Western criticism of China’s human rights record was probably also expected. But the bigger challenges have been emotional and political. [For] Beijing, however, the real danger never came from the distant and sparse Tibetan plateau but from a far more disaffected region: China’s restive Muslim provinces. The Uighurs of Xinjiang have long complained of religious and political oppression under nearly six decades of Chinese communist rule. Numbering around eight million, they have recently been the target of infiltration and agitation by al Qaeda and extremist groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Chinese authorities claim to have foiled a series of plots, although a militant group has claimed responsibility for explosions in four cities, including two bus bombings. The latest attack has put Beijing on full alert. The Olympics will go ahead with panache. But beneath the glitter lurk ingredients all too common nowadays: worry, a security alert and overreaction. The Games come at a high price.

Excerpted from a leader in ‘The Times’