The War Against Terror and Chinas Treatment of the...

The War Against Terror and Chinas Treatment of the Uigher Ethnic Minority In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush reached out to the world to back the U.S. in a war to eradicate terrorism. One of the more surprising participants in this coalition, China, had until that point been at odds with U.S. policy but seemed to find sufficient common ground with the U.S. to support the war. In recent months however, China has not been lauded for unprecedented cooperation with its â€Å"strategic competitor† but has instead been criticized for using the war on terror as carte blanche to step up its â€Å"Strike Hard† campaign in the Uigher Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the northwest, resulting in†¦show more content†¦Between 1944 and 1949 the Turkic Islamic Republic of Eastern Turkestan was established; this short-lived period of impendence came to an end when the Communist Party formerly incorporated the province into the PRC with the agreement of the leaders of the Eastern Turkestan R epublic. [1]The agreement of the leadership did not, however, quell the movement for independence; a number of political and religious leaders refused to accept Beijing as the legitimate authority over the region. In the midst of the widespread upheaval of the Cultural Revolution, the separatist movement was able to organize into the Eastern Turkestan People’s Party, although fear of Red Guard attacks were pervasive and prevented any significant expression of minority or separatist sentiment.[2] The demise of the Maoist era, however, would bring reforms and consequently new justifications and opportunities for expression of separatist sentiment among the Uigher population. Deng Xiaoping’s accession to power brought with it reform and opening policies intended to bring about the modernization and industrialization of China. This brought about serious demands on natural resources such as oil, in which Xinjiang is abundant. The arrival of companies to extract these natural resources brought an influx of Han Chinese and a noticeable distinction between the lifestyles and opportunities