Chinese Intellectuals and the Problem of Xinjiang

Abstract

<3) This novel, although fiction, contains all the themes that Wang has been interested in and has explored in his political writings: a looming demographic and energy crisis threatening the environment, nuclear war triggered by sensitive technologies falling into the wrong hands, and perhaps most importantly, the idea that the démocratisation process could go horribly wrong and give rise to a fascist regime in China. Wang is then formally accused of crimes against state security and imprisoned. Although Wang insists that this system will ensure that China does not break apart by guaranteeing both autonomy and cohesion (p. 468), one cannot help but wonder whether China and Xinjiang would not be better served at the outset by a full implementation of China's own Autonomy Law, to be completed by other guarantees of the rights of minorities as set out in international laws and norms.