Xinjiang Province: News & Discussions

[UKBengali]

Lol at trying to claim that fasting has a major effect in work performance in office jobs. At the most it would be neglible that it would not be worth worrying about.

Now if we were talking about manual labour then it would be different.

Like I said before, I think dont that the Chinese have really grasped just how damaging to their interests a policy like this can be and hope they reconsider.

 

[sweetgrape]

The govt put his destiny in Xinjiang.

Have to say, if you don't show you flag, I would think you are from western, hehe.

 

[Phukimak]

Have to say, if you don't show you flag, I would think you are from western, hehe.

i dont think so.. western people a lot smarter than him...

 

[Sam.]

What's up with these İndians popping up on every Muslim related threads?

We have the second largest Muslim population in the earth and they are all Indians and pretty much care about Islam like other Muslims.So don't preach us where we can raise our voice or not

 

[olcayto]

We have the second largest Muslim population in the earth and they are all Indians and pretty much care about Islam like other Muslims.So don't preach us where we can raise our voice or not

İ assume people are misjudging me. i actually am against these policies against Uyghurs, not only because they are Muslims, but also because they are my kin.

What İ don't understand are some İndians talking about being civilized, modern and at the same time support these policies of China.

İ guess as long as the concerned ones are Muslims, all these preaching about morals and human rights go down the toilet, oops İ mean the streets.

 

[TaiShang]

Xinjiang photo exhibition and narratives of insiders

Xinhua

Uyghur musicians perform at the photo exhibition Xinjiang, an Untold Story, hosted by the Global Times in Beijing on July 4. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Editor's Note:The Global Times hosted the photo exhibition Xinjiang, an Untold Story last Friday and invited Uyghur and other guest speakers to the event to tell their stories, with two dozen diplomats and reporters from leading news media from home and abroad in attendance. Since the July 5 riot in 2009, in which many Han as well as Uyghurs were killed in Urumqi, the public has been getting reports from the media about terrorism acts. People might have formed stereotypes about Uyghur people. The Global Times hopes to build understanding between the general public and the Xinjiangers, to present a more complete picture of the region.

Kurbanjan Samat, photographer and documentary filmmaker

Kurbanjan Samat

Photographer and documentary filmmaker

Photos can give a true picture of Xinjiang. My father was recently ill and received surgery in a hospital in Urumqi. I spent a week taking care of him there. During that period, using my mobile phone, I chose a spot in the hospital and captured a series photos of people waiting at the same place over time. Whether they were Uyghur, Han, Hui or Kazak, all of them shared a similar wish, to live a healthy life. This is a true national unity.

I've interviewed about 120 people and got in touch with about 400. Some of these people match the stereotypes the public may have of Xinjiang, people who sell barbeque, pancakes, fruits, or own restaurants. Others are white-collar workers, managers, and government civil servants.

Within half a year, I felt like I went through college again. I saw my past in every interviewee's story, and am inspired by their stories. Everybody met different difficulties. These problems actually don't exist because of their ethnicity, but are rather questions that arise as the country and society develop.

But what touched me is nobody complained or became extreme because of these issues, they all showed understanding. This is what I and every interviewee want this society to see, every Xinjianger is growing as the country is developing, everybody is working hard and hoping to live in a peaceful and harmonious society, to live for our dreams, our goals and for a better livelihood.

Eliyar Eziz, assistant secretary general of Tree of Love, which helps children in Xinjiang

Eliyar Eziz

Assistant secretary general of Tree of Love, which helps children in Xinjiang

There has never been a charity organization that serves the children in Xinjiang. We wanted to fill that void and registered one. Right now we are working on shooting very short films about children in Xinjiang and donating winter clothes to poor areas in Xinjiang. We were trained by a US-based organization that provides aid to schools, and have started a financial aid program for school children in Xinjiang as well.

At first, I thought the financial aid could only help the children for a couple of years. I wondered whether it could change their lives, help them go to college and escape from poverty-stricken areas until one day I talked with another charity worker. She told me that through our help, the children who would've dropped out after middle school made it through high school and started their lives at a higher level. They have a different education and way of thinking than before.

They don't have to be college students or become high government officials, but they can be better parents and better raise their children. The local education level can slowly increase that way. There might be better future outcomes because of our help, so we don't have to ask for too much. And this is why I've persisted this long on the project.

Lin Meilian, Global Times reporter

Lin Meilian

Global Times reporter

The Uyghurs are very open, good at singing, playing guitar and dancing. Some Uyghur youth play guitars and sing quietly at late night. Some Uyghurs even carry guitars on their backs and play as they drink and eat barbeque. Once I was eating with some Uyghurs, who started singing and dancing in the middle of the meal. In some ways, they're open, simple and happy. They are not restricted in what they do and what they say.

