Introduction
Xinjiang, officially known as the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), lies in the northwest region of China and constitutes about one-sixth of its landmass. It is rich in natural resources and the most politically sensitive region in China. Xinjiang borders India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. It is home to an estimated 11 million Uighurs and several smaller ethnic groups including the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. Historically Xinjiang region has been a battleground for Turkic nations, the Mongols, China and Russia. The region was once known as ‘East Turkistan’, this name was changed to Xinjiang by China because it “was deemed separatist in nature and Pan-Turkish”. Xinjiang means a new frontier in Mandarin.
Xinjiang became a focus of international attention when reports emerged that millions of Uighurs were forcibly detained by Chinese authorities in internment camps. Since 2017, satellite images have revealed 380 internment camps in Xinjiang. The United Nations (UN) estimates that the number of detainees in Xinjiang may be closer to 2 million people. Uighurs were relatively unknown until mid-1980’s when China introduced a new integrated language policy for the rest of the country. The decision has resulted in the persecution, displacement and deaths of thousands of Uighurs and continues to threaten their ethnical identity.
This paper will endeavour to answer questions on the origins of the Uighurs and threats to their cultural existence in China. It will interrogate the language and forced assimilation policies imposed on the Uighurs by the government China. It will argue that these actions are meant to obliteration the ethnical, culture and traditions of the Uighurs. It will also argue that global war on terror has been used as a pretext to further suppress the rights of the Uighurs in Xinjiang. It will conclude by briefly discussing the future existence of Uighurs in China.
Who are the Uighurs?
The Uighurs are a Turkic ethnic group based in the province of Xinjiang formally known as East Turkistan. Beijing took control of the region of Xinjiang in the 19th century during the reign of the Qing dynasty. The Uighurs are ethnically and linguistically distinct from the Han Chinese and were the dominant ethnic group in the northwest region of China until the early 1980’s. Unlike many nomadic tribes of Turkic origin in Central Asia, Uighurs are largely urban. They have been residing for centuries in historical towns and cities such as Kashgar, Khotan and Yarkhand along the historical Silk Road. Mahmud al-Kashgari, the 11th-century Kara-Khanid scholar and lexicographer of the Turkic languages was from Kashgar, a city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. Between 1072-74 Mahmud al-Kashgari compiled the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk which translates to "Compendium of the languages of the Turks", it is the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages. Turkic nomadic Uighurs ruled over a powerful empire between 744 and 840. Their capital, Karabalghasun was located on the upper Orhon River in Mongolia. It was during this period that Islam was introduced to the region. The Uighurs began embracing Islam in the 10th Century. Islam is an integral part of Uighur’s lifestyle and identity. The Chinese government’s crackdown on religion together with other oppressive policies has culminated into an entrenchment of Islam in the Xinjiang. The Uighurs enjoyed intermittent autonomy and independence until the Chinese Communist government occupied Xinjiang in 1949. Since then, politics have been tense and ethnic ratio has changed. The government sponsored migration of large numbers of Han Chinese to Xinjiang has altered the socio-political and cultural complexion of the region.
The persecution of the Uighurs and the threats to their existence in Xinjiang
Chinese government recognises Uighurs as one of China's 56 officially ethnic minorities. The Han Chinese ethnic group is the largest among all groups, making up 91.11 percent of the total population of 1.41 billion people. Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyei, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Kazak, Dai, Li, Lisu, Va, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulam, Qiang, Blang, Salar, Maonan, Gelo, Xibe, Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Ozbek, Russian, Ewenki, Deang, Bonan, Yugur, Jing, Tatar, Drung, Oroqen, Hezhen, Moinba, Lhoba and Jino form part of minority ethnic groups which accounts to around 8.89 percent of the country's total population. Notwithstanding a historically thriving multilingualism and cultural pluralism in China, the preceding governments have implemented a strict language policy as part of China’s nation-building process. Under the Article 53 of September 1949 of the Common Program for an example, a degree of local autonomy for minorities was promoted. It allowed ethnic minorities freedom to develop their own dialectics and languages, customs and religious beliefs. This strengthened the rights of ethnic groups. However, over the years China has pursued a monolingual, monocultural political agenda particularly in the Xinjiang. What has further encouraged adverse government’s policies in Xinjiang is the continual portrayal in the media of Uighurs as Islamic Jihadists.
