MUSLIM WOMEN FORCED TO DRINK, DANCE WITH MALE CHINESE
OFFICIALS
2004-02-23

http://origin.rfaweb.org/front/article.html?service=eng&encoding=10&id=128922

Acrobat defector’s family threatened with confiscation
of privately owned home

A Chinese official forced female acrobats belonging to
China’s Muslim Uyghur minority to entertain his guests
by drinking alcohol and inviting them to dance after a
traditional acrobatic performance, RFA’s Uyghur
service reports.

Aygul (Eds: one name), one of seven Uyghur acrobats
who sought permission to remain in Canada as refugees
in January, said her troupe had been humiliated by
such orders from the Han Chinese official in charge of
it.

“Once we were taken to a private party room in the
Fulu Hotel to carry out a so-called ‘political duty,’”
Aygul said. “After the performance, we were not
allowed to go back home but forced to eat and drink
with the official leaders. The worst thing was, we
were forced to keep the official leaders happy by
drinking alcoholic wine, even if we said no.”

She said the leader of the acrobatic troupe, Zheng
Qinhai, also commanded women in the troupe to invite
his guests to dance, as a “political duty.” “After
drinking alcoholic wine, we were also forced to invite
the official leaders for dancing. It is actually
against our traditional rules,” she said.

“Under his direction, we had to perform as monkeys in
front of these unknown officials anywhere they chose.
We were never paid a penny for it,” Aygul said, adding
that the acrobats complied for fear of losing their
jobs.

“Every time we went out to entertain the official
leaders, we came back at midnight and had to lie to
our families. We could not tell them the truth, for it
would have broken their hearts. We were living under
such great pressure,” she said, adding that Zheng had
also pocketed some of her fees from a Malaysian tour
the group made.

The seven defectors were part of a 12-member troupe
from the northwest region of Xinjiang. The troupe had
performed in Toronto at the Great Light of Chinese New
Year Spring Festival from Jan. 22-26. They vacated
their hotel and were driven by an Ottawa-based Uyghur
friend to an immigration office, where they requested
refugee status. The remainder of the troupe returned
home after waiting several days in hope that they
would change their minds.

Aygul said her family in the regional capital, Urumqi,
had already received threats from the Chinese
authorities, who responded to the defections with
allegations that the troupe had been manipulated by
overseas Uyghur separatists.

“They told my family that without my going back to
Urumqi, they would confiscate our house. It is so
unfair. We just bought that house by saving every
single penny... for 20 years... It is our private
house, it is not a free house given by the government.
They have no right and no reason,” she said.

Aygul rejected Chinese claims that supporters of
Uyghur independence had influenced her decision. “No
one forced us to do anything. We ourselves decided to
stay, because we were under too much pressure when we
were working in the acrobatic unit,” she said.

The defectors based their asylum applications on
serious human rights violations in the Uyghur
Autonomous Region during the 1990s, according to a
Uyghur acquaintance in Ottawa. He said the acrobats’
lives had deteriorated from year to year, notably
since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2002.

Riding on the political momentum of the U.S.-led war
on terrorism, China has cracked down on
pro-independence activists within its own borders.
Beijing has also urged other governments to take a
stand against Uyghur separatists in other countries.
#####
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To know more about Muslims in CHina see:
http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Park/6443/China/






Chat instantly with your online friends? Get the
FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/