Starting in 2015, the chinese government ramped up efforts to seize. Chinas rights abuses in xinjiang could provoke a global terrorist. Tension is high between the uighurs and han chinese who have migrated to xinjiang and generally. Common enemy of china and pakistan 23, 2017 in 2014, the head of is, abu bakr albaghdadi, threatened china and called on uighur militants to join his organization. How the islamic state is exploiting asian unrest to. Given the intensity of chinas commitment to bringing xinjiang to heel. In a raid earlier this month, chinese paramilitary forces killed 28 suspects accused of a bloody september attack on a coal mine in its restive west. Turkeys assault of chinas sovereignty and incitement of xinjiang insurgency. An underexamined jihadist challenge uighurs, specifically individuals of turkic decent from chinas northwest province of xinjiang, have become a noticeable part of the constellation of. There have been efforts to suppress the sale of isil oil and oil products on regional markets, such as enhanced counter smuggling efforts of the turkish. Jan 15, 2016 isis army set for new wave of recruits as thousands of chinese militants flee to syria islamic states isis jihadi army could be boosted by thousands of chinese extremists, a leading. Population figures from 2015 show karakax was home to. Relations with the islamic world analysis paper no. The rise of islamic state of iraq and syria isis establishment the story of isis goes back to abumusab alzarqawi who was imprisoned in jordan for 5 years, after being sentenced 15 years for the possession of weapons and being affiliated to the bayat aljihadi.
Thailands recent deportation to china of more than 100 uyghurs the majority ethnic group in chinas xinjiang uyghur autonomous region drew a rebuke from the united nations. Chinas repression of uighurs in xinjiang council on. Turkeys assault of chinas sovereignty and incitement of. Treatment of the uyghur ethnic group in the prc the law library of congress 2 xinjiang uyghur autonomous region xuar in northwestern china. Isis, targets of such surveillance also include anyone who has been to one of the. Abstract turkey is challenging chinas one china policy and sovereignty over its muslim province of xinjiang, which ankara refers to as east turkestan. Assessment report on the implementation of the national human rights action plan of china 2012 2015 freedom of religious belief in xinjiang chinas nuclear emergency preparedness. As for xinjiang, gladney said, there are growing concerns at all levels of chinese society even among some government wonks that chinas policies arent working. Hashim february 2015 military studies programme, institute of defence and strategic studies idss, s. Shanghai authorities arrested nine uyghurs from xinjiang who planned to use the fake passports and two. Che jun, deputy secretary of the communist party of china xinjiang regional committee, said about 95 percent of potential attacks in xinjiang had been halted due to public tipoffs. He has massive facilities in the usa, abu dhabi, and china with one purpose, making and creating chaos and getting rich at it while following a perverse militarization of insane bastardization of christianity. May 31, 2017 china created a new terrorist threat by repressing secessionist fervor in its western frontier. Xinjiang\s uighur muslims receiving \terrorist training.
Once isis still in middleeast for years, xinjiang just a dream for turkey. Mar 10, 2015 the suspected isil fighters were arrested after returning to chinas farwestern region of xinjiang, zhang chunxian, a member of chinas ruling politburo and xinjiangs communist party chief, was reported as saying in chinese state media. Chinese militants from the restive region of xinjiang are leaving the country to receive terrorist training from isis now known as the islamic state in order to conduct attacks in china, state. Isis army set for new wave of recruits as thousands of chinese militants flee to syria islamic states isis jihadi army could be boosted by thousands of chinese extremists, a. In xinjiang, a multiethnic region in west china, it is widely believed that higher income level can decrease the likelihood of terrorism conducted by uyghur separatists or extremists. Responding to the crisis in xinjiang the heritage foundation. According to yahir imin, a 38yearold uyghur, chinese authorities in xinjiang drew blood, scanned his face, recorded his fingerprints, and documented his voice. China asks us to help fight muslim militants in xinjiang region. Treatment of the uyghur ethnic group in the peoples. Chinas june 2015 national security law, which codifies a comprehensive set of national security policies and principles, many of which are related to fighting terrorism, separatism.
Specifically, meteorological drought severity based on the standardized precipitation index spi and the standardized precipitation. In november 2015, isis executed a chinese hostage and earlier that year the terrorist group released a number of propaganda videos calling uyghurs in xinjiang to arms. Isis uighurs threaten rivers of blood in china financial. For the uighur in xinjiang province, the muslim, islam religion is an important part of their life and identity. In 2015, two uyghurs were shot trying to cross into vietnam. Factors such as the massive statesponsored migration of han chinese from the 1950s to the 1970s, government policies promoting chinese. What will china do if the islamic state expands into xinjiang. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Chinas campaign of repression against xinjiangs muslims. Xinjiang in central asias regional security structure. Such figures could, of course, be inflated to justify beijings crackdown on uighurs in xinjiang. For example, the uyghurs joining isis has been a pressing issue in recent years.
