As one might surmise, the Uyghur reaction to the Chinese insipience has not been amiable. The Chinese regard the Uyghurs in the same manner they regard most of the rest of the world: inferior culturally, substandard intellectually, and impure ethnically. Uyghurs, on the other hand, regard the Chinese in the same way any other culture would view an occupying people: with suspicion, mistrust, and barely concealed rage.
Uyghurs in many towns and small cities all over East Turkestan have, over the past five decades, expressed in a variety of ways their displeasure to what they see as the Chinese infiltration of their land, culture, and life. Most of these ways have been and are peaceful and without violence, such as protests, demonstrations, and local gatherings. There have been at least half a dozen incidences of violence, however, in the form of bus bombings, in the past ten years—in fact, these bus bombings are really the only forms of violent protest in the last couple of decades.
Unfortunately, there are two things to understand:
First, the peaceful demonstrations have often been described by the government-controlled Chinese press as being or becoming violent. What the Chinese media fail to report is that IF the demonstrations DID become violent, they usually did so because of the provocations of the Chinese police trying to "control" the demonstrations. You see, the authorities in China do not like to witness any form of protestation toward them or the government. But the world would not look too kindly upon a heavy-handed approach to dealing with peaceful protests.
Second, the infrequent acts of violence that do inevitably occur have been spun by the Chinese authorities to seem as if they occur frequently. Beijing has used the acts of violence, no matter how rare, to tighten the already vise-like grip the they have on the region. A further result has been the Chinese media’s international portrayal of all Uyghur shows of discontent or separatism as “terrorist” insurrections when, for the most part, these shows of displeasure with the Chinese status quo have been nothing more than mere calls for basic treatment as human beings, or against discrimination, or for the same rights to education and raising a family as the Han Chinese are afforded.
In many of the towns and cities that were once majority Uyghur, but are now minority Chinese, traditional buildings, houses, places of worship, and restaurants have been razed to make way for varicose shopping plazas, fast-food joints, car dealerships, high-rise apartment buildings, and karaoke clubs. Monuments to past local (read, Uyghur) heroes have been extirpated and enormous statues reflecting admiration for Mao and other Chinese Communist heroes of the past half-century have been erected in their places. An overwhelming majority of the best jobs in fields such as banking, oil, engineering, teaching, tourism, and business are being taken not by what once were the more educated Uyghurs, but by the government-favored, newly-migrated Han.
In the past two decades, the situation has worsened for the Uyghurs, as well, for their rights to things such as education have been diminished or taken away completely. The chances for equal education between Uyghurs and Chinese are becoming less and less. There was a time when Uyghurs were allowed to learn their own language in school; in fact, all of their lessons were taught in Uyghur, and they were allowed to learn Uyghur history.
These days, if Uyghur parents want their children to learn Uyghur, they have to teach them at home; if they want their children to have a chance to a decent future, they send them to integrated schools, schools for both Chinese and Uyghur children—they feel that their children will have little chance for future success without this. A culture that was as highly advanced as the Uyghurs were just a century ago is losing not only its identity but also its high level of education.
The job market is not much better. The Han Chinese are the recipients of more job promotions. There is rampant discrimination against Uyghurs (and other minorities, as well, such as ethnic Kazakhs). Jobless rates for the Uyghurs in East Turkestan run at least double what it is for the Han, and in some places it’s four or five times the rate of the Han. The Chinese government is pouring the equivalent of hundreds of millions of American dollars into East Turkestan to improve its infrastructure and take advantage of her many resources, yet the Uyghurs, as a whole, see about as much of it as do the Bantus of Kenya.
And why is there so much Chinese and international investment in East Turketan?
It’s very simple: oil, oil, and more oil.
Unfortunately, as much as the Chinese authorities try to say otherwise, the wealth distribution is decidedly one-sided.
Thus, to say that the last seven decades have merely been contentious between the Uyghurs and Chinese is to say that Israel is a passive observer in all American Middle East political misadventures.
Not much of the world knows about the East Turkestan situation either because of the Chinese government's ability to keep such things hidden from the world or because of their expert spinning of propaganda. This situation is akin, though yet neither as continuously violent nor as widely known, to the situation in Palestine and Israel.
