I hope anyone and everyone interested in social justice and ethnic issues in China will take the time to read the letter a Hui individual in Xinjiang has sent to the new Secretary, Zhang Chunxian. It is translated into English below.
I’ll come clean. Reading this letter has made me extremely excited and has thrown a significant amount of optimism into what generally is a personal reservoir of negativity regarding the situation in Xinjiang.
On one hand, this is just a blog post, and, as pretty much most of us blogosphere residents have learned first hand, blog posts can only do so much (if anything at all).
On the other hand, it has always been my conviction that the most probable and fair solution to the “Xinjiang Problem” is a broad, consciousness-raising social movement, a Civil Rights movement, if you will, with both Uyghurs and Han participants, that asserts Uyghur ethnic identity and political rights through creative work, political participation, legal challenges, and civil disobedience.
Such a movement can only work if members of the majority stakeholders, in this case, the Han, participate. Until then, it will only be perceived with hostility as a proto-nationalist separatist movement with harmful designs on the People’s Republic of China. I believe, unfortunately, it is on this point that a resolution to Xinjiang issues is most distant: allies among the PRC majority are few and far between. Besides Wang Lixiong, there are hardly any Han allies to the Uyghur case, and Wang is derided enough as is.
Enter Hui blogger Lüqi Piaopiao (his Chinese pseudonym, 绿旗飘飘), who goes by Green Flag in English. In some ways it is perfectly appropriate that a Hui individual, a Muslim of otherwise “Han” cultural and linguistic background, would be the person who would write the most thorough, fair, and empathetic defense of Uyghur issues I have seen thus far. Green Flag’s exhortations nail, in my opinion, almost every “real issue” that can significantly contribute to solving problems in Xinjiang: respect for the existing legal framework, the concept of genuine autonomy, bringing about tranquility and content through loosening, rather than tightening, religious policy, cultural education for government leaders, and more. But it would be a mistake on my part to put words in Green Flag’s mouth, since he speaks quite wonderfully on his own.
Writing on a blog with a banner that prominently features Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela, Green Flag conspicuously associates his efforts as a social activist with the style of consciousness-raising social movements that I have come to conclude is the only practical hope for the region. It is with great excitement and optimism, then, that I’ve translated Green Flag’s letter to Zhang Chunxian into English, hoping that in this small way I can contribute to the work of someone, on the ground, in China, who truly has the right ideas. Please read and share!
Dear Secretary Zhang,
After Hunan, a land made legendary by its people, you’ve come to vast and wealthy Xinjiang. The burden you carry truly is not light.
There once was a time when I would blithely sing the song “Our Xinjiang is a Good Place,” 1 and watch Red Flowers of Tian Shan 2 over and over again. To be frank, I miss those times, but that was just me appreciating creative work. Only last year was I able to do away with this imaginary Xinjiang of my dreams.
My first epiphany occurred in February of 2009, when, because of the “February Incident” 3 which happened in Yili some years ago, police vehicles were patrolling the streets of Huocheng County. On February 5th, a little past 5 in the afternoon, I saw a Uyghur youth inexplicably kicking over bicycles parked in front of a supermarket…
In the middle of February of this year, I departed north out of Urumqi with several friends to go to Altai and enjoy the snow up there. We didn’t go west, because we weren’t willing to deal with the inconvenience of having to show our ID papers on the side of the road. After returning home, I posted some pictures from the trip on my blog, and even sent a travelogue I had written in all earnestness and affection to a news periodical in the south; the editor wrote back, asking me to understand how the article I had written was too “sensitive” for the magazine. Ultimately, what was too sensitive was the story of a Uyghur youth from Xinjiang who, after graduating college, was in the end not able to find any employment in Xinjiang and ended up working for the China branch of an American oil company.
The truth is that the situation in Xinjiang has already affected the thinking of all kinds people and has attracted the concern of surrounding regions. However, since I myself am a Muslim, it is easier for me to speak with other Muslim individuals throughout society, including Uyghurs. I believe that several issues in Xinjiang are worth a high level of serious attention, as the potential crises hidden among these issues are clearly detrimental to tranquility in Xinjiang and clearly could influence Xinjiang’s future.
