Thread: Dissent and Democratic Reform in China

Land reform comin' to China to quell dissent...

China to tackle dissent by amending land law
27 Jun 2009, China on Saturday set out to tackle an important cause of political dissent, which is the heart-burning among farmers over forceful acquisition of their lands and poor compensation paid for it. The government admitted that land disputes were a "factor affecting rural harmony and stability".

Land disputes have resulted in thousands of farmers’ demonstrations challenging the Communist Party’s system of political control in rural areas. The law amendment move shows the central government is sore about the failure of provincial governments to curb misuse of power by local officials in this field, sources said. Official statistics show that more than 50,000 cases of land dispute took place in 224 cities and counties across the country from 2003 to March 2008.

The government said it would standardize the arbitration procedure for settlement of land disputes. It wanted to give "an effective guarantee" to farmers' and make sure that their rights under the land contracts are respected, it said. The amendment comes six months after Minister of Agriculture Sun Zhengcai promised law makers in December that the government would come out with "an important approach" to safeguard rural stability.

The standing committee of the National People’s Congress, which is the main law making body, also decided to abolish eight different laws that have proved to be outdated in the changed circumstances. The abolished laws include those covering police stations, urban neighborhood offices, the use of state-owned wasteland and barren hills by overseas Chinese and the establishment of schools with donations by overseas Chinese, four laws that date back to the 1950s.

Source

Unrest in western China, Chinese want democracy...

China calls Xinjiang riot a plot against its rule
Sun Jul 5, 2009 - China has called a riot that shook the capital of restive western Xinjiang region on Sunday a plot by exiled members of the Uighur people, after at least three people died in the latest eruption of ethnic unrest there.

Locals took to the streets of Xinjiang's regional capital, Urumqi, burning and smashing vehicles and confronting security forces, following a protest there to denounce government handling of a clash between Han Chinese and Uighur factory workers in far southern China in late June, when two Uighurs died. On Monday morning "the situation was under control," the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. But officials ordered traffic off the streets in parts of the city of 2.3 million residents -- 3,270 km (2,050 miles) west of Beijing -- to ensure there was no fresh unrest throughout the day, Xinhua added.

The Chinese government blamed the riot on exiled Uighur groups demanding independence from Beijing, which they say is stifling their culture and exploiting their homeland's resources. "The facts demonstrate this was controlled and instigated from abroad," an unnamed leading official said of the riot, according to Xinhua, which also said the "unrest was masterminded by the World Uyghur Congress."

"This was a crime of violence that was pre-meditated and organized." Representatives of exiled Uighur groups adamantly rejected the Chinese government claim of a plot, and said the riot was an outpouring of pent-up anger over government policies and Han Chinese dominance of economic opportunities. "This anger has been growing for a long time," said Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress in exile in Sweden. "It began as a peaceful assembly. There were thousands of people shouting to stop ethnic discrimination, demanding an explanation ... They are tired of suffering in silence."

The claims of conspiracy by pro-independence exiles echo the Chinese government's handling of rioting across Tibetan areas in March last year, which it also called a plot hatched abroad. And the Urumqi unrest underscores that Xinjiang, no less than Tibet, faces volatile ethnic tensions that have accompanied China's growing economic and political stake in its western regions, many thousands of kilometers from Beijing. Xinjiang is the doorway to China's trade and energy ties with central Asia, and is itself rich in natural gas, minerals and farm produce. But many Uighurs say they see little of that wealth.

NUMBER OF DEAD UNCLEAR

I guess it's just a coincidence that yet again where there is violence in the world there are Muslims?

I'm no fan of China or it's Communist government but I'm in no doubt given the Islamic track record across the globe of violence who started this one.

Chechnya, Kashmir, Kosovo, Pakistan, Darfur, Palestine - wherever in the world there is war there is almost always invariably Muslims.

Muslims not happy in China...

Uighur protests inflame China's Xinjiang province
07 July 2009 - Clashes took place in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China on 5 July, leaving at least 140 people dead.

The violence followed a protest in People's Square in Ürümqi, the capital of XUAR, which at its height saw between 1,000 and 3,000 Uighur residents demanding an investigation into clashes between ethnic Uighurs and Han Chinese in the southern city of Shaoguan, Guangdong province, on 25 June.

Ethnic tension has been high because of Beijing's political domination of the region and a policy of transmigration that has resulted in the Uighurs becoming only the largest, and not the majority, ethnic group in XUAR.

http://www.janes.com/news/security/j...0707_1_n.shtml

See also:

China's Hu skips G8 to deal with Xinjiang riots
7 July`09 - Chinese President Hu Jintao abandoned plans to attend a G8 summit in Italy on Wednesday, returning home early to deal with ethnic violence that has left at least 156 dead in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on its website that Hu had left for China "due to the situation" in energy-rich Xinjiang, which borders central Asia, where 1,080 were people have been injured and 1,434 arrested in unrest between Han Chinese and Muslim Uighurs since Sunday. State Councilor Dai Bingguo will attend the G8 summit in Hu's place, the ministry added.

