Quote: "Uighurs, like Tibetans, have complained that recent Han arrivals now dominate their local economies"
Uighurs, like Tibetans? Nope. Years ago, when I started my family, there was a saying that went "pick your battles".
Up until recently, I had no doubt that the Chinese would quash 'irritations' without hesitation. I'm surprised this is even a question now, as it's obvious the Chinese have allowed this thorned weed to flower and seed for far far too long. I was under the impression that China was famous for repressing relgious expression. I wonder if the Uighurs have been permitted to build mosques complete with minarets (aka arsenals) over the years.
The horrific shame is that it makes it all too convenient for the Chinese to harm the Tibetans who are nothing like the Uighurs.
The Chinese would do the world a favor by taking the first logical and highly instructive step towards addressing the global threat of jihad . . .BAN ISLAM!
It would be interesting to see how they deal with this. I was reading at China Confidential, how the police cracked down on merely reporting a suicide bus bombing in Xianjiang. Still the problem won't go away for the chicoms anymore than it won't go away because we merely pretend there isn't a problem here. How long will it take, I wonder, til people quit buying the line, "This was not terror-related" every time a muslim commits an atrocity in the name of allah. You almost wonder what the ultimate gag factor will be.
Well, this is curious indeed because China has voted for the "UN resolution against the defamation of religions" (Which only mentions Islam, by the way), while cracks down and burns churches and Buddha's. It has also helped Iran in the UN with its nuclear program and other Muslim states such as Nigeria (launched a satellite) and Sudan (oil fields in Darfur, mainly).
It would be good if China finally takes into account the danger we all have. But I am not very optimistic: that would be considering that Bush was right (even if he is not now) in pointing the Islamists as a real threat for ALL people. Something they have been denying because Chinese people consider that USA is just fighting Islamists because of Imperialism.
By the way, Chinese have been enslaving Uighur Women for long. Human Right activists have complained that, while Islamic Countries were very worried about HR in Europe and America, they did not complain if it were China. Why? Because they see China as an ally...
The Tibetans and the Uighurs both employ the language and ideology of Ethnic Nationalism as an argument for their access to power.
This shows the weakness of Ethnic Nationalism. If Ethnicity is the reason that a group of people ought to be able to attain political power then all groups of people, no matter how primitive and disgusting their way of life is, will have access to power.
In the West, it has been a very long time since we believed that Ethnicity was the basis of government. Instead, we have believed that ideology is the basis of government. We codify our beliefs in a Constitution and that Constitution protects human rights (as they are granted by God) to all citizens no matter what their race/ethnicity.
We ought never allow Muslims to argue for their right to power because of "ethnicity". The truth is, they don't care much about their ethnicity anyway. They are all part of the Ummah. So, it is a false argument from the start.
We ought to only discuss political power on the basis of ideas. If a group of people can sell an idea, and GET IT VOTED INTO LAW, and that idea is allowed by a Constitution protecting human rights, then it is a valid idea, and the political power is valid.
By the way, a few days ago an article came out in Reuters which said that one of the circumstances which provoked the Tibetans to riot was they were angry with the Muslims in their midst.
They actually burned down a Mosque during the course of their rioting.
I had wondered what it was that could possibly cause Buddhists to riot. Buddhists don't tend to be a very aggressive people usually.
It's the Muslims. Is is always the Muslims? It sometimes seems so.
I suspected Muslims were behind it. Somewhere I saw something that said that the Chinese immigrants flooding into Tibet were muslims and that was what made the Tibetans angry.
I have not been able to find any links so far that confirm this.
When you think about it there is no better way than for the chinese government to encourage muslims to go to Tibet, knowing that they are the most likley to dominate in time. If they get too dangerous then the chinese can deal with them in the usual way. Oh, what a good solution to the problem.
Ray, I hadn't thought of it that way. That is an excellent solution.
However, I am encouraged to see Buddhists reacting violently to the threat of Islam.
I hate Pacifism, and Buddhism is a foolish religion to the extent that it is politically/ideologically pacifist.
I studied religions in college and I have a great respect for Buddhism. BUT, I think pacifism is one of the great cancers of our world.
The Dalai Lama is full of shit if he thinks pacifism is going to help him deal with Muslims.
Saturday, April 05, 2008 1:21:00 pm
Yes, China has the cancer of Islamism. We may be concerned about human rights in China and how they are brutally suppressing the Tibetans but they have a growing problem with Muslims as do the rest of the world. We all know that the koranic led Islamists have an agenda that is counter to our values of freedom and democracy.
On the other hand we are aware that our freedom and democracy can not and will not take the necessary steps to stop them and ultimately we will be enslaved to Islam.
Many of us on these infidel sites have said that undemocratic means to deal with the problem are the only solution. We only hint at the methods to be employed. Perhaps the methods employed by the Chinese are what we are hinting at.