1. Relaxing Religious Policy
In Xinjiang, at least half the population are Muslim adherents of Islam. There is no doubting that terrorist incidents have occurred in Xinjiang due to the influence of “East Turkestan” thinking. This is an unbearable tragedy for all people, including Muslims throughout the country. The events of last July caused unprecedented anguish for everyone.
The incident in and of itself bore no relation to religion. However, a few issues preceding the incident are worth analyzing earnestly. For example, the doucments of both the media and the government in Xinjiang include wording along the lines of “They (Uyghur Muslims) advocate the doctrine of the Oneness of God” 4 and it seems that because of this believe the Uyghurs reject the leadership of the government and the party. However, many other prominent religions believe in “the Oneness of God,” holding it as their guiding principle. In Yili Prefecture, some of the “Places for Religious Activity are Absolutely Not Permitted” policies promulgated by government ministries are incompatible with the historical traditions of mosques and actual capabilities on the ground. For example, in regards to the “Collecting of Fees Not Permitted” policy, mosques have always been places that collect taxes, and furthermore the contribution of these fees are a religious obligation and a public service among Muslims, to be used to aid the poor and as public welfare. The “Worship not Permitted for State Cadres” policy violates Article 36 of the Constitution 5. During Ramadan, Uyghur Muslims are not permitted to hold iftar 6 meals at mosques and restrictions on Uyghur Muslims desiring to go to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage are quite strict. Originally mosques served an additional role as places of learning, and in this capacity passed on religious knowledge and trained religious leaders. With restrictions limiting students at mosques to about two or three individuals, Muslims are now in a situation where they are hardly able to pass on their traditions. Also, there are various measures which forbid mosques and foreign language schools in China proper from accepting students with Xinjiang residence, especially Uyghurs.
In some regions, government agencies forbid Uyghurs from growing beards, forcing individuals who do not comply to attend “Legal Training Classes,” sometimes for up to three months. People now call these classes “Beard Training Classes” without hardly knowing that among Muslims, growing a beard is sacred behavior following Islam’s Prophet and constitutes a holy religious ritual.
I hope that Xinjiang cadres will, when convenient, take the time to study the fundamental doctrines of religions and gradually transform the above conventions. Religion needs to be able to flow freely and must not be blocked up as if under the “Eliminate Religion” methods from the Cultural Revolution. The minorities of Xinjiang are closely bound to their religion, and if religious policies are relaxed, many people will feel more free and more at ease when it comes to believing and practicing their faith. Doing this would aid in resolving other problems, creating a more contented popular sentiment, and benefit social tranquility.
2. The Employment Gap
As I mentioned above, there was a Uyghur youth who studied in a “Xinjiang Class” in inner China and got into a university, and despite expending his efforts over ten times, was ultimately unable to find employment in his own homeland and was forced to go to distant Tianjin to work for an American company. From any vantage point this is absolutely incomprehensible. In large and mid-sized cities, employment opportunities for minorities, particularly Uyghurs, are few, and in work units with several hundred people there are barely any minority employees. In Yining, all janitors are, without exception, Uyghurs.
Furthermore, many Uyghur girls from Southern Xinjiang are sent to Southern China under “Poverty Alleviation” programs. This, however, is not the desire of many families since Muslim tradition does not support women going far from their homes in search of work and while they’re away it’s hard to avoid interfering with the daily habits and ethnic dress style of these women.
As all people know, Xinjiang is a treasure trove of natural resources and is China’s peerless, bountiful province. The inner provinces make use of natural gas and other resources that come from Xinjiang. As a sort of repayment, the indigenous peoples of Xinjiang should at least be entitled to part of the local employment opportunities so that they may be able to make a living in their own land.
I hope that with some necessary changes in policy, local peoples can be given appropriate employment opportunities, so that the income gap may be gradually lessened and bring about even greater social peace.
