IN THE far west of China, the Uighur minority shares a language, a religion and a culture with the Muslims of Uzbekistan. They also both chafe under authoritarian governments that do not hesitate to use force to suppress them.

But whereas the latest protests by Muslims in Uzbekistan’s restive Ferghana Valley ended with hundreds dead at the hands of police, China’s leaders have learnt to use gentler means to end periodic Uighur unrest.

To be sure, occasional protests are met with persecution, harassment and imprisonment — but not bloodshed on the scale of the sort that sparked speculation that Uzbekistan would become the latest Muslim Central Asian state to crumble.

Nor, say experts, is China’s far west likely to see similar violence. The Government has striven for years to end aspirations towards independence for the region with a recipe that mixes tough punishment, even execution, with sweeteners such as the promise of greater prosperity.

In the fabled Sunday market of the ancient Silk Road town of Kashgar, Uighurs spend large sums to trade well-fed lambs, glossy furred camels and prancing horses. These proud merchants are well-off by Chinese standards. Any resentment at the influx of majority ethnic Han Chinese is muted by the prosperity afforded by stable rule from Beijing, which took full control of the oil-rich region in 1949.

“There may be animosity to Han-driven development, but it is hard for a movement to galvanise when lives are improving,” said Calum Macleod, a China-based British author on Uzbekistan who has travelled widely in the region.

“The Chinese realise they have got to keep a firm grip on religion and keep the good times rolling,” he said.

China’s Uighurs feel they are an oppressed minority. Their outbursts of anger have been crushed swiftly with military force, and few incidents have been reported since a string of violent protests and suspected bomb attacks erupted in the late 1990s.

Uighurs, many eager to revive an East Turkestan state in the vast deserts and lush mountains of the region that Beijing calls Xinjiang, or the “new frontier”, have felt even more isolated since the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Since then, Beijing has won more American understanding for its drive to subdue lingering nationalist feelings among Uighur Muslims yearning for greater religious freedom.

Mosques are open and prayers are unimpeded. It is a policy from Beijing that mitigates resentment. But in the winding alleys of old Kashgar and the markets of the southern Taklamakan desert, Uighurs sneer and make obscene gestures when Han Chinese officials have their backs turned.

Chinese authorities know that anger seethes just beneath the surface and have jailed prominent Uighur business- men and businesswomen for separatist activities. Officials are alert for any signs of trouble that could resemble the outburst in Uzbekistan.

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