The War on Terror gave China pretext to crush Uyghur self-determination

Evidence

Thus, the War on Terror that Bush peddled in Beijing created the ideal domestic opportunity to crush, once and for all, the Uyghurs and their precarious quest for self-determination. “Beijing saw an opportunity early [after 9/11]. Millions of Uyghurs and other non-Han Chinese groups in its northwestern region of Xinjiang had been asking for greater autonomy for decades, with scores joining violent separatist movement and militias.” — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 603