October 19:
The New York Times has documented what it calls Beijing’s “intricate series of laws and regulations intended to control the spread and practice of Islam” among the Muslim Uighur population in its Northwest Xinjiang Autonomous region. Although many of the provisions have been on the books for years the authorities have tightened their enforcement in the past seven weeks and publicly highlighted them by posting the laws on Web sites or hanging banners in towns. Beijing’s policies include: half-hour limits on sermons, prayer in public areas is forbidden, the Koran cannot be taught in private, Muslims can only worship in their hometown Mosques, studying Arabic is restricted to special government schools, and government workers and Communist Party members are prohibited from attending mosque to practice Islam. The passports of Uighurs have been confiscated across Xinjiang to force them to join government-run hajj tours rather than travel illegally to Mecca on their own. But the policy that compelled students and government workers to eat during Ramadan faced the greatest pushback. Last Ramadan, the local university in Kashgar tried to force students to eat during the day by prohibiting them from leaving campus in the evening to join their families in breaking the daily fast, locking its gates and putting glass shards along the top of a campus wall.
A Hong Kong-based monthly magazine, Open (Kaifang), reports that rivalries inside the Communist Party of China (CPC) have broken out behind the facade of unity erected for the Olympic Games. The publication, which is known for its political sources inside China and its publication of information banned by Beijing’s censors, said Premier Wen Jiabao's support for Western values such as democracy and human rights has led to an orchestrated campaign of abuse directed by hardliners in the party's propaganda department and the official People’s Daily newspaper against him. “China’s ship of reform is on the rocks and risks sinking,” Kaifang said in its analysis. “The party needs to find a scapegoat,” the magazine said. An English report of the story ran in the Times of India.
October 20:
Nine Chinese oil workers have been kidnapped in Sudan’s southern Kordofan province near the line separating the former warring parties of north and south Sudan and where most of country’s oil reserves are located. The missing are three engineers and six workers of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) working in the fields as part of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). Khartoum officials accused the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) of the abduction, although the rebel group did not claim responsibility. The members of the Arab Messeria tribe had reportedly carried out the kidnapping because they want a greater share of the region’s oil revenue. Ali Yousuf, director of protocol at the Sudanese foreign ministry said in comments carried by the Sudan Tribunethat Sudanese forces were scouring the area of the kidnapping (the Block 4 oil field) but "no contact has been made with the kidnappers."
[Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a growing number of violence directed toward Chinese in Sudan’s oil producing areas. The JEM rebels attacked the Chinese-run Defra oil field in Kordofan last October and kidnapped two workers. Two months later, the group attacked an army garrison in another Chinese-run oil field in the same province. Darfur rebels also blame China for its diplomatic and military support to Khartoum and have attacked oil Chinese firms in the area. In 2004, for instance, Darfur rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army kidnapped two Chinese engineers working on water projects in the western region, which neighbors Kordofan.]
On one of the first of many planned high-level exchanges between the U.S. armed forces and their Chinese counterparts, People's Liberation Army (PLA) Major-General Zhong Zhiming lead a delegation of Chinese military officers to visit US Pacific Command (Pacom). "The frequent exchanges between the U.S. and Chinese military are good for our future development and I think they'll happen more and more and the relationship will get better," Zhong said in comments carried by al Jazeera. On the U.S. side, Chief Master Sergeant James A Roy said the talks helped to break down suspicions on both sides. "We're interested in what their intentions are and we want them to partake in the peace and stability across the Asia Pacific region," Roy said.
