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November 08, 2005
US-Muslim Terror in China?
The Daily Times, a Pakistani newspaper, is reporting on its website that China has requested extreme vigilance on the part of Pakistani authorities in preventing a possible terrorist attack in China. The site reports that the attack could come in as little as a "few days" time. Strangely (at least it seems strange to me), the article goes on to say that the attack is being supported by an unnamed financing source in the US. I wonder if this might be a reference to Rebiya Kadeer (pictured), a Uyghur "seperatist" who the Chinese have been complaining about constantly since her release and consequent move to the States earlier this year. Of course, if Chinese terror warnings are as reliable as what we get in the US, there's probably not much to worry about. You can read the full article below.
China asks Pakistan to probe terror threat
Maqbool Ahmed
Daily Times of Pakistan
8 November 2005
KARACHI, PAKISTAN. The Chinese government has requested the government of Pakistan to investigate and share information on a recent threat of terrorist attacks on tourist spots in Chinese-administrated Hong Kong and Midland [Mainland] China, well placed sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad apprised Daily Times on Monday [7 November].
In an official request through its embassy in Islamabad, the Chinese government said that it had information that an Islamist terrorism network in China was planning coordinated attacks on hotels and other tourist spots in Hong Kong and Midland China with the help and backing of some US financiers.
The request, sources said, detailed the name of a person who was allegedly planning and coordinating the attacks.
The request was received on 31 October by the Chinese consulate in Karachi in the form of a fax message naming a man suspected of planning the attacks in a "few days". The fax message did not, however, mention how the attack could take place but stated that there was a fear that it might be in the form of bombings at hotels and tourists resorts.
While the Chinese government had requested an exchange of investigative information, ministry sources said it did not say whether the suspect was a Pakistani or could be present in Pakistan. "But, our Chinese friends have requested strict vigilance at our international airports and entry and exit points," sources added.
Quoting the request, ministry sources said that the Chinese government had indicated that it had put on high alert its international airports, seaport and land entry and exit points after the fax message was received on 31 October.
In the backdrop of this communication, just a day before the Chinese government's fax was received in Islamabad, on 30 September, a group named the World Uighur Congress issued a strong anti-China statement that was also posted on the website "Islam Online".
The statement came on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Communist Party's rule over Xinjiang, which was previously an independent nation known as East Turkestan. This is a remote region that Muslim Uighur militants, dubbed terrorists or separatists by Beijing, have been struggling for decades to make independent. Xinjiang was formally established on 1 October 1995.
The World Uighur Congress statement said that: "China's crushing campaign of religious oppression and cultural assimilation against its Muslim Uighur minority, in the name of terror-combat and anti-separatism, risks turn[ing] the region into a 'time bomb'."
The Uighurs are a Turkish-speaking minority of eight million whose traditional homeland lies in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in north-west China. Xinjiang has been autonomous since 1955 and is viewed by Beijing as an invaluable asset because of its crucial strategic location near Central Asia and its large oil and gas reserves.
Source: Daily Times website, Lahore, 8 November 05
posted November 08, 2005 at 02:35 PM unofficial Xinjiang time | HaoHao This!
Comments
Whats going on with you, whats going on that cnn or the BBC isnt covering?
The comment above was posted by Ethan at November 9, 2005 09:18 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.
Huh? I don't understand the question. It is true, however, that the big news agencies don't cover this part of the world all that much.
The comment above was posted by manning at November 9, 2005 11:02 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.
I mean like what is happening in your school, with your friends or something. You always seem to be talking about news articles. Also today in computers before class we logged on to every computer and went to your site and clicked on ads.
The comment above was posted by Ethan at November 11, 2005 07:13 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.
Well, I blog about whatever I find interesting. Sometimes it's my life, and sometimes it's something going on in China. Thanks for the clicks.
Also, about this article... I saw something on CCTV yesterday saying that there is no terrorist threat to Chinese hotels, despite rumors. This may be referring to the above article.
The comment above was posted by manning at November 11, 2005 09:01 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.
Thanks to Daniel Peacock for copying me this article from the BBC (which is blocked in China).
-------------------------
China 'warning of hotel attacks'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4420590.stm
Expensive hotels in Beijing could be at risk
Chinese police have warned that Islamic militants could be planning an attack on luxury hotels in Beijing in the coming week, the US embassy has said.
The authorities pledged to investigate the threat and take appropriate action, the embassy said in a statement.
The warning comes 10 days before US President George Bush visits Beijing.
China is often accused of exaggerating the threat of Islamic militancy to justify its crackdown on groups such as its Uighur minority.
"The embassy has learned that Chinese police advised hotels that Islamic extremist elements could be planning to attack four- and five-star hotels in China some time over the course of the next week," the statement from the US embassy in Beijing said.
"American citizens visiting Chinese four- and five-star hotels should review their plans carefully, remain vigilant with regard to their personal security, and exercise caution," it added.
The statement did not specify whether the threat came from extremists inside or outside China.
Uighurs
But Beijing has often warned of a threat from the Muslim Uighur community in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
Many Uighurs campaign for an independent homeland in the region, which they would call East Turkestan, and resent the recent and large-scale influx into the region of Han Chinese settlers.
China brands these separatists as terrorists and said in September that more than 260 terrorist acts had been committed in Xinjiang in the past two decades.
Critics say China has been using its support for the US-led war on terrorism to justify a crackdown on the Uighurs.
Human rights groups cite arbitrary arrests, closed trials and the use of the death penalty against alleged militants in Xinjiang.
The comment above was posted by manning at November 11, 2005 10:04 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.
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The comment above was posted by NK at January 10, 2010 06:46 PM unofficial Xinjiang time.
The comment above was posted by teayneverdie at January 30, 2010 01:02 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.