I found it very interesting as I emerged from my isolation in Xinjiang to see what everybody was writing about the Urumqi riots.  To be honest I am a bit discouraged that most of the conversation – both in China and among English-speakers – has centered around the portrayal of the incident as opposed to the problems causing the incident.  I suspect the reason for this might be a certain fixation on Chinese media as along with a hesitancy to write about Uyghurs, a generally unknown group.

Below I have compiled a few quotes from a selection of writers, politicians, and laymen talking about either the riots themselves or the way in which they were reported on by the Chinese and western media.

“Two divergent narratives now seem to be unfolding. …[T]o summarize, in the broad Western media narrative, Uighurs ground down by decades of colonial oppression and incited by racism have erupted in rebellion. In the one told by Chinese media, “splittists” let by the Uighur exile Rebiyah Kadeer have engineered an outbreak of groundless violence directed largely at innocent ethnic Han.  Condensing as they must a long and complicated history from different political points of view, both narratives are hobbled. The Western narrative is hobbled by a reflexive sympathy for any group arrayed in opposition to a Chinese state that is well established in the role of bogeyman…The Chinese narrative is hobbled by a national myth-making apparatus that allows no room whatsoever for the acnowledgment of Uighur grievances.”

From ChinaGeeks,  commentary on how State media is adapting to this riot:

“[Concerning State media's updating their English language sites faster than Chinese language sites]…it may indicate that the Chinese government is seeking primarily to control the international response to this story, and thus, Xinhua has been focusing on the English report, which is clearly where most of the Western news sources are currently getting their information. If this is the case, it would indicate a bit of a paradigm shift in their media response, which has previously been aimed primarily at domestic audiences.”

From CNReviews, in response to a Huffington Post piece:

“One of the big surprises of the entire Urumqi riot news event was just how quickly the Chinese government came out and reported Uighur deaths both domestically and abroad. It was so unexpected, skeptics the world over instantly wondered if it was just an excuse to also report how many Han deaths there were in comparison, you know, to ‘fan the flames of nationalism.’”

From Wang Lequan, Party Secretary of Xinjiang:

“These police [referring to the hundreds of special riot police seen everywhere along the streets] will probably be here for another month or two.  People who used to take buses now prefer to take taxis for safety reasons.”