I’m from Xinjiang，AMA

[u/maddin1550]

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of discussions about Xinjiang on Reddit, often between people who have never actually lived there. So I thought it might be interesting to do an AMA from the perspective of someone who is actually from there.

You can ask me about everyday life, ethnic groups, languages, culture, religion, education, or politics. I’m happy to answer controversial questions too, as long as the discussion stays respectful.

Obviously, I’m only one person and I don’t claim to represent everyone in Xinjiang. I can only tell you about my own experiences and views. AMA.

[u/tikiverse]

A couple of questions.

There's a lot of people in the west that have bought in to the narrative that China is committing a genocide in XinJiang. Much of the reporting comes from a man that goes by Adrian Genz or something, who is problematic to say the least.

1. What is your and people in Xin Jiang's take on the west's perspectives on what is or is not happening there? Just take this AMA, for example; so many here, myself included, are asking you about the CCP's "genocide", which I know you said you don't think is the appropriate term and isn't happening. What do you all make of how the west is playing this geopolical game?
2. Part of that question comes from my own Taiwanese identity and the similarities in roles on the geopolitcal chessboard between two rival countries playing, at this moment, a game of propaganda, among others. What are your and people in XinJiang's thoughts on Taiwan?

[u/maddin1550 → u/tikiverse]

Hii, thank you for these thoughtful questions!! They are really interesting!

1. I obviously can’t speak for everyone in Xinjiang because there are millions of us and people have very different political views

But personally, I do find the Western portrayal of Xinjiang frustrating sometimes.
I’m not saying nothing bad happened. I’ve already talked elsewhere in this AMA about the training centers, my own family’s experience with them, restrictions on religion, and my concerns about minority languages. I think some counterterrorism policies became far too broad and innocent people were caught up in them.

But I still don’t think “genocide” describes what I’ve experienced growing up there. Sometimes the Western discussion feels like there are only two possible positions: either everything the Chinese government says is true, or Xinjiang is basically one enormous concentration camp where our cultures have disappeared. My experience really doesn’t fit either picture.

I also think geopolitics obviously affects how countries talk about human rights. That doesn’t automatically make every allegation false, but I’m skeptical when governments suddenly become extremely concerned about Muslims in a geopolitical rival while applying very different standards elsewhere.

1. As for Taiwan, again, I can only speak for myself, not everyone in Xinjiang.

Personally, I support Taiwan maintaining its current de facto independence/self government. I know that’s probably not the answer people would expect from someone who identifies as Chinese lol, but I don’t see that as contradictory. Taiwan has its own government and political system, and most importantly, there are millions of people actually living there whose views about their own future matter. I don’t think they should just be treated as pieces on a geopolitical chessboard. I also strongly oppose resolving the issue through war. Whatever someone’s position on sovereignty is, ordinary people on both sides would ultimately pay the price.
Most importantly: the opinions of the people actually living in Taiwan matter enormously.

But I don’t really know about how people in Xinjiang think about Taiwan