沒有國民黨就沒有中國, Without the Kuomintang there would be no China, A Republic of China Story
- Thread starter CELTICEMPIRE
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There will be a little of that, but its mostly going to be about conflicting geopolitical goals.
Now as for the new update.From the 70s to the 90s, Uyghurs fought in Afghanistan against the Soviets and in internal conflicts after the Soviet withdrawal. This was part of Chen Lifu’s strategy of using Islam to break the Soviet Union and world Communism. Chen Lifu, Chiang Ching-kuo, and Wang Sheng hailed them as heroes (though Li Ao ignored them). At the beginning of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, part of Xinjiang was still ruled by a widely unrecognized Soviet puppet state of East Turkestan. Some of these fighters returned to East Turkestan to fight the Communist government. In 1987, East Turkestan was destroyed and Xinjiang was unified. Some of these fighters laid down their arms and became law-abiding citizens of China. Others decided to continue their struggle, now against China.
At first, most of the anti-China resistance in Xinjiang was pro-Communist or secular nationalist. Islamist resistance groups were much smaller. But by the late 90s the Communist groups operating in Xinjiang had almost entirely disappeared. In 1999, an intelligence report said that separatist violence of any variety in Xinjiang was a very minor threat, and that Tibet would probably be more dangerous than Xinjiang in the coming years. This changed when two Chinese policemen in Urumqi were killed in 2001. In 2002, Xinjiang independence activists protested in Nanking, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, cities where many foreigners and foreign media were present. The activists getting arrested hurt the image of China in the world. Human rights organizations, who had praised China’s progress, went back to criticizing China.
China had good relations with Saudi Arabia, but there was many in Saudi Arabia who resented China. For one, China had been stationing mostly non-Muslim Chinese soldiers (though China did make an effort to send Hui and Uyghur officers in disproportionate numbers to the Middle East). China also had good relations with Israel. One Saudi man who had once benefited from Chinese military aid had by the early 2000s come to loathe China. That man was Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden hated both China and the West, and wanted to strike against both of them. It was determined that China would be an easier target, and that a strike should be made against China first. Factoring in his decision was the hope that the Uyghurs in Xinjiang would rise up against the Chinese government.
(Osama bin Laden)
In July 2005, one Saudi and eleven Chinese nationals, trained in Afghanistan, carried out an attack in Shanghai. The militants bombed the city’s subway system, causing hundreds of casualties. After the bombings, the militants opened fire on fleeing survivors and police before being killed. At the same time militants in Xinjiang carried out coordinated attacks on the police, military, and civilians. They hoped to spark a province-wide revolution. But only a small number of Uyghurs joined in. Order was restored within a few days. When everything was done, over one thousand people had been killed. China was shaken. The world sent its condolences. The people of China wanted revenge.
Looks like a 9/11-esque event happened, except its in China instead of America. This will affect China's foreign policy and start to become militarily involved internationally, equivalent to OTL America after 9/11. Which means America will be less Islamophobic and less stricter securities in all aspects due 9/11 not happening, but an event similar to that happened to China in 2005, will make China follow to the same path as post-9/11 America. In which such an event could have a profound impact to China, in the same way as 9/11 did a profound effect to the United States. America will be less involved in foreign affairs, and focused on domestic affairs. Although that will mean that, China will use this opportunity to use its growing soft power to increase its influence worldwide and eat away America's influence.
As for my previous comment regarding anti-China sentiment growing in America and the West. Due to China becoming a growing power that will soon threaten and displace the United States, and then China suffered a 9/11-like event that could change its course. You know how America reacted when 9/11 happened; implementing surveillance measures (Patriot Act), stricter immigration, discrimination against muslims, foreign intevention, and etc. With China suffering that kind of attack, they could or will react the same way America reacted. China detractors in America and the West will use this sentiment as a weapon against China. This will result a somewhat increase of anti-China in the United States and the West, with criticism against China for intervening in foreign affairs, use of military power, and etc.
"In 2002, Xinjiang independence activists protested in Nanking, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, cities where many foreigners and foreign media were present. The activists getting arrested hurt the image of China in the world. Human rights organizations, who had praised China’s progress, went back to criticizing China."
Yeah, that ain't a good look for China. If China keeps doing this in the coming years, and will start to do the same thing to Tibet independence activists (If that movement becomes prominent in the years to come). It will fuel the growing anti-China sentiment in the West, if not the world.
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Not to mention with the rise of social media in 2010s and 2020s, we will soon see more anti-China and Sinophobia in the social media sphere. Topics of China suppressing independence movement activists, China using their profound economic strength and behemoth manufacturing industry to monopolize the world economy, China stealing away jobs of America, China's growing pervasive influence in the West, China using CSMC (OTL TSMC) to monopolize and control the semiconductor industry, Chinese companies acquiring companies worldwide left and right, China making Africa as their new playground for economic ventures and new spheres of influence, and so much more. Those topics that I mention will surface in Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, and etc in the 2010s and 2020s. Not only that, those topics will soon be seriously discussed in mainstream media.
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Well that did contribute to the killing of Vincent Chen and the two responsible essentially getting off with no real punishment and a very dismissive attitude. Also given that China is more of a rival and a challenge to the US it'll likely be far more ugly.
As for the Xinjiang thing, the Chinese will ignore it and point to hypocrisy in things like not doing much when say Turkey oppresses the Kurds or when Catalans demand indepndence from Spain. In fact China can now tar the independence movement as terriorists and extremists and once the inevitable attack hits the West the sympathy will dry up. China is in a better position to rebut the west and they'll point out if people advocating for parts of the USA breaking off would be ignored and if there was a foreign power backing might be arrested not to mention the US certainly wouldn't willingly give up its territory so why should China.
I wonder if this ITTL 9/11 in China has the same impact to the world as OTL 9/11 in America, or its much lesser. OTL 9/11 increased airport security, ITTL 9/11 might increase security of subway systems.
How did the break-up of Yugoslavia ITTL differ from OTL? Any chance we could get a chapter on Post-Communist Eastern Europe ITTL?