ETHNIC HAN URUMQI RESIDENTS PROTEST "SYRINGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 002555

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2029
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PROP CH
SUBJECT: ETHNIC HAN URUMQI RESIDENTS PROTEST "SYRINGE
ATTACKS," DEMAND PROVINCIAL PARTY OFFICIAL'S RESIGNATION

REF: BEIJING 2183 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson.
Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Security forces locked down central Urumqi late
September 3 in the wake of protests by as many as "tens of
thousands" of ethnic Han demonstrators, but failed to prevent
smaller protests from breaking out September 4. The official
PRC Xinhua News Agency said the protesters on September 3 had
numbered in the "several tens of thousands." Most businesses
and schools were closed September 4, and authorities were
urging residents to remain indoors. In Urumqi, People's
Armed Police blocked the downtown area to traffic. On
September 4, PolOffs witnessed groups of several hundred Han
residents gathering in the streets and observed two Han being
arrested after confronting police. According to one Han
contact, September 3 demonstrators had focused their anger on
Xinjiang Party Secretary Wang Lequan, and many had shouted
slogans for Wang to step down to take responsibility for his
failure to restrain anti-Han violence by Uighurs. PAP
troops, our contact said, deployed in force near the South
Gate (Nanmen) area to prevent Han protesters from entering
Uighur neighborhoods. Contacts said the city's Han community
remained angry and frightened by rumors of continued random
attacks by Uighur assailants armed with tainted syringes, a
story spread across the front pages of China's newspapers.
China's official media tried to downplay the ethnic
dimensions of the incident, emphasizing that members of
several ethnic groups were among the stabbing victims.
PolOff observed that the Rebiya Kadeer Trade Tower was
unoccupied and surrounded by fencing. Asked about the Rebiya
Tower, a Xinjiang FAO Deputy Director General acknowledged
that the building had been closed but said the provincial
government "still has not decided whether or not to tear it
down." End Summary.

Downtown Urumqi Locked Down (Again)
--------------


2. (C) PolOffs arrived in Urumqi at approximately 1:30 in the
morning September 4. Riding in from the airport, it appeared
that police roadblocks prevented all vehicular access to the
downtown area, and PolOffs were forced to walk 15 minutes to
their hotel near People's Square. The security presence
PolOffs witnessed in Urumqi September 4 rivaled that seen in
the days following the July 5 riot. Streets in downtown
Urumqi were devoid of traffic. Up to 100 People's Armed
Police (PAP) troops in riot gear were standing guard at
downtown intersections, many of which were blocked with metal
barricades. Jiefang South Road leading into the Uighur
quarter was completely blocked to traffic and pedestrians.
PolOffs heard and saw helicopters over the city.

Shops and Schools Closed
--------------


3. (C) Most businesses in Urumqi were closed September 4,
though some street stalls and food markets remained open.
Urumqi officials called on residents to remain in their homes
September 4, and all schools were closed. Despite official
urging to remain indoors, by lunchtime PolOffs witnessed Han
Urumqi residents in the streets in the Nanmen area, massing
in groups of "hundreds," and PolOffs observed two people
(Han, by appearance) being arrested. PolOffs witnessed Han
demonstrators jeering the police when the two were taken
away. Demonstrators were generally unwilling to engage
PolOffs in conversation, but one Han bystander, when asked
the reason for the demonstration, said that Han were angry
because the police were "protecting minorities."


4. (C) PolOffs, along with other pedestrians, were asked to
show identification multiple times September 4, but their
movements were not restricted. When PolOffs attempted to
engage a passerby in conversation, a woman in civilian
clothes immediately interrupted and told them that they were
not allowed to "speak to anyone or take pictures of
anything." After that incident, PolOffs were conspicuously
followed throughout the day by what appeared to be
plainclothes security personnel.

