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Produced by the Eastern Turkistan Information Center No: 86 1 September 1998 In this issue (1) CHINA EXECUTES 13 IN NORTHWESTERN REGION OF XINJIANG 1 September 1998, Agence France-Presse (2) FOREIGN WOES HIT HOME AT XINJIANG FAIR 1 September 1998, South China Morning Post (3) TURKMEN, CHINESE PRESIDENTS SIGN AGREEMENTS 1 September 1998, RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 168 (4) NORTHWEST CHINA QUAKE KILLS THREE, INJURES SEVEN 28 August 98, Agence France-Presse (5) STRONG TREMOR JOLTS CHINA'S REMOTE XINJIANG 27 August1998, Reuters (6) US RELIGIOUS RIGHT LEADER PAT ROBERTSON MEETS CHINESE PREMIER 27 August 98, Agence France-Presse (7) XING DAO NEWSPAPER ON BOMBINGS AND ARMED ATTACKS IN EAST TURKISTAN
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= (1) CHINA EXECUTES 13 IN NORTHWESTERN REGION OF XINJIANG
China has executed 13 people in ist northwestern region of Xinjiang, reports received here Tuesday said. The Urumqi Intermediate People's Court handed down the sentences to 13 people convicted of murder and armed robbery, the Xinjiang Daily reported. The executions were carried out last Thursday, on the same afternoon as the sentencing, the paper said. A court official said the death sentences were in line with a policy of "cracking down on crime", it said. "We will continue to crack down hard on all kinds of criminal activities," he said. Last year human rights watchdog Amnesty International estimated that 17 people were sentenced to death in China every day in 1996. Executions in China are carried out by a single bullet to the back of the head, or by lethal injection. (2) FOREIGN WOES HIT HOME AT XINJIANG FAIR
CHAN YEE HON in Urumqi Economic turmoil abroad is having a negative knock-on effect on Xinjiang. A dearth of Russian traders and Southeast Asian businessmen is expected today at the opening of the Urumqi Trade Fair, a hammer blow to the autonomous region, which is desperately trying to revive its economy. Organisers say the annual fair has attracted much less interest than in past years. Zhang Ye, vice-director of the Xinjiang Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation Department, said yesterday that many Russian businessmen who had agreed to attend had withdrawn.] He said that in past years, the Russians came in droves, but the current turmoil in Moscow seemed to be keeping them away. To compound the problem, Mr Zhang said it was not just the Russians who were staying away, as the number of guests from Southeast Asian countries had also "dropped off significantly". The trade fair runs until next Tuesday. The lack of interest in Russia and Southeast Asia could hit Xinjiang's already sluggish economy. In the first half of this year, the region's economy only grew at an annual rate of 4.3 per cent - below the seven per cent average. During a visit to Xinjiang in July, President Jiang Zemin urged local officials to step up their efforts to woo investment from neighbouring countries and other Chinese provinces. He told Xinjiang cadres that they should take advantage of the autonomous region's geographical position and function as a bridge between Asia and Europe, explore international markets and be one of Beijing's windows to the West. Liu Yi, vice-chairman of Xinjiang Economic and Trade Commission, said the region's economic performance would have a crucial impact on local stability. Beijing has been trying to maintain stability in Xinjiang, where separatists have been blamed for bombings and other attacks in recent years. In the recent past, Xinjiang benefited greatly from Beijing's open economic and trade policies, and its trade volume jumped from 75 million yuan (HK$70 million) in 1992 to 1.45 billion yuan last year. Although trade in the first seven months of this year was 10.7 per cent higher than in the same period last year, trade with Southeast Asia and Hong Kong had dropped, Mr Zhang said. The loss had been offset to some extent by trade with other countries bordering Xinjiang, such as Pakistan. (3) TURKMEN, CHINESE PRESIDENTS SIGN AGREEMENTS
Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, who is on a six-day visit to China, met with his Chinese counterpart, Jiang Zemin, in Beijing on 31 August, ITAR-TASS reported. Their talks focused on regional security, including the situations in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Taiwan, and the fight against separatism. They also discussed the construction of a 6,700 kilometer gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China, which eventually may also provide gas to Japan. The Japanese company Mitsubishi and U.S. company Exxon are participating in that project. The two presidents signed a declaration on strengthening bilateral ties. Jiang emphasized "the extreme importance of selecting this or that path of socio-economic development in accordance with the realistic conditions in one's own country while preserving internal stability." Agreements were also signed on air links, education, scientific and technical cooperation, and tourism. BP (4) NORTHWEST CHINA QUAKE KILLS THREE, INJURES SEVEN
