DOCSLIB.ORG

Impact of the Xinjiang Problem on the China's

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

IMPACT OF THE XINJIANG PROBLEM ON THE CHINA’S EXTERNAL RELATIONS: 1990-2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY FATMA ÖZGE ATAY IN PARTICULAR FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE PROGRAM OF EURASIAN STUDIES DECEMBER 2010 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Meliha Benli ALTUNIŞIK Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar AKÇALI Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oktay TANRISEVER Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Sencer İMER (Aksaray U., Dean of FEAS) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oktay TANRISEVER (METU, IR) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fırat PURTAŞ (Gazi U., IR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Fatma Özge ATAY Signature : iii ABSTRACT IMPACT OF THE XINJIANG PROBLEM ON CHINA’S EXTERNAL RELATIONS: 1990-2010 Atay, Fatma Özge M.S., Eurasian Studies Program Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Oktay F. TANRISEVER December 2010, 138 pages This thesis analyses the impact of the Xinjiang Problem on the foreign policy of China. Because of its strategic location and natural resources, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) has great importance for China. Contrary to the scholars who view Chinese foreign policy towards Central Asia as a product of China’s economic ambitions, this thesis argues that Chinese foreign policy towards Central Asian region has been shaped by security considerations of China related to the Xinjiang Problem. The Xinjiang Problem shapes China’s foreign relations with Central Asian states, Russia, the U.S. and Turkey because this problem has became an important element of China’s territorial integrity as well as its strategy of stabilizing Central Asian region. This thesis is composed of eight chapters. The first chapter is the introduction. The second chapter looks at the evolution of the problem of Xinjiang. Chapter three examines the main characteristics of the Chinese Foreign policy. The fourth chapter discusses the China’s relations with the Central Asian states. The relation between China and Russia is analyzed in the fifth chapter. The sixth chapter deals with China’s relations with the U.S. as well as the Taiwan and Tibet issues. The seventh chapter explores the impact of the Xinjiang Problem on China’s relations with Turkey. Keywords: The Xinjiang Problem, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Uyghurs, China, Central Asia, Turkey, Russia, the U.S. iv ÖZ SİNCAN SORUNUNUN ÇİN DIŞ POLİTİKASINA ETKİSİ: 1990-2010 Atay, Fatma Özge Yüksek Lisans, Avrasya Çalışmaları Tez Yöneticisi: Doç Dr. Oktay F. TANRISEVER Aralık, 2010, 138 sayfa Bu tez, Sincan sorununun Çin dış politikasına etkisini incelemektedir. Sincan Uygur Özerk Bölgesi (SUÖB) stratejik konumu ve doğal kaynakları nedeniyle Çin için büyük öneme sahiptir. Çin’in Orta Asya’ya yönelik politikalarını ekonomik isteklerinin bir ürünü olarak gören teorisyenlerin aksine, bu tez Çin’in Orta Asya bölgesine yönelik dış politikasının Sincan sorununa ilişkin güvenlik endişeleri ile şekillendiğini ileri sürmektedir. Sincan sorunu Çin’in Orta Asya ülkeleri, Rusya, Amerika ve Türkiye ile ilişkilerini şekillendirmektedir çünkü bu sorun Çin’in toprak bütünlüğü ve Orta Asya bölgesinin istikrarının sağlanması stratejisinin önemli bir unsurudur. Bu tez 8 bölümden oluşmaktadır. İlk bölüm giriş bölümüdür. İkinci bölümde Sincan sorununun tarihsel gelişimi incelenmektedir. Üçüncü bölümde, Çin dış politikasınınn ana özelliklerine değinilmektedir. Dördüncü bölümde Çin’in Orta Asya ülkeleri ile olan ilişkileri tartışılmaktadır. Beşinci bölümde Çin ve Rusya arasındaki ilişkilerin analizi yapılmaktadır. Altıncı bölümde Tayvan ve Tibet sorunları vurgulanmak suretiyle Çin ve A.B.D. arasındaki ilişkilerden bahsedilmektedir. Yedinci bölümde Çin ve Türkiye arasındaki ilişkiler ile tüm bu ilişkilere Sincan sorunun etkisi araştırılmaktadır. Sekinci bölüm ise sonuç bölümüdür. Anahtar kelimeler: Sincan sorunu, Sincan Uygur Özerk Bölgesi, Uygur, Çin, Orta Asya, Rusya, Amerika, Türkiye. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to state that I am grateful to my supervisor, Assist. Prof. Dr. Oktay F. Tanrısever, for his invaluable comments, advice, support and patience throughout my study. Without his encouragement and help this thesis would definitely be incomplete. Also, I am very grateful to my distinguished examining committee members, Prof. Dr. Sencer İmer and Assist. Prof. Dr. Fırat Purtaş for their suggestions as they helped me in refining my ideas on this topic. Finally, I would like to thank my dear family especially my mother Serpil Afşar and my grandmother Nimet Afşar for their belief in me and for all their pray for me. Last but not least, I would like to thank my dearest husband Niyazi Güneş Atay for his love, his support and always being there for me. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM.........................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................iv ÖZ.............................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................vi TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................x CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................1 2. EVOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM OF XINJIANG................................................10 2.1. History of the Uyghurs....................................................................................10 2.2. Xinjiang After Chinese Invasion.....................................................................12 2.3. Xinjiang Under the Rule of Communist China...............................................15 2.3.1. Policies of PRC (1949-1989).....................................................................15 2.3.2. Impact of Cultural Revolution...................................................................19 vii 2.3.3. The Movements in Xinjiang in 1990s........................................................23 2.3.4. Great Western Development Program of China........................................27 2.3.5. China’s Policy Towards Uyghurs After 9/11.............................................34 3. CHINESE FOREIGN RELATIONS..........................................................................40 3.1. Historical Background.....................................................................................40 3.2. Determinants of Chinese Foreign Policy Objectives.......................................46 3.3. Main Aims of Chinese Foreign Policy.............................................................50 4. CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH THE CENTRAL ASIAN STATES ........................55 4.1. Development of Relations Between China & Central Asian States................56 4.2. Main Issues Between China and Central Asian States.....................................61 4.2.1. Border Issue..........................................................................................61 4.2.2. Energy Security and Nuclear Energy Issues........................................63 4.2.3. Economic Relations.............................................................................66 4.2.4. Security Issues.....................................................................................68 4.3. Role of Xinjiang Problem in China’s Relations with Central Asian States.....70 5. CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH RUSSIAN FEDERATION ......................................73 5.1. Development of the Sino-Soviet Relations......................................................73 5.2. Main Issues Between China and Central Asian States....................................77 5.3. Role of Xinjiang Problem on Sino-Soviet Relations.......................................85 6. CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.................89 viii 6.1. Development of China-U.S. relations..............................................................89 6.2. Main Issues Between China and the U.S.........................................................94 6.2.1. Taiwan Issue........................................................................................95 6.2.2. Trade Dispute......................................................................................97 6.2.3. Tibet Issue...........................................................................................99 6.3. Role of Xinjiang Problem in China’s Relations with the U.S........................101 7. CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH TURKEY ...............................................................105 7.1. Development of China & Turkey Relations...................................................105 7.2. Main Issues Between Turkey
Recommended publications
  • Statement by Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur Democracy Leader

