China: 40 years of reforms and control
China completed forty years of reforms and opening up of its economy on Tuesday (December 18, 2018). While the nation has grown in leaps and bounds economically, many question their means and methods.
From pulling China out of the throes of poverty and destitution to making it the second largest economy in the world, the Chinese administration worked in a very focused manner since 1978 when Deng Xiaoping announced the opening-up policy that would change the country forever.
Unease apparent
Trying to portray an image of inclusiveness, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed that his country will not develop at the expense of other nations, but also stated that Beijing will not be told to what to do. This sums up which way China is headed.
The ambit of progress has widened from internal to connecting China to the world. Right at the centre of that pursuit of President Xi Jinping’s agenda lies the disturbed Xinjiang province, an autonomous region in northwest China.
The Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious project announced by Xi Jinping in 2013, runs right through the Xinjiang province, which has the majority of the Muslim population of China and is also the centre of a separatist movement that has kept security forces on tenterhooks for a while now.
On the face of it, travelling through Xinjiang, it is very difficult to see the trouble and tensions brewing within. And to China’s credit, the establishment has tried to replace dissension through development, investment in infrastructure, employment and growth.
But, many would say, it is a high price to pay for the inhabitants of the province that is home to all of China’s 56 ethnic groups, including Uighur, Kazakh, Han, Mongols, where once Uighur were the majority and Hans formed a minuscule percentage of the population. But today, Hans form 37 per cent of the population, changing the demography of the land.
Disparity in workforce
While development is for all, there is still the existence of a glass ceiling, evident when you travel to these parts of China. The uncanny talent of turning this barren land into an industrial and agricultural hub cannot be denied as much as the selective employment cannot be ignored. The majority of the Han community mostly occupy managerial positions while the Uighurs, Hun, Kazakhs et al make for the labour force.
The suppression of minority Muslims in China to curb any separatist movement in Xinjiang is explained as bringing about stability. Despite the economic reforms, there has been an intensification of crackdowns on any kind of dissent, leading to the systemic disenfranchisement of religion or religious groups. There are strict regulations forbidding any overt signs of religion such as skull caps or burqas (veils).
Ostensible diversity
While the Communist regime takes pride in boasting of several mosques across the nation in the name of diversity, practising religion (Islam) is controlled and not permitted for minors. The re-education camps that have sprung up across Xinjiang have created an atmosphere of a police state for the Uighur population who have lost their voice as an entire people.
Xinjiang is a crucial gateway for the Belt and Road Initiative, a subject of great pride for the formidable leader, but if China wants to be a superpower, not at the cost of others, then it should include the very people who are part of its ecosystem and should be the ones gaining from such an initiative.
(Courtesy of Mail Today)
Also Read: Searching for Utopia: Why it's not wise to copy China