Dad’s Army and Security in XinJiang

There have been some problems in XinJiang with separatists and the central government have cracked down on the trouble-makers. The first thing you notice when you arrive in the province is the amount of uniformed personnel, police cars and armoured vehicles and the constant scanning, having your photo taken and passport checked. Seven years ago it only seemed to be in Urumqi, now it’s all over XinJiang.

If it annoyed me then I only had to imagine what it would be like to live here. On my walk to Turpan centre I did some browsing in (mostly empty) malls, went to a fast food place, a restaurant and the museum. This simple itinerary took me through 9 scanners and passport checks, 3 of which were in the museum. It’s little wonder the shops and museum were so quiet. It is very off-putting going through a security check just to browse. And don’t get me started on the train stations… all I can suggest is you allow a lot of time from arrival to getting into the waitig hall, especially in Urumqi.

I noticed that as well as the professional security force, there are many more civilians who have been been given batons/baseball bats and a uniform/arm band and have daily drills. A man blows a whistle and they emerge from their shops, pulling their jackets on, fetching their batons and slipping their mobile phones into their pockets.

It does look a little comical to see young women with a SWAT jacket and helmet on top of their normal working clothes. And it’s not just young people; I saw retired men and women doing security drills too.

They are prepared for immediate attack, but in a rather relaxed cheerful way. It seemed like a daily social occassion, an opportunity to have a chat with your neighbours.

Every restaurant, mall, post office, bank, shop, museum, hotel had security on the door with someone in a bulletproof jacket, helmet, shield and baton. Many of them looked bored and were playing with ther mobile phones. I don’t blame them, there didn’t seem to be any sign of trouble. Or maybe this is the reason there’s no trouble. Or maybe there’s trouble and we never get hear about it.Who knows.

In any case, can you imagine wearing this protective gear during the summer when temperatures here get up to 50 degrees. It must be hell and I’m just glad I am not called up to serve my country in this way.