by John Galt
February 28, 2012 18:15 ET
Of course, few people remember the days of Mao but those of us old enough to remember the “Cold War” and all of the bloodshed associated with it remember not just the violence, but constant threats to world peace erupting in various corners of the planet. Fast forward to a little covered story tonight, at least on the U.S. news or your local papers, regarding another ethnic riot erupting in the economically booming utopia known as Communist China.
From the BBC (click on title to read the full article):
China violence: 12 dead in Kashgar city in Xinjiang
Excerpted:
Chinese state media says 12 people have died in riots near the north-western city of Kashgar in Xinjiang province.The Xinhua news agency reported that rioters killed 10 people, while police shot dead two of the rioters.
The report gives no detail as to what might have triggered the violence.
Security has been high in the north-western province since riots in 2009 in the capital Urumqi between the Muslim Uighurs, who are the largest ethnic group, and Han Chinese migrants.
Nearly 200 people were killed in that unrest, most of them Han, according to officials.
Uighur grievancesTuesday’s violence took place in a market in Yecheng county, according to Xinhua, which says police are still hunting some of the rioters.
Almost half of Xinjiang’s residents are Uighurs, Turkic-speaking Muslims with cultural and ethnic links to Central Asia.
Many complain that large-scale migration of Han Chinese workers from the east has cost them jobs and is eroding their culture.
China has invested heavily in Xinjiang and the region’s rich oil and gas deposits are vital to its booming economy.
Oops. So much for the happy place where communism quells discontent and the “Chinese model” as some Keynesian and Western economists would have one believe. In the mean time from Xinhua News:
China denies shooting at Vietnamese boat
English.news.cn 2012-02-27 03:20:11
BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) — China’s maritime law enforcement agency declared on Sunday that recent media reports of Chinese patrol ships shooting at a Vietnamese fishing boat were untrue.
According to a statement of the China Marine Surveillance (CMS) under the State Oceanic Administration, the CMS has recently carried out a routine patrol in the waters around the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, over which China claims indisputable sovereignty.
However, the CMS ships did not have any clash with any Vietnamese boats, not to mention a so-called shooting incident, the statement said.
A report on the Chinese version website of Kyodo News on Saturday quoted an Vietnamese official as saying that a Vietnamese fishing boat was shot and damaged by some CMS ships around the Xisha Islands.
Thankfully under our current U.S. President none of this can be true as we have achieved “Peace in our Time.”