Chinese constitution: "No state organization, social group or individual may force a citizen to accept or not to accept a religious faith, nor can they discriminate against either religious or non-religious citizens."
Chinese government has
- placed 1M muslims into internment camp
- forced muslims to eat pork and drink alcohol
- arrested muslims observing Ramedan
- placed muslims in "re-education centers" to forcefully convert them.
"The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state.
Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination."
The Chinese government justifies their actions in Xinjiang as an attempt to prevent extremism (terrorists disrupting public order) and prevent foreign extremist influence, so technically the government could claim its actions in Xinjiang are "protecting normal religious activities". The statement that "religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination" could allow it to argue that it's free to define Islam however it sees fit, such that it could claim things like Ramedan are artifacts of foreign domination.
Note that the government is not arbitrarily oppressing muslims; the muslim Hui minority are not being locked up, as they haven't been pressing for independence. The Chinese government doesn't care about religion, what it cares about is stopping anyone who tries to resist it, such as separatists, and the separatists in Xinjiang just happen to be muslims, and the government sees their religion as a motivating factor behind their separatism.
Of course, this doesn't make it any more acceptable, I'm just pointing out that the Constitution as written gives the government a lot of leeway to do such things without technically breaching it.
Another line:
"Article 51. Non-infringement of rights
Citizens of the People's Republic of China, in exercising their freedoms and rights, may not infringe upon the interests of the state, of society or of the collective, or upon the lawful freedoms and rights of other citizens."
So the government could justify pretty much anything in the name of not allowing people to "infringe upon the interests of the state".
The parent comment calls this evil. Whole-scale internment of an entire population without any legal due process; resulting in deaths of those who resist; does fit the bill.
Chinese government has
- placed 1M muslims into internment camp
- forced muslims to eat pork and drink alcohol
- arrested muslims observing Ramedan
- placed muslims in "re-education centers" to forcefully convert them.
I don't trust anything this evil government says.