As Xi Jinping visits Washington, DC this week, we at Network for Uyghur Rights joined more than 30 human rights organizations in an open letter demanding real change, not empty diplomacy.
Henryk Szadziewski
@henrykszad.bsky.social
Research Director | Writer | China | Uyghurs | Oceania | Human Rights | Political Geography
New Uyghur Rights Monitor research summary, supported by @c4ads.org, maps five systems underpinning digital mass #surveillance of #Uyghurs, from household & phone data collection to intelligence analysis and police action, & identifies the companies behind them. uyghurrightsmonitor.org
Home - Uyghur Rights Monitor
Welcome! About Us Founded in 2023, Uyghur Rights Monitor (URM) is a watchdog initiative that produces focused policy briefs and investigative reports. URM investigates the systems and perpetrators res...
uyghurrightsmonitor.org
Denialist propaganda is exactly what Reform UK needs right now.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · last mo.Reform’s media presenter worked for Chinese state propaganda channel
#Tibetans are facing devastating floods, but the world still knows little about the victims. The BBC reports footage has been scrubbed, survivor accounts are scarce, & families cannot get answers. Beijing’s censorship is obscuring the human toll in Tibet. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Tibet-Nepal floods: Shocking footage isn't being shown in China - and we know little about victims there
Some of the most dramatic footage from the deadly flash flooding is hidden from public view in China.
bbc.co.uk
"The Trump administration should realize the important national security — and moral — implications of failing to expand Veterans Affairs services to the freely associated states." warontherocks.com/breaking-ame...
Breaking America’s Promise to Pacific Island Veterans
In January, Robson Henry died at the age of 66. Chances are, you have never heard of Henry. He was not famous, rich, or powerful. In many ways, Henry was
warontherocks.com
✍🏼Op-ed by @henrykszad.bsky.social in @thediplomat.com – China’s ‘Ethnic Unity’ Cup: A football tournament is China’s latest propaganda campaign to whitewash its abuses of Uyghur people – and deconstruct Uyghur identity in favor of Chinese “unity.” thediplomat.com/2026/06/chin...
China’s ‘Ethnic Unity’ Cup: Football and Assimilation in the Uyghur Region
A football tournament is China’s latest propaganda campaign to whitewash its abuses of Uyghur people – and deconstruct Uyghur identity in favor of Chinese “unity.”
thediplomat.com
Tomorrow, China's Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress comes into force, codifying the decades-long process of Uyghur cultural loss. A football tournament is the latest propaganda campaign to promote assimilation. My take on the "Ethnic Unity" Cup. thediplomat.com/2026/06/chin...
China’s ‘Ethnic Unity’ Cup: Football and Assimilation in the Uyghur Region
A football tournament is China’s latest propaganda campaign to whitewash its abuses of Uyghur people – and deconstruct Uyghur identity in favor of Chinese “unity.”
thediplomat.com
Maybe this World Cup will bring the best out of the US, not the worst | Barney Ronay
Maybe this World Cup will bring the best out of the US, not the worst | Barney Ronay
Tournament could hold up a useful hand mirror to the isolationism and divisiveness of Trump’s joint-hosts
theguardian.com
Great to see The Pacific Islands: Environment and Society (3rd ed.) out featuring an incredible group of scholars across Oceania. Remembering the late Moshe Rapaport and his impact on Pacific studies. Grateful to have contributed the China chapter. uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-pa...
The Pacific Islands: Environment and Society, Third Edition
The exploration and settlement of the Pacific Island world is one of the most remarkable achievements of humanity. Early seafarers, skilled in navigation, discovered diverse habitats and biotas ext…
uhpress.hawaii.edu
New stellar @citizenlab.ca + @icij.org report names @tibcert.bsky.social — including its Director, a sitting MP Tibetan Parliament — among targets of a PRC-aligned #phishing campaign also hitting #Uyghur, #HongKong, & #Taiwanese activists. 25 years on, Tibetan institutions still in the crosshairs:
Ron Deibert@rondeibert.bsky.social · 6mo agoNEW @citizenlab.ca report uncovers two separate China-based cyber espionage campaigns targeting journalists, human rights defenders, exiled ethnic and religious groups and many others. citizenlab.ca/research/how...
📰Issue 21 of the #UyghurReader is out! A biweekly roundup of reporting + analysis on the Uyghur crisis, including forced labor risk, transnational repression, and industrial expansion in the Uyghur Region. Curated by @henrykszad.bsky.social, Omer Kanat uhrp.org/uyghur-reade...
