Uyghurs have become a focus of international attention in recent years following stories in Western media about re-education camps and various types of persecution in the Uyghur homeland, officially known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). As Uyghur voices in diaspora become more visible in their demands for recognition and justice against human rights abuses in their homeland, research is increasingly turning to these testimonies for analysis of the current situation, particularly as the Uyghur region has become closed to scholars. Saskia Witteborn's new book, Unruly Speech: Displacement and the Politics of Transgression is the first full-length book to focus specifically on this discourse. As such, it is a timely contribution to a growing body of literature on contemporary Uyghur issues. Additionally, Witteborn's perspective as a communications scholar is less frequently seen in the field of Uyghur studies.
Witteborn employs the ethnography of communication as a methodology to examine how transgressive communication practices of Uyghurs, both in XUAR and in the diaspora, challenge established social and political limits and create opportunities for social change (p. 7). Throughout the book, she uses examples of what she refers to as “unruly speech,” defined as “the oral, written, embodied, and digital modes of expression that exceed the limit of what is permitted to be said, written, or shown” (p. 3) to illustrate these ideas.
The book spans transgressive communication and unruly speech among Uyghurs in four areas: the Uyghur region (XUAR), the diaspora community, both in Germany and in the United States, and also online. Each of these contexts highlight aspects of the Uyghur plight over different periods of time, and thus the associated transgressive communication that occurs in each.
The analysis begins with the author's visit to the Uyghur region in 2006. As Uyghur studies scholars are all too aware, the situation in the Uyghur homeland drastically changed starting from around 2015, becoming much more repressive and difficult to access. Thus, Witteborn's observations from the region are interspersed with a very extensive literature review expanding on the more contemporary realities in the Uyghur region, including the surveillance and incarceration of Uyghur people. On occasion the heavy theoretical discussion distracts from the author's own observations and narrative, and it is not always made clear how her experience in 2006 differs from or connects to the current situation she describes with the literature. However, scholars new to Uyghur studies will appreciate this extremely comprehensive literature review of the field.
In a chapter entitled “Xinjiang,” Witteborn explains the political significance of names. One example of transgressive communication used by Uyghurs in XUAR and noted by Witteborn includes a preference for using Uyghur nomenclature when referring to local cities (instead of the Chinese names given by the government), for example, using the place name “Ghulja” instead of “Yining.” Another example is referring to the region as “Xinjiang” with a smirk or a shrug (implying that the Chinese name given to the region in the 1800s when it was annexed by the Qing Dynasty is not legitimate). Witteborn contrasts this with practices by Uyghurs in the diaspora community in the next chapter, called “East Turkistan,” which is the preferred name used for the XUAR by many Uyghurs in exile due to historical and political reasons.
Witteborn discusses the numerous Uyghur NGOs operating in diaspora and the roles of some of the largest ones, such as the World Uyghur Congress, in promoting free thought, free speech and political self-determination through their websites and social media. Her analysis of the Twitter account of the World Uyghur Congress, for example, reveals that human rights was the most frequently used term in 2021. She also describes this as transgressive, as it crosses the limit of political and legal codes in China (p. 95). Among Witteborn's more interesting observations in these chapters is the way in which some Uyghur youth contest Uyghur traditions and gender roles, reminding us that the Uyghur community and their transgressive communication is multifaceted.
One of the most important sections of the book is Witteborn's examination of testimonio, or personal narratives about traumatic experiences told as eyewitness accounts (p. 122). These are examined in the form of embodied (those she heard in person) and digital testimonio (those that were posted online and made publicly available). Witteborn interviewed Uyghurs based in both Germany and in the United States about their experiences in XUAR and abroad. She also examines testimonials available in databases that document Uyghur incarcerations, such as the Xinjiang Victims Database and Uyghur Transitional Justice Database. Here Witteborn emphasizes how testimonials are calls for action for change. Such eyewitness accounts are currently among the only existing evidence of human rights abuses in XUAR, and therefore they are extremely important to our current understanding of the region. One thing that could have been highlighted more is the great risk that individuals take for themselves and especially their families remaining in XUAR by speaking out publicly against the current government of China. This fact makes these individuals’ transgressive communication all the more salient. An exploration of some of the concrete impacts of these testimonios as change agents would also have strengthened her point. For example, some of the individuals initially listed in the Xinjiang Victims Database as incarcerated were released after family members made video testimonials on their behalf.
That said, in all, this is a comprehensive account of some personal experiences of Uyghurs living through challenging times. The book spans various locales and time periods. It also includes a range of literature and theory from Uyghur studies and communications. For scholars building their knowledge in these fields, this book could be a valuable asset.
