Is China Cracking Down On Muslims In Xinjiang Region?

The press ignored a small piece of news last week which expressed anger on the part of American congressmen concerning what they termed a brutal Chinese crackdown in the far northwest Xinjiang region of Muslim Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group which has been making sounds about their desire for more self government. The US protest dealt with a closed July 9 trial of 15 Uyghurs who were charged with advocating terrorism. The trial resulted in the execution of two and life imprisonment for the remainder. China responded it had received threats which led to the arrest of 82 people who they accused of being terrorists. It is still unclear whether Monday’s two bomb blasts in the Chinese city of Kunming are at all related to the separatist Muslims, but they undoubtedly raised concerns among Chinese officials who want the world to see... [read full story]