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| Inner Mongolia detains dozens in Communist party internet crackdown | Inner Mongolia detains dozens in Communist party internet crackdown |
| (12 days later) | |
| Authorities in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia have arrested 52 people for spreading "internet rumours", underscoring rising ethnic tensions in the area, a New York-based human rights group reported this week. | Authorities in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia have arrested 52 people for spreading "internet rumours", underscoring rising ethnic tensions in the area, a New York-based human rights group reported this week. |
| The detainees are suspected of "deliberately stirring up ethnic relations [and] encouraging the masses to appeal for their interests in a radical way such as [organising] student strikes and protest demonstrations", the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Centre reported on 4 September, citing a local police statement posted late last month. | The detainees are suspected of "deliberately stirring up ethnic relations [and] encouraging the masses to appeal for their interests in a radical way such as [organising] student strikes and protest demonstrations", the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Centre reported on 4 September, citing a local police statement posted late last month. |
| The suspects were detained for illegally distributing 1,200 pieces of information, including "internet rumours and false reports of disaster, epidemic, and police emergency", according to the statement. | The suspects were detained for illegally distributing 1,200 pieces of information, including "internet rumours and false reports of disaster, epidemic, and police emergency", according to the statement. |
| Both the statement and follow- up state media reports suggest that the detentions are part of a nationwide "strike hard" campaign by the Communist party to tighten its grip on the country's online communities. | Both the statement and follow- up state media reports suggest that the detentions are part of a nationwide "strike hard" campaign by the Communist party to tighten its grip on the country's online communities. |
| On Friday afternoon, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region public security bureau could not be reached for comment. | On Friday afternoon, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region public security bureau could not be reached for comment. |
| Ethnic tensions have long been a source of social unrest in Inner Mongolia, a resource-rich region bordering Mongolia and Russia. Government mining programmes have dealt a blow to the region's natural environment, forcing many of its indigenous nomads to abandon their traditional way of life. | Ethnic tensions have long been a source of social unrest in Inner Mongolia, a resource-rich region bordering Mongolia and Russia. Government mining programmes have dealt a blow to the region's natural environment, forcing many of its indigenous nomads to abandon their traditional way of life. |
| Ethnic Mongolians account for less than a fifth of the region's 24 million people, and many are discontent with a perceived lack of economic opportunities in towns and cities. | Ethnic Mongolians account for less than a fifth of the region's 24 million people, and many are discontent with a perceived lack of economic opportunities in towns and cities. |
| In May 2011, protests rippled through the region after Han Chinese drivers killed a Mongolian herder as he attempted to block a caravan of coal trucks. Inner Mongolian authorities deployed riot police, severed communications networks and barricaded university campuses, quashing the demonstrations shortly after they began. | In May 2011, protests rippled through the region after Han Chinese drivers killed a Mongolian herder as he attempted to block a caravan of coal trucks. Inner Mongolian authorities deployed riot police, severed communications networks and barricaded university campuses, quashing the demonstrations shortly after they began. |
| Regional authorities arrested another 23 people in mid-August for circulating "internet rumours" that disaster victims from south-western Sichuan province would be relocated to Inner Mongolia, the state newswire Xinhua reported. | Regional authorities arrested another 23 people in mid-August for circulating "internet rumours" that disaster victims from south-western Sichuan province would be relocated to Inner Mongolia, the state newswire Xinhua reported. |
| The recent spate of detentions has coincided with a thwarted protest in Ordos, a city in the region's arid west, according to the Washington-based broadcaster Radio Free Asia. | The recent spate of detentions has coincided with a thwarted protest in Ordos, a city in the region's arid west, according to the Washington-based broadcaster Radio Free Asia. |
| "In Ordos, a herder died after being run over, causing a mass incident because the construction of the railway was affecting the grasslands and causing opposition among local people," Xi Haiming, the chairman of the Germany-based Inner Mongolian League for the Defense of Human Rights, told the broadcaster. | "In Ordos, a herder died after being run over, causing a mass incident because the construction of the railway was affecting the grasslands and causing opposition among local people," Xi Haiming, the chairman of the Germany-based Inner Mongolian League for the Defense of Human Rights, told the broadcaster. |
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