China said yesterday it had put to death nine people over deadly ethnic unrest in Xinjiang, the first executions since the violence erupted in July.
Authorities convicted 21 defendants last month — nine were sentenced to death, three were given the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, a sentence usually commuted to life in jail, and the rest were handed various prison terms.
“The first group of nine people who were sentenced to death recently have already been executed in succession, with the approval of the Supreme Court,” said Hou Hanmin, spokeswoman for the Xinjiang government.
It was not clear, however, when the executions took place.
Previous statements by the Xinjiang government said eight of the nine were Uighurs and one was Han Chinese.
The violence erupted on July 5, pitting Uighurs against Han Chinese. An official toll put the number of dead at 197, with more than 1,600 injured. Han vigilantes then went on a rampage against Uighurs two days later, but the exact number of casualties from that day has never been divulged.
The 21 defendants were convicted of crimes such as murder, intentional damage to property, arson, and robbery.
Han Junbo, the Han Chinese man who was sentenced to death, was convicted of killing a Uighur man, a previous Xinjiang government statement said.
One of the Uighurs given the death penalty was found guilty of beating two people to death with another defendant, as well as stealing people’s possessions.
Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, condemned the executions, saying the Uighurs who were put to death had not been able to meet with their families.
“We regret that the United States and Europe have not adopted effective measures towards China regarding the death penalty issue,” he said by telephone from Sweden.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
RSS