An electronic newsletter Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 34 16 April 1997 In this issue: (1) STRONG EARTHQUAKE HITS DISASTER-STRUCK NORTHWEST CHINA
(2) CPC PROPAGANDA DEPARTMENT URGES CAUTIOUS NEWS COVERAGE
(3) BBC TEAM DEPORTED
(4) NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS CHIEF TO VISIT XINJIANG
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (1) STRONG EARTHQUAKE HITS DISASTER-STRUCK NORTHWEST CHINA
WUNN EDITOR REMARK: Jiashi is a Chinese name for Payzawat city of Eastern Turkistan located about 55 km east of Kashgar. It is populated mostly by the Uyghurs and nobody in the region calls it Jiashi. The word "Payzawat" is translated from Uyghur as "Payz" - joy, pleasure + "awat" cultivated, populated. Apparently, neither joy nor cultivated are at present the proper names for the place. The Uyghurs consider overwhelming use of the Chinese names for places in Eastern Turkistan by the international media as another sign of assimilation by the Chinese of the Uyghur people and their lands. I would appreciate if somebody let me, an Uyghurman whose grand-grand-grandfathers are buried in Kashgar, know what Jiashi means in Chinese. --Rakhim Aitbayev BEIJING - The seventh strong earthquake in three months struck northwestern China Wednesday with a jolt measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale. But a full danger alert ensured no further fatalities to add to the 22 deaths since full-scale seismic activity struck the Xinjiang region of Jiashi on January 21. "No one else died in this latest earthquake because nearly everyone in Jiashi is sleeping outside now. Even the government offices have been emptied because they are damaged," said a spokesman for the Xinjiang Seismological Bureau. "Luckily the weather is getting warmer now, so there is no real problem for the people to spend the night in the open air," he added from the regional capital or Urumqi. According to the State Seismology Bureau, the earthquake hit at 2.19 a.m. (1819 GMT Tuesday) in Jiashi county which is just 60 kilometers (38 miles) east of the city of Kashgar. It was the seventh quake with a magnitude of more than 6.0 to hit the Jiashi region since the start of the year and it caused further damage to the few buildings that remain standing after three months of heavy seismic activity in the region. On January 21, two quakes measuring 6.4 and 6.3 on the Richter scale hit the county, killing 12 people, followed by a 6.0-degree quake on March 1 that left one dead. Earthquakes registering 6.3 and 6.4 struck on April 6. On April 11, the strongest magnitude temblor this year -- measuring 6.6 -- hit the region, killing at least nine and injuring 63. The quake also destroyed two entire townships, causing severe damage to more than 73,000 houses and 15 mosques, and killing more than 1,500 head of livestock, according to official figures. National television footage of the relief operations showed the wounded lying among makeshift field hospitals, as thousands of soldiers and civilians sifted through rubble and struggled to construct temporary shelters. A total of 364 aftershocks were recorded in its wake before Wednesday's fresh jolt. "We have had considerable success in predicting these earthquakes and warning people to stay away from buildings, and have managed to save many lives," the spokesman said. In reward for their predictions, the Xinjiang Seismology bureau has received 50,000 yuan (6,000 dollars) from state level bodies and 70,000 yuan (8,500 dollars) from provincial level authorities, he added. An earthquake measuring five on the Richter scale is capable of causing considerable damage and in the previous decade, only 10 quakes of such magnitude were recorded in the whole of Xinjiang. However, seismologists have warned there is no end in sight and say there is a strong likelihood of further strong quakes hitting the region in the coming months. (2) CPC PROPAGANDA DEPARTMENT URGES CAUTIOUS NEWS COVERAGE
(Provided by Bill Mitchell) "CPC Central Committee Propaganda Department Urges News Media To Be Cautious in Handling Contentious Issues To Help Maintain Political Stablity in Post-Deng Era". To maintain political stability in China in the post-Deng era, the CPC Central Committee Propaganda Department recently demanded that news media at all levels throughout the country cultivate a sense of overall interests and a sense of stability, tighten control over coverage of contentious issues, ensure cautious coverage of ethnic contradictions, and help pacify college students by mainly reporting positive aspects of campus life. Since Deng Xiaoping passed away, mainland theoretical circles have started an ideological debate on Deng Xiaoping Theory with emphasis on issues like how to kick off political structural reform, how to view "socialism" and "capitalism" in a deepgoing reform, and so on. In view of this, departments concerned have recently urged news media to be cautious in reporting relevant views, refrain from getting involved in the debate, and help prevent unnecessary debate in society. For instance, newspapers have been urged not to publicly discuss issues like ownership systems, class differences under the private ownership system, the existence of exploitation in