VICIOUS riots in Urumqi, the capital of the autonomous province of Xinjiang, caused the deaths of over 150 people. It was the bloodiest known incident of unrest in China since the massacre that ended the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The violence embarrassed China’s president, Hu Jintao, into skipping the G8 summit in Italy. The authorities responded by imposing a curfew on Urumqi, closing mosques, sending soldiers on to the streets and detaining hundreds of people. China’s leaders may fear that several smaller incidents that have occurred since the main rioting are the prelude to bigger confrontations caused by tension between Han migrants and (mostly) Muslim Uighurs.

from the economist - 2009

mag

people are dying and hu jintao is embarrassed? please tell me that the media got it wrong..
are we surprised that this has happened...there are little time bombs ticking away everywhere...all it takes is one trigger...in this case it was a false accusation against 2 uighurs...and the han chinese got attacked...and there was so much discontent because it appears that only the han chinese were treated in hospitals...

the problem has escalated to this; accusations are likely to fly...its important to prevent a repeat of this...important message here...

dont think that prosperity is a solution ... not every body is going to shut up and be contented just because you play the prosperity card..

cecelia

but surely prosperity is one of the best solutions; why do you think that many people are apathetic when it comes to politics and at most, just put up with their grievances? many feel that protests and fighting is only going to spoil investor confidence and eventually affect their livelihood adversely. How many Singaporeans who are unhappy with thier lot are going to risk their jobs and comfort level and participate in a strike against foreign talent, for example? Any government that focusses on prosperity is considerably reducing the risk of unhappiness and conflict within her society.

sane Thomas

Prosperity certainly helps keep the people contented, at least in the short term; However, we must remember that man does not protest over bread and butter issues alone. There are a whole range of problems from perceived injustice and discrimination, religious fervour and even personal convictions that can cause strife and tension. In xinjiang, the causes seem to be many and varied: religious intolerance and preferential treatment of the Hans were just a few. In Australia and England, riots also erupted after a few attacks on foreign students and immigrants. This is evidence enough that conflict could occur for a variety of reasons. Hence although prosperity is an effective solution, we need to be aware that social cohesion is important and ensure that any niggling problems that cause division be addressed before they escalate into violence. i so clever...