The western Chinese province of Xinjiang is causing great embarrassment for Beijing. Riots broke out this past week in the town of Lukqun, resulting in more than 30 deaths, including the deaths of police officers. Many local Uighurs are angry with the Han Chinese, who make up the overwhelming majority of modern China.
Official media reports, in an attempt to shift focus outside of their country, attributed the violence to Syrian-trained "terrorists." Uighurs are predominately Muslim. Previous uprisings in Xinjiang have been conveniently blamed on Pakistani infiltrations.
The most recent violence began after police allegedly surrounded a mosque and opened fire. Seeing as independent news organizations are forbidden from entering Lukqun, detailed information about the attack and the rioting that followed is sparse, although pictures taken from cellphones reportedly revealed bloodshed and dead bodies.
President Xi Jinping promised a quick response in order to ensure that stability is promptly restored.
Beijing fears that the culturally distinct and increasingly aggrieved Uighurs will demand their own independent state eventually. The specter of an East Turkestan's being carved out of China raises great concern among many Chinese leaders.
Resentments have built up among the Uighurs over the years because of the severe restrictions the government has placed on their language and religious practices. For example, locals claim that the annual Ramadan observances, which play such a large role in Muslim life, are restricted by government regulations banning fasting and attending mosques.
Just four years ago this week, larger riots in the regional capital city of Urumqi resulted in approximately 200 deaths. Lukqun, where the current rioting occurred, is less than 200 miles away from Urumqi. More recently, in April, a conflict in the town of Selibuya resulted in 20 deaths, including those of 15 government officials who were burned alive in a house.
Unsurprisingly, Xinjiang is rich in natural resources, such as oil and natural gas, and is located in a strategically important geographical area. Beijing has invested vast sums of money in the region over the years but has failed to address the concerns of the local Uighur population over the large number of Han Chinese who have also settled in Xinjiang.
The ease with which the term "terrorist" is thrown around by the state media betrays a deep-seated refusal to recognize the volatile situation in Xinjiang as a domestic Chinese political issue.
By implying that the driving forces behind these incidents of violence are from outside China, the government is attempting to minimize the responsibility that it has for these incidents. Instead, it insists that the local Uighurs are being put up to these violent acts at the prompting and encouragement of outside forces.
Beijing seems reluctant to address the challenges of governing a multi-ethnic state head-on and prefers to spin these incidents as merely a byproduct of wider, cross-border trends. By doing so, it is abdicating the responsibility that it has for addressing the needs of all of its citizens.
The Uighurs share many of the same concerns as the Tibetans, who have been subject to a similar program of cultural deconstruction by a Han elite that controls the levers of power in Beijing and in provincial capitals across the country. However, support for Tibet has steadily developed around the world, thanks to the personal charisma of the Dalai Lama and widespread celebrity endorsements of their plight. The fate of the Uighurs, by contrast, has been largely ignored by Western media.
There are no concerts in support of the Uighurs. None of their leaders has yet become a pop cultural icon. Yet their complaints are the same as their neighbors to the south, and the damage resulting from Han domination of their lives is just as painful and troubling.
In a post-9/11 world, the fact that Uighurs are Muslims means that accusations of terrorism made by Chinese officials will find just that little more credibility in many hearts and minds. Interestingly, when Tibetans rioted in 2008 and Chinese forces cracked down hard on protesters, there was the expected international uproar, with ample publicity for their plight. Sympathy flowed easily and readily, and the usual suspects among charitable nongovernmental organizations sprang into action to chastise Beijing.
By contrast, the Uighurs struggle under the same threat of cultural oblivion without the consolation provided by international sympathy.
Chinese leaders must address the underlying causes of Uighur anger and frustration in order to ensure lasting peace and prosperity in Xinjiang province. This will mean, in part, critically assessing the policies that attempt to create a homogeneous Han-centric Chinese identity.
Beijing can and must do more to recognize and respect all the ethnic and cultural diversity in its country. Otherwise, the stability that the Chinese so greatly prize will be increasingly difficult to maintain.