| Hu Gets a Black Eye in Urumqi |
Tag it:
| Written by Willy Lam | |
| Thursday, 09 July 2009 | |
 Chinese Uighurs in front of the Chinese consulate in Istanbul Call it asymmetrical warfare with ethnic-Chinese characteristics. Yet for the first time since Chairman Mao Zedong invented guerrilla skirmishes in the 1930s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership is in the receiving end of the volleys and bombardments from the Uighurs, a 9 million-strong ethnic grouping which has become a minority in its own territory. Little wonder then, that President Hu Jintao, who dictates Beijing's policy toward Uighurs and Tibetans, has had to to scurry back to China half way through the G8-plus-5 conclave in Italy. This is the first time in recent memory that a Chinese head of state has had to cut short a foreign trip to attend to a domestic crisis. The protests and riots that broke out on Sunday in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XAR) – as well as follow-up mishaps on Tuesday – are remarkable for several reasons. First, Hu, in his capacity as chairman of the Central Military Commission, already moved an estimated 80,000 troops and People's Armed Police (PAP) officers to Tibet and Xinjiang early this year. This was in anticipation of the disturbances the Tibetans would stage in March to mark the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan Insurrection in 1959. There are obviously chinks in the armor of the CCP's usually highly rated control apparatus. Secondly, the rioting took place in Urumqi, where Han Chinese outnumber Uighurs by four to one. (Only 9 million of the 21 million residents in the XAR are Uighurs, the rest include the predominant Han Chinese as well as Kazaks and other minorities.) Previous acts of violence – including at least four quasi-terrorist attacks on police and PAP officers in the Olympic month of August last year – by alleged Uighur terrorists -- mostly took place in western and southern Xinjiang, where Uighurs are the majority. By Tuesday, police and PAP officers in Urumqi had arrested some 1,434 suspects. Yet even if, as is likely, more "anti-Chinese" elements in Xinjiang and Tibet were taken behind bars, this will only stoke the fires of hatred – and could result in more members of ethnic minorities taking part in guerrilla warfare against Han Chinese soldiers and police guarding the two autonomous regions. Immediately after the Sunday demonstrations, Chinese authorities accused the foreign-based World Uighur Congress of masterminding the riots via messages sent through the Internet and other channels. Beijing has yet to produce conclusive evidence to back up this charge. Yet there is no denying that thanks to developments like the "Twitter Revolution" in Iran, it is a lot easier for Net-empowered Uighurs and Tibetans to organize anti-Bejing protests and other acts of defiance. The Urumqi riots also show that undercurrents of mistrusts and mutual acrimony between Han Chinese and Uighurs have broken into the open. The Sunday demonstration was organized by Uighurs to show their displeasure over the fact that on June 26, a few dozen Uighur workers were beaten up – and two killed – by their Han Chinese colleagues in a Guangdong toy factory. Yet this protest soon morphed into a free-for-all slugfest between Uighurs and Han Chinese. And on Tuesday, hundreds of Han Chinese with self-made weapons were marching to the Uighur quarter of Urumqi to seek revenge. Beijing authorities have to bear a lot of responsibility for the precipitous deterioration of ties between Chinese on the one hand, and Uighurs and Tibetans on the other. Since the first wave of protests broke out in March 2008, CCTV and other official media have relentlessly broadcast footage suggesting that Tibetans and Uighurs are accomplices of "anti-foreign forces abroad" and that they are unpatriotic and therefore untrustworthy. To this day, Uighur businessmen, some of them millionaires, working in coastal China are routinely turned away from 5-star hotels. Given this background, it is doubtful how President Hu, who as Party Secretary of Tibet from 1988 to 1992 is regarded as the CCP's top authority on western China, could turn the tide. After all, Hu himself is the progenitor of the "get tough" policy toward both Tibetans and Uighurs. After the scores of protests in March and April last year, Hu called off talks with the emissaries of the Dalai Lama. And in an open violation of the Chinese Constitution – which vouchsafes the two regions autonomous powers in areas including religion, language and education – police surveillance in mosques and monasteries has intensified. Ethnic-minority intellectuals, including college lecturers, have been routinely questioned by the police. Moreover, high schools and universities in Tibet and Xinjiang have been told to boost Chinese-language teaching as well as ideological indoctrination geared toward propagating "patriotic and Party-loving" Uighur and Tibetan youths. Draconian policies toward ethnic-minority groupings are also difficult to change due to the fact that the bulk of senior party, government and military officers in Western China are Hu protégés in as well as members of the president's Chinese Youth League Faction. These include the Party Secretaries of Tibet and Xinjiang, respectively Zhang Qingli and Wang Lequn. Wang, who became a XAR vice-governor in 1991, has spent almost two decades in the restive region. He was inducted into the Politburo in 2002 as a reward for his work in taming the Uighurs. After the large number of anti-Beijing riots in Tibet and Xinjiang last year, however, there are calls within the CCP's higher echelons for Hu to penalize or even sack Zhang and Wang. After all, these two powerful plenipotentiaries failed to contain the disturbances last year despite abundant intelligence that Tibetan and Uighur "troublemakers" would engineer disruptive activities to spoil the Summer Olympics. The shrill tactics used by Zhang and Wang have also exacerbated tension between ordinary Han Chinese and ethnic groupings. So far, Hu has refused to penalize any senior officials in either Tibet or Xinjiang. The Hu leadership now also faces more ferocious global criticism of its problematic human rights record. The troubles in Xinjiang have given a pretext to European politicians supportive of the Dalai Lama such as President Nicholas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel to stick to their arguments that China the aspiring "quasi-superpower" has an obligation to meet global norms on its treatment of ethnic minorities. Yet if, as is likely, President Hu continues to rely on brute force to contain malcontents among Tibetans and Uighurs, the situation could deteriorate – and the eventual blow to Hu's legacy would be devastating. Comments
