Xinjiang's bloody Sunday explosion of violence in Urumqi has underscored the struggle of ethnic minorities to find a place in a modernising China and a homogenising world.
As in Lhasa last year, a peaceful protest suddenly became a murderous race riot. Then, it was indigenous Tibetans beating Han and Hui settlers to death, destroying their shops and cars. This time, it appears to be mainly Uighurs.
Then, as now, Beijing blamed exile leaders for orchestrating the unrest. First the Dalai Lama, now Rebiya Kadeer, of the World Uighur Congress.
The counter-accusations are also similar. Uighur exiles accuse the security forces of provoking violence by killing protesters and fostering resentment with tight restrictions on religious, cultural and political autonomy. In both cases the outside world's views have been obscured, partly because of Chinese restrictions on the media and partly because of the sheer distance of the two areas from the industrialised world. Buddhist Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs share a similar predicament.
While most of the world industrialised, their two regions remained islands, falling behind economically and politically, while maintaining a strong cultural and religious identity.
They were never completely remote. Major Francis Younghusband's murderous invasion of Tibet is one of the darkest episodes of British imperialism. Mao Zedong went further in 1949 by ordering the People's Liberation Army into Xinjiang (which means New Frontier) and Tibet. This year the authorities are celebrating the 60th anniversary of what the state media often refers to as the "peaceful liberation". For exile groups, it was simply an invasion.
Until 60 years ago Beijing ruled the country's fringes with a distant hand, largely because access was difficult and the economic benefits questionable. That has changed dramatically with the rise of Chinese power and globalising technology. Roads, railways and airports put Lhasa and Urumqi within easy reach of Beijing. The country needs Tibet's water and Xinjiang's oil and gas.
Beijing has strengthened its grip with a programme of rapid economic development, tight controls on religious belief, a big military presence and an influx of Han and Hui migrants. These ethnic groups are now the majority in the capitals of Tibet and Xinjiang and appear to gain most of the economic benefits. Two of the sparks for the latest unrest were the demolition of the old Uighur capital in Kashgar and the killing of two Uighur migrants by a mob of Han in Shaoguan, on the other side of China.
The fear now is that racial violence is intensifying. The biggest difference between the riots in Tibet and Xinjiang is the death toll. According to government figures 156 died in Urumqi, more than seven times as many as in Lhasa. These figures, like the causes of the riots, are disputed, but clearly a long simmering problem has reached boiling point. "There is no justification for ethnically targeted violence, but this calls into question how effective the central government's policies have been towards minorities," said Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch. "These riots will have a long-lasting impact on already bad ethnic relations in Xinjiang."
China needs to rethink its approach to the ethnic issue. As with all nations that pioneered "new frontiers", the adjustment is likely to be painful.
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广东韶关杀维吾尔人事件by mosesofmason393,333 views
@HannibalFL86 It's not really autonomous, because the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) still has total control, and they are almost entirely Han Chinese. The Uighurs have practically no representation in "Xinjiang Province" (Chinese occupied East Turkestan), which is why they are rioting. A province is a bit like a US State.
RogerwilcoFoxtrot 1 year ago
Not once the OCCUPATION mentioned in this video clip! It is sickening the amount of the brainwash the chiinese people are been subjected to, thoosevuygurs are a Turkic race who has established many great empires they are ancient people of central Asia whose land has been confiscated by the communist china ! 35 million uygurs has been killed in the past 60 years they are been treated less than animals in their own land!they have lost everything they had what would you expect them to do? Hug and
deniztuna1 1 year ago
I don't get what an "autonomous" region is.. is this equal to a US State or something different entirely?
HannibalFL86 1 year ago
No matter what, people in all cultures and societies value respect. It's not only a matter of giving people money, not everyone in the world is a "development whore." Violence is not the best answer, but China does have a history of "using history to serve the present." China has changed over the centuries, it hasn't always been a modern state. It must provide true respect and autonomy for people, otherwise it becomes guilty of doing the same thing the Western imperialists did to itself.
Turtlechief99 2 years ago
I totally Agree.
PossibleInfost 2 years ago
ahahaha viets suckin on american dicks even tho they nepalmed and agent orangd ur ass. how humiliating lmao
hcn9 2 years ago
its a relevant point. That is Beijing's treatment of preripharal unrest. don't be so agressive!
ChinaWillHayton 2 years ago
China must take all the necessary steps to maintain its territorial integrity. They must work towards the economic prosperity of Xinjiang. Uyghurs are the part of Chinese people. Racial difference can not be the reason to say that we want to break the country because we are having different racial genetics. China must increase its Han presence in Xinjiang and also de-islamize the Uyghurs so peace can return to Xinjiang.
mmjuyalutube 2 years ago 2
china stop invasion, chinese is the world deadly virus
tungchankiet 2 years ago
i'm aware that this isn't tibet but very aware that the same tactics are used by chinesespecial forces as well as social policies, in tibet, uighuristan and mongolia.
as in tibet, officials claimed they have "proof" the riots were foreign-agitated, but, as in tibet, they refuse to make public their "proof".
mispistoleros 2 years ago