In China, Moslems called the Uighurs
are fighting to be free
of rule by Han Chinese. It figures
that they want liberty,
just like the other captive nations
the Han now rule, Tibet
the largest, but their expectations
aren't likely to be met.
The Han call freedom fighters in
both places terrorists,
and almost certainly will win
by force of arms and fists,
but no one cares about these Asians
here in the west, because
we fear our vital trade relations
might suffer, with a loss
of our prosperity, and let
the Chinese use their terror
in both East Turkestan, Tibet,
committing a grave error
based on our need to save the dollar
from falling, which it might
if we grew hot beneath the collar,
declaring might ain't right.
It seems we need Han Chinese more
than they need us, and so
we can't show them that we feel sore
about the Uighurs' woe.
By contrast, since we need much oil,
with Dreyfusard "J'accuse"
we may, when Jews protect their soil,
hurl at them our abuse.
Inspired by the news concerning the massacre of more than 150 Uighurs in Urumqi, the capital of East Turkestan, a region the Chinese government calls Xinjiang and is trying to repopulate with Han Chinese, displacing the ethnically and culturally different indigenous population. Erik Eckholm writes in the NYT on July 7 about the exiled leader of the Uighurs, Rebiya Kadeer, whose fame does not yet parallel that of the Dalai Lama, but may do in the future. While Ms. Kadeer condemns the Chinese government's excessive use of force, she said that the Uighurs "also condemn in no uncertain terms the violent actions of some of the Uighur community."
Follow Gershon Hepner on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gwhepner
Tom Doctoroff: The Uighur Crisis: Worse Than Tibet?
In response to an outbreak of violence, the instigation of which remains unclear, the Chinese government has cracked down, and cracked down hard, on the Uighur minority in China's northwest province, Xinjiang.
Alexander Davenport: Fair and Balanced? Lhasa Vs. Urumqi
Why do rioting Tibetans generate more interest than rioting Uighurs?
The Real News: We're All Uighurs Now. Or Are We?
The early July riots in Urumqi have been spun by Beijing as yet another "foreign interference" conspiracy organized by the Uighur diaspora in exile.
One more thing: Rebiya Kadeer ain't no Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama calls for peace during ethnic clashes...Rebiya, well, read her biography and watch her do her rounds in the television news circuit.
Secondly, would you call Al-Qaeda "freedom fighters?" How is it that the United States can call on other nations to join us in the "war on terror" and use the word "terrorists" without the implication that we are calling all Muslim groups "terrorists?" I don't condone the word and have always hated it for its divisive qualities, but I think it's appropriate for the PRC to condemn the actions of a few violent individuals. It's especially troubling that you would, without distinction, call these guys "freedom fighters."
"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free."
China has been historically overrun by foreign invaders of all ilks--hence the Great Wall. Is it possible that they may be a bit overprotective of their wildly historic turf?
We westerners, Americans in particular (veritable toddlers on the world scene), simply do not have sufficient perspective in order to objectively gauge the psyche of the ancient Chinese civilization.
Well, that's a load of crap. A 40-year old Chinese man has exactly the same number of years of experience on this earth as a 40-year old American man, regardless of how "ancient" each believes his civilization to be. And while the USA is young as a nation-state, so, too, is the PRC. Much younger, in fact. And the USA is part of a larger civilization, and one as ancient as the Chinese.
Besides, none of that "ancient culture" nonsense excuses the barbaric acts the Chinese government have inflicted on the Tibetans and the Uighurs or gives the Chinese immunity from criticism, even criticism specifically from citizens of the world's "toddler" nations. Indeed, the ability to reason is the only "sufficient perspective" anyone EVER needs in order to form a valid judgment.
with Dreyfusard "J'accuse"
we may, when Jews protect their soil,
hurl at them our abuse."
How did that sneak in - Surely the Israeli are the Han Chinese and the Palestinians the Uighurs
and Tibetans in this story, you know the oppressed people whos land has been stolen, who now live under occupation and are fighting for liberty.
Crappy poem; crappy politics.