Results tagged “syringe”

Looks like the saga of syringe attacks in Xinjiang is far from over. Police detained another 75 people after a number of new syringe attacks, just days after three Uighers were sentenced for previous attacks. The recent attacks have spread out of Urumqi and around Xinjiang, with reports of stabbing from Kashgar to Turpan. Worse, the deputy head of police in Urumqi said that two detainees admitted their aim was to "undermine ethnic unity in Xinjiang and to create ethnic hatred". We worry about the ramifications this will have for racial tensions that are already boiling in Xinjiang.

Three Uighur have been sentenced in the wake of the recent mysterious syringe attacks in Xinjiang, but their jail terms have not eased the tension between the Uighur minority and the Han Chinese majority or addressed the controversy surrounding the case in the first place.

A lot has changed since we last reported on the recent syringe stabbings in Xinjiang. First, remember how we said that only a handful of people had been stabbed? Well, it turns out that the actual number is around 470, according to a recent post from AGI News in Beijing. What's worse, CCTV reported that the needles are now presumed to have been filled with AIDS contaminated blood. As a result, government officials have claimed the attacks were carried out by members of the Uyghur minority, which triggered a spat of protests by Han Chinese for more forceful persecution of Uyghur separatists related to the original protests in July.

Rumors that the syringe attackers in Xinjiang were Uyghurs bent on giving AIDS to Hans sparked a thousands strong protest yesterday. Witnesses described chanting crowds marching with Chinese flags, shouts of "Wang Lequan (regional secretary of Xinjiang) step down!" and at least one Uyghur being beaten up by a crowd while paramilitary police officers watched, according to the New York Times. Officials were loath to discuss the protests, telling the Times "You guys should not be so eager competing for the news. Just wait one day until the official news comes out." Well, we guess that's what you get asking for a political opinion here.

It amazes us that China can somehow manage to realize our worst fears, even the most illogical ones. Needless to say, we cringed for about five minutes after reading a report from China Daily stating that fifteen people in Xinjiang were seized after attacking people with syringes. AAH! Members of nine different ethnic groups reported stabbing incidents to the police, which is a good sign, as it doesn't seem related to the ethnic violence that raged through Xinjiang last month. But the article is interestingly silent on the ethnicity of the syringe attackers, which can only make us more curious and more worried about how they went about detaining people. Luckily, none of the victims have been infected or poisoned so far, but just the thought of such a horrid experience leaves us with chills.