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Background on the Uighur demonstrations

Written on: July 8th, 2009 by: in News

Recently overshadowing the tension over the disputed election in Iran is an outburst of ethnic violence in the far-Western Chinese province of Xianjiang, between the native Uighur population and the transplanted Chinese majority Han residents of the capital city of Urumchi. This region’s history as a waystation on the fabled silk route means that there is a tremendous cultural and historical significance to the land and its people.

PBS Frontline did a recent feature on the Uighurs and the Chinese- you can see it here

You can read a background history on China’s relationships with the Uighurs here– enter Delaware Division of Libraries for the library name and select “Access the Complete Article” to read Chapter 7 of Shu Shun Luh’s “Peoples of China” (from EBSCO’s Non Fiction Book Collection.)

This New Statesman article is also a recent and interesting account. (You’ll need to enter your Delaware Library Catalog account number and PIN to access the article through Academic Search Complete)

You can also check out books from the Delaware library catalog concerning the history and culture of the region, here, here, and here.

To see photojournalist Caroly Drake’s award-winning photographs of traditional Uighur life, click here.