The Xinjiang/Chechnya correlation
Long story short, from the Communist Party of China's point of view, Xinjiang needs the best and the brightest to manage its profound contradictions, but the hardship posting tends to attract cadres and citizens who trend toward the "worst and dimmest" end of the spectrum.
The Center is trying to square this circle with money, attention, and smarter policies; but it also realizes its strategy for Xinjiang has a certain chance of failing catastrophically because of growing local dissatisfaction with what is essentially colonial occupation harshly implemented by mediocre cadres.
The PRC has no interest in cultivating capable and sophisticated local Uyghurs - such as Ilham Tohti, recent recipient of an extravagantly draconian sentence - who might serve as an alternative rallying point for improved governance of Xinjiang. Instead, it is muddling through with what it's got, while preparing for the worst-case scenario by beefing up the full suite of effective repressive measures.
The PRC government invokes the threat of terrorism to justify its actions, and its reactions to the occasional spectacularly bloody acts involving aggrieved Uyghurs, Han citizens, and the security apparatus.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-090115.html
