I was in a hotel room in Carmel, California, when my phone rang; it was RTHK and I was to participate in a live panel discussion about the tenuous political situation and civil disturbances in Xinjiang , and the conflict between the Han 'immigrants' and ethnic Uygurs. While I made my point that this is Ramadan month, and we could expect restraint from the Islamic population, I also reminded my host about some historical facts. Despite popular thinking to the contrary, the Han have been inhabitants of Xinjiang for centuries, long before Islam became the dominant religion for the Uygur. And neither did the Han become dominant in local government only after 1949. The last few warlords of the province, from the 1920s to the 1940s, were all Han. That said, we cannot neglect the massive influx of migrant workers and soldiers since the 1950s, and the effect that huge population has had on a large but environmentally marginal area. Though half a world apart, perhaps the history of early Chinese settlement in Monterey Bay in California, from where I write, can provide some insight for current affairs in western China. Cannery Row, made famous by Nobel author John Steinbeck's namesake novel, has its origin intertwined with the toil and industry of the Orient. A Chinese fishing village, from which 'China Point' derives its name, was established in the early 1850s, half a century before the first serious cannery came into being in 1901. Before the arrival of the Chinese, the Spanish and Portuguese had in the 16th and 17th centuries gradually dislodged the indigenous inhabitants. In need of the coastal resources, the new 'white' immigrants evangelised, exploited and dispersed the natives. By the mid-19th century, Chinese arriving from San Francisco or by ships directly from China began settling in the area near today's Cannery Row. Their sampans scoured the bay and they dried their catch of fish, squid and abalone in the way traditional Chinese preserved marine products. The shanties by the ocean and repulsive odour of the fish soon rendered them unwelcome to the growing community in Monterey. By 1874, the rail head had reached Monterey Peninsula, and it brought more people from the San Francisco area and the rest of the country. The efficiency of the industrious Chinese became an element of envy among their many critics, and thus further fuelled the racial intolerance of their white counterparts. Restrictive legislation and regulation of Chinese fishing and processing techniques, plus rising anti-Chinese sentiment, pressured the immigrants into mainly going after squid, a commercial species not in competition with the other rapidly entrenched fishing groups. In time, however, the Chinese were targets of eradication from the area. New laws heavily restricted Chinese immigration, prohibited naturalisation, land ownership, testimony against whites, and access to public education. Chinese were no longer welcome on China Point. A mysterious fire one May evening in 1906 swept through Chinatown where Pacific Grove borders Monterey. The flames destroyed the shanty community, signalling the end of the Chinese fishing industry while ushering in the epic growth of Cannery Row as the sardine capital of the world. Steinbeck's novels have helped make Cannery Row and Monterey year-round tourist attractions. But most tourists today are unaware of the role the Chinese pioneers played in Monterey Bay. Perhaps the most significant figure to emerge during that period was a Chinese cannery worker known as 'Spanish Mary'. Born at Point Lobos in 1859, Quock Mui moved to China Point and raised her family. Her language proficiency won her the nickname, and wide regard, among the area's immigrants. They trusted her to interpret contracts and official documents for them in a white-American dominated legal and business system. Her home is now a historic site. Perhaps Spanish Mary can strike a distant resonance; she was embraced as a conduit between the Chinese community and the whites. Beijing's censoring of Uygur leader Rebiya Kadeer can only elevate her to an otherwise unattainable height of a victim. Instead, reconciliation through an open invitation to her may be something to consider. Xinjiang, like the American West, is a frontier land of pioneers. No single person or group should have a monopoly over it. The Han people have as much right to be there as the Uygurs. Bickering about who was there first has little relevance to the current political realities, nor can it contribute to the future destiny of this land and its people. Today, in Monterey Bay, tourists arrive in droves. The sound of Putonghua-speaking groups is now commonplace. The Chinese are finally coming back: this time, not to make money, but to spend it. Wong How Man is founder and president of the China Exploration & Research Society