| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article is a critical geopolitical analysis of Chinese media representations of the 5 July 2009 riots in Xinjiang, China. Significant events often define the geopolitical climate by creating a space for the construction of boundaries between identity categories and the appropriate norms for behaviour towards the Other. The post-riot reports framed the event through the prism of the global war on terror to justify a violent response to protect Chinese citizens from the perceived threat of the Other. After connecting theories of narratives, the event, and group making, the article identifies three representational tropes - the criminal, the terrorist, and the outside agitator - in Chinese documents that create boundaries between the identity categories Uyghur and Han and define how the Other should be treated. The three representation tropes of the Other in the aftermath of the 5 July riots simultaneously situate the protestors as outside Chinese society and perpetuate the claim of the superiority of Chinese culture and civilisation.
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