The research question is To what extent the Chinese government’s polices have resulted in and accelerated Uyghur’s diaspora?

INTS Seminar
Nov.16.2020
First draft
Introduction
The occurrences in the 2009 Urumqi riots have triggered multiple debates on the relationship between the Chinese government and the minority Uyghurs. In the incident, a group of Uyghurs raided a law enforcement station thereby killing two people. 118 more people were injured from the incident. The riots emanated from a long-standing feud between the Chinese government and the minority ethnic group of Uyghur in the Xinjiang province. . Debates have since ensued to explain both the causes and the course of the attacks with both factions manifesting different reasons to substantiate their actions. One notable action by the Chinese government was labeling of the Uyghurs as terrorists. At the international platform, the debates have been grounded on whether the Uyghurs are terrorists, hence, warranting the treatment that they have been accorded or whether the Chinese government is poised to oppress one of its demographic segments on socio-political and economic backgrounds.. Questions have also been raised on whether the Uyghurs are mere victims of the impacts of global diaspora. Diaspora is a term used in reference to a scattered population that manifests a different place of Origin. History indicates that the Uyghur originated from Turkey before migrating into China. Their settlement in China was not welcome bearing their unique cultural practices compared to those of the Chinese. Diaspora framework analysis indicates that the Uyghurs befit the characteristics of victim diaspora. In the framework, a population must be placed under pressure and dispersed to multiple residences. Uyghurs trace their origin from Turkey and they migrated to Xinjiang. Initially, the Xinjiang province was independent and free from the control of China. However, the government of China has consistently revised the independence agreement to render Xinjiang within their rule. The actions by the government triggered a mass migration of the Uyghurs into other nations especially the surrounding central Asian nations and Australia. The other element of victim diaspora is the migrating community maintains a high degree of shared identity. The Uyghurs are victims because of their strong allegiance to their Islamic identity. They are also intending to be autonomous, something that has triggered the friction with the host government. Ultimately, the Uyghurs have the commitment to restore their homeland despite the challenges imposed by the government.[Debata, Ranjan, & Tian, Guang. “A cultural rights approach vs. nationalist mobilization: An applied anthropological case study of the Uyghur diaspora community.” Practicing Anthropology, 33, no. 4 (2011), 35] [Kanat, Kilic. "Repression in China and its Consequences in Xinjiang." Current Trends in Islamist Ideology 17, (08, 2014): 132]
Rarely does china evoke images of radicalism. Yet, bus bombings and mosque razing have dominated the Xinjiang province. The Chinese go government has cited extremism and acts of terrorism to convince the international community of their agenda. Human rights organizations have refuted the PRC claims on terrorism by expressing the high level of dissatisfaction among Xinjiang’s Uyghurs. Questions are asked on whether a different approach towards addressing the Uyghur grievances would have rendered the terrorist groups to lose their popular support. Currently, that support is on the rise bearing the dissatisfaction by which the international community has addressed the issues.
A stable position viable conclusion on the Uyghur-PRC debate has not been reached even in many attempts. The challenge is rooted in the different versions of the attacks from the two factions. However, a proper understanding of the current situation must stem from the current policies that imply the nature of the relationship between the two factions.. This research explores the extent to which the Chinese government’s policies have resulted in an acceleratedthe making of Uyghur’s diaspora. The study analyzes the Uyghurs as a people and their origin, something that bears a considerable significance to the 2009 Urumqi attacks. Additionally, the paper will explore the categorization of Uyghurs as victims of diaspora following the unfavorable social, political, and economic policies that the government has implemented in response to the attacks. The analysis is geared towards a detailed understanding of the conflict and the prospect of bearing the social and political policies that the Chinese government has historically implemented to tame the Uyghurs. The Chinese government socio-political policies following the 2009 terrorist attacks have fueled the escalation of Uyghur’s diaspora bearing the reactions that the victims have accorded the policies that include more attacks, demonstrations, and open resistance to the authorities.[Baranovitch, Nimrod. “From the Margins to the Centre: The Uyghur Challenge in Beijing.” The China Quarterly, 175(2003), 745]
Background
The Uyghurs have a rich ethnic history that bears significance to the socio-political and economic challenges that they are currently facing. Primarily, Uyghurs are believed to have migrated into China in the 10th century. Central Asia is believed to be their primary place of origin. Currently, Uyghurs are the largest ethnic group occupying the Xinjiang region.. The Xinjiang province considers itself autonomous from the control of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). That, however, is not the case considering the amount of control the PRC still bears in the socio-economic and political activities of Xinjiang. The other ethnic minorities who live in Xinjiang include Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kyrgyz and Hui. There are more Uyghurs who live outside of China but in the surrounding nations such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.. It is also estimated that about 3,000 Uyghurs live in Australia presently..[Baranovitch, Nimrod. “From the Margins to the Centre: The Uyghur Challenge in Beijing.” The China Quarterly, 175(2003), 728]
The Uyghurs showcase multiple elements of differences if compared to the vast majority ethnic groups in China. First among the cultural differences is in the religion. The Uyghurs’ religion has mutated through different periods. In the early days, they believed in many dieties. That gave rise to intense practice of religions such as Shamanism and Tengrism.. As they continued interacting with more religions in central Asia, their religious setup changed and new religious beliefs were developed in this minority ethnic group. During the Kara-Khanid Khanate period, the Uyghurs in the Western Tarim Basin region began their conversion to Islam. The change to Islamism has since stayed as an aspect of identity among the Uyghurs. In the 19th century, the western influence attempted converting the Uyghurs into Christianity. Their loyalty to Islam only delivered a few converts.. As of 2009, there were only 1,142 Christians among the Uyghurs. In the early 21st century, there were notable changes in the Islamic structures in Xinjiang. The period coincided with the emergence of Salafism, a branch of Muslims that demanded pan-Islamism.. The primary objective of Salafism was to abandon political nationalistic approaches in favor of caliphate rules. The changes in the religious setup of the Uyghurs is widely considered a response to the repression that minority ethnic groups in Xinjiang have endured from the government of China.[Ding, Mei. “From Xinjiang to Australia: Shifted Meanings of being Russian.” Inner Asia, 17, no. 2 (2015), 243] [Debata, Mahesh Ranjan. "International response to Uyghur separatism in Xinjiang." Himalayan and Central Asian Studies 14, no. 4 (Oct 2010): 55] [Kanat, Kilic. "Repression in China and its Consequences in Xinjiang." Current Trends in Islamist Ideology 17, (08, 2014): 132]
The majority ethnic groups in China showcase different cultural structures. Primarily, religion remains an important social prospect in most of the world. However, that is not the case when it comes to China. China manifests a different approach towards religious activities within its territory. When the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was conceived in 1949, it was established as a territory without allegiance to a deity. China’s lack of allegiance to any deity on a national platform has triggered debates on whether such prospects mark their adamancy to eliminate the Uyghurs.
While religion remains a highly contested factor among the Uyghurs and PRC, there are other notable cultural differences that may have triggered the conflicts. Language is a vital factor of differences between the two factions. The ancient Uyghurs spoke in different languages including Tocharian, Saka (Khotanese), and Gandhari.. In modern times, they speak the Karluk language, which is a branch of Turkic language family. The vast majority of the Chinese, conversely, speak mandarin. In the 1990s, only a few Uyghurs could speak mandarin fluently. The differences between the Uyghurs and the majority ethnic groups within China extend to other cultural prospects including literature, dance, art, education, traditional medicine, cuisine, and clothing. With all such differences, most factions of the minority ethnic groups consider Uyghurs as outsiders in prospects that affect the Chinese.[Guardian News. “Why more than ...