Economic and cultural developments in Xinjiang

Picture of Ürümqi, capital of the Xinjiang Province.

The economic and cultural developments in Xinjiang (officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, located in China) describes a set of policies carried out in the region of Xinjiang in order to alleviate poverty and eradicate terrorist groups operating and acting in the area under religious pretences.

Context

In 2015, General Secretary and Chairman Xi Jinping set a deadline of 2020 to eradicate poverty in the People's Republic of China (PRC). By the end of 2019, all extreme poverty had been eradicated in the whole of China. Included in this program, which targetted many regions, was the Xinjiang Autonomous Region located in the northwest of the country.

History

It is important to understand the historical context that made the region of Xinjiang all it is today. The vast areas both north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, called the Western Regions in ancient times, were in close contact with the Central Plains as early as the pre-Qin period (c. 2100-221 BC). With the establishment of the unified feudal dynasties Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220), multi-ethnic unification has been the norm in China’s historical development. In 60 BC, the government of the Western Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Frontier Command in Xinjiang, officially making Xinjiang a part of Chinese territory.

Xinjiang has been an inseparable part of China since that time, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established in 1955 under the PRC.

Uygur people

Xinjiang has been a multi-ethnic region since ancient times. Down the ages, many ethnic groups have lived here, frequently migrating and communicating with each other. By the end of the 19th century, 13 ethnic groups – the Uygur, Han, Kazak, Mongolian, Hui, Kirgiz, Manchu, Xibe, Tajik, Daur, Uzbek, Tatar, and Russian – had settled in Xinjiang, with the Uygurs having the largest population.

The Uygur ethnic group came into being in the long process of migration and ethnic integration; they are not descendants of the Turks. The main ancestors of the Uygurs were the Ouigour people living on the Mongolian Plateau during the Sui and Tang dynasties. Historically, to resist oppression and slavery by the Turks, the Ouigour people united with some of the Tiele tribes to form the Ouigour tribal alliance.

After the Uygur Khanate suffered a major defeat in war in 840, some of them moved inland to live with the Han people, the rest of the surviving Uygurs were divided into three sub-groups. One of the sub-groups moved to the Turpan Basin and the modern Jimsar region, where they founded the Gaochang Uygur Kingdom. Another moved to the Hexi Corridor, where they merged with local ethnic groups to become what was later known as the Yugu people. The third sub-group moved to the west of Pamir, scattered in areas from Central Asia to Kashgar, and joined the Karluk and Yagma peoples in founding the Karahan Kingdom. There they merged with the Han people in the Turpan Basin and the Yanqi, Qiuci, Yutian, Shule, and other peoples in the Tarim Basin to form the main body of the modern Uygur group.

Origins of religious terrorism

History of religion

Xinjiang has long been a multi-religious region. In primitive society, Xinjiang residents followed a primitive religion from which Shamanism evolved. Later, a succession of religions popular in the East and the West were introduced into Xinjiang via the Silk Road, the first of which was Zoroastrianism.

Around the first century BC Buddhism was introduced into Xinjiang and gradually became the major religion, coexisting with many other religions. From the 4th to the 10th century, Buddhism reached its peak, while in the same period Zoroastrianism proliferated throughout Xinjiang, particularly in the Turpan area. Around the fifth century, Taoism was introduced into Xinjiang, becoming prevalent mainly in Turpan and Hami. It spread to most parts of Xinjiang and experienced a revival during the Qing Dynasty. In the sixth century, Manichaeism and Nestorianism were introduced into Xinjiang. From the 10th to the 14th century, Nestorianism flourished as the Uygur and some other peoples converted to it in many parts of Xinjiang. In the late ninth and early 10th century, Islam was introduced into southern Xinjiang, changing the religious profile of Xinjiang again. After the Karahan Khanate accepted Islam, in the mid-10th century it launched a religious war against the Buddhist Kingdom of Yutian, and the war lasted for more than 40 years. In the early 11th century, the Karahan Khanate conquered Yutian and imposed Islam in that region. Thereafter, Islam dominated southern Xinjiang while Buddhism dominated northern Xinjiang. In the mid-14th century, the rulers of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate spread Islam to the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, the Turpan Basin and Hami by war and compulsion. By the early 16th century many religions coexisted in Xinjiang, with Islam predominant. Beginning in the 18th century, Protestantism, Catholicism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church were introduced into Xinjiang. Islam has ever since been the principal religion in Xinjiang, coexisting with a number of other religions.

