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Uighur women protested through the streets of Urumchi yesterday. According to the BBC, Uighur women and men were not armed and pleaded with the Chinese police force to release their sons, husbands, and fathers who were taken after Sunday’s riots. It’s reported that over 1,400 Uighurs were imprisoned in what has become the biggest protest in China since Tienanmen Square. Just hours after the Uighur protests, Han Chinese took to the streets. Witnesses say many carried knives, sticks, meat cleavers and wanted revenge.
What seems to have fallen through the cracks in main stream media is why these people are fighting. What exactly do the Uighurs want and how are they communicating?
In an exclusive interview, Allfacebook talked with Rediya Kadeer the president of the World Uighur Congress and the woman the Chinese government accused of being the “mastermind” behind Sunday’s protest. She called on the United States to speak out against the violence in Urumqi and establish a consulate. Though she is a peace advocate she said the Uighur people were no longer willing to compromise. “We have reached the point where a compromise is not possible,” said Rediya, a 62-year-old mother of 11. ”Though I do not believe in violence, and did not organize these protests, I believe that the Uighur people have suffered long enough.” Rebiya spent years in a Chinese prison for her political beliefs before she was exiled to the United States in 2005. Disenchanted with main stream media’s coverage, she said social media was critical to the Uighurs cause. ”Because media that comes out of China gets filtered by the Chinese government, social media let’s us talk with the people.”
Her daughter, Keke Rouzi, 19, a college student and activist at George Mason University, agreed. “Social Media is helping us organize events across the world and is a way that we are able to stay in touch with the Uighur people,” exclaimed Keke in an interview in front of the Chinese Embassy yesterday. ”The mainstream media is more and more unreliable because a lot of it comes from China. We are not turning to social media for the truth. But this hard because we are working in a country like China.”
“My mother is a peace activist so it is disheartening when China accused her of inciting violence,” stated Keke. Half or her face was painted blue the colors of the East Turkestan flag. ”I really think she is an inspiration to the Uighur people. When they see how hard she works to get justice they are inspired.” Two of Keke’s brothers were imprisoned in Urumchi several years ago for their political beliefs. It is doubtful that they will be released. China has the highest execution rate in the world and has promised to punish those arrested for inciting riots with the death penalty.
Two protesters recounted how they used social media to talk with their friends before the riots. “Facebook, Twitter and Gchat were effective means of communication,” said Elnigar Iltebir. Elnigar grew up in Urumchi but moved to the United States 8 years ago to get her masters at Harvard University. ” Since the Chinese government has cut the internet in Urumqi these voices are much harder to hear.” Elnigar is now getting her PHD from Maryland University.
Another protestor, Amanalla Azad, 25, recounted how he was on facebook chat with one of the protestors right until she went to Freedom Park to join the peaceful demonstration. ”I told her to be careful, and leave if things got out of hand,” said Amanalla. He would not give the name of the woman he was referring to but said the two met in grade school in Urumchi. ”I have not heard from her since Saturday.”
We would like to hear from you. Have you heard from Uighurs over seas or Han Chinese? How have you followed this story?
Rebiya Kadeer Speaks Out Against China in Washington, DC Protests
Rebiya’s Daughter Speaks About The Impact of Social Media
Rebiya’s Daughter Speaks About “Mastermind” Mother
Uighur Activist Talks About China’s Tight Control Over Social Media
The world is changing for the better, and I for one am proud to see social media at the center of many of these movements. Never before have the people of the world been able to share information so easily and instantaneously.
It says a lot about the government of a country when services like these are banned, as they have been in China.
Openness and complete transparency are the best combatant to human greed and lust for power, and it’s becoming quite clear, as social media is being increasingly leveraged for the RIGHT reason, who should be in power, and who shouldn’t.
China obviously has a long way to come where human rights are concerned, but I am very hopeful that this was a step towards positive change.
Thanks so much for sharing, stories like these give me hope for a better world!
