China is suppressing peaceful Muslim religious and cultural activities under the guise of fighting terrorism, two US-based human-rights groups said yesterday.
Comparing the situation to Tibet, a report by the two groups said Muslims in the Xinjiang region are "concerned for their cultural survival" amid a government-financed influx of settlers from China's Han ethnic majority.
Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang face "state-ordered discrimination and crackdowns," said Brad Adams, the director of Human Rights Watch, one of the groups.
"China has opportunistically used the post-September 11 environment to make the outrageous claim that individuals disseminating peaceful religious and cultural messages in Xinjiang are terrorists," said the report, by Human Rights Watch and Human Rights in China.
Beijing says it is fighting a violent guerrilla movement that wants to turn oil-rich, sparsely populated Xinjiang into an Islamic theocracy.
But it has released little evidence to support its claims, and diplomats and foreign experts are skeptical.
Muslims in Xinjiang who worship in violation of state controls face harassment, fines, prison and torture, the report said.
"The situation is not dissimilar to Tibet, with the Chinese state attempting to refashion a religion to control an ethnic minority," Adams said in a special press release announcing the report.
Beijing has used economic incentives to encourage Han settlers to move to both Xinjiang and Tibet in an effort to integrate them with the country's booming east.
"Much like Tibetans, the Uighurs in Xinjiang are concerned for their cultural survival in the face of a government-supported influx of ethnic Chinese migrants," the 114-page report said.
The report said the government tries to control all aspects of the Muslim faith in Xinjiang, picking clerics and the version of the Koran to use and deciding where and how to hold religious festivals.
The Chinese government has blamed separatists for what it says is a campaign of bombings and assassinations.
"Separatist sentiments are a reality in Xinjiang, though they provide no justification for the broad denial of basic rights," the report said.
Diplomats and foreign experts say most violence in Xinjiang blamed on separatists isn't politically motivated and appears to stem from personal disputes.
Officials in Xinjiang say there has been no separatist-related violence in recent years.
In 2002, the US listed the Xinjiang-based East Turkestan Islamic Movement as a terror group -- a classification that some believed was a concession to China in exchange for support of the US-led anti-terrorist campaign.
The report calls on Washington not to "acquiesce in any future demands from China to place organizations on lists of terrorist organizations without sufficient evidence."
The report also calls on China to allow UN human-rights observers to visit Xinjiang and report on the state of religious freedom.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS