China arrests Uyghur doctoral student awarded for academic excellence from University

Chinese authorities have arrested an Uyghur doctoral student of Sun Yat-sen University, Abduqadirjan Rozi, who was recognized as the student of the year and the Model Person of the New Generation in 2018 for his accomplishments, and was given coverage in Chinese media outlets, Radio Free Asia reported citing a university official. The boy was arrested by the Chinese police and then later returned to Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. According to the report, the official who first revealed the student’s detention said that he had heard of the scholars' arrest at an official school meeting. It was announced that Abduqadirjan would no longer be attending the university, although the reason was not disclosed. 

The student from the Uyghur community has been widely popular for his academic excellence and was upheld as a role model for Uyghur students and aspiring students. But the Chinese authorities arrested him from the far-western region in April while he was attending university in Guangzhou, a source familiar with the development told RFA. The latter had won the 2015 National College Student English Competition in China and also held an advanced certificate in English from Cambridge International Business English. He also served as a judge for the Xinjiang division of the annual “21st Century Coca-Cola Cup” National English-Speaking competition, according to RFA.

Uyghur boy taken away by police to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)

Following his achievements, University’s senior officials visited Abduqadirjan’s family in the Chinese city of Kashi to congratulate them in January 2019, Chinese news website Sohu revealed. The boy, however, disappeared from social media and went missing in April. A source that made inquiries learned that the boy was taken away by Chinese police forces to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). When the outlet contacted the Guangdong province’s Department of Education, it was told that they had no knowledge about the arrest. 

“I got the news of his arrest in late April,” the official told RFA. He added, “I inquired about his situation later from different people and got the final news that he had, in fact, been arrested in April by national security from Urumqi.”

Chinese media reports had appreciated the boy for his “morals, competence, and professionalism, as well as self-confidence and idealism,” when he had won awards and certificates for his academia. It had also praised the boy’s political ideals as “contributing to the development and stability of Xinjiang” and praised him as a “bridge to national unity.” It, however, remains unclear why Abduqadirjan was arrested.