China wants the world to forget about its crimes in Xinjiang

When fire spread through an apartment building in Urumqi last year, killing at least ten people, the public was horrified. Hundreds of people took to the streets in cities across China. At great risk, they voiced displeasure with covid-19 restrictions that may have stopped people escaping the blaze. But today the families of the victims are reluctant to tell their stories. Most are Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group native to the western region of Xinjiang, of which Urumqi is the capital. They have long been persecuted by the government, which has threatened more such treatment if they speak out.