Thread by @xuxibai

Travelled in Xinjiang for 9 days, the landscapes are amazing, so are the hospitality of the locals, but the most impressive is no doubt the omnipresence of the security apparatus, such as mobile roadblocks like this:

Everywhere u go, u see security checks, CCTV cameras, facial recognition machines, barbed wire fences, roadblocks, 'convenience' police stations, roadside checkpoints, police officers on patrol and people with a red 'security volunteer' (安全员) badge on their upper arms.

U cannot check into a hotel without security scan + facial recognition. Security scan is mandatory in most public places. Petro stations are guarded like garrisons, so are government buildings and schools. In cities, police response time is 3 mins from report to on-site.

I've seen a fruit vendor's knife chained to the booth, with a QR code on it and been to WCs in highway service stations that require an ID card to enter. To call it a 'suiveillance state' is, in my opinion, quite an understatement.

I had no chance to talk to Uighurs. The few dozen Han people I spoke to are all keenly aware of the situation. One said it's 'cultural replacement', refering to the fact that 90% of signs in Ürümqi are now Chinese only and duo-language schooling has stopped all together.

Others consent to locking up 'problematic' people and 're-educate‘ them with 'employable skills', though the campaign might have been over-done. Even the most ardent state supporters recognize that past XJ policies were not good enough but none objects to tougher policies.

In their words, the 2009 riots are much more severe than gov figures or what Western media reported: thousands of Han died in the first days with Han and Uighurs locked in months of ethnic vendettas. For years, Ürümqi looked like a ghost city and its population plummeted.

Despite all sorts of complaints (e.g. the civil servants are forced to work way over time to maintain 'stability'), every Han Chinese I spoke to are very proud that Urumqi, and XJ in general, is now among the safest places in China, even pickpockets are hard to find.

While acknowledging some wrongdoing by local officials, they believe that Uighurs who have fallen to Islamic extremism (imported from Central Asia) caused the problem and need to be re-educated. Ethnic hatred already seeded, though, is very difficult to heal.

To them, the good old days when Han & Uighurs live happily among each other may have gone forever, and they know all too well that the newly restored peace, security and stability is due to a high pressure policy. God knows what will happen when the pressure is removed.

But the shadow of the 2009 riots looms over everyone. The fear for the bloody killings and the chaos is so great that everyone is supportive to the current policy, even if it only brings momentary peace in the present. Let future generations care about future problems, they say.

What I've presented here is merely the opinions I learned from common Han Chinese in XJ, many have lived there for more than three generations and rightfully call XJ their home. There are also recent ones, e.g. large number of Henan immigrants in Burqin in the last 20 yrs.

I didn't have an alternative & viable solution to tell them back then, and I am still thinking what's the best way forward. Is there a way to protect everyone's rights while preventing ethnic riots, eliminating Islamic terrorism and maitaining China's territorial integrity?