(22)
 written by Irish Observer , July 18, 2009
Hi there,
Votes: +4
Here is what I think: (1) The Chinese government hold all the cards here. The usual western bleating about human rights is not relevant because it is plainly obvious to all and sundry that the Western leadership has ony ever been serious about the human rights of their own citiizens. As far as human rights abroad is concerned, they are less resolute. Human rights abroad only seems to matter when they happen to coincide with Western economic interests in a given region or market. There is no such vital intererst in Xinjiang. Furthermore, in international politics, moral outrage doesn't hold too much weight unless backed by economic and/or military action. The Western powers have niether the ability or inclination to act decisively on this matter. There are some matters that are so serious as to make decisive action possible, but they are not many and Xinjiang is certainly not one of them. So while some pretty speeches will be made, nothing concrete will happen. (2) From the point of view of the Chinese government, this is not entirely a bad thing. Sure, it is somewhat destablizing, but instablility is a great excuse to increase government control over all sorts of things. Bush used 911 to oush through the Patriot Act, I am sure the government in Beijing will be able to use this incident to justify all sorts of tough new policies and develop all sorts of strategies to protect themelves and strengthen public order. And they will face little oppositon in doing so- Xinjiang is a matter of national sovereignty and is spiced up by the racial element and the standardized accusations of Western interference. This will garauntee broad based support for tighter security and law and order policies both in Xinjang and in the rest of China. Furthermore, time and demography mean that the Xinjiang threat will eventually vanish. The same goes for Tibet. (3) The Chinese government should be more worried about outside involvement on the part of Islamic terrorists than the involvement of foreign states. States have bigger interests that will limit the extent to which they can act agaisnt the Chinese government, but terrorists have no such interests. Recent US foreign policy blunders has energized Islamic terrorism, and already some groups have declared their intention to attack Chinese interests abroad. It is only a matter of time before they look at action in China itself. China is full of soft targets because it is a big country with a large population that is difficult to police, and even before this incident, there have already been attacks against Chinese interests in Pakistan. (4) In the long run, this issue is not that important. It is just one more stop on the road to China building a large empire of influence that will be keenly felt in the world in general and in Asia in particular. The Western powers have literally no chance of preventing China from increasing its strength and influence, especially if they continue to be so indecisive and so easily divided in their dealigs with China. On virtually every issue if international importance in the last 10 years, the Western powers have been comprehensively outplayed by a patient and strategically aware China. report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Dynas Tee , July 16, 2009
China should declare the new Axis of Evil against its sovereignty. They are respectively the ETIM-Al Queda, Western Media and CIA openly supporting the killing of Chinese nationals round the world and sabotaging Chinese national interests.
Votes: -3
report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Dynas Tee , July 15, 2009
The Chinese foreign mnistry spokemen had urged the West to stop funding the terrorists but it is likely to fall on death ears. I think the Chinese are just too polite with the imperialists and should also start fundings of terrorists attacking the Western interests.
Votes: -4
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Al Queda Links, Lowly rated comment [Show]
Racism, Lowly rated comment [Show]
Conspiracy, Lowly rated comment [Show]
written by Bin laden , July 13, 2009
mikemo,
Votes: -4
i agreed with you 100%. The whites shd now pack up and leave australia, N america, S africa, etc., right? -atonement. where is your remorse? the few endangered left-over aborigines are languishing in reservations, in disease, etc. The west shd learn from china on how to treated its minorities fairly with reagrads to legislation. Action speaks louder than words! report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by mikemo , July 12, 2009
1) an observation: I speak putonghua. in two years living in beijing I met not a single Han chinese that, in unguarded moments, had anything to say but racist stereotypes about uighurs. I saw discrimination in housing and employment, as well as police harassment of uighurs. this held for africans as well. It was the ugliest and most vulgar aspect of china I encountered. That is, aside from the way chinese in the cities treat those from the countryside; and the high-handed way the government treats the citizens.