The first time I went to Xinjiang was a year after the July 5 incident in 2009. Back then, Urumqi was divided by an invisible line into south and north. The Han are in the north and the Uyghurs in the south. I was the only Han on the streets around the bazaar area in the south and the Uyghurs looked at me curiously. Even the taxi driver wouldn't drop me off where Uyghurs gathered. But there were policemen patrolling all over the streets.

Every Xinjiang story has three versions, the Uyghur version, the Han version, and the true version. I hope everybody can go to Xinjiang and see for themselves their own versions of the story.

Abdulhabir Muhammad, chief operating officer of Beijing Hold International Educational Consulting, a startup that provides services to young people wanting to study abroad

Abdulhabir Muhammad

Chief operating officer of Beijing Hold International Educational Consulting, a startup that provides services to young people wanting to study abroad

I'm from a village in the Aksu prefecture in Xinjiang. In my hometown, if you don't work hard you can only be a farmer when you grow up.

The people in our region are very poor. We aren't afraid of poor parents. We are just afraid if you are poor, you can't set an example to your children.

Our educational fund provides scholarships to graduate students from our region. If they want to obtain a master's degree, we will provide all the tuition, that's our dream. If there was a fund like this in every city in the country, the education in not just Xinjiang but the whole world could be improved.

As for me, I hope more people can go abroad through the help of our educational fund. If someone's hungry, you buy him a meal, but he will still be hungry the next day.

But if you help them through education, this help will last.

We want the world to see that we are more than just barbeque street vendors.

There are many elites from Xinjiang, who are working in investment banks, information technology, sports and international trade. We want the world to see a different Uyghur generation.

Alip Yakup, owner of public account on Weibo, "Xinjianger in Beijing," which introduces Xinjiang to the public

Alip Yakup

Owner of public account on Weibo, "Xinjianger in Beijing," which introduces Xinjiang to the public

I wanted to do something for my home, and I have found Weibo a powerful platform to spread Xinjiang's scenery and culture. People outside of Xinjiang tend to have misunderstandings about the region and can only get to know the region through TV reports. It's hard for them to meet people from Xinjiang. We hope to help people understand Xinjiang better this way.

Many of my friends from Xinjiang who are working in big cities introduce information about their home to others, just as I am doing. But I also want to ask, why are we doing the work? It should've been done by the media.

I was disappointed after the July 5 incident. Many people paid attention to Xinjiang and there were many reports at first. But after a couple of months, people's attention was diverted to other matters, because there were hardly any in-depth reports about Xinjiang. We hope there can be more complete reports on Xinjiang, about all dimensions, such as Uyghurs who live in cities, who have modern lives. Not just reports on ethnic culture.

When I get off work, I write a few Weibo posts about Xinjiang. And some friends can't imagine that's what Xinjiang is like. Their whole knowledge of the region comes from others. I hope the media will report about Xinjiang in more in-depth ways. One-sided reports can only increase the bias people outside the region will have.

Yao Sicheng, photographer

Yao Sicheng

Photographer

Xinjiang is a beautiful place, in terms of its scenery, culture and its long history. It impressed photographers like us deeply.

As photographers, we look at Xinjiang with an outsider's eyes and we hope we can be granted the opportunity of photographing Xinjiang's beauty in more thorough ways.

While we were shooting, we also got in touch with an enthusiastic and friendly group of people.

So as photographers, we hope there can be locally organized trips to capture Xinjiang's culture and scenery on film for better publicity.

Cui Meng, Global Times photographer

Cui Meng

Global Times photographer

One night [a policeman I photographed in Urumqi during a reporting trip] came to me around 2 am and asked whether he could have a talk with me. I said yes. Then he drove me miles outside the city, up a hill, parked the car and started telling me his story, nonstop for two hours. He told me how stressful his job was, saying he's working all the time. His wife is pregnant, but he has asked her to bring his uniform on the day of labor [as a memento to remind her of him], in case he can't make it due to work. "I only wanted to get those words out, because they've been bottled inside for so long," he told me.

He's only one representative of the policemen in Xinjiang. There are also many of them in the south of Xinjiang, where many terrorism attacks happened. Suddenly I felt more secure.

After I came back to Beijing, many people asked me whether I was scared in Xinjiang. I always told them that there's a group of people there who are sticking to their own posts, to make sure people in all ethnic groups are safe. I feel that Xinjiang is safe, because I have faith in them.

