Aziz Isa Elkun

I’m delighted speaking at Princeton University: 🗓️ Mar 24, 12:00–1:30pm 📍 East Asian Library Talk: Against Erasure: Uyghur Poems, Imprisoned Souls, and the Act of Resistance If you’re in Princeton, please join us. @MartinH49009792 eap.princeton.edu/events/against…

I was honoured speaking at Harvard University on 27 Mar 2026, presenting my work on #Uyghur poetry and cultural preservation amid ongoing repression. My sincere thanks to Professor Mark Elliott and Dr. Gulnar Aziz for their support, A truly meaningful and memorable experience.

The Chinese Communist Party’s newly adopted “Ethnic Unity Law” formalizes a long-standing objective: consolidating power by reshaping identity. By enforcing Mandarin language use, restructuring education around CCP ideology, and advancing the sinicization of religion, the CCP, under Xi Jinping, is codifying assimilation as state policy. This law underscores a broader strategy: suppressing diversity to maintain control and advance “national rejuvenation.” Policymakers and partners must recognize the implications for human rights, regional stability, and global norms. jamestown.org/ethnic-unity-l…

Before my talk today at Harvard University on #Uyghur poetry, the ongoing human rights violations & China's brutal cultural erasure of Uyghurs, I am pleased to meet w/ @RayhanAsat, a human rights lawyer at Harvard Law School. It is a privilege speaking here at Harvard University.

#JFSALON #RSVP #Uyghur Uyghur Poems, Imprisoned Souls, and the Act of Resistance Speaker: Aziz Isa Elkun @AzizIsaElkun Date: March 31, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM, Tuesday RSVP: zeffy.com/en-US/ticketin… In the face of the systemic efforts to silence the Uyghur people, the written word becomes a profound act of resistance. Against this backdrop of cultural erasure, Uyghur Poems and Imprisoned Souls stand as vital testaments to love, survival, and defiance. These works serve as both a sanctuary for a threatened identity and a resonant cry for justice, proving that while bodies may be confined and traditions targeted for erasure, the human pulse of love and collective memory remains indestructible. About the Speaker: Aziz Isa Elkun a Uyghur poet, writer, translator, and researcher at SOAS University of London. He has lived in London since 2001, having fled political persecution in Xinjiang. Since April 2025, he has served as President of the Uyghur PEN Centre. He edited Uyghur Poems (Everyman's Library / Penguin Random House, 2023) and most recently published Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghur Prisoners in China (Hertfordshire Press, November 2025), gathering the work of twenty-five poets currently detained in Chinese prisons. His sister was held in an internment camp for over a year; he has been unable to contact his mother since 2017.

After months of preparation, I set off for New York today on one of the most important journeys of my life. Over the next 22 days, I will speak at 9 events across the U.S., carrying the voice of the Uyghur people. Grateful for your support! - Aziz Isa Elkun 23 March 2026

I’m delighted to be visiting Yale University (25–26 March 2026). On March 25, 4:00 PM in New Haven, I’ll speak on: “Against Erasure: Uyghur Poems, Imprisoned Souls, and the Act of Resistance” Hosted by the Council on East Asian Studies. More info: politicalscience.yale.edu/event/council-…

I’m honoured to speak at Harvard University on 27 March, 4pm. I’ll present my recent Uyghur poetry anthologies and address the urgent need to preserve #Uyghur culture amid ongoing cultural erasure by the #China government. 📍 Cambridge, MA All welcome. fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/events/against…

@AzizIsaElkun And on the day before in Princeton, at 12 noon: eap.princeton.edu/events/against…

I will be speaking at Yale University on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 4:00 PM. This is a public event- if you are in New Haven, you are warmly invited to join me. “Against Erasure: #Uyghur Poems, Imprisoned Souls, and the Act of Resistance” politicalscience.yale.edu/event/council-…

The writer, Aziz Isa Elkun, is a Uyghur activist who dedicated ‘Roses’ to the Uyghurs detained by the CCP. “The third rose I planted for the unknown Uyghurs Who survive inside the camps” 7:41 PM · Oct 21, 2023 Thank you @ChinaSelect !

I will be speaking at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University, on 2 April at 5 pm, presenting my recent #Uyghur poetry anthologies: “Imprisoned Souls and the Act of Resistance.” If you are in #Bloomington, please join us.

WASHINGTON — The United States criticized China after reports that Beijing plans to demolish the historic Beytulla Mosque in Ghulja in Xinjiang, where many Uyghurs refer to the wider region as East Turkestan. uyghurnews.org/u-s-criticizes…

The CCP in #China is a homogenising regime that cannot tolerate other cultures. It violates its own laws and international norms, a troubling sign of drifting toward fascism. #Uyghurs have the right to speak their God-given language. That right does not belong to the regime!

The CCP in #China is a homogenising regime that cannot tolerate other cultures. It violates its own laws and international norms, a troubling sign of drifting toward fascism. #Uyghurs have the right to speak their God-given language. That right does not belong to the regime!

Uyghurs are NOT Han Chinese. They are Turkic and speak the Uyghur-Turkic language. What the CCP Chinese regime is trying to do is a continuation of 2.0 #UyghurGenocide! It's time the world should wake up and see clearly all the crimes the CCP China comitting against humanity!

@TheEconomist Uyghurs are NOT Han Chinese. They are Turkic and speak the Uyghur-Turkic language. What the CCP Chinese regime is trying to do is a continuation of 2.0 #UyghurGenocide! It's time the world should wake up and see clearly all the crimes the CCP China comitting against humanity!

China’s “law on promoting ethnic unity and progress” may sound warm and inclusive. But it looks more like aggressive assimilation than enlightened tolerance economist.com/china/2026/03/…

@KenRoth @ajphelo The CCP in #China is a homogenising regime that cannot tolerate other cultures. It violates its own laws and international norms, a troubling sign of drifting toward fascism. #Uyghurs have the right to speak their God-given language. That right does not belong to the regime!

"There are 56 ethnicities in China—and 55 are getting squashed." China's ethnic minorities are treated like decorations. Otherwise they are expected to act like Han Chinese. trib.al/tq0ICfp

@KenRoth @ajphelo Uyghurs are NOT Han Chinese. They are Turkic and speak the Uyghur-Turkic language. What the CCP Chinese regime is trying to do is a continuation of 2.0 #UyghurGenocide! It's time the world should wake up and see clearly all the crimes the CCP China comitting against humanity!

@BBCNews The CCP in #China is a homogenising regime that cannot tolerate other cultures. It violates its own laws and international norms, a troubling sign of drifting toward fascism. #Uyghurs have the right to speak their God-given language. That right does not belong to the regime!

China approves 'ethnic unity' law requiring minorities to learn Mandarin bbc.in/4uo3vm7