I saw Mark Zuckerburg’s speech at SXSW in 2007 about facebook and despite lots of focus on other things, the most profound topic (to me) was how facebook had been used to organize democratic demonstrations with millions of people in major cities across Latin American all on the same day.
I left thinking with their international growth rate…this is going to be a game changer. I even started to think about our own problems with a congress approval rating of 9% and representatives representing money, companies, friends but not representing people. Congress will be overhauled…forced to overhaul by social media uprising…not by electing someone who claims they are going to overhaul congress.
This is a very biased article. Well, cannot blame you, since you have already choose to believe what you want to believe. But, for one thing, do not compare the Uighurs riots with 1989 Tiananmen Square! In 1989, people sacrificed their lives for a real cause and would be remembered as a changing point in Chinese history. The Uighurs riots was a brutal racist crime against innocent people. Putting them side by side with people fighting for democratic reform just shows how ignorant and self-righteous you are!
Why do you just show Uighur women protesting for those relatives who burned cars and killed women and children? They should just be let go? Why don’t you take a look at the blood and tears from those victims? There are so many pictures and videos in youtube submitted by people from ground zero.
Don’t make ignorant assumptions about what happened in China if you have never been to China or understood Chinese.
Rebiya herself may have come to realize that only China is the best place for her batch used to killing, raping, robbing and stealing to live in, where they enjoy the best perferencial policy which the majority Han don’t have, earning money without the need to pay tax as Hans do…..she now can only swallow tears but with a created smile on face, isn’t America the heaven she has ever imagined? No!!!Obviously,like a homeless dog, anyone who betrayed his own country cann’t lead to a good end, so it is with Rebiya, the bitch!
We don’t mean to hurt any races living in China, but as the influx of the foreigners with kind of aims, they would see with their own eyes, what really happened in China, and most importantly, what the races living in China are like.
Here we wanna let those with different evil aims that any batches who wanna do anything to make different races to fight with each other in China or in any other countris cann’t end itself in any good!
Christine, well said.
it seems that chinese are monsters from the eyes of outsiders. killing chinese hans->revenging by hans-> propoganda->more protests.we have seen these games played around, e.g. east europe, mid-east africa & south america. i am really tired of this game. i really do not care about what she believes, it is the ordinary people who take all the consequences in the end. people may not be living a great life here, but who elsewhere is? paying taxes,mogages, supporting families, bowing your bosses, critizing government, just tell me who is not? that is life, isn’t it? just don’t make people die because you believe something. you are not god. give people a break.
Rioters killed innocent people burned cars, houses, why don’t you? Because you have in China never han bias, discrimination against minority ethnic minorities in China, there are many preferential policies, and even not legally binding in guangdong, China, for more than a girl, but rape without jail!
I do not know Rebiya Kadeer, but the fact that she is proud defender of the people cutting off children heads and murdering theirs mothers (by the way this Han Chinese children are the only children per family at the same time Rebiya Kadeer was allowed to have 11 because “discriminated” Uighurs are not limited to China one child policy), speaks enough for me about her peaceful nature and morals.
Oh lordy…
I wondered how this page escaped being blocked. Now I can see with all the pro-Gov messages at the bottom.
How many Chinese people are writing on here (badly,??????????????????????????????????.
Firstly the RUMOURS of the Uighurs raping a woman are simply that, RUMOURS. Han Chinese heard the RUMOUR and without any proof, KILLED two Uighurs.
The Chinese Government should learn that in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, these people will not become submissive and give up THEIR land, identity and culture quietly. The Chinese need to realise that these people want to be left alone and just see the Chinese as interfering. Also, it is interesting that Xinjiang has a large reserve of OIL….
This happens in countries across the world, throughout history and it is never right.
And before anyone attacks my comments and assumes my Nationality. I am British and I was never in favour of the war with Iraq, and am not proud of British history and Imperialism (especially Britains history with China and the Opium war).
