The Globalist Quiz: China's unruly West

Even during the Beijing Summer Olympics, not all was quiet in the western part of China, with anti-government riots continuing in Tibet. A particular point of contention in the largely Buddhist region is the Chinese government's attempt to assert its authority by transplanting ethnic Han Chinese to the area. What share of China's territory is accounted for by Tibet?

A. 17 percent

B. 13 percent

C. 10 percent

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What share of China's territory is accounted for by Tibet?

A. 17 percent is not correct.

Riots and protests have not just flared up in Tibet, but also in the neighboring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which in fact is China's largest province. It accounts for 17 percent of the country's total land area of 3.7 million square miles.

The Chinese leadership is particularly concerned about this region because roughly half of the 19 million people living in Xinjiang are members of mainly Muslim ethnic minorities. However, the Han population of Xinjiang grew by more than 600,000 between 2000 and 2006.

B. 13 percent is correct.

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) accounts for 13 percent of China's land area, with 465,000 square miles. In contrast, TAR's population of 2.6 million equals 0.2 percent of the total population of the People's Republic of China.

However, TAR comprises less than half of historic Tibet and was created by China in 1965 for administrative purposes. The government of Tibet in exile in Dharamsala sees Tibet as having an area of 965,000 square miles and as comprising the three provinces of Amdo (today split by China into the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan), Kham (mainly incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Qinghai), and U-Tsang (which, together with western Kham, is referred to by China as TAR).

C. 10 percent is not correct.

TAR and Xinjiang together are about 10 percent larger than France, Ukraine, Spain, Sweden and Germany combined. TAR alone is slightly larger than California and Texas combined.

In addition, both provinces are rich in natural resources. While Tibet has significant amounts of timber, uranium and gold, Xinjiang has China's largest oil, gas, coal, uranium and gold deposits.