Tension in Xinjiang

Friday, September 11, 2009

by Biodun Iginla and Xian Wan, BBC News and The Economist. Xian Wan reported from URUMQI , CHINA.

The party under siege in Urumqi

Sep 10th 2009 | URUMQI
From The Economist print edition

Two months after a bloodbath, inter-ethnic relations remain on a short fuse
Reuters

HECKLING a member of the ruling Politburo; chanting for him to step down: rarely in the history of Communist rule in China have such scenes been witnessed. But Wang Lequan, the Communist Party chief of China’s western region of Xinjiang, reportedly suffered just such an indignity in the region’s capital, Urumqi, on September 3rd. Inter-racial tensions in the city have begun to turn into hostility towards the region’s leadership, prompting a new security clampdown.

Between September 2nd and 4th, thousands of ethnic-Han Chinese took to the streets of Urumqi to protest against what they saw as the government’s failure to halt an alleged new upsurge of violence by members of Xinjiang’s main indigenous ethnic group, the Uighurs. Both the government and Han residents accuse Uighurs of carrying out widespread stabbings since mid-August, using syringes, safety pins, needles and other sharp objects. The attacks follow an outbreak of inter-communal rioting in early July that left nearly 200 people dead, the majority of them, by the government’s account, Han.

document.write('<\/script>'); <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL2FkLmRvdWJsZWNsaWNrLm5ldC9jbGljayUyNTNC h=v8/38a5/3/0/%2a/b%3B214743499%3B2-0%3B0%3B36554486%3B4307-300/250%3B31349822/31367698/1%3B%3B%7Efdr%3D214745455%3B0-0%3B7%3B31658731%3B4307-300/250%3B31406937/31424813/1%3B%3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp://www.clearnewworld.com/?cid=US1000000042">;<IMG SRC="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL20xLjJtZG4ubmV0LzE2NzI5ODEvMzAweDI1MF8= Launch.gif" BORDER=0></A> <a target="_blank" href="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL2FkLmRvdWJsZWNsaWNrLm5ldC9jbGljayUyNTNC h=v8/38a5/3/0/%2a/s%3B217600021%3B1-0%3B0%3B40703393%3B4307-300/250%3B31611893/31629769/1%3B%3B%7Efdr%3D217636595%3B0-0%3B26%3B31658731%3B4307-300/250%3B33168313/33186190/1%3B%3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp://personalsavings.americanexpress.com/savings-product.html"><img src="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL20xLjJtZG4ubmV0LzIxNzkxOTQvcHNfZ2VuZXI= ic_300x250_20k.gif" width="300" height="250" border="0" alt="" galleryimg="no" /></a><a href="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL2FkLmRvdWJsZWNsaWNrLm5ldC9qdW1wL3dlYg== .economist.com/all_articles;nav=world_politics_v_asia;nh=93E69A5D;audience_topic=worldpolitics;audience_channel=globalisation;!c=14413290;pos=mpu_left;tile=4;sz=350x300,336x236,300x250,250x250;ord=296868307?" target="_blank"><img src="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL2FkLmRvdWJsZWNsaWNrLm5ldC9hZC93ZWIuZWM= onomist.com/all_articles;nav=world_politics_v_asia;nh=93E69A5D;audience_topic=worldpolitics;audience_channel=globalisation;!c=14413290;pos=mpu_left;tile=4;sz=350x300,336x236,300x250,250x250;ord=296868307?" width="350" height="300" border="0" alt="" /></a> <p>The demonstrations, particularly at their peak on September 3rd, were large and unusually blunt in a country where few normally dare to speak ill in public of senior party leaders. At one point Mr Wang emerged onto People’s Square in the centre of town to address the demonstrators, promising harsh treatment for the perpetrators of the stabbings. Residents say plastic water-bottles were thrown in his direction. Mr Wang clearly felt he had to respond. On September 5th he announced the dismissal of the party chief of the city and Xinjiang’s top police official. Many believe Mr Wang is a close ally of Hu JintaoHu Jintao, China’s president and Communist Party leader. He himself keeps his job, for now. </p> <p>Ostensibly to curb the stabbings, but probably just as much to prevent further Han protests, security in the city has been tightened. Riot police stand guard at many intersections, some of them carrying bayoneted rifles. Posters have been pasted on walls calling for the “resolute stopping of illegal gatherings, marches and demonstrations”. Residents say the police mean business. Tear-gas and batons were used to break up the recent protests. The authorities say five people were killed, although they have not explained how. </p> <p>The fresh turmoil would have been embarrassing enough for Xinjiang’s leaders even without the shouts of “down with Wang Lequan” that were heard during the protest on September 3rd. President Hu had visited Xinjiang just a few days earlier. During his tour he spoke of “victory” in Urumqi’s efforts to restore stability. The sudden pre-dawn arrival in the city of Meng Jianzhu, China’s public-security minister, on September 4th suggested that leaders in Beijing had changed their minds. The stabbings, said Mr Meng, were part of the same campaign by Uighur separatists that lay behind the riots in July. </p> <p>Urumqi’s leaders had reached the same conclusion. On September 2nd posters appeared around the city saying that 418 people had reported being stabbed or pricked. It said this was “no ordinary political incident” but rather a “serious terrorist crime”. By the time <i>The Economist</i> went to press, the number of reported cases had risen to more than 600; 45 alleged perpetrators had been detained and eight charged.