I for one find I cannot criticise the Chinese for cracking down on their Muslims because I know that nothing else will work. and a Muslim dominated China would be a disaster for the world. On the other hand am I employing double standards if I criticise them for their policy in Tibet? Watch this developing news with my bolding:
SHANGHAI — Chinese officials said Wednesday that they were grappling with ethnic unrest on a second front, in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where Uighur Muslims protested Chinese rule late last month even as Tibetans rioted in the southwest.
One Uighur demonstration, which appears to have been quickly suppressed, took place in the town of Khotan on March 23, at the same time China was deploying thousands of security forces across a broad swath of its southwest to put down Tibetan unrest.
Officials said the protest was staged by Islamic separatist groups seeking to foment a broader uprising in Xinjiang. China often blames any ethnic disturbances on what it calls splittists and terrorists. Human rights groups say that Chinese Uighurs, like Tibetans, have fought for greater freedom to practice their religion as well as more autonomy from Beijing.
The news of the protest in Xinjiang underscored the breadth of China’s problems with ethnic and religious minority groups in the country’s vast western regions, where there is a long history of unhappiness with Chinese rule. Ethnic groups Beijing has sought to pacify with economic development programs and suppress with heavy police presence appear to be using the upcoming Olympic Games, to be held in Beijing, as an opportunity to press their grievances and attract international attention to their causes.
“A small number of elements tried to incite splittism, create disturbances in the market place and even trick the masses into an uprising,” a statement published on the Web site of the Khotan government said in the first official acknowledgment of the disturbances.
Uighur residents of Khotan reached by telephone either claimed not to understand Chinese or refused to talk about recent events there. But Han residents said that as many as 500 Uighurs protested in the center of the city. Some reports have said the Uighurs, who are Muslim, were objecting to restrictions on wearing Islamic scarves and head coverings. Some interviewees, however, said the protesters were seeking independence. The demonstrators were quickly arrested by security forces who took control of the area.
Zhu Linxiu, a senior police official in Khotan, declined to comment in detail about the incident, saying it was “inappropriate to publicize.” He refused to confirm the number of protesters or arrests, but said the demonstrators were “instigated by bad elements.”
Two weeks before the reported protest in Khotan, China announced the discovery of what it called a terrorist plot in Xinjiang, which it said involved the smuggling of combustible liquids onto a commercial airliner by a Uighur woman who had spent time in neighboring Pakistan.
Doh! They have the same Muslims as we do.
Officials called the incident part of a terrorist campaign by a radical Islamic independence group, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. Uighur groups have denied the reports, and called them part of an effort to justify heavily stepped-up security in the region and the suppression of dissent before the Olympics.
In recent days, Beijing has also accused supporters of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, of plotting a suicide bombing campaign against China, as part of a separatist campaign.
On Tuesday, Amnesty International criticized the government for its crackdown on protest in Tibetan areas of China, and said the country’s efforts to silence dissidents before the Olympics violated Beijing’s pledges to improve human rights before it hosts the games in August. “The Olympic Games have so far failed to act as a catalyst for reform,” the international human rights groups said in a statement. “Unless urgent steps are taken to redress the situation, a positive human rights legacy for the Beijing Olympics looks increasingly beyond reach.”
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, denounced the Amnesty statement as “biased,” saying “anyone planning to use the Olympics to threaten China, or planning to put pressure on China, has miscalculated.”
Like Tibetans in Tibet, Uighurs have historically been the predominant ethnic group in Xinjiang, which is officially known as the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. In both Tibet and Xinjiang, indigenous groups have chafed at the arrival of large numbers Han Chinese, the country’s predominant ethnic groups, who have migrated to western regions with strong government support.
Uighurs, like Tibetans, have complained that recent Han arrivals now dominate their local economies, even as the Han-run local governments insert themselves deeper into schools and religious practices to weed out cultural practices that officials fear might reinforce a separate ethnic or religious identity. In telephone interviews, Han residents of Khotan and nearby areas said there was a long history of distrust and tension between Han and Uighur communities. Some Han migrants insisted the atmosphere remained volatile, and said that the Uighurs had been inspired by the recent Tibetan unrest.
Interesting that the Chinese employ Muslim tacticts; mass immigration to swamp the indigenous people.
“Some of jobless people here have heard about the situation Tibet, and they also want to make trouble,” said Wang Guoliang, a Han grocery store owner in Khotan. “They want independence and they want to expel the Han, whom they dislike. Most of the main cadres in the Party, from counties and the cities to the provincial level are all Hans, while the local level officials are Uighur.” Mr. Wang called the purging of Uighur officials several years ago after a previous bout of tension “the root of the protest.”
