In order to prevent Uyghur Muslims from fasting during the holy month of Ramzan, Chinese police have begun utilising spies.
According to Radio Free Asia, which cited a police officer from a suburb close to Turpan, or Tulufan in Chinese, in the eastern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the spies, or “ears” as Chinese officials refer to them, are drawn from regular civilians, police officers, and members of local committees. Earlier Dilshat Rushit who is the spokesperson of the World Uyghur Congress came out to say that during Ramzan, the Chinese authorities have implemented a 24-hour monitoring system in 1,811 villages of Xinjiang, including home inspections of Uyghur families.

According to the news article, China began prohibiting Muslims in Xinjiang from fasting during Ramadan in 2017 when officials began arbitrarily imprisoning Uyghurs in “re-education” camps in an effort to denigrate Uyghur culture, language, and religion. In 2021 and 2022, the Chinese government partially loosened the prohibition, allowing fasting for those over 65 and reducing the frequency of police home searches and street patrols. This year, the Chinese government has outlawed fasting for all people, regardless of their age, gender, or line of work, according to a report by Radio Free Asia, which cited a political officer at the Turpan City Police Station.

 

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