“It was scalding”: A Uighur under lockdown in Xinjiang recalls stripping naked and being hosed down with acidic disinfectant until her skin peeled – one of a number of draconian measures to combat coronavirus in China’s far west Xinjiang region.
This August 2020, photo provided by a Uighur under quarantine shows a bottle of unidentified traditional Chinese medicine in Urumqi, China. As parts of the Xinjiang region in China's far northwest enters the 45th day of a second grueling lockdown due to a coronavirus outbreak, the government there is coercing some residents into using traditional Chinese medicine despite a lack of rigorous clinical data proving it works.
The government in China’s far northwest Xinjiang region is resorting to draconian measures to combat the coronavirus, including physically locking residents in homes, imposing quarantines of more than 40 days and arresting those who do not comply. Furthermore, in what experts call a breach of medical ethics, some residents are being coerced into swallowing traditional Chinese medicine, according to government notices, social media posts and interviews with three people in quarantine in Xinjiang.
Once a day, she says, community workers force traditional medicine in white unmarked bottles on her, saying she’ll be detained if she doesn’t drink them. The AP saw photos of the bottles, which match those in images from another Xinjiang resident and others circulating on Chinese social media. “Xinjiang is a police state, so it’s basically martial law,” says Darren Byler, a researcher on the Uighurs at the University of Colorado. “They think Uighurs can’t really police themselves, they have to be forced to comply in order for a quarantine to be effective.”
Wang did not respond to a request for interviews. But her account is in line with many others posted on social media, as well as those interviewed by the AP. Since the start of the outbreak, the Chinese government has pushed traditional medicine on its population. The remedies are touted by President Xi Jinping, China’s nationalist, authoritarian leader, who has advocated a revival of traditional Chinese culture. Although some state-backed doctors say they have conducted trials showing the medicine works against the virus, no rigorous clinical data supporting that claim has been published in international scientific journals.
“We’re helping resolve the problems of ordinary people,” said Liu Haijiang, the head of Dabancheng district in Urumqi, “like getting their children to school, delivering them medicine or getting them a doctor.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Kate Middleton 'overwhelmed' by lockdown photography project, Hold Still, as she selects final 100 imagesThe Duchess of Cambridge admitted she was 'overwhelmed' by the public's response to Hold Still as she selects final 100 images for digital exhibition
Read more »
Duchess Kate judges photography project capturing lockdown BritainBritain's Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, has helped choose 100 final images from more than 31,000 submissions made to Hold Still, a photography project she launched in May to capture a snapshot of the nation in coronavirus lockdown.
Read more »
In China, a Trump wax statue maker laments virus impactFor Zeng Sheng, the manager at Shanghai Maiyi Arts, this autumn should have been a boon for business: with the U.S. presidential election, demand for the centre's wax replicas of Donald Trump should have been off the charts.
Read more »
UK eases COVID-19 lockdown in parts of Northern EnglandBritain's health ministry said on Friday coronavirus-related restrictions on two households mixing would be lifted in parts of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire from Sept. 2.
Read more »
Argentina reports record number of new COVID-19 cases but relaxes lockdownArgentina registered its highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases on Friday as the government partially relaxed nationwide lockdown measures to allow outdoor get-togethers of up to 10 people wearing masks.
Read more »