Summary
XqSu’s article traces the global capitalist forces underlying ongoing events in Xinjiang. It connects data about the Belt and Road Initiative, Hewlett Packard, and the state’s ecological development plans to demonstrate how settler colonialism in the region is fueled and sustained by “transnational tech and infrastructure cooperation” that makes finding a solution difficult. In this light, XqSu argues, it is necessary to “pierce our modern geographies of concealment and bring into view the lattice of violent relations that sustains the modern state of China and its international markets.”
Introduction
Every year during late winter and early spring, atmospheric pressure dips over the two deserts of the Taklamakan and Gobi, feeding into the strength of the westerly winds. As they interface with eroding landscapes, its sand and loose top soils are picked up, transitioning into the air and into a dust storm.
In April and May of last year, a storm swept across areas in southwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), covering cities including Aksu, Kashgar, and Hotan in its heavy yellow dust. Disruptive for the eyes, visibility was down to five meters in some parts of the storm. The particulate matter delayed trains traveling along the “Belt and Road” for several days. People were forced to take shelter indoors and all flights in and out of Aksu and Kuqa were cancelled, including 48 flights later cancelled in the capital Beijing. Activities froze as sand threw place into a turbid haze.
Keywords: Global Capitalism, Ecology, Settler Colonialism