Needlenose

Here we are again, ethnic majority actively colonizing a region full of ethnic minorities, promulgating harsh assimilationist policies and then acting surprised when said minority takes to the streets and fights back.  In this case, it’s the Han-Chinese dominated PRC versus the Uighurs in their Western Provinces.

Typically, the PRC fabricated some story about how the Uighurs started it all, blocked any unofficial accounts, and blamed everything on Islamic extremism, terrorism and outside agitators meddling in Chinese internal affairs.  A former Uighur political prisoner provides an alternative, and in my view a more highly likely accounting of the events that lead to the recent riots.

Why do I consider this more likely?  From stories I’ve heard and things I’ve read.  For example, a buddy of mine went to a University in Xian for a couple of years in the early 80s.  At the school were numerous African students.  One night, an African student was seen getting too chummy with a Chinese girl in town.  A vigilante mob armed with various clubs and implements ran around town looking for Africans to beat up.  The students retreated to the dorms and they were locked down for the night, and a curfew was imposed until things calmed down.

In another adventure travel book I read, the author recalled hiring a truck out of Urumchi heading East.  Their young driver didn’t have a truck driving permit.  The truck was stopped, and the driver was hauled out of the car and beaten with truncheons for a few minutes. 

This situation is an familiar slow-motion train wreck.  You’d think some leader, somewhere, would reflect for a minute about the situation in Eastern Turkey with Turks vs. Kurds, or Isreal and it’s occupation of the West Bank, but no.  The PRC followed up on the rights with repressive measures, gunning down Uighur protestors.  I’m sure things will quiet down for a bit, but there are now hundreds of grieving and angry Uighur families out there who won’t forget this anytime soon.

It’s one thing to pick on the Buddhist Tibetans – they aren’t known for suicide bombings and jihads.  The Uighurs certainly aren’t Wahabi wing nuts, but shoot at them and beat them enough and you’ll end up with an Al Qaeda of Western China in no time.

So instead of working with local Uighur leaders (if there actually are any!) to reverse hateful assimilation and colonization policies and trying to mediate the situation, they just pull out the old violent playbook and wave the train on down the track.