President Salovey finally yielded and agreed to launch a full investigation into these ties despite his initial silence. This win belongs to the 259 of you who refused to let Yale hide its complicity in state-sanctioned repression. We are watching the review process closely to ensure the university actually cuts …
March 29, 2019
Petition to President Salovey on Yale's Connection to Mass Surveillance in Xinjiang
Final supporters
February 2019
Dear President Salovey,
We are deeply concerned about reports that a Yale faculty member provided DNA samples to the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that were then used to enhance mass monitoring and repression of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang (“China Uses DNA to Track Its People, With the Help of American Expertise”, New York Times, Feb 21, 2019). Equally concerning, PRC government researchers contributed thousands of DNA samples from Uyghur individuals—likely obtained through coercion—to a database managed by the same Yale faculty member.
Numerous reliable reports have shown that the PRC government has detained approximately one million Uyghurs in prison-like “re-education” camps and has prohibited a growing list of Uyghur religious and cultural practices.
Several members of the Yale community have friends or family currently in detention or under state surveillance in Xinjiang. We are disturbed that the PRC government used Yale-provided resources in its widespread campaign of forced assimilation.
We call upon you to:
1) Raise this issue with the Ministry of Public Security on your upcoming visit to the PRC and communicate the results of the meeting to the university community.
2) Ensure Yale University academic cooperation with institutions in the PRC is conducted on an ethical basis, starting with a review of this collaboration.
Yale has the longest history of engagement with China of any US university. Students and scholars from China are cherished members of the Yale community. We support building good faith cooperation between US and Chinese academic institutions. At the same time, it is absolutely necessary to ensure such collaborations do not enable human rights abuses.
Updates
March 1, 2019
We hit 250 signatures and President Salovey is running out of places to hide from this. Yale thinks they can quietly facilitate human rights abuses while ignoring us but this movement proves they are dead wrong.
Reached 250 supporters
February 27, 2019
Reached 100 supporters
February 26, 2019
6 Comments
Disgusting that my university is tied up in this. Get out of that partnership immediately.
Yale should be better than this. No one should be using science to oppress ethnic minorities. Horrible.
This is completely horrifying. Yale needs to take responsibility for how its research is being used. Stop helping them track people.
How can they even justify this?? Pull the plug on the dna sharing already.
So sad to hear that faculty resources are helping the prc target uyghurs. do the right thing Salovey.
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
President Salovey finally yielded and agreed to launch a full investigation into these ties despite his initial silence. This win belongs to the 259 of you who refused to let Yale hide its complicity in state-sanctioned repression. We are watching the review process closely to ensure the university actually cuts …
March 29, 2019
Petition to President Salovey on Yale's Connection to Mass Surveillance in Xinjiang
Final supporters
February 2019
Dear President Salovey,
We are deeply concerned about reports that a Yale faculty member provided DNA samples to the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that were then used to enhance mass monitoring and repression of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang (“China Uses DNA to Track Its People, With the Help of American Expertise”, New York Times, Feb 21, 2019). Equally concerning, PRC government researchers contributed thousands of DNA samples from Uyghur individuals—likely obtained through coercion—to a database managed by the same Yale faculty member.
Numerous reliable reports have shown that the PRC government has detained approximately one million Uyghurs in prison-like “re-education” camps and has prohibited a growing list of Uyghur religious and cultural practices.
Several members of the Yale community have friends or family currently in detention or under state surveillance in Xinjiang. We are disturbed that the PRC government used Yale-provided resources in its widespread campaign of forced assimilation.
We call upon you to:
1) Raise this issue with the Ministry of Public Security on your upcoming visit to the PRC and communicate the results of the meeting to the university community.
2) Ensure Yale University academic cooperation with institutions in the PRC is conducted on an ethical basis, starting with a review of this collaboration.
Yale has the longest history of engagement with China of any US university. Students and scholars from China are cherished members of the Yale community. We support building good faith cooperation between US and Chinese academic institutions. At the same time, it is absolutely necessary to ensure such collaborations do not enable human rights abuses.
Updates
March 1, 2019
We hit 250 signatures and President Salovey is running out of places to hide from this. Yale thinks they can quietly facilitate human rights abuses while ignoring us but this movement proves they are dead wrong.
Reached 250 supporters
February 27, 2019
Reached 100 supporters
February 26, 2019
6 Comments
Academic freedom isnt an excuse to help a government run concentration camps. Fix this now.
Disgusting that my university is tied up in this. Get out of that partnership immediately.
Yale should be better than this. No one should be using science to oppress ethnic minorities. Horrible.
This is completely horrifying. Yale needs to take responsibility for how its research is being used. Stop helping them track people.
How can they even justify this?? Pull the plug on the dna sharing already.
So sad to hear that faculty resources are helping the prc target uyghurs. do the right thing Salovey.
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
Petitions like this
Other petitions you might want to support
Scan to share
Anyone who scans this can sign the petition.
Academic freedom isnt an excuse to help a government run concentration camps. Fix this now.