For years, Beijing had dismissed testimonies from various minority groups in China as fabrications, but the United Nations has now confirmed that “China’s labour transfer system operates through coercion on a massive scale.” According to a report by online magazine ‘Bitter Winter’, UN experts have highlighted a pattern of alleged forced labor involving ethnic minorities across multiple provinces in China, warning that it may amount to crimes against humanity.
The report emphasizes that forced labor in China’s minority regions is a documented reality, contradicting previous dismissals as rumors or propaganda. UN experts have expressed deep concern over persistent allegations of forced labor affecting Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tibetan minority groups, particularly in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and other parts of China. The State-mandated “poverty alleviation through labor transfer” program is said to coerce minorities into jobs with no option to refuse or change work, leading to surveillance, exploitation, and fear of punishment.
The experts have pointed out that Xinjiang’s five-year plan includes a significant number of labor transfers, indicating a government policy aimed at reshaping cultural identities under the guise of poverty alleviation. This revelation through the UN’s human rights mechanisms has brought to light the severe coercive elements involved in China’s forced labor practices, challenging previous denials and confirming the reality faced by survivors, researchers, and journalists.
