Nationalist competition on the internet: Uyghur diaspora versus the Chinese state media

Abstract

This article explores the evolving relationship between nationalism and identity formation as it is now facilitated on the internet. Particularly, it examines the implications of nationalist competition between the Uyghur diaspora online community and Chinese state media. Since the onset of the Information Age, each party has sought to influence international perception of the Uyghur people and their traditional homeland Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) by promoting English language representations of Uyghurs and Xinjiang on the internet. Further, this study looks at the question of how each party's engagement in this online nationalist competition affects either positively or negatively its own agenda. The question is investigated through comparative textual analysis of Uyghur diaspora and Chinese state media websites and an interview with a Uyghur diaspora website administrator.