Missing in China

As the world honors the labor force, commemorating the Chicago Haymarket affair in 1886, China impertinently shows its oppressive measures to eradicate any voice of protest or dissent. Six university students who wanted to work on May 1st/International Labor Day alongside regular laborers vanished in China. CNN tried to reach out to the missing students only to find that their phones were off. Missing persons and detentions of activists have become commonplace under oppressive schemes. Left-wing students have been detained across China because of their involvement in worker protests and demonstrations. Even those from Beijing's prestigious Peking University were blacklisted.

On May 4th, 1919, a student protest in Beijing set off a historic movement known as the May Fourth Movement, which objected the Treaty of Versailles as an imperialistic humiliation, and subsequently marked the modernization of China. Upon the 100th anniversary of mass student protests against the former Republican Chinese government, how ironic it is to see disappearances of Chinese civilians. Even more notable is that “missing in China” occurs not only at this juncture, when student activism rises, but also has taken place in various parts of the country for quite some time.

China’s minority Muslim Uighurs have been the targets of persecution in China. Xinjiang police use a mobile app to track citizens, and some of China’s giant technology companies are associated with a mass surveillance system. Human Rights Watch noted that China’s surveillance is sophisticated. The app uses facial recognition technology from a company affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding to match faces with photo identification and pictures on different documents. The app also takes other data points into consideration, monitoring electricity and smartphone use, as well as personal relationships to political and religious affiliations to flag suspicious terroristic activities.

The U.S. State Department says more than 1 million Uighurs are being held in camps in Xinjiang. Human Rights Watch said that “data doors” at checkpoints are just means to obtain information from cell phones. The police app communicates with a database known as Integrated Joint Operations Platform, or IJOP, to collect data, file reports and prompt investigations. It provides a communication system for officials via voice, email and telephone calls, and uses Baidu map functionality for geolocation.

China has been criticized for its alleged detention of more than 1 million Muslims in Xinjiang. Among various reports of physical and psychological abuse and forced labor camps, the UN has condemned China's practice of racial and ethnic profiling that disproportionately targets the Uighur community. It seems, though, the country needs to also curb its use of oppressive schemes across its populations.

失踪在中国

时值五月劳动节当举世纪念1886年芝加哥干草市场事件而对劳动大众表示敬重，中国却一味展示其消除任何抗议或异议声音的压迫措施。希望在5月1日/国际劳动节和劳动群众一起工作的六名大学生在中国失踪了。美国有线电视新闻网试图联系失踪的学生，却发现他们的手机已关机。在中国压迫性计划下，失踪案例和拘留异议分子的情况已屡见不鲜。由于参与工人抗议和示威活动，左翼学生被拘留在中国各地。许多来自北京着名的北京大学的学生也被列入黑名单。

1919年5月4日，北京学生的抗议活动引发了一场名为五四运动的历史性事件，该运动反对凡尔赛条约并视其为帝国主义之下中国的羞辱，随后标志着中国的现代化。在大规模学生抗议先前之中国政府100周年之际，中国平民失踪便更具反讽意味。更值得注意的是，“失踪在中国”不仅发生在学生抗议活动激昂之时，而且还发生在全国各地，其案例出现已有相当一段时间。

中国少数回教民族维吾尔人一直是政府迫害的对象。新疆警方使用行动应用程序跟踪公民，一些中国的大型科技公司与大规模监控系统相关联。国际人权观察组织指出，中国的监视科技已显得相当进化。该应用程序使用阿里巴巴集团旗下公司的面部识别技术，将面部与照片识别和不同文件上的图片进行匹配。该应用程序还采用其他数据点，监控电力和智能手机的使用，以及观察人们政治和宗教相关的个人关系网，以标记可疑的恐怖分子活动。

美国国务院表示，新疆有两百万维吾尔人被关押在集中营。人权观察组织指出，检查站的“数据门”只是从手机获取信息的凭借手段。警方应用程序与称为综合联合行动平台（IJOP）的数据库进行通信，以收集数据，提交报告和迅速调查。通过语音，电子邮件和电话呼叫为官员提供通信系统，并使用百度地图功能进行地理定位。

中国因涉嫌拘留新疆100多万而受到维吾尔族人而遭受批评。失踪者身心受虐的各种报道也历历可见，联合国谴责中国迫害该种族之行为。然而，中国似乎也需要遏制其在人民身上进行广泛压迫性控制计划之举动。