China’s recent decision to deport French journalist Ursula Gauthier has caused a small media storm in the world of journalism. The Chinese authorities suspended Gauthier’s journalist licence, effectively expelling her. The friction between Gauthier and the Chinese authorities came about after the publication of Gauthier’s article criticizing the Chinese treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. In her article, Gauthier argued that the violence in Xinjiang is separate from international jihadist phenomenon. She also argued that Beijing’s demonstration of solidarity with Paris had ulterior motives, principally to justify its continued oppression of Uyghurs in the Western region of Xinjiang.[1] Chinese authorities responded by claiming Gauthier was employing double standards in separating Uyghur attacks from Islamic terrorism.[2] While Gauthier is mostly correct in her diagnosis of the causes of Uyghur unrest, her article is insensitive in dealing with the incidents and it is not surprising that it has created such public outrage in China.

Unrest in Xinjiang is almost certainly not directly caused by Islamic fundamentalism, although it might play a part in it. The Uyghurs have a generally well-established national identity that is rooted in the belief of Uyghurs as the indigenous people of Xinjiang, long before the first Chinese armies came. Just as crucially, the proposed Uyghur homeland is both geographically and politically well defined.[3] The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is surrounded by mountains, allowing political boundaries to be congruent with geographic ones. As various local groups have been resisting centralized Chinese authority since Qing times, it is evident that the violence in Xinjiang is caused not by religious fundamentalism, but by nationalism.

Nationalism can be fuelled by religion due to its association with national identity, as Hamas and the Yugoslav wars can testify. This phenomenon, however, is also distinct from modern jihadism. Modern Jihadism, like Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, de-legitimize the concept of nations, instead calling for all Muslims to give up their national identity and unite under one Islamic theocracy.[4] It is certainly true that there are Uyghur Muslims who whole-heartedly endorse radical Islam and have joined organizations such as ISIS.[5] Still, it is also true that the Chinese government only began to label unrest in Xinjiang as “terrorism” following 9/11 and the rising popularity of the usage of the term “terrorism” by various groups.[6] Uyghur unrest as a phenomenon is distinct from and long predates global jihadism. China’s adoption of the term “terrorism” is likely motivated by opportunistic instincts.

While Gauthier is correct in her diagnosis of the source of the unrest, her article is very insensitive towards the Chinese people. Gauthier opened her article with the sentence: “The Chinese tend to feel apart and unloved, they in turn feel little sympathy for the world”.[7] Beginning a piece with a broad and shallow stereotype that regards 1/6 of the world’s population without any supporting evidence is not good journalism. Furthermore, the average Chinese citizen expressing genuine solidarity with France should not be very surprising. Unfortunately, like many in the West, Islamophobia is also spreading in China. To many Han Chinese, all Muslims are one homogenous mass display of religiosity which they equate to terrorism.[8] As a result, it has become natural to link all violence (probably) perpetrated by Muslims as having the same cause.

In addition to the Chinese audience, Gauthier’s perceived justification of Uyghur violence is the most offensive. Throughout her article, Gauthier did not express much sympathy or condolences for those killed in the violence. While the Uyghur unrest may have been exacerbated by Chinese repression, even if we can believe all the Han Chinese that have died in Xinjiang can be justified as abetting Chinese oppression, those that died in Beijing or Kunming due to Uyghur attacks surely deserve a bit more sympathy than “it is all due to the Chinese government” with the implicit argument that the dream of Uyghur independence justifies deaths of all Chinese civilians. Parisian residents are likely to become angry if they were to be told the Paris terrorist attacks were due to problems with not only French society, but French domestic and foreign policies that bred alienation in French Muslims as well. So, too, are the Han Chinese angry over what they see as Gauthier implying that those Han Chinese that died are somehow responsible for their own deaths.[9]

Solidarity with perceived kin has always motivated humans to either achieve great things, such as risking one’s life to save others, or to do despicable things, including racism, discrimination and even genocide.

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Bibliography

Chappellet-Lanier, Tajha. “China Effectively Expels a French Journalist after Her Critical Reporting.” The Atlantic, 26 Dec 2015 2016.

Erie, Matthew S. “Defining Shariʿa in China: State, Ahong, and the Postsecular Turn.” Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review 3, no. 2 (2015): 542-72.

Gauthier, Ursula. “Après Les Attentats, La Solidarité De La Chine N’est Pas Sans Arrière-Pensées.” L’Obs, 18 November 2015 2016.

Gladney, Dru C. “Islam in China: Accommodation or Separatism?”. The China Quarterly, no. 174 (2003): 451-67.

Lam, Lana. “Hong Kong’s Muslim Leaders Issue ‘Letter of Peace’ in Bid to Curb Islamophobia.” South China Morning Post, 05 April 2015 2016.

Wood, Graeme. “What Isis Really Wants.” The Atlantic, March 2015 2016.

Yashar, Ari. “Most Isis Jihadists Infiltrating Turkish Border Are Chinese.” Arutz Sheva, 11 Dec 2015 2016.

“外交部发言人陆慷就法国《新观察家》驻京记者郭玉记者证不再获准延期答记者问.” //www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/fyrbt_673021/t1328120.shtml.

段亚英. “详解被驱逐法国记者说了啥 让外交部没法忍 – China.Org.Cn.” 北京青年报, 2016.

[1] Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, “China Effectively Expels a French Journalist after Her Critical Reporting,” The Atlantic, 26 Dec 2015 2016.

[2] “外交部发言人陆慷就法国《新观察家》驻京记者郭玉记者证不再获准延期答记者问,” //www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/fyrbt_673021/t1328120.shtml.

[3] Dru C. Gladney, “Islam in China: Accommodation or Separatism?,” The China Quarterly, no. 174 (2003).

[4] Graeme Wood, “What Isis Really Wants,” The Atlantic, March 2015 2016.

[5] Ari Yashar, “Most Isis Jihadists Infiltrating Turkish Border Are Chinese,” Arutz Sheva, 11 Dec 2015 2016.

[6] Matthew S. Erie, “Defining Shariʿa in China: State, Ahong, and the Postsecular Turn,” Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review 3, no. 2 (2015).

[7] Ursula Gauthier, “Après Les Attentats, La Solidarité De La Chine N’est Pas Sans Arrière-Pensées,” L’Obs, 18 November 2015 2016.

[8] Lana Lam, “Hong Kong’s Muslim Leaders Issue ‘Letter of Peace’ in Bid to Curb Islamophobia,” South China Morning Post, 05 April 2015 2016.

[9] 段亚英, “详解被驱逐法国记者说了啥 让外交部没法忍 – China.Org.Cn,” 北京青年报 2016.