feb 1, 1997 - Ghulja Riots

Description:

Early Feb, several hundred Uyghurs in the northwestern city of Ghulja had marched in the streets to protest government policies. The violent response by People's Armed Police units turned the peaceful demonstration into a riot in which a number of police and scores (some say hundreds) of protesters died. In the following weeks, hundreds were arrested. Later that month, bombs exploded on three buses in Xinjiang's capital city, Urumchi, their detonation timed to coincide with the funeral of Deng Xiaoping. (Bovingdon 2002, 39-40)