During the Soviet control of the region; Central Asian Soviet Republics adopted Cyrillic orthographies. Central Asian Uighurs, as part of the population, adopted a similar form of writing and communication. Cyrillic is the national script used by various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian, South-eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and East Asia. It was only in 1954 that the Arabic script was adopted by Uighurs. According to the government of China, its suppression of multiculturalism, especially in Xinjiang region, is meant to prevent what it calls, “ethnic nationalism”. In 1990, China began using HSK Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi-Chinese competence test (HSK) for the Uighurs. The implementation of HSK has led to marginalisation of other minority languages. Uighurs students require a certain minimum score in HSK test to pass exams. Similar requirements apply for students seeking to pursue university qualifications. This has consequently placed Han Chinese students at a much greater advantage to their Uighur counterparts
Besides the language policy, the Chinese authorities have continued to pursue strict assimilation policies including a process of diluting the hegemony of the Uighurs in Xinjiang. Beijing has been channelling the flow of other ethnic groups from other regions including internally displaced Hen Chinese into Xinjiang. Xinjiang Production Construction Corps (XPCC) or Bingtuan, a state-owned economic and paramilitary organization, has recruited and relocated millions of Han Chinese to the region.
Global war on terror used as a pretext to further suppress the rights of the Uighurs in Xinjiang
The Chinese media has been linking East Turkestan, present day Xinjiang, with Muslim terrorists for the last two decades. Similarly, the Chinese government insists that unrest in Xinjiang region stems from Islamic extremism and influences from abroad. However, the reality is that the current ethnic tensions in Xinjiang are as a result of government’s treatment of the Uighurs. After September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, the U.S. and China entered into a counterterrorism cooperation. In August 2002, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) was declared a terrorist organization by both China and the US. In October 2020, after a realisation of continued atrocities in Xinjiang, the US ordered the delisting of the ETIM as a terrorist organisation. ETIM, is currently waging a struggle of independence from China and is blamed for a series of attacks and bombings in Xinjiang region. ETIM was falsely accused of planning attacks during the Beijing Olympics this year. Although attacks did not happen, these accusation have further legitimised Chinese authorities’ crackdown in Xinjiang. Atrocities against Uighurs in Xinjiang started attracting international media attention during the riots in Ürümqi in July 5, 2009. Peaceful protests by Uighurs turned into violence after two Uighurs were killed by Chinese authorities in a Guangdong factory days earlier. According to the Chinese state media, 200 Han Chinese were killed, no Uighurs’ casualties were mentioned. There were many other incidences targeting Uighurs over the years. China accused “Uighur Jihadists” of knives attacks at the Kunming Railway Station in March 2014. In April 2014, Uighurs were accused of a knife and bomb attacks at the Ürümqi train station. Technologically-driven mass surveillance, internment, indoctrination, family separation, birth suppression, and forced labour incidences have increased over the years as a result. Chinese government has also used legislation to justify its crackdown on Uighurs including, a counterterrorism law of December 2015, anti - extremism ordinance of March 2017 and a revision of the regulations governing religious affairs of September 2017
The Future of the Uighurs in China
Despite efforts by the Chinese government to erase cultural, ethnic, and religious identities of the Uighurs, there is a strong rise of ethnical identity in Xinjiang. This ethnical identity is Islamic in nature, and has consequently attracted solidarity from other Muslim majority countries in the world. The rise of Muslim solidarity across the globe is likely to backlash on China. It could just become an antithesis of national cohesion the government of China seeks to achieve. The Syrian ambassador to China told Reuters in 2017 that up to 5,000 Uighurs were fighting in alongside various groups in his country. According to the World Uyghur Congress, an estimated 1 to 1.6 million Uyghurs live outside of China, with the largest populations residing in parts of central Asia and Turkey. China is working with its allies around to world to crack down on Uighur dissenting voices. Since 2017, there has been 695 Uyghurs detained or deported to China from 15 countries. China’s transnational repression of Uyghurs is rife in Egypt and some parts of the Middle East particularly in those countries that enjoy strong economic relations with China. Turkey has strongly condemned the Chinese government for its repressive rule in Xinjiang. The Foreign Minister of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, criticised China’s treatment of the Uighurs saying: “The reintroduction of internment camps in the 21st century and the policy of systematic assimilation against the Uighur Turks carried out by the authorities of China is a great shame for humanity.”
In conclusion, the U.S., European Union, UK and Canada have imposed sanctions on certain Chinese officials over human rights violations on Uighurs. However China appears to be unfazed by these majors; it has responded by imposing its own version of sanctions on certain European officials. Furthermore, in an act of defiance, Beijing has continued to build additional internment camps in Xinjiang including instituting force labour on the Uighurs.
About the author
Turkmen Terzi is a Turkish foreign journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He reports on Southern Africa and Turkish politics. He holds a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from the University of Johannesburg. He is a contributor to an online publication www.Turkishminute.com. He serves on the board of Foreign Correspondents Association of Southern Africa.