China tightens security as Olympics open

Mosques, minarets off-limits
In Xinjiang’s provincial capital, Urumqi, a sign at the entrance of the International Bazaar said the area, surrounded by mosques with minarets, was off-limits.

One of the many security guards in the bazaar’s plaza, which was marked off with crime scene tape, told the AP: “The area is closed because of a possible terrorist attack. It’s just a defensive measure.” He refused to give his name.

Security guards checked bags at the entrances of hotels, department stores and discos in the busy city.

Xinjiang is a mineral-rich expanse that covers a sixth of China’s land mass and borders eight Central Asian nations. It is populated by Uighurs, a Turkic Muslim ethnic group, in which many people favor independence or greater autonomy for their region.

At a shopping plaza in Urumqi, one Uighur businessman who would only identify himself as Kurban, said he did not support violent groups and valued his relationship with Han Chinese, the ethnic majority. But he also sympathized with Uighurs who are forced to live in poverty and repression in the countryside.

“The countryside is tense and very poor,” he said. “But if I talk about them anymore, the police will come and take me away.”

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