3. Improving the Lives of the People
In Urumqi I’ve noticed that districts where Uyghurs have congregated tend to be antiquated and on the decline. Even though the proportion of populations in Urumqi today is not as before, I still hope the government will take into consideration the layout of the city, addressing both development and maintenance of minority areas, and making the citywide disparity less blatant.
“Han Street” in Yining City, which now exists in name only (referring to residential areas where Han originally lived), is quite dirty and messy. The roads have yet to be paved, and if it rains or snows, the surface of the roads turn to mud which makes getting around very inconvenient.
Uyghur peddlers have spread out to every part of the country, selling specialty Xinjiang products but also leaving impressions and influences on the local community. I saw a Uyghur kid selling nan once at the Guangzhou train station, carrying around a stack of nan. Police suddenly appeared, and, with the crowds of bystanders watching, knocked the stack of nan the kid was holding to the ground. Each time the kid stooped over to pick up nan, the police kicked him in the butt until he finally picked up all the nan.
4. Strengthen Autonomy
Xinjiang is China’s largest ethnic autonomous region. Under Secretary Zhang’s new administration, the government should carefully research the ethnic autonomy methods of Xinjiang. Broadening autonomy and allowing, in a planned, measured fashion, local people to manage local affairs, appears to be the best ultimate solution, in Xinjiang and in Tibet.
The unity and strength of China should be the collective responsibility of all Chinese people of good conscience. The burden is heavy and the road is indeed long!
Under the principles of the Constitution and the Ethnic Autonomy Law, the first step must be establishing communication and dialog between social classes, excising the tumor that exists in the hearts of ordinary folks of all ethnicities, including the Han. Please change the old way of doing things, serving both the interests of the state and the peoples in it, bringing about a genuine change of heart, timely healing an open wound, and truly realizing long-lasting peace in ethnic areas.
Best wishes to Secretary Zhang!
Best wishes to Xinjiang!
Best wishes to China!
-A concerned citizen
—
[1]:^ The song “Our Xinjiang is a Good Place” is a kitschy song which of course extols the virtues and tranquility of Xinjiang. Almost everyone in the region knows of this song. From a personal, anecdotal standpoint, I usually only hear this song referred to in a non-derisive tone by native Mandarin speakers (e.g. Han and Hui). View a video of this song here.
[2]:^ Produced in 1964, Red Flowers of Tian Shan is a heavily Xinjiang-flavored propaganda piece which tells the story of a young, female Kazakh commune leader who, through indefatigable socialist spirit, overcomes both the natural challenges from living a pastoral life in the Tian Shan and the shenanigans of the requisite counter-revolutionary villains. Watch Red Flowers of Tian Shan here; this is part 1 of 8 parts, which are all linked on the playlist to the right of the video.
[3]:^ Roused by the execution of Uyghur independence activists and harsh restrictions on the traditional Uyghur activity meshrep, Uyghurs of Ghulja took the streets in February of 1997 and were met with by a violent military crackdown by the authorities. The “February Incident,” known to many Uyghurs as the “Ghulja Massacre,” is very hush-hush in today’s Xinjiang it is rather courageous and surprising that this individual is mentioning it in a letter he has sent to Secretary Zhang. This demonstrates that socially active and Hui individuals are at least aware of the incident, which, under information restrictions in Xinjiang, passes further into obscurity every year.
[4]:^ In Chinese, “认主独一”. This is a reference to the Muslim concept of tawhid, a belief in the oneness of God, or, less obscurely, monotheism in Islam. The author is astutely criticizing the government’s tendency to accuse tawhid in Islam as redirecting Muslims’ loyalty away from the nation and the government, since several other approved religions in the PRC are also monotheistic.
[5]:^ Article 36. Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination.
[6]:^ Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. The iftar meal is the highly anticipated community event where Muslims break their fast together and eat their first meal after going without food the whole day. These meals are often hosted at mosques and are significant social events for local communities.
