All Reading
This section contains a curated list of useful articles, investigations, books and other reading materials. The list is updated on a weekly basis and suggestions for additions are welcome.
Starting Points:
Securing China's Northwest Frontier: Identity and Insecurity in Xinjiang
In the first study to incorporate majority Han and minority Uyghur perspectives on ethnic relations in Xinjiang following mass violence during July 2009, David Tobin analyses how official policy shapes identity and security dynamics on China's northwest frontier. He explores how the 2009 violence unfolded and how the party-state responded to ask how official identity narratives and security policies shape practices on the ground.
China’s oppression of Xinjiang’s Uyghurs: a visual history
Today, Xinjiang’s Uyghurs are subject to a comprehensive, targeted campaign of surveillance and control. According to leading researchers and human rights groups, as many as 1.5 million have been placed in concentration camps. This ongoing program of repression follows decades of tension between the Uyghurs and the Chinese government. So, how did we get here?
Why many in China support Beijing's policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong
Over an uncountable number of official statements and state media news reports, Beijing has described both Uyghurs and the demonstrators in Hong Kong as "separatists", who are seeking to "undermine China's sovereignty". This has created a huge stir in mainland China, where people take the subject of the country's sovereignty very seriously. Many in China support human rights and democracy, however support for Beijing's often contradictory actions remains vast — so why is that the case?
Securitizing Xinjiang: Police Recruitment, Informal Policing and Ethnic Minority Co-optation
Following a series of high-profile attacks in Beijing, Kunming and Urumqi by Uyghur militants, the Chinese party-state declared a war on terror in 2014. Since then, China's Xinjiang region has witnessed an unprecedented build-up of what we describe as a multi-tiered police force, turning it into one of the most heavily policed regions in the world. This article investigates the securitization of Xinjiang through an analysis of official police recruitment documents.
Are Ethnic Tensions on the Rise in China?
On December 31, President Xi Jinping appeared on CCTV and extended his “New Year’s wishes to Chinese of all ethnic groups.” On January 15, Beijing officials detained Ilham Tohti, a leading Uighur economist and subsequently accused him of “separtist offenses”; a fresh report shows arrests of Uighurs for “endangering state security” in Xinjiang rose sharply last year; and the number of Tibetans who have taken their own lives in public protest against Chinese rule has recently surpassed 120 since February 2009.
The Strangers: Blood and Fear in Xinjiang
In the winter of 2009, I was spending my weekends in the northeast Chinese city of Tangshan, and eating most of my food from the far-western province of Xinjiang. There was something unfamiliar about the place I usually ate at in Tangshan; the waiters were young children. Two solemn little girls of about eight, wearing Muslim headscarves, would take my order and relay it to the kitchen, occasionally joined by their plump-cheeked older brother. After we had gotten on familiar terms—I let them play on my laptop—I asked the girls when they started working as waitresses. “In July,” they said. It wasn’t surprising that the restaurant might have wanted a friendlier face at that point. That was the time that a Uighur mob had tried to murder one of my friends.
Ethnic Policy in China: Is Reform Inevitable
Following significant interethnic violence beginning in 2008, Chinese intellectuals and policymakers are now engaged in unprecedented debate over the future direction of their country's ethnic policies. This study attempts to gauge current Chinese opinion on this once-secretive and still highly sensitive area of national policy. Leading public intellectuals, as well as some party officials, now openly call for new measures strengthening national integration at the expense of minority rights and autonomy. Adjustments in rhetoric and policy emphasis are expected as the party-state attempts to strengthen interethnic cohesiveness as a part of its larger agenda of stability maintenance.
Charting the Course of Uyghur Unrest
This article argues that the locations and types of violent Uyghur unrest were influenced by a combination of Chinese government policies and the political geography of Xinjiang.
The People's Liberation Army and China's Internal Security Challenges
Trained and equipped for war, China’s soldiers have been deployed time and again to respond to internal security issues such as violent mass demonstrations, or “mass incidents,” and episodes of ethnic unrest.
Enforced Disappearances in the Wake of Xinjiang’s Protests
This Human Rights Watch report documents the enforced “disappearances” of 43 Uighur men and teenage boys who were detained by Chinese security forces in the wake of the Urumqi protest.
Xinjiang Trials Deny Justice - Proceedings Failed Minimum Fair Trial Standards
The trials of 21 defendants accused of participating in the violent July 2009 protests in Urumqi did not meet minimum international standards of due process and fair trials, Human Rights Watch said today.
Old suspicions magnified mistrust into ethnic riots in Urumqi
On the night of 25 June, two Uighurs were killed by a Han mob. A week later, a Uighur protest on the streets of Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, turned into one of the worst race riots in China’s history.
Behind the Violence in Xinjiang
The eruption of ethnic violence in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, the most deadly recorded in decades, seems to have taken both Beijing and the world by surprise. It should not have.
Ethnic Clashes in China: Uighurs vs. Han Chinese
The Chinese government blanketed Urumqi, the capital of China's far western Xinjiang region, with 20,000 new security troops on Wednesday, as thousands of residents began to flee following the deadly ethnic clashes that erupted over the weekend. The unrest has become a major challenge for this country's Communist leaders. In a sign of their growing concern about the situation, President Hu Jintao canceled plans to attend the Group of Eight summit in Italy and rushed home early Wednesday.