China (MNN) — After the deportation of missionaries from Xinjiang, China, Christian Uyghurs were left to face their persecutors alone. Today, threats come both from the ruling party and from their own communities.
Between 2017 and 2019, the world was shaken by leaked reports of China’s modern reeducation camps, where nearly 3 million ethnic Uyghurs were detained. Since then, global coverage has subsided — but what is happening to them now?
Following international outcry, the Chinese Communist Party appeared to close many internment camps. However, some remain in operation.
Bob Fu, a contact with Voice of the Martyrs Canada, says, “According to one report, there are over sixteen thousand still in the camps.”
Although the official label for these facilities is “vocational education and training,” the reality is far more disturbing. Detainees face forced sinicization — pressured to abandon their faith and adopt Communist ideology. Uyghur culture and language are systematically suppressed. Inmates are forced into labor and punished for minor offenses, such as owning religious books — among them, the Bible.
Persecution of Uyghur Christians
Representative photo courtesy of Cake Cat via Pexels.
Uyghur Christians are a small minority within an already oppressed group. Many came to faith through foreign missionaries. These workers not only shared the gospel but also supported the local economy, composed Uyghur worship songs, and translated several Bible books.
“They were not just doing evangelism, but they were helping the local people. [They] were taking care of the poor, the needy, the children,” says Fu.
These missionaries were deported from Xinjiang, leaving Uyghur believers exposed to double persecution.
First, from the Communist Party — for being both ethnically different and Christian. “Secondly, those Uyghur Christians also face their own people,” Fu explains, referring to Muslim Uyghurs who reject their conversion. Islam is the predominant religion among Uyghurs, and conversion is often viewed as a betrayal of ethnic identity. As a result, converts face discrimination, isolation, and even estrangement from family.
One such believer, Pastor Alimujiang Yimiti, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His crime?
“In his own home, he was sharing with the American missionary that he was being spied on by the Chinese State Security, and that he was under surveillance,” says Fu. “So this Chinese State Security Agency basically accused him of leaking a state secret — that was the only state secured secret!”
Another believer was released from prison, only to be resentenced to an additional twelve years within days. Voice of the Martyrs Canada brings to light cases like this.
“This is totally lawless and arbitrary, and is nothing but religious persecution in the most cruel way,” adds Fu.
Pray for the freedom of imprisoned Uyghur believers and comfort for those still enduring hardship in the camps.
Header — representative photo: Woman kneeling near a cross (photo courtesy of Jametlene Reskp via Unsplash)
