« May 2006 | HOME PAGE | July 2006 »
June 15, 2006
Being Watched
First, let me bring you all up to date on life back in Korla: My Fodor's writing will soon come to an end. For two days last week I was sure that I'd landed a job with China Daily in Beijing, only to be told later that they were looking for someone older (read "responsible") and more experienced. Sigh. But not all is dark... ever since I left Korla six months ago, I've been thinking about working with my friend and former boss, David, on a sundried tomato exporting operation he's setting up. Now seems to be my chance. We're not sure it'll all work out in the end, but there's no harm in giving it a shot.
In any case, other developments have proven far more interesting over the past 36 hours:
There are rumors that the PSB (Public Security Bureau) suspects some of Korla's foreign teachers of missionary activities... a big no-no, especially out here in Xinjiang. I'm sure that none of Circle English's teachers are involved in proselytizing, but I can't say the same for those weirdos across town working at Bazhou Technical College. I've only met them a few times, but going solely on stereotypes and intuition I'd say that if anyone in town is preaching the gospel, it's gotta be them. (I'd like to add here - for the record - that I am completely opposed to missionary activity conducted by anyone on behalf of any religion in any place. Period.)
To add to the confusion, the PSB has now said that it suspects one of Korla's foreign teachers of being a spy. They haven't said which one, or why they're suspicious, but an American friend of mine has been questioned twice so far. Gulp! Thankfully, I'm still below the radar. No telling where all of this is leading, but I guess life in China isn't so boring after all, eh?
posted June 15, 2006 at 03:49 PM unofficial Xinjiang time | Comments (54)
June 11, 2006
Bo knows.
Sometimes, you almost forget things that were once a part of your daily life. It can be years between even the slightest reminiscence of chilhood favorites like orange-flavored triangle frozen treats, Head of the Class, and Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular. It was with great surprise, then, that I saw a woman earlier today walking the streets of Korla wearing a day-glo yellow t-shirt proclaiming: BO KNOWS.
Bo who? Oh, right... Bo Jackson, the world's greatest ever two-sport superstar. I suddenly remembered that his image had been plastered on the walls of my friends' rooms when I was 9-years old, and that the copy of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly with his rookie photo on the cover had once been my most cherished. I guess it was his sudden dissapearance from the limelight that almost purged him from my memory. In any case, I'm thinking about him plenty nowadays.
Here's to you, forgotten Bo Jackson.
posted June 11, 2006 at 03:49 PM unofficial Xinjiang time | Comments (14)
June 03, 2006
Kadeer's Kids in Custody
There has been a development in the ongoing saga of Rebiya Kadeer, the exiled Uyghur businesswoman accused by China of supporting seperatist activities. (See previous post on Kadeer's testimony before Congress.) Three of Kadeer's children still living in Xinjiang have been arrested, reportedly for owing more than 29 million RMB in unpaid taxes. Kadeer's son, Alim, appears to have suffered injuries while being taken into custody due to his "rude and unreasonable attitude". The U.S. State Department has raised "concerns" over the apparently political nature of the arrests, while Chinese goverment statements have done nothing to dispel those notions:
The Xinjiang government report, while announcing the arrests of Kadeer's three children, accused her of being a "splittist" bent on harming China's national security."Before Rebiya left the country she pledged to the government that she would in no way engage in activities harmful to the security of the People' Republic of China," the report said.
"But as soon as she left she totally disregarded her pledges and engaged in all sorts of anti-Chinese splittist activities and regularly met with overseas nationality (minority) splittists forces."
It also appeared to link her remaining children in Xinjiang to her activities.
"While Rebiya has routinely engaged in splittist activities outside of China she has also instructed her children in China to transform all their assets and to use every known channel to transfer them overseas," it said.
The report on the government website comes after the Xinjiang police denied on Wednesday that the trio had been arrested.
You can read the full report from Agence France Presse below.
China arrests children of exiled Uighur rights leader
2 June 2006
Agence France Presse
BEIJING, June 2, 2006 (AFP) -
Police in China's restive Muslim-populated Xinjiang region have arrested three children of an exiled rights leader on charges of tax evasion, a government-run website reported Friday.
Three children of Rebiya Kadeer, in exile in the United States, were arrested for evading 8.07 million yuan (one million dollars) in taxes and owing another 21.6 million yuan in back taxes, Xinjiang's Tianshan website said.
Kadeer's sons, Ablikim, (identified in the Chinese transliteration as Ahbulikemu), and Alim (Alimu), and her daughter, Rushangul (Ruxianguli) were also accused of owing banks 28.9 million yuan, the report said.
The three were arrested on Wednesday in connection with their ties to the Ahkeda trading company that had registered Ablikim as the company's legal representative, it said.
The announcement of the arrests comes after the US State Department on Thursday expressed concerns for the safety of the trio, who are all aged in their 30s, saying at least one them may have been beaten in custody.
We have "raised our concerns with high-level Chinese government officials and have strongly urged them to investigate these reports and to release Ms. Kadeer's children, if they are under any form of detention," the department said in a statement.
The report on the Tianshan website hinted that Alim may have been injured, saying that due to his "rude and unreasonable attitude... it was not possible to undertake his arrest in a normal fashion."
It did not give any other details of how he was treated.
Kadeer was released into exile to the United States in March last year after spending six years in a Xinjiang prison for leaking "state secrets" to a US congressional delegation visiting the region in the 1990s.
Her plight remained a frequent diplomatic issue between the United States and China, with Washington routinely citing her treatment as an example of ongoing human rights violations by Chinese authorities.
The 60-year-old mother of 11, who was a millionaire businesswoman before her jailing and forced exile, has long been a symbol of the struggle against Chinese rule amongst the eight-million-strong Xinjiang Uighur Muslim community.
Uighur Muslims, who maintain a distinct ethnic identity from the Chinese, have been struggling to reestablish their own homeland on territory that became an autonomous region of China in 1955.
The Xinjiang government report, while announcing the arrests of Kadeer's three children, accused her of being a "splittist" bent on harming China's national security.
"Before Rebiya left the country she pledged to the government that she would in no way engage in activities harmful to the security of the People' Republic of China," the report said.
"But as soon as she left she totally disregarded her pledges and engaged in all sorts of anti-Chinese splittist activities and regularly met with overseas nationality (minority) splittists forces."
It also appeared to link her remaining children in Xingjiang to her activities.
"While Rebiya has routinely engaged in splittist activities outside of China she has also instructed her children in China to transform all their assets and to use every known channel to transfer them overseas," it said.
The report on the government website comes after the Xinjiang police denied on Wednesday that the trio had been arrested.
Rights group Amnesty International said this week the alleged intimidation of Kadeer's family smacked of "blackmail" by the Chinese authorities.
"This is a blackmail, holding children as hostages to silence Rebiya Kadeer in her attempt to bring democracy and restore human rights in Xinjiang," said T. Kumar, Amnesty's Washington-based Asia Pacific advocacy director.
posted June 03, 2006 at 12:01 PM unofficial Xinjiang time | Comments (44)