China moves to quell Uighur protests

China has now imposed a curfew in the mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang.

The announcement was made by the city’s communist boss Li Zhi in a televised speech.

In a sign of government alarm over the outpouring of anger, Li Zhi rode through the streets on the top of a police vehicle, using a bullhorn to beg protesters to calm down and go home.

Xinjiang has long been a hotbed of ethnic tensions, fostered by a yawning economic gap between Uighurs and Han Chinese, government policies on religion and culture, and an influx of Han Chinese migrants, who now are in the majority in most key cities.

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tags: China, Demonstration