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Growing Secessionist Voices Are China's Achilles Heel |
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Tuesday, 05 August 2008 |
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 Is it possible for the Chinese government to realize the Beijing Olympic motto of ``One World One Dream?" We wonder what China will do if its ethnic minorities continue to have different dreams of a different world.
The Beijing Summer Olympics will kick off its 17-day run Friday under the slogan ``One World One Dream." Chinese authorities are on their highest state of alert in three decades to thwart any terrorist attack during the country's largest international event. The People's Liberation Army has deployed 34,000 soldiers in Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai and other Olympic venues to tighten security and ensure a successful hosting of the games.
Monday's deadly attack by two men on a border patrol station in Xinjiang Province escalated fears over terrorism just before the start of the Olympics. We strongly denounce the attackers for killing 16 police officers, warning against anyone who resorts to terrorism before and during the gala sports festival. It will be really regrettable if terrorist groups target the Olympics to attain their political purposes.
The Olympics organizers should demonstrate that any form of terrorism can never find its way to the sports venues to hamper the spirit of the Olympic movement. Violence cannot be justified under any circumstances. The suspects in the Xinjiang attack were reportedly members of the Muslim minority Uighurs. There are no confirmed reports on what drove them to violence and who was behind the attack. It remains unclear if the assault was terrorism or a violent crime.
Some media reports, however, said the suspects might have plotted the attack to publicize the separatist cause of the Uighurs in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, which borders the Central Asian state of Tajikistan. Late last month, Chinese authorities reportedly obtained a tip-off that the East Turkistan Islamic Movement would stage terrorist attacks between Aug. 1 and 8.
Therefore, the Islamic group is seen as China's biggest potential terrorist threat before the start of the Olympics. It is seeking to get Xinjiang to secede from the mainland. The province has 8.3 million Uighurs, many of who are discontent over decades of heavy-handed communist rule. For Uighurs and other ethnic minorities, the Olympics could serve as a conduit to inform the world of their secessionist aspirations.
A similar movement culminated in the March demonstrations by Tibetans seeking more autonomy and self-rule from Beijing. The Chinese military, however, brutally suppressed the peaceful rallies, silencing the growing voices for a free Tibet. The bloody crackdown also ignited international condemnation of China's repressive rule. More than 55 ethnic groups live in China, and their growing demands for secession have become Beijing's Achilles heel.
The Chinese government has maintained a hard-line policy against separatist movements, fearing it could tear the country of 1.3 billion people into pieces. Potential declarations of independence by Tibetans or Uighurs will no doubt pose a major threat to Beijing's '`One China" policy and its relations with Taiwan. But some day, China may find it impossible to effectively crack down on secessionist movements. It is time for Beijing to use the Olympics as an opportunity to reconsider its policy toward ethnic minorities.
Is it possible for the Chinese government to realize the Beijing Olympic motto of ``One World One Dream?" We wonder what China will do if its ethnic minorities continue to have different dreams of a different world. - Korea Times.
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