Have Uyghurs Become Hanified?

Xi Jinping: “taking the essence and discarding the dross”

Another new echo-posting trend has emerged on Chinese social media. Echo-posting involves sharing a repeated message almost word for word, but not verbatim. Hundreds of videos show Uyghur women proudly declare they’re modernizing and shedding the so-called ‘backward’ parts of their culture.

This campaign bears the hallmarks of orchestrated propaganda. Such campaigns are often featured via Douyin, the primary social media platform for hundreds of millions of Chinese.

Earlier this month, we exposed a similar campaign in which hundreds of people recited identical scripts, with the focus on parading Uyghur women without hijab as a symbol of liberation. All of this is happening in Chinese-occupied East Turkistan.

Script with Uyghur women repeating a Communist Party mantra

“My friends, some people ask me: have Uyghurs become Hanified (Han-Chinese)? But what does it really mean to be Hanified? Just because we speak Chinese, does that make us Hanified? I don’t think so. This is simply keeping up with modern times. You can’t have high-rise buildings and high-speed trains on the mainland and expect us in Xinjiang to ride donkeys and live in mud houses. We are ‘taking the essence and discarding the dross’ — staying true to our traditions while prospering alongside the motherland.”

Script echo-posted on Douyin by countless women

At the core of this message lies the phrase “taking the essence and discarding the dross” (取其精华，去其糟粕, qǔ qí jīng huá, qù qí zāo pò). Chinese communist leaders have discussed this idea extensively. Mao Zedong explained this strategy in his 1940 essay “On New Democracy” (新民主主义论). He emphasized adopting the democratic essence of China’s cultural legacy while removing feudal and reactionary elements.

More recently, Xi Jinping has reiterated this concept in speeches about cultural reform and national rejuvenation. He stresses the importance of “taking its essence and discarding its dross” to balance tradition with progress.

Framing assimilation as progress

While the phrase comes from Chinese communist tradition, its use in the Uyghur context is deeply sinister. These Douyin videos try to portray Uyghur culture as backward and in need of “modernization.” This modernization is framed as assimilation into Han Chinese norms.

The Chinese government tries to hide the genocide of Uyghurs by propagating videos only showing sanitized snippets of Uyghur culture — traditional dance, cuisine, and clothing styles. But these are stripped of their cultural depth and historical meaning. Only Uyghur identity’s “acceptable” parts that fit Beijing’s narrative are shown.

Why do these videos feature Uyghur women but not Uyghur men?

Another striking feature of this campaign is the noticeable absence of Uyghur men in the videos. The trend exclusively highlights young, attractive Uyghur women — a group that, in free societies, lives with diversity and autonomy, not bound by state-imposed narratives.

The focus on this specific demographic is not accidental. Young women are often favored in state propaganda for their aesthetic appeal and perceived innocence. These qualities can be used to emotionally sway viewers and make the message more persuasive.

But the absence of Uyghur men carries a deeper meaning. Uyghur men have been disproportionately targeted for detention and repression. Many are held in so-called “re-education camps.” Their lack of presence in these videos likely reflects both their physical removal from society and the Chinese Communist Party’s desire to avoid drawing attention to the mass male detentions — which would contradict the image of cultural harmony and progress.

This tactic was also used in the scripted messaging on Uyghur women abandoning the hijab as liberation.

Seeing through the veil

The propaganda is not organic. It's coordinated. Tactics like astroturfing—fake grassroots support—create the illusion of Uyghur approval. Echo-posting spreads the same content across platforms. State media reinforces the story, giving it an air of legitimacy.

This messaging serves strategic goals. Domestically, it shows “successful integration.” Internationally, it blunts criticism of human rights abuses. If Uyghurs seem happy and modernized, then claims of oppression appear exaggerated or false. They may mislead global audiences into thinking cultural preservation is happening voluntarily and peacefully.

By focusing on symbols of progress—high-speed trains, skyscrapers, and new schools—the CCP reframes Uyghur grievances as outdated. Calls for cultural preservation are painted as resistance to modernity. This shifts blame onto Uyghurs, not the state.

In truth, this is not development. It’s domination dressed as progress. The portrayal of Uyghurs as “Hanified” and content is central to the CCP’s goal: to erase dissent and replace identity with obedience.

The historical slogan “taking the essence and discarding the dross” has been weaponized. It now justifies reshaping Uyghur identity to fit Han Chinese norms.

Meanwhile, the core social, religious, and linguistic heritage faces systematic erasure. Human rights organizations and many international media outlets have documented the ongoing repression of Uyghurs in East Turkistan. This includes mass arbitrary detentions in internment camps, forced cultural assimilation, and constant surveillance.

China’s tactics are a masterclass in deception—manufacturing fake support to brainwash local populations and the world. This carefully crafted illusion keeps their grip tight on East Turkistan, hiding oppression behind a mask of false consent.

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