As information trickles out about the protests and violence in Xinjiang over the weekend, I have mixed feelings about being outside of China for what appears to be a very significant series of events. On the one hand, I wish I knew what (if anything) was happening to the Uighurs who live in my neighborhood, and how the protests were being perceived by my students and friends. On the other hand, I suspect that if I were in China, accessing Western press coverage and blog reports of what is actually happening in Xinjiang would be difficult. (My university-provided Internet connection does not support proxy servers.)
So far, information is scarce about the 156 (and counting) people who died. How and why the protests turned violent is also unclear. As we wait for those details, here are a few early writings worth noting:
- Shanghai Scrap: Journalist Adam Minter looks at coverage of this weekend’s violence in Xinjiang in comparison to the March 2008 clashes in Tibet. Then, the Tibetans were “protestors,” while coverage of the Uighurs has referred to them as “rioters.” Are Westerners genuinely less sympathetic to the Uighurs, or just less knowledgeable about Xinjiang? (For reference, the NYT story uses the term “riot” while the BBC prefers “protest.”)
- China Media Project: Hong Kong University’s David Bandurski describes what he calls “Control 2.0,” the Chinese government’s new approach to controlling information about crises like the Urumqi protests/riots. Instead of blocking information about such incidents entirely, the government is now trying to “control the story,” allowing media outlets to report the official version of events. This lets the government influence the story without generating (as much of) a credibility gap. At the same time, cracking down on Internet access helps stop non-government-approved information from seeping out. It seems to be working — the early Western news reports on events in Urumqi were based heavily on Xinhua releases. (h/t Evan Osnos)
- Far West China: Josh, an American living in Xinjiang, wrote briefly about the violence yesterday. He is based in Kashgar, where there were more peaceful protests today, but he hasn’t yet posted anything more.
It’s too soon to tell how this unrest will affect travelers planning to go to Xinjiang this summer. After the protests in Tibet last year, foreigners were not allowed into the province for some months. Unlike Tibet, however, Xinjiang does not have an existing permit system in place. Restricting access to the province may be more difficult to implement. I’m planning to be in Xinjiang in August, so I will be keeping a close eye on the situation.
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