Another Han, a clerk in a local bank who would only give his name as Chen, said there had been a long history of discontent in the region, and that people had been “on the lookout” since mid-March. At his bank, Mr. Chen said there had been grumblings over the restrictions on Muslim headgear, which he disagreed with, saying: “It is their national custom and we should respect it.”
7 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formQuote: "Uighurs, like Tibetans, have complained that recent Han arrivals now dominate their local economies"
Uighurs, like Tibetans? Nope. Years ago, when I started my family, there was a saying that went "pick your battles".
Up until recently, I had no doubt that the Chinese would quash 'irritations' without hesitation. I'm surprised this is even a question now, as it's obvious the Chinese have allowed this thorned weed to flower and seed for far far too long. I was under the impression that China was famous for repressing relgious expression. I wonder if the Uighurs have been permitted to build mosques complete with minarets (aka arsenals) over the years.
The horrific shame is that it makes it all too convenient for the Chinese to harm the Tibetans who are nothing like the Uighurs.
The Chinese would do the world a favor by taking the first logical and highly instructive step towards addressing the global threat of jihad . . .BAN ISLAM!
Friday, April 04, 2008 12:18:00 pm
It would be interesting to see how they deal with this. I was reading at China Confidential, how the police cracked down on merely reporting a suicide bus bombing in Xianjiang. Still the problem won't go away for the chicoms anymore than it won't go away because we merely pretend there isn't a problem here.
How long will it take, I wonder, til people quit buying the line, "This was not terror-related" every time a muslim commits an atrocity in the name of allah. You almost wonder what the ultimate gag factor will be.
Friday, April 04, 2008 2:01:00 pm
Well, this is curious indeed because China has voted for the "UN resolution against the defamation of religions" (Which only mentions Islam, by the way), while cracks down and burns churches and Buddha's. It has also helped Iran in the UN with its nuclear program and other Muslim states such as Nigeria (launched a satellite) and Sudan (oil fields in Darfur, mainly).
It would be good if China finally takes into account the danger we all have. But I am not very optimistic: that would be considering that Bush was right (even if he is not now) in pointing the Islamists as a real threat for ALL people. Something they have been denying because Chinese people consider that USA is just fighting Islamists because of Imperialism.
By the way, Chinese have been enslaving Uighur Women for long. Human Right activists have complained that, while Islamic Countries were very worried about HR in Europe and America, they did not complain if it were China. Why? Because they see China as an ally...
Friday, April 04, 2008 2:39:00 pm
Great article, Ray.
The Tibetans and the Uighurs both employ the language and ideology of Ethnic Nationalism as an argument for their access to power.
This shows the weakness of Ethnic Nationalism. If Ethnicity is the reason that a group of people ought to be able to attain political power then all groups of people, no matter how primitive and disgusting their way of life is, will have access to power.
In the West, it has been a very long time since we believed that Ethnicity was the basis of government. Instead, we have believed that ideology is the basis of government. We codify our beliefs in a Constitution and that Constitution protects human rights (as they are granted by God) to all citizens no matter what their race/ethnicity.
We ought never allow Muslims to argue for their right to power because of "ethnicity". The truth is, they don't care much about their ethnicity anyway. They are all part of the Ummah. So, it is a false argument from the start.
We ought to only discuss political power on the basis of ideas. If a group of people can sell an idea, and GET IT VOTED INTO LAW, and that idea is allowed by a Constitution protecting human rights, then it is a valid idea, and the political power is valid.
That is the only argument we ought to accept.
Saturday, April 05, 2008 2:18:00 am
By the way, a few days ago an article came out in Reuters which said that one of the circumstances which provoked the Tibetans to riot was they were angry with the Muslims in their midst.
They actually burned down a Mosque during the course of their rioting.
I had wondered what it was that could possibly cause Buddhists to riot. Buddhists don't tend to be a very aggressive people usually.
It's the Muslims. Is is always the Muslims? It sometimes seems so.
Saturday, April 05, 2008 2:20:00 am
I suspected Muslims were behind it. Somewhere I saw something that said that the Chinese immigrants flooding into Tibet were muslims and that was what made the Tibetans angry.
I have not been able to find any links so far that confirm this.
When you think about it there is no better way than for the chinese government to encourage muslims to go to Tibet, knowing that they are the most likley to dominate in time. If they get too dangerous then the chinese can deal with them in the usual way. Oh, what a good solution to the problem.
Saturday, April 05, 2008 10:40:00 am
Ray,
I hadn't thought of it that way. That is an excellent solution.
However, I am encouraged to see Buddhists reacting violently to the threat of Islam.
I hate Pacifism, and Buddhism is a foolish religion to the extent that it is politically/ideologically pacifist.
I studied religions in college and I have a great respect for Buddhism. BUT, I think pacifism is one of the great cancers of our world.
The Dalai Lama is full of shit if he thinks pacifism is going to help him deal with Muslims.
Saturday, April 05, 2008 1:21:00 pm