China to lift Internet, phone bans in Xinjiang: state media

BEIJING — China plans to restore online access and lift a ban on text messages and international calls in Xinjiang, state media said Tuesday, months after deadly ethnic unrest prompted a communications shutdown.

The official Xinhua news agency quoted the regional government as saying it had restored access to part of the wire's website as well as parts of the website of the state-run People's Daily newspaper.

"And according to relevant circumstances, (the government) will gradually restore access to other websites and Internet services, and open up mobile text messages and international long-distance phone services," the report said.

Riots erupted in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi on July 5, pitting mainly Muslim Uighurs against China's majority Han. A total of 197 people were killed, according to official data, in the worst ethnic violence in China in decades.

Authorities quickly reacted by restricting the flow of information going in and out of the region.

The government says terrorists, separatists and religious extremists used the Internet, telephones and mobile text messages to spread rumors and hatred as the July violence erupted.

But residents in Xinjiang complained that they remained isolated from the outside world due to the long-lasting Internet and phone cuts, and some businesses were even forced to relocate to other parts of China.

"The overall situation in the region is stable, and the regional party and government decided to gradually restore communication services from December 28 after careful consideration and the central government's approval," the report said.