On the evening of April 4th, the University of California, Berkeley, held a screening and discussion event for the documentary “Behind the Mask,” inviting Uyghur linguist Abduweli Ayup to delve into how people can take action and speak out under the cultural extinction oppression of the Chinese Communist Party.
The event was co-hosted by the Hong Kong Affairs Student Organization at Berkeley and the San Francisco Chinese Youth Action Organization “Wipe Stars Office,” attracting nearly 30 young people from different ethnic groups including Han, Uyghur, Manchu, and Uzbek, sparking lively discussions on site.
Abduweli Ayup is dedicated to preserving Uyghur language and culture. He founded Uyghur language kindergartens in Kashgar and Urumqi, promoting mother tongue education. Facing suppression by the Chinese Communist regime, he was arrested in 2013 on charges of “illegal fundraising,” detained for 15 months, and subjected to torture and sexual abuse. He went into exile overseas in 2015, currently residing in Norway, continuing his advocacy for human rights and language revival movements.
The event showcased the documentary “Behind the Mask” directed by Norwegian filmmaker Håvard Bustnes, which focuses on Abduweli Ayup’s confrontation with a Han police officer who worked in a Xinjiang detention camp. The film reveals his torture in a Chinese detention camp, his exile to Norway, and his decision to confront the past and seek the truth. Despite his daughter’s sudden panic attack before his departure, he courageously traveled to Germany to meet with a former prison guard.
The prison guard, originally from Shenyang, served in the military and police before being dispatched to Xinjiang in 2017. Expecting to suppress terrorists, he discovered during interrogations that many detainees were innocent. He eventually fled to Germany seeking asylum. Despite participating in the filming at Abduweli Ayup’s persuasion, he abruptly terminated the cooperation after a two-hour interview, subsequently disappearing. Abduweli Ayup believes the guard is still grappling with his conscience, hoping that one day he will muster the courage to speak the truth and gain true freedom.
During interactions with the audience, Abduweli Ayup emphasized that language and culture are the last stronghold of a nation. Without them, the entire ethnic group may cease to exist. Using the Manchu people as an example, he highlighted the dwindling number of people who can speak the language. He cautioned that under high-tech surveillance, cultural disappearance is faster and more thorough than ever before, even potentially extending to the last domain of humanity—the mind, which could be manipulated by rulers.
He urged everyone not to underestimate the erosion of human freedom by contemporary technology. “Nowadays, there is no need to send the police to arrest someone, a simple text message can make a person disappear.” Such social engineering and surveillance mechanisms have made ethnic genocide remarkably efficient and covert.
Regarding the starting point of activism, Abduweli Ayup admitted that when he initially founded the kindergarten, he simply wanted his daughter to learn Uyghur, never anticipating it would be seen as a political threat. He expressed his determination to persist in the face of doubts and opposition, stressing the importance of perseverance.
In 2007, he conceived the idea of opening a Uyghur language kindergarten. At that time in Urumqi, among his friends who were young parents, only one was willing to join him. This initiative, after several years, grew to have over 1.5 million followers.
He stated that every beginning is the same—starting from scratch, with a small idea. While the future cannot be predicted, taking that first step, with some preparation and a willingness to act, is crucial.
At 19, Erkin, a second-generation Uyghur born in the United States and a student at Berkeley, shared his family’s experiences of avoiding China after his mother, once working at Radio Free Asia, was detained by authorities.
Erkin expressed fear and sorrow over the persecution of his ethnic group by the Chinese authorities, hoping to preserve their language and culture amid attempts to erase them. Another young audience member, Andy, an engineer since 2014, emphasized the importance of resisting and speaking out against the oppression of minority cultures by the Chinese Communist Party.
After the discussion, Berkeley Chinese student Willson expressed shock and shattered illusions, realizing his previous lack of awareness about the severe and longstanding repression faced by Uyghur people in China. He emphasized the importance of challenging the controlled narratives and spreading awareness of the truth.
These testimonies and discussions from attendees underscore the pressing need to address cultural oppression and human rights violations, resonating beyond the confines of the event hall. The voices of those affected by such injustices serve as a reminder of the enduring resilience and determination in the face of adversity.