ETHNIC IDENTITY AND NATIONAL CONFLICT IN CHINA

ETHNIC IDENTITY AND NATIONAL CONFLICT IN CHINA

ETHNIC IDENTITY AND NATIONAL CONFLICT IN CHINA Rohan Gunaratna, Arabinda Acharya, and Wang Pengxin

ETHNIC IDENTITY AND NATIONAL CONFLICT IN CHINA Copyright Rohan Gunaratna, Arabinda Acharya, and Wang Pengxin, 2010. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2010 978-0-230-10305-4 All rights reserved. First published in 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-28761-1 ISBN 978-0-230-10787-8 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230107878 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gunaratna, Rohan, 1961 Ethnic identity and national conflict in China / Rohan Gunaratna, Arabinda Acharya, and Wang Pengxin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Terrorism China. 2. Domestic terrorism China. I. Acharya, Arabinda. II. Pengxin, Wang. III. Title. HV6433.C55G86 2009 363.3250951 dc22 2009043571 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: June 2010 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS Acknowledgments Abbreviations vii ix Introduction 1 1 Explaining Minority Conflict in China: A Theoretical Perspective 9 2 Islam and Muslim Minorities in China 19 3 Uighur Separatism: East Turkistan Groups 47 4 Hui Muslims: The Milieu of Radicalization and Extremism 89 5 Threats to China from Al Qaeda 109 6 China s Perception of the Threat and Response 135 Conclusion: Need for Moderation and a Humane Approach 171 Notes 179 Bibliography 231 Index 241

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS W e are grateful to Ambassador Barry Desker, Dean, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University for his steadfast support. We thank Ayla Iqbal from Pakistan and Senol Yilmaz from Switzerland for their valuable research assistance. We are indebted to Syed Adnan Ali Shah Bukhari, a specialist on Pakistan s tribal areas, Ustaz Mohamed Redzuan Bin Salleh, an Arabist, Rebecca Givner-Forbes, an Arabist, and Mahfuh Bin Haji Halimi, a specialist on Islamic ideology, who reviewed the manuscript and provided important feedback. We also thank specialists from government organizations and research institutes in China for having supported us during our visits to different parts of China, including Xinjiang. We express our appreciation to Associate Professor Andrew Tan, Convenor, International Studies, University of New South Wales, Robyn Curtis, the Editorial Assistant, Palgrave Macmillan, and the anonymous reviewer. Our colleagues Elizabeth Ong and Kelvinder Singh deserve special mention for their administrative assistance. We also express our appreciation to Mohammed Amir Rana, Director, Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, Islamabad, and several others who assisted us in our research and wish to remain anonymous.

ABBREVIATIONS AML AQIM ATB CCP ETIC ETIM ETIP ETLO ETNC ETR EWPS FATA IJU IMU ISI MND MPS MSS NATCG NPC NWFP PAPF PBC PLA PRC SCO SWCU TIP TJ TTP Anti-Money Laundering Al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb Anti-Terror Bureau Chinese Communist Party East Turkistan Information Center East Turkistan Islamic Movement Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party East Turkistan Liberation Organization Eastern Turkistan National Congress East Turkistan Republic Early Warning and Prevention System Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan Islamic Jihad Union Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Islamic State of Iraq Ministry of National Defense Ministry of Public Security Ministry of State Security National Anti-Terrorism Coordination Group National People s Congress North Western Frontier Province People s Armed Police Force People s Bank of China People s Liberation Army People s Republic of China Shanghai Cooperation Organization Snow Wolf Commando Unit Turkistan Islamic Party Tablighi Jamaat Tareek-e-Taliban Pakistan

x UNPO WUC WUYC XPCMC XUAR ABBREVIATIONS Unrepresented Nations and People s Organizations World Uighur Congress World Uighur Youth Congress Xinjiang Production Construction Military Corps Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region