The horrific attacks by machete-wielding terrorists in a Chinese railway station have driven home the fact that China has a serious insurgency on its hands. Unlike China's Tibetan subjects who have demonstrated their disgust at what they see as Chinese occupation by setting themselves on fire, the Uighur Turks of the country's northwestern province of Xinjiang, who are Muslims, have moved from a long campaign of peaceful public protests to increasingly violent attacks. Originally confined to assaults on police stations and shops run by ethnic Chinese, Uighur radicals appear to have realized the limited propaganda value of these local actions. The first reported attack outside of their heartland appears to have taken place in October when three Uighur radicals drove a vehicle into a crowd in Tiananmen Square. Now comes Saturday's terrible attack in Kunming railway station by up to ten black-clad terrorists, four of whom appear to have been shot dead. Local media have been calling the crime “China's 9/11”. This may not be entirely helpful. It belittles the enormity of the Al-Qaeda assault on the twin towers and the death of thousands. It will also undoubtedly act as an encouragement to the terrorists. The garb adopted by the murderers is instructive. Organizations who sees themselves as part of Al-Qaeda are now regularly clothing themselves in black. It may well be that these homegrown Uighur terrorists thought that they could add drama to their crime by wearing black and seeming to be sent by an Al-Qaeda satrap. However, it could equally be that Al-Qaeda really is established among Uighur radicals. If this is indeed the case, then the authorities in Beijing have some explaining to do. The Uighur are an historically significant people. When their own empire was overrun by the Mongols of Genghis Khan, they quickly established themselves as the intellectuals within the Mongol court, not least because the Mongols having no written script of their own adopted that of the Uighur. The Chinese long laid claim to Uighur lands but because of the distances involved, their rule, such as it was, was rarely certain and never sure. The arrival of Chinese communism and, in particular, the ruthless repression of minorities during the Cultural Revolution transformed rule from Beijing. There was even a period when the Uighur were forbidden to worship in mosques, many of which were destroyed or badly damaged. The deep well of resentment that was filled in that era has never been drained. Attempts to dilute the Uighur presence in Xinjiang by importing ethnic Chinese who came to dominate business and commerce caused considerable anger and initially widespread passive resistance. At no point, however, have the Chinese attempted to reach any understanding with the people whose mineral-rich province this really is. One top official sent from Beijing who did try to open a dialogue, apparently on his own initiative, was replaced after only a few months. Peaceful public demonstrations were broken up brutally and organizers arrested. More than 100 people were killed last year. Uighur lawyers who attempted to assert their people's rights under the Chinese constitution have themselves been detained. At every turn, Beijing has refused to listen to the complaints and concerns of a proud and distinctive Muslim community. Now, however, is the time to row back on a failing policy of repression and open a meaningful and generous dialogue with Uighur leaders. Further crackdowns would be madness.
