Oppression in China Using DNA

INTRODUCTION

In the United States, we take our privacy for granted, and in regard to our personal DNA, this is especially true. Our DNA is seen as a part of ourselves, and in protecting it we are protecting ourselves from dangers like being tracked or even profited off of. The only time we even consider giving our DNA to someone else is if we are under clear suspicion of a crime or want to know more about our ancestry and take an ancestry test. But, even under these conditions, we understand that our DNA is only being used for that specific purpose, and has no chance of going anywhere else. This is far from the case in China, as certain undesired groups are currently being hunted down for their DNA, and given no option but to concede, no matter the power this gives Chinese authorities.

"Tibetan Autonomous Areas Map" by CommonsWiki is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

COLLECTION OF DNA

Chinese authorities have been engaging in systematic collection of DNA from residents throughout the rural Tibet region, and of the Uighur ethnic group since 2013. These collections are:

Mandatory for chosen citizens
Hidden in medical checkups
Systematically taken from kindergartens
Taken as a blood sample, face scan, fingerprints and voice recording
Claimed to be used to convict criminals, but taken arbitrarily throughout the Tibet region
Used to identify and oppress of minorities
Used to construct a database for further surveillance
Aided by American DNA technology and scientists

SURVEILLANCE

Uighurs, an ethnic minority, who make up about 12 million people in Northwest China must:

Always carry their IDs, smartphones, and to show their ethnicity when prompted.
Stop and make sure their ID matches their face when entering transportation hubs and the entrances to anything religious.
Have the Chinese app, WeChat on their phones, and social media is banned.
Use a 3g network specifically used to track Uighurs.

In 2016, China started using this surveillance to decide what Uighurs were "trustworthy" or not a threat to the communist government. As a result of this process, 1.5 million Uighurs were deemed "untrustworthy" and sent to detention camps, where many are to this day.

"Uighur Market in Urumqi" by Dmitry P is licensed under CC BY 2.0

INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS

A treaty signed by China in 1998, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, created what is known as the International Bill of Human Rights. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR, has six parts, totaling 53 articles. After carefully reading through the articles, a few key points stand out; the first being that in Article 1, it is stated, “freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as his economic, social and cultural rights'' (International). Right away it can be noticed that China is using fear as a way to subdue others. If not for the fact that these claims and statements have been recently popping up more and more, and word is spreading around, fear is being placed into many people. Finally, in Article 7, the ICCPR states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation”(International). This, as talked about above, clearly is not being followed.

Human Rights are classified in each part of the world differently. Based on where you live, customs, cultures, and social norms can affect what human rights means. However, the ICCPR states that “the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom and freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as his economic, social and cultural rights” (International). This means that nations that have signed this document can be expected to follow this rule by allowing people in their nation to be free people and have basic rights. As we know China is not following these rules in the document they signed, ruling in fear and going against the freedom of testing without consent.

In order to hold nations accountable the ICCPR created a committee from 18 different nations. The people on the committee are from Albania, Canada, Chile, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Mauritania, Paraguay, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uganda. There is no one currently from China on this committee. This committee creates reports on each nation's compliance with the treaty and meets three times a year for three3 weeks each to go over each nation. Every four years every nation is required to make an appearance and present to the committee how they are following the treaty agreement. The committee then addresses its concerns with each nation and provides advice. China signed the ICCPR in 1998 but has yet to ratify it, despite multiple promises to do so. Signing the document only means China understands what is in it and acknowledges it, and ratifying the document would mean China approves of what it has to say. Regardless, China signing the document still means they are tied to it.

"Anti-China protest outside White House" by Malcolm Brown is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

"DNA Strand Word Cloud Typography" by OpenClipart is in the Public Domain

DNA AND THE USA

The United States has only aided China in their oppression of the Uighur ethnic group. America has advanced China's genetic capabilites by :

Indiscriminately selling American DNA samples to third-party companies, allowing them to be sold to and used by Chinese scientists.
Allowing Chinese Covid 19 labs and their scientists access to DNA samples from around the world without any restrictions on how they used DNA.
Allowing China to own many companies with a presence in the United States, which gives them access to diverse American DNA from headquarters in China.
Allowing China to purchase the American Genomics firm in 2013, which caused American scientist to be transferred to China, who brought American DNA samples along with them.

With this DNA, China plans to build the largest DNA database in the World, which will be used to systematically distinguish the Uighur population from the rest of China, and allow them to be systematically disenfranchised.

CONCLUSION

Oppression of minorities is a common occurrence in China, with many minorities losing their human rights and even freedom to Chinese authorities. The utilization of DNA databases is only worsening this problem by making the surveillance and catching of targeted groups even easier. Countries such as the U.S. contribute to this problem by negligently giving global DNA information to Chinese scientists, who then use it to differentiate their minorities from the rest of their population. This DNA is collected unethically, and there are many examples of Chinese citizens given no option but to have their samples taken. Uighurs and Chinese living in the TAR regions are the main focus of this campaign, which is no surprise as these groups already face many privacy and human rights concerns. These collections and subsequent surveillance break the ICCPR, a treaty signed but not yet ratified by China claiming to protect their citizens’ human rights. DNA collections have been occurring in China for the better part of a decade, and the only sign of it stopping is once the DNA of all Chinese minorities is had.

AUTHORS

Hannah Fox, Architecture, 2026

Carly Kiss, Marketing, 2025

Marc Drouin, Legal Studies, 2025

Works Cited

Byler, Darren, and Simon Fraser. “I researched Uighur society in China for 8 years and watched how technology opened new opportunities – then became a trap.” The Conversation, 18 September 2019, https://theconversation.com/i-researched-uighur-society-in-china-for-8-years-and-watched-how-technology-opened-new-opportunities-then-became-a-trap-119615

“CHINA'S COLLECTION OF GENOMIC AND OTHER HEALTHCARE DATA FROM AMERICA: RISKS TO PRIVACY AND U.S. ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL.” DNI.gov, 3 February 2021, https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/SafeguardingOurFuture/NCSC_China_Genomics_Fact_Sheet_2021revision20210203.pdf

Chinese Persecution of the Uyghurs — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.). United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/china/case-study/current-risks/chinese-persecution-of-the-uyghurs

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. (n.d.). OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights

FAQ: The Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR). (n.d.). ACLU. https://www.aclu.org/other/faq-covenant-civil-political-rights-iccpr

“Privacy Statement.” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/c/legal/privacystatement#deletion

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/09/05/china-new-evidence-mass-dna-collection-tibet

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