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Tag: Wang Lequan

  • Chinese protestors have injured hundreds Uyghurs by syringes

    Chinese protestors have injured hundreds Uyghurs by syringes

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    The Uyghur American Association (UAA) calls on Chinese authorities to
    guarantee the safety of all people in East Turkestan, also known as
    Xinjiang, in the wake of fresh unrest in the regional capital of
    Urumchi.

    According to a report[i] issued by Reuters quoting an eyewitness, up
    to 3,000 Han Chinese gathered in People?s Square in Urumchi on
    September 3, 2009 to demand the resignation of Xinjiang Communist
    Party Secretary, Wang Lequan. The protest was prompted by rumors of a
    spate of stabbings in Urumchi, in which victims have been allegedly
    injured by syringes. The assembled protestors were upset that
    Communist officials had done little to protect citizens against such
    attacks. According to the eyewitness interviewed by Reuters,
    protestors shouted slogans such as: ?Resign Wang Lequan, the
    government is useless!? and ?Wang Lequan apologize to the Xinjiang
    people?. Mr. Wang was seen to address the protestors and to reassure
    them that action was being taken. Mr. Wang stated that 30 arrests had
    occurred in relation to the alleged stabbings, a figure which
    contradicts numbers[ii] from the official Chinese media. Protestors
    were also reported to have thrown objects, such as bottles, at Mr.
    Wang as he spoke.

    The Reuters report also related eyewitness accounts which described
    the beating of Uyghurs, as well as the destruction of Uyghur-owned
    businesses in Urumchi by Han Chinese during the day of the protest. A
    Uyghur, who was suspected of carrying out one of the alleged
    stabbings, was beaten so severely that he was taken to the hospital
    according to a resident. Officials at the regional health office
    stated that in the past two weeks 476 people, of which 433 are Han
    Chinese, have gone to hospitals in Urumchi with complaints stemming
    from the alleged stabbings. However, a lack of confirmable information
    surrounds the reports of stabbings and Human Rights Watch expert,
    Nicholas Becquelin, is quoted in the Reuters report as stating that
    [t]hese kinds of rumors do happen in China after unrest?[t]here?s
    always bizarre rumors that spread after violence.?

    In a statement, Uyghur democracy leader, Rebiya Kadeer, said: ?I call
    on Chinese officials to guarantee the security of all people living in
    East Turkestan, including Uyghurs and Han Chinese. I also call on the
    Chinese Communist Party to act quickly so as to prevent the escalation
    of Han Chinese attacks against Uyghur civilians.? She added: ?It is
    disappointing that Wang Lequan did not listen to the legitimate
    grievances of Uyghur protestors when asked to on July 5th. Such a move
    would have significantly eased tensions in East Turkestan. Wang
    Lequan’s public apology to Han Chinese protestors and the mere fact
    that Han Chinese protestors were permitted to voice their concerns
    shows that the Chinese authorities are applying a double standard. A
    precondition for peaceful coexistence between Uyghurs and Han Chinese
    is the resignation of Wang Lequan, leading to the appointment of
    moderate officials, who understand the legitimate grievances of the
    Uyghur people and the needs of the Han Chinese.?

    The unrest in Urumchi comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in
    which a number of restrictions have been placed on Uyghur worshippers.
    UAA believes that the restrictions imposed by Chinese authorities have
    only exacerbated tensions in East Turkestan. The restrictions[iii]
    include restaurants forced to open during the daylight fasting period,
    pressure exerted on government workers of Uyghur ethnicity to sign
    ?letters of responsibility? promising to avoid fasting, and a state-
    led campaign to offer free food to government employees during the
    hours of the fast.

    The imposition of restrictions on religious activity during Ramadan is
    a recurring source of tension among Uyghurs. The Uyghur Human Rights
    Project reported[iv] that 2008 saw ?an unprecedented tightening of
    religious control throughout East Turkestan. Students and government
    employees were not permitted to fast during Ramadan or attend mosques
    in general. Restaurants were also forced to open during fasting hours.?