A strong earthquake that shook Xinjiang region in China's far northwest killed at least three people and injured seven, a regional government spokesman said Friday. He said the casualties reported by 9:00 a.m. (0100 GMT), 16 hours after the temblor, were only a preliminary toll. The quake measured 6.6 on the Richter scale, with western Jiashi and Bachu counties worst hit. A total of 3,652 small homes collapsed, and 159 head of livestock were killed, mainly as their stables or barns collapsed on top of them, an official with the Xinjiang Seismological Bureau told AFP. The official Xinhua agency reported earlier that the quake could be felt in the prefecture surrounding China's westernmost city of Kashgar. The Moslem-dominated region of Xinjiang, arid and thinly populated, has been hit by repeated earthquakes in recent years. Jiashi county alone saw seven quakes measuring six or more on the Richter scale last year, one of which -- the same magnitude as Thursday's -- killed 9 people and left 100,000 homeless. Two temblors measuring 5.5 and 6.0 hit the county as recently as July 28 and August 2, respectively, but no casualties or damage were reported. (5) STRONG TREMOR JOLTS CHINA'S REMOTE XINJIANG
A strong earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted China's far-flung northwestern region of Xinjiang Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties, a seismological bureau official said. The earthquake struck about 5.00 p.m. (0900 GMT) in Jiashi county, where a moderate tremor in early Aug. injured at least two people and destroyed several houses, said the official with the State Seismological Bureau. ``We haven't had any reports of casualties or damage,'' the official said. ``It's too early to tell.'' The earthquake was nature's latest blow to China, which is reeling from weeks of flooding that has killed more than 3,000 people across the country. The official Xinhua news agency said the quake's epicenter was at 39.9 degree north and 77.9 degrees east, placing it near the town of Bachu about 150 km (90 miles) northeast of the Jiashi county seat. ``Jiashi is a moderately populated area, there aren't a lot of people there, but there aren't too few, either,'' the official said but gave no further details. One resident near Jiashi reached by telephone said he had felt the quake but had seen no damage or injuries. Local officials could not be reached for comment. Xinjiang, a mostly Moslem region inhabited largely by cotton farmers and sheep herders, is frequently rocked by tremors, but reports of deaths are rare. The earthquake earlier this month measured 6.0 on the Richter scale. Last month, a 5.5 quake hit northern Xinjiang's Baicheng county, injuring dozens, damaging 780 houses and causing losses of up to 40 million yuan ($4.8 million). China suffered the worst earthquake in modern history in 1976 when a tremor measuring 7.8 leveled the northern city of Tangshan, killing at least 240,000 people. (6) US RELIGIOUS RIGHT LEADER PAT ROBERTSON MEETS CHINESE PREMIER
US religious right leader Pat Robertson met with Premier Zhu Rongji here at the communist leadership's compound of Zhongnanhai, the People's Daily reported Thursday. Identified as the chairman of the Christian Broadcast Network, Robertson and his delegation are visiting China at the invitation of the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, the newspaper said. "China welcomes even more visits by US religious personalities," Zhu was quoted as saying during the meeting on Wednesday. But the outspoken Protestant leader has often dabbled in politics and ran against incumbent George Bush for the Republican presidential nomination in 1992 on a platform of greater religious say in government. He is a leader of a vocal right-wing lobby that regularly attacks China for its draconian family planning policies and religious suppression. The religious right has also strenuously opposed Bill Clinton's China policy of engagement. Robertson, who is head of Praise the Lord Ministries, reportedly described himself as a "friend of Chinese poeple" during the meeting. He said he admired China's economic successes and also expressed sympathies and encouragement for victims of China's disastrous summer flooding, which has killed more than 3,000 people. Zhu briefed the minister on the flood-fighting situation and said China-US relations had begun a new era of development following the recent exchange of visits between Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin. (7) XING DAO NEWSPAPER ON BOMBINGS AND ARMED ATTACKS IN EAST TURKISTAN
Xin Dao newspaper reported in its August 17 issue that "bombings and terrorist activities of Xinjiang separatists are on rise". The newspaper cited China's Human Rights Information Center that, on August 10, "Xinjiang separatists" killed 8 policemen in Kashgar, attacked and plundered an ammunition depot in Guma county, and opened gun fires using modern arms at a police station in Kargalik county. The newspaper wrote that local authorities refused to comment on these events, and the number of casualties is not known. According to Xin Dao, China's Human Rights Information Center commented that activities of Xinjiang separatists are rising from one day to another. [Abduljelil Karkash] 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 Director: Abduljelil Karkash Lindwurmstr 99, 80337 Munich, Germany http://www.uygur.com Fax: 49-89-54 45 63 30 Phone: 49-89-54 40 47 72 E-mail: etic@uygur.com |