A testimony from our “100 Camp Testimonies” Book
I was born on November 23, 1973 in Chöchek (Tacheng 塔城), East Turkistan. I had worked in East Turkistan for eight years before I applied for and was admitted to Tokyo Institute of Technology in April 2015. So I came to Japan to pursue my postgraduate degree, which I received in March 2019. I then worked as a technician in various firms in Japan. Currently, I run my own business in Japan. I was planning to return home after finishing my education in Japan, so I could be a useful asset for my people. As the situation for Uyghurs in East Turkistan deteriorated, I decided not to return. I have lost all contact with my family back home since July 2018.
I had a younger brother who got cancer, and we tried to bring him to Japan for medical treatment, but initially we could not obtain a passport for him. It was only after some time that we managed to obtain a passport for him, but it was confiscated by the Chinese authorities when he traveled to Chöchek from Aksu to visit my mother. I was planning to bring him to Japan at the time, but I lost contact with my family and my last contact with my brother was in July 2018. He told me that he would come to Japan within four months.
Four months had passed and I still could not contact my brother, so I reached out to a former Chinese classmate of mine on December 11, 2018 in the hope of getting some information about my brother. Unfortunately, I learned that my brother had died on December 3, 2018, and I was not even informed about his death. We were really devastated. A year later, the US House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act on December 3, 2019. Out of nowhere, my wife received a text message from my elder brother: “I want to talk to my brother Khalmat if possible.”
I have seven siblings, and I am the fourth eldest, i.e., I have four younger siblings. My father passed away years ago, and my younger brother died in late 2018. At the end of December 2019, I spoke to my elder brother (if memory serves). Sometime in January 2020, I had a group call with my elder brother and a younger sister, and the death of my younger brother was confirmed. We all cried. I felt as if they were being watched, based on the manner of expression, so I could not say much for fear of them getting harassed by the Chinese authorities. At the time, I was also concerned about the safety of my other siblings and my mother, so I tried to call them but no one answered, and they did not call me back.
At long last, I was able to speak to my mother, my younger sister, and my two elder brothers, all of whom gathered at my mother’s place, and there were no Chinese police officers around. My mother was ill. Because the Chinese regime monitors and surveils all communications on WeChat, I said, “I would take revenge on you idiots if anything happened to my mother.” Therefore, my mother was not harassed by the Chinese authorities. My brother kept sending messages to my wife’s phone saying, “We would like to talk to Khalmat alone.” I heard stories from other Uyghurs in Japan that they were pressured by their family members, who demanded that they avoid any type of protest or rally. So I thought that my brother wanted to pass on the same message to me, and I did not get in touch with him. On May 9, 2020 my elder brother gave my wife a video call and asked to speak to me directly, but I was not home that day. My wife told me that my brother wore a black face mask and looked like he was being pressed by others. She continued to say, “Your brother looked awful, and he was desperate. Why don’t you speak to him? They are calling again tomorrow.” I said, “Alright.”
The next day, May 10 (Sunday), my wife received a video call from my brother at around 6:30 p.m. (evening prayer time) when we were at our friend’s house. As I was talking to my brother on my wife’s phone, I used my own cell phone to record our conversation, which I thought could be useful for me whenever I missed my family. My brother was unable to stand, so I asked what happened to him. He said, “Yesterday I was lifting some stuff …” Then I asked if he was beaten, but he quickly denied, “No.” And he quickly tried to change the subject.
When he removed his face mask, I noticed that his neck was swollen (clearly visible in the recording). Ten minutes into our conversation, my brother said, “Don’t go to protest as the policy of Xi Jinping is good. China’s policy is good.” I could not say anything else other than agreeing to what he said. I told my brother to send my greetings to our mother. I asked if he had company, and he said no as he moved the camera around. The national security officers were lurking in the background, and they also appeared in the video call. On September 10, 2021 I gave my testimony to the Uyghur Tribunal and shared my recorded video, in which I talk to both my brother and the Chinese national security agent. My recorded video is also included in the Channel Four’s documentary (at the 37:27 mark) that was first aired on February 3, 2022, a day before the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
They uttered my name in Chinese Halimaiti 哈里买提 (Khalmat), and I was taken aback and got anxious to be frank. I wanted to kill them if I could. But since my brother was in their hands, I tried to calm myself and I kept recording our conversation. They mentioned a few things about me that happened in the past. They mentioned my attitude toward one Khazakh officer, whom I ignored and deleted on WeChat, and he was a subordinate of that Chinese officer in the video call. I was asked to cooperate with them as they had visited my mother. They said, “We want to be friends with you,” with a tone of intimidation. They continued, “If you maintain a decent friendship with us, we will assure the safety of your brother.” The last 30 minutes of that video call made me feel like being burned in hellfire. They held my brother and demanded that I follow their instructions. They could not even say the full name of the Japan Uyghur Association, but I had to pretend that I was following them. At the end of the video call I said, “Alright, we can talk later.” They said, “We will keep in touch.”
