In the latest pushback against foreign criticism of the Chinese Communist Party‘s human rights abuses, the Communist Party has approved a series of lawsuits against German researcher Dr. Zenz, whose research and conclusions are crucial to claims of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Adrian Zenz is a German anthropologist with a PhD from Cambridge University. He first revealed the construction of internment camps in Xinjiang and the mass detention of millions of Uighur and Kazakh Muslims through satellite imagery, official Chinese Communist Party documents, and eyewitness accounts. His work also revealed the forced sterilization of Uighur women in Xinjiang by the Chinese Communist Party to reduce the Uighur population.
The National Pulse reported Saturday that a lawsuit has been filed against Dr. Zengz by a Communist Party-controlled court following the publication of his extensive research. The lawsuit was filed by a Xinjiang-based company and individual challenging a report by Zeng Ziz last year in which he said that thousands of ethnic minority laborers in Xinjiang were “forced to pick cotton by hand. The plaintiffs are seeking an apology and financial compensation from Zenz.
At a regular press conference on March 11, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Zenzi had caused “significant damage” to “many companies and residents in Xinjiang. He said, “Their decision to take legal remedies against Zengzi reflects the increased awareness of Chinese citizens to defend their rights through the law. We support that.”
This is the first Time such a lawsuit has been filed in China against a foreign scholar who is researching human rights issues in China. Zenz told The Washington Post that he believes the lawsuits mark the first time that U.S. economic sanctions against Xinjiang are having a significant impact, as it is the first time Beijing has acknowledged the “significant economic losses” in the region. He said Beijing is seeking to have a chilling effect on other researchers doing similar work, which suggests “an element of desperation.
Dr. Zengz’s report details the systematic persecution of Uighurs and other minorities in the Communist-held Xinjiang region, including forced sterilization and forced labor, crimes that would be unthinkable in the 21st century. The evidence presented by Dr. Zengz comes directly from official Chinese Communist Party documents. Dr. Zengz’s research prompted the U.S. government to ban all imports of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang.
Legal Analysis of Communist China v. Dr. Zeng Ziz
Donald C. Clarke, a law professor at George Washington University who specializes in Chinese law, provides a legal analysis.
Unidentified companies from Xinjiang, undoubtedly at the direction of the Chinese Communist Party, filed a lawsuit against researcher Zeng Zi in a Xinjiang court. This is a civil lawsuit seeking damages allegedly caused by Zengz’s published research on the Crimes Against Humanity and genocide committed by the CCP and its agents in Xinjiang. There is no doubt that the plaintiffs will win their case in China. But what can they do with a victory? Nothing can be done.
The Chinese Communist State Media’s Attack on Dr. Zenz’s Case
The Communist government has orchestrated an online smear campaign against the case of Dr. Zeng Ziz, with state-controlled media running stories such as “Xinjiang think tank exposes Zeng Ziz as a fraud under academic disguise.
The China Daily wrote that “Dr. Zeng Ziz’s case is actually a case of far-right Christian fundamentalists and evangelical fanatics.” China Global Television Network (CGTN) also published an article on “Six Lies about ‘Genocide’ in Zengzhi’s Xinjiang Report. Chinese government officials also tweeted Zeng Ziz by name
This comes after the Biden regime pledged to review the Trump era pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to oppose policies that systematically oppress Muslims in Xinjiang.
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