Every Han Chinese person is brought up to believe Uighurs are lying, nasty, stealing people who rape for fun, just like they taught to believe that no foreigner can ever speak or read Chinese and that all westerners are stupid and fat. I have Uighur friends, and they are none of these horrible stereotypes. These stereotypes and exagerations of the benefits the Uighurs receive (eg having more than one child, not paying taxes) are encouraged by the Government (I believe) so that Chinese people do not doubt what their Government is doing. However, it has backfired. These silly lies and stereotypes caused a riot and many deaths.
In England, a similar thing happens with migrants (including Chinese). Many uneducated British people believe that immigrants come to England, steal jobs, pay no taxes, get given money by the Government, are violent etc. When in fact, the opposite is true. I worked for an immigration agency so I know that this is not true, however people still believe it. The result is TENSION and RACISM.
Also, all Chinese people, you must understand that in many countries, the internet is not blocked. Your Government stops you from viewing information. This is because they do not believe that Chinese people are intelligent enough to read things written about their country and make up their own minds.
Read a book called 1984 written by George Orwell. It is an old horror-science fiction story written in 1949, however it resembles current China.
Read
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e716cfc6-71a1-11de-a821-00144feabdc0.html
I expect this page to be blocked very quickly following these comments. I’m going to check this page everyday to make sure.
??????????
Also..
Why is facebook blocked, twitter, youtube, but sites like ?????? ?? still up? Surely people can organise riots on these sites? Blocking foreign sites that are used by ?? to communicate with friends and family back home is ridiculous. If someone really wants to start a revolution, email and mobile phones can be used. All this is doing is making people like myself email my family and tell them all about the riots, what I think of China and how much China blocks the internet.
Also, how did China feel when Japan tried to invade many years ago? Maybe…just maybe, that is how Tibetans and Uighurs feel.
tabitha; London here! howdy mate.
First of all; I live in shanghai so let me clear something up. They actually reported that rumor thing on the news here in china and held prisoner of that Han chinese who made up that rumor. (about that ralse accusation of rape)
And the reason why they blocked those sites are excatly of that reason. The original blog of that flase rumor of a Ugyr man raping Han girl was not going very far until they started spreading it on facebook, twitter, & youtube.
Second of all, xingjiang people in big cities actually get good reputations from Hans. Only ones who believe the kinds of lies are Hans with false pride who think they are more educated than most; such as our so called tea-sheeps who run our nation. Real educated Han chinese search for truth and aren’t bias toward either side before coming to conclusion. It’s not economical for them to take sides lol common sense of good business too.
PS: Japan invaded china in ww2, xingjiang’s territory was drawn into the map during Han dynasty. And I read that in a London library before I came here.
So to sum it up mate, both sides’ media of east and west are bias. That is why stock players read all sides. btw I came across this blog without using a proxy server, honest to God.
Just think with some logical senses man. If Ugyrs were truly oppressed, why is it that them along with other minority tribes are treated BETTER than Hans.
Though she claims that china oppresses her rights yet she’s got 11 kids while Hans can only have one. She claims that china oppresses her on taxes yet she’s a millionair before she moved to the states. She claims that religious rights are denied to minorities yet xingjiang is free to practice Islam. Oh, and did I mention that she started out a broke ass sister on the street? So what does that tell you? Minorities are free to build their own business AND practice their own belief as long as it doesn’t effect or take away other peoples’ rights. Education on Hui history and Islam are free to be taught in both private schools and public colleges/universities. Ugyr millionairs grow in number faster than any Hans in xingjiang yet chinese government embraces that. It just shows that minorities got it good in China.
Plus this woman’s own husband and children are bashing her actions now adays. Does the western media ever show you that? Her children are urging her not to stop spreading lies nor believe everything the west tells her? Either she herself was lied to by the westerners(some of them) or she herself has a plan to bash the hell out of china whatever these reasons might be. But the bottom line is; 150 innocent lives were beaten to death during that riot, and over 1000 people injured; and that includes a 6 years old walking on the street with his grandpa, so her claiming that the chinese government were too hard on the rioters and should set them free????? I’m sorry, but that’s whack.
***urging her to stop spreading lies**
typo
A mother of terrorism in China