The intent of this blog is to illuminate the reader with the iniquities of what is happening to the Uyghurs in East Turkestan. The objective also is to try and portray as even-handed a view of the situation as is possible because, for the most part, any news the world receives regarding the issue heretofore has been and is decidedly biased in favor of the Chinese or is under-reported by international media because of the pressure applied by the Chinese government. Because it, too, hides behind the cover of September 11, 2001, the Chinese government has been given carte blanche approval by a complicit United States to wage its own “war on terrorism”, as bogus a war as is the American one.
Once the world has a more even-handed viewpoint of the abominations transpiring inside East Turkestan, then it will be a boost to the Uyghurs and their goal of achieving what it is that most, if not all, readers of this blog already have:
Freedom.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Modern History, Part 1
Because of its location, East Turkestan has been the subject of invasion and/or occupation by China and/or Russia for centuries, though until the last century and a quarter, none of the occupations had lasted for very long. The first invasion was in 104 B.C. and lasted less than two decades. For the next 850 years or so, China invaded the East Turkestan region several more times, but only managed to sustain control for less than a total of 160 years. This last rule ended in 751 A.D. and Uyghurstan enjoyed over a thousand years of progress and self-autonomy, save for a voluntary span of two centuries when it was part of the Mongol empire; even during these two hundred years, East Turkestan retained its sovereignty.
It was not until 1876 that the Manchu empire invaded and forcibly, brutally, annexed East Turkestan, killing around a million Uyghurs in the process. When East Turkestan was officially introduced into the empire, its name was changed to Xinjiang, which means “new territory’ in Chinese. East Turkestan was under nearly constant Manchu rule until 1949; however, during this period of nearly 75 years, East Turkestan inhabitants staged constant revolts and even successfully managed to regain their independence twice: once in 1933, for three years, when the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Republic was formed, and then again in 1944, for five years, when the second Eastern Turkestan Republic was formed.
When the People's Republic of China was formally founded in 1949 by Mao, East Turkestan—now, of course, known in China as Xinjiang—was promised self-autonomy while still being part of the Republic—hence Xinjiang’s present formal name of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Of course, such a promise was never honored, for reasons that would soon become as clear as a star-encrusted East Turkestan night sky: the mid-1950s discovery of oil under Karamay, a city in the northern part of the province.
Any notions that the Chinese authority may have entertained at that time of allowing East Turkestan to be free were scattered like desert sand in a windstorm.
East Turkestan is quite an inhospitable place to live for the most part, much different from the majority of the vastly agrarian remainder of China. Han Chinese historically hadn’t lived in East Turkestan because the topography and climate were too hostile. Uyghurs were and are accustomed to living in this climactically and topographically hostile region, but it’s not a place to which a farmer from Sichuan, a businessman from chic Shanghai, a vendor from steamy Guangzhou, a pencil-pusher from Beijing, or a fisherman from Qingdao wanted to migrate.
Uyghurstan sees more extreme winter and summer temperatures than any other place in China, as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius) in summer and as low as minus 22 Fahrenheit (–30 Celsius) in winter are common. The south of East Turkestan is home to the Taklamakan desert, the world’s second largest, (and maybe more difficult to traverse than is the Sahara because of its constant shifting sands; countless stories abound about cities and towns having disappeared in Taklamakan’s sadistic embraces over the centuries). East Turkestan also sits on the western fringes of the Gobi desert, known as the Junggar Basin, in the north, and three vast mountain ranges border East Turkestan to the north (the Altay), west (the Tian Shan and the Karakoram), and south (the Himalayas).
At the time of oil discovery, the population of East Turkestan was 90 percent Uyghur. After the discovery, though, the Chinese government started forcefully mass-populating East Turkestan with Han Chinese. The majority of Han live today in Urumqi, the provincial capital, but there are Han majorities inhabiting most of the area north of Urumqi. South of Urumqi, however, still sees Uyghurs as the majority, though even in the once-thriving major Silk Road stop of Kashgar the Han population is catching up with that of the Uyghurs.
