Xinjiang back online

The Chinese government fully resorted Xinjiang’s internet service on Friday, 10 months after first blocking the internet in response to deadly riots in the Western province, reported the Financial Times. The welcome policy change follows the appointment of Zhang Chunxian as Communist party chief of the Muslim-dominated region. The more media-friendly Zhang is seen as a harbinger of reduced tensions with Beijing. The province’s first-ever high-level working meeting is expected later this month. Ethnic conflicts sprung up last year between China’s majority Han ethnic group and the Uighur population that has traditionally occupied Xinjiang. The regional government on Friday said, “Internet users need to build a healthy, civilised, harmonious internet environment and must not do things that violate ethnic solidarity, social stability and the national interest.”