Source: The Economist:
IN SHANSHAN county in the western region of Xinjiang, efforts in May to promote “ethnic-harmony education month” were declared a success after official lecture teams delivered more than 100 speeches on the topic to 80,000, mostly Muslim, residents. On June 26th it became clear that their hard work had failed, as 35 people were killed in Shanshan in the bloodiest outbreak of ethnic violence in Xinjiang for four years. The government, as usual, has blamed Islamic terrorists.
The unrest, in Lukqun township, near the oasis city of Turpan, was followed two days later by another violent incident 1,000km (600 miles) to the south, near the city of Khotan. Details of both events are sketchy. Officials say that in Lukqun 15 knife-wielding members of a “violent terrorist gang” rampaged through the town after one of their associates was arrested. They are said to have killed 24 people before police shot dead 11 of them. In Moyu county, in Khotan prefecture, about 100 people riding motorcycles and armed with knives attacked a police station, according to an official newspaper.