DalianDalian.com

+graemetric- posted a photo:

A Uygur minority woman repeats the phrase "Wo bu shi Zhongguoren ma?" in Chinese to a policeman during the disturbance that erupted after being questioned about an accusation made of her trying to cheat a customer. The phrase means "So I'm not Chinese, huh ?" The question was rhetorical, but it's intent wasn't clear. Whether her genuine sense Chinese national pride was was hurt as a result of the policeman's gaffe of telling her she "wasn't Chinese", or whether she couldn't care less about Chinese national pride, but was trying to make a point to show the reality of the Ugyur's situation, it wasn't clear. Maybe a bit of both.

Whether the customer was being cheated or not is not clear either. The first time I bought a slice I thought I was being cheated too. I asked for 10 Yuan's worth and was presented with a slice about six millimeters thick. Is that all ? But then I thought about the cheesecakes in Starbucks that cost 20 Yuan. The Ugyur cake was rich and heavy, full of dried fruit and nuts. It may have been a thin slice, but sure enough, the weight was about the same as a Starbucks cheesecake. So while next to most Chinese street snacks the Ugyur cake might be pricey, when compared against imported products, it's more than reasonable. If the Ugyurs think they have the market demand and the solidarity to keep the price high, then why not 10 Yuan a slice.

But that's not the only reason that makes me doubt the legitimacy of the claim. I am warned constantly by well meaning Dalianese to "watch out" and "be careful" around the "Xinjiang People", they who look different (like Afghans), speak different (Turkic) and think different (Muslim). As the infrastructure in their homeland of Xinjiang is being steadily developed and then settled by Han Chinese from the East, Ugyurs are moving in the other direction into the heartland cities of the Han Chinese. This is the double edged sword of empire, and just like the first generation who arrived in Britain from outposts of the crumbling British Empire (such as Hong Kong Chinese), many Ugyurs make a living in their new surroundings from their distinctive cuisine. Every big city in Eastern China will have numerous Ugyur restaurants of varying quality from those that host live music and offer cabaret performances to those that sell kebabs at bare-bulb streetside stalls. But like other economic migrants around the world who don't blend in with their host society, they also become scapegoats for every manner of social problem. Some of it will be warranted, but much of it is just plain old racism. In all likelyhood, Han Chinese arriving from other impoverished inland provinces are just as likely to commit petty crime as those from Xinjiang Province, but there's no doubt that the Ugyur people, and others who don't look "Chinese" bear most of the blame because of their appearance. Once a reputation has been forged, accusations stick that bit easier.

In some ways the Chinese government makes an admirable effort to be inclusive towards China's minorities, granting them some degree of autonomy, allowing them a degree of exemption from the One-Child Policy for instance. But it does come at the price of surrendering some of their individual identity to the collective Chinese whole. Some, such as the Chinese-Koreans, can do this while retaining a strong sense of individual pride, for their little corner of the North-East has become the most prosperous and educated parts of rural China as a result of South Korean joint-venture investment. For them, being part of China is undoubtably a better prospect than the alternative of being a forgotten and peripheral corner within North Korea. The same can be said of the Dai Nationality region in the far South-West, bordering Burma but buoyant from the tourist Renminbi and Bhat.

Not so for other minority regions though. Possibly historically, their land became part of the Chinese empire less willingly, or perhaps they feel they're currently losing out. They might see the resources of their region being exploited for the benefit of the Beijing government while they themselves struggle on as second or even third class citizens, outsiders in a China that grants them Chinese identity when it decides it wants their land, or needs their their indigenous culture to add some colour and a taste of the exotic to the pages of a tourist brochure, but in practice won't ever accept them as true Chinese. The Han Chinese society that forms over 90% of China's population needs to decide if being Chinese means a belonging to a country or an ethnicity. Logically and intellectually, it can't be both, but you suspect China will try anyway. Making sure the current economic boom doesn't bypass these minority regions, and making sure the minorities are adequately represented politically in their own regions will play a large part in determining if the policy is successful or not.

Dalian, China, November 2007.