A Note on Xinjiang

First, let me say with firmness that I oppose violence against civilians in any form.  There are always appropriate venues for action, but attacking one’s neighbors cannot solve the problem.  The riots in Urumqi, where many lives of both Uyghurs and Han were lost, are a tradgedy in any sense. Furthermore, as a Chinese Muslim, I do condemn the abuses against my religion which the Uyghurs had suffered because of the Communist policies there. However, I also feel that this is a multi-dimensional problem.  It would be foolish to say that China is attacking the religion of Islam itself, for only the reason of attacking Islam, as the Hui ethnicity, who are Chinese-speaking Muslims encounter little or no problem from the central government.  In this posting, I want to discuss some points relating to the recent events in Xinjiang, even if I am a bit late in doing so.

Media Portrayal of the Urumqi Events

In much of the Western media, the Uyghurs were portrayed as victims.  They were not portrayed so much as victims of bad Communist policies, of which all Chinese are a victim, but rather of racism and a particular military action against them.  This is ironic, since most of those who perished were Han Chinese.  During the riots, 137 Han Chinese, 46 Uyghur,  and 1 Hui were killed.  However, the race-obsessed media in the United States and in many other Western countries could not help but blame the Han Chinese and  absolve the Uyghurs.  It should be pointed out, however, this is not necessarily a sign of anti-Chinese bias.  The American media has often taken the stance that “minorities can do no wrong,” and perhaps this  type of reporting is merely an extension of that concept applied to China.  One needs only to look at the American media’s knee-jerk defense of Sonia Sotomayor, or the strange case of the Jena Six in order to see that the media feeds off a frenzy of racial conflicts even in the United States.  Obviously, the Western Media has no compunction about fueling the same racial tensions around the world to see their fairy-tale universe being played out.

This has not passed without some nagging feminist stating that heroic women have stood up to the oppressive male power structure.  The “wise woman” has always been some sort of leftist icon, and this time was no exception.  The London Evening Standard says that “women fought with riot police”.  The impression one gets from watching the Western media is that the Uyghurs are poor and repressed, and therefore “innocent” by default, and therefore the majority Han are the oppressors.  While I do agree that there is frustration against the Chinese government among Uyghurs, murder is still murder.  One should cast aside the political correctness that is being enforced in the media.  After all, think for a moment, what the NPR, the Huffington Post, and the other liberal, Judeobolshevist-controlled media in the United States would say had 137 Israelis been killed by Palestinians.  I am fairly sure that the Uyghurs do not endure bombings on their towns by American-build fighter jets, nor those said towns being bulldozed for Jewish-only settlements.  Certainly, the Palestinians, co-religionists with the Uyghurs, who suffer a fate much worse, would be labeled “terrorists”.

Political Implications of the Urumqi Events

It is important to think of what the Urumqi riots mean for the world.  Most notably is a concern that this can upset China’s relations with the Muslim world.  I think that in part, the West is exploiting this opportunity to do just that.  The Trotskyists on Capitol Hill still have a dream of some sort of “Democratic Internationale,” and therefore need a convenient way to weaken China while gaining it as an ally.  On the one hand, they have tried to cast blame upon China for their heavy handed approach, and on the other attempted to link Al-Qaeda to the event.  China then reaches an impasse: if they act, even with a legitimate cause to counter a terrorist threat, they are accused of genocide and repression and incur wrath from Muslims.  If they fail to act, they can become a target for terrorism themselves.

Today, China has become a rival in the race for resources.  In particular, China sees it useful to attempt to seek cooperation with the Turkic-Islamic nations in Central Asia to build a corridor of influence to the oil-rich Middle East.  Naturally, the Urumqi Riot destabilizes those links.  Also, at a time when we hear about the “China threat” and “Islamofascism” almost on a daily basis, the one thing that the Euro-Atlantic Axis does not want is for a strong Eurasian alliance between China, Russia and the Islamic world.  There is no doubt that even if the original incident had legitimate roots, it has been exacerbated by outside forces in an attempt for a certain elite to benefit from a global conflict.

The very nature of the protests seems to suggest a degree of foreign meddling designed to conveniently produce good propaganda for the liberal-controlled media in the United States.  In the midst of mass confusion, there was an orderly protest of a few hundred women, as reported by several media agencies.  Putting together such an organized protest requires effort, good communication, and money, and having a march composed exclusively of women, especially in an Islamic society is an extremely sophisticated, media-savvy and effective form of protest. It made all the headlines.  In a place like Xinjiang, where the people especially the Uighurs are poor, uneducated, probably not too media-savvy and who definitely don’t have a long tradition of public protest, this kind of protest seems unlikely without some kind of effective leadership.

Closing Remarks (for now)

I know I will probably tread dangerous ground in writing this, and I have tried to remain fair and balanced throughout my commentary.  When writing about sensitive issues, I am invariably confronted with the accusation that since I am not politically correct, I must be an agent of the Chinese Communist Party.  However, I am Taiwanese and owe no loyalty to the Communist Party.  I merely refuse to be constrained by the beloved speech codes of Western liberals.

What I have written here is only a fraction of the commentary of a many-faceted situation which has nuances of history, politics, and international relations.  I hoped that I had touched on some less-discussed facets, as I had been rather late in making my commentary on this issue, expecting that bloggers on all sides of the issue had already commented on it.  I do encourage the humble reader to read the views of other authors and bloggers, and make their own decisions, and provide links underneath this post.  In any case, I do hope for peace in Urumqi and in Xinjiang.  I hope that all Muslims in China can practice their religion freely, and that the families of my Uyghur acquaintances, with whom I have built up warm friendships will be safe.

Links:

• On the Recent Ethnic Problems in Xinjiang by “Friends of China”
• The “Global Times” has several articles on Xinjiang:
• Blogger “shuzheng” has several postings on the incident