Tensions Remain High in China Following Deadly Riots

Minxin Pei TV/Radio Broadcast July 7, 2009 PBS Newshour
Summary
Unrest among the Uighur minority in China was inevitable because of the lack of dialogue between ethnic groups, growing income inequality between Han Chinese and Uighurs, and government portrayals of Uighurs as separatist terrorists.
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The recent clashes between Han Chinese and Uighurs in the restive Xinjiang province have killed over 150 people and injured well over 800 others.  To discuss the sources of the violence, Carnegie's Minxin Pei joined Alim Seytoff, the spokesperson for the World Uighur Congress, on PBS' NewsHour. 

Pei explained that Uighurs have long resented Han Chinese explorations of Xinjiang's deposits of oil, natural gas, and other natural resources and the central government's half-century-long effort to encourage Han migration to the province.  A violent clash of this nature was inevitable because of the lack of dialogue between ethnic groups, growing income inequality between the Han Chinese and the Uighurs, and the portrayal of Uighurs as separatist terrorists by the Chinese government.

Pei concluded by arguing that although this episode is unlikely to lead to susbtantially enhanced autonomy for Uighurs, it could serve as a wake-up call to the Chinese government to review its treatment of ethnic minorities in China. 

Source: http://carnegieendowment.org/2009/07/07/tensions-remain-high-in-china-following-deadly-riots/2smd

In Fact

 

70%

of oil consumed in the United States

is for the transportation sector.

20%

of Chechnya’s pre-1994 population

has fled to different parts of the world.

58%

of oil consumed in China

was from foreign sources in 2012.

32

million cases pending

in India’s judicial system.

20

million people killed

in Cold War conflicts.

18%

of the U.S. economy

is consumed by healthcare.

$536

billion in goods and services

traded between the United States and China in 2012.

$100

billion in foreign investment and oil revenue

have been lost by Iran because of its nuclear program.

4700%

increase in China’s GDP per capita

between 1972 and today.

$11

billion have been spent

to complete the Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran.

2%

of Iran’s electricity needs

is all the Bushehr nuclear reactor provides.

82

new airports

are set to be built in China by 2015.

78

journalists

were imprisoned in Turkey as of August 2012 according to the OSCE.

67%

of the world's population

will reside in cities by 2050.

16

million Russian citizens

are considered “ethnic Muslims.”

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