East Turkistan Surveillance Simulation

Описание: For this assignment, I wanted to expand the concept from my first assignment on how the CCP abuses the use of technology to bring harm to Uyghurs. I decided to lean towards surveillance since it is a major public issue. I took some inspiration from Where’s Wally? by Walker Books due to the similar connections involving monitoring and observing a specific group or individual. I have made my work into a map of East Turkistan with miniature designs of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims roaming around. Although, I have taken the liberty of turning the medium into a point-and-click interactive game, which I believe is more fitting, allowing me to apply and refer to certain commentary on the CCP. I wanted to include elements relating to China’s methods on how they are able to keep track and spy on Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in and outside of East Turkistan. China’s Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP) mobile app, and their world’s second largest surveillance company, Dahua, are both tools they use for surveillance. The IJOP app is mandatory for all Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan to download. It is then used by Chinese police and government officials to collect personal data on them, such as their phone number, religious habits, blood type, height, info about their vehicle, address, educational level, and political affiliation. The algorithm detects ordinary routine and legal behavior as authorities flags them as suspects, sending an alert and a note to determine whether the person needs further investigation. I wanted to communicate how the CCP lists everyday tasks as suspicion, justifying their excuse to deem Uyghurs as a threat and attack them. I captured screenshots of what the app looks like according to the Human Rights Watch, only filling in the blanks for missing answers and profile pictures. I have even included checkpoints in the map since Uyghurs require an IJOP to pass through. With the Dahua reference, I choose to draw a random device that I thought fitting for the project, while characterizing it as a facial and skin recognition. Dahua recently confirmed it sells “skin color” analytics and justified it as “a basic feature of a smart security solution.” I thought it would be a nice addition to include a scene where the player switches from an East Turkistan map to worldwide, since that product is famously used globally. Dahua has the largest market share in surveillance technology, with those funds going towards providing security products to China. These enable extensive surveillance, facial recognition, and data collection, aiding China’s crackdown on Uyghur culture, religion, and freedoms. Research I found on Ben Carrdus’s examination on China’s police roles in East Turkistan, revealed how Chinese police officers would be sent out to capture Uyghur refugees, bringing them back to China or Xinjiang. The red water that plays looping in the background, represents China following Uyghurs no matter where they go, showcased through the majority of the world map colored blue representing East Turkistanian people. The first scene showcases a blue map of East Turkistan and a red map of China. After we witness every Uyghur turned into a pile of blood, covering the whole map of East Turkistan, the end showcases the area now red, with the end title card congratulating the player for helping China colonize the land. I wanted to demonstrate to viewers how the misuse of technology can greatly benefit those in power who deem to hurt people on a larger scale. I think by having real life examples used in this work can help back up my argument, giving the audience the feeling of dread and horror.







Carrdus, B. (2023, December 13). Policing east turkistan: Mapping police and security forces
in the Uyghur region. Uyghur Human Rights Project. https://uhrp.org/report/policing-east...
Handford, M. (2017). Where’s Wally? Walker Books.
Human Rights Watch. (2019, May 1). China’s Algorithms of Repression. Human Rights
Watch. https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/01...
ngineering-xinjiang-police-mass
Setiwaldi, N. (2024, March 5). Surveillance Tech Series: Dahua’s Links to Human Rights
Abuses in East Turkistan - Uyghur Human Rights Project. Uyghur Human Rights
Project. https://uhrp.org/report/dahuas-links-...