Current Tensions in Xinjiang-China

[Joe Shearer]

Well, I don't know how strong the East Turkistan movement is, but I would definitely like something to be done about the unequal treatment of Uighurs in China. I believe that separatist feelings can be defeated in Xinjiang if the Uighurs get similar treatment as the Han Chinese, which quite apparently they don't. Also, a little more sensitivity on the issue by the Chinese will be beneficial, because it is a well proven fact that by blocking Muslims from praying on Friday, you will only increase the aggravation. The Chinese need to study the issue and deal with is properly, rather than to just suppress with force for the short-term, increasing anger and tension in the long-run.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your thoughtful post.

There is no easy response to this issue, no silver bullet. We are up against that most difficult proposition, the question of 'nationalities', which was used during the lead-up to Partition and Independence to justify their stands by both the AIML and the INC. In fact, what China faces is precisely the same problem of defining nationhood and citizenship in a satisfactory manner.

If I might be allowed to summarise briefly:

1. Nationality is used in two senses, first as an equivalent term to citizenship, and second as constituting a self-awareness born of several factors;
2. In the second use, 'nationality' is often substituted by the term 'identity'.
3. Identity has several factors forming the realisation of identity among the concerned population and their observers and neighbours.
4. These factors include ethnicity, language, culture (very broadly speaking) and religion;
5. These factors, 'identifiers', if you like, occur together, sometimes in hierarchic fashion, sometimes parallel and equal; there is no fixed rule and each 'identity' needs independent analysis;
6. There are some special characteristics relating to Islamic identity which may interest readers on this forum.

Where an ethno-linguistic group following the Islamic religion forms part of the Arab group including the population of eastern North Africa (i.e., not including parts of Algeria and Morocco, but including Libya, Tunisia and Egypt), it has a dominant Islamic identity.

Where an ethno-linguistic group outside this zone is Islamic by religion, they tend to define themselves by ethno-linguistic group, not by Islam, which remains important in terms of religion. Examples are Turks in Turkey, Iranians, Malays, Indonesians. These examples are people who are Turkish first, or Iranian first, and so on, without repudiating Islam in any way.

Where any group following Islam is a minority, anywhere at all, it stresses its Islamic identity. This includes Muslims in India, in the UK, in France, in Germany, in the US, in Russia, almost every case I have observed.

Only when this third category gets sufficient autonomy and independence to consider itself a majority does its ethno-linguistic character again re-surface. Till then, they have a siege mentality, and will stop at nothing to free itself. Consider Bangladesh as a part of the British Empire, and thereafter.

I am afraid that the situation under discussion seems to be of the third type. I have also observed that Muslims in this situation will not give up their struggle, irrespective of the methods used against them. Period. Consider Bosnia-Herzegovina, and you will understand what I mean.

I hope that this will give readers a perspective on what lies ahead for the Chinese leadership, and in what ways they can very easily defuse the situation without losing possession of the large oil reserves and the strategic location of the Xinjiang province.

In any case, I do hope that this is found interesting.

'Joe S.'

 

[aimarraul]

your imaginary knowledge about Xinjiang make me impressed

 

[DarkStar]

We should support CCP stand on this issue.As far as morality is concerned give me a break..how many times we supported insurgencies in other countries which caused a lot of bloodshed?We Pakistanis have a holier then thou attitude..Have Pakistanis ever spoken about Balochis like this who have been suffering from several years.

Comparing Balochis and Uighurs is like comparing chalk and cheese. The Balochis chose to become part of the Pakistan federation, while no one has ever bothered to ask the Uighurs.

The majority of Balochis, except for a few trouble makers, are happy to be a part of the great Nation of Pakistan, and will remain.

 

[IceCold]

Does India say that is a Islamist republic republic???

Now get back to the topic and quit trolling around!

Sorry Kasrkin one last off topic reply but had to reply to this troll.

India calls itself Hindustaan which falls into the same category as calling Pakistan islamic republic secularism is just a cover up for hiding your ture identity. By the way you still havent answered my question which only means that you are the one whos trolling around here and keep on repeating the same vague argument in different threads. Now lay off.

 

[skeptic9]

official name of India is Bharat not Hindustan which is an urdu word and is used in India as urdu is also one of the recognized languages.

