Research On The Cultural Identity In The Counter-Secessionism Struggle In Xinjiang

It has been over one-hundred years since the emergence of Xinjiang secessionism.Ever since the reform and opening-up,with changes on the epochal conditions,international environment as well as internal society,Xinjiang secessionism has experienced periods of reappearance,extending and deterioration and become even more rampant very recently.Since the Urumchi incident in July 5th,2009,especially since 2013,the secessionist forces has been colluding foreign forces,and implementing violent terrorist activities frequently,bearing obvious aim of challenging the national authority,generated extremely baneful influences.The counter-secessionist struggle in Xinjiang is thus a political task concerning national territory integrity and social stability,of which the implementation badly needs efficient guidance by relevant theories.Therefore,it is of real urgency to deepen the research on Xinjiang secessionism and the counter-secessionist struggle.To strike and contain Xinjiang secessionism,we must start from its root causes,summarize the experiences and lessons from past counter-secessionist struggle,and clarify the actual symptoms and its suitable remedies.Xinjiang secessionism had originated from the cultural identity problem,which led to a critical issue of the counter-secessionist struggle in cultural fields.Based on the principles of Marxist dialectical materialism,historical materialism and the Marxist cultural theories,this thesis took the cultural identity of counter-secessionism struggle in Xinjiang as the research object,systematically analyzed the interaction between cultural identity and secessionism in multi-national state as well as its influence on national identity,dissected the causes of the emergence and development of Xinjiang secessionism from its cultural roots,and probed on the reasons why it had been difficult to obtain breakthrough among the over one-hundred years' history of the counter-secessionist struggle.Finally,on constructing Chinese cultural identity to contain Xinjiang secessionism,this thesis put forward some policy recommendations.As one kind of “identification” of who we are and where we belong to,cultural identity serves as a basis of national identity,that without it a stable national identity could hardly be built.Any multi-cultural state should be based a consensus among its people of specific cultural values;otherwise,secessionism would be inevitable.Researching the emergence and development of Xinjiang secessionism through the lens of cultural identity,there are three levels' cultural identities,which interact with each other and are closely intertwined,influencing the evolution of Xinjiang secessionism all together: under the impact of the transition of global culture at themacro level,national mainstream cultural identity went through changes and crisis at the meso level,which provoked ethnic subculture prominent and utilization at the mirco level,converting to an anti-cultural identification as national secessionism,consequently brought out a wave of secessionist thoughts and movements.Conversely,the emergence and development of national secessionism led to the deterioration and crisis of national mainstream cultural identity,dissolved the cultural foundation of national identity.Obviously,the changes of national cultural identity at the meso level are the key point in this complex cultural identity relation.It was the weak and insufficient Chinese cultural identity in the history that led to the cultural differentiation between Xinjiang and the inland as well as the difficulty to integrate.Xinjiang secessionism exaggerated the difference between ethnic subcultures,dominantly that of Uygur,and national mainstream culture,intensified its Turkish and Islamic labels,aimed to cut apart Xinjiang and the inland.A secessionist counterculture had thus formed and supported the political purpose of “Xinjiang independence” thereafter.In another word,the secessionist forces strived to secede cultural identity and deny national cultural identity,which could be seen as a reflection of the crisis of national cultural identity.While,the crisis of national cultural identity is the root causes of secessionism.Therefore,instructions including constructing firm Chinese cultural identity and enhancing social cohesion from the meso level,resisting the impact of global culture and dissolving the centrifugal force of secessionism counterculture from the macro level,are necessary stages of the work of containing national secessionism from its origin.Through different cultural alienation strategies,Xinjiang secessionism had been denying and excluding a Chinese national cultural identity,deepening the crisis of national cultural identity.Its root causes are: national identity in Xinjiang has always been insufficient of fundamental structural support since modern times,cultural integration lagged behind in the construction of nation-state,national modernization process stimulated ethnic subculture identity to intensify,ethnic elites utilized their own ethnic cultural identity to promote social mobilization,and the “spiritual support”provided by international factors.The Chinese government holds a consistent attitude against Xinjiang secessionism for long firmly;however,Xinjiang secessionism has nevertheless been a social malignant tumor since its emergence and continues worsening.The main causes of why it has always been difficult to obtain breakthrough in counter-secessionist struggle lie in: for long time,cultural identity problem hadn't attracted enough attention and thus lacked of strategic planning on cultural construction in the construction of nation-state,which led to the weak basis of national cultural identity and the lag of cultural integration;for this reason,it is hard to eliminate the social and cultural roots of Xinjiang secessionism.Since the foundation of People's Republic of China,government has made certain achievements in promoting national cultural identity in Xinjiang and accumulated much experience against Xinjiang secessionism;however,there are also the same many lessons worthy of our reflection.It has beenproved that in the counter-secessionist struggle,government,besides insisting determinedly on hard or rigid strike,must also construct firm Chinese cultural identity by soft means of reinforcing the attraction and appeal of Chinese culture,dissolve the social foundation of Xinjiang secessionism gradually,then ultimately eliminate secessionism.In order to contain Xinjiang secessionism by building a firm and stable national cultural identity,it needs all dimensional cooperation and support and a comprehensive and coordinated long-term mechanism.For this purpose,we must make overall arrangements with strategic thinking,base on the reality of Chinese social culture,absorb and draw lessons from other multinational states' experience of constructing common cultural identity,enhance the national identity and sense of belonging toward Chinese culture constantly.Focusing on secessionist counter-culture's tendency of opposing to the national unification,Chinese cultural identity with the character of “unity in diversity” takes the concepts of safeguarding national unity?“harmony in diversity”,cohering consensus as value orientation.The construction of Chinese cultural identity must be guided by the government,follow the principles of insisting on the guidance of the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics,establishing national citizenship firmly,“de-radicalization”,adjusting and improving ethnic policy in time,objecting to national secessionism strongly,hereby to guarantee the sound development of Chinese culture,enhance the cohesion and dissolve the centrifugal force.To contain Xinjiang secessionism from the cultural perspective,we should focus on cultivating and carrying forward the socialist core values among the Uygur and other ethnic minorities to lead multi-cultural value,we should cultivate,shape and maintain Chinese cultural identity by means of guiding people of all nationalities' correct perspective to Chinese culture,making effects to develop public cultural space as well as culture and education cause,coordinating economy and society,constructing “ethnic mutual embeddedness”,strengthening academic research and so on,to offset and boycott secessionist counter-cultural identity.