China | Hot TIP

Militant Uyghurs in Syria threaten the Chinese government

How much does China have to fear?

Still from Turkistan Islamic Party propaganda video
Photograph: Turkistan Islamic Party via X/Arslan Hidayat

AS REBELS STORMED across Syria late last year, eventually toppling the country’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, some were accompanied by fighters from a foreign militant organisation—one with ambitions that extend far beyond Damascus. These men had roots in the Chinese region of Xinjiang and were members of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), a group which aims to establish an Islamic state spanning Xinjiang and other parts of Central Asia.

Explore more

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Hot TIP”

From the January 11th 2025 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from China

An installation that is part of an exhibition by Ai Weiwei, a Chinese artist, depicts his detention

An outrage that even China’s supine media has called out

Anger is growing over a form of detention linked to torture and deaths

Signage of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Why foreign law firms are leaving China

A number of them are in motion to vacate


Electric vehicles in a factory car park in Chongqing, China

An initiative so feared that China has stopped saying its name

“Made in China 2025” has been a success, but at what cost?


A pay rise for government workers sparks anger and envy in China

The effort to improve morale has not had the intended effect

A big earthquake causes destruction in Tibet

Dozens are dead, thousands of buildings have been destroyed

Does China have the fiscal firepower to rescue its economy?

There is a fierce debate over whether it can afford to keep spending