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In China's Xinjiang, forced medication accompanies lockdown

China Xinjiang Lockdown
China Xinjiang Lockdown
Posted at 6:22 AM, Aug 31, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-31 06:22:05-04

BEIJING - The government in China’s Xinjiang region is imposing draconian measures to combat the coronavirus, including physically locking people in homes and arresting those who do not comply with strict quarantines of more than 40 days.

Some residents are forced to swallow traditional Chinese medicine, according to government notices, social media posts and interviews with three people in quarantine, and at least one herbal remedy contains ingredients banned in other countries.

A Uighur woman told The Associated Press that she and dozens of cellmates in a detention center had to strip naked once a week and sit as they and their cells were hosed down with disinfectant. “It was scalding,” she said. “My hands were ruined, my skin was peeling.”