British travel bloggers ‘sugarcoating’ China’s Uyghur problem to the delight of Beijing: Influencers claim to be exposing 'Western lies' about Xinjiang, claiming they have not seen human rights abuses
cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3446104
In the heart of Xinjiang, the Chinese region where more than one million Uyghurs are believed to be detained in re-education camps, two carefree British travel vloggers cheerfully introduce their viewers to “one of the most controversial areas” of the country.
Journalists are harassed and heavily monitored in the rugged western province, where Western governments and rights groups have accused the authorities of suppressing Muslim minorities through mass surveillance, abuse and political indoctrination.
But foreign YouTube influencers are warmly welcomed by the normally censor-happy Chinese government, which seizes on their happy-go-lucky content to legitimise its own narrative that no human rights abuses are taking place.
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As the country reopens for travel after years of pandemic isolation, foreign influencers, including many Brits, are heading East armed with cameras and tripods, eyeing an increasingly lucrative YouTube market with an eager audience ready to increase their ratings.
The Chinese government has given them a helping hand with a raft of new visa-free policies, and the country received over 17 million foreign travellers in the first seven months of this year, up by almost 130% year-on-year, according to foreign ministry figures.
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But a growing number are entering lesser-known regions including Xinjiang, which for years has been beset by allegations of severe human rights abuses and repression that Beijing justifies as necessary to fight terrorism.
Some YouTubers setting foot in the rugged region attempt to draw viewers with sensational titles about exposing Western media “lies” about Xinjiang or by alluding to the risks of travelling there.
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There is no suggestion any of the vloggers are acting at the behest of the Chinese government or receiving its money, but titles about media deception echo official state messaging about the West’s perceived anti-China narrative, particularly on fundamental rights.
For China, the influx of influencers offers the opportunity to rebut overseas criticisms and reinforce its stance through highlighting the unimpeded visits of awestruck foreigners.
The footage, amplified by Chinese social media platforms and state-run outlets, receive hundreds of thousands of views and screeds of favourable comments.
An increasing number of international vloggers were visiting Xinjiang “with great curiosity,” noted a recent article in the [state-controlled] Global Times.
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Daria Impiombato, a cyber analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, has co-written several reports on China’s multilayered ways of folding local and foreign influencers into its propaganda strategy.
She said vloggers with large platforms had a responsibility to inform themselves and to be sceptical.
“There needs to be a reckoning with that type of platform,” she said. “It’s like influencers who are going to Syria, just doing travel vlogs from Syria without talking about years and years of war and devastation. You can’t do that, and you can’t do that in Xinjiang either.”
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Maya Wang, the associate China director at Human Rights Watch, urged travellers to be more aware in societies suffering human right abuses and “not be complicit in the censorship and disinformation that the Chinese government hopes to achieve.”
Those people are fucking morons. I also love the videos of them walking around tourist spots in Shanghai with the titles "I braved dangerous China!" Like it's such a challenge to travel there. You should see the editing when they visit a 2nd tier city, you'd think they were talking about Detroit.
Everyone nowadays just looks for the videos that fit their own internal narrative. On the surface an authoritative ruled nation is peaceful, has little crime, only brief glimpses of poverty. But under the surface it is a nightmare, especially if you aren't Han Chinese. Step out of line and you literally disappear. Unlike Mao's days they don't need your neighbor to turn you in, they are watching everything you do, buy, eat and travel to. It's how Facebook would run a country if they had a chance.
They’re probably working for the government. China has had “white monkey jobs” for a long time. They’ve also followed the Russian playbook of paid internet trolls. These influencers are just a combination of the both.
Actually, much of that description, perpetuated by dystopian novels, is pretty far off the mark - and it's the kind of mischaracterization that makes it harder to fight back against authoritarian governments.
The fact is, the vast majority of people in authoritarian states live ordinary lives, just like everywhere else. That's part of what makes these governments so resilient. If everyone in there lived a nightmare, they wouldn't last for decades, they'd collapse at the first sign of instability. After all, there are a lot more people than government officials.
For example, a canny authoritarian government won't disappear anyone who steps out of line. Instead, they'd provide a "safe, legitimate" way to step out of line, that's well regulated and doesn't pose a threat to the government, but serves as an outlet. And most people will be satisfied with it. That's both more subtle, and more effective, that instilling fear in everyone's heart.
I think it works well there because they've been conditioned to accept it. Anyone that would have spoken up have been dealt with. Now the surveillance keeps them inline. Most just live their life like you say, but what other choice do they have but to accept it. One thing you can still actively see is the rounding up of the homeless. If you don't have the means they can effectively restrict you from entering the cities. Complete internal control is scary in practice.
Well yeah, that was even pointed out in 1984. The proles didn't fight back because their lives weren't all that different from before Big Brother took over.