As
terrorism became the main focus at the G20 summit, following the preceding attacks
on Paris the day before, China used that opportunity to focus on their own
terrorism problem: the ETIM (East Turkistan Islamic Movement). The ETIM is
primarily comprised of the Uyghur minority in the Xianjiang Province, and seeks
to recreate the province as a separate country. Following the attacks on Paris,
the Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for the ETIM to be included within the
global war on terror. Within that same period, the state-owned People’s Daily
posted an article describing current efforts by the military against the ETIM.
There
has been some debate as to the validity of Chinese attacks against the terrorists
in Xinjiang and whether or not they use their efforts instead to justify further
violence and oppression against the Uyghur minority population in the region.
Although China cites the recent levels of violence in the area as a result of the
terrorist group within the region, it often discounts how much of it is a
response to the tight control by the government. However, it is difficult to
ascertain the exact situation in the province as there is strict control of foreign
journalist access to the region.
It
will be interesting to see how China acts in the future in response to how
other nations deal with terrorist organizations, especially ISIS. Other nations
appear to be suspicious of China’s motives in the region, but the Chinese
government is likely to continue its actions and the push to be included in the
united global front against terrorism. The increased amount of control and
policing by the government will probably result in further push back from the
Uyghur community in the form of increased violence, only perpetuating the cycle.
http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2015/11/17/the-far-reaching-consequences-of-the-paris-and-beirut-bombings/
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