Asian Studies

Since time immemorial, the minority groups of every nation have always sought ways to defend themselves from the oppression of the state. Virtually all countries in the world have minority and majority groups as far as the countries demographics are concerned. From the general outlook of things, the majority group tends to be favored by the existing government, unlike the minority group. This is also similar to the situation in China, where the minority group, the Uighurs, have been demonstrating since time immemorial as a result of the infringement of their rights. The main reason for the continuous Uyghur protests in China has been the ethnic animosity between the Uyghur and then Han which has greatly been fuelled by the formers oppression by the government in the region.   

The Uighurs A Chinese minority group
The Uighurs ancestors are believed to have arrived in Xinjiang over six thousand years ago. However, the current Uighurs started their existence in the Xinjiang as from 1935. Their origin is traced from North Western Mongolia, where they migrated to Xinjiang. In 1930, the government of China stated that the modern Uighurs would become official dwelling Muslims of Xinjiang. From long time ago, the description of the Uighur people have changed depending on seasons. The term Uighur is described using very many terms (Rudelson  Rudelson, 1999, pg.4). They are a Turkic speaking group who are known to share so many qualities with the people in the west side of Xingjian, especially in the Soviet Central Asia. They are however different from the Hans in so many ways, even in their physical nature (Roberts, 2009).

Initially, they were described as Turkic, steppe, nomadic, shamanistic and a Manichaean society in Mongolia. The definition was transformed to a sedentary oasis, Buddhist, Manichaean, Nestorian Christian Society. Finally, the description changed and became an elite, primarily Buddhist Turkic society which was centered in the Turpan oasis, which was known as Uyghuristan (Rudelson  Rudelson, 1999, pg.4). 

However, the Uighurs, who were mainly Buddhists, converted to the Islamic religion, and all the terms that described them in association to the Buddhist religion ceased from being used (Rudelson  Rudelson, 1999, pg.4). 

The Hans and the Uighurs The deep rooted conflict
The tension between the Uighurs and the Hans traces back to two hundred plus years ago. Xinjiang was initially colonized by the Qing dynasty in the 1750s. As a result, there was a formation of strong resistance movements which fought the Qing for several decades. There was a revolt which was planed by the Uighur, and it resulted to the establishment of several sovereign states by the Uighur people. These resulted to the short term states which were independent in the Xinjiang province (Roberts, 2009).

The wrangles between the Han and the Uighurs were so hostile in1931 as the officials in the Chinese government always set to manipulate the Xinjiang hereditary leadership. As a result, there was turmoil amongst the groups living in Xinjiang. The Uighur group, better known as the local Turkic group (Rudelson  Rudelson, 1999, p .4), in those days was in constant loggerheads with the Tungans, or the Han Chinese. This period marked the start of several gory battles. The forces affiliated to the Han Chinese from the neighboring provinces, such as Gansu, invaded Xinjiang. Their invasion was planned because the Han Chinese were taking advantage of the battle in the province, so that they could set in. The rebellion of these groups continued up to 1933 and the animosity between the two groups continued to heighten (Rudelson  Rudelson, 1999, p. 4).  

The fact that the two groups were from the Islamic religion did not stop them from fighting. This is because there was high utilization of the Chinese officials and troops aimed at maintaining their role in the Islamic religion. Additionally, the Han Chinese were described by the Uighurs as allies of the Chinese administration (Rudelson  Rudelson, 1999, pg.7) who continually oppressed the Uighurs. This is because they repeatedly applied ethnic policies from the Soviet, which had been used in Soviet Central Asia. These policies were discriminatory as they rendered the minority groups such as the Uighurs powerless. As a result, they continued existing in their minority status in the nation (Rudelson  Rudelson, 1999, p.7). 

Up to date, the violence between the Han Chinese and the Uighurs still exists. During the month of April 1990, there was a high level of violence in Xinjiang. The Uighurs rebelled because of the animosity leveled against them. They had been denied the right of constructing a mosque. Over sixty people were killed in their demonstrations. This was perhaps one of the incidences that captured the attention of the media, apart from the recent 2009 riots in the same region (Rudelson  Rudelson, 1999, pg.8-9).

The recent protests 
There were protests in 2009 in China as a result of the ill treatment of the Uighur people by the Chinese government. The protest was organized by students, who felt that the Chinese government had oppressed the Uighur group for a long time. They were demonstrating as a result of what had happened in a Shaoguan factory in the Southern part of China, where very many Uighurs were beaten and others killed as they tried to advocate for their rights. Even the supporters of the Uighurs were not left behind by the government. The students who protested were also beaten up as they tried to express their sympathy to the Uighurs through the protests. Even though theirs was a peaceful demonstration, the Chinese government excessively used force towards them (Kadeer, 2009).