Xinjiang Party Secretary Focus of Public Anger
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5. (C) Urumqi resident Zhang Jian (protect) told PolOff by
phone the evening of September 3 that dissatisfaction with
Xinjiang Party Secretary Wang Lequan had been the main theme
of the demonstrations. Throughout the day, Zhang said,
protesters had shouted slogans calling for Wang to step down.
PAP troops, he reported, had set up several barriers near
Urumqi's South Gate (Nanmen) in the afternoon to prevent the
Han protesters from moving south along Jiefang South Road
into the Uighur quarter of the city. Zhang said Han
residents of the city were angry and scared in response to
"random syringe attacks by Uighurs." A Beijing-based
contact, who grew up in Urumqi and was in telephone contact
with Han relatives there throughout the day September 3, said
rumors were swirling that the needles were contaminated with
the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Rumors of Han-on-Uighur Assaults
--------------


6. (C) Several Uighurs told PolOffs September 4 that Han mobs
had entered Uighur neighborhoods the previous day and had
beaten an unknown number of Uighurs. These residents claimed
that several Uighur shops had been smashed. (Note: We have
no independent information verifying these incidents.
PolOffs did not see evidence of smashed Uighur shops, and we
have not seen credible media reports of Han attacks on
Uighurs.)

Media Glosses Over Ethnic Tensions
--------------


7. (SBU) Chinese-language domestic media downplayed news of
renewed demonstrations in Urumqi, but English-language
newspapers blared the syringe-attack story in front-page
headlines. The Beijing News (Xinjing Bao) buried the Urumqi
protest on the bottom of page six. Most newspapers merely
reprinted Xinhua News Agency releases. Xinhua News Agency's
Chinese-language stories mentioned neither the ethnic makeup
of the demonstrators nor that of the 21 reportedly detained
under suspicion of carrying out syringe attacks. In an
apparent effort to gloss over the ethnic tensions, Xinhua's
initial story about the needle assaults emphasized that
members of several different ethnic groups were among the
victims. An English-language Xinhua story also made a point
of noting that Uighurs had joined the September 3
demonstrations to condemn the needle attacks.

Xinhua: Stabbing of Child Started Protests
--------------


8. (C) According to Xinhua accounts, the September 3
demonstrations started at 10:30 am at a wholesale farmers'
market when a crowd surrounded and captured a man suspected
of stabbing a five-year-old girl. Eventually, the news
agency reported, "several tens of thousands" of people joined
in the demonstrations, which were concentrated in People's
Square (in front of the Xinjiang Party Committee compound),
Nanhu Square (outside the Urumqi city government),and South
Gate (which is on the border between the main Han and Uighur
sections of Urumqi). Xinhua quoted health officials as
saying that 476 people had sought treatment for needle
stabbings, with 89 of those showing needle marks. A Xinhua
release said 21 people had been detained in relation to
syringe attacks.

During Trade Fair Visit, EmbOffs Hear of Syringe Attacks
-------------- --------------


9. (C) EconOff and ConOff, who traveled August 31-September 3
to Urumqi to attend the Urumqi Foreign Economic Relations and
Trade Fair at the invitation of the Xinjiang Provincial
Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) and who departed Urumqi before
the outbreak of demonstrations September 3, met with FAO
officials and had informal conversations with trade fair
participants and local residents. During the visit, three
AmCit residents of Urumqi told EmbOff separately that they
had heard rumors of the syringe attacks targeting Han
children, including one rumor that the needles were "tainted
with the AIDS virus." One AmCit reported that he received a
text message September 2 reporting the possibility of syringe
attacks on crowded public transportation. A Han
vice-principal of a school in Changji, a predominantly Han
city north of Urumqi, told EmbOff that she had heard that
Rebiya Kadeer was behind the syringe attacks. Xinjiang FAO
officials advised foreign officials attending the trade fair

BEIJING 00002555 003 OF 004


not to take public buses. The rumors added to ethnic
tensions between Han and Uighur residents of Urumqi. A Han
taxi driver became visibly upset when EmbOffs asked to go to
the Uighur district and spent most of the 30-minute ride
angrily cursing Uighurs for "killing innocent Han and
deceiving foreigners." He also complained about the local
government's slow response to the July 5 riots.

