Violence in China's restive western region of Xinjiang?
Jul 6 2009 06:24
What is the libertarian communist view on this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7562421.stm - this video from last year shows the atmosphere there.
Jul 7 2009 11:19
#2
The Xinjiang region is one of the most heavily policed in China and has been for some time. It's significant that the violence is still continuing in this province and presents a problem for the Chinese bourgeoisie though no advantage for the working class in the retrenchment of ethnic divisions and rivalries.
The policy of the Chinese bourgeoisie in re-settlements of peoples and CP structures in this region, and thus the exacerbation of repression, dispossession and ethnic tensions, echoes that of Tibet that have taken place in the overall interests of Chinese imperialism.
After the collapse of Russia in 1989, the World Service reported in the early 90s the state directed massive resettlement of han Chinese in and around a Vladivostok that had seen Russian control collapsing. I don't have any details of the Russian response but when it came it was obviously robust.
Jul 7 2009 13:34
#3
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8137824.stm
Things are getting worse. Shame so many innocents will pay with their lifes.
Jul 7 2009 19:41
#4
There are around 8 million Turkic speaking Uighur muslims in this vast region mostly concentrated around the major cities. This is where both Han and Hui have been sent in force and the CCP structures also include local Uighur cadres and repressive forces. Just like Tibet, the Uighur religion and culture is being wiped out.
This region declared its independence as East Turkestan in 1933 but was soon reabsorbed into China. In 1944 a second republic was created but became part of Chinese territory in 1949. Xinjiang means "New Frontier" and this region is and has been fully integrated into the needs of imperialism overall and Chinese imperialism in particular, providing a buffer zone to Russia in the north and bearing on Pakistan, China's ally, to the west.
Channel 4 news tonight showed some Chinese police sympathetic to some Uighurs but the local Uighur puppet promised a response. The repression will be savage and out of sight of the cameras.
Just like the "peaceful rise" of Chinese imperialism, the "harmony" of this country is anything but.
Jul 7 2009 21:34
#5
There is a significant uygur turkic diaspora in turkey basically because of ethnic ties. And the impression I got is that uygur movement (at least here) is nationalist, islamist and anti-communist. One of their slogans in the demonstrations here was something like "down with bloody communist dictatorship". Thanks to chinese state-capitalism what they understand from communism is a "bloody dictatorship".
Actually comrade Leo was talking about a kind of left communist nucleus in middle assia around 1920's. But the general impression I got is that working class is politically very weak especially in uygur regions.
Jul 7 2009 22:30
#6
Baboon, mikail - something short for the website?
evidently this is a pogrom atmosphere resulting from state enforced divisions. Important to make an internationalist response. Steven - you'd also be welcome to write something for our site.
It is on a large scale, but it is significant that this gets major media coverage over here but all the 'mass incidents' involving class struggle and social revolts in China are only given the occasional paragraph.
Was reading about more violence here last night.
Like that report shows, it's difficult to know much about what's going on really, but it looks like very much dead end separatist/ethnic violence which would harm workers on both sides.
Other reports have been about han Chinese people being killed in attacks, and there was one story about a brawl in a factory between han Chinese and minority ethnic workers in which two were killed. Not good at all.