ReutersA city in China‘s violence-prone far western region of Xinjiang has banned matches and destroyed more than 20,000 boxes of them as part of efforts to fight terror attacks, a state-run newspaper said.
Fukang, which sits near regional capital Urumqi, decided to remove all matches from circulation to ensure they are not used by “terrorist groups or individual extremists to carry out criminal activities”, the People’s Daily said on its website.
Police destroyed 20,223 boxes of matches, which will ensure that the city maintains its current peaceful environment, the newspaper added, citing the local government.
The county police made the original announcement last week but it was only picked up by state media on Tuesday.
The announcement didn’t say how the matches are used for criminal activity.
China has been toughening its response after a spate of bloody incidents nationwide centred on Xinjiang, the traditional home of the Muslim Uighurs.
China has blamed attacks on Islamist separatists in the region, who, it says, want to establish an independent state there called East Turkestan.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/15/uk-china-xinjiang-idUKKBN0FK0SA20140715
Banning matches? Hey don’t give O’bama any ideas.
No way! I thought and was going to write the exact same thing, Joe(inJT)!
Cripes man, they’d lock me up in a heartbeat for the pack of lighters I just purchased!
I’m surprised Bloomie didn’t do it while Mayor. Sounds like something he’d come up with.
Ordinary matches packed into a tube can actually make a powerful pipe bomb. I’ve never actually seen this, but I read that in a book about the Unabomber.
(I’m not supporting a ban on matches, but I think that’s what chief Chinaman had in mind)
there is probably a large lighter factory in the area.
and it’s probably owned by a politician’s son.
that’s a much more likely explanation
Whoever manufactures lighters in China is going to make a little fortune, or could it be that was the plan with a few kickbacks to grease the palms?
Banning matches? Do they know how many people smoke in China? Just about EVERYONE. Taking away their matches is like taking away a cellphone from Americans. It’ll only incite more riots and more violence. I’m not kidding.