China Reform Monitor: No. 711

August 6:

Exile groups say hundreds of Uighurs have been detained and thousands of paramilitary forces deployed to the Xinjiang region in response to what local officials have said are terrorist threats from extremist Uighurs who want to form an independent state. In the wake of an attack on a paramilitary police unit that killed 16 officers, black-clad police carrying short clubs patrolled the Uighur neighborhoods of Kashgar, entering houses to check occupants' names against a government list, the Washington Post reports.

[Editor’s Note: After the September 11, 2001 attacks, China succeeded in having the Uigher separatist group, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, recognized internationally as a terrorist organization. Since then, Beijing has played up the threat posed by the group, leading to U.S. assertions that it is linked to al-Qaeda. Chinese officials said the group poses the single largest threat to security at the Olympics.]


August 7:

A day ahead of the grand opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, Chinese President Hu Jintao had a very tight schedule. He met separately with the heads of 11 countries including the leaders of Laos, Brazil, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Belarus, North Korea, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Montenegro, and Timor-Leste. Hu affirmed China’s support for North Korea, and reminded the Vietnamese president that his country’s efforts to develop potential energy resources in the South China Sea could undermine the bilateral relationship, the official Xinhua news agency reports.

During their meeting, Serbian President Boris Tadic thanked President Hu for “China's precious support for Serbia's efforts to safeguard state sovereignty.” The comment, a veiled reference to China’s continued refusal to extend diplomatic recognition to newly independent Kosovo, came as Albanian Premier Sali Berisha met with Mr. Wang Jiarui, Head of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee. In comments carried by the official Albanian Telegraphic Agency, Berisha “expressed the highest estimation of a Chinese review and reconsider [sic] of Kosovo independence” and said China “would find a friendly country with independent Kosovo.” Wang responded that “China was delighted especially on the progress of Kosovo in the last months.” Wang, indicating Beijing had yet to finalize its decision, said the Kosovo question required “continuous dialogue and evaluation.”


August 8:

The Ming Pao reports that five to six thousand retired military and Armed Police officers in Beijing continue to seek redress over their compensation and over a thousand have filed official appeals with the central government. Several hundred retires had submitted an application to Beijing Public Security Bureau's Public Order Division to hold a demonstration but were told the issue was too sensitive and the application would not be processed.

The Times of India reports that China will help Burma build two helipads, upgrade its facilities and communication networks to accommodate more troops, and build storage systems for arms on the strategically located Coco Islands. On June 25, a Chinese naval delegation led by Col Chi Ziong Feng, accompanied a Burmese delegation headed by Brig Gen Win Shein, commander of the Irrawaddy naval headquarters which controls the island, on an unpublicized visit. Indian officials are "concerned, but not alarmed" about reports that China is also building its own listening post on the Great Coco Island.

[Editor’s Note: Located approximately 150 miles south of the southern tip of Myanmar, the Cocoa Islands are less than 50 miles north of the northernmost of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands.]


August 11:

Ta Kung Pao reports that “Western countries and organizations” are supporting violent Xinjiang independence movements that target the Chinese government facilities. “Without some Western countries and organizations' support, even their survival will be a problem, not to mention launching terrorist attacks,” the Beijing-leaning Hong Kong daily wrote. “From attacking civilians, they have switched their attacks against government and judicial institutions and public facilities for good camouflage to gain continued support from some Western countries and organizations.”