After the 2009 violence between Han, #Uyghurs, and #Xinjiang’s security organs, #China’s party-state used region-wide compulsory “ethnic unity education” to "defeat separatism." A key text from those classes is now available. What does it tell us? 🧵
xinjiang.sppga.ubc.ca/chinese-source…
xinjiang.sppga.ubc.ca/chinese-source…
1.
The text is hosted on @YXiaocuo ‘s Xinjiang Documentation Project website. Their goal is to uplift survivors’ voices and create a reliable resource to combat state-sponsored erasure of evidence and partisan presentation of the crisis in Xinjiang
xinjiang.sppga.ubc.ca
The text is hosted on @YXiaocuo ‘s Xinjiang Documentation Project website. Their goal is to uplift survivors’ voices and create a reliable resource to combat state-sponsored erasure of evidence and partisan presentation of the crisis in Xinjiang
xinjiang.sppga.ubc.ca
2. How are these texts studied?
To pass compulsory “ethnic unity” (minzu tuanjie) exams, schoolchildren, students, and state employees had to chant together in class and pass exams on their own identity and official narratives of history and separatism
To pass compulsory “ethnic unity” (minzu tuanjie) exams, schoolchildren, students, and state employees had to chant together in class and pass exams on their own identity and official narratives of history and separatism
3.
Leading questions in "ethnic unity" education include, “Why say that Xinjiang has always been part of the Chinese nation (Zhonghua Minzu)?” and “Why say that by 60 BCE, Xinjiang was already an inalienable part of the motherland (zuguo)?”
Leading questions in "ethnic unity" education include, “Why say that Xinjiang has always been part of the Chinese nation (Zhonghua Minzu)?” and “Why say that by 60 BCE, Xinjiang was already an inalienable part of the motherland (zuguo)?”
4. What do the texts teach?
The 50 Whys explains “fusion” (jiaorong) of Uyghurs into Chinese identity and their “ethnic extinction” (minzu xiaowang) are natural and progressive processes. Xiaowang is rarely used in mainstream Chinese politics due to its racist undertones.
The 50 Whys explains “fusion” (jiaorong) of Uyghurs into Chinese identity and their “ethnic extinction” (minzu xiaowang) are natural and progressive processes. Xiaowang is rarely used in mainstream Chinese politics due to its racist undertones.
5.
The text claims Uyghurs are “not a Turkic ethnic group” and “not an Islamic ethnic group” because these are “mistaken identities” and “distortions of history,” used by separatists and terrorists in China’s “zero-sum political struggle of life or death.”
The text claims Uyghurs are “not a Turkic ethnic group” and “not an Islamic ethnic group” because these are “mistaken identities” and “distortions of history,” used by separatists and terrorists in China’s “zero-sum political struggle of life or death.”
6.
The 50 Whys explains that in 1949, the People’s Liberation Army “peacefully liberated” Xinjiang from its “backward” history of being “without tall buildings.” The text describes China’s Han majority as a “transcendent ethnic group” (chaoyue minzu) that absorbs other groups.
The 50 Whys explains that in 1949, the People’s Liberation Army “peacefully liberated” Xinjiang from its “backward” history of being “without tall buildings.” The text describes China’s Han majority as a “transcendent ethnic group” (chaoyue minzu) that absorbs other groups.
7. Do these texts still matter?
Yes. Xi Jinping used “ethnic extinction” in 2014 as a guiding concept for all China’s “ethnic policy” and “Xinjiang work.” And many state leaders use these ideas to justify wiping out peoples, including Putin vs #Ukraine
uyghurtribunal.com/wp-content/upl…
Yes. Xi Jinping used “ethnic extinction” in 2014 as a guiding concept for all China’s “ethnic policy” and “Xinjiang work.” And many state leaders use these ideas to justify wiping out peoples, including Putin vs #Ukraine
uyghurtribunal.com/wp-content/upl…
8. How can we use these texts?
My book analyses how the ideas in the 50 Whys, particularly “ethnic extinction,” explain the party-state’s long-term thinking on identity and security in #china and #xinjiang
cambridge.org/core/books/sec…
My book analyses how the ideas in the 50 Whys, particularly “ethnic extinction,” explain the party-state’s long-term thinking on identity and security in #china and #xinjiang
cambridge.org/core/books/sec…
9.
… and current policies of state violence that target Uyghurs and Kazakhs, like Putin's war on #Ukraine, as fake identities that should be destroyed by larger empires.
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
… and current policies of state violence that target Uyghurs and Kazakhs, like Putin's war on #Ukraine, as fake identities that should be destroyed by larger empires.
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
10.
@dtbyler recently showed how the “ethnic extinction” concept shapes state education in Xinjiang, and forces Uyghur children to grow up in a non-Muslim, Mandarin-speaking environment.
supchina.com/2021/07/07/eth…
@dtbyler recently showed how the “ethnic extinction” concept shapes state education in Xinjiang, and forces Uyghur children to grow up in a non-Muslim, Mandarin-speaking environment.
supchina.com/2021/07/07/eth…
11.
@adrianzenz argued that “ethnic extinction” reflects Xi’ “sober realism vis-a-vis religions’ historical resilience.” because it expects it to be a long-term process.
uyghurtribunal.com/wp-content/upl…
@adrianzenz argued that “ethnic extinction” reflects Xi’ “sober realism vis-a-vis religions’ historical resilience.” because it expects it to be a long-term process.
uyghurtribunal.com/wp-content/upl…
12.
Scholars, students, and journalists should use the #Xinjiang Documentation Project as an invaluable resource with translated and annotated official Chinese government texts alongside the lived experiences of Uyghur, Kazakh, and other ethnic groups.
xinjiang.sppga.ubc.ca/lived-experien…
Scholars, students, and journalists should use the #Xinjiang Documentation Project as an invaluable resource with translated and annotated official Chinese government texts alongside the lived experiences of Uyghur, Kazakh, and other ethnic groups.
xinjiang.sppga.ubc.ca/lived-experien…
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