Nothing Quiet on Western Front: Unrest Extends to X1njiang
The Chinese Government has apparently acknowledged that there has been unrest in X1njiang Province, perhaps partially inspired by recent events in T1bet and other T1betan regions. It is little secret that Muslims and Han Chinese have poor relations in the northwestern province, and the unrest to the south and east seemed to have sparked a smaller uprising.
From the Times:
One U1ghur demonstration, which appears to have been quickly suppressed, took place in the town of Kh0tan on March 23, at the same time China was deploying thousands of security forces across a broad swath of its southwest to put down T1betan unrest.
Officials said the protest was staged by Islamic separatist groups seeking to foment a broader uprising in X1njiang. China often blames any ethnic disturbances on what it calls splittists and terrorists. Human rights groups say that Chinese U1ghurs, like T1betans, have fought for greater freedom to practice their religion as well as more autonomy from Beijing.
Meanwhile, China has continued to blame the Western media for the problems in the west, particularly CNN, which appears to have replaced BBC on China’s official sh-tlist.
Responding to a question from a Western media outlet at a regular press conference by Chinese Foreign Ministry on whether the anti-CNN website is supported by the Chinese government, spokesman Qin Gang said the website represented unprompted efforts by Chinese people from all walks of life to condemn and criticize Western media for their irresponsible and unethical reports and it had nothing to do with the government.
Western media led by CNN have been advocating the principles of objective and impartial reporting. However, they distorted reports on riots in Tibet that involved beating, smashing, looting and burning…
The CNN website publicized a picture showing people running in front of two military trucks on March 17. The original picture uploaded by netizens, however, actually also shows about 10 mobsters throwing stones at the trucks. Obviously, the website intentionally clipped parts of the picture that show the real image of the picture.
The image in question can be found here. To me, looking at the right side of the picture tells me nothing that the left side doesn’t. Any way you cut it military convoys are patrolling the streets. It seems pretty logical that a rebellion might be, uh, rebelling, against the government’s military that rolled into the area. Here’s another odd line in the China Daily article:
During the orgy of violence, mobsters attacked not only passersby but also government organs.
Who the hell do you think they’re rebelling against? Of course they went after the government. Is this supposed to be enlightening and somehow outrageous? Hey Tom, did you realize the rebellion in China was against the government? CNN really hid that from us.
Meanwhile, the very top levels of the Chinese Government tipped its hand about its Olympic strategy for western unrest in T1bet, and presumably X1ngjiang as well:
The Chinese president, Hu Jintao, has ordered his nation’s security forces to place a top priority on the Olympic Games in August, saying that China’s international reputation is at stake…
“Security must take priority,” Mr. Hu was quoted as saying in the People’s Armed Police News, published by China’s paramilitary police force. “Without security guarantees there cannot be a successful Olympic Games, and without security guarantees the national image will be lost.”
In one of the latest accusations, a spokesman for the Public Security Bureau, Wu Heping, said Tuesday: “To our knowledge, the next plan of the T1betan independence forces is to organize suicide squads to launch violent attacks. They claimed that they fear neither bloodshed nor sacrifice.”
Stayed tuned and stay safe.
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Matthew Stinson responds:
Posted: April 3rd, 2008 at 2:39 pm →
Websites like Anti-CNN (today) and Japan Pig (during the 2004 protests) are probably spontaneous gestures by netizens — and entirely predictable when Chinese citizens apparently have a 91% favorable view of their country’s role in the world — so foreign media ought to stop asking silly questions like “is the government responsible?” and focus instead on criticism of the monolithic Chinese state media and the government’s failure to reign in hate speech while cracking down on “subversives” like Hµ J1a.
One of the things that worries me most about the stories from X1njiang is the racial backlash, which stands to be even more palpable than the anti-T1b3tan hate speech, since the average Wang already detests U1ghµr$ as “thieves” and “terrorists,” so this news is quite literally adding fuel to the fire.
Chuck responds:
Posted: April 4th, 2008 at 5:50 am →
about the picture on anti-CNN… you have to be kidding if you think that the two halves of the picture tell the same story. Anyway, it may have been a rebellion “against the government” as you say, but it was manifested in racial violence against han chinese. When you call it a rebellion against the government, it sounds like you’re pardoning it.
Josh responds:
Posted: April 4th, 2008 at 8:34 am →
@chuck
If you think a “rebellion against the government” is inherently good you’re nuts. You applied your values to my statement. From the perspective of T1betans, Han Chinese that have been actively encouraged to move into the region to pacify the local population ARE the government.
On the picture, the left side made me think they were sending in troops to pacify the region, and so did the right side. Sounds like you’re drinking the Kool Aid…and it’s red.
nanheyangrouchuan responds:
Posted: April 4th, 2008 at 12:12 pm →
@ Chuck
The tree of liberty, on occasion, needs to be watered with the blood of tyrants.