Uighur life: scenes from northwest China

Sharron Lovell — Special to GlobalPost July 14, 2009 08:38 ET

Life on Planet Uighur

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Analysis: A look behind a controversial, and now deadly, Chinese labor policy.

By Kathleen E. McLaughlin - GlobalPost
Published: July 14, 2009 12:43 ET

SHAOGUAN, China — At the heart of a deadly June toy factory clash that sparked mass protests and killings 2,000 miles away in China’s far west lies a government policy that sends thousands of young Muslim Uighurs to fill labor gaps in the southeast.

Experts say despite yawning cultural differences and communication problems between Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese, there typically is little language training or other preparation for young Uighurs before they arrive in Guangdong province for factory jobs. Most come straight off the farm, far even from the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi, and are dropped directly into an atmosphere that might as well be a different planet.

Their governments and factory managers — accustomed to hiring millions of Chinese workers from all across the country to work together — may have misjudged the Uighurs’ ability to quickly assimilate. The Uighurs, after all, speak a completely different language, adhere to Islam and don’t eat pork, which is China’s staple meat. They are given separate food choices, but that’s about it when it comes to cultural considerations.

“Company bosses don’t care about such things. They only care about money, cost,” said Xiao Qingshan, who runs an aid group for migrant workers in Guangdong province.

Factory life, seemingly well suited to millions of young Chinese migrant farm kids out on their first big adventure away from home, often fails for the Uighurs, who simply don’t blend easily with Han culture. The wages are attractive to many, as is the sense of fun. But the barriers are tough to overcome.

“You can see many Uighurs here on the streets without jobs, because they can't speak Mandarin,” said Xiao. “They first came and tried to find stable work but instead, they took up small street-side businesses like selling lamb kebabs. Some of them have turned to crime.”

The “surplus labor” program, designed to move workers from poorer, economically stagnant places like Xinjiang to fill often low-paying jobs others no longer want, has been the subject of controversy specific to Uighurs for several years. Han Chinese move to Xinjiang to work, while Uighurs move out from Xinjiang into other parts of China, creating attempted cultural assimilation via economics.

“The government enforces repressive labor policies, including measures that have a disproportionate negative impact on ethnic minorities,” the U.S. Congressional Executive Commission on China said about Xinjiang in its 2008 report.

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Posted by sirajul on July 16, 2009 04:17 ET

Thanks to Kathleen for the report. Yes, the Chinese labour policy has a stake in settling the lives in ‘Planet Uighur.’ The birth of the rebellion of Uighurs in Xinjiang is rooted to a rather forced labour export programme. The government there initiated engaging young Muslim Uighurs for jobs in China’s thriving coastal region. If anybody refuses to go, a fine of 2,000 Yuan or about $300 is endangered. Many was nervous about going so far from family and living in a Han Chinese-dominated environment so culturally, religiously and actually dissimilar from what they was used to to.
Chinese official version is: by moving Uighur workers to factories outside Xinjiang are trying to elevate the economic status of Uighurs, whose wages have lagged behind the national average. But some Uighurs complains that the assimilation efforts go too far, and they are discriminated against government jobs.
The atmosphere started to become tense last month, as reported by Washington Post on 15th June quoting researchers Wang Juan and Liu Liu, 'when a rumor spread about a rape at the toy factory. An anonymous message, posted on the Internet in June, stated that six Uighurs assaulted two Han female co-workers. No one seemed to know exactly who the alleged victims were, employees said, and police later said the story was made up by a disgruntled former worker. But suspicions festered. When Huang Cuilian, a 19-year-old trainee who is Han, walked into the wrong dormitory and ran into two Uighur men on the night of June 25, she screamed, and a melee ensued. When other workers heard the commotion, a brawl broke out between the Han and Uighur workers. In the end, 120 were injured, and two Uighurs later died. Information about the fight spread via the Internet and cellphones to the Uighurs' home towns in Xinjiang, and there were calls for other Uighurs to take action.'

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