    Statement by Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur Democracy Leader

    Statement by Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur democracy leader European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium September 1, 2009 Good morning/afternoon/evening. Before we begin, I would like to thank the organizers. I would also like to thank everyone here today for your attendance. Since the unrest in Urumchi on July 5, 2009, the official Chinese media, led by Xinhua news agency and Chinese Central Television, has vigorously presented to the world the Chinese government’s version of events and the cause of the discontent shown by Uyghurs in the streets of East Turkestan’s regional capital. The version of the Urumchi unrest that has been presented to the world by the Chinese government follows this narrative. On July 5, Uyghur “plotters1” took to the streets and in a display of “beating, smashing, looting, and burning” killed 192 people and injured 1,7212. The riot was masterminded3 by me, Rebiya Kadeer, and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC). On July 19, Nur Bekri, the Chairman of what the Chinese government calls the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, admitted4 that Chinese security forces used live ammunition and shot dead protestors, who were referred to as “mobsters” in the official media, to control the unrest. This version of events, as is so often the case with Chinese reporting, is not true. For instance, we know that far more than 12 Uyghurs were shot by Chinese authorities. The Chinese government, through its proxies in the official media, is obscuring the truth in order to conceal a mass killing of Uyghurs by Chinese security forces. Furthermore, through its demonization of Uyghur protestors in the official media, it is attempting to justify the impending mass executions of Uyghurs as promised by Chinese officials.
  • Trapped in a Virtual Cage: Chinese State Repression of Uyghurs Online

