Authorities counter criticism of official version of events in Urumqi
Shi Jiangtao in Beijing 10 September 2009
Beijing has begun to react to growing criticism of the government’s version of reported attacks in Urumqi involving hypodermic needles and syringes, with Xinhua releasing photos it said showed victims of needle stabbings.
The central government has also flown top security officials to Urumqi to investigate the reported attacks in the panic-stricken northwestern city.
Overseas media have started to question the claim by the Xinjiang government that hundreds of people have fallen victim to such attacks, reporting that only dozens of people had shown physical signs of being stabbed with needles.
But mainland analysts said the fear that has swept through the city of 2.3 million has underlined deep-rooted mistrust between Han Chinese and Uygurs, Xinjiang’s most populous minority group, and the lack of transparency of government-controlled information.
Amid local authorities’ efforts to ease ethnic tensions following mass protests last week, Xinhua released photos of people it said were victims of needle attacks in an apparent bid to counter challenges to the government’s version of the story.
One photo showed a patient with alleged needle injuries in the neck, and another showed doctors attending a boy who claimed to have been stabbed by needles.
It was the first time that authorities had produced evidence, though indirect, of the attacks almost three weeks ago allegedly by Muslim Uygurs against Han Chinese.
Hong Kong television stations aired video footage yesterday of a young Uygur man apparently being caught stabbing others with a needle. The man admitted to police that the syringe belonged to him. Police found more used syringes in his flat. But the report did not say where he had obtained them or whether he was a drug addict.
It is difficult to independently verify details of the cases.
Xinhua said the country’s top leaders had made the region’s stability a priority and sent security officials to Urumqi to help investigate. Authorities also stepped up their war of words against Muslim “separatist forces”, calling the attacks “copies of violent, terrorist crimes”.
While authorities were confident that tight media controls - imposed since deadly riots in Urumqi in July - have been successful in clamping down on alleged Uygur troublemakers, it has also backfired in the eyes of residents.
Residents complained that as they did not trust government accounts, they had little choice but to rely on rumours to figure out what was happening in the city. Internet access and phone text messages have been blocked for two months.
“The government officials asked us to trust them, but their pledges about protecting us and punishing Uygurs involved in the violent rioting in July turned out to be lies,” said one resident surnamed Ma. “I don’t trust those rumours, but the government refused to tell us the truth. Apart from rumours, where else can we get basic information about what’s going on in our lives?”
Analysts said the strict handling of information and ambiguous, and sometimes conflicting, state media reports had done little to ease widespread doubts over the official version of the needle attacks.
Victims’ statistics were a case in point. While the government said more than 500 people claimed to have been attacked, only a little more than 100 showed any physical signs of injury. Of those, 22 were being monitored and no one were expected to show medical complications, it said.
A Xinhua report during the weekend quoted doctors as saying some were just mosquito bites.
The report did not explain what happened to people who did not have clear marks of needle attacks, bumps or rashes on their skin.
Overseas media have covered the reported attacks extensively. Agence Presse-France interviewed victims who claimed they were attacked by Uygurs and expressed concerns over long-term health risks.
Although authorities refused to acknowledge the recent unrest was ethnic in nature, tensions between Han Chinese and Uygurs flared last week when tens of thousands of Han took to the street demanding the ousting of Xinjiang’s Communist Party chief, Wang Lequan.
Five people were killed in the protests, and Urumqi’s party chief, Li Zhi, and Xinjiang’s regional police chief, Liu Yaohua, were sacked over the weekend.
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First ‘evidence’ of needle attacks
Authorities counter criticism of official version of events in Urumqi
Shi Jiangtao in Beijing
10 September 2009
Beijing has begun to react to growing criticism of the government’s version of reported attacks in Urumqi involving hypodermic needles and syringes, with Xinhua releasing photos it said showed victims of needle stabbings.
The central government has also flown top security officials to Urumqi to investigate the reported attacks in the panic-stricken northwestern city.
Overseas media have started to question the claim by the Xinjiang government that hundreds of people have fallen victim to such attacks, reporting that only dozens of people had shown physical signs of being stabbed with needles.
But mainland analysts said the fear that has swept through the city of 2.3 million has underlined deep-rooted mistrust between Han Chinese and Uygurs, Xinjiang’s most populous minority group, and the lack of transparency of government-controlled information.
Amid local authorities’ efforts to ease ethnic tensions following mass protests last week, Xinhua released photos of people it said were victims of needle attacks in an apparent bid to counter challenges to the government’s version of the story.
One photo showed a patient with alleged needle injuries in the neck, and another showed doctors attending a boy who claimed to have been stabbed by needles.
It was the first time that authorities had produced evidence, though indirect, of the attacks almost three weeks ago allegedly by Muslim Uygurs against Han Chinese.
Hong Kong television stations aired video footage yesterday of a young Uygur man apparently being caught stabbing others with a needle. The man admitted to police that the syringe belonged to him. Police found more used syringes in his flat. But the report did not say where he had obtained them or whether he was a drug addict.
It is difficult to independently verify details of the cases.
Xinhua said the country’s top leaders had made the region’s stability a priority and sent security officials to Urumqi to help investigate. Authorities also stepped up their war of words against Muslim “separatist forces”, calling the attacks “copies of violent, terrorist crimes”.
While authorities were confident that tight media controls - imposed since deadly riots in Urumqi in July - have been successful in clamping down on alleged Uygur troublemakers, it has also backfired in the eyes of residents.
Residents complained that as they did not trust government accounts, they had little choice but to rely on rumours to figure out what was happening in the city. Internet access and phone text messages have been blocked for two months.
“The government officials asked us to trust them, but their pledges about protecting us and punishing Uygurs involved in the violent rioting in July turned out to be lies,” said one resident surnamed Ma. “I don’t trust those rumours, but the government refused to tell us the truth. Apart from rumours, where else can we get basic information about what’s going on in our lives?”
Analysts said the strict handling of information and ambiguous, and sometimes conflicting, state media reports had done little to ease widespread doubts over the official version of the needle attacks.
Victims’ statistics were a case in point. While the government said more than 500 people claimed to have been attacked, only a little more than 100 showed any physical signs of injury. Of those, 22 were being monitored and no one were expected to show medical complications, it said.
A Xinhua report during the weekend quoted doctors as saying some were just mosquito bites.
The report did not explain what happened to people who did not have clear marks of needle attacks, bumps or rashes on their skin.
Overseas media have covered the reported attacks extensively. Agence Presse-France interviewed victims who claimed they were attacked by Uygurs and expressed concerns over long-term health risks.
Although authorities refused to acknowledge the recent unrest was ethnic in nature, tensions between Han Chinese and Uygurs flared last week when tens of thousands of Han took to the street demanding the ousting of Xinjiang’s Communist Party chief, Wang Lequan.
Five people were killed in the protests, and Urumqi’s party chief, Li Zhi, and Xinjiang’s regional police chief, Liu Yaohua, were sacked over the weekend.
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