Police in Shaoguan, Guangdong have arrested a man who posted allegedly false information online about a brawl that broke out at a toy factory between Uighur and Han workers. From Xinhua:
A post on a local website that said “Six Xinjiang boys raped two innocent girls at the Xuri Toy Factory” caused the brawl, a municipal government spokesman said.
Police found that the former worker of Xuri, surnamed Zhu, faked the information to express his discontent as Zhu failed to get re-employed after quitting the job.
Police found no rape cases at the Xuri Toy Factory.
See also a Reuters report. Also from the Straits Times:
The authorities have reportedly told major Internet chatrooms to remove postings about the clash as it could impede the government’s policy of encouraging coastal provinces to hire minorities from China’s less-developed western region.
In an official confirmation that the incident took place, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that more than 400 policemen had been called in to break it up. The plant is owned by Hong Kong tycoon Francis Choi.
