Monday, July 6, 2009

Death Toll in China's Xinjiang Province Reaches 156

The Reuters/Yahoo article starts with these words:

"Chinese police dispersed 200 people gathering outside a mosque in the Silk Road city of Kashgar, the day after ethnic riots killed 156 in the capital of the Muslim Xinjiang region, state media said on Tuesday.

"Calm had settled over Urumqi, capital of western Xinjiang region, after 20,000 police, troops and firefighters reclaimed the streets from rioters who burned and smashed vehicles and shops, and clashed with security forces over Sunday night."

EDITORIAL NOTE: Tensions between the Muslim Uighur minority and Han Chinese have been building up for years. The Uighurs charge that the Chinese population has benefited from government support and discriminate against them, but it could well be that the Han Chinese are responsible for most of the economic development that has taken place and for that reason are envied by the Uighurs. Since this is something the Communist regime doesn't wish to talk about, the casualty/arrest figures are probably understated.

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