(2) A Look Inside the Real Xinjiang
to understand why it is so strategic to China
In Part I we focussed on the land mass that is Xinjiang, largely minus the politics. From a geographical perspective, Xinjiang possesses a wide diversity of landscape, including lush glasslands, thick forests and arid deserts. At the same time, it is a frontier region that is rich in cultural heritage and ancient history.
Please click here to read PART I
In Part II below, we will focus on the political forces at play in the Xinjiang region from the year 1949, the time that the Communist China liberated the regions of Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia to bring them firmly within its tight management and control.
The commumists’ takeovers of these places have not been smooth, especially for Xinjiang and Tibet, both autonomous regions of China. There were decades of determined resistance against the Chinese and the authorities were forced to use all means, including military actions, to rid the place of these extremists and separatists. Eventually, all the anti-Chinese movements were effectively subdued and stability, growth and wealth then began to flow to the regions.
The Fight for Control in Xinjiang — the early years
As mentioned in Part I, the early Chinese empires, in particular the Han, Tang and Qing(Manchu) Dynasties had in their heydays, respectively tried to assert some degree of control over ‘Xiyu’ 西域— the western regions — because of the lucrative Silk Route trading activities that took place there. Invasions from the barbaric north occurred frequently and battles with these invaders to drive them out were a big headache for the Chinese emperors. There were also local warlords that the imperial emperors had to deal with all the time, sometimes going to battle against them and sometimes forming alliances to battle some common enemies together. As a point of interest, these were the periods when the emperors were disposed to offer a Chinese princess to be the bride of the king or warlord in the west, to curry their favour or to cement an alliance.
The imperial era of China history eventually ended with the downfall of the last Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty in 1912. The Communist People’s Liberation Army (PLA) defeated the Nationalist army in 1949 in the Civil War and immediately went about to take back control of Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia. Xinjiang at that time was under some kind of control by officials from the Nationalist Party, but they willingly passed over the control to the Communist Chinese.
As Xinjiang is also sharing a common border with the then Soviet Union, this strong power bloc in the north also occasionally had a hand in determining affairs there, supporting certain warlords that they fancy and who can serve their interests. In the end, the Soviets did encouraged their warlords to join in with the communist Chinese in 1949, to become part of the People’s Republic of China, in what China now termed as the liberation of Xinjiang.
The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group originating from the Central plains of Asia migrating into Xinjiang during the 9th Century. The 2020 national census shows the Uyghurs population at 11.6million represents 45 % of Xinjiang’s total. As a minority race amongst 56 races in the whole of China, Uyghurs account for only 0.7% of China’s total 1.4billion population. The Uyghurs practise Islam as their religion.
In the late 50’s and 60’s some of these Uyghurs, unhappy with the way things are run, such as the disastrous Great Leap Forward plan of the Communist government, began to form independence movements to try to take over control of the region and seek full independence for the Uyghur people.
As the relationship between the Soviets and the communist China were at a low point during those times, the Soviet encouraged some of the separatist movements and there were large migrations of over 100,000 ethnic minorities into the USSR and other neighbouring Turkic countries during the later 1950s and early 1960s. Ethnic tensions were high and these tensions eventually ignited to give rise to unrest and bloodshed that stained the next few decades in Xinjiang.
Around the same time, the Chinese authorities also orchestrated the migration of large number of Han Chinese into many Xinjiang cities. This has contributed to the increase of Han Chinese from less than 10% to the more than 40%.
The Years of Bloodshed and Uprisings
During the period from 1990 to 2016, Xinjiang was in the grip of major separatist upheavals and unrest. It was the dark chapter of modern Xinjiang history when ethnic tensions was at the highest, fueled by deep dissatisfaction amongst the ethnic minorities. Separatist movements were rampant, started by radical elements who were fighting for separation from Chinese control, in order to establish an independent Islamic ‘East Turkestan state’.
The movements recruited and indoctrinated some of the Uyghurs, who were then unhappy with the conditions and living standards they were in — with poor job prospects and low incomes — to join the movement. These new recruits were sent out do more recruitments and to carry out acts of bombings and killings in many Xinjiang cities. The Chinese authorities and their law enforcement units, including the PLA forces were kept on alert most of the time. Eventually they clamp down hard on the dissidents and the movements, made numerous arrests of these Uyghurs suspects and persecute those found to have a hand in the bombings and the killings that occurred. Justice was swift and there were many quick executions once the suspects were judged guilty by the local courts.
