Tue, Oct 19, 1999 page8

• Editorial: Tibet the least of Beijing's concerns

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  Tibet's struggle for autonomy has received much

  attention in the international arena. But in fact it has been Xinjiang's independence movement which has given the Chinese authorities more headaches, both in terms of scale and intensity.

  The Turkic muslims in Xinjiang share the same ancestry, language, and culture with the Turkish people. This newspaper last week covered the long-running Xinjiang independence movement in a seven-part series "The Fight for East Turkestan," which we hope will attract wider attention to the issue.

  Central Asia is where China and the Islamic world meet. Strategically, Xinjiang has long been seen as the "pivot of Asia," and as such has proved a thorny issue to the Chinese government.

  The desire for independence among the Turkic people in Xinjiang has its roots in both recent and ancient history. Two independent republics were formed successively in East Turkestan in the 1930s and 1940s.

  But the emergence in 1991 of the three independent Central Asian states on the western border of Xinjiang further fueled nationalist aspirations in the region.

  Despite their policies of assimilation and pacification, the Chinese failed to eliminate separatist sentiments in Xinjiang. As always, Beijing put the blame on hostile elements abroad, though many of the problems in Xinjiang are the result of China's own policies. Non-Han peoples face discrimination throughout the social, educational and employment hierarchy. Uighurs in particular complain of economic discrimination and a lack of employment opportunities mostly as a result of preferential policies directed at Chinese migrants. The greatest resentment is directed toward the "Bingtuan" -- the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp established in the early 1950s. The Bingtuan is a large development corporation with its own police force and its own network of prison and labor camps which acts like a regional government, without even the limited constraints normally put on such institutions.

  China is particularly concerned about the presence of Islamic fundamentalists on the border of Tajikistan in the Pamirs, a region in which China and Tajikistan have failed to reach agreement regarding border demarcation.

  China's strategy is to direct economic investment toward the fledgling economies of the Central Asian states to ensure their cooperation in breaking down ethnic solidarity across the region.

  The governments of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan feel threatened by Islamic fundamentalists who wish to establish theocracies in the region and so they welcome deals with China and Russia that tap their economic potential and lend political support. As a result, the five countries formed the "Shanghai Five" to discuss regional security. China's main concern in this is the growing unrest in Xinjiang.

  However, as the Central Asian states become more economically independent and politically mature, they will seek to use their strategic positions at the heart of Central Asia to assert their own interests, growing more sympathetic toward Xinjiang's Uighur people.

  Both Xinjiang and Tibet are major issues for China. The difference between the two is that Tibet is an isolated region with relatively few natural resources. Tibet has one major influential religion and traditionally most of its people are herdsmen.

  In contrast, Xinjiang has a much more pluralistic culture and a complex mix of religions. It is also rich in oil resources and has a more open society. The Xinjiang people are well versed in trade and commerce.

  More importantly, Muslims have a sense of grievance because they have, historically, suffered extremely harshly under Chinese tutelage. With support from the rising Islamic powers around the world, East Turkestan's independence movement may prove a far greater problem for China in the coming years than any threat posed by the Dalai Lama of Tibet.
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