China's Western province of East Turkestan went through the worst ethnic violence in decades on July 5, 2009 leading to a complete communications crackdown which is only now being lifted.
The conflict left more than 150 people dead (see video) . Hundreds of paramilitary police with shields, rifles and clubs are taking over the Urumqi capital, after riots.
Yesterday a local resident named Xiao Yong found he could now send and receive emails as usual without restrictions after surfing 32 websites.
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Restrictions on the number of text messages were also lifted, according to Hou Hanmin, a spokesperson with the regional government said Sunday.
The regional government began to control communications after the Urumqi riots on July 5, 2009, which was orchestrated by the separatists via the Internet, text messages and long-distance telephone calls.
East Turkestan/Xinjiang residents were able to log on to two websites, namely xinhuanet.com and people. com.cn, on December 28, followed by access to another two portal websites, sina.com.cn and sohu.com, on January 10.
Other services were gradually resumed, including international long-distance calls and text messages from banks, securities dealers and weather departments.
Internet connection, international long-distance phone calls and mobile phone text message services were cut in some areas of Xinjiang after the July 5 riots, in a move to crack down on the riots quickly and prevent violence from spreading.
"These restrictions played an important role in maintaining the stabilization of the region, but also brought inconvenience to the residents. However, people of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang have showed understanding of and fully supported these measures," said Yang Maofa, director of the communications administration bureau of Xinjiang.
More websites will open gradually, Hou said.
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