Modern-day religious extremism

At the turn of the 20th century, separatists and religious extremists in and outside China, inheriting the so-called theories of “Pan-Turkism” and “Pan-Islamism” created by former colonialists, spread the word that Uygurs were the only “masters” of Xinjiang, that the ethnic cultures of Xinjiang were not Chinese culture, and that Islam was the only religion practiced by ethnic groups of Xinjiang. They incited all ethnic groups speaking Turki and believing in Islam to join in creating the theocratic state of so-called “East Turkistan”. They denied the history of China jointly built by all its ethnic groups, and clamored for “opposition to all ethnic groups other than Turks” and for the “annihilation of pagans”.

From the early 20th century to the late 1940s, these ideas were pushed by the “East Turkistan” forces, who wanted to create their own state in Xinjiang. In 1915, separatist Maswud returned to Ili, opened a school and publicly preached separatism to the students. On November 12, 1933, Mohammad Imin founded the so-called “East Turkistan Islamic Republic”, but the farce ended in less than three months because of strong opposition from the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. On November 12, 1944, separatists led by Elihan Torae founded the so-called “Republic of East Turkistan”, which soon collapsed a year later. Afterwards, a series of separatist organizations and individuals continued their subversive and separatist activities under the banner of “East Turkistan” in a vain attempt to establish their own state.

The “East Turkistan” forces, however, have not resigned themselves to defeat. With the support of international anti-China forces, the “East Turkistan” forces have resorted to all means, fair or foul, to organize, plan and carry out acts of separatism and sabotage. In the early 1950s the separatists instigated many riots in Xinjiang, calling on Uygurs to “unite under the moon-and-star banner to create a republic of Islam”. In the 1960s there were the riots in Ili and Tacheng on the China-Russia border, the riot of the “East Turkistan People’s Revolutionary Party”, and the armed rebellion of the Gang of Ahongnof in southern Xinjiang. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, religious extremism made further inroads into Xinjiang. It soon blended with terrorism to stir up social unrest in the region, seriously undermining local stability and security.

Since the 1990s, especially after the September 11 attacks in the US, the “East Turkistan” forces inside and outside China have stepped up their collaboration as terrorism and extremism spread around the globe, trying desperately to establish “East Turkistan” through struggle. In the name of ethnicity and religion, they deceitfully used people’s ethnic identity and religious belief to instigate religious fanaticism, spread religious extremism, and incite the common people to join in violent and terrorist activities. They brainwashed people with these beliefs, abetting them to “die for their belief in order to enter heaven”. Some of the most susceptible followers, no longer possessed of any self-control, became extremists and terrorists who heartlessly slaughtered innocent people.

For a long time separatists have tied extremism to religion, to religious believers, and to society as a whole. They tell people not to obey anyone but Allah and incite them to resist government management. They abuse those who do not follow the path of extremism as pagans, traitors and scum, urging their followers to verbally assault, reject, and isolate non-believers, Party members and officials, and patriotic religious individuals. They deny and reject all forms of secular culture, preaching a life without TV, radio and newspaper, forbidding people to weep at funerals or laugh at weddings, imposing bans on singing and dancing, and forcing women to wear heavily-veiled black long gowns. They over-generalize the “Halal” concept, stamping food, medicine, cosmetics, clothing, etc. with the Halal symbol. They turn a blind eye to the diverse and splendid cultures of Xinjiang created by all its ethnic groups, trying to sever the ties between the Chinese culture and the ethnic cultures of Xinjiang.

Nowawadays, these groups generally operate under the name of ETIM, or East Turkestan Islamist Movement or the East Turkistan Party, which is affiliated with ETIM.

