China’s Xinjiang: A Brief Overview

Written by Frank Li

Two recent news stories about China’s Xinjiang:

1. U.S. Sanctions Top Chinese Officials Over Xinjiang Abuses.
2. Xinjiang Shows We Haven’t Learnt a Thing from Auschwitz. The author outrageously compares the re-education camps over there to Nazi’s concentration camps!

As a result, I am compelled to chip in …

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1. Xinjiang

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Xinjiang.

Xinjiang (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ, SASM/GNC: Xinjang; Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: XÄ«njiÄng; alternately romanized as Sinkiang), officially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region[8] (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China, located in the northwest of the country. Being the largest province-level division of China and the 8th largest country subdivision in the world, Xinjiang spans over 1.6 million km2 (640,000 square miles).[1] The Aksai Chin region, administered by China mostly as part of Xinjiang’s Hotan Prefecture, is claimed by India. Xinjiang borders the countries of Mongolia (Bayan-Olgii, Khovd and Govi-Altai Provinces), Russia (Altai Republic), Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan and Almaty Provinces), Kyrgyzstan (Issyk Kul, Naryn and Osh Regions), Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region), and Afghanistan (Badakhshan). The rugged Karakoram, Kunlun and Tian Shan mountain ranges occupy much of Xinjiang’s borders, as well as its western and southern regions. Xinjiang also borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The most well-known route of the historical Silk Road ran through the territory from the east to its northwestern border.

2. Xinjiang is very complex

It is so complex that this is my first article about it, given the fact that I have written about all the other related subjects on China, from Taiwan (Taiwan-China: Past, Present, and Future) to Hong Kong (Hong Kong: A Brief Overview).

Simply put, because the Uyghur (Muslim) separatists wanted secession from China, they should be crushed, Abraham Lincoln style!

Now, rather than focusing on the details, I will address two big issues, shown below, in the form of a big picture:

1. The Uyghur population in Xinjiang.
2. The so-called “concentration” camps in Xinjiang.

Let me elaborate on each …

3. The Uyghur population in Xinjiang

From 1980 to 2015, China strictly self-imposed a one-child policy to control the population growth. Below is an excerpt from an earlier publicaton of mine (What is China, Anyway?).

What is the secret behind China’s success? Aside from embracing capitalism, China did two extraordinary things:

1. Focused on the economy, without blindly embracing democracy like Russia did after the disintegration of the USSR. Any doubt about the benefits of not rushing to democracy blindly? Compare Russia with China today – They are decades apart in the standards of living!
2. Adopted a one-child policy. Otherwise, China’s population today would likely be double her present 1.3 billion. Any doubt about the benefits of population control? Compare India with China today – They are decades apart in the standards of living!

Both were highly controversial not only at home, but also in the West. However, they proved to be the right things to do for China at the time for one simple reason: survival! Any doubt? Recall this: All 33 Chilean miners rescued after 69 days. The miners were ready to eat the dead for their own survival right before the rescue team reached them. It’s human nature to survive by any means, idealistic human rights notwithstanding!

Note: the one-child policy was applied only to the Han (90% majority), with all the other 50 plus minorities, including the Uyghur, exempted! As a result, the Uyghur population in Xinjiang actually doubled over this period!

For more, watch the video at the end of this post.

4. The so-called “concentration” camps in Xinjiang

They are NOT “concentration” camps, but “re-education” camps!

Below is an excerpt from this article (China changes law to recognize ‘re-education-camps’ in Xinjiang).

The revision, issued by the regional legislature, recognises the use of such centres as part of the government’s efforts to eliminate “religious extremism”, which in recent years have also included a massive security crackdown in Xinjiang and sweeping restrictions on Islamic practices.

The simple truth is the Uyghur (Muslim) separatists wanted secession from China, with various terror acts, from bombing to assassinations. For one example, read: Knife attack in China’s Muslim region: Five killed and three assailants gunned down during killing spree in residential compound.

Worse yet, they are heavily funded (from money to man-power) by foreign forces, especially from a neighbor called “Afghanistan”, which has been devastated by America’s war on terror over the past 19 years! Three informative readings:

1. China’s Nightmare: Xinjiang Jihadists Go Global.
2. Feature: The Chinese Jihadist Separatists Fighting in Syria.
3. Seventy Years of U.S. Destabilisation in China. U.S. Sponsored Uyghur Insurgency in Xinjiang.

In case you did not know, there is a dedicated Muslim (aka “Hui” in Chinese) autonomous province in China named “Ningxia”. Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Ningxia.

Ningxia (Chinese: å®å¤, Mandarin pronunciation: [nǐŋ.É•jaÌ‚]; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is a landlocked autonomous region in the northwest of the People’s Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was separated from Gansu in 1958 and was reconstituted as an autonomous region for the Hui people, one of the 56 officially recognized nationalities of China. Twenty percent of China’s Hui population lives in Ningxia.[6]

The circle below shows its location.

In Ningxia, no attempt for secession, no problem!

5. Discussion

There is just too much dis-information about China in the U.S.!

Why is that?

Three main reasons:

1. The U.S. is losing badly against China in almost all fronts of competition, from the ideology to the economy! For more, read: The U.S. vs. China: A Great Experiment vs. A Great Civilization!
2. China-bashing is a bipartisan sport, with little negative consequence to the Americans obsessed with it! An example: Covid-19: Blaming China?
3. A crippling tradition in the U.S.! For more, read: Media Distortion: From Boston Massacre to Fox News.

Here is a strong tip against “modern” China-bashing: the use of the word “communist”, such as “Communist China” or the “Chinese Communist regime”. As soon as you hear or read it, stop hearing or reading further, because the speaker or writer has no real case against China – He or she is simply taking advantage of the negative connotation associated “communist” to rest his/her case before presenting it!

More broadly, most Americans do not even know America, let alone the world, especially China!

Any doubt?

Read this article and then judge for yourself: Everything You Think You Know About America Is Wrong?

Back to China … Overall, China faces several monumental challenges (e.g. demographics and environmental pollution), but minority oppression is not one of them (Understanding China, Truly!), nor is religion, either good or bad (There is No God – Not in China, Nor Elsewhere!)!

In contrast, race and religion remain two biggest challenges in America. For more, read: Racism in America and God and America (Version 3).

Now, if you are like (I do not) the phrase “Islamic terrorism”, look at America’s war on terror, from the Mideast to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, instead of looking at Xinjiang!

Finally, if America is truly concerned about human rights and human lives, focus on Racism in America and the Covid-19 pandemic at home, now!

America, reform our failing political system, as I have suggested (American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?), or become a fiddle, second to China!

6. Closing

Once again, Xinjiang is very complex. I have chipped in my two cents in the form of a big picture. Hopefully it helps.

Now, please sit back and enjoy the short video below.

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