Results tagged “urumqi”

Six more people have been sentenced to death over murders committed during the Xinjiang riots, bringing the total number of people facing execution up to twelve. Three of the six were given the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, which usually means that they will be commuted to life in prison. The new verdicts come after a Han Chinese man was put on death row for murdering two Uyghurs over rape rumors in Shaoguan, Guangdong - the act which triggered protests in Xinjiang in the first place.

Over 200 people will be going on trial this week for their involvement in the Xinjiang riots, according to the Associated Press. The trials will take place in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang and the city where most of the violence happened. The charges range from vandalizing public property to murder. Want to learn more about China's worst ethnic violence in decades? We've covered the Xinjiang riots from when they began to the conflicts of the second day to the final embers of the fourth day and into the various stories published afterwards.

German national Christoph Rehage shaved his head in the fall of 2007, walked from Beijing to Urumqi on foot (yes, all 4,500 km of it!), taking pictures of himself wherever he went, and this awesome video is what he ended up with. Especially appropriate is his use of the Chinese song, Olive Tree 《橄榄树》with its haunting lyrics, "不要问我从哪里来" (Don't ask me where I'm from). We're already looking forward to the next video of his walk from Urumqi back to Germany -- if he ever gets down to it, that is. Check out the rest of his website The Longest Way.

• Online Market Flourishes in China [NYTimes] "Taobao fever has swept the school Mr. Yang attends, Yiwu Industrial and Commercial College, where administrators say that a quarter of the 8,800 students enrolled operate Taobao shops, often from dormitory rooms. And across China, millions of other ordinary people — recent college graduates, shopkeepers and retirees — are also using Taobao to sell clothes, mobile phones, toys and just about anything else they can find at neighborhood stores and wholesale markets or even smuggle out of factories."
• China turns back Xinjiang plane [BBC News] "An Afghan aircraft bound for Urumqi in China's restive Xinjiang region has been turned back, reports from both countries say. Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported first that the plane had been hijacked, then that it had been the subject of a bomb threat. An Afghan diplomat said the plane's operators had not been told about a threat, just ordered to turn it back. "
• 3,000 China mobsters sentenced since 2006 [UPI] "Chinese officials say more than 3,000 reputed gang members have been locked up or executed for organized crime activities since January 2006. The tally was announced Sunday by the Supreme People's Court and was part of a continuing effort to curb violent crimes and the organizations behind them, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported."

• Xinjiang Info-War [RConversation] "Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer mistakenly made prominent use in interviews of a photo that turned out to be from riots in Shishou, Hubei province, in late June. Roland Soong at ESWN has a full account of how the photo came to be misconstrued and misused. Apparently, the source of the error was Reuters, who had sourced the photo from Twitter and put it out on the wire before recalling it."
• China's Urumqi tense after police shooting [AFP] "URUMQI - A mosque was closed and many businesses were shuttered near where police shot dead two Muslim Uighurs, as ethnic tensions simmered in China's restive Urumqi city."
• Drawing Critics, China Seeks to Dominate in Renewable Energy [NewYorkTimes] "BEIJING - When the United States’ top energy and commerce officials arrive in China on Tuesday, they will land in the middle of a building storm over China’s protectionist tactics to become the world’s leader in renewable energy."

Here's our translation of an article we found on Global Times 《环球时报》dated July 11 entitled "Turkey in open support of Xinjiang independence terrorist elements, and stoking the flames of anger among Chinese netizens". It gives you a good idea of the standard fare in Chinese papers today on the recent Xinjiang developments:

• 'Two shot dead' by Chinese police [BBC] "Two ethnic Uighurs have been shot dead by police in Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang province, officials have said. A government statement announced that a third "lawbreaker" had been injured. A reporter with Hong Kong's RTHK radio said two police officers were also shot in a confrontation in a Uighur district of the city."
• China to sack officials who mishandle protests [Reuters] "Chinese officials who mishandle protests could be removed from their posts, state media said Monday, a week after demonstrations in the capital of Xinjiang degenerated into ethnic attacks. New regulations on accountability issued over the weekend hold officials responsible if misconduct leads to serious accidents, group protests or other serious incidents, state news agency Xinhua reported."
• Attacks on China's diplomatic missions well-orchestrated [China Daily] "Hurling stones, Molotov cocktails and burning Chinese national flags, supporters of the East Turkestan separatists started well-orchestrated and sometimes violent attacks on Chinese embassies and consulates in several countries soon after the riots occurred last Sunday in China's northwest city of Urumqi that killed 184 people."

• James Fallows finds a sign advertising for restaurant staff at a hotel in Kashgar. Basically, it says that "No Uighurs Need Apply".
• Zhong Dajun, a prominent economic consultant in China who is definitely more "nationalist" than "left wing", is now circulating a piece (Chinese only) called “The Xinjiang Incident Reveals Significant Flaws in Government Management.”
• The Globe and Mail's Mark MacKinnon describes getting kicked out of Kashgar... well, kind of kicked out of Kashgar.

We've entered into the fourth day of the Xinjiang incident, and it seems that - at least for now - Chinese officials have finally gotten everything under some semblence of control. Wednesday was marked by sporadic violence as Han mobs continued their Tuesday front, arming themselves with meat cleavers, shovels and other makeshift weapons for - depending what side you're on - protection or revenge killings. The body count for the last two days has not yet been released.

Those hoping that the Xinjiang riot death count would be contained once the day was over are going to be incredibly disappointed. It's day two over there and it seems that, at least for the Han Chinese living there, the fear has given way to rage.

Urumqi police have raided an apartment which housed 15 ethnic Uyghurs and alleged Islamic terrorists shouting "sacrifice for Allah". A spokesman said they tried to break out when police used tear gas to flush them out, wielding knives and injuring one policeman. Subsequently, police shot dead five, injured another two (which were sent to the hospital) and captured the remaining nine. A Xinhua report says the suspects have confessed that they've been planning for a 'holy war' to kill 'infidel' Han people. [Reuters] [The Telegraph]

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Fire broke out last night at about 8pm in the 12-storey Dehui International Plaza in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Almost 200 fire fighters and 48 fire engines were sent to fight the fire, which they did all night, right up till this morning when they were forced to retreat fearing the tower might collapse any moment. Alas, the fire had by then spread to another neighbouring 20-storey, and they had to continue working. All guests were evacuated safely from the hotel. Latest reports suggest at least three firefighters have lost their lives. This fire comes three weeks after the Wenzhou blaze which we happened to witness with our own eyes. It took away 21 lives.