Other sources state that there are several Uighur workers who had been given jobs at the shoe factory so as to deal with the labor shortage in the company. On that night, several Han workers killed some Uighur men whom they claimed had been found harassing a female worker in the company. These reports were not valid enough, and the Uighur people started protesting and demanding for quick investigations to the matter. The Uighur women were also not left behind in the demonstrations. They were active to assert their existence, and to reveal their role as leaders and protestors (Jaffer, 2009).  These demonstrators revealed how leadership roles are being taken by the Muslim women so as to defend their group. This was as a result of the communal violence in the past years against the Uighurs in the Xinjiang region (Foreman, 2009).

The government of China blanketed Urumqi, which is the capital city of the Xingjian region, located at the Western side of China. Due to the ethnic clashes between the Hans and the Uighurs, very many residents began to flee. This situation was so serious, and posed a very major challenge for the Communist leaders of the country. The president, Hu Jintao even canceled the plans he had to attend an Eight Summit Group in Italy so as to address the situation (Roberts, 2009). 

Chris Hoggs, a reporter in BBC described the protests as one of the worst reported in the country since Tiananmen Square in 1989 (BBC 2010). The BBC news stated that the protests by the students were a result of the brutal fight between the Han Chinese and the Uighurs in the Southern part of China from the previous month. The protests started with few demonstrators, who were less than a hundred, and the group later increased and several groups of people joined, who amounted to more than one thousand. The protestors were armed with batons, knives and bricks. Their peaceful demonstration turned chaotic, as they smashed several cars on the roads and even broke stores. Additionally, they fought the security forces in the town (BBC 2010).

The Chinese government A quick response
There was a brutal reaction from the Chinese government as a result of all the demonstrations held by the Uighur, or those that were held by others in a bid to support the Uighurs. Over four hundred Uighurs died in Urumqi as a result of shooting and beating from the Chinese police. Scores of people were also injured. As a result of the protests, the Chinese government imposed a curfew, and all the telephone connections in the town were destroyed. Tension remained high in the city, as there were house to house searches which were conducted by the Chinese governments so as to arrest all the male Uighurs. As a result of the demonstrations in Urumqi, tension spread to other cities like Kashgar, Aksu, Khotan, Karamay and Yarkand. According to the media, there were two officials who were assigned each Uighur home, especially in the Kashgar city (Kadeer, 2009).

Since time immemorial, the Chinese government is well known for constantly encouraging the Han Chinese. This is an action which encourages a national streak in the Han Chinese so that it can replace the ideology of the yester years the communist ideology (Kadeer, 2009). It is after the breaking up of the USSR that the urge of resisting the Chinese rules by the Uighurs increased. This is because Uighur was the only main Turkic nationality which never had its own state. Additionally, there were Islamic movements which had close cultural, linguistic and historical ties in Central Asia. These movements have been a strong source of support for the Uighurs, something that the Chinese government has constantly opposed (Kristensen, 2008).

Problems that led to the protests
   Since the attacks of the World Trade Centre on September eleven in the US, the Uighurs have always suffered discrimination, as they have been linked to the terrorist groups from the Muslim world. As a result, they are associated with the Bin laden clique (Gluckman, 2009). The Chinese government have always claimed that the Uighurs have some overseas links with the Muslim nations involved in terrorist attacks. Experts in the government have even claimed that there is enough evidence to support this claim. The Beijing administration has even associated one of the Uighurs links, the Uighur East Tujue network (Gluckman, 2009) as a very strong link to the Taliban, and it has been a major source of help to several terrorist cells in their bomb attacks and assassinations. As a result, the Chinese government has always oppressed the Uighurs in very many ways (Gluckman, 2009).

It is surprising that the problems that existed in the earlier years still exists as far as the treatment of the Uighurs is concerned. A study conducted in 2006 reveals that the issue of nationalism has been overlooked by the Chinese government as it has acted to its best to ensure that the Uighur group is economically disadvantaged. The Chinese government has been instrumental in encouraging the Han Chinese to migrate to Xinjiang. In fact, in the beginning of 2004, there were over six hundred thousand Han Chinese immigrants in Xinjiang. Their main purpose of migrating in the Xinjiang region was to secure jobs. Most of these people secured jobs, at the expense of the Uighurs. All the financial benefits in Xinjiang were only shifted from the Uighurs in China. The Uighurs have often been undermined and underrated because all the good jobs in Xinjiang are only assigned to the Han Chinese (Kilgour, 2006). 

The Chinese have also been discriminated on the basis of language. Ordinarily, the Mandarin language is the major language of the Han Chinese. Therefore, as they migrate into Xinjiang or any other regions that the Uighurs inhabit, they tend to segregate the Uighurs because they cannot speak their language. Most of the business operations are done using the Mandarin language. As a result, the Uighurs are faced with a language barrier problem. This is especially so with the older generation, because the younger generation is trying to be at per by learning the Mandarin language. However, learning the Mandarin language has not benefited the people a lot because up to date, the number of Uighurs who secure jobs in places which are inhabited by the Han Chinese and the Uighurs is still small. Most of the Hans are educated, and are not speakers of the Uighur language. Therefore, speaking the Mandarin language only serves as discriminatory to the Uighurs (Kilgour, 2006).    
In most of the Chinese regions, there are several job opportunities in cotton plantations and oil reserves, which are mostly assigned to the Hans, while the Uighurs are denied the opportunity to work in theses places. For example, research reveals that in 1995, the oil exploration regions of the Taklamakan desert only had two hundred and fifty three workers from the minority groups like the Uighurs. Then total numbers of workers were four thousand (Kilgour, 2006).

