So many holes in this story
It is a fact, today, go to streets of many cities and towns in xinjiang, Kashgar, Urumqi, Aksu, you will see kids running around on the streets, speaking in Ughur, Kazakh. Many Uyghur kids speak Uyghur among themselves. You will see cities signs in both Uyghur and mandarin. If Chinese government really have these "boarding schools" to completely ban minority languages, why would kids still speak them on the streets? Why would you have Uyghur on street signs!
If these schools, kids are treated "heads were shaved and that class monitors and teachers frequently hit them", why would you still see Uyghur kids runing on the street, playing, and look happy??
The fact is this, all schools in Xinjiang will teach Manderian and Uyghur. Schools will also have many classes on Uyghur cultures. Here is a interview at a school in xinjiang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-H49vUhPDg&ab_channel=%E9%B...
There are 20 Million Uyghur people in China. If Chinese government's treatment of Uyghur children at schools is "shaving their heads and teachers beating them", I would think everyone will revolt and try to escape the country. Yet, why would over 20 million Uyghur people still live in xinjiang, seems to be fine with sending their kids to school?
The reason why China has boarding schools is people live far from the school. Often in less populated locations like xinjiang have to travel for hours for a school that is properly funded and staffed. But it's parents decision to have their kids to stay at the school or not. I went to boarding school myself. My parents pick me up on weekends. I actually loved my time at boarding school, it was great to get away from my parents and hang out with friends all day.
And reading through the article, many questionable lines jump out.
"Teachers came by for a mandatory bed inspection before the children could line up for breakfast, usually corn or rice porridge.", Not even Chinese prisons serve this stuff as punishment. Who would be willingly do this to kids even if this was prescribed by government? The people running the schools are humans too. You think that hundreds of thousands of school staff will do this to kids? shave their heads, commit the other physical and mental abuses at kids mentioned in this article? Only a sick, psychotic, out right crazy person would do that. I don't know about you, but as a Chinese, in my whole life, the Chinese people I know do have compassion. I can say that when it comes to kids, we do love kids. Sure, Chinese parents and teachers do punish children. But that is because people believe punishment is needed to educate kids, to make children grow up into better person. But deep down and bottom line is, people still adore and love kids, want to protect kids. Hey, regardless of everything else, Chinese people are human. And all humans do have hearts. And all humans are more like each other than their are different.
And now, even the culture of punishing kids are changing. Recently, Chinese government banned all manners of punishment from schools. Teachers caught doing so are being fired. If what is described here is true, the parents can sue the teacher and the school. They will win the suit and even get reimbursements.
"She made the children laghman, Uyghur-style noodles, and Aysu cried. She was served Uyghur food only twice while she was at the state boarding school, but both times older classmates ate it all before she could take a bite." - seems like the article is claiming the school tried to reduce exposure to Uyghur food to rid off kids cultural connection Uyghur. Go to Xinjiang, and you will see Uyghur restaurants everywhere. If the government is trying to ban Uyghur culture and banning food is a way to do that, why would they allow so many Uyghur restaurants running freely? Also, a Uyghur person doesn't need to flee to Turkey to get Uyghur food, they are available everywhere in xinjiang, all run by Uyghur people themselves, freely. Yes, Uyghur people are free to open their restaurants, open businesses, why would they be go to forced labor at factories?
“The children said they were taught in only Mandarin Chinese for six days a week, and students who spoke without permission or spoke Uyghur were hit with rulers” - again, if the schools is mandated by the government to ban and punish kids from speaking mother tongue, why would you see kids and adult alike on the streets walking freely and speak Uyghur?
Also, if the father in the story is on Chinese government's radar, and Chinese government arrested his children, sent them and punished them at state boarding school, physically and mentally punish them, why would Chinese government still allow him and his children to leave the country? So they could go aboard, speak to the media, publicize these "atrocities", and get international sanctions and punishment on China? So the only explanation is that Chinese government didn't specially target them. At worst, the children were treated like any other children. If a lot of children were treated like this in xinjiang, then how do you explain the free-running, Uyghur speaking kids on the streets?
Also, Uyghur people are in all walks of life in China right now. For example, many top actors and actresses are Uyghur, like Dilraba Dilmurat. What are presented in these stories are truly terrible, from treatment of kids, 1 million imprisioned, to so-called forced labor and forced sterilization. I am sure everyone will able to sympathize and everyone will revolt if they see these happening in front of them. But 20 million Uyghur people still live in China today, they seems to be okay with the lives they are living. We don't see massive uprising in xinjiang or exodus of refugees. Doesn't that contradict even a slight bit to the narrative presented?