I haven't seen the news--What is this all about?
My limited understanding is that in a relatively remote province the locals, Uighurs, are muslim and not ethnically chinese.
I gather there have been some mineral/oil finds in the province over recent times and as a result the PRC has been investing there and a lot of Han chinese have moved there and presumably taken a lot of the better jobs/wealth.
The Uighurs are unhappy about the number of non-mulsim Han chinese coming to their province, now there is some economic opportunity, apparently before the mineral finds the province was more or less ignored/left alone/left behind by the rest of China.
In addition the muslims say they have been historically treated as second class citizens.
So it comes down to the same deal as always, money, ethnicity and/or religion.
As always there are multiple view points, but thats the gist of what I have read in the media reports I've seen.
