Yashar Xiaohelat, a 27-year-old Uighur singer-songwriter who was previously detained for participating in the White Paper Movement, has been reported missing for the first time after being missing for over a year. Human Rights Defenders Network revealed that he is currently serving a three-year sentence, accused of "promoting extremism" in his lyrics. Overseas Uighur leaders told Radio Free Asia that the Chinese Communist Party's discrimination against Uighurs and secret trials underscore its fear of unjust rule and undermine its claim to be a "state ruled by law."
Set off in the morning
Stay overnight at a place called Tohochi
Sunrise time the next day
When passing by Honglanchi Lake
They rushed out like cheetahs
Who? A group of hunters...
When I wake up
The surroundings made me think deeply.
Being squeezed by successive pressures
Lost the last human perception
Seeking comfort from a neck and knees that refuse to bend...
Unable to understand the fate written on the forehead
Loneliness takes over...
This is the Uyghur rap song "Wake Up," written and performed by Yashar Shohret in the spring of 2023. Human Rights Network reports that Yashar was born in 1998 in Bole City, Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. He is a rapper and songwriter known by the stage name "Uigga." He attended Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics and later studied in Chengdu, Sichuan.
Human Rights Network: Yashar accused of promoting extremism for writing lyrics
According to a Human Rights Network report, on August 9, 2023, the day after the Chengdu Universiade closed, Yashar was suddenly arrested by police from his rented apartment in Bole City, Xinjiang, across provincial borders, on unspecified charges. He was subsequently indicted on November 13, 2023, and his lawyer was only able to meet with him. Yashar had previously released several Uyghur songs, including "Wake Up," and a music video for a song he wrote (Uigga) with a Chinese translation on NetEase Cloud Music. Police accused him of questionable lyrics. On June 20, 2024, he was sentenced to three years in prison in his first instance for "promoting extremism" and "illegally possessing items promoting extremism." He appealed, but the second instance upheld his original sentence, which will last until August 8, 2026. He is currently serving his sentence in Wusu Prison, Xinjiang.
However, our call to Xinjiang Wusu Prison and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Prison Administration Bureau for inquiries was met with busy tones and could not be connected.
The Human Rights Defenders Network noted that this was Yashar's second disappearance. The previous time was on November 27, 2022, when he participated in a "white paper protest" in Chengdu, mourning ten Uyghur compatriots who died in the Urumqi fire. He sang a dirge in Uyghur. That same day, he was abducted and taken away by police. He was criminally detained for 21 days on suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disturb social order" and was subsequently released. He has been under surveillance since then.
A search on Chinese search engines reveals no public record of Yashar's arrest, trial, or other sentencing.
Overseas Uyghur leaders criticize the CCP for leading the way in breaking the law by banning the Uyghur language.
Sawut Muhammed, director of East Asia affairs for the World Uyghur Congress, condemned the CCP's secret trials and illegal procedures in an interview with Radio Free Asia on the 27th, saying their claims of rule of law are a complete sham. Sawut Muhammed believes Yashar's writing and singing in Uyghur has offended the authorities. While the Chinese Constitution guarantees the use of one's mother tongue, the Chinese government has taken the lead in violating the law by banning Uyghur in bilingual education since 2000.
Sawut said, "From the CCP's perspective, emphasizing the Uyghur language and Uyghur education may be linked to national pride. Xi Jinping's current promotion of the so-called Chinese nation may be something the CCP dislikes, as it could lead to the rise of Uyghur nationalism. Uyghur songs, publications, and anything related to the Uyghur language may be seen by the CCP as threats that undermine Xi Jinping's ideal of building the Chinese nation."
In addition, Sawut mentioned that the lyrics of Yashar's song "Wake Up" metaphorically describe himself as a prey in a hunting environment.
Sawut said, "The CCP is now promoting propaganda that Uyghurs live happily, and that there are no genocide, forced labor, or human rights issues in the so-called Xinjiang region. Songs circulating online describe Uyghurs as helpless, as if their fate has already been determined, like prey being hunted. This content may not be a good one for the CCP."
Sauti said that since 2017, the CCP has arrested many Uyghur scholars, university professors, singers, poets, and writers and sent them to concentration camps, many of them accusing their artistic creations of interfering with real-world politics, similar to the literary inquisition during the Cultural Revolution.
On November 30, 2023, the website "Women We," which boasts of "writing a first draft of contemporary history in censorship-free Chinese," published a report titled "Yashar: The Second Disappearance of Chengdu's 'Blank Paper Youth,'" citing sources familiar with the case as stating that Yashar's disappearance was silent, with no documentation or formalities. The prosecutors and police based their accusations of "extremist crimes" primarily on several Uyghur lyrics he had publicly published. Police found nothing in his rented apartment and only singled out problematic phrases in his lyrics.
Overseas Han Chinese Commentary: The Yashar case involves racial discrimination and oppression
US-based current affairs commentator Gongzi Shen told Radio Free Asia that Yashar was simply singing songs, and the lyrics themselves didn't touch on politics or discuss the government; they were simply literary expressions of his inner feelings. The Communist Party couldn't tolerate even this, labeling him an "extremist" and sentencing him to three years in prison, a severity far greater than that meted out to Han Chinese. The White Paper Movement was the spark, a response to the lockdown and zero-COVID policy. However, Yashar wasn't a leading student; he simply held a unique position. This is clearly a form of racial discrimination and oppression.
Gongzi Shen said, "This reflects the CCP's lack of legitimacy in its rule over ethnic minorities, particularly the Uyghurs, leading to its growing concern about potential Uyghur resistance. The Uyghurs have their own ethnicity, culture, history, and religion, forming a self-contained ethnic community, the foundation for the establishment of a modern nation-state. This is why the CCP has consistently opposed so-called Xinjiang, Tibetan, and Taiwanese independence movements, because the people of these regions have their own communities, which, once formed, are the prototypes of their own countries."
Gongzi Shen noted that the Communist Party's attempt to construct its own nation based on the "Chinese nation" is rootless and relies solely on political and military means. Consequently, it is particularly fearful of ethnic minorities, doubly punishing even the most minor offenses and nipping them in the bud. Unlike protests against village bank depositors, Uyghur protests and ethnic tensions would shake the foundations of the CCP's colonial rule.
Overseas Uighur Youth: The CCP is carrying out a wider crackdown on Uighurs
Overseas Uyghur youth activist Aman (a pseudonym) also stated in an interview with Radio Free Asia that Yashar's musical and cultural influence is not significant within Uyghur communities both inside and outside China, and he is not as well-known as other Han Chinese students who participated in the White Paper Movement. The CCP's arrest of him is highly disproportionate. However, China is not a "normal country" without rule of law or human rights. The so-called "rule of law" he claims is arbitrary, and he can easily frame you with trumped-up charges. This is rife with falsehood and fragility. Those who fail to understand this will "glorify" the CCP's arrests, misleading them into believing they have actually committed crimes that would be unacceptable even in democratic countries. In reality, these "Chinese political prisoners" are being "violated."
Aman stated that Yashar had been missing for a long time, and the relevant community had been keeping tabs on his whereabouts. It wasn't until the Human Rights Defenders Network broke the news that his charges, sentence, and prison were revealed, a year and a half later. While the Chinese Communist Party used high-profile arrests to serve as a warning to others, it now frequently makes individuals "quietly disappear," with no indictments or public sentencing. However, in the age of advanced online and social media, disappearances are easily discovered. The intimidation effect begins from the moment someone disappears, and waiting months or even years for the outside world to learn of the verdict is no longer crucial.