Indeed, though the Han might still be in the minority in Kashgar, it is with burgeoning Chinese flavor that one now sees the surface of this once lovely city: the largest Mao statue in all of China, broad streets in the flavor of many large eastern China cities, Chinese names for these streets, and large buildings erected where there used to be Uyghur markets.
To be continued...
It was not until 1876 that the Manchu empire invaded and forcibly, brutally, annexed East Turkestan, killing around a million Uyghurs in the process. When East Turkestan was officially introduced into the empire, its name was changed to Xinjiang, which means “new territory’ in Chinese. East Turkestan was under nearly constant Manchu rule until 1949; however, during this period of nearly 75 years, East Turkestan inhabitants staged constant revolts and even successfully managed to regain their independence twice: once in 1933, for three years, when the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Republic was formed, and then again in 1944, for five years, when the second Eastern Turkestan Republic was formed.
When the People's Republic of China was formally founded in 1949 by Mao, East Turkestan—now, of course, known in China as Xinjiang—was promised self-autonomy while still being part of the Republic—hence Xinjiang’s present formal name of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Of course, such a promise was never honored, for reasons that would soon become as clear as a star-encrusted East Turkestan night sky: the mid-1950s discovery of oil under Karamay, a city in the northern part of the province.
Any notions that the Chinese authority may have entertained at that time of allowing East Turkestan to be free were scattered like desert sand in a windstorm.
East Turkestan is quite an inhospitable place to live for the most part, much different from the majority of the vastly agrarian remainder of China. Han Chinese historically hadn’t lived in East Turkestan because the topography and climate were too hostile. Uyghurs were and are accustomed to living in this climactically and topographically hostile region, but it’s not a place to which a farmer from Sichuan, a businessman from chic Shanghai, a vendor from steamy Guangzhou, a pencil-pusher from Beijing, or a fisherman from Qingdao wanted to migrate.
Uyghurstan sees more extreme winter and summer temperatures than any other place in China, as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius) in summer and as low as minus 22 Fahrenheit (–30 Celsius) in winter are common. The south of East Turkestan is home to the Taklamakan desert, the world’s second largest, (and maybe more difficult to traverse than is the Sahara because of its constant shifting sands; countless stories abound about cities and towns having disappeared in Taklamakan’s sadistic embraces over the centuries). East Turkestan also sits on the western fringes of the Gobi desert, known as the Junggar Basin, in the north, and three vast mountain ranges border East Turkestan to the north (the Altay), west (the Tian Shan and the Karakoram), and south (the Himalayas).
At the time of oil discovery, the population of East Turkestan was 90 percent Uyghur. After the discovery, though, the Chinese government started forcefully mass-populating East Turkestan with Han Chinese. The majority of Han live today in Urumqi, the provincial capital, but there are Han majorities inhabiting most of the area north of Urumqi. South of Urumqi, however, still sees Uyghurs as the majority, though even in the once-thriving major Silk Road stop of Kashgar the Han population is catching up with that of the Uyghurs.
Indeed, though the Han might still be in the minority in Kashgar, it is with burgeoning Chinese flavor that one now sees the surface of this once lovely city: the largest Mao statue in all of China, broad streets in the flavor of many large eastern China cities, Chinese names for these streets, and large buildings erected where there used to be Uyghur markets.
To be continued...
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
The East Turkestan Quandary
This blog will deal with the quandary of the Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic minority living in western China. The Uyghurs (pronunciation in English: wee-gher) make up about half of the population of Xinjiang, China’s most western and expansive province. Xinjiang province is about three times the size of France—consuming one-sixth of China’s overall geography—yet it has an overall population of less than 19 million people, slightly more than that of metropolitan Shanghai.
Historically, the natives of this region have referred to it as East Turkestan, East Turkistan, or Uyghurstan. For the purposes of this blog, I will refer to Xinjiang province as East Turkestan.
It even has its own flag—though it is illegal to behold in China—nearly identical to that of Turkey’s red banner with a white star and crescent moon in the upper left corner; instead of red, however, the Uyghur flag has a sky blue background. I will post that flag in the next week or so.
