5 days after Kunming bus bombing (21/07/2008) for which Turkistan Islamic Party 'claimed' responsibility, Rice warned China that "security threats have to be dealt with... But security should not become in any way a cover to try and deal with dissent." app.ft.com/content/c361bb…
https://twitter.com/Mav15605229/status/1314145231856525314
Her words struck me at the time & I thought: Wow! That just sent an interesting message both to Beijing and its opponents in Xinjiang. Back then I had a gut feeling that this wouldn't augur well for Xinjiang. Within 15 days Kashgar attacks and Kuqa sucide bombing occurred.
I was baffled by her message because that was during the height of the US-led war on terrorism, and in the wake of Bush Jr.'s stark message that "either you're with us or you're with the terrorists". It seemed clear that the US wasn't really with China re its terrorist problems.
That's my impression anyway. Now here we are regarding Xinjiang. I can't claim any foresight, however - things could have taken different turns entirely, and there're so many factors at play. But for some reason that message from Rice has stayed with me since.
In light of what has unfolded since then (I'd say fairly predictable), did Rice and the like really care about the fate of Uighurs in Xinjiang? I very much doubt it. After all, it's not them who bear the consequences.
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