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The medium of instruction (MoI) is regulated in the bilingual education of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in two ways. One requires most school subjects to be taught through Mandarin, whereas the other demands that all subjects be delivered with Mandarin as the MoI. A field trip to the capital city, Urumqi, was conducted in 2017 to investigate the implementation of the MoI as stated in the policy. This paper first outlines the history of bilingual education in the region, with a focus on Chinese language education. It then investigates the change of MoI from the ethnic minority language to Mandarin Chinese. The two current modes of bilingual education in Xinjiang are also discussed in detail. The paper further examines the regulations on MoI through interviews with students and teachers from four Urumqi schools. Their understanding of the regulations on MoI usage demonstrates the difficulties of implementing such a policy, one initially proposed with good intentions. Through a thorough examination of official documents as well as interview data, this study shows the discrepancies between national and current regional policies, between planned aim and in-class practice, and between the transitional and balanced types of bilingual education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, state-directed Han settlement and capitalist development in the Uyghur homeland in Chinese Central Asia have uprooted thousands of Uyghurs, causing them to move to the city. In this article, I explore how low-income male Uyghur migrants and Uyghur culture producers build a durable existence despite these challenges. Based on analysis of migrant responses to the Uyghur-language urban fiction and indigenous music as well as ethnographic observations of Uyghur migrants from Southern Xinjiang, I argue that indigenous knowledge provides underemployed male Uyghurs a means to refuse the alienating effects of settler colonialism and economic development. By broadening the scope of what counts as ‘resistance’ to Chinese attempts to eliminate aspects of Uyghur society, I show that ‘refusal’ can be a generative way of embodying sovereignty, particularly when confronted by structural violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many scholars have cited socioeconomic status, cultural tastes, and group reference as the major determinants of class identification. Few have conceptualized minority ethnicity as a vital source of class subjectivities, however. I address this knowledge gap in this paper by examining Uyghur subjective class status in Ürümchi, China. I show that income and occupational attainment are not correlated with Uyghur choices of class labels. I also show that Uyghur ethnic identity affects their choices of class labels. I argue that Uyghurs think that they are a dominated group and compare themselves with Han Chinese unfavourably when defining their subjective class positions in Ürümchi. As a result, intergroup competition overshadows the variability in socioeconomic attainments among different Uyghur groups. The implications of these findings for research on class identification in multi-ethnic societies are discussed. Data are drawn from a survey (N = 900) conducted in Ürümchi in 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using survey data (N = 1,600) collected in Urumchi in Xinjiang, China, this paper examines the Han-Uyghur gap in schooling and offers a nuanced account of educational stratification by ethnicity in urban China. Data analysis shows that Han Chinese are more likely than Uyghurs to receive schooling, and the ethnic variation persists when holding main background characteristics constant. However, the differences in schooling between Han and Uyghur men fade away when background characteristics are controlled for, whereas no similar patterns are found among women. Gender roles account for both ethnic parity in schooling between Han and Uyghur men and ethnic inequality in schooling between Han and Uyghur women, which underlies the overall Han-Uyghur gap in educational attainment in Ürümchi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been little research conducted on economic beliefs among Uyghurs in Xinjiang, although they are part of the reason Uyghurs have developed feelings of relative deprivation and unfairness. Do most, Uyghurs support economic individualism, which holds that the poor are responsible for their misfortunes, economic inequality is good, and the government should not interfere in the economy? Or do they endorse economic communitarianism, which holds that the government shall provide for the poor and reduce inequality via intervention? Are there some people in the Uyghur community who are more economically communitarian than others? Are Uyghur economic beliefs related to the usual socio-demographic measures such as age, sex, education, occupational attainment and income? Is there a religious influence on Uyghur economic attitudes? If not, how can Uyghur economic preferences be accounted for? This paper addresses these questions using data from a survey conducted in Ürümchi in 2007. It shows that the vast majority of Uyghurs endorse economic communitarianism. In addition to Islamic orthodoxy, Uyghur consciousness is related to this endorsement. However, Uyghur socioeconomic status is not correlated with their economic preferences. This is partly because Uyghur-Han inequality affects Uyghur attitudes more than intra-group differentiation in social status among Uyghurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the inter-group difference in social leverage ties between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in Ürümchi, China. Social leverage ties refer to high-status ties such as professionals and managers who can provide egos with information or access to education, training, employment, etc. Existing studies have suggested three hypotheses (i.e. retention of culture, homophily and neighbourhood poverty) for the mechanisms of ethnic differences in network composition. Based on the survey data the author collected in 2005, this paper suggests another main mechanism – state policies – in explaining the ethnic variations. State policies have led to in-group association and ethnic inequalities, which have limited Uyghur access to high-status individuals. Data analysis shows the Uyghur–Han difference in social leverage ties controlling for key background characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article asks: is the cost of being Uyghurs higher for young Uyghurs than for old Uyghurs in Ürümchi? I address this question with data from a survey of 2,947 people conducted in Ürümchi in 2005. The cost of being Uyghurs refers to the extent of economic inequality in the earnings of Han Chinese and Uyghurs. I develop three hypotheses on the effect of age on earnings differentials between Han Chinese and Uyghurs. Data analyses show that although young Uyghurs are better educated and earn more than old Uyghurs, they are more likely than old Uyghurs to suffer from being Uyghurs in Ürümchi. This finding has policy implications for the reduction of ethnic disparity in Xinjiang [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 5 July event in Urumqi inspired rethinking about Beijing's policy towards Xinjiang. This paper will examine Beijing's interests in Xinjiang from historical, political, economic and security perspectives, and the challenges Beijing faces in pursuing and protecting its interests. By examining the tensions between the Han and ethnic minorities, especially the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the paper argues that the Xinjiang issue involves China's core interests and the most serious challenge Beijing faces is how to cope with ethnic tension in a highly sensitive region surrounded by big powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses income inequality between the Han Chinese and Uyghur ethnic groups of Urumqi, China, which is thought to be one of the factors which led to violent ethnic conflict in the region during 2009. The question of how to quantify the income disparity, in the absence of any recognition by the country's Communist rulers that it even exists, is addressed. Whether inequalities can be attributed to discrimination or to differing educational patterns between ethnic groups is also discussed.

The article focuses on a paper which explores on Han-Uyghur inequality through the comparison of Han and Uyghur migrants at Urumqi, Xinjiang in China. It says that base on a survey of 30 sites conducted in 2008, it is crucial to consider the role of self-initiated migration. It states that through the analyses of migration characteristics, findings show that Uyghur migrants do not seem disfavored compared to Han migrants. Moreover, heterogeneity of Urumqi's labor market is also investigated.

Focuses on the division of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjian, China. Grievances of the Uighurs against China; Repression of the Uighurs; Assessment of the policies toward the Uighurs pursued by China, the U.S., and the Central Asian nations.

The article discusses a 1-year campaign launched by China in May 2014 to crack down on terrorism and uncover terrorist networks and extremist groups. Topics discussed include crackdown in Urumqi where armed personnel carriers and groups of uniformed soldiers with machine guns carry out patrols, the impact of China's crackdown on terrorists on different sectors of society and on Uighurs and the internationalization of Uighur militancy that led China to reassess its counter-terrorism strategy.