang region’s capital Urumqi which was announced on its official Weibo account, attracted criticism from all over the world, especially western nations.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim Civil Rights advocacy group, tweeted, alleging it to be economic support for genocide.
In a statement, Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director of The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said that no American Corporation should do business in a region that is the focal point of a genocide targeting a religious, ethnic minority.
Senator Rubio called Tesla a Nationless corporation helping the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cover up slave labour in the region.
The issue of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang
Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group originating from & culturally affiliated with the region of Central & East Asia. They are recognised as natives of China’s Xinjiang Province, with around 12.8 million.
Uyghurs are the largest ethnic minority group in the north-western province of Xinjiang. The Uyghurs have a language that is similar to Turkish. Lately, there has been a significant population movement of Han Chinese (China’s ethnic majority) into Xinjiang province, which is alleged to be a state-sponsored migration to dilute minority living there.
There have been many riots among the two ethnic groups in the region, which destroyed property & resulted in deaths. In 2009, a riot in Urumqi resulted in the death of 197 people.
In 2017, the government started a massive political re-education program, which detained more than a million Uyghurs in detention camps against their will. There is evidence of forced labour & women being forcibly sterilised.
Satellite Image shows Camps’ construction in Xinjiang, near Dabancheng. Initially, China denied the existence of such camps, but when the satellite images were out, they defended by naming them vocational training centres for reducing Islamic extremism.
Human rights organisations worldwide have accused China of committing crimes against humanity, possibly genocide against the Uyghur Muslim population of Xinjiang Province.
China has also been accused of targeting Muslim culture, religious figures, & architecture in the Xinjiang region & also for destroying Mosques & Tombs around the country.
The Image shows the 14th-century Mosque in China’s Qinghai Province on the left. Notice how the dome & Minarets have been removed from it on the right, transforming the structure into a regular building.
China’s Stand
While the whole world criticised the new showroom of Tesla, the Chinese government & people have appreciated & welcomed it.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the critics of “hypocrisy” and said they “carry out economic repression against China in the name of human rights”, denying all forced labour claims.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin dismissed abuse allegations as “lies that the facts have long unveiled” at a press conference.
“Tesla, a different US company”, a Chinese person named FangxiaoM said. Another person said he is looking forward to seeing more Tesla stores in the region to take a tour of Xinjiang in a Tesla.
