While it is true that the Chinese government is harsh with respect to its minorities, given the historical backdrop of the region, particularly in the 1860's, it's understandable that China would want to integrate the Moslem population to avoid a repetition of the separatist conflicts that plagued the past.

Perhaps the Moslems there will have to bite the bullet and confine their nationalist aspirations to quaint "cultural" displays; it's humiliating, but a one-on-one conflict with the Han people would be vastly more humiliating, as it was in the last century.

Wow, let's not get revisionists here. A quick study of history books published outside of China will tell you that the Uighur people were fighting with Manchu (Qing dynasty), Tibetan, and Russian (first Czarists, then the Soviets) control for independence for much longer than their more recent struggle with Han Chinese. It’s not an one-on-one fight as you mentioned… more like an one-on-all conflict.