 

[afriend]

Sorry Kasrkin one last off topic reply but had to reply to this troll.

India calls itself Hindustaan which falls into the same category as calling Pakistan islamic republic secularism is just a cover up for hiding your ture identity. By the way you still havent answered my question which only means that you are the one whos trolling around here and keep on repeating the same vague argument in different threads. Now lay off.

I have heard India being called, bharat, Hindustan in this forum, but during the interaction with many people across India, the most commonly used word is still India. And almost 100% of people in south India call ourselves Indians but again we don't mind calling ourselves Hindustanis either because it doesn't make any difference to the secular nature of india. And this is just for your information, and i know that this not the thread 'Kaskrin', but you really need to clear perspectives right.. hence this post... ok then now..continue..

 

[Kasrkin]

I thought I made myself clear afriend, if I elaborate or post reports to clear your doubts then it would be against the nature of the thread. I'm trying to discourage that direction and you can stop posting if you don’t agree. A lot of people here have crossed the line, calling Pakistanis 'kafir' Muslims because we're not condemning the Chinese government over some ethnic unrest in one of its provinces. Indians have a lot of freedom here and we pride ourselves on that, but this is still a Pakistani forum. We won’t allow for your resentment and insecurity about the China-Pakistan alliance leak out onto this thread. Feel free to discuss things in the larger context of the Muslim World but keep in mind the ground rules I lay down. And no more bickering.

 

[afriend]

I thought I made myself clear afriend, if I elaborate or post reports to clear your doubts then it would be against the nature of the thread. I'm trying to discourage that direction and you can stop posting if you don’t agree. A lot of people here have crossed the line, calling Pakistanis 'kafir' Muslims because we're not condemning the Chinese government over some ethnic unrest in one of its provinces. Indians have a lot of freedom here and we pride ourselves on that, but this is still a Pakistani forum. We won’t allow for your resentment and insecurity about the China-Pakistan alliance leak out onto this thread. Feel free to discuss things in the larger context of the Muslim World but keep in mind the ground rules I lay down. And no more bickering.

Kaskrin, I posted the above post, to just clear 'A' perspective one of my pakistani friends have. And i believe its no way derogatory or against the spirit of the forum, but yes it may be off topic. So if you feel that an off topic post demands banning you can go ahead, but i am not here for mudslinging, but i am here just to get a perspective and clear some perspective... if possible..!!!! Good day brother..!!!

 

[s90]

Most of Xinjiang dead 'Chinese'

Some three-quarters of the victims of the violence in China's western Xinjiang region were ethnic Han Chinese, the official death toll shows.

Of 184 people known to have died, 137 were Han Chinese, 46 were from the indigenous Uighur community and one was an ethnic Hui, local officials said.

Beijing flooded the regional capital Urumqi with security forces to stem the violence which erupted last Sunday.

Correspondents say some Uighurs believe their own death toll was much higher.

"I've heard that more than 100 Uighurs have died but nobody wants to talk about it in public," one Uighur man in Urumqi who did not want to give his name told the Associated Press news agency.

Uighurs living in exile outside China have also disputed the Chinese figures. Rebiya Kadeer, the US-based head of the World Uighur Congress, said she believed about 500 people had died.

According to the Chinese death toll released by state media, 26 of the 137 Han Chinese victims were female, while all but one of the 45 Uighurs killed were male.

The single death recorded in the Hui community, which is similar to the Uighurs ethnically and religiously, was that of a male.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Most of Xinjiang dead 'Chinese'

 

[afriend]

and yes i dont consider pakistanis kafir, and if you can check, i have reported his posts to moderators... belonging to my country is not the criteria, but being civil is.

 

[DarkStar]

Most of Xinjiang dead 'Chinese'

Some three-quarters of the victims of the violence in China's western Xinjiang region were ethnic Han Chinese, the official death toll shows.

Of 184 people known to have died, 137 were Han Chinese, 46 were from the indigenous Uighur community and one was an ethnic Hui, local officials said.

Beijing flooded the regional capital Urumqi with security forces to stem the violence which erupted last Sunday.

Correspondents say some Uighurs believe their own death toll was much higher.

"I've heard that more than 100 Uighurs have died but nobody wants to talk about it in public," one Uighur man in Urumqi who did not want to give his name told the Associated Press news agency.

