Snuggling up to Beijing. (Insider Report).

There are legitimate concerns about Communist China's abuse of the Uighurs (pronounced "whee-gurs"), a Muslim ethnic minority residing in western Xinjiang province. As is the case with the Muslim population in Chechnya, discontent among the Uighurs has given rise to a militant separatist movement. And, as in Chechnya, some separatist elements in Xinjiang are reportedly connected to al-Qaeda and have engaged in terrorist attacks on civilian targets. And just as Washington has lent its support to Moscow's brutal and indiscriminate military campaign in Chechnya, it has thrown its support behind Beijing's suppression of the Uighurs.

In late August, the State Department placed the Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM) on its "list of groups subject to financial sanctions," reported the August 27th Chicago Tribune. According to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who was in Beijing when the listing was announced, this decision was the result of "careful study." As the Stratfor Global Intelligence service commented, the decision was actually intended to lay the groundwork "for a meeting between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President George W. Bush in October -- a meeting that may set the tone for Chinese-U.S. relations for years to come."

Beijing insists that the TIM received support from the Taliban junta in Afghanistan -- but recall that the Taliban received military aid from the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The Tribune notes, "China makes little or no distinction between acts of political violence and peaceful protests, and also places significant restrictions on the practice of religion, including keeping tight control on religious leaders and banning the religious education of children."

"For the past six years," continues the Tribune, "China has engaged in periodic [anti-Uighur] crackdowns ... [that] amount to a widespread campaign of intimidation and forced assimilation. China's government reportedly has rounded up and executed scores of Uighurs in Xinjiang over time as part of aggressive campaigns against what it viewed as terrorism and anti-Chinese activities. Hundreds of people have been detained."

While it increasingly represses domestic religious minorities, Beijing continues to export critical military hardware to Iran and North Korea, elements of the so-called "axis of evil." The Bush administration, nevertheless, remains eager to embrace the Communist colossus as a partner in the "war on terrorism."