The Uyghur group said it recorded seizures that were clearly linked to court cases involving charges related to terrorism and extremism….includ[ing] cases of people identified by Chinese state media as extremists, or whose families reported they had been accused of such activities.

Western scholars and rights groups say Chinese authorities level these types of charges as a pretext to implement policies targeting minorities in Xinjiang more broadly. China says it is fighting terrorism and separatism…

In recent years, China’s government has clamped down on…Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, razing mosques and other religious sites and confining hundreds of thousands of people in a network of internment camps.

The auction entries also shed light on what Uyghurs say is another aspect of China’s campaign: the dismantling of companies and personal wealth belonging to Uyghur business leaders.

One of the properties put up for auction was a four-story building in the western city of Kashgar…The building was owned by a wealthy Uyghur exporter named Abdujelil Helil.

…Mr. Helil was arrested in 2017 and charged with financing terrorist activities. The next year he was sentenced to 14 years in prison and stripped of $11 million in personal assets.

In October 2020, a man named Chen Chuhong…acquir[ed] it for $8.3 million…

Before the crackdown, Uyghur business owners often served as a bridge between the government and their communities…

Now, Uyghur activists argue, they have become targets.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of corporate records of companies in Hotan city—home to several prominent Uyghur real-estate developers—indicates that orders by municipal authorities to freeze Uyghur entrepreneurs’ assets increased sharply in 2018…

In 2017, one Uyghur business owner had company shares frozen following orders from a local court. The next year, the number jumped to 22…

The auction records also shed light on the unraveling of Uyghur business legacies like that of the Hemdul family, who owned a number of properties in Korla…

Mr. Hemdul’s two brothers, Ruzi and Memet, oversaw the family’s businesses until both were detained in 2017. Mr. Hemdul said he hasn’t heard from either since. In 2019 and 2020, a local Xinjiang court listed several of Ruzi Hemdul’s properties for auction…

Also listed for auction was Ruzi Hemdul’s 40.5% stake in the real-estate company that built the two towers in Korla…

Omerjan Hemdul doesn’t know what allegations were leveled against his brothers. He said he believes the Chinese government targets rich Uyghurs by accusing them of sponsoring terrorism..

Does your heart go out to the Uyghur’s and other ethnic minorities in China? Share your prayer in the comments below!

(Excerpt from The Wall Street Journal. Article by Eva Xiao and Jonathan Cheng. Photo Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images).