{"id":90590,"date":"2020-11-21T07:53:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T12:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=90590"},"modified":"2020-11-21T07:53:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-21T12:53:05","slug":"auto-draft-330","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2020\/11\/21\/auto-draft-330\/","title":{"rendered":"China-Sensitive Topics at US Universities Draw More Online Harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"VOA \u2014 Last week, students at Brandeis University hosted an online discussion about China\u2019s controversial Xinjiang policies, hearing experts discuss the detention, abuse and political indoctrination of more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities.<\/p>\n

But as Uighur attorney and advocate Rayhan Asat appeared before the student group last Friday, her screen was taken over as hackers wrote \u201cfake news\u201d and \u201cliar\u201d on it.<\/p>\n

For some participants, the hacking was unwelcome but unsurprising.<\/p>\n

James Millward, a professor at Georgetown University and a prominent Xinjiang scholar, told VOA that the group had been warned about a potential interruption beforehand.<\/p>\n

He said some letters had been written to the Brandeis president, the faculty adviser of the student who organized the panel,\u00a0and the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion to shut down the panel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe letter said that it was damaging or disturbing to Chinese students to discuss issues going on in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region,\u201d Millward said.<\/p>\n

Still, other experts said it fit with an increase in more organized harassment against topics on American campuses seen as objectionable by the Chinese government.<\/p>\n

Chinese Students and Scholars Association<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Chinese Communist Party\u2019s crackdown on the Muslim minorities in Xinjiang has attracted intense scrutiny and polarized the international community. At least 1 million Uighurs have been detained<\/a> in a large network of recently constructed camps to undergo reeducation and political indoctrination.<\/p>\n

China rejects criticism of the camps, saying they are aimed at eliminating extremism and teaching job skills. China has also criticized scholars, advocates and others who speak out on the Xinjiang issue, and its overseas, Chinese Communist Party-supported citizen groups echo the government\u2019s criticism.<\/p>\n

VOA has confirmed that the template of the letter sent to Brandeis appears to be the same as one distributed by the school\u2019s Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA).<\/p>\n

CSSAs are Beijing-supported overseas groups that provide support for visiting students and scholars, but also at times take up political issues on campuses. The Brandeis CSSA issued a statement on WeChat saying that the word \u201cCultural Genocide\u201d was offensive, that the event was \u201ca one-sided academic event targeting China\u201d and that it would \u201cmake all Chinese students feel insecure.\u201d<\/p>\n

It then provided a template and encouraged Chinese students to write to school management to cancel the event<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the letters, the event went forward as scheduled at 2 p.m. on November 13. But it quickly became apparent that something was happening when someone began playing the Chinese national anthem over one of the speakers. Then the graffiti appeared, targeting Asat.<\/p>\n