Xinjiang is a province located in the
far west of China. It borders Central Asia, specifically Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan. This is important because the majority of the population in
Xinjiang is ethnically Uighur, sharing much with their Central Asian
counterparts. They are Muslim, speak a Turkic language and have very distinct
customs from Han Chinese. The region was briefly its own republic before China
quashed it and took control in 1949. Ever since, due to their unique ethnicity,
language and religion, there has been a Uighur separatist movement in Xinjiang advocating
for the establishment of an East Turkestan country.
China has not responded well to Uighur discontent
in the farcically named Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Decades ago, the initial
response to the problem of this restless region was the massive immigration of
Han Chinese to the area. This is a page out of the former Soviet Union playbook
of Russification, or flooding Soviet states that had independent minded ethnicities
with ethnic Russians. In China, as was the case in Russia, it merely feeds resentment
and fear of cultural loss. So many Han Chinese have flooded the area that they
now make over 40% of the population. The negative implications of this policy
are exacerbated by the fact that the gigantic amount of money that has been
poured in to boost the economy, has overwhelmingly benefited the Han Chinese
minority. Xinjiang has a recently exploited wealth of natural gas, as well as
oil. These too usually benefit the ruling Han while Uighurs live in abject
poverty. To make matters worse, the Chinese government has repressed Uighur
language and culture, and consistently jails even the most moderate Uighurs who
speak out against the government.
This sets the background for the current
bloodbath in Xinjiang. Heinous attacks from Uighur separatists are accelerating
in their sophistication and brutality. In April of this year, the Kunming train
station saw 29 killed and 130 injured through indiscriminate attacks by knife wielding
assailants. In May, a busy street market in the Xinjiang capital of Ürümqi
experienced twin car bombings, along with bombs hurled at a street market which
killed 31 and injured another 90. The violence has accelerated since many local
governments and schools announced that students and staff would be forbidden
from practising Ramadan. More recently the city of Karamay stated that for the
duration of a local sports competition, for most of the month of August anyone
with a beard, burka or Islamic star on them would be forbidden from boarding
public busses. Chinese paramilitary units in Kashgar, considered the heartland
of the Uighurs, now have paramilitary patrols who check ids and search through IPods
of Uighurs to ensure that they have no Arabic or Muslim music. As for women
wearing clothing that is too Islamic, they are assured detention.
The Heavy handed approach by Chinese
authorities is making the problem worse. Uighurs in Xinxiang used to be known for
tolerance and moderation, repression only ferments extremism and makes the horrific
cycle of violence worse. The solution is a tolerance of Uighur rights, more involvement
for them in economic growth, and targeting terrorists while respecting dissent.
Whether or not the Chinese government will take head of this advice is unclear.
Though the world might not be scrutinizing events in Xinjiang as closely as if
it were Tibet, China ignores the underlying problems in this province at their
peril, and at the peril of all Xinjiang’s civilians.
