The Partner Assistance Programme: The Examination of Policies and Unintended Consequences

Abstract

Those who participated in the 7/5 riots may have done so for a number of reasons: to gain publicity for their causes; to embarrass the Chinese government in the run-up to China’s 60th anniversary; to induce Han re-migration out of Xinjiang; to segregate neighbourhoods and workplaces in the regional capital; or to create irremediable hostility between Uygurs and Han (Sautman 2010: 109). In response to the 7/5 riots, the Chinese government held a meeting¹ in the middle of May 2010 dedicated to discussing the situation in Xinjiang. This was the first time the central government had convened this kind of meeting. A new round of the Partner Assistance Programme (PAP) was then launched as a consequence of this meeting. In this chapter, we will examine in detail the policies contained in the PAP, which include a package of policies in relation to the region’s economic development, education, labour transmission, the Han officials exchange programme and policies dedicated to increasing security in the region following the period of political unrest.