China kills 140 people over night - the mullahs have nothing on the chicoms

[Monoriu]

Ethnic/religional - how much etnhic difference is there anyways?

From what I understand, the differences are considerable.  Uyghurs are muslims; Hans don't care much about religion.  Hans use the Chinese language; the Uyghurs do not.  The language systems are completely different.  Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn if you do not start with it as a mother tongue.  This is especially true for people who are used to the idea of alphabets (like the Uyghurs).  If you do not recognize a Chinese character, you do not know how to pronounce it.  Full stop (or period).  The Hans believe in education.  Students must go through very vigorous exams, and parents are obliged to support their children financially while they focus on their studies.  A lot of Uyghurs don't buy that, and hence can't make it through university. 

[alfred russel]

Ethnic/religional - how much etnhic difference is there anyways?

From what I understand, the differences are considerable.  Uyghurs are muslims; Hans don't care much about religion.  Hans use the Chinese language; the Uyghurs do not.  The language systems are completely different.  Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn if you do not start with it as a mother tongue.  This is especially true for people who are used to the idea of alphabets (like the Uyghurs).  If you do not recognize a Chinese character, you do not know how to pronounce it.  Full stop (or period).  The Hans believe in education.  Students must go through very vigorous exams, and parents are obliged to support their children financially while they focus on their studies.  A lot of Uyghurs don't buy that, and hence can't make it through university.

The Uyghurs must be assimilated.

[Monoriu]

The Uyghurs must be assimilated.

I don't think the Hans are interested in assimilating the Uyghurs.  The Hans comprise 98% of the Chinese population, and absolutely dominates economically, culturally, and politically.  None of the minorities pose any serious threat to the Hans.  Even in Xingiang, the Uyghurs are fast becoming a minority.  The general Han attitude is "if you want to learn Chinese etc, fine, but we don't really care if you do it or not.  We just want to keep the peace and sell you stuff." 

[Martinus]

Ethnic/religional - how much etnhic difference is there anyways?

From what I understand, the differences are considerable.  Uyghurs are muslims; Hans don't care much about religion.  Hans use the Chinese language; the Uyghurs do not.  The language systems are completely different.  Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn if you do not start with it as a mother tongue.  This is especially true for people who are used to the idea of alphabets (like the Uyghurs).  If you do not recognize a Chinese character, you do not know how to pronounce it.  Full stop (or period).  The Hans believe in education.  Students must go through very vigorous exams, and parents are obliged to support their children financially while they focus on their studies.  A lot of Uyghurs don't buy that, and hence can't make it through university.

The Uyghurs must be assimilated.

I prefer extermination of the Hans. One Hans is enough.

[Viking]

These Uyghur, are they muslims?

Yes.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/010/2009/en

The Chinese are being really nasty to them, and because China is not Israel, it doesn't get criticized for it's truly brutal treatment. The Uighurs have their own terrorist group which has set off bombs on buses

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/28/china1

The Uighurs have been found fighting for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and other Central Asian Countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyghur_people

[DisturbedPervert]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090706/ts_nm/us_china_xinjiang

Li Zhi, the Communist Party boss of regional capital Urumqi told a news conference that the death toll from the rioting had risen to 140, the semi-official China News Agency said. Xinhua said 816 people were hurt and admitted to hospital.

Xinhua did not give the ethnic identity of the dead, or say if they were civilians or police, but admissions at the People's Hospitals, one of the biggest in Urumqi, suggested Han Chinese were targeted.

Xinhua said the hospital received 291 people of whom 17 died later. Among them 233 were Han Chinese, 39 were Uighurs, while the rest were from other ethnic minorities.

[KRonn]

Another link on this.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31753771/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

China state media: 140 killed in riots in west
More than 800 hurt in protests started by ethnic Muslim group, officials say

[Grey Fox]

Hey Mono, how do Autonomous region work in China?

[Tamas]

Hey Mono, how do Autonomous region work in China?

they get to riot before getting shot.

[Faeelin]

Hey Mono, how do Autonomous region work in China?

Poorly.

More seriously, they get some cultural righs, but they're about as autonomous as the Ukraine was in the USSR.

[Sheilbh]

The news reports I've read indicate that the Uyghurs launched attacks against Han civilians and killed dozens.

Wasn't that what happened in Tibet as well?  Ethnic Tibetans rioted and attacked Han Chinese?

[Valmy]

Wasn't that what happened in Tibet as well?  Ethnic Tibetans rioted and attacked Han Chinese?

Why does everybody hate the poor Han Chinese so much?

[Neil]

Wasn't that what happened in Tibet as well?  Ethnic Tibetans rioted and attacked Han Chinese?

Why does everybody hate the poor Han Chinese so much?

They spawn like blowflies.

[Monoriu]

Hey Mono, how do Autonomous region work in China?

They tend to have larger garrisons 

[Monoriu]

Wasn't that what happened in Tibet as well?  Ethnic Tibetans rioted and attacked Han Chinese?

Why does everybody hate the poor Han Chinese so much?

Most humans hate newcomers, especially if they speak a different language, have different religious beliefs, dominate your economy, own everything, control the government apparatus, and keep coming in such numbers that they'll soon outnumber you.