World: Why the riots in Xinjiang? Disparate economics and religon
- There are also people who object to the amount of control exercised by the state with regard to religion and there are people who resent that the Han population is substantial.
- Barry Sautman of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology • On how ethnic politics have created an unstable situation between the wealthier Han population and the lower-class Uighur population. Uighurs were particularly unhappy with the way that the Chinese government handled a factory clash between the two groups last month, which made all that other stuff come to a head. The region also has a significant Muslim population in a country known for having restrictive policies on religion. • source