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A new analysis published by the Xinjiang Victims Database has estimated that at least 143,228, predominantly Uyghur, children across the four southern prefectures of the Uyghur homeland were separated from one or both parents as a result of China's mass detention campaign by the end of 2018, according to a report by the Xinjiang Victims Database, as cited by Uyghur Times.
The analysis, published on July 27, is based on extensive documentation from Konasheher (Shufu) County in Kashgar Prefecture, where researchers reconstructed family relationships using leaked Chinese government records alongside detention data. According to the report, the study provides one of the most comprehensive estimates to date of the impact of China's mass internment campaign on Uyghur families and children. According to the Xinjiang Victims Database, researchers identified 21,809 individuals in Konasheher County who were subjected to prolonged detention beginning in 2017. By analysing household registration records and family relationship data, they documented 3,772 children who were left behind after one or both of their parents were detained. The report describes this figure as a conservative minimum estimate, noting that additional cases could emerge as more official documentation becomes available. The analysis found that affected households often had multiple children. On average, 2.4 children were impacted in each family where parents had been detained, while more than 700 families had three or more children separated from their parents. While available evidence indicates that many children were reportedly placed in boarding schools or cared for by relatives, researchers stated that existing documentation does not allow them to determine the outcome for every affected child. The study also identified a recurring pattern in the detention of parents. According to the findings, fathers were detained first in the majority of documented cases, often receiving lengthy prison sentences during 2017, while mothers were later sent to internment camps in 2018. The report states that this sequence accounted for approximately 56 per cent of documented cases in families where detention timelines could be clearly established. Researchers said the pattern illustrates how the detention campaign frequently resulted in both parents being removed from the household, leaving children without their primary caregivers. Using data from Konasheher County, the researchers estimated that 4.22 per cent of non-Han minors in the county had one or both parents detained. According to the report, because detention rates documented across Uyghur-majority counties in southern Xinjiang followed similar trends, the researchers applied the same percentage to the wider non-Han child population across the four southern prefectures, Kashgar, Hotan, Aksu, and Kizilsu. Based on population figures from the 2019 Xinjiang Statistical Yearbook, the report estimates that at least 143,228 children in these regions had one or both parents detained by late 2018, according to the Xinjiang Victims Database, as cited by Uyghur Times. (ANI)
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