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The 2009 riots occurred because of the deep-rooted ethnic biases prevalent in Chinese society, coupled with the state’s hard handed approach and the sense of deprivation among Uighurs. Perceptive to the problem and alert to the situation, the Chinese government has introduced more economic incentives for the local population. However, the deep-rooted causes of the tension remain unresolved and repeated instances of violence only show that some of the policies may be backfiring. In a year in which China will see a political transition, Xinjiang is marked by an uneasy peace. Chinese leaders will be hoping that there is no more trouble at a time when stability remains their paramount objective. All the same, they will leave no stone unturned in their search for what is proving to be an elusive stability in the region. Summary of the Issue Brief published yesterday on IDSA, the full article can be accessed here

A Year since Xinjiang Riots: Regional Consequences 5 th July marked the first anniversary of the ethnic riots in Urumqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang province that is home to the minority Muslim ethnicity Uighurs. These riots had highlighted the disharmony in the People’s Republic that has projected the idea of harmony in every imaginable field. Therefore, the ethnic riot in which about two hundred people lost their lives was a big embarrassment for the leadership of China. Besides the domestic policy implications, the 2009 riots have had serious implications for China’s foreign relations in Asia. Part of the Chinese strategy in Xinjiang is rapid economic development, which the leadership feels would become the driver of peace and stability in the region. This was clearly articulated in the White Paper on Xinjiang that came out after the riots of July 2009. At the same time, geographically Xinjiang is at a location that is critical for China’s relations with Central Asia and South As...

Xinjiang: China’s Achilles Heel In yet another episode of ethnic violence, more than 180 people have died in the riots in China’s minority province of Xinjiang. At the same time, the death toll is bound to rise as more than hundred are critically injured according to the official media. Besides the death count, these riots have left about a thousand injured and led to a massive destruction of property in the Urumqi and Kashgar. The riots took place after a protest march by ethnic Uighur people. The protestors were demanding justice for the two Uighur workers who died during the ethnic clashes with Han workers in a toy factory in the Guangdong province in June. These clashes were caused by rumoured atrocities by Uighur workers that were never proved. The violent conflict between the majority nationality Han and the minority Uighur is an important issue in itself but more than that, it is a symptom of a larger problem that the People’s Republic has at its hand. China has 56 ethnic grou...