Observations indicate that temperature and precipitation patterns changed dramatically in xinjiang, northwestern china, between 1961 and 2015. Chinese state run newspapers have claimed that up to 300 uighur fighters have flocked to isis ranks, and a chinese envoy to the middle east stated that there could be around 100 chinese fighters in syria and iraq. Zhang reportedly declined to specify the number or nature of the arrests, or to identify the suspects. There were no terrorist attacks in the xinjiang uygur autonomous region last year, the regions chairman said on tuesday as he discussed the regional governments determination to. China targeted by isis jan 2, 2015 652 as the western us lead coalition allies are dragging their feet trying to curb isis operations in the middle east, it seems that the coveted boots on the ground could eventually come from the east where china faces a growing isisinspired subversive activity in the strategic xinjiang province. Despite loss of territory by isis in 2015, and thus loss of access to resources, the. The military members of the ccp will jump for joy its basically impossible for isil to reach that part of china, but ill pretend it can for my answer. Extortion accounted for 33% of the groups revenue in 2015, compared with only 12% the previous year.
Acts of terrorism related to the tensions in xinjiang have been met with an even tougher and more comprehensive counterterrorism strategy on the part of china, leading to the first national counterterrorism legislation in 2015. Intelligence sources in ankara estimate at least 1,500 recruits from central asia uzbekistan, kyrgyzstan, kazakhstan, tajikistan and turkmenistan and xinjiang a uighur autonomous region of northwest china are already fighting for is in syria and iraq. This article argues, through a case study of the evolving impact of the xinjiang and uyghur issue, that the peoples republic of chinas prc ethnic minorities have been a significant factor in beijings foreign relations throughout its history. The chinese authorities are openly fighting their own war on terrorism with open police action and propagandainformation warfare directed at foreign and domestic entities. One year ago today, china executed as terrorists separatist militants. China has become one of the strongest forces to take advantage of this new opportunity, be it trade, energy, or to safeguard its volatile xinjiang region that shares border with three cars. Spatialtemporal variation and impacts of drought in. Xinjiang, the home of the muslim uighurs is one such vast region in the northwest of china. Other attacks, though less lethal, have also attracted significant media coverage. The xinjiang conflict is a conflict in china s farwest province of xinjiang centred around the uyghurs, a turkic minority ethnic group who make up the largest group in the region. The impact of ethnic minorities on chinas foreign policy. Terrorists in xinjiang returned from is global times. In 2015 isis executed three uighur fighters who were attempting to desert its forces.
It describes xinjiang as the main geopolitical anchor in central asias security structure with all its potential for a possible conflagration in the region. It summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. Xinjiang and the global fight against terrorism china. Xinjiang, in chinas northwest, is vulnerable to isis, according to zhang chunxian, the populist party chief of the farflung province, who stated publicly for the first time that uighurs, a turkic, mostly sunni minority group there, have. Opportunities for peace and risk scenarios for 2015. Rajaratnam school of international studies, nanyang.
Pdf the rise of uyghur militancy in and beyond southeast. China created a new terrorist threat by repressing secessionist fervor in its western frontier. Mar 02, 2017 however, historic animosity between arabic and turkic speakers tends to limit the allure of isis for uighurs. Country reports on terrorism 2015 is submitted in compliance with title 22 of the united states code, section 2656f the act, which requires the department of state to provide to congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for those. The leaked document is a 7page pdf file, likely generated from an excel spreadsheet or word table. Eradicating ideological viruses human rights watch. Terrorism in china refers to the use or threatened use of violence to affect political or ideological change in the peoples republic of china. Jul 28, 2015 thailands recent deportation to china of more than 100 uyghurs the majority ethnic group in chinas xinjiang uyghur autonomous region drew a rebuke from the united nations.
