The Xinjiang Conflict: Uyghur Identity, Language Policy, and Political Discourse

This study explores Chinese language policy and language use in Inner Asia, as well as the relation of language policy to the politics of Uyghur identity. Language is central to ethnic identity, and official language policies are often overlooked as critical factors in conflict over ethnic nationalism. In Chinese Inner Asia, any solution to ethnic conflict will include real linguistic and cultural autonomy for major ethnic groups. This study argues that both Beijing and Washington are about to lose crucial political opportunities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, and the author makes recommendations as to policy adjustments that should be made by China and the U.S.
          
           Published by East-West Center Washington. Available exclusively from ISEAS for distribution in Asia.