Confronting terrorism and other evils in China : all quiet on the western front?

Despite the predictions of many observers, and reports of occasional arrests of political activists, China’s hitherto restive western regions heavily populated by non-Han Chinese ethnic minorities have been relatively quiet for a number of years. However, disturbances by ethnic minorities can recur with little forewarning. If or to what extent they do clearly depends on three major set of factors: PRC minority policies, foreign attention, and minorities’ grievances.