Results tagged “xinjiang”

Xinjiang has been through a lot of political and social trauma in the last couple of months, what with the riots in July, syringe attacks in September, the executions that followed, continuous H1N1 scares, and an internet blackout throughout the province.

Nine people were executed yesterday for their involvement in the Xinjiang riots earlier this summer. Among the nine, two were ethnically Han, and the other seven were of Uighur descent. The exiled World Uighur Congress denounced the executions as unfair and unjust, claiming that the government had denied the prisoners a final visit from their families. In addition, twenty more people were indicted in relation to eighteen deaths during the riots.

If you've never seen Far West China, it's a pretty fantastic blog written by an American expat living in Xinjiang. Since the unrest in Xinjiang this summer, the blog has become a platform for airing the Kafkaesque circumstances that have been imposed on the region. From posts on the psychological effects of the complete internet blackout to the numerous new security checks at mosques and on buses, as well as the increases in tourism to Dunhuang for web access, the blog chronicles the very human issues involved. Personally, we can't even imagine what months without internet would be like, and we're sure that's the least of their concerns. Photo byRemko Tanis @ flickr

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.

A Han Chinese man was sentenced to death months after the murder of two Uighyrs suspected of raping two Han Chinese factory workers in Shaoguan. In addition, nine other Han Chinese were sentenced to between five and eight years in prison for the murders. Since the attacks were the spark that erupted the racial riots in Xinijang this summer, we guess this is the government's attempt to smooth over ethnic tension in the new frontier. But in light of the many, many other ethnically charged rules and regulations in effect since the riots, we have our doubts that this is the right path for closure on the issue.

Yesterday was my first time to Shenyang city. And it was the first time I was so “warmly” welcomed by Shenyang people that I almost slept on the street last night.

• Prepare to fight China, Qaeda figure tells Uighurs [Washington Post] "A prominent al Qaeda militant urged Uighurs in Xianjiang to make serious preparations for a holy war against "oppressive" China and called on fellow Muslims to offer support. Abu Yahya al-Libi, in a video posted on an Islamist website on Wednesday, warned China of a fate similar to that of former communist superpower, the Soviet Union, which disintegrated some two decades ago."
• Inside the Ring [Washington Times] "China's most senior military intelligence official, a veteran of spy operations in Europe and cyberspace, recently made a secret visit to the United States and complained to the Pentagon about the press leak on the Chinese submarine that secretly shadowed the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier in 2006. Maj. Gen. Yang Hui said senior Chinese leaders suspected the Pentagon deliberately disclosed the encounter as part of a U.S. effort to send a political message of displeasure to China's military."
• A Beautiful Life: Mean Streets and Meaner People [NYTimes] "It takes nerve to award Bai Ling a singing role in a serious drama, but nerve may be the one thing “A Beautiful Life” does not lack. Set among the mean streets and meaner people of downtown Los Angeles, this laughably clichéd dive into sexual masochism and hardscrabble survival replaces story with outline and characters with place holders. No wonder Ms. Ling’s breasts are the most animated objects on screen."

• Taiwan and China [NYTimes] "Taiwan’s position as a de facto independent state seems to be morphing very slowly toward the “one country, two systems” status of Hong Kong. The process is not irreversible but the sentiments of those of mainland origin in the governing Nationalist Party, along with the self-interest of business groups and a widespread sense of economic vulnerability are all pushing the island toward accommodation with Beijing. The trend could mean an erosion in the support Taiwan gets, albeit erratically, from the United States and Japan."
• North Korea ready for six-party talks - with caveat [Christian Science Monitor] "North Korea's new readiness to return to stalled international talks about its nuclear program - if prior negotiations with the United States go well - puts the diplomatic ball in Washington's court. "This is a test for the Obama administration's policy on North Korea," says Ryoo Kihl-jae, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. Initial signs suggested that the US was prepared to pick the ball up. "We, of course, encourage any kind of dialogue that would help us lead to … the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly."
• Internet Blackout in Xinjiang? What blackout? [Xinjiang: Far West China] "Greetings world. If you’re reading this note, then my message in a bottle has somehow made it from this secluded island I live on to the shores of your country. Xinjiang is still under complete blackout and there is no end in sight. As a result, my knowledge of world events has vanished and my sanity has suffered primarily due to the fact that we are the only westerners in our city and I can’t contact my friends at home."

