Want China Times, 3 February 2014

The Chinese government has begun implementing comprehensive strategic reforms in the hope of stabilizing the troubled Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region in northwest China, reports Duowei News, an outlet run by overseas Chinese.

On Tuesday, Xinjiang Communist Party secretary Zhang Chunxian held an internal conference to pass on the details of the latest strategic directions issued by party general secretary and Chinese president Xi Jinping at the end of last year.

Since Xi convened a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top decision-making body, on Dec. 19, Xinjiang’s provincial party committee has conducted seven meetings across all levels to pass on his message.

Zhang said at the conference that economic and infrastructure development alone are insufficient to resolve Xinjiang’s long term stability and security issues, adding that Xi’s new directions will have a profound and far-reaching impact on the region.

Despite major changes in Xinjiang over the past 30 years, the strained relations between the region’s Uyghur minority and the majority Han population have remained as turbulent as ever. Since 2009, Beijing has injected a significant amount of funds into Xinjiang to build basic infrastructure and fund beneficial policies for locals, though this has done little to prevent violent clashes.

The Muslim Uyghurs, who claim religious and cultural suppression at the hands of the Chinese government, have been blamed for a recent spate of “terrorist” attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of the country, including a high-profile jeep crash in Beijing’s iconic Tiananmen Square last October that killed five people and injured another 40.

At least 91 people, including several policemen, have been killed in ethnic violence in Xinjiang since April, according to state media reports, leading to increased security measures which have further restricted minority freedoms.

Last November, government officials demanded that lawyers in Turpan, a city southeast of the regional capital of Urumqi, commit to guaranteeing that relatives do not wear burqas, veils or participate in illegal religious activities, and that young men do not grow long beards.

In a commentary published Wednesday, Duowei said Beijing should continue to crack down on calls by extremists for Xinjiang independence by giving police increased powers and by improving their ability to collect counter-terror intelligence. While most of the violent incidents have been linked to the Uyghur minority, the vast majority of them just want to be able to live their lives in peace and without interference, the commentary added, which is why the focus must be solely on extremist groups.

The Chinese government cannot say that it will take a more “flexible” approach to governing Xinjiang only when there is violence, and then return to a strict, rigid approach when the situation improves, Duowei said. The solution lies in implementing a system that promotes equality and economic development to create local job opportunities, and a system that respects ethnic cultures and religious beliefs.

Beijing has continued to drive economic development in Xinjiang, which has improved local GDP but also raised inflation without corresponding raises in income, thus creating a new factor of instability.

To tackle this problem, Duowei suggests that the central government take into account the interests of ethnic minorities as well as the population as a whole in devising new strategies, including those designed to bridge the wealth gap. Instead of increasing direct welfare to minority groups, the funding needs to be put into nuturing the middle class and developing small- to medium-sized business entrepreneurs to create job opportunities and economic development.

Lastly, Duowei says Beijing also needs to continue its ethnic unity education and propaganda among all communities, especially among the region’s youth so that they will learn to respect religious and cultural differences.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20140203000038