Good questions! I’ll try to give a brief overview, and then link some resources I think are good.
Regarding Taiwan, it’s important to understand what constitutes imperialism. Imperialism is a form of international extraction, driven by export of capital. It’s a form of financial domination and super-exploitation of foreign countries. The desire for reunification is not imperialist on China’s part, but driven by a desire for full and complete restoration of sovereignty, which was broken by colonization from the west and Japan.
After the Kuomintang lost the Chinese Civil War, they fled to Taiwan, and committed the aforementioned White Terror against those resisting the new rule of the nationalists. Following this, the US Empire has used Taiwan as a staging ground for encircling China, same as the Republic of Korea and Japan. Taiwan was broken off of China through colonialism, like Hong Kong, and historically is the result of unresolved conflicts from the Civil War and from the US encircling it.
You are correct that reunification is unpopular. So too, however, is full independence. The status quo is what’s supported. The CPC has made it clear that it has no intention of invading Taiwan, but that it reserves the right to respond to millitary attacks if the US uses Taiwan the way the US uses Ukraine. It is the belief of the mainland that as capitalism and imperialism falter, Taiwan will be economically compelled to rejoin the mainland of their own volition. The mainland is therefore fine to wait until this happens and has no intention of irrationally forcing it.
For further reading, see Taiwan: An Anti-Imperialist Resource from Qiao Collective, a group of Chinese diaspora connecting Chinese leftists to a western audience. It’s a Chinese Marxist-Leninist perspective, one that is not as easy to come by in the west.
Now, for Xinjiang. The short answer is that the allegations of genocide didn’t stick due to lack of evidence, and as such the west turned to vague allegations of “human rights abuses.” These allegations are largely dramatized and exaggerated, but still, you can start to put together the lack of credibility. That’s not enough, though, to dismiss. Where did they come from? And why?
Prior to the establishment of de-radicalization programs, western-backed terrorist attacks were common, in order to disrupt the Belt and Road initiative (where Xinjiang is key to expanding westward). These included:
July 5, 2009: The Urumqi Riots resulted in 197 deaths, and 1700 wounded in mass stabbings.
October 28, 2013: Tian’anmen Attack, 5 killed, 40 wouded, when a Jeep was driven directly into crowds.
May 22, 2014: Urumqi Attack, 39 killed, 94 injured as 2 attackers drove cars into crowds and threw explosives at buildings.
And many more. Since the de-radicalization efforts, these attacks have gone down to effectively 0. The reason for these attacks was because Xinjiang is geostrategic for the Belt and Road initiative, which is why the west stoked anti-China sentiment among the Uyghur peoples, funding terrorist groups and separatists. When China responded not with tanks and bombs but with vocational centers and investment in the region, the west pivoted to claims of “genocide,” then walked those claims back to “human rights abuses” when no evidence for genocide materialized.
The aforementioned Qiao Collective also has Xinjiang: A Resource and Report Compilation as well. This is my personal recommendation for, again, a Chinese Marxist perspective.
Hope that helps give a brief overview and a place to start your research!
Good questions! I’ll try to give a brief overview, and then link some resources I think are good.
Regarding Taiwan, it’s important to understand what constitutes imperialism. Imperialism is a form of international extraction, driven by export of capital. It’s a form of financial domination and super-exploitation of foreign countries. The desire for reunification is not imperialist on China’s part, but driven by a desire for full and complete restoration of sovereignty, which was broken by colonization from the west and Japan.
After the Kuomintang lost the Chinese Civil War, they fled to Taiwan, and committed the aforementioned White Terror against those resisting the new rule of the nationalists. Following this, the US Empire has used Taiwan as a staging ground for encircling China, same as the Republic of Korea and Japan. Taiwan was broken off of China through colonialism, like Hong Kong, and historically is the result of unresolved conflicts from the Civil War and from the US encircling it.
You are correct that reunification is unpopular. So too, however, is full independence. The status quo is what’s supported. The CPC has made it clear that it has no intention of invading Taiwan, but that it reserves the right to respond to millitary attacks if the US uses Taiwan the way the US uses Ukraine. It is the belief of the mainland that as capitalism and imperialism falter, Taiwan will be economically compelled to rejoin the mainland of their own volition. The mainland is therefore fine to wait until this happens and has no intention of irrationally forcing it.
For further reading, see Taiwan: An Anti-Imperialist Resource from Qiao Collective, a group of Chinese diaspora connecting Chinese leftists to a western audience. It’s a Chinese Marxist-Leninist perspective, one that is not as easy to come by in the west.
Now, for Xinjiang. The short answer is that the allegations of genocide didn’t stick due to lack of evidence, and as such the west turned to vague allegations of “human rights abuses.” These allegations are largely dramatized and exaggerated, but still, you can start to put together the lack of credibility. That’s not enough, though, to dismiss. Where did they come from? And why?
Prior to the establishment of de-radicalization programs, western-backed terrorist attacks were common, in order to disrupt the Belt and Road initiative (where Xinjiang is key to expanding westward). These included:
July 5, 2009: The Urumqi Riots resulted in 197 deaths, and 1700 wounded in mass stabbings.
October 28, 2013: Tian’anmen Attack, 5 killed, 40 wouded, when a Jeep was driven directly into crowds.
March 1, 2014: Kunming Train Station Attack, 31 killed, 141 wounded. 8 jihadists committed mass stabbings.
May 22, 2014: Urumqi Attack, 39 killed, 94 injured as 2 attackers drove cars into crowds and threw explosives at buildings.
And many more. Since the de-radicalization efforts, these attacks have gone down to effectively 0. The reason for these attacks was because Xinjiang is geostrategic for the Belt and Road initiative, which is why the west stoked anti-China sentiment among the Uyghur peoples, funding terrorist groups and separatists. When China responded not with tanks and bombs but with vocational centers and investment in the region, the west pivoted to claims of “genocide,” then walked those claims back to “human rights abuses” when no evidence for genocide materialized.
I recommend reading the UN report as well as (especially) China’s response to it, which eclipses it in size and detail. These are the most relevant accusations and responses without delving into straight up fantasy like Adrian Zenz, Christian nationalist and professional propagandist for the Victims of Communism Foundation, does.
The aforementioned Qiao Collective also has Xinjiang: A Resource and Report Compilation as well. This is my personal recommendation for, again, a Chinese Marxist perspective.
Hope that helps give a brief overview and a place to start your research!
Thank you, as always, for the thorough response. I’ll start with these links you sent for reading
Glad to help!