Dolkun Isa was declared a terrorist by the Chinese Communist Party. His crime? Advocating for basic human, civil and religious freedoms for the people of East Turkestan. The country was taken over by the forces of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. This was primarily achieved through persuasion as opposed to an armed invasion. What the leaders signed up for and were promised are why, seventy years later, the Uygur people have been the subject of international headlines. Why have peaceful peoples been abused, terrorized and systematically used for slave labour and even murdered in camps by the Chinese Communist Party?
In The China Freedom Trap, Dolkun Isa details his experiences working as a Uyghur political figure in the West and the barriers he has faced due to China's growing influence on liberal institutions. He describes his co-founding of the World Uyghur Congress and the ways in which China has attempted to disrupt and discredit Uyghur activism to further its agenda. Through its Transnational repression and significant influence in INTERPOL, China built a false narrative about Mr. Isa's work and life. Declaring him a separatist and terrorist, they convinced the agency to issue an INTERPOL Red Notice. That shadowed Isa for 21 years and almost cost him his life as he narrowly escaped extradition to China. During detention and deportation in democratic countries, Isa also finds himself uncovering corruption and peeling back the layers of the liberal institutions to see China at its rotting core.
This book serves as a historical account of the political activities and behind-the-scenes diplomatic battles between China, the Uyghurs, and other interested or invested countries and institutions; a personal history of Isa's struggle for the freedom of himself and his people; and ultimately, as a warning to other activists, policymakers, and interested parties: China's power and influence run more profound than most can fathom, they are growing, and they cannot be ignored.
