From their arguments, I believe that most, if not all of them, have very little knowledge of Uyghur’s or Central Asian history, and have never stepped foot in Xinjiang or Central Asia. At least Chris has personally witnessed and experienced the reality of living in Xinjiang and China. I have traveled the world, and have to say that many things that Chris wrote are accurate.

Being an American journalist, I know first hand how biased and unbalanced western media have been in their portrayal of many international issues, including Tibet and Xinjiang. This includes major media such as Time, New York Times and the Associated Press that Hannah Clayman mentioned. If you think they are fair because of their reputation, you’ll be surprised that they often present incomplete facts to make the story more appealing.

Often we in the news media try to localize the news and appease our own audience by emphasizing on one-sided viewpoints of local dissidents with whom we have easy access. After all, we are in the business of creating stories. The more sensational, the better it is (much like making Hollywood movies).

In all fairness, while the readers shouldn’t believe everything they read, including some of Chris’ arguments, they shouldn’t simply dismiss the facts, especially if these facts have been well researched and documented.

Craig – nowhere in my article or comments have I said, as you put it, that “Uyghurs and Tibetans as thieves or bad people or backward retards…” That’s something you’ve said, not me, and such language really doesn’t have any place in a rational discussion. You’re trying to put rather nasty words in my mouth, and what you’ve written are certainly not sentiments about either the Tibetans or the Uyghurs I would agree with.

However I do have a question for those who would grant Uyghur independence – What would you do with all the Chinese who had lived there for generations and also call it home?

Tom

Let me suggest one thing: May be the Chinese should come to India, and in order to make India as permenant part of India, do the mass Han Chinese colonization(like 4% in 1949 to 48% now in East Turkistan) and mass genocide the Indians, forbid their religion and culture, destroy all of their cultural relics and anything that is Indian and then tell the outside world a totally different story, like they are helping Indians to grow or they are modernizing the Indians…

and then China will ask this author to write an article typifying the Indians as thieves and backward people.. I am pretty sure he will write that article under this circumstances without any hesitation… I will say this will tell tons about the author, his morality and consciences…

This is the worst article written to defend the crimes against the humanity and modern genocide which are going on in China and it is so bad either the author is total ignorant or is a Chinese agent and has complete disregard for truth. For me it reads like one of the Hitler’s propaganda papers, albeit written one of its spies overseas…

Honestly, I urge the author to go to Kashghar and Urumqi and see it for himself… Not talk to the official Chinese media which are the least reliable source of information on earth, but to local Uyghurs…

The author is also full of bigotry towards Islam and Moslems and has no respect for the religion at all. For him, only the master race like Chinese should live and the rest should serve them…
East Turkistan(so called Xinjiang) is never a part of China and will never be… If you say so, then the entire Russia, Korea and Vietnam will be as they are ruled by the Mongol empire only during which for the first time, the Mongols ruled Turkistan as well as Russia, Korea, Vietnam etc from Beijing. Qing dynasty were involved with East Turkistan because one power hunfery traitor in Uyghur history(appak Hoja) in order to rule East Turkistan asked help from Qing Dynasty which tantamount to leading tiger backyard. Anyway, Qing dynasty also ruled Mongolia, Korea and Vietnam at some point and that doesn’t make those countries to be part of China as well. I will say up until 1949, the Chinese connection is very tenous at most and that explains why the Chinese population is less than 2% from official Chinese statistics. You also not forgot from Mongolia all the way to Turkey, they are all Turkic people with almost same language and customs and people do pay attention to what is happening to Uyghurs… China out of East Turkistan where you don’t belong now!!! Stop genociding Uyghurs!!! Release the thousands of innocent prisoners!!! Restore the communications to East Turkistan!!!

The Chinese doesn’t belong to East Turkistan… China out of East Turkistan now!!! East Turkistan is the ancestral homeland of all Turks, including modern Turks and it is the land which binds the Turkic people from Mongolia all the way to Turkey and we are all have the same language, customs and closely related to each other!!! This is a Turkish land and illegal occupied by CCP for 50 years, but it will be go back to the Turkish people… China out of all the Turkish land now where you don’t belong!!! OUT NOW!!! You are not welcome anymore as we know you were just lying from 1949 with the false promise of an independent statehood and proved yourself a total liar and duface!!! We are independent in 1949 too and with the Chinese lies, went for a Soviet Union like federation and instead we are duped… No more!!! China get out of Turkish land on your own or you will be forced too..

China is sponsoring state terrorism and countries like Sudan, Iran, North Korea, Mianmar where there are genocides and people are brutally oppressed and killed. China is the sponsor and behind the most oppresive countries in the world and instigating violence in most of the Asian and African countries. They are doing the same thing to its ethnic minorities too. Wake up the rest of the world,
the Chinese already steal all the manufacturing jobs from you and your technology and very few basic manufacturing jobs left in the other parts of the world and responsible for the disappearance of middle class and the necessary jobs to support them. They are responsible for causing this depression worldwide! They took your money and use it to genocide Uyghurs, Tibetans, the Darfur genocide, and to sponsor all the state terrorism and intimidating all the neighboring countries and inciting violence in most African and Asian countries! Wake up the rest of the world, boycott all the Chinese goods and anything from China and support the fight of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Sudanese, Mianmar and other being oppressed and genocided minorities!!!

load of crap!
Uyghurs are very light on the whole islam thing, they drink they gamble they love western culture in general, you are either getting paid by the chinese, or is a ignorant islam hater. Uyghurs who protested this time around did not carry the islam flag, they wanted justice, dont force the islam card on them please, and in 60 years any country can develop with that much resources, the chinese government is not the only government that has brought improvement in living standards in the world, big woop! as if the Uyghurs cant live without the chinese or their government. Uyghurs want and deserve their independence, they wont make it a islamic country, it will be democracy, so deal with it, stop making up lies to try to make the western world think Uyghur = Afganistan, obviously china would not give them their independence, but that does not mean they dont deserve it.

How much are you getting paid by the way?? If you are not, then you are more brain washed than an average chinese citizen, please read some history books written by non chinese sources so you get both sides of the story.

It is probably true that the region as such has been a dangerous one in the past. It is also probably true that no one was interested and the land was not ruled by anyone. Not by Uyghurs, not by Chinese, it was a land where people roamed, lived with their herds but also robbed and pillaged (as also happened in middle ages in Europe).

If there then comes a group that is trying to rule the land (China) and tries to install their people, who is right? Where is this “claim” based on? If one is forcing their ideas on the other, where do they get this “right” from?

If people live somewhere (or if they travel the land) it should be their land. Infusion of another group (as was done in several “autonomous” places) will however complicate the situation. Whoever is responsible for this “infusion” should also take responsibility for the effects.

I am not saying the Uygurs are not to blame in this fight. I am saying that the China governemtn, as they have claimed the land and mixed cultures, should take care of the issues that arise on the land. This is not an easy thing to do but riot police is not the answer. Local open dialogue is.

We do not have to look at the past to establish who is right. The situation is that we now have different cultures living in one place. They have established their lives in Xinjiang, it is their place now, regardles if they are Uygur, Chinese or another race.

Integrating cultures is not an easy thing. In Europe in the 70s a slightly different form of “infusing other cultures” was done when there were shortages of labor. Background was different, effect is the same, cultures were mixed and this gives cultural / racial tensions over time.

The responsibility for integration is taken by governments in Europe, with varying success. It now is the question if the China government will take this responsibility and make it a success.