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    China once celebrated its diversity. How has it come to embrace ethnic nationalism? | David Tobin

    My friend Aynür’s life tells the story of how Uighurs have been purposefully dehumanised by the party-state
    by David Tobin Dec 05, 2020 3 minutes
    ‘Xi Jinping has gradually shifted ethnic policy from formal inclusion of 56 ethnic groups to cultural nationalism.’ A Uyghur woman walks in front of a giant screen with a picture of Xi Jinping in Kashgar in Xinjiang, China. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

    During my first year living in Ürümchi, the capital of Xinjiang, I met Aynür (not her real name). It was 2007, and she described life in China as difficult but improving for Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking predominantly Muslim people. Aynür spoke both Uighur and Mandarin, and was proud of being “in-between cultures”. She described herself as a bridge between the Han majority, who make up about 90% of China’s population and the Uighurs, Xinjiang’s ethnic majority.

    Aynür invited me to her home and we watched China’s national day celebrations – parades

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