China: Uighur Factory Workers Held Behind Locked Gates

GlobalPost:

SHAOGUAN, China -- Three weeks after simmering racial tension escalated to mayhem and a double murder at a toy factory here, about 750 Uighur workers remain largely out of sight, behind locked gates and guarded doors. But their story has sparked violent clashes and brought international attention to a remote Chinese province.

Read the whole story: GlobalPost

Comments

[Uyghur94]

Now let’s take a closer look at events that happened Sunday night and try to read between the lines. Students started to walk towards People's Square around 5:00 pm. By that time authorities already knew the demonstration was planned, because students made announcement on Internet. In fact, armed police forces were waiting in gears at the square for the students. According to reports, things started to turn violent around 8:00 - 9:00 pm. The next morning government announced 140 deaths, 813 injured and 1434 arrests. Finding the dead bodies and injured, tallying the numbers and making that many arrests in just one night is not an easy task. It must have required massive security force. If we think for a minute, things do not add up here. With the presence of such a massive security, how it was possible for civilian violence to cause that many deaths and injuries without being stopped by the security? How long the civilian violence continued? How many people were involved? Eyewitness estimates put the number of demonstrators around 1000-3000. How long does it take for this many people to cause so many damages, death and injuries? They did not have the whole night for sure, otherwise police would not have enough time to tally the casualty numbers and make the arrests. The crowd had to be unbelievably efficient or just simply unbelievable. When I say unbelievable I mean the official description of the events does not add up

[borandar]

I think you have found a fatal point of all the story.
Government knew it before it started, as there was a plea on the internet for holding a demonstration which was going on for 5-6 days before 7.5, it was a time government closely looking the internet and deleting everything regarding the misfortune of Uyghurs in Shaoguan, there is no way government can bypass those information, as many websites talking about it and all the websites run by Uyghurs turned the website color to black and white for mourning for Uyghurs in Shaoguan.

Now, the discriminative policy, lack of religious freedom, policies which is aimed to destroy Uyghur culture and heavy migration of Han people to Xinjiang effected each and every Uyghurs` life , there are virtually no single Uyghurs supports the policy of Chinese government but majority of Uyghurs are just too scared to say something as the penalty was so severe. Yet government wants ever stronger hand in Xinjiang to ensure prosperity of Han people, so they continually looks after/fabricates/creates small incidents to rectify their even stricter suppress in xinjiang.
So the real criminals actually is the Xinjiang government all the han and uyghurs that hurt and died are just sacrifices of this great game.

Many Han people also saying this is government`s "play", some Han extremist even says "government is right in this logic if death of few Han people can ensure once for all time stability in Xinjiang. "

[Uyghur94]

After the July 5 Urumchi incident, China invited media to the city with one goal and one goal only: to deceive them distort the truth. The authorities knew that they lost their credibility long time ago and that a Lasa or Ghulja style blockage of the area would cause speculation. We are talking about close to 200 deaths and 1680 wounded. It is a massive casualty by any standard. How does China deal with the world community on such a massive casualty? Deception, of course. That is what China good at. Invite the reporters in but control the scene--people they talk to and places they visit. On this kind of serious incident with political overtone, no one dares to say anything outside of government lines. If the Government says majority of the dead and wounded are Uyghurs, then doctors, hospitals and everybody else that the reporters will have access to stick with this official line and do everything to stage that impression. No reporter will count the dead bodies one by one or check all the wounded. That is simply impossible even if they are given access to them. So, they have to rely on doctors and hospital staffs most of whom are Chinese any way. Unless feel really assured and secure, Uyghurs would not dare to say anything to jeopardize their lives. In a place where everything including people's lives is controlled by a powerful government, it is not easy to get the truth out.

[111]

Why has the White House remained silent on this issue. Uighurs have nothing in common with the Chinese. They do not speak the same language, they do not share the same religious beliefs and culturally the Uighurs are Turkic. The Chinese claimed their territory and started imposing their laws and policies on these people, like forced abortion to adhere to the Chinese population control policies. Now the government has moved large numbers of Chinese people into the Uighurs territory. They are imposing their language on Uighur children in school and taking jobs leaving Uighurs on the short end of the economic stick. Their protests are met with the harshest response and now people not associated with the riots 2000 miles away are imprisoned.

Obama has strong language for Iran, why not the Chinese? Why not suggest sanctions against China?
There seems to be no end to our hypocrisy.

[AlinaM]

Because the Chinese hold our national mortgage. They are carrying our national debt and we are not likely to object to human rights and labor abuses that are common place in China including Tibet.

[mike71]

That is a strange statement that different ethnicities can not be in the same country.

