July 9:
Thousands of local students and some foreign ones are being held under house arrest at the Kashgar Teaching Institute campus to prevent them from taking part in the protests that have rocked Xinjiang. College students were believed to have led the initially peaceful protests in Urumqi, held to commemorate the deaths of two Uighur migrant workers in an ethnic clash in Guangdong province. Many Uighur protesters traveled to Urumqi from Kashgar since the workers killed in Guangdong were from villages outside Kashgar. When a journalist from the South China Morning Post attempted to enter the campus he was told reportedly by security: "You are not allowed in and the students are not allowed out." Authorities have also cut Internet access and blocked text messaging in the area.
The total construction cost estimates of the 1,304.5 kilometers long China-Kazakhstan gas pipeline segment, which is part of the inter-state pipeline from Turkmenistan to China, have grown from $6 billion to $7.5 billion. So far the section has cost $4 billion and by late 2009 that figure is expected to increase to $5.5 billion. Chinese bank loans are financing the construction of Kazakhstan’s section, which is scheduled to be completed by June 2010. All together the estimated $20 billion long China-Turkmenistan pipeline, like the new pipeline to Burma, will consist of two parallel pipelines, one for oil and one for natural gas. In addition to the Kazakhstan segment it will cross about 200 km in Turkmenistan, 550 kilometers in Uzbekistan, and about 8,000 in kilometers China.
July 14:
Muslim groups around the world are beginning to show their dissatisfaction with Beijing’s treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. Protesters in Indonesia called for a jihad against China and clashed with police outside the Chinese embassy in Jakarta. In Turkey, over 5,000 citizens protested and the government promised to use its temporary seat on the UN Security Council to support the Uighur cause. In Gaza, Hamas said Beijing’s actions would harm China's ties to the Muslim world. "We hope that the Chinese government improves its relations with the Muslims of the Xinjiang region," said a Hamas spokesman. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al-Qaeda's North African wing, has threatened to target the Chinese workers in Africa to avenge the murdered Uighurs. Three weeks ago the group ambushed a convoy of Algerian security forces guarding Chinese engineers, killing 24 Algerians, the Times of London reports
July 15:
In response to threats from Al-Qaeda China’s foreign ministry spokesman said China will “pay close attention”, “step up cooperation with the relevant countries, and take all measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and enterprises abroad.” In an interview with the Huangqiu Shibao, People’s Liberation Army Major General Peng Guangqian said the threat only “proves the ties between the ‘Xinjiang independence’ forces and Al-Qaeda” and “indicates that the ‘5 July’ serious and violent criminal incidents of beating, smashing, looting, and burning in Urumqi was not accidental.” China has repeatedly linked Uighur separatist groups to Al-Qaeda, but this is the first time that the terrorist network has made a direct threat against China.
July 16:
As tensions along the China-India border mount, Nepal's Home Ministry is deploying armed security forces to key border entry points along its border with both countries. The first phase of the deployment, which comes at China’s request to prevent the “free movement of Tibetan refugees and curb illegal activities along the border,” will establish five bases on the China border each with an Armed Police Force (APF) squad, Nepal’s Nagarik daily reports. APF squads are already deployed in 18 places along the Nepal-India border and Nepal’s government has plans to reinforce those bases and add two more.
Want these sent to your inbox?
Subscribe