 

[TaiShang]

Marching on in Xinjiang

Global Times

Xinjiang private firms banking on opportunities along the Silk Road

Interior of the Hualing market Photo: Liang Fei/GT

A Hualing market in Urumqi. Photo: Liang Fei/GT

As we took a taxi ride to the headquarters of the Xinjiang Hualing Industry and Trade (Group) Co in Urumqi last week, our taxi driver asked if we were about to have a job interview at the company.

"Well, Hualing is a big company. Many young people want to work there," the taxi driver reasoned after we told him no.

Our driver's statement came as no surprise as the privately-owned Hualing Group is one of the numerous companies in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region that have benefited from the economic ties between the region and the countries along the ancient Silk Road.

Founded in 1988, the Hualing Group was originally a small company trading in daily necessities, but now Hualing markets have become important hubs in Xinjiang for bringing Chinese goods to other Eurasia countries.

The company currently operates four major wholesale markets in Xinjiang, selling a variety of goods ranging from home appliances, building materials, furniture to jewelry.

Geo-advantageLocated in Northwest China, Xinjiang shares borders with eight countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India. This geographical location has made it an important gateway connecting China, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Ma Jie, a professor at the Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics, noted that the economies of Central Asian countries are a great fit for China. "Central Asian countries rely on heavy industries especially in the energy sector, but China has the light industry goods they need."

"Xinjiang's location may not be as favorable as that of east coast provinces, but we have a natural geographic advantage when it comes to the Central Asian and Eastern European market," Gao Jianmin, director of the Hualing Group, told the Global Times.

This natural advantage has motivated the private sector in Xinjiang to take the lead in promoting trade ties between China and other Eurasia countries.

In 2007, the Hualing Group started to move westward, investing in the lumber and mining sectors in the former Soviet Union country of Georgia. Driven by the country's business potential, two years later the company signed an agreement to build a Free Industrial Zone in Kutaisi, the second-largest city in Georgia, aiming to attract Chinese manufacturers.

In 2012, the group expanded its investment in the country and started to build the Hualing International Special Economic Zone in the capital city of Tbilisi, which it hopes will bring in more Chinese traders and manufacturers.

That same year, the company acquired a local commercial bank to provide financial services to the growing number of Chinese merchants there. Now Hualing has become the largest Chinese investor in the country.

The company is quite upbeat about investment in Georgia, as it believes this will help Chinese companies reach further into the European market - with smaller logistics costs and less trade barriers.

"It won't be a problem for us to attract Chinese investors to our industrial zones in Georgia, especially after the government's initiative to push the development of the Silk Road Economic Belt," Gao said.

Construction of the group's industrial zone has already finished and it is expected to begin operations soon. Meanwhile a market within the International Special Economic Zone in Tbilisi was opened on June 21.

"The government's push to develop the Silk Road Economic Belt is in accordance with Hualing's own strategy, which will definitely help boost our development," said Zhang Jun, Hualing general manager.

In Kazakhstan, the privately owned Xinjiang Sanbao Industry Group is also building an industrial park for potential Chinese manufacturers. Looking to attract chemical and high-tech companies from China, construction is expected to start within the year.

Besides industrial goods, development of the economic belt may also help boost the export of Xinjiang's specialty products.

For example, Xinjiang Top Agricultural Public Ltd has been exporting fragrant pears, which only grow in the city of Korla in Xinjiang, to markets in the US, Canada and even some South American countries, but its ambitions go far beyond these markets.

"I hope that development of the Silk Road Economic Belt can also help us nudge into the European market," Chu Yunxin, the company's chairman, told the Global Times, adding that the company wants to set up offices in the land ports of Horgos and Alataw - two important gateways in Xinjiang leading into Kazakhstan.

Dynamic private sector

Ma noted that private firms have shown greater vitality in trade and investment in Central Asia as well as Eastern Europe because they are more flexible in dealing with the complicated investment environment in the region, compared with larger State-owned enterprises.

In 2013, private firms in Xinjiang reported a total trade volume of $20.4 billion, up 11.4 percent year-on-year and accounting for 73.9 percent of the region's total trade volume. Meanwhile, private traders' contribution to total trade volume grew to 83.8 percent in the first five months of this year, according to data from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region's Department of Commerce.

Huang Pingchao, a director at Xinjiang's Department of Commerce, told the Global Times that among the 55 Xinjiang companies that reported trade volume higher than $100 million in 2013, 44 are privately owned.

Experts note that the private sector plays an important role in bringing vitality to the local economy and that a flourishing private sector is sure to help bring stability as it contributes to job creation.

