Xinjiang unrest explained

ForiegnPolicy.com editor Christina Larson has a fantastic piece on how Chinese policies in Xinjiang are making matters there worse. It’s a great read with lots of details that help explain why things are so volatile there, and how Beijing appears to be its own worst enemy in its handling of the situation. Here’s an example:

Outside Urumqi, the troubled provincial capital where Sunday’s riots took place, new highway signs are posted in both Mandarin characters and the Uighur language, written in an Arabic script. But there’s a danger of getting lost if one tries to follow those signs. If you ask the local Uighurs, they say that what passes for signage in their language is often nonsensical transliterations, a version of “Chinglish” in Uighur. There’s ornamental appeal, sans utility — evidently Uighurs weren’t consulted in planning or proof-reading.