China's Escalating Terror Tensions
Last Sunday, Chinese officials announced they've thwarted not one, but two Olympic terrorist plots originating from Xinjiang Province, in Western China.
Those accused of conspiring against the government were dealt with pretty quickly- two involved in a "terrorist gang" connected to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement were shot and another 15 detained on January 27. According to authorities, they had "extremist religious ideological materials," guns, and bombs they were planning to use to disrupt the Olympics.
Justice is still pending for those accused of trying to crash a China Southern flight heading to Beijing. Apparently a flight attended prevented an Uighur woman from lighting a bomb in the airplane lavatory. Fortunately, no passengers or flight crew were injured, and the plane arrived without a hitch. I don't think we'll be able to say the same for those accused in this plot.
Of course, in addition to drawing attention to its Olympic safety measures, these terrorist accounts also highlight the escalating tension between the Chinese government and Uighur Muslims, whose culture remains distinct from many Han Chinese.
Basically, even though it's all China, many of the religious and cultural characteristics of the Uighur people are more similar to those in central Asia than mainland China. These differences can thus foster friction between the government and people of the province.
According to Reiya Kadeer, an exiled Uigbghur leader, the accusations of the Chinese government are "completely untrue. All these allegations are falsified." She says these actions are merely a way for the Chinese government to strengthen its crackdown against the Uighur people.
The fact that both the United States and the United Nations classify the East Turkestan Islamic Movement as a terrorist organization doesn't really help the case of those accusing the Chinese government of foul play.
On the other hand, over the past year, the Chinese government has been very aggressive in monitoring human rights activists, NGO workers, foreign missionaries, or nearly any group that could possibly disrupt their "harmonious society."
It's doubtful that we'll ever know the full story behind this weekend's events, but at the very least we do know that Chinese leaders will do everything they can to ensure that the Olympics go according to plan.