(1) CHINA NET USE EXPLODING March 11, 1998, By Reuters China's Ministry of Public Security last December implemented sweeping controls on the Internet to check the dissemination of what it called "harmful information" and to stop the leaking of state secrets. The political dissidents and separatists movements in Tibet and the Moslem region of Xinjiang. (2) CHINESE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR ETHNIC UNITY March 7, 1998, Associated Press, by Greg Baker Chinese President Jiang Zemin said there remained a lot of hard work to do in maintaining stability in Xinjiang, and that it was still an arduous task to oppose ethnic separation, maintain ethnic unity and safeguard national unity. (3) CHINESE PRESIDENT CLAIMS SUCCESS IN TIBET POLICIES March 7, 1998, Associated Press Jiang Zemin acknowledged that maintaining stability and fighting separatism among the restive Muslim inhabitants of China's northwestern Xinjiang region was a challenge. (4) DESPITE CRACKDOWN, ETHNIC TENSIONS PERSIST IN CHINA'S NORTHWEST March 12, 1998, Associated Press, By Charles Hutzler "Even if we are economically developed and the people's livelihood improved, the separatists and those arguing for the independence of Xinjiang may not necessarily give up their activities,'' Abdulahat Abdurixit said. "They are not resigned to their past failures.'' (5) CHINA TO SIGN MAJOR U.N. TREATY ON CIVIL, POLITICAL RIGHTS March 13, 1998, Associated Press China plans to sign a major U.N. treaty that guarantees basic civil and political rights to its people, including free speech and assembly, the foreign minister said Thursday. (6) CHINA DENIES PROBLEMS IN RESETTLING RESIDENTS NEAR THREE GORGES DAM March 14, 1998, Associated Press The official China Daily newspaper said Saturday that plans to move people from the dam area to Heilongjiang province in the northeast and Xinjiang in China's far west was meeting popular resistance. "The scheme proceeded slowly because the immigrants are reluctant to move so far away from their home towns,'' the newspaper said.
(1)STRONG QUAKE ROCKS NORTHWEST CHINA March 29, The Associated Press An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale has rocked remote northwest China, damaging a number of homes but causing no casualties (2) STRONG EARTHQUAKE HITS XINJIANG, NO CAUSALITIES REPORTED March 20, CND-GLOBAL EDITORS There were no reports of human casualties, even though the quake destroyed approximately 400 houses, resulting in an estimated 121 million yuan ($14.6 million) loss. (3) US SOFTENS STANCE ON TIAN'ANMEN-RELATED HUMAN RIGHTS SANCTIONS March 20,CND-GLOBAL EDITORS Speaking at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, senior administration official Sandra Kristoff said that the United States may be willing to scale down human rights sanctions against China (4) CLINTON ADMINISTRATION GIVES CHINA CARTE BLANCHE March 16, PRNEWSWIRE The Clinton administration announced it would not support a resolution criticizing China's human rights record at a United Nations human rights conference (5) BEIJING APPRECIATES US DECISION ON HUMAN RIGHTS RESOLUTION March 18,CND-Global China expressed warm appreciation of the US decision not to table a resolution critical of China's human rights record at the United Nations Human Rights Commission (6) CHINA NOMADS SETTLE DOWN March 18, UPI China's rural nomads are casting aside centuries of tradition to settle down under a government program aimed at wiping out the nomadic lifestyle by the year 2000. (7) XINJIANG CRACKDOWN March 13, Voice of America, by Roger Wilkison Leaders of china's westernmost region, heavily muslim Xinjiang, say a year-old police crackdown has succeeded in Restoring stability to the troubled province. But, as v-o-a Correspondent Roger Wilkison reports, the region's governor and Communist party chief are refusing to provide details on how many people have been arrested and how many have been put to death. (8) OFFICIALS DENY REPORT OF MASS KILLINGS OF UYGUR SEPARATISTS December 30, 1997, HONG KONG STANDARD, By Pamela PunVolume 97:1-121 A government spokesman in the restive Xinjiang region on Monday denied a report which said Chinese soldiers have killed 186 Uygur separatists and alleged criminals and arrested 2,100 others in recent two months. ... A spokesman of the United National Revolutionary Front said on Saturday that the Chinese army has killed 186 Uygurs and arrested 2,100 in the restive region over the past two months.
The WUNN electronic newsletter is published by
Eastern Turkistan Information Center
WUNN editors: Abdulrakhim Aitbayev,
Bill Mitchell
The WUNN is devoted to the current political, cultural and economic developments in Eastern Turkistan and to the Uyghurs related issues. Eastern Turkistan or Uyghuristan are the name used by the Uyghurs, the indigenous people of the territory. Eastern Turkistan is the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China at present.
Eastern Turksitan was colonized by the Manchu Empire in 1877, and was made its Xinjiang province in 1884. Two Eastern Turkistan Republics existed in Eastern Turkistan in 1933-1935 and 1944-1955. Xinjang Uyghur Autonomous Region was established by the communist Chinese government on October 1, 1955.
WUNN brings information on situation in Eastern Turkistan from the Uyghur and other sources to the attention of the international community.
Credits must be given to all sources cited. ETIC is responsible only for the reports from its own sources.