Han Today is a series of mini articles and commentaries exploring the identiy of ethnic Han Chinese as result of the recent Urumqi riots. The series will delve into the question of what is Han, who is Han, the Han identity crisis and the future of the Han.
The Catalyst
If the Tibet unrests more than a year ago stoked up Chinese nationalism and unified tha nation then the recent ethnic riots in Xinjiang Province fueled or even awaken the idea of Han ethno-nationalism or Han pride.
The reason for the riot, whether it was instigated by overseas Uighur dissidents or genuinely sparked from the death of Uighur workers bashed to death by Han workers in Guangdong for rape allegations, is academic. It is expected that the usual international scrutiny that comes everytime after a mass incident in China that the Chinese government is robbing away rights or not doing enough to bridge the widening weatlh gaps, will this time be surface materials, if not plain juvenile.
For years since the economic liberalisation in China, the Han majority have been seeking an answer to their identity in the modern world. While they have a long and glorious history to look up upon it is of no doubt that being a Han today raises a lot question of who and what is it being a Han.
And the riots in Urumqi will force up that underlying question for an all out debate of being a Han.
The Catalyst
If the Tibet unrests more than a year ago stoked up Chinese nationalism and unified tha nation then the recent ethnic riots in Xinjiang Province fueled or even awaken the idea of Han ethno-nationalism or Han pride.
The reason for the riot, whether it was instigated by overseas Uighur dissidents or genuinely sparked from the death of Uighur workers bashed to death by Han workers in Guangdong for rape allegations, is academic. It is expected that the usual international scrutiny that comes everytime after a mass incident in China that the Chinese government is robbing away rights or not doing enough to bridge the widening weatlh gaps, will this time be surface materials, if not plain juvenile.
For years since the economic liberalisation in China, the Han majority have been seeking an answer to their identity in the modern world. While they have a long and glorious history to look up upon it is of no doubt that being a Han today raises a lot question of who and what is it being a Han.
And the riots in Urumqi will force up that underlying question for an all out debate of being a Han.
Coming up: What is Han?