This particular blog will not go into too much depth on any issues, but will instead briefly introduce the Uyghur people and their culture. Also spelled Uighur, Uygur, and Uigur; for the purposes of this article, the spelling will be U-Y-G-H-U-R because this is what the author learned was the closest transliteral spelling from studying the language and from consulting with those familiar with both languages.
In the posts that follow, much more will be explored in depth, much more insight will be given, and many examples, either witnessed firsthand or related from reliable sources and told secondhand, will be conveyed.
The People’s Republic of China is a country of nearly one and a half billion people, and around 93% of the population is made up of Han Chinese. The remaining seven percent is divided up amongst 55 ethnic minorities; this includes the Uyghurs, who themselves only make up roughly one-tenth of one percent of the total population of the People’s Republic of China.
The Han are descendants of the Han Dynasty, which lasted from about 206 BC- 220 AD. It is because of the considerable influence that the dynasty exerted over what is considered “Chinese” culture that the Chinese people are known as Han Chinese. In fact, in denoting a person who is Chinese, the Chinese characters for this mean, literally, “a man of Han.”
Traditionally, the Uyghurs have been semi-nomadic, living for countless generations under their own auspices, as it were. They trace their origins to Altay, a fairly mountainous region that today encompasses parts of central-southern Russia, western Mongolia, extreme northeast Kazakstan, and the north of Xinjiang; it is from this region that the Altaic languages are believed to have arisen—such languages include Korean, Finnish, Hungarian, and, of course, Uyghur.
The Uyghurs are not related to the Chinese in any way: not in language, culture, religion, looks, personality, food, business acumen, hospitality, or train of thought—in fact, Uyghurs are more closely related to Europeans, Caucasians, Koreans, and Mongolians than they are to the Han. Many a Uyghur have blue or green eyes, red or light brown hair, and body types that are less stereotypical Asian and more like that of Europeans or Middle Easterners—prominent noses, shapely body features, a proclivity for body hair, and more. Too, there are several distinguishing body marks that Uyghurs share with Koreans, the most particular of which is a purplish mark resembling a bruise near the base of the spine.
The Uyghurs have a history that is approximately four millennia old. They have lived in the East Turkestan area for about half of those four millennia. Being at the crossroads of the old Silk Road that served as the connection between the East and West, the Uyghurs developed themselves into a highly civilized culture. Though Uyghur culture is largely unknown to so many people in today’s world, Uyghur treasures and artifacts, which highlight their high level of civilization and sophistication, fill up vast parts of museums in all parts of the world, including some of the world’s most renowned museums in London, Paris, Tokyo, New Delhi, and St. Petersburg, among others.
Such aspects of the Uyghurs’ highly civilized world include the following:
I hope in some way to combat that.
Thanks for your time today. I will continue with another update soon.
Until then...
Historically, the natives of this region have referred to it as East Turkestan, East Turkistan, or Uyghurstan. For the purposes of this blog, I will refer to Xinjiang province as East Turkestan.
It even has its own flag—though it is illegal to behold in China—nearly identical to that of Turkey’s red banner with a white star and crescent moon in the upper left corner; instead of red, however, the Uyghur flag has a sky blue background. I will post that flag in the next week or so.
This particular blog will not go into too much depth on any issues, but will instead briefly introduce the Uyghur people and their culture. Also spelled Uighur, Uygur, and Uigur; for the purposes of this article, the spelling will be U-Y-G-H-U-R because this is what the author learned was the closest transliteral spelling from studying the language and from consulting with those familiar with both languages.
In the posts that follow, much more will be explored in depth, much more insight will be given, and many examples, either witnessed firsthand or related from reliable sources and told secondhand, will be conveyed.
The People’s Republic of China is a country of nearly one and a half billion people, and around 93% of the population is made up of Han Chinese. The remaining seven percent is divided up amongst 55 ethnic minorities; this includes the Uyghurs, who themselves only make up roughly one-tenth of one percent of the total population of the People’s Republic of China.
The Han are descendants of the Han Dynasty, which lasted from about 206 BC- 220 AD. It is because of the considerable influence that the dynasty exerted over what is considered “Chinese” culture that the Chinese people are known as Han Chinese. In fact, in denoting a person who is Chinese, the Chinese characters for this mean, literally, “a man of Han.”
