Outside forces

China has accused “outside forces” of stirring up trouble in Inner Mongolia, the site of ongoing protests by Mongolians after the hit-and-run death of a herdsman who tried to stop Chinese trucks in the area.

The protests began when a Chinese coal truck killed and dragged a herder who had tried to block its way. Ethnic Mongolians have protested the rapid encroachment of Chinese development into their lands, saying the mining and construction trucks have ruined land and killed animals.

Reuters reports that on Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry blamed the ensuing protests on hostile forces from outside of China, as it did with ethnic uprisings in Tibet in 2008 and Xinjiang in 2009. The Foreign Ministry spokesman, however, did not say who or what the motive of outsiders might be in Inner Mongolia.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said some outside forces have an “ulterior motive” in Inner Mongolia. “As for some people overseas who try to play up this issue … I think their attempts will not succeed,” she said.