Make your pick

It's fine to be outraged at what China is doing to its Tibetan minority. (Though I'm not sure how much good it will do us in the long-run.)

But the Western public's shocked posture actually hides rather than reveals the nature of China's main minority issue: that of the Muslim Uighurs who live in the very rich Xinjiang province.

By many accounts, it is about them that we should be talking. The problem is -as the brilliant journalist Howard French reports- that these Uighurs are Muslim. And we'd rather be claiming rights for seemingly impeccable Buddhist monks than for yet another Muslim separatist group.

That's logical, but also very illustrative of what French calls the West's selectivity.

If you're interested in knowing more about the Uighurs and the impact Western demonstrations are having on China's public opinion, I strongly suggest you read this International Herald Tribune piece (in addition to this and this).

Photo credits: Map of China, Lesser Studied Languages Center.