@Caul
You shouldn't use the Asian card, I know you understand that Asia is a very big continent with very diverse cultures, and having an asian background doesn't really mean anything.
For what I undestood, the relation between the chinese governement and it's people is quite different. From the Main land perspective, having an unified land is key and everything (almost) is tolerated if 1/ it is a governmenent decision 2/ it affects the Whole in a good way. From the region's point of view, it is all about optimising their growth. So if we think naively, if we consider the point of view of a random chinese guy, they will mostly say "that it is cruel but a necessity that to my country and in particular my region ", and then you add the fake news thrown by the chinese governement (web censorships for eg) and you get the "hey it's a good idea because [...]".
Now to be clear, the relation between Main land and Xinjiang is a relation of souverainty and exploitation: but this will change in a decenny because the Ouigours will completely blend into chinese citizens, with their whole culture and beliefs completely destroyed. Let me explain this phrasing: For example in France, we have multiple "sub" cultures, but do we say that France exploits their cultural minorities? No, because it is a Whole. The way of thinking of the chinese is the following: In the end of the story, the ouigours will have merged and this "exploitation" would not be an "exploitation" but more a region of China with lot of ressources. The end justify the cruauty... Or does it?
And don't forget the technological aspect, of massive surveillance systems and ways to "educate" [brainwashing+imprisonate] tons of people at the same time. Because if the first is already in process also in more democratic countries, the second could eventually come. Don't forget that we are not so far from them.