The Crackdown in Inner Mongolia Security forces quickly shut down a protest by ethnic Mongolians on May 30 in Hohhot, the capital of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The small demonstration, which focused on the deaths of two ethnic Mongolian herders earlier in the month, was preceded by protests May 23-28 across the prefecture-level administrative area of Xilin Gol Meng . It is too early to tell if ethnic tensions have been quelled, but thus far, the regional government's plan to disrupt and placate potential protesters has been successful. A careful examination of the development of protest and counter-protest tactics in Inner Mongolia shows the evolution of China's ability to deal with unrest and underlines the difficulty of dissent in China . Disputes between local populations and resource extraction or property development companies are common in any developing area, particularly in China.