Half-truths full of threats

The Western media have turned the world's attention on the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. But some "facts" are missing from the flood of reports they have been filed after the July 5 Urumqi riots to "facilitate the West's understanding about the region".

These missing materials will misguide people who are not familiar with the history of China. For instance, the "Facts about China's Xinjiang region" filed by a news agency says Xinjiang has a population of 20 million, "8 million of them Uygurs, a Turkic-speaking, largely Muslim ethnic group".

What the report does not say is that there are 47 ethnic groups in Xinjiang, many of whom don't speak Uygur but have lived in the region for as long as, if not longer than, the Uygurs.