</p> <p>The government, however, has produced no evidence of any terrorist link. Despite the fear of many of Urumqi’s Hans that the attackers might be trying to spread HIV, there has been no word that officials have detected any poison or harmful viruses. China’s press has taken to calling these “syringe attacks”, but the Urumqi authorities use the more general term “needle-like objects”. They say that fewer than one-fifth of reported stabbings have left any obvious mark. The government news agency, Xinhua, quoted experts who said that some prickings were mosquito bites or merely imagined. </p> <p>By sacking two of his underlings, Mr Wang has done little to deflect public anger. Many Han Chinese complain that the government has not done enough to keep them informed. The internet in Xinjiang has been cut off since the riots in July. The authorities warned citizens of stabbings in late August by text message (a means of communication also blocked for non-official purposes), but did not provide fuller details until September. Many Han Chinese say they no longer dare go into Uighur areas or eat in Uighur restaurants. If this is what China’s president sees as victory, defeat would be grim indeed. </p> <br /> <p> <a href="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5lY29ub21pc3QuY29tL3dvcmxkL2FzaQ== a/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14413290&;source=hptextfeature#top" mce_href="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5lY29ub21pc3QuY29tL3dvcmxk /asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14413290&amp;source=hptextfeature#top">Back to top ^^</a> </p> Readers' comments <p><i>The Economist</i> welcomes your views.</p> <a href="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5lY29ub21pc3QuY29tL3dvcmxkL2FzaQ== a/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14413290&;source=hptextfeature&mode=comment&amp;intent=readBottom" mce_href="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5lY29ub21pc3QuY29tL3dvcmxk /asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14413290&amp;source=hptextfeature&amp;mode=comment&amp;intent=readBottom">;View all comments (16)</a><a href="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5lY29ub21pc3QuY29tL3dvcmxkL2FzaQ== a/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14413290&;source=hptextfeature&mode=comment&amp;intent=postBottom" mce_href="/s/event-4125228/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5lY29ub21pc3QuY29tL3dvcmxk /asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14413290&amp;source=hptextfeature&amp;mode=comment&amp;intent=postBottom">;Add your comment</a> function WddxRecordset() { return new Array(); } _HTML = new WddxRecordset(); col0 = new Array(); col0[0] = "articlePrintSubscription"; _HTML["name"] = col0; col0 = null; col1 = new Array(); col1[0] = "<mce:style> </mce:style><style mce_bogus="1">\r\ndiv#articleSubscriptionLink {\r\n font-size:0.75em;\r\n border-style: solid;\r\n border-color: rgb(224,224,224);\r\n border-width: 1px 0px 1px 0px;\r\n padding: 5px;\r\n margin-top: 10px;\r\n height: 50px;\r\n width: 550px;\r\n padding-bottom: 0px;\r\n padding-left: 0px;\r\n}\r\n\r\ndiv#articleSubscriptionWidget {\r\n padding-top: 24px;\r\n padding-bottom: 24px;\r\n margin: 0px;\r\n}\r\n\r\ndiv#articleSubscriptionLinkImage{\r\n float: left;\r\n width: 120px;\r\n margin-bottom: 0px;\r\n padding-bottom: 0px;\r\n}\r\n\r\ndiv#articleSubscriptionLinkImage img{\r\n border: 0px;\r\n}\r\n\r\ndiv#articleSubscriptionLinkText{\r\n float: right;\r\n width: 425px;\r\n margin-top: 10px;\r\n}\r\n\r\ndiv#articleSubscriptionLinkText a{\r\n text-decoration: underline;\r\n color: #08526D;\r\n}\r\n\r\ndiv#articleSubscriptionLinkText a:hover{\r\n text-decoration: none;\r\n}\r\n</style>\r\n\r\n<div id="\">\r\n <div id="\">\r\n <div id="\"><a target="\" href="\" mce_href="http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/\"><img src="\" mce_src="http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/\" /></a></div>\r\n <div id="\">Want more? 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