LSE Graduate Sabri Ege Critically Evaluates the Representation of Uyghur Camps in Chinese Media

The guest of the seminar program organized by our University’s School of Graduate Studies and the School of Communication was Sabri Ege, a PhD candidate in Media and Communications at the University of Westminster. At the event held on Thursday, May 8, Ege shared his research based on his master’s thesis completed at the London School of Economics (LSE). The program was moderated by Dr. Hasan Ramazan Yılmaz, Deputy Director of the Graduate School and faculty member of the School of Communication.

In his master’s thesis titled “The State of Exception with Chinese Characteristics? A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Representation of Uyghur Internment Camps in English-Language Chinese Media,” Ege examined how the internment camps where Uyghur Muslims have been held since 2014 under China’s counterterrorism policies are represented in English-language Chinese media. Analyzing English opinion articles published by Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network (CGTN) between 2018 and 2020 using the method of critical discourse analysis, Ege emphasized that these media outlets aim to “normalize” and “legitimize” the camps by constructing a discourse centered on security, morality, and economic reasoning.

In his speech, Sabri Ege stated that Chinese security rhetoric has turned security issues in Xinjiang into a strategic discourse similar to the counter-terrorism narratives and stereotypes developed by the US after 9/11, such as ‘Islamic fundamentalism.’ He also highlighted that Chinese media outlets publishing in English have placed Uyghurs in an ambiguous position between enemy and citizen.

The program concluded interactively with questions and comments from the participants.