    UAA urges Chinese authorities to remove the restrictions placed upon
    Uyghurs during Ramadan as a first step in addressing Chinese
    government policy failures towards Uyghurs and in improving the
    political climate in East Turkestan. UAA also urges the Chinese
    government to talk with Uyghur democracy leader, Rebiya Kadeer, and
    with the World Uyghur Congress to seek ways to ease current tensions
    in East Turkestan and to discuss the realization of human rights and
    democracy in the region.

    ttp://tibettruth.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/1890/

  • New protest in China city torn by deadly rioting

    New protest in China city torn by deadly rioting

    Chinese residents protested deteriorating public safety Thursday after reported syringe attacks in the western Chinese city of Urumqi where ethnic rioting in July killed nearly 200 people.

    People living near the city center reached by telephone said hundreds, possibly thousands, of members of China’s majority Han ethnic group gathered downtown to denounce the regional government and deteriorating law and order in the city of 2.5 million.

    Despite official claims of calm returning, safety fears have remained high since the July 5 riots among members of the region’s main Uighur ethnic group who targeted Han, residents said.

    Renewed unrest in Urumqi and the vast surrounding region of Xinjiang could pose a vexing problem for China’s leadership now engaged in an all-out campaign to ensure stability ahead of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the communist state on Oct. 1.

    Han resident Zhao Jianzhuang said he joined a large crowd of protesters at a downtown intersection who were being blocked by riot police from marching on central People’s Square, less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away.

    He said people were pushing and shoving police and some in the crowd had been beaten. Participants were shouting slogans including “The government is useless,” and calling for the dismissal of the regional Communist Party boss Wang Lequan, a noted hard-liner and ally of President Hu Jintao.

    The official Xinhua News Agency confirmed the protest. People assembled at several places, including more than 1,000 in the residential area of Xiaoximen, to demand a “security guarantee” from authorities after a series of syringe attacks were reported in city, it said.

    Police seized 15 suspects for attacking people with hypodermic needles in the city, Xinhua said. No reason was given for the attacks.

    A Uighur woman who runs a shop near the Grand Bazaar in the Uighur district described the atmosphere as tense. She said there were few people on the street by mid-afternoon.

    “Earlier, a lot of people ran over saying ‘something’s happened, something’s happened,’ so I quickly closed my shop and rushed home,” said the shopkeeper, who did not want to give her name for fear of government reprisals.

    Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said she had no knowledge of the protest, but told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference that China’s government “is competent to safeguard social stability and national unity.”

    Thursday is the 15th day of the seventh lunar month — an important day when Han Chinese honor the dead by inviting them back for meals. The date may have been cause for agitation as most of the victims in the July violence were Han Chinese.

    Zhao said anger was stoked by a perceived delay in trials for those arrested over the riot, as well as a recent spate of stabbings by people wielding syringes. He claimed more than 460 people had been injured.

    “There are so many security forces deployed here, yet they’re incapable of protecting us,” Zhao said.

    Xinhua gave no information about when the stabbings occurred or the number of victims, but quoted a deputy director of the region’s health department as saying nobody had been infected or poisoned and medical workers were conducting regular follow-up checks.

    The July riots — China’s worst ethnic violence in decades — killed 197 people, injured 1,700 more and sparked a massive security crackdown in the traditionally Muslim western region of Xinjiang, of which Urumqi is the capital.

    The protest also comes a day after an international trade fair opened in Urumqi, with the government trumpeting the area for foreign investment.

    “It is safe for foreign businesspeople to invest in Xinjiang. They should not have safety concerns,” He Yiming, the regional commerce department head, was quoted as saying by the state-owned China Daily newspaper on Wednesday.

    On a visit to Xinjiang late last month, Hu called for the strengthening of ethnic unity and Xinjiang’s local economy.

    China claims the July riot was instigated by exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer, an accusation she strongly denies. Uighurs have long complained of discrimination and economic marginalization by Han migrants who have flooded into Xinjiang since communist troops entered the region in 1949. Like Tibetans, another restive minority, many Uighurs claim they were independent for much of their history.

    The July unrest broke out after police stopped an initially peaceful protest by Uighur youths, prompting crowds to smash windows, burn cars and attack Han Chinese. Two days later, Han vigilantes carried out revenge attacks.

    03 September 2009, Thursday

    AP BEIJING

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