After this unpleasant encounter with the Chinese police officers on the video call, I did not know what to do for two days. I was frustrated, and I was not able to talk to my wife, nor could I talk about it with anyone else. I was sandwiched between my own brother and the Uyghur community in Japan, where the former was held hostage by the Chinese regime. It had been really difficult for me. Subsequently, I disclosed this dilemma to my close friend Abdukerim, the vice president of the Japan Uyghur Association. We considered to counteract by publicly stating, “We cannot be intimated by the China regime.” My elder brother looked sick to my wife on the first video call, while on the second video call with me he looked a bit better. If I had refused to cooperate with the Chinese officers, they could have broken my brother’s leg, or his arm. If I had cooperated with them once and stopped later, they could have taken my other family members hostage.
After careful consideration, I decided to expose the terrorist entity that is the Chinese regime to the world community. We contacted the mainstream TV network in Japan, to whom I also provided the recording. They were very interested in this piece of evidence and asked if I was willing to let them film the next video call conversation with the Chinese security officers, to which I agreed.
On June 6, 2020 I got a message from my brother telling me that they would call me the next day (i.e. June 7, at 7:00 p.m.). I texted him back, “Ok.” I gave the TV network a heads-up on the video call that was going to take place at my own home, so they sent its team over with their equipment.
The Japanese journalist gave me some instructions as to how to obtain important information during my video call, such as asking the following: Who are you and why should I trust you? I should also request the Chinese officers to show me their IDs. As instructed earlier, I did ask who they were on the video call, and the Chinese security officer also showed me his official ID card that contained the Chinese characters 国家安全 (i.e. National Security). The Japanese TV network team filmed the whole thing. The security officer emphasized that, “This ID is confidential, and it cannot be disclosed to other people.” He also stated, “We are administered directly by the state, not the local government.” I was also offered the Japanese permanent residency as an incentive to cooperate with them. He said, “We can help you obtain the permanent residency in Japan, and we have close contacts among Japanese politicians.” I asked him who those politicians were, but he did not respond.
The Chinese national security agent specifically asked me five questions: 1) Who are the executive members of the Japan Uyghur Association that will partake in the upcoming general meeting? 2) Where will the meeting take place and who will partake in that meeting? 3) What is the meeting agenda? 4) How does the Japan Uyghur Association communicate with Dolkun Isa and Rebiya Kadeer? 5) What are your tasks in the association and how do you implement them?
I was shocked upon hearing these questions as we had not informed anyone about that upcoming meeting that was scheduled to take place on June 26. He somehow already knew about the meeting before June 7. Ilham Mahmut was the president of the Japan Uyghur Association, and the officer even knew that Ilham Mahmut was going to be replaced. We might have discussed some topics amongst ourselves in private, but I was shocked at the fact that they could obtain such information beforehand. The officer also asked about our next annual plan. I replied, “Wait, I will answer that later as I have to check it with others.” The Japanese TV network recorded our full conversation, and they only used some parts of it that they deemed newsworthy. Incidentally, I saw my brother on the video call and he seemed to have recovered.
After this video call, the Japanese people said that I should not let the Chinese regime intimidate me or use me as a spy, with whom I wholeheartedly agree. I deleted the WeChat app on my wife’s phone as we did not want to be interfered by the Chinese security agents. At the end of the video call, the officer said that he knew the location of the upcoming meeting, even though the information was confidential, and only a couple of Japanese members knew the details. It was disturbing that he could get any information and we feared for our family members as the video recording was set to be published, though not in its entirety.
We also asked other people in our circle to delete the WeChat app on their phones as it could have been recording our private conversations without our knowledge, serving the information need of the Chinese regime. The meeting was held on June 28 instead, and the then president of our association Ilham Mahmut was replaced, and new changes were made to the association. The video recording of my conversation with the Chinese security officers was broadcast on the Japanese TV on June 24, 2020, which was later republished by some other media outlets. This reportage caused the Japanese public to express their strong objection to the Chinese regime’s despicable acts.
I have no intention to become a hero. The only way to save my brother was to let the whole world know the truth. The Japanese journalists based in China contacted me from Shanghai, telling me that they could contact my brothers and sisters, and that they also intended to visit my family. Their visit coupled with my testimony could further protect my brother and my family, and the world needs to know the evil force that is the Chinese regime.
In June 2019 a Uyghur woman named Mihray Erkin returned to East Turkistan from Japan to visit her father, who was sent to an internment camp. She died at the Yanbulaq internment camp while being investigated by state security police in Kashgar Prefecture.
I believe we can protect our family members back in East Turkistan by speaking out against the Chinese regime, and the world needs to know the truth about the regime’s mass internment drive. I do not want my sisters to face the same fate as Mihray Erkin.