A very firm hand was required to keep things under control. Chinese officials who did not made the grade in maintaining order and who did not get results in flushing out and capturing perpetrators of crimes were quickly replaced. These were the periods where human rights were not observed in the face of violent activities that took many lives and destroyed properties.
The Chinese government, in response to all these extremists’ acts of terrorisms, began to undertake new ways to control the uprisings and to de-radicalise the Uyghur minorities. For many cases, it had been the poor standards of living and poverty that drove them to join in anti-establishment movements. So the Chinese government set up new vocational centres to take in these people, provided them with an education and to develop new skills to help them seeks jobs and better incomes. In the end, these centres helped many Uyghurs to successfully assimilate back into the community to lead normal lives and be gainfully employed.
After much drastic measures were carried out, violence against lives and properties were effectively stopped and an uneasy peace had been attained at long last. Since then from 2017 onwards, the Chinese has moved ahead to transform the regions of Xinjiang, to eradicate extreme poverty totally and to improve the infrastructure in both North and South Xinjiang. As an example, there are more than 20 airports in Xinjiang today. Visitors to the region will find new roads and rails built that are able to take them everywhere, providing them quick and comfortable access. GDP growth continues to be very high, the GDP in Xinjiang exceeded US$170billion in 2017, bringing improved welfare and job prospects to the locals. Signs of wealth, better living standards and improved health-care are now evident everywhere.
With the capture and internment of the hard-core Uyghur insurgents and other ethnic minority dissidents in high-security prisons by the Chinese, remnants of the independence-seeking movements (such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement or ETIM) were driven out of Xinjiang, to seek refuge in any neighbouring countries they can find that were tolerant of their cause. For example, it is estimated there are thousands of Uyghurs in Turkey, Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries. The ETIM remains militant in nature and still pose an external threat to Xinjiang’s current hard-earned peace and security. However, ETIM’s strength has been badly curtailed and by themselves alone, would find it extremely hard to mount any serious challenge against the Chinese’s control of Xinjiang to disrupt the peaceful status quo.
The West’s Recent Interest in Xinjiang
Xinjiang is strategic to China. It is a major link-point in Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative or BRI plans, that extends through Xinjiang to Central Asia and beyond. Being a frontier region, there are national security considerations in many of the Central government’s foreign policies which will involve and affect Xinjiang.
Last year, during Trump’s term of office in the White House, there were accusations levelled at the Chinese of committing human-rights violations against the Uyghurs Muslims in Xinjiang. Note that the US has notoriously spent trillions of dollars bombing numerous Muslim countries worldwide, killed thousands of Muslim lives and created 50 million Muslim refugees over the last 20 years. The US’ sudden change of heart to show humane concerns to the rights of Uyghur Muslims seems hollow and totally incredulous.
All these would have been viewed as highly amusing turns of events, were it not been for the fact that the outcomes of such US slandering and blacklisting actions could be consequential, which will impact on the security, economy and livelihoods of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
In another dangerous move, US then took ETIM off its own list of terrorist organisations, giving it legitimacy so it can recruit members and secure arms to fight the Chinese. It is to be noted that no other Muslim countries, including the United Nations, have yet to remove the ETIM form their terrorist list, like what the US has done unilaterally and irresponsibly.
The Xinjiang accusations include genocide, human rights abuse, torture in ‘concentration camps’, forced sterilisation, use of forced labour to pick cotton, tomatoes and other crops, manufacturing of textile and solar panels etc. All these vicious smears were hard-pressed to be able to offer any real solid evidence to back them up. Quite evidently, Xinjiang is being used as a pawn in the current world power tussle between the west and China. These propaganda that are forcefully promoted by the west has an end-objective to bring harm and hardships to Xinjiang, through subsequent imposition of economic sanctions, etc. The ultimate aim is to stir up trouble in Xinjiang to eventually destabilise China and stop its rise.
Many of the slanders are being debunked by the Chinese authorities and other external parties as pure lies with no feet to stand on. There is nil credible evidence of any kind that can prove the existence of genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Uyghurs, like all other minority races, are exempted from the national directive of the one-child policy, which was ended very recently. Between 2010 and 2018, Uyghur population in Xinjiang grew 25%.
