According to the official microblog of the Ulaanhad Municipality (“chi feng shi” in Chinese) Public Security Bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, at least 13 netizens have been punished recently for publishing and disseminating posts through the Internet and social media discussing the topic of “Chinese immigrants from Sichuan Province heading toward Inner Mongolia.”.

A message posted on the blog on August 7 states that “recently, a handful of netizens spread rumors through the Internet such as ‘the Chinese from Sichuan are migrating to Inner Mongolia’, seriously disturbing Internet order and affecting social stability.”

“In order to maintain Internet order, social harmony and stability, the Ulaanhad Municipality Public Security authorities have targeted activities related to spreading rumors and made harsher the punishment meted out by striking hard those who carry out these sorts of illegal activities. As of today, 13 individuals have been given administrative punishment by the Public Security organs,” the blog statement added.

On August 9, 2013, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau posted a statement entitled “ ‘The State Plans to Migrate Disaster Evictees of Sichuan to Inner Mongolia’ is a Pure Rumor” on its official website, confirming that the Public Security authorities have “detained, warned and educated” those who “spread the rumors and provocative information through the Internet”.

The statement called the recent heated discussions centered on the Chinese authorities’ plan to migrate large number of Chinese immigrants from earthquake-stricken Sichuan Province to Southern Mongolia as a “pure rumor” that was “provocative in nature and cooked up by a handful of overseas personnel.”

“A small number of netizens have no knowledge of its truth, but blindly believed in the rumor, and helped spread it. In some cases, they even expanded the contents of the rumor.” The statement blamed Southern Mongolian netizens for spreading the discussion started by “foreign hostile forces”.

“Taking advantage of the rumor, a handful of illegal elements attempted to stir up ethnic conflicts, create trouble, disturb social orders, and sabotage social harmony,” the statement justifies the punishment against the netizens who took part in the discussion and online protests.

Over the past month, Southern Mongolian netizens have strongly protested the Chinese authorities’ plans to migrate about a million Chinese from Sichuan Province to the Southern Mongolian grasslands. They have used major Chinese social media including Teng Xun, QQ, Xin Lang Wei Bo and Baidu to spread the word and rally the Mongolians to stage further protests.

“No, no! We can’t accept them! Go wherever you want! But we Southern Mongolians can’t accept them! 50,000 Chinese from Sichuan to Left Sunid Banner alone, and the houses are already built for them in the south of the square! Entire Left Sunid Banner has only 20,000 Mongolian herders! Our Bairin Right Banner is saying no to them! Our Durbed Banner is saying no to them! Reportedly, a massive scale of Chinese from Sichuan Province are migrating toward Southern Mongolia; 80,000 toward Bairin Right Banner alone! 100,000 toward Ar Horchin Banner…” a Southern Mongolian netizen named Munkhmandaa said in his Teng Xun blog.

“Tens of thousands of Chinese from Sichuan are heading toward Southern Mongolia! Mongols who love their grassland are protesting!” another Southern Mongolian blogger expressed his anger.

“Stand up oppressed Southern Mongolians! Let us drive out the Sichuanese and defend our Southern Mongolia! Brothers and sisters, the grassland is ours!” a picture poster states as many other pictures and posters went viral among the Southern Mongolian netizens through the Chinese social media.

“I am from Ar-Horchin Banner. If you Sichuanese come to our land, I will break your legs!” another cartoon picture with a man in dark sunglasses holding a long spear was posted by a Mongolian netizen named Husel.

In response to these heated discussions and strong protests by the Mongolian netizens, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau put out a statement claiming that “there have never been any such documents as ‘Sichuan Disaster Evictees to Inner Mongolia’ issued by the Central Government or the Autonomous Region related bodies and no Sichuanese disaster evictees have ever been resettled in the Autonomous Region”.

While the Chinese authorities deny any such large-scale migration has ever taken place, sporadic reports appeared in Chinese official news media since 2008 say otherwise.

According to a news report dated September 2, 2008 by the Inner Mongolia News Net (“nei meng gu xin wen wang” in Chinese), one of China’s official news agencies, directors of Poverty Alleviation and Development Associations of both Sichuan Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region met in Hohhot, capital of the Autonomous Region, and signed an agreement shortly after the Sichuan Earthquake to “boost economic cooperation through combining the advantages of Sichuan Province’s human resources and technology and the advantages of Inner Mongolia’s natural resources.”

Another news report dated September 20, 2008 by the same source says that Dong Da Meng Gu Wang Group of the Ordos Municipality initiated and carried out the “Project for Resettling 400 Sichuan Earthquake Evictees Households in Dong Da Villages for Poverty Alleviation” under the name of “ecological migration” and “poverty relief”.

“I made up my mind. What I need to do is to go back once to pack up my stuff and bring my first group of people and settle here,” the report quotes Feng Yansi, the peasant representative from Qing Chuan County of Sichuan Province during his orientation to Ordos Region of Southern Mongolia.

Local Mongolians from Ar-Horchin Banner complain that waves of Chinese immigrants from Sichuan Province have recently flooded their hometowns. Pictures have been circulated through the social media, showing what appears to be newly arrived hundreds of Chinese with their families and luggage gathering in front of the Government Building of Ar-Horchin Banner, seemingly immigrants from Sichuan Province preparing to register as residents.

“The Century Hotel and Ar-Horchin Hotel are completely occupied by the newly arrived Sichuanese,” an eye witness named “T” blogged in Teng Xun. (See below for more information)