Comments 10
Thanks for this great translation. Still this -although very brave – blog post is also testimony to the problems of facing up to what is really happening in Xinxiang.
Witness the following lines:
– Furthermore, many Uyghur girls from Southern Xinjiang are sent to Southern China under “Poverty Alleviation” programs. This, however, is not the desire of many families since Muslim tradition does not support women going far from their homes in search of work and while they’re away it’s hard to avoid interfering with the daily habits and ethnic dress style of these women. –
It is a sad testimony to the state of affairs in the “new dominion” that even this brave man can only allude to what is happening: Namely families are forced to entrust their girls to labor recruiters from the “mainland” otherwise they have to pay huge fines. Everybody knows that this is happening, but to say it openly is malicious propaganda. It creates an insane hatred among the families affected. Especially if you know that these “recruiters” are in cohorts with the party officials overseeing such programs. And you can guess the outcome regarding the girls if you know the pervasive corruption of the party.
I believe it is Chinese government policy to dilute the ethnicity of the Uighurs as they most likely have given up hope to ever “civilize” them. I would love Porfiry to be right regarding a “civil rights” movement for Uighurs but I am more than skeptical. A man like Ilham Tohti would have been akin to a man like W. E. B. Du Bois in early twentieth century America. Except Du Bios and many like him could always publish what they wanted.
The only thing that might change things is such big problems for the Government in Han areas that they decide they don´t need the added aggravation produced in Xinxiang. Hope I am wrong.
Basically it amounts to the following: what is really happening is not allowed to be mentioned or dismissed as malicious propaganda.
Posted 30 May 2010 at 2:17 pm ¶Thanks for the great post and the link to the original blog. I totally agree with you on the civil rights “solution” theme, and Green Flag has indeed pointed out the central issues. As for Han support a major problem is disinterest, prejudice and ignorance. Even among very close Han friends, who share my personal values, beliefs and concerns have I found total ignorance and no understanding for Uighurs and “the Xinjiang problem”. But how to start the process of finding meeting places, how to change education and structures – and most important attitudes?
Posted 31 May 2010 at 1:58 am ¶@Tom
I agree with you in full – while it’s my personal contention that a social movement is the most peaceable and possible solution to issues plaguing the region, it’s also absolutely correct that, in comparison with the US of the early 20th century, it is much harder for ethnic rights activists, be they Han or Uyghur, to *do* anything. It’s true that in Selma, local firemen sprayed marchers and demonstrators with fire hoses, but as has already been established, Uyghur demonstrators can only hope for treatment as benign as a splash of water. Not only did 1950s America have a more solid framework for allowing free speech, but the interlocking “checks and balances” nature of the government insured that, for example, when the Arkansas National Guard was deployed to prevent the enrollment of the Little Rock Nine, the federal government intervened and allowed them to enter.
Thus my personal opinions and activism regarding the Uyghur inevitably and naturally falls within a larger, cross-PRC framework: that calling for greater freedom of expression, more stringent rule of law, separation of powers, independent judiciary, etc. etc. I believe that in the PRC’s system, as it exists today, there simply is no solution for the Xinjiang problem – except, as you mentioned, outright dilution of Uyghur culture. As long as the government is a single-party, self-interested organization whose safest position is to represent the interest of the country’s overwhelming majority, namely, the Han, then their treatment of the Uyghurs, irrespective of how much money flows in, will always be viewed as paternalistic, with sharp resentment by the Uyghurs, and any activism on the part or on behalf of the Uyghurs will always be perceived as threatening and anti-state.
I hope, then, that change in Xinjiang comes hand in hand with change throughout China. The picture is, overall, extremely pessimistic, and I think one of the worst aspects of the “human rights” movement within China is the utter gap between the 维权 (protect rights) movement among Han in China proper and Uyghur activism in general. The two movements have common goals, but I think skepticism of Uyghurs for being “separatists” is so widespread that most Han human rights activists, even if they are sympathetic, are understandably hesitant to espouse their cause. The Uyghurs are sort of untouchable. They don’t even have that “Buddhist pacifism” appeal that the Tibetans have.
