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Eugene G.'s avatar

A good write up but in the prologue and conclusion you commit the usual western fallacy of equating culture-cide and geno-cide. They aren't the same (though often go hand in hand). This false equality is at the root of western inability to confront barbarian cultures in their midst. After all saying bad things about culture inevitably means genocide.

But the two concepts are distinct. Killing memes is not killing people. If Chinese manage to eradicate Islam from Western Turkestan (or utterly neuter it) - good for them and congratulations. If they manage to do it without killing people who don't fight them - there is no moral problem with what they are doing. If, on the other hand, they kill indiscriminately with the intent to "kill them all" this would be something to object to.

It is hard to tell given the abysmal quality of "reporting" from these areas but it seems that Chinese are doing the former rather than the latter.

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Indian IronHook's avatar

I'm afraid the more recent American schoolyard chestnut "he who smelt it, dealt it" better explains the convenient "amnesia" we see in the west.

Just to illustrate the point...take a look at a map of Xinjiang. It happens to be right next to...Afghanistan. The country where for two decades, the locals have been subject to western re-education, airstrikes, torture, and weapons testing (remember the "M.O.A.B."??).

Furthermore...take a look at a map of oil reserves in China. Xinjiang happens to have the biggest "blob of black". Curiously similar big "blobs of black" happen to trapped under regions where the west has "human rights" based regime change policies (Venezuela, Iran, Iraq).

President Trump (who I actually like) says "we're not so innocent - and we're going to take the oil!". It happens right in front of our eyes in Syria...and rather than any discussions about boycotts of American goods & sanctions on their leaders...you get brave academic dissertations about the benefits of stealing Syrian wheat on top the oil!

Having said all this...you don't want "culture-cide" of the Uighur's (sorry Eugene G.!). They're beautiful people, beautiful women, beautiful dresses, beautiful dances. But more importantly, this world needs more "conservative" types with strong family values. Eugene compares them to "barbarians". But when American culture consists of Disney-owned ABC & NFL star Michael Strahan celebrating "Bacha Bazi" on national television...ain't that "backwards"? (ever heard of Sodom and Gomorrah??). Certainly more backwards than anything I've heard the Uighur's accused of!

You ask me (no one does, on account of being a highschool dropout) the key to "saving the Uighur's" is being sincere. You can't have the desire to cripple China in your heart - while spouting hypocritical sanctimony from your mouth. You can't unfairly personalize this issue around Xi Jinping ​- because you want to protect your future ability to do business in China.

If I (to reiterate, a highschool dropout) can see through it...then of course the Chinese see through it. And that's not helping anyone. We need to have man-to-man relationships, crude jokes, and possibly some innocent misogyny. It's what we used to call "diplomacy" (before those jobs became rewards for friends & funders).

Without getting into specifics (probably because I want one of those "reward" appointments lol!) there are successful eastern examples of "fundamentalist Islamic communities" being integrated into "secular" nation-states. The peoples retain their "hard" culture & identity...yet end up becoming loyal & valuable resources for the state & military. It's the key to "saving the Uighur's" & "preventing a genocide/culturecide"...yet not one western "scholar" has considered or proposed such a solution.

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