In a rare open challenge to one of China's most senior strongmen, more than 1,000 residents of Urumqi, the capital of the restive region of Xinjiang, took to the streets yesterday demanding the resignation of the region's Communist party chief.
The demonstrations are a stark reminder that the tensions that led to the country's worst ethnic unrest in decades in early July continue to simmer barely beneath the surface.
On July 5, members of the Uighur ethnic group which is indigenous to Xinjiang turned on their Han compatriots. Two days later, Han vigilantes sought revenge. The riot killed 197 people, mostly Han, according to the government.