Page 3 of 3 The Xinjiang factor in the
new Silk Road By David Gosset
global village. Moreover, from a
general Eurasian perspective, far from being at
the margin, Xinjiang occupies a central position.
Outside China, two common prejudices
affect Xinjiang's image. First, one often
associates the region with socio-political
instability. It is a fact that some violent
activities are taking place in the autonomous
region.
Official Chinese data mention 200
incidents plotted by the East
Turkestan Islamic Movement
(ETIM) in which 162 persons were killed between
1990 and 2001. Hasan Mahsum, the ETIM's founder
who had links with al-Qaeda, was eliminated by
Pakistani military forces in South Waziristan near
the Afghan border in 2003.
This January,
Chinese security forces shot 18 members of the
ETIM, an organization the United Nations considers
a terrorist group. The terrorists were building a
training base on the Pamir Plateau.
However, these highly visible events are
isolated and have not generated instability. The
vast majority of the population condemns the
terrorists, and is helping the authorities fight
extremism and maintain order.
Second, in
the US or Europe, one often hears criticism of Han
policy toward the 9 million Uighur people.
Individuals or even organizations develop the idea
that the Uighurs are the victims of Han colonial
oppression. Is such a radical and serious
accusation based on fact?
In reality, one
can observe that Uighurs - as other minorities or
the Han - generally benefit from the overall
economic modernization. One should never forget
that development is a tool for emancipation and
poverty a form of oppression. At the conclusion of
his six-day inspection to the autonomous region
last year, President Hu reminded local officials
to "effectively improve the living standard of all
ethnic groups" (People's Daily, September 12,
2006).
An intellectual elite is also
needed to maintain, develop and renew a cultural
identity. Xinjiang universities - for example the
dynamic Xinjiang Normal University, which is
attracting more and more students from neighboring
countries - are working to educate as many
students as possible without any ethnic
discrimination. China's Uighur intellectual elite
speaks its own Turkic language taught in schools
and universities, but also Mandarin and often
English.
Today, most of the Uighurs are
Muslims. Before Islam's penetration into the
region around the 10th century, Uighurs were
Buddhists, Manichaeans or even Nestorians, and one
can still see in such cities as Shache - also
known as Yarkand - the influence of lamaist
practice behind Muslim rites. In the autonomous
region, more than 20,000 mosques of various size
are places of prayer, provide spiritual guides -
most of them educated in Urumqi - and stand as
important social and cultural centers. Id Kah in
Kashgar, built in the 15th century, is probably
China's most famous mosque. In coordination with
the region's authorities, the religious
communities organize every year the hajj,
or the pilgrimage to Mecca, the fifth pillar of
Islam, which is for a Muslim the ultimate act of
worship. For the very first time this year, it was
possible to fly directly from Urumqi to Saudi
Arabia.
Students come from Europe or the
US to Urumqi to learn the Uighur language, and the
excellence of Uighur culture is recognized
internationally. Muqam, a large-scale and highly
sophisticated music suite, was in 2005 declared by
the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) an intangible heritage of
humanity.
After the outstanding works of
Yusuf Khass Hajib (author of Kutadgu Bilig,
or "Wisdom of Royal Glory") or Mahmud al-Kashgari
(Diwan Lugat at-Turk, or "Compendium of the
Turkic Dialects"), the great scholars of the 11th
century whose tombs are in Kashgar, Uighur
contemporary literature continues to enrich
Xinjiang's cultural life.
Thanks to Uighur
businessmen's entrepreneurial spirit, Uighur
traditional medicine will soon reach the
international market.
As was traditional
culture in general, that of the Uighurs was a
target of the Cultural Revolution, but to claim
today that it is under the threat of an oppressive
and obscurantist regime is simply absurd. In
post-Maoist China there is space for various
cultures to develop and express themselves. The
renaissance of the Chinese world and the renewal
of regional identities cannot be separated.
In any case, those who have some doubts
should spend some time in the autonomous region:
they would enjoy the Uighurs' spontaneous sense of
hospitality, learn more about the Uighur capacity
to interact with different cultures, and, of
course, discover a mosaic of values and languages
along the Silk Road.
Eurasian axis of
economic development One of the major
geopolitical consequences of the Soviet Union's
disintegration has been the reopening of Eurasia.
Goods and ideas circulate again on a new Silk
Road.
The post-Soviet Silk Road
complements maritime and aerial trade routes, but
has the advantage of integrating large groups of
population that, if economically excluded, could
be an easy target for religious or political
manipulators. Obviously, Xinjiang is one of the
main engines of the Eurasian axis of economic
development.
To prevent political
extremism and religious fundamentalism, the United
States and the European Union have to measure
Xinjiang's potential and support its
modernization.
The EU has a special role
to play in the renewal of the Silk Road, and
recent developments show that some personalities
in Brussels are well aware of this responsibility.
Under the recommendation of Javier Solana, the
EU's high representative for common foreign and
security policy, Pierre Morel was appointed in the
second half of 2006 as special representative for
Central Asia.
Morel, a seasoned French
diplomat who has been his country's ambassador in
Russia and in China, is ideally prepared to
coordinate the EU's policy toward Central Asia.
For the period 2007-13, Brussels has allocated 750
million euros (just over $1 billion) in assistance
to the region. In January, Morel met with Bolat
Nurgaliev, the new secretary general of the SCO.
Indeed, the EU and the SCO have to intensify their
communication and find ways to cooperate.
The function of the EU's special
representative for Central Asia can be a tool to
attract Europe's attention to Xinjiang, whose rise
cannot be ignored by those who have in mind Inner
Asia's stability and prosperity. High-level visits
to Urumqi by EU officials could generate
constructive projects. Most EU-China cooperation
is concentrated on China's coastal areas, and
Brussels did not hitherto integrate the Xinjiang's
strategic value. The EU's Central Asia and China
policies should complement each other and converge
in Xinjiang, precisely where Central Asia and
China meet. Infrastructure, energy, tourism,
education and culture are the fields with the
greatest potential for synergy.
The
European Union, post-imperial Russia, the new
independent actors in Central Asia and China's
Xinjiang are the key components of the new Silk
Road, a powerful metaphor for cross-fertilization
among cultures and civilizations. In the 21st
century, this road can lead toward a cooperative
Eurasia - exactly the opposite of the Great Game.
However, if the Eurasian players are
unable to manage wisely the region's internal
dynamics and to organize their interdependence
rationally, they will give the United States a
reason to project its power in the heart of the
continental grand chessboard. In that case, the
risk is high of seeing Washington's Eurasia
strategy concerned only with US interests. Instead
of joining their strengths for common prosperity,
Eurasia's various forces would then be manipulated
by an external hand. In such a configuration, we
would all be the losers.
David
Gosset is director of the Academia Sinica
Europaea at China Europe International Business
School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, and founder of the
Euro-China Forum.
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