Turkish nationals arrested in China

Griffith Asia Institute
Published
Ten Turkish nationals werereportedly detained by Shanghai police for allegedlysupplying passports to terror suspects from China’s Xinjiang region. It follows arrests made late last year of Chinese nationals who had allegedly purchased falsified Turkish passports. The move is another attempt by the Chinese government to quell the rising ethnic violence in the Xinjiang region. Many […]

Chinese authorities offer cash to promote interethnic marriages

Griffith Asia Institute
Published
Parts of China’s troubled north-west region of Xinjiang have begun offering cash to interethnic couples as part of a drive to assimilate the culturally distinct Uighur minority. The package includes annual cash payments of 10,000 yuan (£980) for interethnic couples during the first five years of their marriage, as well as housing, healthcare and education […]

An immovable object and an unstoppable force: the Uyghurs and Beijing

Griffith Asia Institute
Published
China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region is experiencing, yet again, deep unrest and unease. News headlines have been dominated by violent clashes between Chinese police and some sections of the Uyghur population – recently a police building in Xinjiang province was bombed and 13 Uyghur activists shot dead in the aftermath. To comprehend the persistent tensions between […]

Chinese Officials Head to the Countryside

Griffith Asia Institute
Published
Half a century after millions of city dwellers were ordered to the countryside, some officials are once again being armed with spades and sent out to the villages of the western regions of China to try to win over the locals. Dr Michael Clarke from the Griffith Asia Institute is quoted in the following article […]

Terrorist attack in China

Griffith Asia Institute
Published
Last Wednesday saw another deadly terrorist attack in China, this time in the far-western province of Xinjiang. In what’s believed to have been a suicide attack, two bombers detonated explosives at a train station in Urumqi, the province’s capital, killing one person and injuring seventy-nine. The blast coincided with the visit of China’s President, Xi […]

China seeks strategic advantage in Afghanistan

Griffith Asia Institute
Published
China has staked its economic future on deeper integration with Central Asia. But as the US withdraws from Afghanistan, Beijing is concerned that a renewed civil war there could thwart regional development. Griffith Asia Institute’s Dr Michael Clarke spoke with DW’s Spencer Kimballabout the situation. Read the full article on the Deutsche Wellewebsite.