If the Chinese authorities were to stick up “Wanted” posters in the wake of the Xinjiang riots, they would not feature any of the angry Uighur youths blamed for the bloody clashes on Sunday.

The sole culprit named by Beijing is Rebiya Kadeer, a woman nowhere near the scene of the crime, who lives in exile in Washington, from where China alleges she incited the uprising.

Comparing her with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the People's Daily asserted yesterday that Ms Kadeer's behaviour in exile in the US had fostered hatred in Xinjiang for Chinese rule. “As clear as daylight, she is an ironclad separatist colluding with terrorists and Islamic extremists, and an instigator unceasingly fanning unrest among her followers within and outside of China,” the paper said.