    Trapped in a Virtual Cage: Chinese State Repression of Uyghurs Online

    Trapped in a Virtual Cage: Chinese State Repression of Uyghurs Online Table of Contents I. Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... 2 II. Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 5 III. Background............................................................................................................................... 6 IV. Legislation .............................................................................................................................. 17 V. Ten Month Shutdown............................................................................................................... 33 VI. Detentions............................................................................................................................... 44 VII. Online Freedom for Uyghurs Before and After the Shutdown ............................................ 61 VIII. Recommendations................................................................................................................ 84 IX. Acknowledgements................................................................................................................. 88 Cover image: Composite of 9 Uyghurs imprisoned for their online activity assembled by the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Image credits: Top left: Memetjan Abdullah, courtesy of Radio Free Asia Top center: Mehbube Ablesh, courtesy of
  • Uyghur Identity Contestation and Construction of Identity in a Conflict Setting

    Uyghur Identity Contestation and Construction of Identity in a Conflict Setting

    UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG School of Global Studies = Uyghur Identity Contestation and Construction of Identity in a Conflict Setting Master Thesis in Global Studies Spring Semester 2015 Author: Fanny Olson Supervisor: Camilla Orjuela ABSTRACT This study explores and discusses the dynamics of identity in conflict through examining Uyghur collective identity in the specific context of China as an emerging power. Particular attention is paid to how this identity is constructed and contested by different actors of the Xinjiang Conflict. The Xinjiang Conflict is a multifaceted conflict, consisting of both direct and structural violence. These dynamics of identity are based on different understandings of what it means to be a Uyghur, which is in line with existing research on contemporary conflicts that considers identity as a driving force of violence. Through a text analysis, this study sets out to assess how Uyghur identity is constructed and contested in the context of the Xinjiang Conflict, by primary actors; the Chinese government, Uyghur diaspora and the local Uyghur population in Xinjiang. As the Uyghurs’ identity has been contested, and discontent is cultivated among the Uyghur community, the conflict between Uyghurs and the Chinese government (dominated by the majority ethnic group Han Chinese) has escalated since the mid-1990s. The findings advanced in this research conclude that Uyghur identity, in the context of conflict, is contested within different areas, such as language, culture, territory, religion and even time. This paper suggests that within these areas, identity is contested though the different processes of negotiation, resistance, boundary-making and emphasis on certain features of ones identity.
  • The East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.) University Honors Capstone, Spring 2014

    The East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.) University Honors Capstone, Spring 2014

    The East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.) University Honors Capstone, Spring 2014 Author: Kathryn Appelman Advisor: Tricia Bacon, JLC This study investigates the motives, history, leadership, impact, and future of the East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.), a little-studied ethno-nationalist separatist terrorist organization in China’s Xinjiang province. Basing findings on existing literature, original Chinese news reports and press releases, and firsthand interviews with experts, it concludes that while E.T.I.P.-proper does not pose a significant threat to U.S. national security, issues surrounding it present significant foreign policy problems vis à vis China and the human rights community. However, ETIP members in Pakistan are likely cooperating with known enemies of the United States, and the United States should continue its CT efforts against them without infringing on China’s sovereignty. The East Turkistan Islamic Party (E.T.I.P.) I. Overview and Literature Review ETIP, or the East Turkistan Islamic Party, is a religious ethno-nationalist terrorist organization, made up of Uighur separatists who aim to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state in the West Chinese province of Xinjiang. In the United States, it is known largely for its connection to Al Qaeda, its threats against the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and its members detained in Guantanamo Bay. However, in China, ETIP is considered a serious threat to the internal security of the country. The study of active terrorist groups will always be a murky subject, but ETIP takes “murky” to a new level. Members of ETIP are Uighur Muslims; however, much further information, such as education level, structure, or community support, even the size of the organization, is tightly guarded by the PRC.
  • Alleged Uyghur Terrorism Information for the Press

