
Map shows trillion-dollar reason why China is oppressing its Muslims - onetimemanytime
https://www.businessinsider.com/map-explains-china-crackdown-on-uighur-muslims-in-xinjiang-2019-2
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Leary
This article is wrong in suggesting the BRI is the reason behind the camps,
that somehow everything is about economics. The real reason is the China sees
Xinjiang as part of its territory and wants to limit Islamic influences.

Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister of Australia, has done a great analysis
behind Xi Jinping's world view and interests. They are, in order of importance
to him:

"1\. The centrality of the party, keeping the party in power for the long
term, as well as Xi's power within the party;

2\. Consolidating the internal unity of the country;

3\. Maintaining sustainable economic growth to ensure a continued increase in
Chinese living standards, breaking though the "middle-income trap," while
balancing now against a parallel requirement for environmental protection now
demanded by China's urban elites;

4\. Keeping China's 14 bordering countries in a benign, and preferably supine
state;

5\. On China's maritime periphery, projecting its regional naval and air
power, politically fracturing U.S. alliances in Asia, and ultimately removing
the United States from the immediate region militarily;

6.Leveraging its economic power across China's vast continental periphery,
causing Eurasia, and in time the Middle East and Africa to become
accommodating to China's economic, foreign policy, and security interests; and

7.Reforming parts, but by no means all, of the post-war international rules-
based order over time to better suit its interests, and to better reflect
China's domestic values rather than those of the post-war consensus."

Just apply this formula to China's actions and everything makes sense.

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woodandsteel
That's a good summary of Xi Jinping's goals. I would just add that the BRI has
an important role to play in most of them.

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slow_donkey
I feel stupid but I still don't completely understand why this oppression is
necessary. Do they need to remove the villages for BRI to come to fruition?

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maxxxxx
I don't get it either. Why not play nice with them?

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simonh
They’d probably want some degree of cultural and religious autonomy, and
that’s politically unacceptable to Beijing.

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maxxxxx
I guess the unwillingness to give some level of autonomy is ultimately the
downfall of most dictatorships. This will just keep festering unless they are
willing to kill all of them.

The Turks have been making the same mistake with the Kurd for a long time.
Instead of looking for a mutually acceptable solution they just keep
oppressing with no end in sight.

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simonh
There's no such thing as an Uighur, just funny looking Chinese people. There's
no such thing as a Kurd, just Turkish people with a funny accent. They're just
making their supposed cultural differences up, why can't they just be like us?

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Nomentatus
For a long time, I was quite puzzled by the Road-and-Belt initiative. Then I
saw a map much like this one - but which included it's current land route
through Russia; and realized that the road to Europe, through Iran, is
probably key. Previously, all Chinese trade with Europe going by land went
through Russia. Although there are undoubtedly many purposes behind Road-and-
Belt, including building up heavy construction capacity partly on other
country's dime; I concluded that China forsees the possibility of being at
odds with Russia, perhaps even in the near term - or later at a time when they
are less dependent on Russian carbon fuels - and that China wants to ensure
that any such confrontations happen without interfering with its economy.

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hackermailman
I don't think the plans have anything to do with future Russian relations, the
reasons are better explained here than businessinsider tabloid spam
[https://www.strategy-business.com/feature/A-Strategists-
Guid...](https://www.strategy-business.com/feature/A-Strategists-Guide-to-
Chinas-Belt-and-Road-Initiative)

Basically they want to spread their currency, expand their market to all
regional neighbors and provide political/economic stability to the various
regimes around them. The separatist East Turkestan crackdown has been
happening for decades long before they imagined this initiative
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Turkestan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Turkestan)

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Nomentatus
I had read these explanations, but found them insufficient. You don't mention
the G5/optic cable angle, which I think is a better argument on your side:
[https://www.wired.com/story/china-will-likely-
corner-5g-mark...](https://www.wired.com/story/china-will-likely-
corner-5g-market-us-no-plan/)

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aj7
This is a ridiculous thesis. The Uighurs have the most to gain from trade with
the outside world, especially since their culture in significantly un-Chinese,
and has more in common with non-Chinese. The reason for “oppressing Muslims”
is the collision between two cultures. The Uighurs will never accept Chinese
domination— their country is East Turkistan. For the Han Chinese it is
humiliating to be resisted by an inferior Turkic white minority that they have
successfully subjugated militarily. In China, (1) You do as you’re told and
get along (2) The Han people are intrinsically superior to other races, Oh,
and by the way. That this is about Islam and terrorism is pure Chinese
propaganda, like Trump‘s Latin American murders and rapists.

