Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHENGDU212
2009-09-30 08:43:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Chengdu
Cable title:  

CHENGDU MINORITIES UNDER WATCH FOR OCTOBER HOLIDAY

Tags:  PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI CH 
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VZCZCXRO7720
OO RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHCN #0212/01 2730843
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 300843Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3433
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 4125
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000212 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/30/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI CH
SUBJECT: CHENGDU MINORITIES UNDER WATCH FOR OCTOBER HOLIDAY

CHENGDU 00000212 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: David E. Brown, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000212

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/30/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI CH
SUBJECT: CHENGDU MINORITIES UNDER WATCH FOR OCTOBER HOLIDAY

CHENGDU 00000212 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: David E. Brown, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary: Uighur students studying in Chengdu are being
closely monitored by security personnel in the run-up to the
October 1 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's

Republic of China, and continue to worry about anti-Uighur
sentiment from Han Chinese. Some Han continue to fear Uighurs
as well, best evidenced by a recent Chengdu blogger's post
describing Uighurs as "barbarous wild beasts" who he dreams of
killing. End Summary.



Uighurs Being Closely Watched Pre-October 1

--------------




2. (C) Uighur college students in Chengdu are being closely
monitored by school security agencies in order to maintain an
"absolute safe environment" during the upcoming October 1
holiday, local Uighur students studying in Chengdu told Post's
ethnically Tibetan PolEconLES September 25. Uighurs and
Tibetans, possibly along with other students, are being
instructed to stay on campus over the holiday, the students
said. Some of Chengdu's universities, particularly the
Minorities University, are "heavily" guarded and outsiders are
not being allowed to enter without an ID card. The Chengdu
Mosque and major Uighur restaurants in Chengdu are also being
closely monitored by security officials, they said. (Note:
PolEconLES, an alumnus of Chengdu's Southwest Minorities
University, maintains friendships among Chengdu's Uighur
population. There are roughly 500 Uighur students in Chengdu,
comprising a significant portion of the 2000-plus total Uighur
population in Sichuan. PolEconOff requested to meet Uighur
students studying at the Minorities University, but the students
declined due to fears for their safety in advance of the
holiday. End Note.)



Han Anti-Uighur Sentiment Concerns Uighur Students

-------------- --------------




3. (C) Speaking to Han-Uighur tensions in the wake of Xinjiang
unrest and the recent spate of needle attacks in Urumqi, the
students reported that many in Uighur student community here are
very concerned by anti-Uighur sentiment among the Han. Some
Uighur men are shaving their mustaches and some Uighur women are
dressing like Han Chinese, they said. One student from Turfan
in Xinjiang said that, while riding the train back to Chengdu,
he saw scores of Han, both rich and poor, leaving in the wake of
the recent troubles. Back home in Turfan, tensions remain high,
he said, as local residents are angry about one-sided TV reports
showing Uighurs attacking Hans but not vice versa, and are also
angered by their impression of Han as the "hands and mouth" of
the Chinese government.



Overblown Han Fears of Uighurs Persist, Too

--------------




4. (C) Han fears of Uighurs seem to be prevalent as well, seen
for example in a recent post by a Chengdu-based blogger entitled
"Last night I dreamed of killing three Uighurs, and I am very
tired today." The blogger writes, "A few days ago I saw some
Uighur people fighting among themselves in the street. I heard
them calling to one another using their unintelligible babble
(tingbudong de guihua luanjiao),and I didn't understand what
they were saying at all. For me, those Uighurs were just like a
group of wild dogs biting each other in a zoo. I don't
understand their language and they just look like a herd of
barbarous wild beasts. A few days later, I killed three Uighurs
in a dream and I was very tired when I woke up."




5. (C) A Singaporean tourist told PolEconOff that, while he had
heard Uighurs were being threatened by Han Chinese, he had
realized on his travels in the mainland that in fact "the
reverse is true." Uighurs are allowed to carry huge knives, and
the Han are terrified of them, even refusing to help him stop a
Uighur from robbing a Han woman at the train station, he
claimed. In another conversation with a wealthy Han business
woman looking for ideas on adventure travel in Western China,

CHENGDU 00000212 002.2 OF 002


PolEconOff suggested she consider Kashgar, eliciting a look of
horror. Although she is interested in visiting Xinjiang, she
said, she is too afraid to go. When PolEconOff suggested that
perhaps the Uighurs as a small minority group fear a huge
majority like the Han, she immediately exclaimed, "Oh, so you
think we should give them independence?!"
BROWN