Telegraph UK: China begins the hunt for Xinjiang rioters

rlsrls08

China begins the hunt for Xinjiang rioters
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5786464/China-begins-the-hunt-for-Xinjiang-rioters.html

Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, has vowed to severely punish theperpetrators of the race riots in Urumqi which left 156 people dead.

By Peter Foster in Urumqi and Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
                                        Published: 1:05PM BST 09 Jul 2009

                                                                                                                        Thelocal government in Xinjiang has already said it will apply the deathpenalty to the instigators of the clashes between local Uighur Muslimsand Han Chinese                                        Photo: EPA                                       
               
        
Mr Hu who abandoned the Group of Eight summit in Italy to deal with the   situation in China's far West, has discussed the riots with the Politburo   and labelled them a "severe violent criminal event".
The local government in Xinjiang has already said it will apply the death   penalty to the instigators of the clashes between local Uighur Muslims and   Han Chinese, which began last Sunday.


Over 1,400 people have already been arrested in connection with the riots, but   the authorities stepped up the hunt for those responsible yesterday, pasting   notices across Urumqi urging rioters to turn themselves.
The notices, written in both Chinese and Uighur, said that those who hide or   protect "criminals" will also be punished In Beijing, a prominent   university professor has been detained for "just posting reports on his   blog", according to Reporters without Borders, an organisation   promoting free speech.

Ilham Tohti, an ethnic Uighur, was arrested after Nur Bekri, the governor of   the far Western province of Xinjiang accused his blog of fomenting the riots   on national television.

He subsequently disappeared from his home in the capital. Minzu University,   where he teaches economics, was unable to comment on his whereabouts.

Mr Tohti was warned last month that his postings about Han Chinese and Uighurs   violated the law. In a final telephone call earlier this week, he said he   would not publish information about the clashes in Urumqi because the timing   was too sensitive.

Li Zhi, the Communist party secretary in the city, said that many people   suspected of the inciting riots had now been arrested, including some   students."

The small groups of violent people have already been caught by the police. The   situation is now under control," he said.

A sense of normality has returned to the streets of Urumqi for the first time   since Sunday's violence. Citizens could be seen performing their morning tai   chi exercises in the park, walking their dogs and going out to the vegetable   markets to stock up on fresh produce.

Many more shops were open and office workers began returning to work after a   massive influx of police on
Wednesday quelled the threat of further disorder   and revenge attacks.

Neighbourhood committees organised themselves to deliver handcarts full of   water-melons to the paramilitary police as a 'thank you' for their work   preventing further major bloodshed in recent days.

Wang Jun, a 55-year-old housewife, who was delivering melons to the police   said she felt finally felt 'safe' after four days of tension.

"The panic and worry that I've been feeling these last few days has   subsided," she said, adding that she was optimistic that relations   between Han and Uighur communities could be mended in the coming days, weeks   and months.

"I was very angry at first, but as the days of gone by I realise that   this is a temporary emotion that must pass. I think this violence was done   by a small 'separatist' element that do not represent the majority of   ordinary Uighurs who, just like us, also want safety and stability."   Across the street, a Uighur hotel security guard, Tuoheti, 28, said he also   believed that Han and Uighur could heal the wounds inflicted by the events   of the last four days.

"This has been a terrible time, the riot controls have imposed great   inconvenience on everybody and we're all happy to see that stability is   returning." Not everyone was satisfied with the police response.   Shopkeepers returning to business for the first time since Sunday expressed   anger that the authorities had not moved more swiftly to restore order in   the city.

Wang Yu, the 43-year-old owner of a shop selling jade necklaces and carvings,   said: "The government and the police could have stopped this on the   first day, but their performance was weak. I have lost nearly 10,000 yuan   (£920) in these past four days." Mr Wang added that the veneer of   normality that had returned to the city could not disguise the deep wounds   that Sunday's killing had inflicted on community relations in the city.

"On the surface, everybody is trying to get on. Han and Uighur wave and   smile to each other in the street, but deep in their hearts this incident   has left a thick knot of distrust which will not be easily or quickly undone."   ends

rlsrls08

这篇写的还挺算客观的