Examples of terrorist attacks

Terrorist groups under the general term of East Turkestan Party have committed more than 30 acts between 1990 and 2016, which include killing ordinary people, assassinating religious leaders, endangering public safety (acts that did not have human victims or were foiled before they could be carried out), attacking government organs and planning riots. (p. 9)

Other notable examples include, but are not limited to:

• On February 5, 1992, while the whole of China was celebrating the Spring Festival, a terrorist group planted bombs on a No. 52 and a No. 30 bus in Urumqi, blowing up the 2 buses, killing 3 people and injuring 23 others.
• On March 22, 1996, two masked terrorists broke into the house of Akemusidike Aji, vice president of the Islamic Association of Xinhe County, Aksu Prefecture, and assistant imam of a mosque, and shot him dead.
• On July 5, 2009, the “East Turkistan” forces inside and outside China engineered a riot in Urumqi which shocked the whole world. Thousands of terrorists attacked civilians, government organs, public security and police officers, residential houses, stores and public transportation facilities, causing 197 deaths and injuries to over 1,700, smashing and burning down 331 stores and 1,325 vehicles, and damaging many public facilities.
• On July 30, 2011, two terrorists hijacked a truck at the junction of a food street in Kashgar City, stabbed the driver to death, drove the truck into the crowd, and then attacked the public with their knives. In this incident, 8 were killed and 27 injured. The next day, knife-wielding terrorists randomly attacked pedestrians on Xiangxie Street, Renmin West Road, killing 6 and injuring 15.
• On February 28, 2012, nine knife-wielding terrorists attacked civilians on Xingfu Road, Yecheng County, Kashgar Prefecture, resulting in 15 deaths and 20 injuries.
• On March 1, 2014, eight knife-wielding Xinjiang terrorists attacked passengers at the Kunming Railway Station Square and the ticket lobby, leaving 31 dead and 141 injured.
• On May 22, 2014, five terrorists drove two SUVs through the fence of the morning fair of North Park Road of Saybagh District, Urumqi, into the crowd, and then detonated a bomb, claiming the life of 39 and leaving 94 injured.
• On September 18, 2015, terrorists attacked a coal mine in Baicheng County, Aksu Prefecture, causing 16 deaths and 18 injuries.
• On December 28, 2016, four terrorists drove into the courtyard of Moyu County government, Hotan Prefecture, detonated a homemade explosive device, and attacked government staff, leaving 2 dead and 3 injured.

International reaction

Map showing the importance of Xinjiang for the Belt&Road Initiative as it connects the PRC to the rest of Asia

International reaction to the economic and cultural developments in the Xinjiang region have been mostly represented through the eyes of the imperial core. Their claims keep growing in scale and the goal is simply to destabilise the CPC, and open up China for their domestic markets under their own terms. It should also be noted Xinjiang is a very important geographical area for the Belt and Road Initiative and contains tons of oil in the Tarim Basin. 100 additional million tons were discovered in 2020.

Reaction from the United States of America

The United States of America and their imperialist allies understand that Xinjiang is a very important target to destabilise China. Destabilising China would allow them to install comprador (see 2.3. Imperialised countries) heads of state, which would force open China's markets, much like what we saw after the Opium wars.

In 2018, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson of the US Army explained in a speech at the Ron Paul Institute that the USA has a military presence in Afghanistan so that they can keep troops close to China, and that if they wanted to destabilise China, they would go through Xinjiang, harnessing and stoking the separatist sentiment present there.

In October 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo removed the designation of ETIM as a terrorist group. It should be noted that for 10 years prior to that decision, the USA had been drone striking people they designated as ETIM fighters in Pakistan and thus begs the question: who was the USA bombing for a decade if ETIM did not exist for more than 10 years, as Pompeo alleged without evidence?

Mike Pompeo's ferocious slander against China and the people of Xinjiang gave rise to a movement from Uyghurs living in Xinjiang showing what their actual life is like in Xinjiang, and telling Mr. Pompeo to stop spreading slander. The videos can be seen online in a Youtube playlist.

Adrian Zenz

For further reading, see Adrian Zenz.

Adrian Zenz is a fundamentalist Christian and self-proclaimed "independent researcher" who does not understand a word of Chinese and bases his research on documents published by the CPC to claim that China is incarcerating 1 million Uyghurs in concentration camps. His research has been shown to be shoddy or completely wrong -- including, for example, a time where he claimed 87% of all new IUD procedures in China (temporary sterilisation tool) were done in Xinjiang, whereas the source he used (official CPC statistics) showed a number of 8.7%, a staggering difference by a factor of 10.

Boycotting of Xinjiang industry

After claims of forced labour were advanced without evidence, many international companies (including, for example, H&M), decided not to use Xinjiang cotton in their products. This had the effect of weakening Xinjiang's economy, as producers were not able to sell their stock. In retaliation, Chinese people started boycotting these companies, and H&M closed down most locations in China.