Shanghaiist contributor Maggie Rauch had quite a startle today when an explosion destroyed a restaurant close to her in downtown Beijing this morning.

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.

• Black is White, White is Black [Asia Sentinel] "“Even now I still cannot calm down. Only rage, rage and rage. Only extreme (expletive) rage! I can never imagine how a government, a great nation, which has more or less squeezed itself in on the international stage, and which has earned a bit of status in the international community, can be so shameless, knavish, lawless, unable to tell right from wrong, black from white, turning a victim into an accused, twisting facts and twisting truths - how can such a nation and motherland be so thick-skinned as to tell Hong Kong people to be patriotic?"
• China unveils high-speed railways [BBC] "China has announced plans to build 42 new high-speed railway lines over the next three years. In a breakthrough, China has developed trains that can run on both high-speed and normal lines, said railway official Zhang Shuguang. A 500km/h train will be tested by the end of next year, Mr Zhang said. China will have added 13,000km of high-speed lines by 2012, shortening journey times considerably for the expected seven billion annual passengers."
• Thomas Friedman Demands Communist Revolution [Gawker] "Flat-earther Times columnist Thomas Friedman thinks we should probably "outsource" our form of government to China, where they have streamlined the whole process by eliminating the bit where idiots "vote." No, seriously, he is outright saying that the autocratic one-party Chinese government is superior to our own. There is no equivocation in this line: "There is only one thing worse than one-party autocracy, and that is one-party democracy, which is what we have in America today." And why are things better in China? Because the current "reasonably enlightened group of people" in charge of China, at the moment, can just impose "politically difficult but critically important policies" like raising gas prices to encourage clean power investment and so on."
• China tip-off 'sparked' fighting [Al Jazeera] "A senior Myanmar official has said that last month's clashes in the northeast of the country were sparked after a Beijing tipped them off about the location of an illegal arms factory. Up to 30,000 people fled across the border from Kokang into northern China during the fighting which followed the raid on the arms factory in the mainly ethnic Chinese region."

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.

• Puer Tea: China's Next Hot Commodity? [Time] "There is Champagne, France; Tequila, Mexico; and Parma, Italy — all places turned trade names known for their unique, high-quality foods. Now, if China has its way, there could be another: Puer. This lush corner of Yunnan province in China's south is home to one of the world's hottest teas. Puer tea may not look like much — it is typically sold in heaps resembling cow patties — but one mug of these aged leaves can fetch up to $1,000."
• China's Hu visits Xinjiang, no riot trials this week [Reuters] "Chinese President Hu Jintao visited the restive region of Xinjiang this week for the first time since the July 5 riots, urging officials to maintain stability, state television said on Tuesday. The report about Hu's Aug. 22-25 visit to the frontier region came as a press official in Xinjiang denied a state media report that trials of people suspected to be involved in the riots would begin this week."

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.

• China's founding legend may not be true [USA TODAY] "China's founding dynasty may just be a myth, say archaeologists. In a news report in the current Science, writer Andrew Lawler surveys a decade's worth of discoveries suggesting ancient China sprang from distinct regions, rather than possessing a single national culture some 4,300 years ago. "How China became China is no mere academic topic; it goes to the very heart of how the world’s most populous and economically vibrant nation sees itself and its role in the world," Lawler writes."
• Beijing puts giant media marriage on the rocks [Reuters] "China's leading Internet portal, Sina Corp is likely to call off its planned $1.4 billion purchase of Focus Media's core assets if the government fails to bless the marriage by a September deadline. Since Sina unveiled the deal in December — the largest in China's opaque media sector — China's commerce ministry has repeatedly put off reviewing the deal, asking for additional documents, frustrating both Nasdaq-listed companies."
• China: U.S. and Chinese Generals Clash [NYT] "A meeting on Thursday in Beijing between a Chinese military leader and a visiting American army general turned rancorous as the Chinese leader gave a sharp lecture on the failure of the United States to respect China’s interests, according to a witness at the meeting and a report by Xinhua, the state news agency. The argument took place when Gen. Ge Zhenfeng, deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, met with Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the chief of staff of the United States Army. "

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.

