Ethnic demonstrations in Inner Mongolia will be handled according to the law and the government will respond to “reasonable demands” from protesters, a Chinese government spokeswoman said yesterday.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) said the government would take necessary measures to protect the interests of all groups, but would also act against troublemakers.
“As far as I understand, the local government pays great attention to this incident and will solemnly handle it according to law, and the local government will positively respond to those reasonable demands of the people,” Jiang told reporters at a regularly scheduled press conference.
Jiang’s remarks were the central government’s first direct response to the region’s largest demonstrations in 20 years. The protests broke out in cities and towns across the sprawling northern pastureland following the deaths of two Mongols in clashes with Chinese in the middle of last month. Demonstrators are calling for greater protection for the Mongol culture and the traditional pastoral lifestyle.
The government has responded with a broad clampdown, pouring police onto the streets, disrupting Internet services and confining students to campus. Seeking to mollify Mongol anger, authorities also swiftly arrested three people over the killings and pledged to better regulate the booming coal industry that herders blame for spreading pollution and degrading the delicate steppe on which they depend.
A state newspaper said authorities should address the “reasonable” grievances of ethnic Mongols who have staged protests, but their actions are not “politically driven.”
The English-language Global Times said in a commentary that the protests were about economic anxiety, not ethnic strife.
“The Mongolian protests ... are not a politically driven demonstration. Some of their requests are reasonable and should be responded to by the local government,” the newspaper said.
It rejected as “improper” any link between the situation in the region bordering Mongolia and outbursts of ethnic turmoil in Tibet in 2008 and in Xinjiang in 2009.
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