    Alleged Uyghur Terrorism Information for the Press

    Alleged Uyghur Terrorism Information for the Press Uyghur American Association 1 Table of Contents 1. Uyghur American Association on Terrorism ...........................................................................3 1.1 Uyghur American Association Position........................................................................3 1.2 Quotes by Ms. Rebiya Kadeer on Terrorism.................................................................3 2. Uyghur American Association on the East Turkestan Islamic Movement ................................4 2.1 Designation by the U.S. government ...........................................................................4 2.2 Independent observers on ETIM .....................................................................................4 2.3 Unaddressed concerns .................................................................................................7 2.4 Chinese government justifications for repression............................................................8 2.5 Conclusion of Uyghur American Association on the existence of ETIM.......................8 3. Uyghur American Association on the Guantánamo Uyghurs ...................................................9 4. Timeline of Events Since 2007..............................................................................................11 5. Background on the Uyghur People and East Turkestan..........................................................14 6. Uyghur American Association...............................................................................................15
  • Comprehensive Encirclement

    Comprehensive Encirclement

    COMPREHENSIVE ENCIRCLEMENT: THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY’S STRATEGY IN XINJIANG GARTH FALLON A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy School of Humanities and Social Sciences International and Political Studies July 2018 1 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: FALLON First name: Garth Other name/s: Nil Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: MPhil School: Humanitiesand Social Sciences Faculty: UNSW Canberraat ADFA Title: Comprehensive encirclement: the Chinese Communist Party's strategy in Xinjiang Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASETYPE) This thesis argues that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a strategy for securing Xinjiang - its far-flung predominantly Muslim most north-western province - through a planned program of Sinicisation. Securing Xinjiang would turna weakly defended 'back door' to China into a strategic strongpointfrom which Beijing canproject influence into Central Asia. The CCP's strategy is to comprehensively encircle Xinjiang with Han people and institutions, a Han­ dominated economy, and supporting infrastructure emanatingfrom inner China A successful program of Sinicisation would transform Xinjiang from a Turkic-language-speaking, largely Muslim, physically remote, economically under-developed region- one that is vulnerable to separation from the PRC - into one that will be substantially more culturally similar to, and physically connected with, the traditional Han-dominated heartland of inner China. Once achieved, complete Sinicisation would mean Xinjiang would be extremely difficult to separate from China. In Xinjiang, the CCP enacts policies in support of Sinication across all areas of statecraft. This thesis categorises these activities across three dimensions: the economic and demographic dimension, the political and cultural dimension, and the security and international cooperationdimension.
  • WUC Is to Promote Democracy, Human Rights and Freedom for the Uyghur People and to Use Peaceful, Nonviolent and Democratic Means to Determine Their Future

    WUC Is to Promote Democracy, Human Rights and Freedom for the Uyghur People and to Use Peaceful, Nonviolent and Democratic Means to Determine Their Future

    Submission to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee the Customs Amendment of the Australian Parliament Banning Goods Produced by Uyghur Forced Labour- Bill 2020 05 February 2021 World Uyghur Congress Adolf-Kolping-Straße 9, 80336 Munich, Germany TEL +49 89 5432 1999 | FAX +49 89 5434 9789 | [email protected] The World Uyghur Congress, established in April 2004, is an international umbrella organization that represents the collective interests of the Uyghur people both in China and abroad. The principal objective of the WUC is to promote democracy, human rights and freedom for the Uyghur people and to use peaceful, nonviolent and democratic means to determine their future. Table of Contents I. Introduction...................................................................................................................................2 Key Takeaways...............................................................................................................................................3 II. Background ...............................................................................................................................................3 III. Forced Labour in East Turkistan ......................................................................................................4 Forced labour of detainees in internment camps settings.................................................................................................. 6 Forced labour in the apparel and garment industry...........................................................................................................
  • The Mass Internment of Uyghurs: “We Want to Be Respected As Humans

