China Western

The Xinjiang region in northwest China is one of the country’s least populated zones, but is currently undergoing increasing environmental stress as a result of intensive development projects and a massive population explosion. In 2001 China initiated a plan for developing this region,which is rich in uranium, gold and oil, to enforce its integration within the country’s larger economic structure. This plan inevitably brought the government into collision with the Uighur minority native to that region, who are ethnically closer to the Central Asian Turks—resulting in military oppression and guerilla violence. Uighurs have experienced extreme curtailing of their culture, and after the 9/11 attacks, the Chinese government was quick to link its battle against the militant Uighurs with the Bush Administration’s “war against terror.”Today, as this volume testifies, Xinjiang has become an unfortunate emblem of the world’s present troubles.