China will have to go back to the drawing board and take a long, hard look at its repressive policies towards the Uighur Muslims who inhabit large swathes of its Xinjiang province.
Chinese authorities must be more accommodating with the Uighurs if they want to ease the tension that exists between the two parties. Slapping Uighur officials and students with a ban on fasting in Ramadan is a step backwards, as well as a blow to the Uighurs’ religious and cultural freedom.
The government is saying its recent approach is a result of heightened attacks by separatist Muslim Uighurs, an allegation which the latter dismiss as being exaggerated. This current ban will only exacerbate tensions.
This is not the first time that Beijing has acted in a cold and hard-hearted way. It needs to show more patience and a greater understanding of the Uighurs, whose resentment emanates from a combination of the state’s uneven modernisation strategy in a resource-rich region like Xinjiang, coupled with repressive measures. It gives the Uighurs no legitimate outlet to air their grievances. This will only serve to radicalise the latter.
