Is Xinjiang an Internal Colony?

Scholars and journalists use the phrase ‘internal colonialism’ to sum up the relationship between the PRC central government and Xinjiang, and the region does have ethnic conflict and a low degree of autonomy. Its relationship with the PRC centre and the political economy of Han/minority interaction indicate, however, that none of the elements of the internal colonialist concept are sufficiently present to warrant characterising Xinjiang as an internal colony of China.