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Xinjiang territory profile overview

China's Xinjiang province is the


country's most westerly region,
bordering on the former Soviet
states of Central Asia, as well as
several other states including
Afghanistan, Russia, and
Mongolia.
The largest ethnic group, the Muslim,
Turkic-speaking Uighurs, has lived in
China's shadow for centuries. The
region has had an intermittent history
of autonomy and occasional
independence, but was finally
brought under Chinese control in the
18th century.
Economic development of the region
under Communist rule has been
accompanied by large-scale
immigration of Han Chinese, and
Uighur allegations of discrimination
and marginalisation have been
behind more visible anti-Han and
separatist sentiment since the 1990s.

Xinjiang, about the size of Iran, is


divided into the Dzungarian Basin
in the north and the Tarim Basin in
the south by a mountain range

The region was contested by various Turkic groups, Mongols and the
Chinese until the 18th century, when the Chinese Qing Dynasty brought the
whole area under its control.

Russian influence is strong, especially during the rule of various warlords


after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. The Soviet Union supported an
Uighur-led separatist East Turkestan Republic in the north of the region in
1944-1949, but helped to extinguish it when the Communists took over in
China proper.

Why is there tension between China and the


Uighurs?

Who lives in Xinjiang?


The ethnic Uighur population used to
be the majority in China's Xinjiang
region

The region's economy has largely


revolved around agriculture and
trade, with towns such as Kashgar
thriving as hubs along the famous
Silk Road

Most Uighurs are Muslim and Islam is


an important part of their life and
identity. Their language is related to
Turkish, and they regard themselves
as culturally and ethnically close to
Central Asian nations.

But development has brought new


residents. In the 2000 census, Han
Chinese made up 40% of the
population, as well as large numbers
of troops stationed in the region and
unknown numbers of unregistered

Has Xinjiang always been part


of China?
The region has had intermittent
autonomy and occasional
independence, but what is now
known as Xinjiang came under
Chinese rule in the 18th Century.
An East Turkestan state was briefly
declared in 1949, but independence
was short-lived - later that year
Xinjiang officially became part of
Communist China.
In the 1990s, open support for
separatist groups increased after the
collapse of the Soviet Union and the
emergence of independent Muslim
states in Central Asia.
However, Beijing suppressed

Xinjiang officially became part of


Communist China in 1949

The Ili, Tarbagatay, and Altay districts


(red) in which the East Turkestan
Republic was located.

List of province-level divisions

What is at the heart of


the unrest?
While the situation is complex, many
say that ethnic tensions caused by
economic and cultural factors are the
root cause of the recent violence..
Major development projects have
brought prosperity to Xinjiang's big
cities, attracting young and
technically qualified Han Chinese
from eastern provinces.
The Han Chinese are said to be given
the best jobs and the majority do well
economically, something that has

China's critics say authorities have


stepped up a crackdown on Uighurs
in recent years

The Uighur culture leans more


towards Central Asia than China

Activists say Uighur commercial and cultural activities have been gradually
curtailed by the Chinese state. There are complaints of severe restrictions
on Islam, with fewer mosques and strict control over religious schools.

In July 2014, some Xinjiang government departments


banned Muslim civil servants from fastingduring the holy month of
Ramadan. It was not the first time China had restricted fasting in Xinjiang,
but it followed a slew of attacks on the public attributed to Uighur
extremists, prompting concerns the ban would increase tensions.

How has the violence


developed?
China has been accused of
intensifying its crackdown on the
Uighurs after street protests in the
1990s and again in the run-up to the
Beijing Olympics in 2008.

China has poured troops into the


region in recent years as unrest
has rumbled

But things really escalated in 2009,


with large-scale ethnic rioting in the
regional capital, Urumqi. Some 200
people were killed in the unrest, most
of them Han Chinese, according to
officials.

Security was increased and many Uighurs detained as suspects. But


violence rumbled on as right groups increasingly pointed to tight control by
Beijing.
There was bloodshed in April 2013 and in June that year, 27 people died in
Shanshan county after police opened fire on what state media described as
a mob armed with knives attacking local government buildings
Establishing facts about these incidents is difficult, because foreign
journalists' access to the region is tightly controlled, but in recent months,
there appears to have been a shift towards larger-scale incidents where
citizens have become the target, particularly in Xinjiang.
In June 2012, six Uighurs reportedly tried to hijack a plane from Hotan to
At least 31 people were killed and more than 90 suffered injuries in May
Urumqi before they were overpowered by passengers and crew.
2014when two cars crashed through an Urumqi marketand
explosives were tossed into the crowd. China called it a "violent terrorist
incident".
It followed a bomb and knife attack at Urumqi's south railway station in
April, which killed three and injured 79 others.
In July, authorities said a
knife-wielding gang attacked a police stationand government offices
in Yarkant, leaving 96 dead. The imam of China's largest mosque,Jume
Tahir,was stabbed to death days later.

In September about 50 died in blasts in Luntai county outside police stations


a market and a shop. Details of both incidents are unclear and activists have
contested some accounts of incidents in state media.

Chinese officials blamed the attack at Tiananmen Square on separatists


from Xinjiang

Some violence has also spilled out of Xinjiang. A March stabbing spree in
Kunming in Yunnan province that killed 29 people was blamed on Xinjiang
separatists, as was an October 2013 incident where a car ploughed into a
crowd andburst into flames in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

In response to the latest slew of attacks, the authorities have launched


what they call a "year-long campaign against terrorism", stepping up
security in Xinjiang and conducting more military drills in the region.

There have also been reports ofmass sentencingsand arrests of


several "terror groups". Chinese state media have reported long lists of
people convicted of extremist activityand in some cases, death
sentences.

High-profile Uighur academic, Ilham Tohti was detained and


later charged in September 2014 on charges of separatism.,
sparkinginternational criticism.

Who's to blame?

China also blamed Xinjiang separatists for the


brutal attack in March 2014 at Kunming station
China has often blamed ETIM - the East Turkestan Islamic
Movement - or people inspired by ETIM for violent incidents both in
Xinjiang and beyond the region's borders.

ETIM is said to want to establish an independent East Turkestan in China.


The US State Department in 2006 said ETIM is "the most militant of the
ethnic Uighur separatist groups".
The scope of ETIM's activities remains unclear with some questioning the
group's capacity to organise serious acts of extremism.

ETIM has not said it was behind any of the attacks. Chinese authorities said
the Turkestan Islamic Party - which it says is synonymous with ETIM released a video backing the Kunming attack, however.

With the recent apparent escalation in Xinjiang-related violence, the


question of who and what is driving it is likely to attract greater scrutiny.

References
PICTURES:
BBC.
WIKIPEDIA.

Thank you

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