Over at the Ron Unz Review, another commenter asked me to comment on the Uighurs in Xinjiang. I wrote the following. I'm always open to reading other opinions.
Hi,
OK, I know little about the Uighurs in Xinjiang beyond reading this:
Here’s my take. Read Thomas Jefferson words (but don’t forgive his hypocritical actions):
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
I don’t know what he meant by “all men are created equal” but I think/hope he meant, using current language, is “all people should be equal in the eyes of the law.” Then he says the purpose of government is to protect rights, including “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.” And the governments get “their just power from the consent of the governed.”
It’s seems obvious that the government of the People’s Republic of China isn’t coming anywhere near that in Xinjiang: Uighurs and Han Chinese do not appear to be equal in the eyes of the law; the government isn’t coming anywhere near protecting the rights of every person in Xinjiang to “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.” And they’re not operating with the consent of the governed, so their power is not “just” (legitimate).
I guess the only other take I have is that it looks like Uighurs are pretty concentrated in one area of the country. Letting Xinjiang break away would be a possibility. But if the Han Chinese minority in Xinjiang then became below the Uighurs in the eyes of the law in Xinjiang, that would just be replacing one wrong with another wrong.
P.S. I see that apparently they’re still *hand-picking* cotton in Xinjiang. That’s really terrible.
Over at the Ron Unz Review, another commenter asked me to comment on the Uighurs in Xinjiang. I wrote the following. I'm always open to reading other opinions.
Hi,
OK, I know little about the Uighurs in Xinjiang beyond reading this:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037
Here’s my take. Read Thomas Jefferson words (but don’t forgive his hypocritical actions):
I don’t know what he meant by “all men are created equal” but I think/hope he meant, using current language, is “all people should be equal in the eyes of the law.” Then he says the purpose of government is to protect rights, including “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.” And the governments get “their just power from the consent of the governed.”
It’s seems obvious that the government of the People’s Republic of China isn’t coming anywhere near that in Xinjiang: Uighurs and Han Chinese do not appear to be equal in the eyes of the law; the government isn’t coming anywhere near protecting the rights of every person in Xinjiang to “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.” And they’re not operating with the consent of the governed, so their power is not “just” (legitimate).
I guess the only other take I have is that it looks like Uighurs are pretty concentrated in one area of the country. Letting Xinjiang break away would be a possibility. But if the Han Chinese minority in Xinjiang then became below the Uighurs in the eyes of the law in Xinjiang, that would just be replacing one wrong with another wrong.
P.S. I see that apparently they’re still *hand-picking* cotton in Xinjiang. That’s really terrible.