Xinjiang is a large centralasian region within the peoples republic of china comprising numerous minority groups. More than a million muslims have been arbitrarily detained in chinas xinjiang province. Jan 02, 2015 image caption the bbcs china editor carrie gracie recently paid a visit to kashgar city in the xinjiang region triple evil i was in kashgar to tackle one of the hardest china stories to cover. Isis army set for new wave of recruits as thousands of. The last major war the peoples liberation army was involved in was a quietly forgotten event. Shown in a video released by isis supporters on youtube, this person, identified as bo wang was the first chinese national openly shown to be fighting with isis in syria. Joining the fight against isis would be a huge test for china jonathan fenby president xi jinping has said china will crack down on terrorism, but a global foreign policy would involve joining. Extortion became the primary source of isis financing in 2015. Mar 27, 2017 the mazar in tuyoq courtesy of ilana shapira spring 2016bearing their islamic cultural and religious background and heritage, and unlike other muslim groups, uyghurs have demanded their independence and have strived to establish in xinjiang province a separate political and religious entity carved out of the peoples republic of china and culturally close to the central asia republics. Xinjiang boss says chinese extremists fighting with islamic state. Mar 10, 2015 chinese extremists have joined the islamic state and authorities have broken up gangs that returned from fighting abroad, the communist party boss of chinas western xinjiang region said on.
However, historic animosity between arabic and turkic speakers tends to limit the allure of isis for uighurs. The suspected isil fighters were arrested after returning to chinas farwestern region of xinjiang, zhang chunxian, a member of chinas ruling politburo and xinjiang s communist party chief, was reported as saying in chinese state media. Dec 02, 2015 in a raid earlier this month, chinese paramilitary forces killed 28 suspects accused of a bloody september attack on a coal mine in its restive west. I say isis just a tool, and the tool close to turkey. According to xinhua, the were condemned in 7 different cases from aksu, turpan and hotan all prefectures of the western xinjiang region. China created a new terrorist threat by repressing this.
A recent bombing in the heart of bangkok, capital of southeast asias nation of thailand, and ongoing violence in chinas xinjiang region expose another vast network of ussponsored terrorism operating in tandem with al qaeda and in fact stretching from asia all the way to frontiers of americas proxy war with syria. Chinas repressive tactics in xinjiang, such as banning certain religious names for. There is speculation but no confirma tion that the attack was launched in retaliation for the deportation of illegal uyghur migrants back to china. Counter terrorist trends and analysis volume 7, issue 1 january february 2015 w middle east in 2014, events in the middle east were completely dominated by the rise of isis which brought the involvement of the u.
Its heavily industrialised capital, urumqi, has a population of more than 2. The top communist official in chinas xinjiang said tuesday that extremists from the mainly muslim region have been apprehended after returning from fighting in syria with the islamic state group. Isil fighters arrested in china al jazeera america. Jacob zenn, an overview of chinese fighters and antichinese militant. China says isis fighters back from syria caught in xinjiang. Xinjiang reported free of terror attacks last year. Isil suffered reversals from mid 2015 when they were expelled from much of derna following clashes with rival militants, following months of intermittent fighting, isil eventually redeployed to other parts of libya. Xinjiang introduction the xinjiang uyghur autonomous region xuar, a northwestern province in the peoples republic of china, is home to a protracted ethnic conflict primarily between the uyghurs and the read more. In june 2015, a man claiming to be part of the islamic state is, also known as isis beheaded his boss and attempted to blow up a chemical plant. China created a new terrorist threat by repressing. Rajaratnam school of international studies rsis, nanyang technological university ntu, singapore.
Chinas antiterror laws and human rights in the xinjiang uyghur autonomous region. Financing of the terrorist organisation islamic state in iraq and the levant isil 6 2015 need for refined crude and declining oil prices. Pdf on sep 1, 2015, michael clarke and others published china. It has lead many in the world stage to call erik prince the military leader of the america isis taliban. However, the countylevel data in the year of 20 shows that better economic performance cannot work as is expected. Shanghai authorities arrested nine uyghurs from xinjiang who planned to. Joining the fight against isis would be a huge test for china. Chinas changing strategy in xinjiang mit press journals. Stateorchestrated mass migration brought millions of han chinese into xinjiang in an attempt to dilute the uyghur population. State media continually alleges that escalating violence in xinjiang is tied to the global jihad movement.
Approximately 128 million chinese traveled overseas in 2015, compared to only 280,000 in 1982. Dramatic changes in climatic conditions can bring about adverse effects. Xinjiang was high throughout 200914, but by 201516, the ccp judged that its. Xinjiang is mostly covered with uninhabitable deserts and dry grasslands, with dotted oases at the foot of tian shan, kunlun mountains and altai mountains. Counter terrorist trends and analysis volume 7, issue 1 january february 2015 w e are happy to publish volume 7, issue 1 january february 2015 of the counter terrorist trends and analysis ctta by the international centre for political violence and terrorism research at the s. The reeducation camps are just one part of the governments crackdown on uighurs.