Minority Group: the Uyghur People of Xinjiang China

ASIA 1025 INDIVIDUAL & SOCIETY IN ASIA & THE PACIFIC A

NAME: Nelson Gable STUDENT ID: U4667263 TUTOR: Alan Rumsey ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Minority Group: The Uyghur people of Xinjiang China. WORD COUNT: 2049 (Not including Bibliography)

Even since China’s rapid development of the 1990’s, to this day there is still a large degree of unrest encompassing all it’s minority groups. One such group is the Uyghur people, of whom reside in China’s northwest region of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, more commonly referred to as the Xinjiang province. This minority group face a definite number of cultural, social, political and economic deficiencies and as a result have been said to of overseen over ten savage attacks in the 1990’s alone (Ask.com. 2007). Amid China’s largely homogenous cultural build, over 90% of which abides to the Han ethnic group, it is only natural that the minorities can be somewhat disregarded by the Chinese political, economic and media systems, all of which often develop into simple stereotypical depictions, as can be seen through the cultural description of the Xinjiang region. Although the violent expressions of acceptance demonstrated by the Uyghur people are in no way acceptable, in essence their purpose can be seen as a cry to highlight their unrest in matters such as; absence of independence, social and economic discrimination, forced implementations of cultural integration and their high level of inequality. Throughout this paper a number of these issues will be addressed along with an insight into certain measures formed at economic, social, cultural and political levels, that can work to correct this deterable situation of unrest. On a social level, the state-controlled forms of media largely enforce the misperceptions and negative depictions of the Uyghur people. Through forms of art, music and film the Uyghur people are commonly depicted in an exotic, sexual, uncivilised and backward fashion (Gladney 1994: 108).

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