Leah Weiler

MA Candidate, School of International Development and Global Studies

University of Ottawa

Supervisor: Dr. Huhua Cao

Committee Members: Dr. Jean-Philippe Leblond and Dr. Christoph

Zuercher

June 23, 2015

Navigating Ethnic Identity in Neighbourhoods of Difference

Resident Perceptions of Urban Space in Ürümqi, China

Ürümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), China

Intercultural contact point, vast

natural resources

Han migration to Xinjiang,

suppression of Uyghur religious and

cultural traditions

Inclusive (urban) development is

greatly needed and increasingly far

from reach

Research Questions, Literature, and Methodology

Research Questions: How are

ethnic identity and urban space

understood by residents in Ürümqi?

How do these perceptions compare

by neighbourhood and ethnic group?

Critical urban theory (Harvey

1968; Lefebvre 1968; Marcuse 2010)

and contemporary Chinese political

thought (Chen 2012; Liu 1996)

Methods: Questionnaire and focus groups in two neighbourhoods to explore perceptions of ethni - 46 Uyghur, 47 Han and 1 Hui respondent - 58 females and 32 males (8.5% unspecified)c and neighbourhood identity in Ürümqi’s public spaces.

Conceptual model

1. Social unrest is concentrated in lower socio-economic neighbourhoods; migrant and ethnic minority populations viewed with distrust

2. Official signage in Ürümqi is at least “somewhat bilingual” vs. discontent over inaccuracies in Uyghur signage

3. Significantly higher rates of non-response from Uyghur participants to questions of exclusion

4. Perceptions of the city appear linked to neighbourhood and ethnic identity

-Shorter-term tenants associated with deteriorating infrastructure,

increasing crime in the neighbourhood

-Discontent with neighbourhood maintenance is associated with

discriminatory management

Questionnaire & Focus Group Data

Building a common vision of Ürümqi: Improving livelihoods

Neighbourhoods with lower socio-economic outcomes as the loci of discontent

-Inequality between the coast/inland, urban/rural, majority/minority

Economic growth insufficient to prevent/address social unrest

- Hukou system creates a two-tiered form of citizenship

- Housing / social services no longer solely administered by the danwei

Will China’s first national urbanization plan ameliorate social and economic conditions? (Chan 2014)

Building a common vision of Ürümqi: Supporting bilingualism

Deterioration of Uyghur-Han relations linked to declining bilingualism

- Bilingualism policy under Mao Zedong vs. today

- Mandarin-mandated education system violates Chinese laws for the protection of minority languages (CECC 2009)

-Minority language rights subordinate to CCP stability (Wang & Phillion 2009) Need for a reciprocal form of bilingualism

-Mainstreaming Uyghur language instruction, wider use of Uyghur on official documentation

Building a common vision of Ürümqi: Fostering public participation

Conflation of civil discontent with terrorism by the state

- Continued limits to religious worship

- Self-censorship among Uyghur residents to protect themselves

- Cultural Revolution (1960s), clearing of Tiananmen Square (June 1989)

Impact of local elections on political participation is unclear

- Fairness of elections in China is disputed

- Elected committees possess only limited power (O’Brien & Li 2000)

Building inclusive futures in cities of difference

Economic inequality and ethnic tension is present throughout China-5 autonomous regions: Guangxi, Ningxia, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia

Intra-state identity-based conflict: International

connections

-Post-Soviet states

-Urbanizing ethnically heterogeneous states

Future directions for research

- Relationship between ethnic

identity and sense of place

- Public participation in

non-democratic states

- Impact of national urbanization strategy on

socio-economic inequalities

- Evolution and impact of language policies on

ethnic minorities in China

Selected Bibliography Chan, K.W. (2014). China's urbanization 2020: a new blueprint and direction.

Eurasion Geography and Economics 55(1): 1 - 9. Chen, M. (2012). Modernity and confucian political philosophy in a globalized

world. In F. Dallmayr & T. Zhao (eds.), Contemporary chinese political thought: Debates and perspectives (pp. 110 - 130). Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky.

Congressional-Executive Commission on China [CECC] (2009). 2009 annual report. Retrieved from http://www.cecc.gov/publications/annual-reports/2009-annual-report#IV. Xinjiang.

Harvey, D. (1978). Social justice and the city. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Lefebvre, H. (1968). Le droit à la ville. Paris: Éditions Anthropos. Liu, S. (1996). Confucian ideals and the real world. in W. Tu (ed.), Confucian

traditions in east asian modernity (pp. 92 - 112). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Marcuse, P. (2010). Spatial justice: Derivative but causal of social justice. in B Bret, O. Gervais-Lambony, C. Hancock & F. Landy (eds.), Justice et injustices spatiales (pp. 1 - 9). Paris: Presses Univeritaires de Paris Ouest.

O'Brien, K., & Li, L. (2000). Accommodating 'democracy' in a one-party state: Introducing village elections in China. The China Quarterly 162: 465 - 489.

Wang, Y. & Phillion, J. (2009). Minority language policy and practice in China: The need for multicultural education. International journal of multicultural education. 11(1): 1 – 14.