World News: China

The Dangers of China’s Ethnic Divide

After 3/1: The Dangers of China’s Ethnic Divide

This editorial article describes how China is on the verge of a breakdown in their government because of the uncontrollable rage between different ethnic groups.  China’s fear is that the recent violence that took place could lead to the government not being able to manage ethnic unrest at all and, similar to the Soviet Union, the government will collapse.  On March 1^st, eight assailants armed with foot-long sabers set upon men and women in the city of Kunming, killing at lease twenty nine people and injuring a hundred and forty three, and, by the end of the day this Kunming Massacre seared into public consciousness in a way that has shaken the stability of China greatly.  The attack is said to have been orchestrated by militant Uighurs, who make up one of China’s fifty-six ethnic groups, and, although no group had claimed responsibility for these horrific event, the E.T.I.M. (East Turkestan Islamic Movement) is suspected for committing this atrocity.  The militant Uighurs have a rocky relationship with Beijing China, impart because of their resentment of their relationship to Han Chinese and the increasing socioeconomic gaps between these two ethic groups.  As the writer Evan Osnos clearly shows, China’s government needs to get these militant acts under control and learn from histories mistakes—putting different ethnic groups under the same rule will not automatically bind ethnicities together and stop strife.

Osnos, Evan. "After 3/1: The Dangers of China's Ethnic Divide." The New yorker. The New Yorker, March 3 2014. Web. march 4 2014 <http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/03/after-31-the-dangers-of-chinas-ethnic-divide.html>