Read RFA coverage of this story in Uyghur.
Chinese officials have ordered Uyghurs in the northwestern region of Xinjiang to send video proof that they are not fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, according to police officers and social media posts by Uyghurs.
In a post on the Chinese social media platform Douyin, a resident of Peyziwat county in Kashgar prefecture said he must record a video of himself eating lunch every day until Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, which this year falls on March 29.
He said he must then send the video to the village cadre responsible for overseeing people living in the community, adding that he’s been doing this “to stay out of trouble.”
“Wherever I go, be it the market or the hospital, I must record a video of me having lunch every day and send it to the village cadre,” he says. “My daily proof is being saved on my phone.”
Daytime fasting during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and most Muslims around the world observe the practice freely.
But for years now, China has banned fasting during Ramadan as part of broader restrictions and bans on religious practice among Muslims in Xinjiang under the guise stamping out religious extremism. Chinese officials also have forbidden Uyghurs from gathering at mosques to pray on Fridays and from observing Muslim holidays.
That, in turn, is part of the China’s even wider, systematic persecution of Uyghurs and their culture, which has included mass detentions, forced labor and efforts to replace the Uyghur language.
Police confirmation
Police and government officials across Xinjiang contacted by Radio Free Asia confirmed that residents are being required to provide proof that they are eating during Ramadan.
A police officer in Peyziwat county said residents there, including Uyghur police, did not have permission to fast during Ramadan.
“We implemented a system in which residents need to send us video proof that they are not fasting during Ramadan,” she said. “I have residents who send their proof to me.”
The measure is being carried out in Gulbagh, Bayawat and Terim townships of Peyziwat county, she said.
A staff member of a government office in Peyziwat county, who declined to be identified so he could speak freely, said that submitting videos as proof that Uyghurs are not fasting has been implemented countywide.
Cadres at lower government levels are requiring residents to send them their videos of eating meals between sunrise and sunset, though the orders from higher-up officials didn’t specify this, he said.
They decided it would be an effective method to ensure that no one under their supervision fasted during Ramadan, the staffer said.
Some cadres even telephoned residents demanding they show that they were eating on the spot, he added.
So far, Uyghur residents have not refused their demand because they are aware that others currently detained have been punished for fasting during previous Ramadans, he said.
Collective feast
A staff member of a government office in Peyziwat’s Misha township said that in addition to the video requirement, authorities are planning a collective feast for the general public to ensure that Uyghurs are eating during the day, she said.
“To disrupt the activities of people who secretly fast, we are planning to organize collective eating activities,” she said.
A staffer at the state security branch of the Kucha County Police Bureau said that “even older people above the age of 65 cannot fast. We have a printed document about this restriction.”
So far, Xinjiang government officials and Chinese state media have been relatively quiet about this year’s holy month.
In previous years, authorities held public meetings warning Muslims not to fast and patrolled Uyghur neighborhoods, inspecting homes during daytime and spying on residents at night to make sure they were eating.
They also enforced measures to make sure that Uyghur-run restaurants remained open, distributed food and drink to Uyghur government staff and organized collective feasts.
“As Muslims around the world observe Ramadan in prayer and reflection, Uyghur Muslims are imprisoned, enslaved in forced labor, and suffocated under relentless surveillance,” said Rushan Abbas, executive director of the Washington-based Campaign for Uyghurs, in a statement on Feb. 28, at the start of Ramadan.
“Stripped of their religious freedom, they are banned from fasting, praying, or even identifying as Muslim — while the Chinese regime brazenly continues its crimes against them.”
Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.