• Despite Banning Twitter, 92% of China Netizens Use Social Media [Read Write Web] "According to a recent report, Chinese netizens are twice as likely to use chat and three times more likely to micro-blog, blog and use video conference than American users. The Netpop Research study shows that mainland Chinese citizens are "more likely to share information broadly and openly." This comes as a surprise as the country's censorship has been such a topic of contention. Nevertheless, the study estimates that up to 92% of Chinese netizens use social media, meanwhile, only 76% of US netizens do the same."
• Xinjiang Crackdown and Changing Perceptions of China in the Islamic World? [The Jamestown Foundation] "While it is clearly in China’s interest to resolve the crisis in Xinjiang on terms that promote long-term reconciliation and stability and address the legitimate grievances of the Uighur community, the recent violence will have little impact on Beijing’s relations with the Middle East and wider Islamic world. Turkish and Iranian criticism of China, which at this point has amounted to little more than rhetoric in the first place, will likely prove to be an exception rather than a precursor of future trends. In the long run, China’s diplomatic and economic clout is too important to ignore."
• Beijing Softens Stand on Emissions Cap [Wall Street Journal] "China and the U.S. are still miles apart. China, driven by a historically unprecedented wave of urbanization and industrialization, has recently surpassed the U.S. as the top emitter of greenhouse gasses. But Beijing insists that rich industrialized countries have a responsibility to clean up first. On the other side, countries like the U.S. say big countries like China and India are growing so fast that, unless they accept absolute limits on their greenhouse gasses, the extra pollution from all of their new factories obliterate gains made elsewhere, gutting the value of any deal."

File this under "Things to take with a grain of salt": Rebiya Kadeer's family in China has apparently written a letter (in the Uyghur language) to the separatist leader, which was then translated into Chinese and English by Xinhua. The letter starts out thusly: "You once were the richest person in Xinjiang just because you were granted a lot of business opportunities and convenience by the Communist Party of China and the Government. But, despite repeated leniency of the Party and the Government, you ended up in prison under other people's enticement. You were allowed to go to the United States thanks to, once again, our government's leniency. You pledged to our government not to participate in any separatist activity before you departed for the United States. You broke your words anyway." If that caught your fancy, read the rest of it here.

China has released a most wanted list - 15 people it says had roles in the Xinjiang riots, which killed over 190 people and wounded over 1,700. 14 of the names released appeared to be Uyghur, according to the AP, while one was Han Chinese. The notice urged the suspects turned themselves in within the next 10 days if they wanted leniency. Those who the government had to hunt down would be "dealt with severely according to the law." Meanwhile, while China hasn't responded to Rebiya Kadeer's requests to hold talks, it did dispute her recent claim that 10,000 people are missing. A Xinjiang government spokesperson called the figure "groundless," adding "If there were more than 10,000 missing, how many more of them would have taken part in the riot?"

Although the violence in Xinjiang has calmed down, tensions are still high as the Chinese government ordered mosques in Urumqi not to open for Jumu’ah, Friday prayers. According to the BBC, an unnamed government official told the AFP news agency that the order not to open for prayers’ on Friday, the holiest day of the week in Islam, was because of fears of further unrest, saying “For the sake of public safety, all of the mosques have told people that there will be no Friday prayers and that people should stay at home today and pray,” But the government’s imposition may do more harm than good. One Uighur man told Reuters, “Jumu'ah (Friday) is the time of the week when we must pray. For us, it would be an insult to shut it down… If we're not allowed to hold normal religious activities, there will be a lot of anger."

