East Turkestan, which is rich in natural resources, has the potential to become a major industrial hub in Asia at a time when we are witnessing the revival of the Silk Road slogan

East Turkestan, which is rich in natural resources, has the potential to become a major industrial hub in Asia at a time when we are witnessing the revival of the Silk Road slogan. On the other hand, China’s strategy shows that using Xinjiang’s geo-strategic position as a launching pad to establish important connections with Central Asia, and especially with South Asia. China has ethnic issues in three regions of Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang. The problems of Tibet and Xinjiang are rooted in past decades and have become more complex. The people of Tibet and Xinjiang also had independence tendencies before communist China came to power. In fact, in Tibet and Xinjiang, there exists a silent turbulence seen as a fire under the ashes. During the 1990s, separatist groups in Xinjiang repeatedly attacked the Chinese government. On the other hand, the existence of religious and cultural differences in disadvantaged areas such as Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as gross differences in their level of development compared with other parts of China, increase the risk of racial, religious, cultural and economic development gaps. The massive social unrest that took place in these areas was severely suppressed by the Chinese central government and much blood was shed. The Chinese government’s relocation of the Han people to the Xinjiang region in recent decades to change the region’s population has also led to ethnic tensions. China’s policy in the face of this challenge in Xinjiang was identified in five main strategies: “re-focusing economic decision-making, Han migration to the region, exploiting Xinjiang’s potential resources, further economic and political ties with Central Asia, and increasing ethnic and religious minority management control”. In fact, the Chinese central government has sought to undermine the identity and culture of Muslims through these programs and has never sought to recognize their independent identity, which has led to a stronger reaction from Muslims to extremism. The two fronts of Uyghur culture, religion and language, are carefully governed by the Chinese government, and the Chinese Communist Party has always been concerned with managing their Islamic beliefs and has pursued two soft and hard policies towards them. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, China sought to portray all pro-Uyghur independence organizations as radical Islamists seeking to establish a Taliban Islamic state in Xinjiang. Under the discourse of post-9/11 combatting terrorism, China has identified some of these organizations as terrorists and used them as a pretext to increase pressure on Muslims, which has provoked reactions from some Muslim countries and human rights organizations.

Exclusive memo : shahrooz darbandi

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