Over the past month or two, I have noticed a marked increase in terrorist attacks in China. A few years ago at the height of the Iraqi insurgency, I was very surprised by the peace in China, given its significant Muslim population. Perhaps terrorist attacks in China simply didn’t reach Western media back then. But I’m pretty sure that Chinese Muslims had been relatively inactive until just recently in the run-up to the Olympic games in Beijing. Just in the past month, there have been several well-publicized attacks in Xinjiang province. And just today, two Americans and their Chinese tour guide were attacked by a madman (though I guess it doesn’t really count as a terrorist attack). And now, apparently, four bomb blasts have just rocked the city of Urumqi (the capital of Xinjiang).
It is interesting but unsurprising that terrorist attacks in China have escalated in the run-up to the Olympics. However, I see two issues that might arise after the Olympics -
- What if the terrorists continue their attacks?
- And, even more ominous, what if the terrorists create an “international movement” in China (like they did in Iraq and Afghanistan)?
Tags: attacks in Xinjiang, beijing olympics, growing terrorist threat in China, terrorism, terrorism during the Olympics, Uighur insurgency
