Using Public Written Media to Transform Public Perception about Xinjiang’s Tensions

November 1, 2013

Dr. Patrik Meyer

University of Cambridge

Abstract: In the last two decades, tensions between Muslim minorities and governments have grown both in number and intensity despite the substantial human and economic resources invested in their mitigation. Governments in Europe, the USA, Russia, India, and China seem to be making little progress in their relations with these ‘unruly’ minorities, and often feel compelled to treat them as security threats. The central objective of this discussion is to contribute to a better understanding of government‐Muslim minority relations by providing constructive criticism of current trends in their governance as a security threat, with a specific focus on Xinjiang/China. Using Discourse Analysis to dissect China’s security discourse involving Xinjiang, this analysis will show shows that China’s security discourse revolves around an officially- conceived “trinity of trinities”: (1) the “trinity of authority” – the People, the Communist Party of China, and the government; (2) the “trinity of virtue” – stability, unity, and prosperity; and (3) the “trinity of evil” – extremism, separatism, and terrorism. Whilst this discussion focuses on Xinjiang, it should also contribute to a better understanding of Muslim minority‐government tensions in other parts of the rest of the world.

Bio: Patrik Meyer holds a PhD degree in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge, an MPA from the J.F. Kennedy School (Harvard) in Development and Conflicts, a MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Structural Dynamics, and a BS from UC Berkeley in Civil Engineering. Before starting his academic studies at the age of 37, he spent twenty years traveling the world, mainly the Middle East, North-Africa, and Asia, where he was also deeply involved in Islamic and Chinese studies. Then, as an engineer specialized in improving the seismic performance of low-cost housing, he trained engineers, professors, and government officials in effective and realistic construction practices for post-earthquake reconstruction (Turkey, India, Morocco, Iran, Pakistan, China). Currently he is loosely cooperating with Chinese scholars to provide an expanded understanding of some of the conflicts in Xinjiang/China that are fueling the tensions between the Uyghurs and the Chinese government.

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