Mobs wielding makeshift weapons roamed Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang region, yesterday despite a massive show of force by Chinese troops that brought some calm.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) abandoned a G8 summit in Italy to tackle one of China’s worst spikes in ethnic tensions in decades.
Military helicopters circled Urumqi as thousands of soldiers and riot police filled the city shouting out “protect the people.”
“We support this,” said a 45-year-old Han Chinese man as he watched the troops roll by in trucks. “But they should have got here sooner. It took them three days to do this. Why so long?”
After authorities blamed Uighurs for unrest on Sunday that authorities say left 154 people dead, Han Chinese took to the streets on Tuesday with makeshift weapons vowing to defend themselves.
After a curfew was declared on Tuesday, Chinese authorities appeared determined to show they were able to maintain order.
Thousands of riot police lined up on a main road in Urumqi dividing the city center from a Uighur district, with soldiers behind them.
The security build-up had an impact with fewer people wielding weapons taking to the streets, and Urumqi Mayor Jerla Isamudin told reporters in the late afternoon that the situation in the city was “under control.”
He also warned that anyone found guilty of murder in connection to the unrest would be given the death penalty.
The Chinese Communist Party boss of Urumqi also said the government would seek the death penalty for anyone found to be behind the deaths of people killed in riots.
Li Zhi (栗智) said many people accused of murder had already been detained, mostly students.
But tensions remained high, with some Han Chinese and Uighurs continuing to arm themselves with sticks, poles, knives and other weapons, leading to confrontations and violence.
In one incident, about 200 Uighurs armed with sticks, pipes and rocks began protesting directly in front of a police cordon that was dividing their neighborhood from a Han-populated area.
A smaller group of Uighurs had been trading insults and accusations with Han who were on the other side of the cordon and also armed with makeshift weapons.
The crowd of Uighurs grew after a helicopter dropped leaflets blaming Sunday’s unrest on exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, but they also claimed police had overnight allowed Han Chinese to freely attack Muslim areas.
Highlighting the severity of the crisis, the government announced Hu had cut short his trip to Italy for the G8 summit.
“I have never seen a Chinese president shorten a trip abroad before ... there is clear concern,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, professor of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Turkey yesterday called on China to secure a quick end to the “atrocity” in Xinjiang and show restraint in its response, saying it cannot ignore the plight of the region’s Turkic-speaking Uighurs.
“We expect a swift end to the events amounting to atrocity, the prevalence of common sense ... and the immediate implementation of the necessary measures in line with universal human rights,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“The Uighurs are a community of ethnic brothers whose fate concerns us,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said earlier.
Also See: Kadeer says 400 killed in Xinjiang
Also See: Internet plays key role in Uighur unrest
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
RSS