URUMQI, China — The regional government of China’s far western region of Xinjiang, which has grappled with ethnic violence, has put into effect strict regulations that punish people for spreading “false information” online.

The regulations appear to be aimed at criminalizing people living in Xinjiang who make online postings about ethnic conflict or tensions, as well as related violence and terrorism.

In recent years, Xinjiang and central government officials have said they are concerned about the spread of online material that might incite attacks by citizens. In areas of Xinjiang where there is a significant population of ethnic Uighurs, there have been notable incidents of violence, including here in Urumqi, the regional capital.

In 2009, ethnic rioting in Urumqi resulted in about 200 deaths — officials said most of the victims were ethnic Han, the dominant group in China — and a harsh security crackdown on Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking people who mostly practice Sunni Islam. Since then, violence has flared in southern oasis towns in Xinjiang, with Chinese officials attributing much of the bloodshed to “religious extremists” or “separatists.”