Beijing fired official ‘to ease public anger in Xinjiang’
Minnie Chan 06 September 2009
Former Urumqi party secretary Li Zhi is only a scapegoat and Beijing had to sack him to appease the public, analysts and local residents say.
The anger of the Han protesters who took to the streets to demonstrate against a wave of syringe attacks reached a frenzy on Thursday, with many chanting for the regional party boss to quit. “Step down Wang Lequan,” they shouted outside the government offices.
But when the announcement came, two days later, it was Li who the government said would go.
Beijing had no option, said Ho Leong-leong, a Hong Kong-based political commentator.
With the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China just weeks away, Beijing could not have removed Wang, Ho said. Doing so would signal that the government would bow to public pressure, possibly encouraging more protests across the country, he said.
“If the central government answered the people’s call in Xinjiang to remove Wang, it would have set a precedent for Beijing to remove a Politburo member, or other senior official, under public pressure,” Ho said. “It would only stir up more serious protests around the nation calling for more senior officials to step down.”
Nor could Beijing ignore the protesters’ demands and allow the situation to continue. “The syringe attacks and massive protest are a double slap to the face of the Beijing leadership because both occurred between President Hu Jintao’s trip in Xinjiang late last month and the coming 60th anniversary.”
Li, a 58-year-old Anhui native, made his final official appearance on Thursday, standing on a police car in a square in Urumqi and appealing for calm before thousands of Han Chinese.
One day earlier, at a press conference, Li accused separatist forces of plotting the syringe attacks to “stir up ethnic antagonism, overturn social order ... and split the Chinese nation” after police sent a text message to Urumqi residents warning them to watch out for syringe attacks.
Li is known for taking a hard line. He stirred controversy in July when he stood atop a vehicle and led Han protesters in chanting slogans denouncing Uygur leader Rebiya Kadeer, whom Beijing accused of inciting violence, although he also persuaded the protesters to disperse.
Li was promoted to party secretary of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang in 2005, after spending almost his entire official career in state-owned enterprises in the autonomous region. One year later, he became party head of Urumqi.
Urumqi residents did seem not satisfied with the compromise.
“Li Zhi was only a party secretary of Urumqi. Do you think he can influence the whole of Xinjiang?” a local Han resident asked. “The public is complaining about Wang Lequan and he should also step down.”
Yao Dali, a professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, said sacking Li could do little to help relieve the pressure.
“It’s very difficult to solve the tensions between ethnic Han and Uygurs within a short period because it’s a very complicated problem created by history,” the academic said.
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Sacked Urumqi party chief is just a scapegoat
Beijing fired official ‘to ease public anger in Xinjiang’
Minnie Chan
06 September 2009
Former Urumqi party secretary Li Zhi is only a scapegoat and Beijing had to sack him to appease the public, analysts and local residents say.
The anger of the Han protesters who took to the streets to demonstrate against a wave of syringe attacks reached a frenzy on Thursday, with many chanting for the regional party boss to quit. “Step down Wang Lequan,” they shouted outside the government offices.
But when the announcement came, two days later, it was Li who the government said would go.
Beijing had no option, said Ho Leong-leong, a Hong Kong-based political commentator.
With the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China just weeks away, Beijing could not have removed Wang, Ho said. Doing so would signal that the government would bow to public pressure, possibly encouraging more protests across the country, he said.
“If the central government answered the people’s call in Xinjiang to remove Wang, it would have set a precedent for Beijing to remove a Politburo member, or other senior official, under public pressure,” Ho said. “It would only stir up more serious protests around the nation calling for more senior officials to step down.”
Nor could Beijing ignore the protesters’ demands and allow the situation to continue. “The syringe attacks and massive protest are a double slap to the face of the Beijing leadership because both occurred between President Hu Jintao’s trip in Xinjiang late last month and the coming 60th anniversary.”
Li, a 58-year-old Anhui native, made his final official appearance on Thursday, standing on a police car in a square in Urumqi and appealing for calm before thousands of Han Chinese.
One day earlier, at a press conference, Li accused separatist forces of plotting the syringe attacks to “stir up ethnic antagonism, overturn social order ... and split the Chinese nation” after police sent a text message to Urumqi residents warning them to watch out for syringe attacks.
Li is known for taking a hard line. He stirred controversy in July when he stood atop a vehicle and led Han protesters in chanting slogans denouncing Uygur leader Rebiya Kadeer, whom Beijing accused of inciting violence, although he also persuaded the protesters to disperse.
Li was promoted to party secretary of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang in 2005, after spending almost his entire official career in state-owned enterprises in the autonomous region. One year later, he became party head of Urumqi.
Urumqi residents did seem not satisfied with the compromise.
“Li Zhi was only a party secretary of Urumqi. Do you think he can influence the whole of Xinjiang?” a local Han resident asked. “The public is complaining about Wang Lequan and he should also step down.”
Yao Dali, a professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, said sacking Li could do little to help relieve the pressure.
“It’s very difficult to solve the tensions between ethnic Han and Uygurs within a short period because it’s a very complicated problem created by history,” the academic said.
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