新疆爆発事件 中国の少数民族政策に綻びも

The Yomiuri Shimbun 6:47 pm, May 02, 2014
Chinese president’s policy regarding minority ethnic groups coming apart
新疆爆発事件　中国の少数民族政策に綻びも

A bombing attack occurred recently that seemed to be aimed at President Xi Jinping’s inspection tour in a far western region of China. The incident, it may be said, highlighted the Chinese Communist Party’s difficulty in governing regions dominated by minority ethnic groups.
　習近平国家主席の視察を狙ったかのように、爆発事件が起きた。中国の少数民族地域における共産党統治の難しさを浮き彫りにしたと言える。

The incident happened at a railway station in Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Wednesday afternoon. More than 80 people were killed or wounded. The Chinese authorities immediately deemed the fatal attack to be “an act of terrorism by mobsters.”
　新疆ウイグル自治区の区都ウルムチの鉄道駅で、４月３０日午後、爆発があり、８０人以上が死傷した。当局は早々に、「暴徒によるテロ事件」と断定した。

Earlier in the day, Xi inspected the Xinjiang region for the first time since becoming general secretary of the Communist Party in November 2012. He visited a mosque near the site of bombing in the morning. The bombing is strongly believed to be a premeditated attack made in tandem with Xi’s inspection schedule.
　この日、習氏は、党総書記に就任後初めて、新疆を視察しており、午前中には、爆発現場に近いイスラム教礼拝所を訪れていた。習氏の視察日程を踏まえた計画的犯行の可能性が濃厚である。

In the Xinjiang region, where nearly half the population are Uygur—a Muslim minority ethnic group—clashes have occurred between armed groups and police.
　イスラム教徒の少数民族・ウイグル族が人口の半数近くを占める新疆では、最近、武装集団と警察との衝突が相次いでいる。

Elsewhere in China, a car with Uygur people inside crashed and burst into flames in front of Tiananmen Square in Beijing in October last year, and an incident of indiscriminate killings alleged to have been committed by Uygur people took place in Yunnan Province in March.
　新疆以外でも、昨年１０月、北京の天安門前にウイグル族の乗った車が突入した。今年３月には、雲南省でウイグル族とされる集団による無差別殺傷事件が起きた。

The Xi administration has been tightening its control on the Uygur minority group, as it determined the series of attacks to be acts of “separatists.”
　習政権は、ウイグル族の「分裂主義者」の犯行として取り締まりに躍起になっている。

Through the inspection tour of the Uygur region, Xi most likely aimed to show his determination to maintain public safety as head of the newly established State Security Committee.
　習氏にとって今回の新疆視察は新設の中央国家安全委員会の主席として、治安維持に向けた決意を示す狙いがあったに違いない。

Xi loses face

During his inspection tour, Xi ordered the bolstering of antiterrorism measures, saying, “The stability of Xinjiang is key to ensuring state security and a great resurgence of the Chinese race.” As if to fan anti-Japan sentiment, Xi inspired police by referring to the methods used to repel “Japanese pirates” active in East Asia from the 13th to the 16th centuries.
　習氏は視察で「新疆の安定は、国家の安全と中華民族の偉大な復興にかかわる」と述べ、テロ対策強化を指示した。反日感情をあおるつもりなのか、歴史上の海賊集団「倭寇」を撃退した方法にも言及して警察を鼓舞した。

But Xi completely lost face due to the bombing incident that took place immediately after he wrapped up his inspection tour. His order to crack down thoroughly on “terrorists” as part of the “struggle against separatists” can be interpreted as displaying his sense of frustration.
　しかし、その直後の爆発事件によって、習氏のメンツは丸つぶれとなった。「分裂主義者との闘争」の一環として「テロリスト」を徹底的にたたくよう命じたのは、習氏の焦燥感の表れだろう。

Simply tightening control cannot be expected to solve the issue.
　ただ、締め付け一辺倒では、問題の解決は見込めない。

This is because the incidents stemmed from the strong discontent of the Uygur minority people regarding the rule of the Communist Party and the majority Han Chinese.
　事件が続出する背景には、共産党と漢族の支配に対するウイグル族の強い不満があるからだ。

Like other Chinese autonomous regions, Islamic and other religious activities in the Xinjiang region are under the strict control of the Communist Party. The Han bureaucrats keep a political grip while national corporations and Han entrepreneurs hold a large portion of the economic interests. Many Uygur people live in poverty.
　新疆では、他地域と同様、イスラム教を含む宗教活動は党の厳しい管理下に置かれている。漢族官僚が政治権力を握り、国有企業や漢族企業家が、経済的利権の大半を手にしている。ウイグル族の多くは貧困状態にある。

As long as this structural gap is left unresolved, it will be impossible to halt the series of incidents. It could also evolve into a chain of retaliations between the Chinese government and armed groups.
　この構造的な格差を放置している限り、相次ぐ事件に歯止めがかからないばかりか、政権と武装集団の間の「報復の連鎖」へと発展しよう。

In the Tibet Autonomous Region, antagonism has been deepening between the Communist Party and Han Chinese on one side and the minority ethnic Tibetan people on the other.
　チベット自治区でも、党や漢族と、少数民族のチベット族との間で、対立が深まっている。

The Xi administration’s strong-arm policy against minority ethnic groups seems to be coming apart.
力に頼る習政権の少数民族政策に、綻びが見えてきたのではないか。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 2, 2014)