Votes: +7
2) to the clearly riled up chinese posters; past ethnic cleansing by western powers has nothing to do with this article. Even if it did, past bad behavior by U.S., Britain, etc., is not a positive argument for current chinese policies or a defense of them. It is not constructive argument. You sound like children crying "unfair, unfair". The comments section of this really turned my stomach because of the clearly ugly and unthinking attitudes on display. In general, I think it will be possible for china to rise peacefully in the world but sometimes when I encounter chinese on the internet I am not so sure. There is a closemindedness and unthinking pride that I hope merely represent young people venting on the internet. Keep up the good work Willy! report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Hulang , July 11, 2009
China must learn from the West.
Votes: +0
Where are the native bushmen in Australia today? Where are the Red Indians in the US and Canada today? What happened to the Blacks in S Africa ? Yes, they didn't spare anyone, did they? Talk of the DEVIL! report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Bruce Lee , July 11, 2009
Turkey is demonstrating. It has conveniently forgotten that it sent warplanes to bomb its minority Kurds. It brutally massacred their Armenian minority. The US only pretends because Turkey is a NATO ally.
Votes: +1
China did not say a thing because Turkey has been a good friend of China. Yes, Turkey is in solidarity with the Uighurs because they are the ancestors of the Turk-speaking Uighurs who came into China via the silk route during the Yuan Dynasty. As migrants that have grown in numbers, the Uighurs should be GRATEFUL to the Chinese pople who have embraced them as brothers and sisters and citizens of One China. Uighurs travel freely all over China. Legislations are in place (on record) to safeguard all minorities in China. They are favoured for university entrance, public sector jobs within their provinces, etc. Their languages are safeguarded and taught in schools together with the national language. Minorities don't have to keep to the 1-child policy (to the future detriment of the Han Chinese). Mosques are freely built for worship (other religious faiths are not allowed or have great difficulty trying to build their places of worship in Islamic countries). The Han Chinese like other Chinese citizens are free to move and settle anywhere in their own motherland. They are free to set up their own businesses (the taxes are often used by the local goverments serving the minorities). If the Uighur extremists continue to promote violence & separatism, the Chinese people may have no choice but to emulate what Turkey does to its minorities recently. TThe Uighurs may also choose to return to their ancestral homeland, Turkey. Well, the 5 millions Moslem Turks in Germany are already getting restless. Retribution may come any time soon for Germany who strives to encourage separatism in China. The Germans also have a hand in stirring up problems in Tibet if one cares to open one's eyes. Well, let's wait and see Mother Nature takes its course. report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Akbar , July 10, 2009
The police in Xinjiang did'nt learn the lesson from the Tibet riots last year, and did'nt stop the mob from attacking people. More heads will roll!
Votes: +0
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Western Media Bias Is The natural Thing, Lowly rated comment [Show]
written by PCK , July 09, 2009
The Chinese government did the right thing by moving more Han Chinese to Tibet and Xinjiang. The problem is they did not move enough of them, and also they did not move enough Tibetans and Uighurs to the rest of China. But I am not suggesting that they do that by force. It should be done by way of commercial reasons, like jobs availability and ease of voluntary movement by the people to seek their fortunes. That is the best way to integrate the country and allow people to identify themselves as Chinese, and not as Tibetans, Uighurs, Huis, or Hans. Just like in American, the Hawaiians live and work in New York, California, etc . Vice versa the Texans move to Hawaii, Florida, etc. And they all call themselves Americans, whether they are white, black, yellow, red or blue. The Chinese need to learn from the Americans. If 80% of Xinjiang population become Han Chinese, then there is no longer possibility of secession. Similarly for Tibet. Likewise if the Uighurs, the Huis, and the Tibetans all find a good living in Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, etc, they will flock there for jobs and make homes there. And maybe the Chinese should re-publish the map and remove the boundaries to show Tibet, Xinjiang, etc. Just show it as one big China. Redraw the provincial boundaries. Recruit these ethnic minorities into the army, the police, the government, the state owned corporate, and send them all over China and integrate them completely into the overall Chinese machinery. There should only be one big China, and all the people there should be called Chinese.
Votes: -1
report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Puah Siew Hoon , July 09, 2009
....the real story is that of Chinese colonialism and hegemonism. The fact is that the Chinese government has conducted a policy of deliberately tilting the ethnic make-up of areas that have no or only a small number of Han Chinese in order to try to establish at least a late and superficial justification for having annexed these territories. The bottom line is: if the Chinese government indeed had only the best in mind for the Tibetans and the Uighurs, they would hold a referendum and let them decide whether they want to be part of the Chinese Reich.
