Research
Between resistance and adaptation: The place of the Uyghur language in the sinicised zone of Urumchi
Author: Giulia Cabras
Source: China Perspectives
Abstract:
The urban areas of Xinjiang have recently experienced major changes in their demographic, urban, ethnic, and linguistic landscapes. Urumchi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is a typical example of this. In this city, which is undergoing rapid economic and urban expansion, the Han make up around 72% of the population and the Chinese language is ever more present in the language use of the Uyghurs. This study examines the place of the Uyghur language in the context of the sinicisation of the city of Urumchi, its role in the daily life of the Uyghur community, and opportunities for its use and revitalisation.
Trust and Cooperation at a Confluence of Worlds: An Experiment in Xinjiang, China
Authors: Zhe Zhang, Louis Putterman and Xu Zhang
Source: Brown University
Abstract:
We study trust and willingness to cooperate among and between Uyghur and Han college students in Xinjiang, China, where tensions exist between the two ethnic groups. We conduct an incentivized laboratory-style decision-making experiment in which within and between group interactions occur among identifiable participants without traceability of individual decisions. We find that members of each ethnicity show favoritism towards those of their own ethnicity in both trust and cooperation and that communication enhances interethnic cooperation significantly. We also find that Uyghur and Han subjects behave differently in their willingness to cooperate relative to trust, although both trust and trustworthiness positively correlate with willingness to cooperate on the individual level.