By the end of 2013, the private sector in Xinjiang accounted for 80 percent of jobs in the region, the Xinjiang Daily reported in April.

Chu said that his company cooperates with some 3,500 local families, mostly Uyghur families, to produce pears for the company.

"One mu (0.067 hectare) of fragrant pear orchards can provide more than 10,000 yuan ($1,601) of annual income per family," said Chu, adding that this income is significant for families in Xinjiang, especially those living in the less-developed southern region.

However, experts note that although private companies have shown great vitality in trading with bordering countries, they are still weak in manufacturing.

Huang noted that currently some 80 percent of the goods exported from Xinjiang are produced in other provinces and that only around 50 percent of imported goods are processed in Xinjiang.

However, the manufacturing sector in Xinjiang should see a boost after the economic belt is established, Huang said, adding that multiple industrial parks are also being built to lure manufacturers to the region.

 

[Götterdämmerung]

Quite rich this coming from Saudi Arabia where they even have this:

Oh yeah, not only discrimination against non-Muslims, but the rampant racism amongst Muslims that happens in Arabia and other parts of the Muslim world. So much for the so called Ummah. LOL

From Bangladesh to Darfur: Racism among Muslims
From Bangladesh to Darfur: Racism among Muslims

There are tons of articles in the web about this topic.

 

[senheiser]

Muslim oil rich countries should impose sanctions on China

china should replace its arab oil to russian and venzuelian oil

 

[notsuperstitious]

İ assume people are misjudging me. i actually am against these policies against Uyghurs, not only because they are Muslims, but also because they are my kin.

What İ don't understand are some İndians talking about being civilized, modern and at the same time support these policies of China.

İ guess as long as the concerned ones are Muslims, all these preaching about morals and human rights go down the toilet, oops İ mean the streets.

Who is supporting such practices? We even have Muslims in India following Sharia for personal matters.

The only agenda Indians have here is to expose Pakistani hypocrisy, as Pakistanis show lot of concern for Indian muslims (although literally 100 times more muslims die in Pakistan) but since china is Pakistan's benefactor, they simply ignore what happens in China. You may be misreading this indian agenda as something else.

 

[wise_owl]

china should replace its arab oil to russian and venzuelian oil

Russia, Venezuela with respect to Muslim nations..... You do the maths....

 

[Desert Fox]

CAIRO – A Chinese ban on Ramadan fasting for uighur Muslims in the Muslim-majority northwest district of Xinjiang has sparked protests from Saudis and expatriates who demanded a boycott of Chinese products. Rejecting the Chinese restrictions on their fellow Muslims, Saudis urged a Muslim unity to take political and economic actions against China for its oppressive policy. Others urged Saudi Arabia and other OIC countries to support Muslim minorities in China and elsewhere. “Our government took strong action against the Netherlands when a rightwing politician in the country abused Islam and the Saudi flag. We should take similar action against China if they do not review their anti-Muslim stance,” Fuad Tawfik, a Saudi engineer, told Arab News.
Muslims Protest China’s Ramadan Ban - Asia-Pacific - News - OnIslam.net

Was there really a mass protest against Chinese gov.t in Saudi Arabia and Egypt or is this just another hype?? @al-Hasani @JUBA @Arabian Legend @Arabian Knight @Mahmoud_EGY

 

[KingMamba]

We have the second largest Muslim population in the earth and they are all Indians and pretty much care about Islam like other Muslims.So don't preach us where we can raise our voice or not

Unless you are one of those Muslims, then no your input means nothing. Btw Pakistan has the second most Muslims on the planet.

 

[Desert Fox]

This is something we don't understand as well. It seems we have no sovereign rights whatsoever to conduct our internal government policy. Do we need to ask our Muslim friends about the various treatment of non-Muslim? Nope that is not our style and we have no interest in bugging into other country internal affair. Likewise, we ask others to respect us. Like I recommend, if they don't like that policy, they can seek other jobs or request to stay at home during that month. We can't afford having our government officials not performing their best duty due to various religious function that is detrimental to their mental and physical health.

Don't Chinese Buddhists also fast??

 

[Nan Yang]

This ban is a stupid policy. Come and learn from Singapore. You guys have merely 10 million Uyghurs vs 1.3 billion Han and got so much problem.

Singapore has just 2.5 million Chinese citizen surrounded by 250 million Islamist within and without. We have religion and racial harmony.

Singapore policy on minority is to dilute concentration of Malays areas to prevent ghettos. Using public housing allocation they spread all the Malay population throughout the city state so there is now no so call "Malay" areas. There are also restrictions like no loud speakers calling for prayers.