February 28:
Xinjiang’s crackdown on unapproved religious activities is picking up speed amid China’s nationwide “stability” drive before the upcoming Communist Party Congress in the fall. Authorities have identified over 100 locations from which to implement an “education, propaganda, walkabout and cleanup” operation aimed at confiscating “subversive” literature and materials including fliers advocating a Muslim “holy war” against China. During raids on mosques and shops in Aksu, Xinjiang authorities detained 103 persons and confiscated large quantities of religious literature and DVDs, Radio Free Asia reports. Large amounts of illegal materials have also been confiscated in Kashgar and police are conducting searches at the Urumqi railway station. More than 2,000 people are being reeducated and fines ranging from 50 yuan to 5,000 yuan ($8 to $800) are being handed out.
February 29:
Nine Uighurs wielding knives killed 13 people on a pedestrian street in Yecheng County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang before police shot seven of them dead. Muslim Uighurs’ animosity toward Han Chinese migration into the region has been growing in recent years, especially among the area’s unemployed Uighur youth. “Han civilians are taking our bread, taking our jobs, and taking our houses. They are threatening our survival,” said one Uighur resident in comments quoted in Radio Free Asia. “The difference in power of arms between the two sides is incomparable. Uighurs can’t do anything to the armed police with a knife [so] they attacked Han civilians,” he said. A viscous cycle of violence has gripped in the region, which “over recent years has had a large number of bad incidents,” Tuerwenjiang Tuerxun of the official Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences said in comments carried by al-Arabiya. The semi-official Global Times called Yecheng the “front line of China’s campaign against militancy.”
March 1:
On February 22 Chinese authorities prevented 11 Vietnamese fishermen from approaching the Paracel Islands to shelter from a storm, beat them and stole their property according to Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokesman. Vietnam lodged an official protest with the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi, demanding compensation for the fishermen and an end to the attacks that it says, “gravely threatened lives and caused heavy property losses.” Beijing denies that the fishermen were assaulted and claims the authorities only compelled Vietnamese ships to leave Chinese waters. “We call on Vietnam to pay real respect to China’s sovereignty over the Xisha (Paracel) Islands and step up education and management of Vietnamese fishermen and stop illegal fishing activities to preserve China-Vietnam relations,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said in comments carried by the Associated Press.
March 2:
Next month the Philippines plans to award offshore service contracts to the winning bidders of 15 oil exploration blocks, including two areas near Palawan Island in waters also claimed by China. In response Beijing “reaffirmed its indisputable sovereignty” over the area and its adjacent waters and “protested the Philippines’ plan to explore oil and natural gas in the area,” the official China Daily reports. The Philippines Department of National Defense said it would protect foreign companies exploring for fuel in the areas. “It is clear in our mandate that we should protect the people and the state, not only Filipino citizens but also citizens visiting the country,” Philippines Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said in comments carried by the Philippine Star newspaper. Last month, the U.S. Congress approved the transfer of a second ship to the Philippines to help its navy defend its waters.
The number of China’s people aged 60 or above hit 185 million at the end of 2011, 13.7 percent of the nation’s total population, according to the official People’s Daily. That represents a four percent increase over 2010, when it stood at 177.6 million. By the end of 2015, the total number of Chinese over-60 will increase by 43 million, to 221 million, and China will have 24 million people aged 80 or above. Moreover, more than 51 million people 65 or older will be without children to support them. To meet the challenges of a greying country, Beijing is improving its services for the elderly by extending old-age pension coverage to all citizens and increasing pension levels. In January, Tibet became the first Chinese region to extend its old-age pension coverage to all senior citizens.