A US-based group of exiled Uighurs issued a statement yesterday saying it feared the Chinese government would launch a “fierce” repression of Uighurs in its northwestern Xinjiang region after the Olympics.
The Uyghur American Association (UAA) said recent comments made by top Chinese officials and the tightened restrictions and many arrests following a spate of deadly attacks this month were indications that China may be planning a tough crackdown once the Olympics end.
The region’s Communist Party secretary, Wang Lequan (王樂泉), recently stated that all levels of government officials should understand that China faces a “life or death” struggle to quell Uighur unrest.
China’s Political Consultative Committee head Zhu Hailun also said in a televised news conference on Monday that government forces must “strike hard” at the three “evil forces” (terrorism, separatism and extremism), and mobilize the masses to guard against these forces at all levels of society, the group said.
It said that another group, the Uyghur Human Rights Project, had heard reliable reports that all non-resident Uighurs in the city of Korla in Xinjiang had been detained and told they would be released after the Beijing Olympics were over.
The alleged detention of non-resident Uighurs in Korla reportedly began following a series of bombings China said were carried out by Uighurs in nearby Kucha County on Aug. 10.
UAA reiterated the Munich-based World Uighur Congress’ (WUC) recent reports that more than 100 Uighurs have been arrested in Kashgar following an attack on paramilitary police in the city on Aug. 4, which killed 16 officers.
In addition, at least 90 Uighurs, including several women, have reportedly been arrested in and near Kucha following the Kucha attacks, the UAA said, also backing the WUC’s claims.
“At present, Uighurs do not feel secure anywhere in China, including East Turkestan, as they are seen as political suspects by the PRC [People’s Republic of China] authorities,” the group said.
UAA quoted Rebiya Kadeer, leader of the Uighur human rights movement, as saying: “I am extremely concerned that the Chinese government will launch a ‘life and death struggle’ on the Uighur people once the international community’s focus has shifted from China.”
NO ENTRY
Meanwhile, an exiled student leader who took part in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 said yesterday that China had blocked him from visiting Hong Kong during the Olympics.
Wang Dan (王丹) said in a statement from Los Angeles that the Chinese consulate in that city refused to accept his application for a visa to visit Hong Kong for a talk yesterday.
Wang said the consulate rejected his application because his Chinese passport expired in 2003 — but Chinese officials have also refused to renew his passport. He currently travels on a travel document issued by the US government.
“As the Olympics are being held, we’ve seen the Chinese government promise to be more open to the world. But it can’t even be open to its own citizens. How can this kind of openness convince people?” Wang said in his statement.
The former student leader said he applied for a Hong Kong visa once before and was also denied.
A former British colony, Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, but it maintains separate political and financial systems from the mainland and has promised Western-style civil liberties commonly denied in China.
Wang rose to global prominence as one of the students who led the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. After a deadly crackdown on the demonstrations, Wang was jailed and later went into exile in the US.
RELEASE
Meanwhile, the US urged China to release eight US nationals detained after pro-Tibet protests in Beijing during the Games.
“We have asked for their immediate release and are continuing to follow their cases closely,” embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson said.
She said US officials had met the pro-Tibet activists, who did not complain of being mistreated.
“The US government encourages the government of China to demonstrate respect for human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion of all people during the Olympic Games,” Stevenson said.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS