Here's how to gauge China's development in its ethnic minority regions

Watching different areas in China light up from space is a good indicator of development

China’s ethnic “problems” get a lot of attention from the outside world. Whatever their political leanings, Westerners can find something interesting to read about China’s treatment of its ethnic minorities, whether on the plight of the Tibetans or rising tensions between the Chinese state and the Uighurs of Xinjiang. China is increasingly being talked about as part of the global “war” against Islamist extremism, or as an anti-multicultural regime that mistreats its ethnic minorities.

Faced with this criticism and pressure, the Chinese government generally claims to be developing and