Uighur Anger over Arrests, Closing of Rebiya Trade Tower
-------------- --------------


10. (C) Dilidaer Aiziz (strictly protect),a Uighur
businesswoman and senior researcher at the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) of the Xinjiang
Autonomous Region, told EmbOff September 3 that she had
visited Uighurs in jail in Urumqi August 12 and had seen
evidence that some prisoners had been abused. She said she
was worried about her own safety and the safety of her two
children, commenting that many prominent Uighurs had
encountered problems with the authorities since July 5. A
Uighur shopkeeper who works near the scene of the July 5
riots told EmbOffs that the government's "failure to
investigate the June attack on Uighur workers" at the
Guangdong province factory had angered many of the Uighur
residents of Urumqi. He said their anger and fear had "only
grown because of the arrest of so many Uighurs" following the
riots and the closing of the Rebiya Trade Tower, which left
hundreds of Uighurs "out of work and unable to support their
families." He expressed concern about his own safety, citing
the randomness and frequency of the arrests.

Security Tight at Trade Fair and in Uighur Neighborhoods
-------------- --------------


11. (C) All venues affiliated with the trade fair, including
the Sheraton Hotel, Mingyuan Hotel and the International
Exhibition Center, were heavily guarded by large numbers of
PAP and Special Police (tejing). Teams of five armed PAP
wearing military fatigues were stationed on raised platforms
throughout the city, particularly in the Uighur districts.
(Note: The "five-on-a-box squads" have been constant since
the July 5 riots.) EmbOffs also observed troop transport
trucks carrying PAP units in fatigues patrolling the streets
throughout the day. An AmCit resident of Urumqi reported
that police were stopping and checking cars at roadblocks
near his home on Fuxing Road.

Officials Offer Different Explanations of Rebiya Building
-------------- --------------


12. (C) On September 4, PolOff observed that the Rebiya
Kadeer Trade Tower was unoccupied and surrounded by fencing.
Asked about the Rebiya Tower by EmbOff, Xinjiang FAO Deputy
Director General Ali Abdulhamit acknowledged that the
building had been closed but said the provincial government
"still has not decided whether or not to tear it down."
Abdulhamit, an ethnic Uighur, was visibly uncomfortable
discussing the subject and declined to offer further details.
However, a FAO staffer told EmbOff that the building would
be torn down because of its old age and poor condition and
possibly replaced with a flower garden. Aiziz, the CPPCC
researcher, said the building would be torn down, along with
another building in the area where Rebiya Kadeer's sons were
living. She claimed that at least 700 Uighurs who worked
inside the building were still unable to enter the building
to collect their goods.

Restrictions on Access to Information Hurts Businesses
-------------- --------------


13. (C) Authorities continue to block access to Internet,
email, text messaging and international phone calls in
Urumqi. A number of Xinjiang businesspeople at the trade
fair complained about the difficulty of conducting business
without Internet access and email. Companies that receive
their orders via the Internet have lost business or been
forced to find expensive alternatives, such as dialing up to
modems in Beijing or other large cities. One AmCit told
EmbOff that he had to travel frequently to Lanzhou, capital
of neighboring Gansu province, to perform business-related
Internet transactions. Russian and Kazakh trade officials
attending the trade fair told EmbOffs that some trade deals
with Xinjiang companies had been put on hold because of the
difficulties with communication.

Business Is Slow at the Uighur Bazaar

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14. (C) Urumqi merchants at "Dabazha," a large Uighur market
at Erdaoqiao that caters to tourists, told EmbOffs that they
had suffered losses for the last two years. They reported
that the majority of their annual sales were made during the
busy tourist season of June through September. One stall
owner in the market reported that few tourists had visited
Urumqi in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics and even fewer had
visited following the July 5 violence. She said that since
July 5, the authorities had required the market to close two
hours earlier than normal, further cutting into merchants'
profits. (Note: All of China uses a single time zone,
despite being some 3,000 miles east to west. Uighur
merchants near the Bazaar told visiting PolOff in August that
the early closing times currently in effect conformed to the
official Beijing time but not the commonly used unofficial
Uighur time, which is two hours later and reflects geographic
reality. Merchants acknowledged that the early closing times
had existed on the books for "several years at least" but
complained that they had only been enforced since July 5.)
Some Uighur business owners reported that they "no longer
feel comfortable going out at night."
HUNTSMAN