July 2009

There's a reason news of unrest in China's Xinjiang province reads a lot like last year's trouble in Tibet.

Retailers in the Chinese city of Urumqi, which witnessed deadly protests last weekend, and other cities in the region have resumed business, the Xinhua news agency reported Sunday, citing China's Ministry of Commerce.

 Bloody riots which broke out this week in the far west of China are another ominous warning which the ruling Communist Party should heed if it is to maintain the country's cherished stability. Although quickly dismissed by officials as the work of foreign provocateurs, this violence highlights the moral void at the heart of the government's policies for future development and can't be squelched permanently with another crackdown.

A man contacted by RFA in Urumqi tells about his fears while the official Chinese media strive to portray a city under control and life back to normal.