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A “Struggle of Life or Death”: Han and Uyghur Insecurities on China's North-West Frontier

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2019

David Tobin
David Tobin*
Affiliation:
Hallsworth research fellow in the political economy of China, University of Manchester. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

In July 2009, nearly 200 people were killed in ethnically targeted mass violence between Turkic-speaking Muslim Uyghurs and Han Chinese in Urumqi, overshadowing the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). How have ethnic relations between Han and Uyghurs descended into mass violence among ordinary people? This paper argues that the party-state exacerbates ethnic tensions between Han and Uyghurs through ethnocentric security narratives. These narratives frame China's identity as being under threat from Turkic enemies within who are supported by Islamic terrorists and Western “enemies of China” from outside. Discourse analysis of official texts, participant-observation of security practices, and interviews with Han and Uyghurs reveal the interplay between official identity discourses and everyday security practices before, during and after the violence. Since July 2009, one official solution to ethnic violence has been the construction of a shared multi-ethnic identity, officially described as a “zero-sum political struggle of life or death.” However, Han-centric conceptualizations of ethnic unity promote Han chauvinism and portray the Uyghur as a security threat. The party-state thus creates hierarchical ethnic relations that exacerbate both Han and Uyghur insecurities and contribute to spirals of violence. China's extra-judicial internment camps in Xinjiang are the logical conclusions of the ethnocentric insecurity cycles analysed in this article.

摘要

摘要

2009 年7月，乌鲁木齐发生维吾尔族与汉族的大规模民族冲突，近 200 人丧生，为中华人民共和国建国 60 周年蒙上一层阴影。汉族与维吾尔族之间的民族关系是如何一步步恶化至平民间的大规模暴力冲突的呢？本文旨在表明，中国共产党带有汉民族中心主义的安全叙述方式加剧了汉族与维吾尔族之间的紧张关系。根据这种叙述手法，境内突厥的民族受到境外伊斯兰恐怖主义与西方 “反华势力” 的支持，中国的身份认同因此受到威胁。本文通过对官方文本做话语分析、参与并观察新疆安全措施的实施、以及对汉族与维吾尔族普通人的访谈，揭示了在暴力事件之前、期间、以及事件之后，官方的身份叙事是如何与日常安全实践相互作用的。2009 年 7 月至今，中国面对民族暴力的解决办法之一，便是推动多民族的共同国家身份认同，官方又称之为 “你死我活的政治斗争”。然而，对民族团结的汉族中心主义式的理解只会催生汉族沙文主义，并将维吾尔族视为安全威胁。这进一步造成不平等的民族关系，加剧汉族与维吾尔族之间的不安全感，最终走向以暴制的旋涡。事实上，新疆所谓的 “教育转化中心” 正是本文指出的民族中心主义暴力循环的逻辑结果。

Keywords

ChinaXinjiangidentitysecurityethnic relationsUyghursHanpolitics中国新疆身份认同安全民族关系维吾尔族
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 242 , June 2020 , pp. 301 - 323
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London 2019

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