WISP Assignment 2WISP Assignment 2ChinaChina

Done by: Cheak Li HuiCynthiaRonald Shaiful

July 2009 Urumqi RiotJuly 2009 Urumqi Riot

The July 2009 Urumqi riots were a series of violent riots that broke out on 5 July 2009 in Urumqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in North Western China. The first day's rioting, which involved at least 1,000 Uyghurs, began as a protest but later escalated into violent attacks which mainly targeted the Han Chinese.

Brief Introduction - XinjiangBrief Introduction - Xinjiang

Xinjiang is a large region in central Asia that is governed by the People's Republic of China. The region's ethnic composition comprises of several minority groups: 45% - Uyghurs and 40% - Han.

The region's capital, Urumqi, comprises of

approximately 75% Han, 12.8% are Uyghur, and 10% are of other ethnic groups.

What was not right with China in What was not right with China in 2009?2009?

How race and religion played a part in:    Creating social inequality along religious

and racial lines  Creating prejudices leading to

discrimination

1) Tensions have existed between the Hans and the Uyghurs for several decades .

Uyghurs:Believe that they are being treated unfairly, both

economically and politically. Think they are denied the rights to worship and to

travel

HansBelieve the government policies favour UyghursBelieve laws are more lenient towards Uyghurs than

towards Han people.

2) China considers Uyghurs as a "national minority" rather than an indigenous group.

Hans generally discriminates against Uyghur's.

3) Uyghurs and the government (mostly-Han) wants to have the "ownership" of the Xinjiang region.

Uyghurs believe their ancestors were indigenous to the area.

while government policy considers present-day Xinjiang to have belonged to China since Han Dynasty.

All these led to violence, ethnic and racial clashes.

History of China’s Social History of China’s Social InequalitiesInequalitiesChina’s economic reforms started in 1978.

The reforms brought about a very rapid development in China’s economy.

China’s GNP grew about 3 times the original from 1978 to 1993.

Due to the rapid growth in the economy, income disparities between Chinese from rural areas and Chinese from urban areas become very obvious.

Differences In the Living StandardDifferences In the Living Standard

While the Urban areas of China were well developed with higher living standard, most rural areas of China remain backwards.

Urban areas of China are equipped with proper schools, hospitals, parks and etc within proximity.

However rural areas of China are only improved by a little.

Kids from rural areas still had to travel miles to schools and working adults sometimes have to travel even longer distance to get to work in the cities.

Effects of the Economic ReformEffects of the Economic Reform

Although groundwork for the future developments of these rural areas were lay out, large numbers of Chinese from these rural areas moved to the cities and took up more labor intensive jobs.

Their salaries though increased, still could not be compared to those urban born Chinese who had access to better education and thus better paying jobs.

This gradually created a social hierarchy in urban areas of China. The “Upper Class” are those who are born and raise in the urban areas and the “Lower Class” consisting of those who are born in the rural areas.

Present Day Singapore?Present Day Singapore?Compare what you have learnt from the Chinese situation with Singapore in

2009.

Singapore does not have the instances of prejudices and discrimination that are prevalent in Xinjiang.

There are cases of racial and religious discrimination in Singapore but they are not as serious as those in Urumqi.

Singapore Government treats everyone, of all races and religions, equally under the law.

Laws to protect the people from racial and religious discriminations are also passed down in the Singapore Government.

Discriminations against people who are poorer and of a lower education level also exists but they are not serious.

No person in Singapore is denied of any rights as long as he/she is abiding by the law.

China being similar to Singapore - Majority race being Chinese - Economy is being dominated by the ChineseChina being different from Singapore - Languages - Ethnic Groups

What can we do to prevent the What can we do to prevent the imagined future of 2061 from becoming imagined future of 2061 from becoming a reality?a reality?

Educate our younger generation on the importance of a Singapore free of social inequalities. It is very important to start teaching them from young.

To have a multi-racial workforce. Different races and ethnic groups can come together and interact with each other.

Citizens to be multilingual. Learning different language enables easy communication among different races, so that all can connect.

ReferenceReference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urumqi_riots

Poverty and Inequality in China by Yvonne YingCopyright © 2001 The World Bank Grouphttp://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/j&a96/art2.htm

The Making of Modern China: Historical and Social Perspectives

Copyright © 2006  Nanyang Technological Universityhttp://www.ntu.edu.sg/HSS/macc/Curriculum/Pages/subjects.aspx

China's rural millions left behind By Rupert Wingfield-Hayes (BBC News, Beijing )

Copyright © BBC MMXhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4782194.stm