Update: BBC News is now reporting that at least 140 are dead and over 800 injured. It also has video, which may be disturbing for some to watch.

Exciting news for the adventuresome wayfarer - a new cross-border tourist route between China and Mongolia just opened today, meaning that as long as you have a valid border pass, you can now travel to different parts of Mongolia!

           

Last week, craving something a little different from our usual delivery, we hitched up our britches and made our way to the Huxi Mosque in northern Jing'an. One of the biggest mosques in Shanghai, it was first established by Moslem paupers in 1914. It was shut down during the war and the tumultuous years afterwards, but became the first mosque to reopen in Shanghai in 1979. In 1992, it moved from its original place on Xikang Lu to where it now resides, on Changde Lu near Aomen Lu.

• Chavez says world 'center of gravity' now Beijing [AP] "The world's center of gravity has moved to Beijing, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told his Chinese counterpart Wednesday during a visit focused on boosting Chinese oil purchases. The frequent U.S. critic also praised China's response to the global financial meltdown that has sent prices of his South American nation's key export, oil, down sharply."
• Auto Makers Flock to Web to Woo Chinese Buyers [WSJ] "Global auto makers think the Internet is the way into the hearts of a new generation of Chinese car enthusiasts. Both foreign and domestic auto makers here are pouring ad money into online ventures, even as their overall spending remains flat. Market-tracking firm iResearch expects outlays for online auto marketing to reach 1.75 billion yuan, or roughly $256 million, this year, up from 1.38 billion yuan in 2008."
• Professor beaten ahead of Tiananmen anniversary [ABC] "The approaching 20th anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown has brought tensions to a head, with a 75-year-old, retired professor brutally beaten for trying to honour the memory of a Chinese leader who supported the students in 1989."

• NBA, Tsingtao team for cheerleading show [Hollywood Reporter] "Seven months after inking a multiyear partnership, the NBA and China's Tsingtao Brewery have something to cheer about. The U.S. basketball league and Chinese beer giant are poised to launch a cheerleading competition show next month on China Central Television's sports channel. Winners will travel to the U.S. to train with an NBA dance squad."
• Clocks square off in China's far west [Los Angeles Times] "In Xinjiang province, the Muslim Uighur minority makes a point of observing its own time, not that of local Han Chinese, who adhere to Beijing's imposition of a single time for all of China."
• China Web users turn keen eye back on government [Reuters] "A pair of receipts from an upscale karaoke club sparked the latest Internet-led furor over government corruption earlier this month, ending the career of a mid-level bureaucrat from Liuyang, in southern Hunan province. Scanned and uploaded by a nameless surfer, the dockets listed 47,000 yuan (nearly $7,000) worth of dining, massage and other services, prompting Internet users to ask how a public servant in a local media watchdog could stretch his meager government salary so far. The Liuyang scandal followed a string of similar media storms in recent months, triggered by the Internet exposures of officials enjoying luxury overseas holidays in the name of "study" trips, or photographed wearing expensive-looking watches."

Since nobody's had the brilliant idea to set up a Xinjiangist yet, we rely on various blogs getting blocked on and off to learn what's going on about the region. If you already have Far West China and Opposite End of China (possibly taken down?) already on your blogroll, consider adding this one too: The New Dominion.

• China will start providing two imported HIV drugs, Viread and Kaletra, to patients who have started developing resistance to cheaper, domestic alternatives. This means that nine of 20 drugs to combat AIDS are now available to patients in China.
• The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has condemned China's deportation of a musician from Cape Town, South Africa, who was ordered to leave China within 48 hours when health authorities found she was HIV-positive. Apparently, the woman was not even informed or counselled about her HIV test.
• Health authorities in Henan province claim that significant improvements have been made in controlling HIV/AIDS and that death rates there are "closer to the normal mortality rate and lower than the national average". According to them, Zhumadian, one of the cities hit by illegal blood sales in the 1990s, has seen death rates more than halved to 5 percent in the past six years.