Urumqi, Xinjiang's regional capital, woke up on Wednesday after an overnight curfew that authorities imposed after thousands of Han Chinese stormed through its streets demanding redress and sometimes extracting bloody vengeance for Sunday's violence. Groups of Han gathered around reporters to talk about how angry they were and dragged away a Uighur woman who also approached. It is not clear what happened to her.

"We want these terrorists punished. Our hearts are still filled with anger," said one of the Han Chinese men. Li Yufang, a Han who owns a clothes store in Urumqi, said he was still outraged by what had happened over the weekend, and wanted to protest again, although he admitted it was unlikely amid the heavy presence of troops. "Uighurs are spoiled like pandas. When they steal, rob, rape or kill, they can get away with it. If we Han did the same thing, we'd be executed," he said.

ETHNIC TENSIONS

al-Qaida gonna join the fray...

Al-Qaida to avenge Urumqi killings: Report
14 July 2009, Al-Qaida has vowed to avenge the deaths of Muslims in China's Urumqi city by targeting the country's workforce in northwest Africa, a Chinese newspaper said.

The call for reprisals against China has come from Algerian-based Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the South China Morning Post said, summarizing the intelligence report by London-based risk analysis firm Stirling Assynt. It is the first time Osama bin Laden's network has directly threatened China or its interests, the Stirling report noted, and said that a thirst for vengeance was spreading over the global jihadist community.

"Although AQIM appear to be the first arm of Al-Qaida to officially state they will target Chinese interests, others are likely to follow," the consultancy's report said, according to the Hong Kong newspaper. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese work in the Middle East and North Africa, including 50,000 in Algeria, the report estimated.

"There is an increasing amount of chatter ... among jihadists who claim they want to see action against China," it said. "Some of these individuals have been actively seeking information on China's interests in the Muslim world, which they could use for targeting purposes." The Stirling evaluation was based on information from people who have seen the AQIM instruction, the newspaper said.

Chinese authorities have said that riots in Urumqi by Muslim Uighurs on July 5 left 184 people dead - most of whom were Han, China's dominant ethnic group - and more than 1,600 injured. Uighur leaders accuse Chinese forces of opening fire on peaceful protests, in the latest unrest to rock the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang.

Source

I would think the Chinese engineers in Sudan...

China warns citizens in Algeria of al Qaeda threat
Tue Jul 14, 2009 - China has warned its citizens in Algeria about possible attacks from al Qaeda in retribution for a Chinese government crackdown in the Muslim region of Xinjiang.

The Chinese embassy in Algeria on its web site urged all Chinese people and organisations to be more aware of safety precautions and to strengthen security measures "in consideration of the situation after the July 5 incident in Urumqi". The warning came after London risk consultancy Stirling Assynt said in a report to clients that al Qaeda might target Chinese workers in northwest Africa, citing "chatter" after the July 5 ethnic riots in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang. "China has been reminding overseas Chinese to pay attention to their safety and enhance self protection ... China will take any necessary measure to protect the safety of Chinese organisations and citizens overseas," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters on Tuesday when asked to comment on the report.

Security is heavy in Uighur neighbourhoods of Urumqi and other cities in Xinjiang after ethnic riots killed 184 people and wounded more than 1,600. About 1,000 people have been detained. Two knife-wielding Uighurs were also shot dead by police this week when they attacked another Uighur. Exiled Uighur organisations said they opposed all forms of violence and condemned the reported al Qaeda threat.

The Uyghur (also spelt Uighur) American Association and the World Uyghur Congress are "extremely disturbed by reports that the North African wing of Al Qaeda has threatened to attack Chinese workers in Africa in revenge for the deaths of Uyghurs in East Turkestan", the exiled groups said in an emailed statement. They said they advocated basic human rights and self-determination for Uighurs, a Turkic people who are largely Muslim and share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia and who now make up less than half the region's population of 20 million. Chinese workers have been kidnapped, and Chinese convoys attacked, over the past few years in many parts of the world with heavy Chinese investment, including Pakistan and Niger.

http://www.reuters.com/article/lates.../idUSPEK193325

Exactly, there is violence whereever there are Muslims. China has 55 minorities, why are the muslims only ones rioting? It is not simple riot and protests either, very clearly premeditated killings.

I want to find out why are muslims more violent than the rest of people. Anything to read?

Originally Posted by DinoDino

I guess it's just a coincidence that yet again where there is violence in the world there are Muslims?

I'm no fan of China or it's Communist government but I'm in no doubt given the Islamic track record across the globe of violence who started this one.

Chechnya, Kashmir, Kosovo, Pakistan, Darfur, Palestine - wherever in the world there is war there is almost always invariably Muslims.

I don't think it'd be fair to blame their religion for their restlessness; that's rather discriminatory..

Islam is a religion that has wide spectra of levels and it's always the extremists who make the news.

It's just an ethnic clash, more or less bound to happen here and there. Luckily the chinese government could act appropriately and calm things.

Travis wrote: I want to find out why are muslims more violent than the rest of people.

Uncle Ferd says, "They don't have baseball...

... so their version of it is loppin' off people's heads."