    The Mass Internment of Uyghurs: “We Want to Be Respected As Humans

    The Mass Internment of Uyghurs: “We want to be respected as humans. Is it too much to ask?” TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................3 BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................................5 The Re-education Campaign Emerges from “De-extremification”……………………………….6 The Scale and Nature of the Current Internment Camp System…………………………………10 Reactions to the Internment Camps…………………………………………………...................17 VOICES OF THE CAMPS ...........................................................................................................19 “Every night I heard crying” .........................................................................................................19 “I am here to break the silence”.....................................................................................................20 “He bashed his head against a wall to try to kill himself”.............................................................23 LEGAL INSTRUMENTS .............................................................................................................38 RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................................41 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................43 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................43
  • World Uyghur Congress Newsletter No.10 Published: 10 May 2011

    World Uyghur Congress Newsletter No.10 Published: 10 May 2011

    World Uyghur Congress Newsletter No.10 Published: 10 May 2011 Newsletter No.10 May 2011 Official Website of the WUC | Unsubscribe | Subscribe | Older Editions | PDF Version Conference on the future of the Uyghurs in East Turkestan TOP STORY International Conference: The Future of the Uyghur People in East Turkestan FEATURED ARTICLES Uyghur Leaders Bared from Travel High Court turns down Uyghur Case for U.S. resettlement MEDIA WORK WUC on Facebook and Twitter / New Design Newsletter Interview with Alim Seystoff at Voice of America WUC PR World Press Freedom Day WUC Congratulates Dr. Lobsang Sangay PAST EVENTS 21st Anniversary of the Baren Massacre Second Grand Meeting of Friendship and Solidarity of Uyghur Youth, Sweden 7th General Assembly of the Kyrgyzstan Uyghur Union (Ittipak) Uyghur Event in Australia Conference on East Turkestan in Turkey U.S. - China Human Rights Dialogue UPCOMING EVENTS 17th session of the UN Human Rights Council Food and Culture from East Turkestan HIGHLIGHTED MEDIA ARTICLES AND REPORTS ON UYGHUR RELATED ISSUES US State Department: 2010 Human Rights Report UN Rights Panel Raps China Over 'Disappeared' Freedom House Report ""Freedom on the Net 2011" U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 2011 Annual Report MORE MEDIA ARTICLES 1 / 10 www.uyghurcongress.org World Uyghur Congress Newsletter No.10 Published: 10 May 2011 TOP STORY International Conference: The Future of the Uyghur People in East Turkestan From May 2-8, 2011 the international conference The Future of Uyghur People in East Turkestan co-sponsored by Freedom House, World Uyghur Congress (WUC), Uyghur American Association (UAA) and the International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation (IUHRDF), took place in Washington, D.C.
  • The Other Tibet

    The Other Tibet

    6/7/2017 National Geographic Magazine ­ NGM.com Published: December 2009 The Other Tibet The Uygurs, Muslim people of China’s resource­rich far west, are becoming strangers in their own land as Han Chinese pour in. Like the Tibetans, who face similar pressures, some Uygurs see a chance for a better life, but others protest the disintegration of their culture, even at the risk of death. By Matthew Teague The first several seconds of the incident in Urumqi seemed almost lighthearted, considering the previous week. And they revealed nothing about what would follow. A cool front had swept over the city on this particular day in July, drawing people from their homes. Some shops stayed closed because their windows had been shattered, but food vendors pushed their carts out onto the street. A week earlier an ethnic clash had broken out here, killing almost 200 people in one of China’s most deadly protests since the Tiananmen Square massacre two decades ago. So the Chinese government had sent tens of thousands of security forces into the city, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Auton omous Region, to restore order between the Han and the Uygurs. The Han dominate Chinese society, but the Uygurs (pronounced WEE­gurs), a Turkic­speaking Central Asian people, claim this western borderland as their ancestral home. Han security forces stood in ranks along every street in the city's Uygur quarter. They bristled with riot gear and automatic weapons. The only sound came from loudspeakers mounted on trucks that trawled the market streets, broadcasting the good news of ethnic harmony.
  • China's Forced Assimilation Policy Toward the Uyghurs in Xinjiang

