China's Forgotten People

Journalist Nick Holdstock provides an on-the-ground account of the recent rise of terrorism in Xinjiang and the government’s response to the attacks which could have global repercussions

On 28 October 2013 a jeep ploughed through a busy crowd before exploding in Tiananmen Square, Bejing. The Chinese authorities identified the driver as a Uyghur - one of an Islamic ethnic monority, 10 million strong, who live in China’s north-west province of Xinjiang. Six months later, eight knife-wielding Uyghurs went on a rampage at a train station in Kunming, killing 29 people and wounding more than 140 others. These attacks , described as “China’s 9/11”, are on the rise and have shaken the Chinese leadership, which has cracked down hard on Xinjiang and its Uyghurs.

One of the few Western commentators to have lived in the region, Nick Holdstock examines the reasons for these attacks in his new book, China’s Forgotten People, and reveals the Uyghur story as one of repression, hardship and helplessness in the face of a powerful and intolerant one party Chinese state. Decades of economic hardship and religious discrimination underlie the recent violence, only set to grow in the wake of the government crack-down and demonisation of dissent. As the issue increasingly hits our news headlines, Holdstock reflects on what this means for the future of China.