Media's Creation of Another "Iraq" in China

From where I grew up (Beijing, the capital of China), the far west of China, Xinjiang, is nothing similar to the wild west of America, a place where people longed for. People described it as a dangerous region, far too risky to visit, not to mention living there. The name of its prevailing religion (Islam) appears frightening enough to scare people away. When mentioned on television, the title would always contain words such as “rebellion” or “violence.” Despite government’s effort to embellish the region, Xinjiang's ideal image would always be shattered by relentless news reports. “China Says Violent Xinjiang Uprising Left Almost 100 Dead,” or “At least 50 reported to have died in attack on coalmine in Xinjiang in September,” etc. News is always true, right? It seems to be set on “truth mode” in default. It inherently has the permission of defining something or someone with a “dependable” source, no matter its content. It can righteously present one side of the story and leave it at that, while this incomplete information reaches the audiences as the truth. This is the case with Xinjiang. People only see it as the “Iraq of China” because the other side of the story was never brought to the public. The question “what happened” in Xinjiang is often answered by news reports, followed with an implied “duh, of course it’s the Muslims.” However, not many people considered the “how” or “why” of the event or situation. People there are opposing the government. Why? How did the dissent in Xinjiang develope?  Indeed, facts are facts, and nothing is wrong with spreading them to a wider audience. However, biases and stereotypes are easily formed when the story presented is one-sided, especially by authoritative sources. Despite some presses’ effort to provide a fair description of Xinjiang, the media is still responsible to some extent for the it’s general negative image, and even worse, people’s silent refusal to accept the beautiful side of Xinjiang.