Beijing’s propaganda portrays the vast and remote western region of Xinjiang as a harmonious land of colourful, mostly Muslim Uygur natives and hard-working migrants prospering under Communist Party rule.
But two incidents last week, one of which left 35 people dead, are only the latest spasms of violence to call into question that idealised vision.
China’s constitution proclaims that the country’s dozens of minority groups are an integral and equal part of the national tapestry, but analysts say a system of ethnic labelling – originally meant to promote minority rights – is fuelling unrest.
Xinjiang saw some of its worst inter-ethnic violence in years on July 5, 2009, when around 200 people were killed in clashes between Uygurs and China’s Han majority. The fourth anniversary of the incident comes on Friday, in the run-up to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Some form of Chinese rule in Xinjiang, where the culture has religious and linguistic similarities to the Turkic-speaking countries of Central Asia, dates back centuries.
Relations between the central government and peripheral regions were once more fluid, but since the Communist Party gained power in 1949 rigidity has become the rule, and all Chinese must carry identity cards that prominently state their ethnicity.