The Chinese bureaucracy also discriminates the Uighurs. For any of them to open up a business premise, one must have a business permit. Additionally, there are restrictions for them as far as movement to other provinces is concerned. This is unlike the restrictions imposed on the other tribes, like the Hans. It is also very difficult for the Uighurs to start up their own premises, as the administration does not support their interests. In fact, the business sections of the Hans people are described as high class, while those of the Uighurs are stated as very impoverished and ghetto-like. This is clearly shown by the demographic genocide  or the ethnic swamping, that is present, where the northern part of the Chinese region is made up of the Hans, Mongolians and the Kazakhs, while the Uighurs live in the southern part of the country (Kilgour, 2006).

Education
The children of the Uighurs have also been discriminated by the Chinese government. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), states that all the minority nationalities in the Republic of China must be recognized. Additionally, the national autonomy of all people must be recognized, as well as the customs, religion, writing and language systems. The CCP also states that it aims at helping the minority nationalities in boosting their economy (Rahman, 2005).

However the Chinese administration has not worked to ensure that it has met its aims. This is because since 1949, the education of the minority group children, the Uighurs included was at stake. There were no enough classroom buildings for the children of these minority groups, and only a very few untrained teachers. There was also limited resource availability, especially that of textbooks and other classroom equipment. After the passage of all the decades, these issues are still unresolved. The Uighur children are still discriminated in the educational sector. Even though the level of literacy has steadily increased, the minority groups like the Uighurs are still facing discrimination. This is because the other schools which are entirely for the other tribes like the Hans use only their languages during curriculum instruction (Starr, 2004).

The Uighurs are almost half of the population of Xinjiang. However, the Han Chinese group is the one that controls China. As a result, the Uighurs are degraded as they are economically, politically and culturally marginalized. Earlier on, the Uighurs were not strict followers of the Islam culture and religion. However, as they years passed on, they have slowly adapted to the ways of the Islam. Since the Islam culture in most parts of China has always been associated with terrorists links, the Chinese government has strengthened the official control over all the Islamic clergy. Religious institutions have been required to register with the government, and several mosques have been closed down. All the leaders that are accused of being subversive and unpatriotic have been arrested (Kristensen, 2008).

Even though Beijing has adopted some languages from the Xinjiang region, it has strived to ensure that the Mandarin language is the one mostly used in China. For example, all the universities in Xinjiang are required to teach all its courses in Mandarin, except for culture and language. There were also similar measures which were taken in middle and elementary schools. The Uighurs have been separated from the states of the Asians. This has undermined their ability in linguistics. There are very many investments which have been made in China since the 1990s. The aims of these investments have been to open up the West, so as to benefit all the communities living there. However, the only population that has benefited from these is the Han populace, and not the Uighurs (Kristensen, 2008).

The tendency of people migrating to the Xinjiang region is also very common. This is because of the large natural reserves, mainly mineral resources and cotton. As a result, the Chinese government has continued to encourage the influx of the Hans in the regions, who have taken up all the important posts (Kristensen, 2008).

    The Uighurs also claim to be politically marginalized. For any person from the Uighur minority group to qualify as a political leader, they must have been trained in institutions which belong to the Han Chinese. Their success depends entirely on the support from the Han Chinese leaders. Additionally, there are no preferential policies which have been introduced for the minorities. Even though the situation has been said to improve, the Uighurs are still underrepresented in China by the Communist party (Kristensen, 2008).

    There are very many steps which have been previously undertaken by the Uighurs so as to alleviate the level of discrimination, and to make the Uighurs feel accepted in China. However, this has brought about mixed reactions, as some have taken it negatively. Some of these acts have been like the Open up the West campaign and the Strike hard campaign (Kristensen, 2008). These campaigns have led to the rise of the level of protests from the Uighurs. The Uighurs are also known to have a very strong tradition of resisting the rule of the Chinese. It is not until the eighteenth century that China got the genuine control of the Xinjiang region. Up to date, they have still resisted being led by the Chinese authorities (Kristensen, 2008).

    The above discussion sheds some light on the treatment of the Uighurs in their country. The Chinese government has failed, as it has not met all the aims it has outlined as the CCP. All races are equal, and therefore there is no reason for oppressing the minority groups. All people in the region should be given the freedom of choice and expression, and should be made to feel equal to the other tribes in the region. Otherwise, there will always be conflicts, and these continuous fights can even lead to serious civil wars. Special commissions should be formed to address the issue lest it poses a danger to the Chinese government.