China: The flawed superpower

Biplob Ghosal

China’s emergence as a global superpower has been dealt with a blow due to the recent upsurge in its Xinjiang Province in the past few weeks, which witnessed carnage of sorts and left 192 dead mainly among the ethnically Turkic Uighur community. Although Beijing tried hard to project the conflict before the world community as a simple law and order problem, but it was evident of being much more with President Hu Jintao cutting short his visit of the G-8 summit in Italy. At a time when the West and the United States are battling hard to beat the economic downturn; China has reported a growth rate of 7.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009 in this recession era. The Marxist government’s supremacy both militarily and economically has propelled it into the league of global superpowers. But, the Dragon’s entry into the new league could be seriously jeopardised in the wake of social unrest and human right violations in Tibet and Xinjiang. “Unfortunately, this will have a negative impact on China’s image as a responsible power. Coercion alone will not solve the problem. If you use coercion alone, it would worsen the problem,” says Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore. Economy, strategic interests Xinjiang is economically and strategically important to China. Xinjiang`s wealth lies on its vast mineral and oil deposits. Resource rich and a shielded by Central Asia, this region is vital to China`s economic and geopolitical interests. The autonomous region of China shares its borders with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia and Mongolia, thus acting as a shield for the Chinese state. Besides, the mineral and oil rich province has also been China`s nuclear test ground for decades and hosts a strategic missile base. "It is China`s northwest frontier, and like Tibet, is absolutely vital to the country`s security. Beijing will not compromise in any way on these regions,” Wenran Jiang, a China expert at the University of Alberta, said highlighting the strategic importance of Xinjiang. Beijing has also made huge investments through infrastructure, setting up special economic zones, subsidised local cotton farmers in the past two decades. Several oil and gas pipelines also cross from Central Asia through the region, making it relatively prosperous. In fact the province even considered even better off than rest of China, other than country’s southeast coast. Xinjiang-Tibet After the riots in Tibet last year, the picture is getting clear that Xinjiang faces many problems related to Communist dictatorship, and that these problems have less to do with religious issues than with social justice, ethnic relations, and equal opportunity. The violence in China’s western region are a disturbing reminder of anti-Chinese violence in another troubled region, Tibet, and in both cases, the reaction has been to deploy maximum military resources by the Beijing government. Last year’s protests in Tibet and the recent in Xinjiang saw China opting for the same tactics - clamping down on foreign press, blocking the internet, arrests of hundreds of people and blaming exiled leaders for the unrest. Chinese atrocity can be judged by its own President Hu Jintao’s statement when he vowed "severe punishment" for the perpetrators of Xinjiang riots. Hu, on June 9, said that Xinjiang is the "most important and pressing task" and vowed "severe punishment" to culprits in accordance with the law. In the recent times, both Tibet and Xinjiang have been witnessing escalating incidents, which have only become bolder because radical groups, such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Tibetan Youth Congress appear to be growing in influence and voice. People of both the regions have for years complained of unfair treatment. The migration by the Han Chinese into these regions and strict controls on religious practices, Islam for Xinjiang`s Uighurs, Buddhism for Tibetans, have struck at the core of their identities and made them feel besieged in their own lands. Both the Dalai Lama and Rebiya Kadeer have been blamed as the instigators for the unrest in Tibet and Xinjiang respectively. China accused Rebiya Kadeer, a former Xinjiang businesswoman who heads a Uighur rights group and has been in US exile since 2005, of being a terrorist. Dru C Gladney, an expert on China`s ethnic minorities says, “The violence, following major riots in Tibet last spring between ethnic Tibetans and Han Chinese, has highlighted deep ethnic and racial differences in the country.” Pan Islamic angle China should understand that Uighurs are Muslims and suppression of their community through violent means could lead to inciting of Muslim sentiments throughout the Islamic world. Xinjiang’s proximity with known Taliban hubs of Afghanistan and Pakistan could add fuel to the already simmering feelings among its people and aggravate the situation. Perhaps Hu Jintao’s abrupt return from the G8 summit reflects the Communist regime’s apprehensions that the proponents of pan Islamic movement might take advantage of China’s troubled waters and use the volatile region to strengthen their goal of an Islamic territory from Middle East to Mongolia. The way in which the Marxist regime has implemented harsh conditions such as banning of loudspeakers in mosques in Urumqi and the compulsory government registration of family members during religious festivals and hosting parties, has led to resentment among the locals. "China`s attempts to suppress Islam," a recent Human Rights Watch report concludes, "It is a policy that is likely to alienate Uighurs, drive religious expression further underground, and encourage the development of more radicalised and oppositional forms of religious identity." The fall out of this pan Islamic ideology can be witnessed in a recent reaction of a group linked to al Qaeda, the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), which threatened China of revenge for the deaths of Muslim Uighurs. Seyfullah, military commander of the TIP said, "Know that this Muslim people have men who will take revenge for them." “Soon, the horsemen of Allah will attack you, Allah willing. So lie in wait; indeed, we lie in wait with you." The media reports say that the Xinjiang terrorists have been trained in the terrorist camps in Pakistan and Uigurs have close links with Kazakhstan and Turkey, while the World Uighur Congress (WUC) operates from Germany and United States. The Pak connection to Uighurs Muslims gave credence to pan Islamic thought as well as blow to China’s allusion that both the countries have a concrete relation with common adversary like India. US role United States of America – The ‘keeper’ of world democracy, finds itself in a state of dilemma. US, being the largest consumer of Chinese products, finds it very difficult to implement harsh conditions or even speak strongly against the Chinese suppression as it does against some other countries such as Iraq, Iran or North Korea. Another aspect is the China’s military power and it being hypersensitive on issues like Xinjiang and Tibet; Washington thus finds itself in a very complex situation of openly criticising China on these issues. As US is against Muslim radicals and the pan Islamic ideology because their proponents are reported to be close sympathisers of the Taliban and al Qaeda, it finds itself in a tricky situation. If it does not support the protesting groups, the upsurge might turn towards the neighbouring Muslim nations in the region for support, which will add to its headache as it is already trapped in the Afghanistan war. The US has already declared ETIM, a group active in Xinjiang region against Communist regime in China, a terrorist outfit in 2001. Therefore, it no longer can pull up China for terming the organisation a terrorist outfit and dealing with it an iron hand. All in all, at a time when China’s aspirations and chances of cementing its place as a major global power are at an all time high. Then events like the one in Xinjiang come as a major setback for the Communist nation. Power comes with responsibilities and it is high time that China understands it, and becomes more flexible, compassionate and accommodating in dealing with the citizens. If it fails to do so, then incidents of Xinjiang and Tibet, coupled with a disgruntled middle class reeling under the effects of economic slowdown , might turn as a prelude to the nation suffering the same fate as the erstwhile USSR, highly improbable but not impossible. Although Beijing claims that the industrialisation and oil exploration in Xinjiang is benefiting both communities - Han and Uighurs, the facts, as per (Asian Development Bank) ADB data, state that the income inequality in Xinjiang remains the highest in all of China. The Marxist regime needs to focus on regulating the number of Han immigrants to the region, as it has created the feeling of insecurity amongst local population. The majority of the state-affiliated jobs can be provided for Uighrs to bridge the income inequality, as well as to defuse ethnic tensions, besides preserving the cultural, economic and religious legacies of the region.