TheThree Evils (Chinese:三股势力;lit. 'three streams of forces') is a political slogan of theChinese Communist Party (CCP) defined asterrorism,separatism (or "splittism") andreligious extremism. The phrase refers to declaredcounter-terrorism operations undertaken by China,Central Asian republics, andRussia, primarily as related toXinjiang.[1][2] The CCP views each of the Three Evils as interrelated phenomena driving persistent instability in the westernmost province of Xinjiang, and the slogan has been deployed extensively in support ofXinjiang internment camps since 2017.[3]
Xinjiang is the westernmost province of thePeople's Republic of China and the historical home of theUyghur people, who speak a language unrelated to Chinese and predominantly practice Islam. The region has been the site of significant tensions under Chinese rule, and attempted to declare independence first as the short-livedFirst andSecond East Turkestan Republics in 1933 and 1944, respectively, ultimately being occupied by thePeople's Liberation Army in 1949.[4]
China first seriously faced issues of ethnic violence in Xinjiang beginning in the 1990s, such as with the 1990Barin uprising, though such incidents were generally classified as "social unrest" until after theSeptember 11 attacks, when the government began to refer to them more in terms of terrorism.[5] Much of the Uyghur discontent stemmed fromeconomic inequality between Uyghurs and Han Chinese migrants, suppression of Uyghur religious practices, and state preference for Han over Uyghur culture, among other issues.[6] Counterterrorism became a much larger Chinese government priority overall after the ascension ofXi Jinping in 2012; following a lull from 2001 to 2007, militant and terrorist activity had increased notably.[7]
Human Rights Watch has criticized counter-terrorism cooperation by members of theShanghai Cooperation Organisation in targeting the three evils, accusing the members' governments of violatinginternational laws regardinghuman rights.[1] Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, "For many years SCO governments have been criticized for their poor human rights records. The SCO's policies could worsen human rights conditions and seek to justify abuse. It's therefore imperative that theEuropean Union and the United States place even greater emphasis on human rights issues in the region."[1]
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