China once celebrated its diversity. How has it come to embrace ethnic nationalism? | David Tobin

My friend Aynur's life tells the story of how Uighurs have been purposefully dehumanised by the party-state

During my first year living in Urumchi, the capital of Xinjiang, I met Aynur (not her real name). It was 2007, and she described life in China as difficult but improving for Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking predominantly Muslim people. Aynur spoke both Uighur and Mandarin, and was proud of being in-between cultures". She described herself as a bridge between the Han majority, who make up about 90% of China's population and the Uighurs, Xinjiang's ethnic majority.

Aynur invited me to her home and we watched China's national day celebrations - parades of tanks, warheads, and motorcades - on TV . Aynur could not understand my lack of amusement; the spectacle made her proud of China's rapid development and hopeful that Xinjiang's problems could be resolved. Over the years, as new policies affected her work, her home and her family life, her outlook changed. The hints had been there when we first met: she worried aloud about future generations' ability to speak the Uighur language and their right to practise their religion. When Aynur asked to see pictures of my homeland", she was stunned by the sight of Scottish flags adorning Edinburgh castle. She was amazed that minority people" within larger nations could express their own identity. If we were allowed to do this, most of our problems would be gone."