Ethnic unity key for Silk Road Economic Belt
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E-mail CNTV, June 12, 2015
The Silk Road Economic Belt—initiated by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to build new trade routes with China's western neighbors—goes through the multi-ethnic region of Xinjiang.
In recent years, the region has witnessed a string of terrorist attacks by separatists. Many believe that without ethnic unity in the region, it is hard for the dream of economic belt to come true. Meanwhile, inter-ethnic marriages are becoming more common in cities across the region, fueling hope.
In the border town Tacheng, Bu Aliam's family probably celebrate more festivals than anywhere else in the world. She is a Uyghur, but she married an ethnically Daur man. And several of their children are also involved in inter-ethnic marriages. Her family now consists of six ethnicities, including Han, Kazakh, Hui and Russian. And each of their own festivals is also a big day for the others. For them, their differences seem more like a blessing than a burden, if they can be managed well.
"We have four separate celebrations each year for the New Year alone according to our respective traditions, which brings happiness to all of us. When we get together, we never say things like 'you are a Uyghur and I am a Han'. That helps for nothing," Bu said.
As they sit down at the same dinner table, their customs could not be more different. Each has their own preference in clothing and cuisine and, more importantly, their own god to pray to before they eat.
Uyghurs, Hui and Kazakhs pray to Allah, although slightly differently, and the Russians to Jesus Christ. There are also followers of Buddhism, Shamanism and non-believers, too. What their own god says to them can be very different, if not opposed, from time to time. The family's host says religious conflict under the same roof is the last thing they want.
"When we pray, we are very careful that we pray in private or in our own churches and mosques, so as not to offend others. And when we are together, we respect different religious customs, such as avoiding contentious words and the food of pork in front of Muslims. The key to religious harmony is a deep-rooted respect for each other in every single detail of life,” Xinjiang resident Fu Ming said.
And Aliam's family is nothing special in the city. Across Tacheng, multi-ethnic families account for well over a third. That mixture is also found in the workplace. Tacheng is on the Chinese-Kazakh border. In the city's border trading center, ethnic-Kazakh Nazi Chilizada owns a small shop. She learns Mandarin Chinese by herself, for the sake of business, and hires people regardless of their ethnicity.
"We have employees of ethically Uyghur, Kazakh, Mongols, Hui and so on. All we look into is the ability to work, plus the tolerance toward other groups. We all think that without ethnic unity, nothing can be achieved," she said.
The small town of Tacheng is hugely ambitious. Under President Xi Jinping's initiative to build the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt', the once remote border town now finds itself on the center stage in the vital connection between China and Kazakhstan.
Most importantly, years of its ethnic unity and harmony help guarantee a stable market.
For most people who have not been to Xinjiang, terrorism and religious extremism are perhaps some of the first words that come into their minds when talking about the region. But Xinjiang is a vast region with huge differences from one place to another. In Tacheng, more than 20 ethnic groups are living in peace. Many say that ethnic unity in Xinjiang's cities is a precondition for China to make the Silk Road Economic Belt possible.
For Bu Aliam's family, they say they may not directly take part in building the grand project, but they will be a contributor nevertheless, because their tolerance and open-mindedness can help defend the close ethnic relations through every single detail in life.
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