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INTRODUCTION
The 10 stages of genocide were developed by Gregory H. Stanton of Genocide Watch in order to predict genocide and put an end to it before it begins (Stanton 2013). Xenophobia characterizes at least the first four stages: classification, symbolization, discrimination, and dehumanization. As the situation for Uyghurs living under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) deteriorates to the point of genocide, it is important to observe the role xenophobia has had as a tool for control and power in the region in different aspects of life, such as religion, education, economics, and policing. It is also important to first understand how ethnicity and racism are perceived in China, which may be somewhat different from how they are perceived in Western ideologies.
RACE, ETHNICITY, AND CONFLICT IN CHINA
While race and ethnicity are often used interchangeably, they are different. Race is defined as a categorizing of humans into groups based on perceived differences in biology, such as skin, hair, and eye color, bone structure, or genetics. Often race categories are not defined in any science, but by physical appearance or family genealogy, and there is in fact no way to group people into biological racial subgroups since the variation in human phenotypes is spread inconsistently among global populations (Harrison 2020). Differences between races are most often explained by environmental and social factors, rather than inherent and unavoidable genotypes, and racial groups have invariably changed across time and space. “Race” does, however, continue to play an important role in human interactions as a social construct. Ethnicity is used to define groups that often have a common idea of their shared heritage or origin and culture that differentiates them from other groups (Eriksen 2002). Ethnic groups can also be formed based on shared language, religion, or class, and therefore “ethnicity” has a broader definition than “race,” although historical narratives underpinning an ethnic group’s identity may be based on mythologized events.
Western anthropological views of ethnicity differ somewhat from the Chinese model, where “ethnicity” has historically been defined as nation, or minzu. The concept of minzu emerged in the late Qing era in the early 1900s as nationalist consciousness increased due to Western influence and anti-Manchu (Qing) sentiment, then continued to build in the Republican era...