Traditionally, the Uyghurs have been semi-nomadic, living for countless generations under their own auspices, as it were. They trace their origins to Altay, a fairly mountainous region that today encompasses parts of central-southern Russia, western Mongolia, extreme northeast Kazakstan, and the north of Xinjiang; it is from this region that the Altaic languages are believed to have arisen—such languages include Korean, Finnish, Hungarian, and, of course, Uyghur.
The Uyghurs are not related to the Chinese in any way: not in language, culture, religion, looks, personality, food, business acumen, hospitality, or train of thought—in fact, Uyghurs are more closely related to Europeans, Caucasians, Koreans, and Mongolians than they are to the Han. Many a Uyghur have blue or green eyes, red or light brown hair, and body types that are less stereotypical Asian and more like that of Europeans or Middle Easterners—prominent noses, shapely body features, a proclivity for body hair, and more. Too, there are several distinguishing body marks that Uyghurs share with Koreans, the most particular of which is a purplish mark resembling a bruise near the base of the spine.
The Uyghurs have a history that is approximately four millennia old. They have lived in the East Turkestan area for about half of those four millennia. Being at the crossroads of the old Silk Road that served as the connection between the East and West, the Uyghurs developed themselves into a highly civilized culture. Though Uyghur culture is largely unknown to so many people in today’s world, Uyghur treasures and artifacts, which highlight their high level of civilization and sophistication, fill up vast parts of museums in all parts of the world, including some of the world’s most renowned museums in London, Paris, Tokyo, New Delhi, and St. Petersburg, among others.
Such aspects of the Uyghurs’ highly civilized world include the following:
- the written script of the Uyghur language was so revered by Genghis Khan that he adopted it into Mongol culture (until then, the Mongols had no written script for their language);
- the Uyghurs' knowledge of medicine was extensive, too, and many scholars now believe that acupuncture was not, in fact, a Chinese invention, but, instead, an invention of Central Asia that was perfected by the Uyghurs;
- the Uyghurs are believed to have been printing books, poetry, legal contracts, and other such documents long before Guttenburg invented his press;
- though living in a generally dry climate where much rain doesn’t fall, the Uyghurs invented an irrigation system—called “kariz”—that takes advantage of melting snowfall and can ferry water underground for many kilometers to fields and farms that need water. Farmers and agriculturists from places all over the world with similar topography and climate have come to East Turkestan to learn this method of irrigation, and it is still used East Turkestan today.
I hope in some way to combat that.
Thanks for your time today. I will continue with another update soon.
Until then...
Why Am I Doing This?
It's been ten years since I lived in China. The excuses why I've not written about this are just that - excuses.
Besides, it'd take me nearly eight more years to explain.
Bottom line is this: life happened and I prioritized incorrectly.
But something happened yesterday that ripped off the lid that had been keeping everything within. Something that I hope isn't a one-time thing. Something I hope will lead to more consistent posting. And more consistent sharing of information about the Uyghurs and Xinjiang Autonomous Region, which I will continue to refer to as East Turkestan (as mentioned in my long ago first post below).
Since I left China in October of 2003, I've thought many times about my Uyghur friends, many of whom I became so close to that I consider family. I worry about them. I fear for their safety. I hope that their dreams haven't been shattered.
I wish I could see them.
My hope is that one day I can afford to somehow find a way for them to come join my wife and me here in Los Angeles and that they can be far away from the oppressive madness.
I should let you know that I will never refer to my Uyghur "family" by their given name, only by aliases I've created for them. Some of what I will write here will disparage China, its people, its culture, and (most especially) its government.
However you feel about my criticism is your choice. However you feel about me for making them is your problem.
But I lived there. This is not hearsay.
I saw. I partook. I felt. I know firsthand.
My hope when I started this blog is the same as it is today as I resume updating it: inform the world of what is happening to the Uyghur people in the East Turkestan.
Many Americans - perhaps many other people from around the world, as well - seem to disregard the Uyghurs and their protests (sometimes admittedly violent) in the same way they disregard anything Muslim: with venomous discrimination, uninformed malice, and a mob-like mentality.
