Authorities in China's Xinjiang region are threatening detention for downloading, sharing or listening to a wide range of Uyghur language songs, the AP has found. The policy was revealed in a leaked recording of a public meeting last October in the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, home to 11 million Uighurs and other predominantly Turkic ethnic minorities.
The leaked footage, provided exclusively to the AP by Norwegian nonprofit Uyghur Hjelp, suggests various forms of repression are ongoing in the region. A 2022 United Nations report said China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang through its internment and political indoctrination campaign that unfolded largely between 2017 and 2019.
Here are the key findings from the AP report:
Xinjiang authorities warn of 'problematic' Uyghur songs
During a meeting last October, police and other authorities in Kashgar warned residents that those who listen to so-called “problem” Uyghur songs, store them on their devices or share them on social media could be detained.
Authorities played a pre-recorded message containing examples of banned songs, from folk ballads to rap tunes and new songs developed in the Uyghur diaspora.
The policy was reinforced by AP interviews with two former Xinjiang residents who said their family members and friends were detained for playing and sharing Uyghur music, and that police searched their phones or those of others for banned songs.
The AP also reviewed the court's sentencing of Uyghur music producer Yashar Xiaohelaithi, who was sentenced last year to three years in prison for uploading songs deemed sensitive to his cloud account.
Targets 7 categories of “problem” songs
There are seven categories of problematic songs that authorities have warned residents to stay away from. These included songs with religious references; songs that “distort Uyghur history” and incite separatism; songs denigrating the power of the Chinese Communist Party in Xinjiang and inciting terrorism and extremism; tunes encouraging dissatisfaction with the government; and songs promoting “dirty and dirty thoughts and behavior.”
In practice, according to experts, almost any song in the Uyghur language can become a target. Issue songs cited as examples during the meeting included “Besh Pede”, a popular folk song depicting a love story and including the word “God”; and “Ancestors,” a patriotic song written decades ago by the famous Uyghur musician Abdurehim Heyit, who was detained during the crackdown.
Playing or sharing songs can lead to years in prison
Authorities warned that those who listen to or distribute banned songs could face “severe prosecution.” They did not specify the punishment (which usually gives authorities flexibility in enforcement), but cited examples of several people who served 10 days in custody after being found with banned songs.
For one Uyghur music producer, Yashar Xiaohelayti, the punishment was much more severe. Last year, Xiaogeliti was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of promoting extremism after uploading 42 “problem” songs he produced to his account on NetEase Cloud Music, a Chinese music streaming service, according to a court verdict seen by the AP.
Ban suggests crackdown in Xinjiang continues
The Chinese government insists that minorities in Xinjiang can freely express their culture and religion. However, the renewed crackdown in the form of song bans suggests that forms of repression are continuing, experts say.
“I think most of the forms of repression that we saw in 2017-18-19 have either continued or gotten worse,” said Rian Thum, senior lecturer in East Asian history at the University of Manchester. “The only thing that has decreased is the number of people in re-education camps and the visibility of security measures such as checkpoints.”
Other, less visible forms of control include the expansion of boarding schools, where middle school students are educated separately from their families and learn almost exclusively in Chinese, he added, as well as random checks of phones for sensitive material, including banned songs.
