Euroviews. The West’s crisis of faith in democracy is a gift to authoritarian regimes

As a Uyghur American and advocate for human rights, watching President Donald Trump’s victory was personal. For many in the Uyghur community, this is not just another political transition but a matter of survival.

As we continue to fight, we wonder what this new chapter in American leadership will mean for our people back home.

Will the new administration bring renewed focus and action to our plight, or will the Uyghur crisis again be sidelined in favour of other priorities?

In the dying hours of the previous Trump administration, the US became the first country to recognise China’s brutal campaign against its marginalised minorities as genocide.

Lawmakers from both parties united to address these atrocities, passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in 2021, which aims to block products made with forced labour from US markets, protecting consumers and pressuring companies to ensure their supply chains are free from human rights abuses.

But despite these efforts, the Communist Party of China (CCP) continues to run the largest state-run forced labour system on the planet, enslaving 3 million Uyghurs.

My innocent sister is also in prison, condemned for six years and counting as punishment for my activism. In other countries, Uyghur people — including children — are dying in custody.

Growing up in the so-called “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” under the occupation of the People’s Republic of China, obedience to the CCP was not a choice.

From the first day of school, we were taught to revere the Party without question. Questioning authority was dangerous; dissent could destroy not only one’s own life but also the lives of loved ones. Compliance became a deeply ingrained survival skill.

And the CCP does not