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Chinese Officials Seek to Shift Attention From Rampage Chinese Officials Seek to Shift Attention From Rampage
(6 months later)
KUNMING, China — After knife-wielding assailants dressed in black killed 29 people and injured 143 at the train station here on Saturday, shocking the nation with an act of unfathomable terror, Chinese authorities appeared eager to change the subject. KUNMING, China — After knife-wielding assailants dressed in black killed 29 people and injured 143 at the train station here on Saturday, shocking the nation with an act of unfathomable terror, Chinese authorities appeared eager to change the subject.
On Tuesday, upbeat coverage of the annual gathering of Communist Party leaders, which begins Wednesday in Beijing, dominated the website of nearly every news media outlet; reports that the police had just apprehended the remaining three suspects in the rampage was relegated to a brief dispatch issued by the state-run Xinhua news service.On Tuesday, upbeat coverage of the annual gathering of Communist Party leaders, which begins Wednesday in Beijing, dominated the website of nearly every news media outlet; reports that the police had just apprehended the remaining three suspects in the rampage was relegated to a brief dispatch issued by the state-run Xinhua news service.
Apart from releasing the name of the man said to be the ringleader of the “terrorist gang” from China’s far west Xinjiang region, the authorities have yet to provide details about the assailants, like names or hometowns or what might have prompted the six men and two women to carry out what the state news media calls China’s 9/11.Apart from releasing the name of the man said to be the ringleader of the “terrorist gang” from China’s far west Xinjiang region, the authorities have yet to provide details about the assailants, like names or hometowns or what might have prompted the six men and two women to carry out what the state news media calls China’s 9/11.
“It’s quite clear the government is trying to kill the story, deny it any air and shift attention elsewhere,” said James Leibold, a professor at La Trobe University in Australia who studies China’s ethnic policies.“It’s quite clear the government is trying to kill the story, deny it any air and shift attention elsewhere,” said James Leibold, a professor at La Trobe University in Australia who studies China’s ethnic policies.
Although it follows a well-worn script, domestic coverage of the massacre highlights the quandary Beijing faces as it grapples with the ethnic unrest that until Saturday had been largely confined to a distant region bordering the former Soviet states of Central Asia, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan.Although it follows a well-worn script, domestic coverage of the massacre highlights the quandary Beijing faces as it grapples with the ethnic unrest that until Saturday had been largely confined to a distant region bordering the former Soviet states of Central Asia, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The government, stung by criticisms from the West that its policies in Xinjiang are repressive, is eager for international acknowledgment that China, like the United States and Europe, faces Islamist-inspired terror. Newspaper editorials criticized foreign news media outlets for their initial reluctance to use the words terrorism or terrorists in accounts of the Kunming slayings; on Tuesday the website of CCTV, the national broadcaster, featured a piece with the headline “China Calls for More Understanding From International Community.”The government, stung by criticisms from the West that its policies in Xinjiang are repressive, is eager for international acknowledgment that China, like the United States and Europe, faces Islamist-inspired terror. Newspaper editorials criticized foreign news media outlets for their initial reluctance to use the words terrorism or terrorists in accounts of the Kunming slayings; on Tuesday the website of CCTV, the national broadcaster, featured a piece with the headline “China Calls for More Understanding From International Community.”
Those wishes were partly fulfilled — and then prominently displayed Tuesday on Chinese news portals — when a spokeswoman for the State Department used the phrase act of terrorism to describe the killings at a briefing in Washington.Those wishes were partly fulfilled — and then prominently displayed Tuesday on Chinese news portals — when a spokeswoman for the State Department used the phrase act of terrorism to describe the killings at a briefing in Washington.
At the same time, Chinese leaders appear to be keenly aware that too much news coverage of episodes like the Kunming massacre could inflame popular enmity toward Uighurs, the mostly Muslim inhabitants of Xinjiang who make up 45 percent of the region’s population, but who also have settled in cities across the country. In 2009, a melee involving Uighur and ethnic Han Chinese factory workers in Guangdong Province set off street protests more than 2,000 miles away in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang. After a heavy-handed police response, the protests spiraled into ethnic bloodletting, claiming nearly 200 lives, most of them Han.At the same time, Chinese leaders appear to be keenly aware that too much news coverage of episodes like the Kunming massacre could inflame popular enmity toward Uighurs, the mostly Muslim inhabitants of Xinjiang who make up 45 percent of the region’s population, but who also have settled in cities across the country. In 2009, a melee involving Uighur and ethnic Han Chinese factory workers in Guangdong Province set off street protests more than 2,000 miles away in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang. After a heavy-handed police response, the protests spiraled into ethnic bloodletting, claiming nearly 200 lives, most of them Han.
Jiang Zhaoyong, a commentator in Beijing, said fears of vigilantism explained why the Chinese news media regularly omitted the ethnicity of suspects accused of violence deemed to be terror attacks, even if the Uighur-sounding names made their ethnic origins self-evident — as is the case of the only suspect so far named by police, Abdurehim Kurban. “If you add more labels, you could inflame people’s bias, which would not be good for social harmony,” he said in an interview. “A terrorist is just a terrorist.”Jiang Zhaoyong, a commentator in Beijing, said fears of vigilantism explained why the Chinese news media regularly omitted the ethnicity of suspects accused of violence deemed to be terror attacks, even if the Uighur-sounding names made their ethnic origins self-evident — as is the case of the only suspect so far named by police, Abdurehim Kurban. “If you add more labels, you could inflame people’s bias, which would not be good for social harmony,” he said in an interview. “A terrorist is just a terrorist.”
