Shadian Incident | |
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Part of Cultural Revolution in China | |
![]() Photo of bodies of ethnic minority Hui Muslims, taken in the aftermath of the killing. | |
Native name | 沙甸事件 |
Location | Gejiu City, Yunnan, China |
Date | 1974–1975 (49 years ago) |
Attack type | Ethnic conflict, Civil unrest |
Deaths | 1,600 civilians, including 300 children |
Victims | Hui |
Perpetrators | People's Liberation Army, Chinese Communist Party, Militia etc. |
The Shadian incident (Chinese: 沙甸事件; pinyin: Shādiàn shìjiàn) was an uprising of Muslim Hui people against the rule of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Cultural Revolution, which was eventually suppressed by the People's Liberation Army in a massacre.[1][2][3][4][5] In July and August, 1975, the uprising and the subsequent military suppression took place in several villages of Yunnan Province in southwest China, especially at the Shadian Town of Gejiu City.[1][6] The estimated death toll was around 1,600 (with half deaths from Shadian alone) including 300 children, and 4,400 houses were destroyed.[1][3][4][6][7][8]
The conflict between the CCP and local religious Hui people began in 1974 during the Cultural Revolution, when a group of Hui people went to Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province, demanding the freedom of religion granted by the Constitution of China.[1][2] However, local government deemed the behavior of the hundreds of protesters as "causing a disturbance" and "opposing the leadership of the Communist Party".[1][2] In 1975, local Hui people attempted to forcefully re-open the mosques shut down by the government during the Cultural Revolution, escalating the conflict and attracting the attention from Beijing.[1][2][4] On July 29, 1975, with approval from Chairman Mao Zedong, some 10,000 soldiers from the People's Liberation Army received direct order from Deng Xiaoping to crack down on the uprising (some sources state that the direct order was from Wang Hongwen[9][10]), resulting in a mass killing of Hui people which lasted for about a week.[1][2][6]
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