ANALYST VIEW: Unrest in Xinjiang

BEIJING (Reuters) - At least 140 people have been killed in rioting in the capital of China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, the worst case of ethnic violence in the Muslim area in years.

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KEY POINTS:

- Hundreds of rioters have been arrested. Police are hunting for 90 others.

- More than 800 people have been injured.

- Internet users in Urumqi could not go online, users said.

- The government has blamed Sunday's rioting on exiled separatists.

COMMENTARY:

LI MINGJIANG, NANYANG TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY, SINGAPORE

"This is of course going to be an international issue now. In the West, many may regard this as another Chinese heavy-handed approach to the Uighurs. In the Middle East, there will be concerns, but I doubt that will reach the levels of the governments... Other than that I don't think it is going to be a very big deal. This event will not affect China's relations with other countries, such as Central Asia or Middle East countries, even with the West.

BARRY SAUTMAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, A SPECIALIST IN CHINA'S ETHNIC POLITICS

"In Xinjiang one of the major sources of discontent is that there is still a major gap economically between Han and Uighurs.

"There are also people who object to the amount of control exercised by the state with regard to religion and there are people who resent that the Han population is substantial ... many people in a place like Urumqi, which is now largely a Han city, may find that difficult.

"Every time there has been major ethnic incidents two (government) approaches go on parallel tracks. There are people who say 'we have to think about changing policy' and there are people who say 'we have to be more effective in hunting down separatists', and I think both things will probably occur.

NICHOLAS BEQUELIN, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH IN HONG KONG

"These incidents reflect the complete failure of government policies in ethnic minority areas ... Economic development has failed to make Uighurs stakeholders.

"People who go out to demonstrate on the streets of Urumqi know that the retribution will be terrible. For people to go out and do that when they know the consequences is a sign that they are desperate to find an outlet for their grievances.

"There are profound and longstanding human rights violations in Xinjiang and they are one of the factors that led to the eruption of violence, though they are no justification for it.

"Violence will not solve the grievances Uighurs have regarding state policies and their place in the country."

ARTHUR KROEBER, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF DRAGONOMICS, RESEARCH AND ADVISORY FIRM IN BEIJING

"This does not do anything imminent in terms of China's relationship with the Middle East. This is a problem that has been there for a long time and they have commercial arrangements with Middle Eastern oil suppliers that are not affected by it.

"This is a political issue. It is not principally an economic issue. In terms of China's domestic economy, it is in a remote place and it does not have a big impact on things generally unless there is some evidence, of which there is none, that the government is in some meaningful way losing control.

"The main investment opportunities in Xinjiang are in natural resources -- oil, gas and mining -- and those are very, very heavily restricted and basically foreigners have not been allowed to participate in any meaningful way in developing the resources out there, so it is kind of a moot point. If they are not going to allow you to invest, it is hard for this to have much of an impact on your investment decisions."

ZHENG YONGNIAN, DIRECTOR OF THE EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

"This is the deadliest incident in Xinjiang in recent history... Personally I believe the government is able to bring the situation under control.

"Unfortunately...this will bring negative impact on China image as a responsible power. Coercion alone will not solve the problem. If you use coercion alone it will worsen off the problem. In the end you need to have a comprehensive package to deal with the issue, not the force alone, i.e. economic assistance, more social rights and political space. Force alone will invite more violence.

(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison and Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing and Nopporn Wong-Anan in Singapore; Editing by Benjamin Kang Lim and Sanjeev Miglani)