In recent years, when I've read Internet news reports of East Turkestan clashes between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, the Comments section overflows with ridiculous and misaimed vitriol. Some of it at the Chinese, but most of it at the Uyghurs - simply for being Muslim.
It is with humility that I state my goal: make Uyghurstan as much a relevant topic as Tibet is.
When I began, I originally had planned to update this blog in a news-type style. However, I've decided that I'm going to update it in serialized fashion. Instead of making it bland, much as a newspaper or magazine article might be - just spitting out facts, as I did in the first post - I'm going to serialize it into a story of sorts.
It will not be fiction. What I'm going to write will be based directly on notes I wrote in a journal when i lived there in 2003. I will certainly share my opinions, and much will be based on my own point of view, but nothing will be embellished in order to entertain. If you are entertained, then it's because my writing is good enough to do so, or because some of what we did there was entertaining, or a combination of both.
However, my intent is to inform. And my aim is to do that in the best way possible.
Please feel free to pass this site on to others who might be interested.
If it so happens to fall into the hands of my Uyghur brothers and sisters - and, with the power and scope of the Internet and social media these days, it's entirely possible - I will be elated.
If it so happens to fall into the hands of Chinese sympathizers, so be it.
And if it falls into the hands of Chinese authorities, and it makes them upset to the point of wanting a piece of me, well, bring 'em on.
Thanks for reading. Until next time....
Besides, it'd take me nearly eight more years to explain.
Bottom line is this: life happened and I prioritized incorrectly.
But something happened yesterday that ripped off the lid that had been keeping everything within. Something that I hope isn't a one-time thing. Something I hope will lead to more consistent posting. And more consistent sharing of information about the Uyghurs and Xinjiang Autonomous Region, which I will continue to refer to as East Turkestan (as mentioned in my long ago first post below).
Since I left China in October of 2003, I've thought many times about my Uyghur friends, many of whom I became so close to that I consider family. I worry about them. I fear for their safety. I hope that their dreams haven't been shattered.
I wish I could see them.
My hope is that one day I can afford to somehow find a way for them to come join my wife and me here in Los Angeles and that they can be far away from the oppressive madness.
I should let you know that I will never refer to my Uyghur "family" by their given name, only by aliases I've created for them. Some of what I will write here will disparage China, its people, its culture, and (most especially) its government.
However you feel about my criticism is your choice. However you feel about me for making them is your problem.
But I lived there. This is not hearsay.
I saw. I partook. I felt. I know firsthand.
My hope when I started this blog is the same as it is today as I resume updating it: inform the world of what is happening to the Uyghur people in the East Turkestan.
Many Americans - perhaps many other people from around the world, as well - seem to disregard the Uyghurs and their protests (sometimes admittedly violent) in the same way they disregard anything Muslim: with venomous discrimination, uninformed malice, and a mob-like mentality.
In recent years, when I've read Internet news reports of East Turkestan clashes between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, the Comments section overflows with ridiculous and misaimed vitriol. Some of it at the Chinese, but most of it at the Uyghurs - simply for being Muslim.
It is with humility that I state my goal: make Uyghurstan as much a relevant topic as Tibet is.
When I began, I originally had planned to update this blog in a news-type style. However, I've decided that I'm going to update it in serialized fashion. Instead of making it bland, much as a newspaper or magazine article might be - just spitting out facts, as I did in the first post - I'm going to serialize it into a story of sorts.
It will not be fiction. What I'm going to write will be based directly on notes I wrote in a journal when i lived there in 2003. I will certainly share my opinions, and much will be based on my own point of view, but nothing will be embellished in order to entertain. If you are entertained, then it's because my writing is good enough to do so, or because some of what we did there was entertaining, or a combination of both.
However, my intent is to inform. And my aim is to do that in the best way possible.
Please feel free to pass this site on to others who might be interested.
If it so happens to fall into the hands of my Uyghur brothers and sisters - and, with the power and scope of the Internet and social media these days, it's entirely possible - I will be elated.
If it so happens to fall into the hands of Chinese sympathizers, so be it.
And if it falls into the hands of Chinese authorities, and it makes them upset to the point of wanting a piece of me, well, bring 'em on.
Thanks for reading. Until next time....
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