Uighurs living in exile outside China have also disputed the Chinese figures. Rebiya Kadeer, the US-based head of the World Uighur Congress, said she believed about 500 people had died.

According to the Chinese death toll released by state media, 26 of the 137 Han Chinese victims were female, while all but one of the 45 Uighurs killed were male.

The single death recorded in the Hui community, which is similar to the Uighurs ethnically and religiously, was that of a male.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Most of Xinjiang dead 'Chinese'

These figures must be taken with a pinch of salt. There are reports, also on teh bbc news website, which put the figures much higher, and the proportion of uighurs killed at 90 percent.

 

[s90]

These figures must be taken with a pinch of salt. There are reports, also on teh bbc news website, which put the figures much higher, and the proportion of uighurs killed at 90 percent.

The videos and pictures we saw of mostly dead were of Han Chinese and international media was their also,so u still think uighurs were more?

 

[gpit]

Now the question is how did China acquire "Xinjiang" which means "New Territory" or "New Frontier"? How did China acquire how did China get a hold of this Turkic-Muslim land of East Turkistan. The answer can be traced backed to 1946 when the Chinese PLA pursuing it's national expansionist policy under Mao Zedong invaded the independent East Turkistan nation, defeated the Turkic forces their, sacked the National assembly, and occupied the land.

To anti-CPC doesn't mean to twist history. Otherwise, people will cast suspicious eyes on your claim, will question your motivation behind, and, to the least, your seriousness or capability of tackling particular topic.

Xinjiang is named by Qing Dynasty of Manchurians (nowadays Man ethnic minority) in 18th century after them finished warlords there.

The known history of Xinjiang dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. Throughout history many empires have controlled some or all of this vast area, including the Xiongnu, Han, Göktürks, Tang, Turkic Uyghurs, and Mongols. The region was conquered by the Qing Dynasty in 1759, who subsequently named the area Xinjiang (新疆, meaning "new frontier"). Since 1949 Xinjiang has been part of the People's Republic of China.

History of Xinjiang - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The flaw in this quotation is that KMT's ROC also controlled it as its province. That is a more complete truth.

This is how PRC controls Xinjiang.

I totally agree with what you perhaps implied that had the Uighurs more united among themselves, had they had more advanced system and stronger army... they would have got their own state.

Nobody is encouraging terrorism, but what is absurd is t...

To promote human rights and social equality doesn't means to twist history.

BTW, I have no slightest doubt that if one day China becomes weak and disintegrated, ET may well be a country.

Are you willing to join ET now and fight China to weaken it?

 

[waraich66]

Personally, I feel sometimes it is only a friend that can tell another friend a harsh truth, that one does not want to hear.

What better friend than Pakistan to do so?

But we are a Nation indebted to others, whether USA, China or Saudi/Gulf. How many years did it take us to raise the issue of child camel jockeys? Even then it was raised by Ansar Burney in a private capacity.

East Turkestan has as much right to freedom as Kashmir, even more so.

We can, in all civlity, agree to disagree with the Chinese regarding this issue. Yet do we have the mettle for it? Probably NOT.

We should, however, put the Turkish criticism in context. When was the last time that we heard Turkey speaking about atrocities of the Bharati forces in Kashmir? I certainly haven't.

Turks, even the JamateIslami inspired govt., are ultra nationalists and always speak up for other turks, or those they perceive to be so. The Uighurs are Turks, and the area they inhabit today Xinjiang/East Turkestan forms part of the original homeland of the Turks, so their outburst must be seen through the paradigm of their national consciousness

They are no bleeding hearts.

I dont agree with your argument , recently during Gaza war Turky was the only muslim country who openly critise the Israel.

Pakistan government should be ashamed for neutral attitude.

All muslim countries should ban the chinies product and suspend their relationships with China.

I think economics is best weapon to bring the aggressor on right course.

 

[ARSENAL6]

What a freaking BS!

East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) was declared a terrorist organisation by United Nations in 2002.

Terrorism Zindabad!

??????????

The US invades Iraq Israel bombs Lebanon killing more civillians all against UN resolutions or protocol.

Who listerns to the UN seriously ?

Terrorism Zindabad!

No No don't jinx it otherwise there might be another attck on US soil

Some people !