Uyghurs in the Chinese Region of Xinjiang

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Table of Contents

Social Constructivism
Neo-Realism
Feminism
References

The issue of the Uyghurs in the Chinese region of Xinjiang can be examined via the prism of social constructivism. Rodríguez-Merino (2018) claims that China has launched a war on terrorism in Xinjiang, citing regional violence as a significant security concern. Nevertheless, what is officially constituted as ‘terrorism’ was defined as ‘counter-revolution’ in the past. Significantly, terrorism may be viewed as a social construct based on an event’s interpretation and perceived causes. Rodríguez-Merino (2018) acknowledges that there is nothing physically inherent in terrorist activities; it is only via narratives that specific meanings are assigned to physical violence. For instance, the political aftershocks of 9/11 were felt instantly in China.

Following the New York attacks, Chinese officials reframed Uyghur discontent in Xinjiang as a terrorist threat comparable to that of the United States. Rodríguez-Merino (2018) states that in a discussion with US President George W. Bush, China’s President Jiang Zemin called 9/11 a catastrophe for the citizens of the United States and a warning to the entire world. Furthermore, Sun Yuxi, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, asserted that the actions of ‘Eastern Turkistan elements,’ referring to Xinjiang dissidents, were a global blight. Tang Jiaxuan, China’s foreign minister, has repeated these points in international forums (Rodríguez-Merino, 2018). In the UN General Assembly’s annual discussion in 2001, he stressed that the struggle against the East Turkestan group was an essential component of the worldwide fight against terrorism. Thus, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a little-known organization that China emphasized was part of the ‘Eastern Turkistan terrorist forces,’ was added to the US and UN Security Council’s lists of terrorist organizations in 2002. Violent incidents like 9/11 provide important empirical domains for testing politicians’ deployment of security narratives.

Neo-Realism

Neo-realists believe that survival is the purpose of the state. Mladenov (2021) suggests that according to neo-realists, unipolarity is the least stable of all arrangements since any significant concentration of power threatens other nations, causing them to intervene and restore the balance. Conflicts, rivalry, and competitiveness are of particular interest to neo-realists. Ruane (2020) asserts that the al-Qaeda attacks in the United States in 2001 and inaccurate western conceptions of terrorism were the primary reasons for Chinese authorities to reclassify disgruntled Uyghurs as Islamic terrorists. The government’s harsh restrictions on everything from Ramadan attendance to halal food reflect a strong anti-Islamic purpose; nontheless, Ruane (2020) warns against labeling the government’s aim in Xinjiang as anti-religious. It is difficult to determine if the government addresses the religion itself or cultural markers of a non-Han identity in general (Ruane, 2020). Growing discontent on both sides in Xinjiang expressed itself in events like the deadly riots in Urumqi in 2009 (Ruane, 2020). The government saw this as demonstrating that Uyghurs require greater absorption into a single Chinese identity.

The Chinese president’s strategic views and evaluations increasingly resemble a neo-realism perspective world with modern geopolitical elements and concerns. Mladenov (2021) emphasizes that according to Xi, China is at a moment of significant strategic potential for growth and must retain its strategic steadfastness, confidence, and patience regardless of how the world environment evolves (Mladenov, 2021). Hence, the country must seize the strategic initiative in its own hands, with a global vision in its national security efforts, connecting development and security and integrating concepts and tactics. As the summit in Hawaii began, President Donald Trump signed legislation calling for penalties against individuals involved in the religious repression of Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province, leading Beijing to threaten reprisal (Mladenov, 2021). Following the conclusion of the meeting, Beijing declared that its highest parliamentary body would evaluate proposed Hong Kong national security laws during a session that begins the following day. On June 18, 2020, President Trump reiterated his threat to sever ties with China (Mladenov, 2021). Consequently, a day after, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer informed Congress that decoupling the US and Chinese economies was not practical.

Feminism

Studies concerning Uyghur communities in China frequently focus on the Chinese state’s authority and persecution. Hence, it is essential to investigate the problem from a feminist perspective. Tynen (2019) examines how younger Uyghur women between 18 and 35 feel oppressed by the demands of their ethnocultural identity and how these women both comply with and reject societal standards. The subjects of marriage and clothes demonstrate how images and discourses of the female body support Uyghur communal borders. During the spatial instability of disappearing nationalist space, the joy and anguish of Uyghur identity emerge in women’s bodies.

The revival of Islam in Xinjiang over the last twenty years has marked a significant departure from prior Uyghur secular traditions. Tynen (2019) claims that Islamic veiling, a long tradition in this desert area, has seen the first adoption of Arabic styles and a significant comeback in Xinjiang since the early 2000s, causing great official concern. Consequently, embodied Uyghur ethnocultural identities are an integral aspect of daily life, from wearing a headscarf to fasting during Ramadan and consuming Halal meals.

A feminist approach emphasizes how national identity is established and expressed in everyday life, often violently and emotionally, via the social reproduction of the family and body. Tynen (2019) states that concerns over territory in a borderland region are enacted on Uyghur bodies as a possessive approach. In Xinjiang, opposing nationalisms intersect with gender and identity for Uyghur women. Women reported intense pressure to fulfill feminine religious roles as a daughter, wife, and mother (Tynen, 2019). At the same time, many wanted to get educated and work. Women also reported feeling liberated in some situations, particularly after coming to the city and enrolling in school, working, or wearing relatively ‘immodest’ clothing (Tynen, 2019). Thus, women’s bodies were employed as a border security strategy.

References

Mladenov, N. S. (2021). A world in a dire straits, why and how the book was conceived. In N. S. Mladenov (Ed.), China’s rise to power in the global order (pp. 1-63). Palgrave Macmillan. Web.

Rodríguez-Merino, P. A. (2018). Old “counter-revolution”, new “terrorism”: Historicizing the framing of violence in Xinjiang by the Chinese state. Central Asian Survey, 38(1), 27-45. Web.

Ruane, C. (2020). China’s forgotten people: Xinjiang, China and the Chinese State. Asian Affairs, 51(2), 442-444. Web.

Tynen, S. (2019). Belonging between inclusion and exclusion: Dimensions of ethno-cultural identity for Uyghur women in Xinjiang, China. Geopolitics, 26(4), 1243-1266. Web.

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