In case you are ignorant of the history, Xingjiang was officially under the Chinese rule during the Qing Dynasty when the ruling ethnic group of China is a minority group called the Manchus.

Uigur population control through birth control? The leader of the World Uigur Congree has over 11 children.

[bdaved]

Hi Mike, nice to see you're still around. Is it a little misleading to mention that Rebiya Kadeer has so many children? She's 62 years old. I don't know how old her youngest child is, but is that relevant to today's policies?

[mike71]

That is right. Exactly my point. At age 62, she grew up in the new Chinese government, not the Qing Court or the Nationalist government. So the fact that she has 11 children amply indicates that there is no birth control over minorities, Uigur in this case, in China.

Is she an exception before of her background? She was a street vendor before she made her rich in Xingjiang.

Just want to prove a simple point that Chinese government is not limiting the birth control of minorities, including the Uigurs. In fact it is the Han Chinese who are under the birth control plicy.

[mike71]

This particular post accused Chinese governement practicing birth control over minority groups in China, specifically Uigurs. I have made one example, an obvious example of nothing but the leader of the organization that had perpetuate such an accusation, that it is not the case.

Is she an exception? Given the fact that she was a street vendor, I would more likely to concluse that she is the norm, not an exception.

[amalfedup]

I know that mu comments are being censored but I will say it again! Nice! Now we are all shook up because China is the one doing the detention. Where was the media when we chose to render, detain, torture, and kill people without having even a preponderance of evidence on our side just because they were Muslims. Hypocrisy is ugly especially when it has a seemingly humane face.

[email]

I am against lsIamic rad!caIs. But when it comes to China, I would support the lsIamic radicals to stand up to the Ch!niese c0mmunists.

[Doomestic]

They are muslims.... not Islamic radicals.

[email]

I know. But they need to recruit lsIamic RadicaIs from Pakistan to help them.

[vinny]

only "a device used to introduce a stream of water into the body for medical or hygienic reasons" would say something like that...

[munki]

any religious differences to cause violence should not be tolerated...

look at Singapore... peaceful... clean and moreover, very efficient...

[ObamacratInCA]

Just as a matter of sociology, can anyone explain why there is far less Huffington Post interest about the unrest that's going on in China compared to the unrest in Iran.

Reportedly, 184 people have died. What are the elements of this story that generate so little human interest?

[ThankGodforAtheists]

Not sure if you meant this rhetorically but I wondered that myself. I am not a sociologist nor an expert on either country but I still have 2 cents.

One reason may be that Iran is an uprising of a portion of the people across the country against the government over a very specific event. Almost a black and white issue (mind you I said almost) and easier to voice an opinion about. The China riots appear to be two smaller groups clashing within a portion of the country with the reasons (ethnic, economic and religious) intertwined with Chinese government policies going back decades. I think it is harder to grasp a good and bad side and the complexities involved with this. (I know I it was for me). As I see it, both groups have been affected by the government's policies and are now at each others throats. In any case, people are dieing in both countries and the stories are worthy of our attention.

[vinny]

that's a good question.

maybe its easier for american media to overlook the oppression of muslims?

[Reader451]

The oppressed ion both stories are muslims. Iranian Muslims demanding democracy and rights, and Chinese muslims demanding equality, democracy and rights.

We are watching more because the people of Iran have specific demands and unified in what those demands are, they are close to achieving their demands and finally because the people there are intentionally sending many many messages and images to blogs news sites newspapers and television.

[amalfedup]

We are only interested when it suites our purpose and if we had a hand in it. Thus, all the people around the world who are at this point engaged in struggles to free themselves from dictators and corrupt politicians are insignificant because those dictators are our allies.

[The Lorax]

My heart goes out to them. I wish them safety.

[davidwayneosedach]

They can lock them away. But they won't be able to forget about all the Muslims in China right now.

[hookio]

for their own protection, since they might cause another riot if they travel outside.

I thinkthey should just encouragemuslims to immigrate to United States.

[amalfedup]

Thank you! I was amazed that many of the posters are suddenly fans of Muslims. Maybe they can now begin to sponsor them to immigrate to the US.

[samuelberg]

Communism breeds nationalism and, to a certain extent, racism. The sheeple have no freedom of the press, so whatever the state controlled media tells them will become their reality. The same goes with Russia. No wonder the resurgent racism in Russia has even prompted Medvedev to hold a press conference about the hate that has proliferated Lenin's land.

[Jakealoper]

As if htere was no racism before Communism. Also the Ughuirs are mainly Muslims and many are for sharia'h and other progressive forms of government.

[hookio]

As opposed to what? corporate controlled media?