The Uyghur Reader: Stories We're Following (Issue 21) - Uyghur Human Rights Project
Issue 21: April 2, 2026 – April 15, 2026 Welcome to the twenty-first issue of the Uyghur Reader, a biweekly content roundup curated by the staff of the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Each issue featur...
uhrp.org
UHRP #Insights💡 China is promoting its forced assimilation policies as a model for other nations to follow. @henrykszad.bsky.social and Adaire Criner break down how China's "Ethnic Unity" Law threatens global human rights protections. uhrp.org/insights/the...
The Global Implications of China's "Ethnic Unity" Law - Uyghur Human Rights Project
April 14, 2026 A UHRP Insights column by Adaire Criner, Program Assistant, and Dr. Henryk Szadziewski, Director of Research In 2019, Chinese diplomat Jiang Duan told UNHCR delegates in Geneva that “th...
uhrp.org
IQAir's 2025 Annual Report reveals the scale and severity of air pollution across the Uyghur Region and its drivers. State policies (re)locate heavily polluting industries into the region, compounding existing environmental and public health risks uhrp.org/insights/new...
New Report Highlights Severe Air Pollution in East Turkistan - Uyghur Human Rights Project
April 9, 2026 A UHRP Insights column by Dr. Henryk Szadziewski, Director of Research Chinese state media often portrays East Turkistan (also known as the Uyghur Region) as a land of pristine environme...
uhrp.org
UHRP #Insights💡 China promotes East Turkistan as a pristine travel destination, but the data tells another story. @henrykszad.bsky.social analyzes recent air quality data showing 6 of East Asia's 15 most polluted cities are in the Uyghur Region. Read more: uhrp.org/insights/new...
New Report Highlights Severe Air Pollution in East Turkistan - Uyghur Human Rights Project
April 9, 2026 A UHRP Insights column by Dr. Henryk Szadziewski, Director of Research Chinese state media often portrays East Turkistan (also known as the Uyghur Region) as a land of pristine environments, highlighting snow-capped mountains and alpine lakes to attract tourists seeking respite from the congestion of eastern China’s cities. This narrative of an…
uhrp.org
📰Issue 20 of the #UyghurReader is out! A biweekly roundup of reporting & analysis on the Uyghur crisis, including forced labor risk, "ethnic unity" policy, and transnational repression. Curated by @henrykszad.bsky.social and Omer Kanat. uhrp.org/uyghur-reade...
The Uyghur Reader: Stories We're Following (Issue 20) - Uyghur Human Rights Project
Issue 20: March 19, 2026 – April 1, 2026 Welcome to the twentieth issue of the Uyghur Reader, a biweekly content roundup curated by the staff of the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Each issue features c...
uhrp.org
AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying
AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying
LLMs-gone-rogue dominated coverage, but had nothing to do with the targeting. Instead, it was choices made by human beings, over many years, that gave us this atrocity
theguardian.com
📰Issue 19 of the #UyghurReader is out! A biweekly roundup of reporting & analysis on the Uyghur crisis, including Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act enforcement and China's new "ethnic unity" law. uhrp.org/uyghur-reade...
The Uyghur Reader: Stories We're Following (Issue 19) - Uyghur Human Rights Project
Issue 19: March 5, 2026 – March 18, 2026 Welcome to the nineteenth issue of the Uyghur Reader, a biweekly content roundup curated by the staff of the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Each issue features c...
uhrp.org
Washington has yet to recognize that mobility is an essential part of regional security for the Pacific Islands, write Henryk Szadziewski and Alan Tidwell.
How to (Not) Be a Pacific Power
Washington has yet to recognize that mobility is an essential part of regional security.
foreignpolicy.com
New in @foreignpolicy.com w/Alan Tidwell: If the U.S. wants to be a Pacific power, strategy can’t be only about bases & great-power rivalry. Mobility—visas, work, study, & travel opportunities for Pacific Islanders—is central to trust & partnership in the region. foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/12/u...
How to (Not) Be a Pacific Power
Washington has yet to recognize that mobility is an essential part of regional security.
foreignpolicy.com
On March 10, we remember the Tibetan Uprising of 1959. Lhadon Tethong reflects on China’s growing challenges and what they could mean for Tibet. Despite exile and occupation, Tibetans remain resilient and committed to freedom. Bhoe Gyalo! Free Tibet! www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeoK...
67 Years After the Tibetan Uprising: Tibet’s Resilience Amid China’s Rising Challenges
YouTube video by tibetactioninstitute
youtube.com
In a powerful review, Thinley Chodon (@ucddublin.bsky.social) reflects on the work of Tsering @woeser.bsky.social & what she calls “state-imposed amnesia” in #Tibet.
