Harvard accused of training Chinese officials linked to Uyghur abuses
What's the story
Harvard University has come under fire for training officials of a Chinese paramilitary organization, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) on two occasions after the US government sanctioned the group.
The first Trump administration had sanctioned XPCC in 2020 for its alleged role in human rights abuses, including mass detention and forced labor in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Program details
Training program conducted at Harvard's School of Public Health
According to the Washington Free Beacon, Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health collaborated with Beijing's National Health Security Administration (NHSA) in 2019 to develop an annual health funding course, which trained government officials from across China.
Harvard initially mentioned in a blog post that officers of the XPCC took part in the first training, but after a Washington Free Beacon investigation, the wording was removed.
In 2023 and 2024, Harvard allegedly trained XPCC members again.
Sanctions imposed
XPCC's involvement in human rights violations
The US Treasury Department sanctioned the XPCC under the Global Magnitsky Act in July 2020 due to the organization's alleged mass surveillance, internment, and forced labor practices against Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities.
Such sanctions prohibit US individuals and institutions from most forms of collaboration with the XPCC.
The Trump administration had described it as a "paramilitary organization...that is subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party."
Advocacy response
Harvard's training program criticized by human rights advocates
Sabrina Sohail, Director of Advocacy and Communications at Campaign for Uyghurs, slammed Harvard for training XPCC officials.
The XPCC is "not a neutral administrative entity; it is the paramilitary wing of the Chinese Communist Party," she said.
By extending training to its officials, Harvard risks legitimizing a genocidal system, Sohail warned.
Organizational structure
XPCC's role in Xinjiang and US allegations
The XPCC, or "Bingtuan," is a quasi-military, quasi-economic organization in Xinjiang.
It controls large parts of agriculture and industry and has its own police, judiciary, and even media houses.
US officials have accused the XPCC of enabling the operation of detention centers and forced labor programs at the heart of China's oppression of Uyghurs.
An estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs were detained in Xinjiang, located in China's far west, after 2017.
China's response
China defends XPCC amid allegations
China has denied the allegations of human rights violations.
According to the Commerce Ministry, the XPCC is "a strategic force for national stability and border defense" under "a unique management system that merges the roles of the Party, government, military and enterprises."
XPCC oversees development zones, 16 publicly traded companies, and over 3,000 businesses, it stated.