Session 3 (August 3) - Dru Gladney, Pomona College

[Alma Ochoa]

Brigid, like you since this lecture I have done more research and the more I look into it the more heartbreak it is and the more disillusioned I am in humanity.  Since then I have learned that people in these reeducation camps are being used for organ harvesting (link shared below for anyone interested), which I can’t even wrap my head around.  I do understand people being afraid or uncertain of people who have different views and belief systems, however, I find the treatment to be extreme and would even go as far as saying it is torcher.  I recall in the East Asia Origins to 1800, Spring 2020 Seminar, professor Nunisa Kurban, as a Uyghur sharing her firsthand account experience and that of her family and losing all communication with them.  It is truly heartbreak not knowing what happened and not knowing whether or not she will ever see them again.  I can’t even imagine the agony.  So YES totally agree with you, where are their human rights?!?

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-harvesting-organs-of-uighur-muslims-china-tribunal-tells-un-2019-9?utm_source=reddit.com

[Alma Ochoa]

Rebecca, wow, that is something that would not have occurred to me to think about, “how technology is being used to control and suppress the Uiyurs,” that is until recently.  Currently with this global pandemic and the implementation of contact tracers and phone apps to trace people it’s crazy to think about.  On one side, I can see and rationalize the thinking behind its benefits but when does it cross the line of losing ones’ rights and invasion of privacy?  I find your inquiry to be very thought provoking. 

[Natalie Lau-Chien]

Jessica, 

Thank you for posting such wonderful resources.  I read the first online comic that you posted and I agree that it's a wonderful way for students to learn about individual experiences in the XUAR.  The comics were very accessible to my ELL students.  While it is a completely different storyline, the online comics reminded me of a series of comics at the NYT by Jake Helpbern, who chronicles the lives of a Syrian refugee family in America. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/26/opinion/sunday/welcome-to-the-new-world.html

 Students could discuss graphic novels/comics as a medium for telling stories, including their own stories.  What are the pros and cons of using a graphic novel format?  They could also compare and contrast the effectivenes of  telling the stories verbally vs with a graphic novel.  

[Maria Cardenas]

Hey Evink.

I never really thought about religion in regards to China since I know its communist country. I guess I just thought that they didn't have a religion like North Korea. I have heard about the Muslim population because earlier this year I watched a video that talked about the Muslims from China. The United States is always involved in issues from other countries. 

I agree that we have to help students become critical thinkers were they analyze the material that is provided. They should question what is the purpose of this. 

[Mike Hagiwara]

This is disturbing and hope it isn't true. To think that the Chinese government is knowingly harvesting organs from victimized groups of minorities is disgusting. If this is deemed to be accurate, why is there not more of an uproar over this news on the world stage? Why haven't countries like the United States forced China's hand and encouraged other countries to do the same? Unfortunately China does have a tainted track record when it comes to human rights violations and so it wouldn't be too surprising to hear that this disturbing allegation is worse than what we understand.

[Natalie Lau-Chien]

Ivonne,

I appreciate the way that you echoed Dr. Gladney's closing remarks about finding ways to build bridges rather than building walls.  That has always rung true, but especially today as racial tensions and inequities have risen to the surface in the USA (and globally), particularly during the last few months.  As a teacher, it has always been my goal to raise awareness of the inequities in the world and tell the stories of those whose stories have been invisible or silenced.  I believe that as we share these stories, we can begin to build bridges because it is in the sharing of stories, we can also find connections.  To start the year, I am planning on doing an identity unit with my high school students.  I would like to give them an opportunity to explore and share about their own identities as immigrants in the USA.  Then, I would like to share different stories and experiences of those both in the USA and around the world, including the Uyghurs in China.   I also want to invite different students and teachers in the high school (not in our class) to share their stories so they can build connections (some of my students feel isolated as minorities in language and culture in my predominantly white school).  It is my hope that by expanding their knowledge of those in their community and around the world, we can begin to build connections and bridges among the students as well as among those across the world.  

 

[Natalie Lau-Chien]

Alma,

Thank you for sharing this article.  It was heartbreaking to read and made me sick with discomfort at the thought of live people having their organs. I am curious to see if the UN followed up on this report to confirm what was stated and to condemn such atrocities taking place.  I would also like to learn more about the type of re-education (or harm) occurring to Uyghurs and other minorities in China and what types of actions other countries have taken to try to stop this from happening.  I also noticed that Falun Gong was mentioned as one of the minority groups that were victims of organ harvesting.  This reminded me of how they came up in the last segment of this class with Sheila Melvin and Jindong Cai.  Someone had asked about the Shenyun perfomances around the country and their ties to the Falun Gong.  I remember seeing the show with my husband and had no idea it was connected to promoting Falun Gong until we saw the show.  I just remember feeling a little like I was bait and switched.  The performance was fairly good in itself; however, I do recall that it definitely was a vehicle to promote their message about who they are and where they stand in relation to Communist ideology.  This way of promoting their beliefs through various marketing means (in this case, "cultural performances"), also reminded me of the ways that China is promoting its BRI projects through various propaganda.  

https://www.insider.com/shen-yun-show-falun-gong-2019-3

This article discusses Falun Gong and its connections to Shenyun, as well as reports of the Chinese government harvesting organs of members of Falun Gong.  Falun Gong is banned by the Chinese government and deemed as a cult. 