But parsimonious, tightly controlled coverage of the increasing strife between Uighurs and Han also raises doubts about the official narrative, one primed to blame overseas instigators or foreign-trained Islamists for violence without accompanying evidence. In October, in the most serious episode to take place outside Xinjiang before the Kunming attack, a vehicle careened through a crowd of pedestrians near Tiananmen Square, killing five people. Among the dead were the assailants, a family of three from Xinjiang who died when their car crashed and burst into flames. Days later, officials announced that the attackers were part of a murky overseas terrorist organization, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and the matter quickly faded.But parsimonious, tightly controlled coverage of the increasing strife between Uighurs and Han also raises doubts about the official narrative, one primed to blame overseas instigators or foreign-trained Islamists for violence without accompanying evidence. In October, in the most serious episode to take place outside Xinjiang before the Kunming attack, a vehicle careened through a crowd of pedestrians near Tiananmen Square, killing five people. Among the dead were the assailants, a family of three from Xinjiang who died when their car crashed and burst into flames. Days later, officials announced that the attackers were part of a murky overseas terrorist organization, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and the matter quickly faded.
Analysts outside China say the lack of transparency — as well as the authorities’ efforts to thwart reporting by foreign journalists in Xinjiang — impedes any meaningful examination of the motivating factors behind such bloodshed, including the possibility that religious restrictions, discrimination or draconian security measures in the region might be stoking Uighur discontent.Analysts outside China say the lack of transparency — as well as the authorities’ efforts to thwart reporting by foreign journalists in Xinjiang — impedes any meaningful examination of the motivating factors behind such bloodshed, including the possibility that religious restrictions, discrimination or draconian security measures in the region might be stoking Uighur discontent.
“When you think about the coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, the American media immediately talked to the relatives of the suspects, helping the broader public understand how isolated these individuals were from the mainstream Muslim community,” said Prof. Dru C. Gladney, an anthropologist at Pomona College in California who studies Xinjiang. “By not providing more information, the government gives support to the stereotype that all Uighurs are terrorists.”“When you think about the coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, the American media immediately talked to the relatives of the suspects, helping the broader public understand how isolated these individuals were from the mainstream Muslim community,” said Prof. Dru C. Gladney, an anthropologist at Pomona College in California who studies Xinjiang. “By not providing more information, the government gives support to the stereotype that all Uighurs are terrorists.”
The information vacuum also provides ample space for online rumors and speculation. On Tuesday, one of the more popular microblog postings was a list of 15 widespread rumors that public security officials were eager to dispel, including reports of rioting at a Kunming hospital, a rumor that terrorists were headed to the southern city of Guiyang, and claims that three assailants “with ethnic accents” were slashing students at a music conservatory in Sichuan Province.The information vacuum also provides ample space for online rumors and speculation. On Tuesday, one of the more popular microblog postings was a list of 15 widespread rumors that public security officials were eager to dispel, including reports of rioting at a Kunming hospital, a rumor that terrorists were headed to the southern city of Guiyang, and claims that three assailants “with ethnic accents” were slashing students at a music conservatory in Sichuan Province.
On Tuesday night, Caixin, a publication known for its aggressive reporting, issued one of the few independent accounts of the Kunming attack on its website. Most notable, it said just five of the eight suspects implicated in the attack had taken part in the killings; the other three, it said, citing police sources, were waiting in a getaway van. The article was later removed from the site.On Tuesday night, Caixin, a publication known for its aggressive reporting, issued one of the few independent accounts of the Kunming attack on its website. Most notable, it said just five of the eight suspects implicated in the attack had taken part in the killings; the other three, it said, citing police sources, were waiting in a getaway van. The article was later removed from the site.
Such accounts, and their prompt deletion, appeared to fan public doubts over the official version of events, which initially cited more than 10 assailants rampaging through the train station. Responding to the Caixin article, many questioned how a handful of attackers — two of them women — managed to slash and stab more than 170 people, while others criticized the shifting number of suspects and the lack of details about them.Such accounts, and their prompt deletion, appeared to fan public doubts over the official version of events, which initially cited more than 10 assailants rampaging through the train station. Responding to the Caixin article, many questioned how a handful of attackers — two of them women — managed to slash and stab more than 170 people, while others criticized the shifting number of suspects and the lack of details about them.
“No one is sympathetic toward the killers, but people have the right to know what really happened,” read one online posting.“No one is sympathetic toward the killers, but people have the right to know what really happened,” read one online posting.
Wang Lixiong, a scholar who is one of the few Chinese intellectuals to openly criticize the government’s ethnic policies, said censorship and the lack of honest discourse about the problems in Xinjiang were self-defeating. In an essay posted online Monday, he said the government must also be held accountable for the cycle of violence that he predicted would one day lead to all-out conflict between Han and Uighur.Wang Lixiong, a scholar who is one of the few Chinese intellectuals to openly criticize the government’s ethnic policies, said censorship and the lack of honest discourse about the problems in Xinjiang were self-defeating. In an essay posted online Monday, he said the government must also be held accountable for the cycle of violence that he predicted would one day lead to all-out conflict between Han and Uighur.
He also urged his compatriots to look past the official talk and their own anti-Uighur attitudes and bigotry to understand what drives the mounting bloodshed. “Of course we condemn such acts of terrorism, but we must recognize that many of them spring from ethnic oppression,” he said in a phone interview. “If we don’t solve the problem of oppression, but instead continue it, in the end we will be completely defeated.”He also urged his compatriots to look past the official talk and their own anti-Uighur attitudes and bigotry to understand what drives the mounting bloodshed. “Of course we condemn such acts of terrorism, but we must recognize that many of them spring from ethnic oppression,” he said in a phone interview. “If we don’t solve the problem of oppression, but instead continue it, in the end we will be completely defeated.”