Propaganda once released will find a life of its own to spread like wild fire …. and they will eat facts and morality for breakfast. There will still be many gullible westerners who will persist in believing the lies. Western politicians that have a hidden agenda to de-stabilise China will continue to spew more mis-truths in order to serve their purpose.
The Chinese President Xi Jinping on the morning of 1st July at TianAnMen Square voiced out China’s resolve that it will not be intimated or bullied anymore. In a stark warning, he told the world that there will be consequences, once their patience runs out.
The India-China Border Region
India shares a long 4056km of border with China, divided into three sectors, fronting the two Chinese regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. There are contentious territorial claims by both parties at the border areas that have not been resolved even till today. These border disputes are one of the chief causes of the poor state of relations between the two countries right now.
The disputes have led to on-and-off clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers. The latest one in July 2020 at Galwan Valley resulted in casualties on both sides — 20 Indian soldiers and 4 Chinese soldiers were reportedly killed in the face-to face encounter. With the Winter months behind them, both sides have doubled down and lined up a roughly an equal number of troop strength of up to 500,00 soldiers each, at camps set up along the borders. The recent deployment of new troops in the last few months has practically doubled the numbers of last year.
The terrains at the border areas are very mountainous as they are along the notorious Himalayan ranges. Conditions are harsh with high altitudes and extreme weathers. In winter months, temperature can easily drop to -30 degrees Celcius. The mountain ranges serves as natural barriers dividing China and India from east to west, so the valleys, passes and rivers between the mountain are critical points for troops to go through to enter the enemies’ camps and posts. These will be well-guarded on both sides, often soldiers can look across to observe each other from afar or from the hilltops.
China and India fought a war at two border locations back in 1962. The Chinese troops advanced across the Line of Actual Control LAC on 7th September 1962, over-ran the poorly equipped Indian troops and took many Indian prisoners. The war ended on 21st November 1962, when the Chinese unilaterally declared a ceasefire and withdrew. However, a huge swap of land known as Aksai Chin was kept under Chinese control, the land on which the National Highway G219 was constructed and now cuts through.
Highway G219 was constructed by the Chinese in the 1950’s to link Xinjiang to Tibet. This highway was mentioned in Part 1 as one of four road accesses into Xinjiang, in fact, it is one of the earliest constructed and became operational in1957, although the road conditions were far from perfect then. It is very strategic to the Chinese, as a conduit to send army supplies and munitions to the frontline troops guarding the borders with India. During the 1962 war with India, large convoys of army trucks constantly move along it, bringing critical essential supplies to the frontlines. In fact, it is doubtful that the Chinese would be bold enough to start their advance into India, if they do not have the G219 to instil in them the confidence of a constant re-supplies for the frontlines fighting at the Himalayan mountains borders.
The Indians, who lost that war has vowed not to suffer such humiliation again. It has learnt the lesson and has now begun building many roads, tunnels and infrastructures at their side.
The current stand-off between China and India at the common borders is worrisome, as the amassing of the large number of troops, tanks and weapons along the borders, practically in open view of each other can lead to unwanted incidents and spark deadly clashes again. Both sides’ soldiers often carry out patrolling along the passes and riverbanks, so with no definite demarcated boundaries due to the ongoing disputes, chances of sudden encounters by the patrols of both sides are high, leading to possible unhappy fights among the soldiers.
India, for reasons of their own, has frequently sided with the US, to contain China. This is very likely a wrong position for India to take, because the US in reality does not care about the good of the Indians. If the Indians rationally look at the things that are happening around Asia, they should see that there are many mutually beneficial things that two Asian giants can do together. Treating each other as bitter adversaries will only end up hurt both of them, to the benefit of the US.
The Chinese has declared that both Tibet and Xinjiang are inalienable parts of the People’s Republic of China. Since their liberation, the Chinese government has managed to bring peace, wealth and development to these regions, especially over the past decade. The minorities tribes living in both Xinjiang and Tibet are respected and well-liked by the majority Han Chinese, they are free to practice their religions and beliefs, to live and improve on their lifestyles, keep and celebrate their rich cultures and traditions. They are represented at the highest level of political power, the National People’s Congress, with a voice to put forward their views and suggestions on all matters that may affect them.
The 55 ethnic minorities races in China will never be taken for granted or ill-treated in any way. The Chinese believes that the progress and development of these ethnic minorities will also be the progress and development of the Chinese nation.
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