Word: kashgar
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...different as the Uighurs. State media often raise the specter of fundamentalist terrorism, despite the peaceful and tolerant nature of the Uighurs' brand of Islam. Young people are being weaned off the Uighur tongue and blocked from attending prayers at mosques. Historic districts in storied Silk Road cities like Kashgar and Khotan are being torn down and replaced with drab housing blocks. "In the face of China's modernity project," says Sakamaki, "Uighur culture is being diluted more and more." (Read "Why the Uighurs Feel Left Out of China's Boom...
...dispatching thousands of security forces in the city in July, the government showed it could prevent further mass attacks. But the tension is still evident. After the July violence, Uighurs, who make up about 15% of Urumqi's population, started leaving the city for towns like Kashgar, with larger Uighur concentrations. The Han majority are still angry about the deadly rioting. Hundreds of suspects were arrested following the July attacks, but there have been conflicting reports about when any trials will take place. On Thursday, after the new round of protests, the regional government said arrest warrants for the July...
...Chinese government has justified its actions by saying the relocation will improve residents' quality of life and that the old quarter was vulnerable to potential fires and earthquakes - a dubious claim considering how long many of Old Kashgar's structures have survived. Most conspicuously, Old Kashgar was not included on a list of Silk Road sites that Beijing recently submitted to UNESCO for World Heritage Status, though it is still a top tourist draw in the region. Suggestions voiced in the international press by a few Chinese city planners to reinforce and refurbish the buildings of the old town - rather...
...mood in Kashgar, according to observers, is one of defeat and resignation. Since the violence in Urumqi, foreign reporters in the area have been tightly controlled by government minders and often prevented from taking pictures. Locals fear speaking out; a recent government propaganda campaign sternly warned against those "creating a negative impression." The demolition of the city's historic core fits lockstep with what many consider a concerted effort on Beijing's part to bring Xinjiang firmly under its grasp and dilute Uighur identity. More and more Han Chinese migrants are flooding into Xinjiang's cities, including Kashgar...
...Turkey - now the home of the scholar Kashgari's original manuscript - the Uighurs' plight strikes an emotional chord. And for most outsiders, dusty, remote Kashgar still holds a powerful romantic mystique. Enduring beside billowing sands and beneath glacial peaks, it has charmed and thrilled travelers from Marco Polo to the modern backpacker clutching a Lonely Planet guide. Its knife smiths and livestock bazaars drip with exoticism, exuding a living history at the edge of the world. But as Chinese authorities begin to smash Kashgar's ancient heart, its fabled allure may end up as just that - a fable...