But nevertheless, social movements begin with critical thinkers, and these are hard to find among non-Uyghurs. That’s why I’m so upbeat about Green Flag, who not only has good ideas, but is willing to try sharing them with the government.
Posted 31 May 2010 at 3:23 am ¶@JFF
These are great questions to continue to explore the problem. I’ve thought about the answers, but, as Tom has pointed out, unfortunately the environment in the PRC and particularly in Xinjiang towards “speaking one’s mind” is very inhospitable.
How, then, to arouse sympathy among Han individuals? I think one of the absolute most important starting points is a change in the way Uyghurs are represented popularly throughout China. I’m of the conviction that the repeated, reinforced, and accepted popular image of the “dancing, ethnically-garbed, happy Uyghur” is one of the most dangerous thought-patterns to interethnic relations today. Some may think I’m exaggerating the power of this image, but truly it implants this idea, throughout the entire nation, the Uyghurs are naive, shallow, primitive people who are in need of guidance by a more “fazhan,” developed people. The dancing goofy Uyghur image goes *hand-in-hand* with things like the recent “Xinjiang Work Conference” where mostly Han Party officials meet in closed rooms to decide what’s “best” for Xinjiang – how arrogant is that? But it seems justified since a prancing Uyghur man who sings “the Party policy is Yakexi” not only needs, but WANTS guidance.
I think, then, that portrayals of Uyghurs first of all need to be diversified. Secondly, I think control of these portrayals need to return to the hands of the Uyghurs. Arguably media apparatuses in Xinjiang answer ultimately to the Party, which again is a nationwide body that will inevitably place the interests of the Han over the Uyghurs. If Uyghurs had control over their own representation, and were able to show the many, many facets of “life as an Uyghur,” as opposed to one, happy dancy give me policy backwards bumpkin, that’s step one for Han people to overcome the systematic, institutionalized prejudice that really is one of the biggest barriers to ethnic unity.
Posted 31 May 2010 at 3:29 am ¶Its not entirely on topic but, do you know of any blogs in Chinese that deal primarily or exclusively with Xinjiang ?
Posted 31 May 2010 at 7:34 pm ¶@ Porfiriy
I agree with you on the issue of describing Uighurs and their culture, it’s all “Disneyfied” in its worst sense. This issue of (cultural) ownership is central to “development”, with tangible examples in the Kashgar and Lhasa railways, destruction of Kashgar old city and so on. Who decided and who was asked of their opinions? Even Xinjiang governor Nur Bekri cannot escape this problem, and he was described in “Huanqiu renwu” (环球人物) in 2009 as having acheived “the openness of Mongols, the decisiveness of Kazakhs, the intelligence of Han and the optimism of Uighurs”. (see http://leaders.people.com.cn/GB/9136169.html)
Posted 01 Jun 2010 at 9:01 pm ¶不知道说什么好，我只能用每天专注的工作来填充伤感和空虚。
Posted 02 Jun 2010 at 10:38 am ¶Don’t know what say, I can only focus on the work of the day to fill sadness and emptiness.
I hope to share your optimism but this letter may end up creating more fear in the minds of the Han. They might fear that the Muslims are uniting Uyghur,Hui and perhaps others.
Posted 08 Jun 2010 at 4:25 am ¶Thanks a lot for translating:May God bless and protect people who are working for peace and voiceless group!
I’ve written the second letter to Mr.Zhang though I guess he or his group may or will not see or read the letter.
Best wishes to beautiful Xinjiang!
Posted 06 Sep 2010 at 9:27 am ¶I posted the above letter to the Party leader for 3 times,dreaming to have a chance to meet him even for 10 minutes. However,it is impossible.
Posted 18 Aug 2011 at 12:14 pm ¶I wrote a second letter to him too.
But I won’t write the third letter though I worry or fear most.
Guns and tanks are not the right means to keep peace there,as I know.