posted
This is really heating up. Wikipedia has a decent summary:
quote:The July 2009 Ürümqi riots (traditional Chinese: 烏魯木齊七·五暴力事件; simplified Chinese: 乌鲁木齐七·五暴力事件) broke out on 5 July 2009, in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China. They involved between 1,000 and 3,000 Uyghurs. The total death toll has risen to at least 156, according to Chinese government sources. The Daily Telegraph reported a majority of the casualties were Han Chinese. In response, hundreds of Han Chinese armed with home-made weapons clashed with both the police and the Uyghurs on 7 July.
(Oh, some warning for the squeamish. There are pretty graphic photos and videos, particularly the ones that the CCP attempted to block)
I don't use the word massive lightly. It seems like it is due to the fact that foreign journalists were being allowed into the area almost within 24 hours of the event. Apparently, they're being allowed on-site as the police clash with both Uyghurs and Han Chinese. This is pretty unprecedented and is quite fascinating.
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quote:As Melissa K. Chan of Al Jazeera tweeted earlier today, "There is no right or wrong anymore. Just vigilantes, Han and Uighur. Mostly men but some women and even children."
We have been following her and Malcolm Moore of the Telegraph relaying his colleague, Peter Forster - as well as several others (Austin Ramzy of Time Magazine, some foreigners living in Urumqi) - on Twitter. A compilation of their tweets after the jump for those of you who can't access the service in China.
quote:AROUND 10AM TODAY @melissakchan: Tricky: Go on a government trip and get their version of the story, or go on your own and risk not getting access anywhere, getting nothing. @melissakchan: Just to clarify: journalists can go off on our own. But, for example, riot police have surrounded hospitals. If you want to check injured- @malcolmmoore: The openness of the govn't may also have something to do with the victims being mostly Han, rather than Uighur. @malcolmmoore: Victims in Urumqi had severe head injuries and stab wounds. Very few bullet wounds
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