Armed police protect Uygur community against revenge

• Source: Global Times
• [07:43 July 08 2009]
• Comments

“The fact that China has a different political system should not prevent these organizations from correctly judging the situation in Xinjiang,” said Yu Wanli, an associate professor of international relations at the Centre for International and Strategic Studies at Peking University.

The identities of those killed and injured in the riots remained unclear yesterday. Authorities have not said how many were Han people or ethnic Uygur.

Hua Tao, a history professor and expert on ethnic issues at Nanjing University, told the Global Times that the riots will fuel mistrust among ethnic minority groups and the Han.

“China has long adhered to equality and unity among ethnic groups, but the well-intended policy still has room for improvement,” Hua said.

The central government is capable of maintaining regional peace and stability, but there is a need to devote more attention to issues concerning ethnic minorities, Hua urged.

In Munich, Germany, two unidentified people threw Molotov cocktails Monday at the Chinese consulate, spokesman Qin said.

“Security was tightened at the embassy compound,” a diplomat with the Chinese embassy in Berlin told the Global Times yesterday.

The WUC is headquartered in Munich, with about 700 Uygur working there for the organization, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

A similar incident took place outside the Chinese embassy in the Netherlands, leading to the closure yesterday of the consular section of the Chinese embassy in The Hague.

“For security reasons, the consular section of the embassy will be closed on July 7,” the embassy’s website said, after Dutch police arrested 142 people Monday when protesters began hurling rocks and paving stones at the building.

An embassy spokeswoman, who requested anonymity, told AFP that the embassy was still functioning, but that the consular section was shut for fear that protesters might try to occupy it.

China has strongly urged the Netherlands and Germany to maintain the safety of and respect for the Chinese embassies and relevant personnel, Qin said.

Kang Juan, An Baijie, Zhang Han and Guo Qiang contributed to this story