UIGHUR CHINESE OFFICIAL BRIEFS FOREIGN JOURNALISTS ON CONFISCATED EXPLOSIVES DURING AN EXHIBITION IN HOTAN, 2003-09-15 (photo)

A Uighur Chinese official briefs foreign journalists on confiscated explosives at an exhibition featuring weapons, explosives and cases of terror attacks by the outlawed East Turkestan Independent Movement in Hotan in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, September 15, 2003. The Turkic-speaking Uighur and the Chinese-speaking Han may live side by side in a province rich with oil, gas and minerals, but their cultures and traditions are blindingly different. The cultural divide has manifested itself in anti-Chinese riots, bombings and assassinations since 1996. The worst rioting left nine dead and more than 200 wounded in Yining city in February 1997. REUTERS/Andrew Wong PP03090088 ASW/TW