UYGHUR TIMES
The International Ethnic Music Festival at Kashgar centers on China’s red songs that praise the Chinese government and call for ethnic unity.
Among the list of performances, it’s evident that ethnic Uyghur music and dance are conspicuously absent, denying them any representation or opportunity to showcase their cultural heritage.
In an effort to cultivate an ambiance of ‘Beautiful Xinjiang’ and counter international criticism regarding the Uyghur genocide, the CCP regime has deployed various strategies. Following widespread international censure for its crimes against humanity and the Uyghur genocide, the Chinese government initiated a large-scale campaign.
On the evening of September 21, the ‘Voice of the Pamir·Xinjiang Kashgar 2023 Second International Ethnic Music Festival’ commenced in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in Kashgar, bordering Tajikistan.
The event featured 18 song and dance performances, including ‘Why Are the Flowers So Red,’ ‘Pamir Nights,’ and ‘The Sound of the Eagle Flute,’ drawing in numerous local residents and tourists, Xinhua reports.
These three musical pieces extol the Chinese Communist Party and advocate for ethnic unity with the majority of Han Chinese. They were initially introduced by the Chinese government and PLA military band during the early stages of Uyghurstan’s annexation to China.
According to Abdulhamid Tursun, a Uyghur activist from Istanbul, Turkey, ‘The melodies, claimed by Uyghur musicians to be derived from Uyghur and Tajik traditional folk songs and fused with Chinese elements, then sung in Chinese, are purely state propaganda, devoid of musical essence, and have failed to pique public interest.'”
