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Paper abstract:

This paper focuses on problems around the definition by media in the West of a historically native ethnic group in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang – Uyghurs. It examines the approach of international media outlets to the issue of defining Uyghurs as “a minority,” “indigenous” ethnic group, or natives to the region that is officially autonomous and therefore, at least on paper, carries characteristics of an ethnic entity or statehood, similar to the Soviet Union’s republics in the past. The paper analyzes the definitions from legal, historic, international points of view and considers peculiarities and differences of such definitions in China and the West. The major definition of the group as “a minority” often sounds controversial as it shadows the fact that Uyghurs are living in the region that is officially and de facto considered as their historic native land. The term may be even misleading as not many in the West are aware about the historic backgrounds of China’s ethnic administrative units, and very often, journalistic reports are unable to present corresponding details as they are restricted in terms of their lengths. Some media outlets in the West define Uyghurs as “indigenous,” which certainly makes journalists’ work easier and gives some clarity to the audience, but still leaves many questions and might cause certain problems as there is no common understanding in the world about the term “indigenous people.” China has been reluctant to accept the term “indigenous people” saying that the West’s attempts to impose the concept of "indigenous peoples" on Asian nations in general is a form of neocolonialism. (Benedict Kingsbury, 1998). According to such approaches, the applicability of indigenous rights of China’s non-Han ethnic groups is far from clear due to the uncertainty of the definition of indigenous peoples and the complexity of the Chinese ethnic situation and the terminology used in Chinese law regarding minorities. (Linzhu Wang, 2015). The paper’s goal is to find out if the terms “minority” and “indigenous” are in fact eligible to describe or define Uyghurs and other ethnic groups native to Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.