 

[Natalie Lau-Chien]

Sandra-

I agree that there are so many parallels between the ways that minorities, such as the Uyghurs, are treated in China, and the ways that minorities have been treated in the U.S.  I did a quick Google search expecting to find historical stories of slaves being sterilized.  Rather, I found the opposite—that slaves were used to breed more labor for farms.  The practice of sterilization was a more common practice, even as recent at the 1960 and 1970, among those who were poor and on welfare, as well as those who were the offspring of criminals or mentally ill.  The percentage of black women who were sterilized against their will—following an abortion procedure in a clinic—were as much as 529% higher among black women than among poor white women.  These practices of systemic racism in hopes of perhaps shrinking populations of unfavorable groups are just one of the many ways that groups of people in power try to oppress minorities. 

 

[Natalie Lau-Chien]

Alexis, I love this idea of teaching through a modern lens in order to foster more authentic connections for students.  My goal this year is to teach ESOL through thematic units and I think focusing on a theme such as “Connections Between the Past and Present”, which highlights the commonalities between governments, experiences of minority groups, and trade or development, would be an engaging topic.  I also like the idea of highlighting parts or peoples of the world that are often left out of the curriculum.  I think using this theme would enable my students to expand their worldview, find connections between their own countries of origin and those around the world, while also developing their academic language. 

 

[Natalie Lau-Chien]

Shane,

Thank you so much for sharing this wealth of resources that will be so useful for me in developing a unit for my students that incorporates the experiences of the Uyghurs as well as the BRI.  I especially find the bottom two questions intriguing as I have been developing a thematic unit about identity--particularly "What does it mean to be "American"?"  and "What is our responsibility as global citizens?"  I have also been thinking about what type of action can we take as individuals and as a country to try to stop the mistreatment of Uyghurs and other groups.  What could America or other countries do to intervene and/or what has already been done?  

I am also impressed that you have an entire website dedicated to sharing your lessons on various topics, especially many relevant to this class.  Thank you for sharing!

 

[Jonathan Tam]

Thanks for sharing. I think you bring up a really great point that the situation has certainly felt different now compared to 2020 because I felt the same way. It seems like with a greater spotlight on the region, more media and narratives have come to light that have previously been hidden. And I think that years from now, we'll definitely be looking at this with a different perspectives when we have new evidence, resources and questions. I wonder if your questions were answered about how neighboring communities have approached the issue. Would be curious to hear.

[Shane Markowitz]

The recent news of a crackdown on the Mongolian minority - specifically the curtailing of Mongolian language teaching - has brought me back to this topic. The Chinese government appears to be seeking to reinforce its authority over every nook and cranny at this point and through all mediums possible. https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/chinas-crackdown-on-mongolian-culture/

It is interesting that there has been a uniform and united approach from ethnic Mongolian families and even institutions like the media on this. It seems that this vociferous reaction has even surprised the Chinese government so will it lead to a rare reversal or simply further repression like in Xinjiang? 

[Mike Hagiwara]

Like you, this was really the first time I had the chance to get a deeper understanding of the Uyghur group in China. I had heard about them in the past but hadn't really understood how China treated them and why. When teaching about the history of different countries and civilizations, it's definitely important to educate our students properly-by this I mean that we need to balance the good with the bad. Too often history teachers focus on teaching exactly what our content standards would like us to teach and usually this means a somewhat filtered brand of history that does a disservice to our students. Knowing what I know about the discrimination against the Uyghur population, I would definitely want to incorporate that element into a discussion about modern China and let my students know that no country is free of bias and discrimination. 

[Cindy Nguyen]

Thank you for the article! I was amazed by Nicholas Zhang, who has made it his mission to educate others on the lost history of the Kaifeng Jews in China. I think my students would enjoy reading about how a student similar to their age took up a cause and made it into a global topic. The part that would probably stun my students the most is to find out that Nicholas Zhang is not Jewish and has no connection to the Kaifeng Jews but solely took up this cause because of pure interest and appreciation of the Jewish community.  I would use this article to help launch the Civil Rights and Voting Rights unit for my 11th grade class.  Hopefully, this article will inspire my students to research different groups of people they never thought of before and begin to question their history and the government's treatment towards these minority groups.

[Cindy Nguyen]

That's an interesting point you bring up, Tom.  Having students think about the concept of nation vs. state would be a good launching question.   If a country identifies itself with one or the other, how does it affect the people living in that country? Are citizens encourage to treat minorities a certain way by the government? For example, do the Hans see the Chinese government as violating the civil rights of the Uyghurs by sending them against their will to the re-education camps or a necessity to rid the nation of any internal threats?  I think my students would be shocked to find out how other countries treat "minorities." 

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