Xinjiang Truth?

Recently we came across a poignant LinkedIn post on Xinjiang, in which investigative journalist Jaq James explores facts and fiction in a report by ASPI (Australian Strategic Policy Institute). RCN Asia is drawing your attention to Jaq James' post as we believe it was both well-researched and well-written. We are sharing this so that our community and the wider community can access these poignant viewpoints and judge for yourself.

Jaq James' LinkedIn post says:

"New version of my paper debunking ASPI's "Uyghurs for Sale" report out now. The revised version addresses some misinterpretations of my paper by journalist Michael Sainsbury.

In particular, pay attention to section 4.2.1.1 of my paper, which makes unequivocally clear why ASPI's suggestion that Uyghurs attending night school classes as being akin to cultural genocide does not pass scrutiny. It's extraordinary that Sainsbury played along with ASPI's game.

I'll be dealing with the other problems in Sainsbury's commentary separately at a later date. But what I can say at this stage is, the way I see it, Sainsbury's piece was designed to belittle me and my work, and elevate the status of ASPI's authors and their work. In doing so, he exacerbated the massive power imbalance between me (a lone private citizen with no institutional backing) and ASPI (an Australian Government company). It isn't fair and it isn't just."

Jaq James' LinkedIn Profile

Original Post

Download report below:

Scholarly Analysis or Disinformation v5

.pdf

Download PDF • 2.26MB

"The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's 'Uyghurs for Sale' report:

Scholarly Analysis or Strategic Disinformation?"

FOOTNOTE:

This article is a re-share from LinkedIn with the permission of Jaq James for the benefit of community discussion and may not necessarily represent the opinions or ideas of RCN Asia as an organisation, or of any of our advisors as individuals.

We are sharing this because we find the points expressed here are well-presented and believe they will add value to the overall discussion. We ask anyone has an issue with these ideas to express their opinions in a respectful and civil manner, and to reach out directly to the report author Jaq James, who is not a member of RCN Asia, for clarification and for conversations.

We agree with the position that misinformation is being spread about the Uyghurs' situation and about China. The phenomenon of people being unactual or biased in the way they manage information is a global phenomenon not limited to any particular culture, society or organisation. The state of investigative journalism worldwide is dilapidated because it is underfunded and very obviously controlled by a very narrow editorial management oversight.

We encourage you to read this article in full, and not to be piecemeal. The dignity of humanity is a serious issue, and those who profit from conflict will seek to distort information to incite conflict between peoples. That should never happen. We each have a responsibility to uphold the dignity of others, loving our neighbour as we love ourselves, which means, do not bear false witness against your neighbour.

- Glyn MacLean & Simon Young