socialist society, and so on. Since some mainland experts have cited data different from those released by State Statistical Bureau on China's financial reform, the authorities have demanded that the media cite only data released by State Statistical Bureau. Using only Xinhua news releases Turmoil has recently broken out in Xinjiang and some other regions as a result of growing ethnic contradictions. The authorities believe that it has been instigated by separatist organizations abroad. It was learned that the CPC Central Committee Propaganda Department recently issued a circular urging news media to be cautious in reporting ethnic conflicts, religious contradictions, terrorist activities, and violent incidents in certain foreign countries and to help prevent a negative impact on China in this connection. The authorities have demanded that news units use only Xinhua news releases in reporting such events, that they refrain in principle from reporting ethnic disputes or armed conflicts in China's neighboring countries, file only brief reports on these events when necessary, and refrain in principle from reporting religious conflicts, especially separatist activities under the religious pretenses. The authorities have demanded that media cover terrorist activities in the world as little as possible and put a stop to one- sided pursuit of sensational reporting. Given the heated ideological activities among college students in the run up to another anniversary of "4 June" incident, the authorities have demanded that the media adhere to positive campus life coverage in the main and sing the praises of a positive and healthy mental attitude on the part of college students. The authorities have stated that "ideological problems" among college students should be dealt with in inner circles in principle, and reports in this regard should be examined and approved by colleges and education commissions in advance. (3) BBC TEAM DEPORTED
(Provided by Bill Mitchell) Three BBC television journalists were detained while filming in Xinjiang last week and later deported, the BBC said last night. A spokesman said the team was now safely back in Britain. The contents of their film, which was in the early stages of production, were not revealed. The journalists were deported to Pakistan
after a short period of detention. (4) NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS CHIEF TO VISIT XINJIANG
AGATHA NGAI Top legislator Qiao Shi will start an unscheduled two-day visit to Xinjiang tomorrow, indicating Beijing's concern over law and order in the autonomous region. Earlier reports said Mr Qiao, chairman of the National People's Congress, would visit Mongolia straight after his three-nation European tour, which ends today. Mr Qiao, who stresses rule by law, is the most senior Beijing official to visit Xinjiang since the region was rocked by a series of separatist unrest, including bus bombs in February. He was due to leave Italy for the regional capital of Urumqi today, Xinjiang officials confirmed. After a brief visit to the region he would continue a planned tour of Mongolia. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Xinjiang's Vice-Chairman, Li Donghui , again denied reports that ethnic Uygur businesswoman Robiya Kodir had been barred from leaving China when she was about to fly to neighboring Kazakhstan on March 28. "Also, I believe comrade Robiya would not [support separatist activities] because she should understand the advantages of our policies adopted since economic reform," said the official, who estimated her assets at 100 million yuan (about HK$93 million). Mr Li also stressed the legal protection for Ms Kodir, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). "Every Chinese national is protected by the law. This is especially so for CPPCC delegates and the National People's Congress deputies." Mr Li admitted tourism had been hit by the recent unrest. More than 50 tours had been cancelled or delayed between January and March, he said. But he stressed that "those few people" trying to split China would be handled in accordance with the law. Yesterday, the National United Revolutionary Front, which calls for Xinjiang's independence, reported for the first time that three Uygur activists had been arrested in the Kazak capital of Almaty. Prepared by: Abdulrakhim Aitbayev (rakhim@lochbrandy.mines.edu) WUNN newsletter index*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= The World Uyghur Network News electronic newsletter is produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center (ETIC) in cooperation with the Taklamakan Uighur Human Rights Association (USA), and is devoted to the current political, cultural and economic developments in Eastern Turkistan and to the Uyghur people related issues. Eastern Turkistan (Sherqiy Turkistan in Uyghur) is a name used by the indigenous people of the region for their motherland located in what is at present the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic China. The World Uyghur Network News brings information on situation in Eastern Turkistan from the Uyghur and other sources to the attention of the international community. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= EASTERN TURKISTAN INFORMATION CENTER |