In the lead-up to the Scottish referendum, Chinese state media have carried a series of editorials warning about the dangers of Scottish nationalism. The Global Times, an English-language tabloid owned by Communist party mouthpiece the People’s Daily, asserted that without Scotland, the UK would become a “second-rate” nation. It went further by pouring cold water on nationalist campaigns in general: “The Scottish independence campaign also tells us that established developed countries like the UK are far from stable as we previously imagined.” Willy Lam, a Hong Kong-based China observer, says Beijing is worried that its subjects in restive provinces may look to Scotland’s quest for independence as an inspiration and get ideas of their own. [...] In response to recent terror attacks at the hands of Uighur militants, Beijing has declared an all-out war on what it calls Uighur separatism. Authorities in some cities in Xinjiang have even banned traditional headscarfs from public transport and offered cash incentives for mixed marriages. To students of Scottish history, the harsh methods adopted by China to suppress Uighur identity and culture remind some of the Disarming Act passed by the British parliament in 1746 in the wake of the last Jacobite rebellion. According to the Scottish historian Sir Tom Devine, the act was aimed at disarming the clan system and erasing Scottish culture by banning tartan dress but in fact helped reinforce Scottish identify and became “a badge of honour” to the nascent Scottish nationalism of the 19th century. Now Scottish nationalists are on the edge of a watershed moment in their quest for self-determination. Policy makers in Beijing may be advised to take note of Scottish history when trying to snuff out calls for greater self-determination within their borders.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:53:26 +0000
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