    China's Forced Assimilation Policy Toward the Uyghurs in Xinjiang

    國立中山大學亞太事務英語碩士學位程 碩士論文 International Master Program in Asia-Pacific Affairs National Sun Yat-sen University Master Thesis 中國針對新疆維吾爾族的強迫同化政策 China‟s forced assimilation policy toward the Uyghurs in Xinjiang 研究生：米華 Michal Cieslik 指導教授：林文程 教授 Prof. Lin Wencheng 中華民國 109 年 7 月 July 2020 i 摘要 本研究之目的在探討新疆維吾爾族與中華人民共和國政府之間的衝突起源及現狀並著重於 1949 年人民解放軍發起和平解放後，中華人民共和國政府所實施的種族政策。本研究同 時從中華人民共和國政府以及新疆維吾爾少數民族兩方角度出發，探討這些政策所帶來的 影響並於最後一個章節研究國際對此衝突的回應。本文以文件分析法為主要研究方式，探 討強行同化政策的可行性。然而，根據本文所引述之資料所顯示，其可能性極低。除此之 外，若中華人民共和國政府不改變對維吾爾少數民族的執政方式，維吾爾族將持續激烈的 反抗並可能引發一些暴力衝突。 關鍵詞：維吾爾族，新疆，少數民族政策，中華人民共和國，衝突 ii Abstract This study seeks to explore the origins and the current situation of the ongoing conflict in Xinjiang, China, between the region‟s Uyghur ethnic minority population and the PRC government. Special attention is paid to the Chinese government ethnic policies since the region‟s “peaceful liberation” in 1949 by the PLA. The study also explores the aftermath of these policies from the perspective of the Chinese government and the Xinjiang‟s Uyghur minority. The last section of the study explores the international responses to the conflict. Through utilizing a document analysis as a primary research method, this paper aims to answer whether the forced assimilation policy works. The findings presented in this study strongly suggest that the answer to the above question is no. This paper also suggests that unless China changes its approach to the region‟s Uyghur minority, the strong resistance among the Uyghurs will continue, leading to occasional violent incidents.
  • Human Rights Violations Against Muslims in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of Western China by Natasha Parassram Concepcion*

    Human Rights Violations Against Muslims in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of Western China by Natasha Parassram Concepcion*

    Human Rights Violations Against Muslims in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of Western China by Natasha Parassram Concepcion* he disintegration of years imprisonment. The the Soviet Union Chinese government’s Tresulted in the forma- actions against Kadeer are tion of several new and unsta- meant to punish both her ble Central Asian states, and her husband, a former located around the Chinese political prisoner, for pub- border. This instability is a licly speaking out against the major source of concern for government’s treatment of the Chinese government, the Uighurs. which fears the unrest could Despite the fact that the lead to destabilization of Chinese government signed some of its provinces. Today, the International Covenant there are five autonomous on Civil and Political Rights regions in China where (ICCPR) and ratified the UN national minority citizens are Convention against Torture allowed some form of limited and Other Cruel, Inhuman representation in regional or Degrading Treatment or government institutions. The Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Punishment (CAT), it continues to perpetrate massive human Region (XUAR), where approximately eight million Uighurs— rights abuses against the Uighur population, directly in violation the predominantly Muslim inhabitants—currently reside, is one of its international human rights obligations under these two of these five regions. treaties. The XUAR is a strategically important region within China, reportedly rich in oil and gas, and used by the Chinese govern- Background ment for nuclear bomb testing. In order to maintain its hold over Political and Religious History the region, the Chinese government has responded to the threat The Uighurs have resided in the Tarim basin in Western of destabilization by tolerating, to some degree, the Muslim reli- China since the sixth century.