An Analyst's Perspective: Daria Impiombato

Daria Impiombato is an analyst at ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre. Her research areas include human rights and technology, Chinese public and foreign policy and the role of communications and new media in international politics.

Daria has worked extensively on ASPI's Xinjiang Data Project and Mapping China's Tech Giants. She currently focuses on the PRC's propaganda apparatus and international discourse power competition. Her media mentions include comments on human rights abuses in Xinjiang, state-backed online censorship and surveillance, as well as the European Union’s relations with China, among other things.

Can you tell us about the work you do at ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre?

Our center has been rebranded recently and is now called ASPI – Cyber, Technology and Security. In the past four years here I have mostly worked on projects at the intersections between China, human rights and technology. One of my first reports was on censorship and surveillance on TikTok and WeChat. I went on to work on projects related to Xinjiang, like the Xinjiang Data Project, looking at different aspects of the crisis, from the detention camps to the governance structure. More recently I have also published several reports on tech-enabled propaganda pushes trying to obscure the human rights violations happening in Xinjiang and China.

How did you become interested in this topic?

I was always interested in human rights, and at university I undertook Chinese studies and moved to Beijing to learn Chinese. My first research interest was women’s rights in China and that’s what led me here.

Given China’s strict censorship regarding this topic, how do you gather your data?

We have used different research techniques depending on the project, and at different points in time there was different available information online. Most of the data we gather is open source, so it’s about using the Chinese internet and social media to uncover more information before the censors get to it. Other techniques include scraping government procurement websites or looking at satellite images, but there is much more.

How effective do you think the US’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act has been?

There was a really good article on this on The Wire China that I recommend you read:

It is a bit soon to assess the effectiveness of the tool. But in general, I believe the foundations of it are a positive first step.

Is there something similar in Australia? If yes, is it working?

There is nothing similar currently in Australia.

How can we push for similar things to be implemented in Europe and elsewhere?

Europe has already been working on its own legislation to curb the use of forced labor, but as far as I know it is not specific to Xinjiang like the UFLPA. Raising awareness on these issues can help, and there are a lot of organizations, especially Uyghur civil society groups doing extremely good work towards this.

Are there any books/films/platforms you recommend for people wanting to know more about this issue?

Our website, the Xinjiang Data Project, is research heavy but can be a good introduction. Darren Byler, James Leibold and James Millward have several books and publications about it that are extremely insightful. The Uyghur Human Rights Project, the Xinjiang Victims Database, the World Uyghur Congress also have many resources. Important books by Uyghur authors are Waiting to be Arrested at Night by Tahir Hamut Izgil and The Backstreets: A Novel from Xinjiang by Perhat Tursun, just to name a few.

What can people in the US and elsewhere be doing? 

Getting informed, donating to Uyghur groups and helping with the advocacy are things that anyone can do. Studying this topic, learning the Uyghur language and supporting research efforts in other ways are also very good ways to assist.