Violent Unrest In China

Most people are well-aware that China has had problems in pacifying Tibet since they occupied it and claimed it as a part of China. The Tibetans still have dreams of being an independent country, as they once were. But people generally think that the rest of China is peaceful and fairly happy with the national government of China. That is just not true.

For instance, consider the case of Xinjiang province in the northwestern province of China. The Han Chinese share that province with 8 million people of a different ethnicity -- the Uighurs. The Uighurs are Muslims, For decades, they have wanted to be independent of China.

In fact, Xinjiang province has experienced violence as recently as last week. China's state media is reporting that three people have been killed and at least twenty injured in this latest outbreak of violence. One eyewitness told Reuters, "It started as a few hundred, and then there were easily over 1,000 involved."

An American studying in the region said he saw protesters smashing bus windows and overturning police barriers. He said the police responded with batons, fire hoses and tear gas. Then after nightfall, more police and soldiers flooded into the city of Urumqi. Uighurs in Japan and Germany said they had received reports of many arrests.

This isn't anything new. The Uighurs have maintained a fairly low-level campaign against the Chinese government, and it sporadically breaks out into violence. Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department released a report saying "severe cultural and religious repression" had increased in Xinjiang province.

In an effort to get more oil for their rapid industrial growth, the Chinese have been trying to convince Muslims in the Middle East that they are an ally. The continuing unrest in Xinjiang shows that is just a lie. The Chinese repression of the Muslim religion is far worse than in any Western country.

UPDATE-- It seems the riots in Xinjiang were much worse than originally reported. State media is now reporting that 156 have been killed and 800 wounded. The World Uyghur Congress disputes those figures, and says as many as 600 people were killed.