No ruler can claim that their autocratic rule is progress or development. Instead, it is wielded in anticipation of an urgent need of the state. What might Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) have presented as an excuse for his extended term?
Today’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a nationalist party, and at its recent party congress, terms such as “proletariat,” “oppressed,” “workers” or “communism” were nowhere to be heard. There is only one goal: the revival of the Chinese nation leading to world domination. The phrase “socialism with Chinese characteristics” is essentially nothing more than protecting the status quo.
It seems that China’s biggest problem is Taiwan, followed by the Uighurs, Hong Kong, Tibet, and the East and South China seas. However, if we look at the issue from a Chinese nationalist’s perspective, the Uighur issue would rank first, because the Taiwan issue is, as Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said: “The long lost child will eventually return home.”
As for Hong Kong and Macau, this issue has largely been resolved, while the South and East China seas issue is as fictitious as China’s artificial islands; Beijing would be happy if it succeeds, and would have no regrets if it fails.
East Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang, which literally means “new border,” is in the westernmost area and comprises one-sixth of Chinese territory. As adventurous people, the original owners — the Uighurs — have never given up the fight for independence. China’s long-term ability to hold this region has always been questionable, especially in the hearts of Chinese nationalists.
In my opinion, there is only one reason that can be given as an excuse for Xi’s quest for a third term in power: the ongoing Uighur genocide. Some official documents that internally introduced the Uighur situation underline the same point.
Chen Hong (陳宏), a professor at Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Party School, said that Xi thinks that Xinjiang is of strategic importance to the work of the party and the state. Even Taiwan’s success is believed to depend on a firm grip on Xinjiang.
Chen added that to Xi, the Uighur issue “also concerns the reunification of the ‘motherland,’ the achievement of the ‘two centennial’ goals and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
“Xi Jinping’s thought not only contains the traditional wisdom of previous central governments in governing Xinjiang, but also embodies the new thoughts and strategies of modern governance,” he wrote.
Chen introduced Xi’s “modern governance” as follows: “We must root out terrorists, reduce their numbers and clear the soil that allows them to grow [時存量、減增量、池民小].”
According to a UN report on Uighurs, the more than 3 million Uighurs that Beijing has sent to camps during its hard campaign against terrorism since 2017 do not have any record of having committed any terrorist acts.
Xi’s order is aimed at reducing the reducing the Uighur population, uprooting it and sweeping it away. That the Uighur population plummeted in 2019 is proof that this slogan did not stop on paper.
The critical situation in Uighur territories is sometimes revealed in China’s official documents, Chen wrote.
“Don’t think that ‘nothing has gone wrong’ means ‘nothing will go wrong,’ a local security committee from the Uighur region said when introducing the political situation in the country last year. They continued: ‘At every moment, be sensitive, as if we’re walking on thin ice. Be careful, as if walking on the edge of an abyss,” Chen wrote.
The implication is “we are conducting genocide against some groups in our country, and we should hide it from the world to prevent international involvement,” Chen wrote.
Most importantly, Chen symbolically describes the ongoing genocide and how it is being committed with the help of the international community — in cooperation with the world’s dictatorial regimes and needy countries.
“At present, Xinjiang has entered a critical period ... and a decisive stage for winning the battle... Xi Jinping’s thought not only tells us that we must ‘cross a river,’ but also guides us in constructing ‘bridges and boats’ to get us across,” Chen wrote.
According to the dictator’s philosophy, you cannot change leaders in the midst of a crisis because Xi’s replacement might not lack the conscience to continue detaining more than 3 million people in camps and ignoring people dying. His replacement might not be able to bear serious criticism from the international community and stop the genocide, thereby crushing the dream that Chinese nationalists have had for 2,000 years, Chen wrote.
“No mercy” to Uighurs is Xi’s order, and he has demonstrated the brutal nature needed to achieve this genocidal goal.
Yes, China, is now crossing a river of blood. Xi is hiding the genocide of Uighurs to construct “bridges and boats” (international support) to complete it. The CCP has decided not to change horses during this bloody journey.
Kok Bayraq is a US-based Uighur observer.
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