Uyghur transnational identity on Facebook: on the development of a young diaspora

Abstract

How are online and social media being used in transnational spaces? This article presents empirical findings from a study of the Facebook usage among the Uyghur diaspora. We demonstrate how online identities are negotiated and developed through social media use, and in turn how the expression of identity online is contributing to Uyghur diasporic identity. Drawing upon a content analysis of Facebook sites, we attend to the construction of Uyghur ethnic identity within Facebook group sites and the ways Uyghur political identity is currently being developed online, providing insight into how Facebook is serving as a space for global, daily online interactions. The examination of discussions on Facebook sites indicates that online Uyghur identity has a youthful, emergent character, actively being explored and produced through social media use.

KEYWORDS:

• diaspora
• Uyghur
• Facebook
• ethnic identity
• political identity
• content analysis

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest has been identified.

Notes

1. The Open-Door Policy is a Chinese state policy seeking to boost economic development by encouraging foreign technology and investment (Shichor 2007).

2. Keywords included search terms such as: Uyghur, Uygur, Uighur, Uigur, Uighuir, Uiguir; East Turkistan/Turkestan, Sherqiy Turkistan/Turkestan [East Turkistan in Uyghur language]; Doğu Türkistan/Türkestan [East Turkistan in Turkish language], Xinjiang [the name of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China].

3. Ellison and boyd (2013) have recently (re-)defined social network sites in the Web 2.0 era as ‘a networked communication platform in which participants (1) have uniquely identifiable profiles that consist of user-supplied content, content provided by other users, and/or system-provided data; (2) can publicly articulate connections that can be viewed and traversed by others; and (3) can consume, produce and/or interact with streams of user-generated content provided by their connections on the site’.

4. Some people may pronounce the word Uyghur as /ˈwi:ɡər/. However, Hahn and Ibrahim (1991) state that an acceptable English pronunciation closer to the Uyghur people’s pronunciation of it would be /u:iˈɡʊr/. Therefore, in this paper, the indefinite article ‘an’ is chosen to be used.

5. Words used in Islam to call others Muslims.

6. See footnote 3.

7. The observations in this research could only account for the communicative interactions among the group members who participate actively on Facebook in terms of uploading postings and making comments. Hence, the findings from this research cannot be generalised because of the limited samples and the use of one type of social network sites. Nevertheless, there is enough evidence to indicate emerging trends in identity construction of diaspora Uyghurs as observed in everyday online communication practices.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rizwangul NurMuhammad

RIZWANGUL NURMUHAMMAD has recently completed her postgraduate studies at the Department of Communication Studies, Unitec Institute of Technology.

Heather A. Horst

HEATHER A. HORST is Associate Professor and Director of the Digital Ethnography Research Centre in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University.

Evangelia Papoutsaki

EVANGELIA PAPOUTSAKI is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, Unitec Institute of Technology.

Giles Dodson

GILES DODSON is Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies, Unitec Institute of Technology.