High Peaks Pure Earth@hpeaks.bsky.social · 7mo ago"Ocean, as Much as Rain: Woeser’s Testimony of Resistance Against State-imposed Amnesia" Read a new review of “Ocean” @woeser.bsky.social by Thinley Chodon of University College Dublin, published on Lhakar Diaries. Read the full review: lhakardiaries.com/2026/03/07/o... @dukepress.bsky.social
📰 Issue 18 of the #UyghurReader is out! A biweekly roundup of reporting + analysis on the Uyghur crisis, including tourism as propaganda, religious persecution, and linguistic erasure. Curated by @henrykszad.bsky.social, Adaire Criner, and Omer Kanat. uhrp.org/uyghur-reade...
The Uyghur Reader: Stories We're Following (Issue 18) - Uyghur Human Rights Project
Issue 18: February 19, 2026 – March 4, 2026 Welcome to the eighteenth issue of the Uyghur Reader, a biweekly content roundup curated by the staff of the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Each issue featur...
uhrp.org
Article by @dionnissenbaum.bsky.social on the Afghan women’s soccer players FIFA "saved" then abandoned. Gianni Infantino took a photo-op in Qatar, then left vulnerable people to fend for themselves in Houston, breaking promises to reunite their families. www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
The Taliban Targeted Them. FIFA Saved Them. Houston Welcomed Them. Then They Were Left Behind.
In 2021, a group of Afghan women soccer players were rescued from their home country, by FIFA, and promised new lives in Houston. They’ve been on their own since.
texasmonthly.com
Sharing a new report I authored for @uhrp.org, "Fading Ties: Uyghur Family Separation as a Tool of Transnational Repression." The research documents how the Chinese state has disrupted communication between Uyghurs in the diaspora and their families inside the Uyghur Region. uhrp.org/report/fadin...
Fading Ties: Uyghur Family Separation as a Tool of Transnational Repression - Uyghur Human Rights Project
A report by Henryk Szadziewski finds that the Chinese government employs family separation and enforced isolation as deliberate strategies to suppress international advocacy and impose psychological p...
uhrp.org
📝 New UHRP report by @peterirwin.bsky.social exposes an entire industry of global companies supporting China's winter and leisure tourism industry in the Uyghur Region. Companies include Burton, Patagonia, Helly Hansen, Disney, Bombardier Recreation Products (BRP). uhrp.org/report/white...
Whitewashing Winter Tourism: Global Sports and Leisure Industry Risks in the Uyghur Region - Uyghur Human Rights Project
A report by Peter Irwin examines how global sports and leisure companies are implicated in state-led winter tourism development in the Uyghur Region.
uhrp.org
✍🏼 New op-ed by @henrykszad.bsky.social based on his research documenting enforced separation as a tool of transnational repression. "Uyghurs abroad have been cut off from parents, siblings, and extended family members for as long as a decade." www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2026...
How China’s transnational surveillance is isolating Uyghur families
For Uyghurs abroad, even a phone call could lead to greater repression for their families inside China.
thenewhumanitarian.org
📝 New report by @henrykszad.bsky.social documents how the Chinese government uses family separation as a tool of #TransnationalRepression. Chinese officials are deliberately preventing contact between Uyghurs abroad and their families in East Turkistan. uhrp.org/report/fadin...
Fading Ties: Uyghur Family Separation as a Tool of Transnational Repression - Uyghur Human Rights Project
A report by Henryk Szadziewski finds that the Chinese government employs family separation and enforced isolation as deliberate strategies to suppress international advocacy and impose psychological p...
uhrp.org
Thank you to The Blizzard for republishing my 2013 article on the entanglement of football and Uyghur identity. So much has happened since... Please consider subscribing to The Blizzard for in-depth writing on the culture, history, and politics of football. theblizzard.co.uk/anyone_but_c...
Anyone But China - The Blizzard
Football plays a vital role in establishing a sense of identity for the Uyghur people This piece was written by Henryk Szadziewski for issue 10 in 2013 Some time in the 1920s — accounts vary — student...
theblizzard.co.uk
✍🏼 Op-ed by Henryk Szadziewski and Peter Irwin for Open Global Rights. Expedia and Booking.com are facilitating hotel bookings in Uyghur Region amidst genocide and crimes against humanity. www.openglobalrights.org/how-a-casual...
How a casual online booking can link you to repression in the Uyghur Region
Digital booking platforms profit from their silence on human rights violations.
openglobalrights.org
📰 Issue 16 of the #UyghurReader is out! A biweekly roundup of reporting + analysis on the Uyghur crisis, including forced labor warnings, transnational repression, and cultural erasure. Curated by @henrykszad.bsky.social @peterirwin.bsky.social @zubayra.bsky.social uhrp.org/uyghur-reade...
The Uyghur Reader: Stories We’re Following (Issue 16) - Uyghur Human Rights Project
Issue 16: January 8, 2026 – January 22, 2026 Welcome to the sixteenth issue of the Uyghur Reader, a biweekly content roundup curated by the staff of the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Each issue featur...
uhrp.org