To provide background for the four papers on Xinjiang and the Uyghurs in this special issue, this introduction discusses developments in the region since 1991, then outlines the events of June and July 2009 in Shaoguan, Guangdong, and Urumchi, Xinjiang, as best can be pieced together from available information. It concludes with brief introductions to the four articles on Xinjiang that follow in this special issue.