Votes: +6
I believe that is what the Chinese line is on Palastine, too, where the history of settlement is disputed, so how better to demonstrate that one does not preach water and drink wine in Peking? BTW: taking it out on Willy Lam is simply shooting the messenger. report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Ah Lian , July 09, 2009
What is this thing called Hans and Uighurs??? They are all citizens or China, and they are all Chinese.
Votes: -1
The government should try harder to integrate the people so that they are all one together. The policy to restrict people from moving around the country should be scrapped in favour of an opposite policy to move them around. Yeah help Xinjiang residents get jobs in the east coast and help them settle there. And help the east coast chaps get jobs in Xinjiang and settle them there, so that no ethnic groups identify themselves by region. Then they will share the whole national pie. Just like the USA, where the people move about and resettle themselves all over the country, you can't imagine any group that says their state want to secede from the USA. The current Chinese law that restricts people from migrating to another city is actually counter productive in producing a national identity that can help unite all Chinese citizens. If a XInjiang or Tibetan resident can find Shenzhen or Shanghai to be havens for getting jobs, then why would they want to secede from China and lose that privilege. Similarly if there is a mass migration of east coast stock to Tibet or Xinjiang province, then it is impossible for those provinces to secede as the separatists cannot find majority support from those provincial population. report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Ronaldo , July 09, 2009
Both groups are descended from Adam and Eve, and both groups migrated to Xinjiang. So let's not argue who the is the original inhabitants. The current fact is that both groups are resident in Xinjiang, and both groups are citizens of China, and are all Chinese. They should just learn to live together as Chinese without identifying each other as Hans or Uighurs. That takes efforts by both the government and the people to consciously work towards removing racial barriers and
Votes: -2
report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Ah Beng , July 09, 2009
Willy Lam is just an arm chair writer who took his input material from the likes of CNN and BBC, then he regurgitate it and come out with his "article" . That's why his article is so bias, and there is no mention of the premeditated attacks by well armed Uighurs against the Hans. If it was a spontaneous demonstration, then how come they had conveniently possessed sticks, cleavers and other weapons? How come Willy did not report that most of the injured on the first day of violence were Hans? Willy's article is just a mirror image of the reports from CNN and BBC. If the Chinese police and troops had not blocked off the attempted retaliation by the majority Hans in Urumqi, the toll rates of deaths and injured for the Uighurs would have been very high. It was very irresponsible of the people who instigated the Uighurs' attack on the Hans. In an all out violence between the Hans and Uighurs, the Uighurs would be the bigger loser, although both sides will be losers too. There are no winners in racial violence.
Votes: -3
report abuse
vote down
vote up
written by Masha , July 09, 2009
The riots in Urumqi are symptomatic of very tense relations among Uyghurs and Han in Xinjiang. I disagree with the point made below that they have been living together in ‘harmony’ in the XUAR. But, it should be clarified that such strained relations are mainly the end result of government discriminatory policies and practices rather than the inability or lack of willingness of ethnically, linguistically and culturally different communities to live together. I do not condone the resorting to violence on any of the parties involved in the riots, and I do support a government’s duty to protect social order and stability of it citizenry. Yet, associating Uyghurs’ frustration and activism (or that of other minorities in China) with social unrest to be repressed with force is an ancient Chinese measure that will not help tackling the underlying causes behind such sad incidents in the foreseeable future, but only foment minorities as well as majority’s frustration.
Votes: +5
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Typical 'Banana' Chinese Stuff, Lowly rated comment [Show]
written by nanheyangrouchuan , July 09, 2009
Han Chinese know nothing, they just expect all of the non-Han to bow down to these low class, alleged master(baiters).
Votes: +3
report abuse
vote down
vote up
..., Lowly rated comment [Show]
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
Winning Hearts and Minds in AfghanistanMichelle Price The grim truth of war remains: hearts and minds are lost in the campaign to get the enemy by the balls
Full Story |
| Other Articles |
The US in "China's Lake" Washington challenges Beijing's hegemony over the South China Sea
Full Story |
| most read... |
Alice Poon
| Book About Land and Power in Hong KongFriday, 02 July 2010 | Alice Poon
The Chinese edition of “Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong” has finally come to life. The title of the book is “地產霸權” and it is co-published... Full Story |
| Previous posts: |
John Elliott: Riding the Elephant
| From vultures in Delhi, to coups in Pakistan, a journalist's un-edited take on current events |
|
Donate to Asia Sentinel
Will this conspiracy be enough to overthrow Mr. Hu presidency? Who know, but you cannot help but think about the ingenuity of CIA plots like those in the Hollywood movies.