New figures that show a near-doubling of arrests in Xinjiang last year illustrate that Chinese President Xi Jinping meant business with a vow to strike hard in that western region to suppress terrorism.<\/p>\n
Jan 23, 2015<\/p>\n
New figures that show a near-doubling of arrests in Xinjiang last year illustrate that Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a> meant business with a vow to strike hard in that western region to suppress terrorism.<\/p>\n Prosecutors in Xinjiang said they approved 27,164 criminal arrests in 2014, according to figures published<\/a> on Friday on an official website<\/a> in the region. The rise of around 95% from the previous year followed a crackdown kicked off<\/a> in April by China\u2019s president during a high-profile visit to a region beset with violence that authorities blame mostly on ethnic Uighurs, many of whom are Islamic and want independence.<\/p>\n The crackdown followed a particularly brutal stabbing spree<\/a> at a southern Chinese train station in March that authorities blamed on Xinjiang separatists. The president\u2019s own visit to Xinjiang, where he vowed to send<\/a> terrorists fleeing like \u201crats scurrying across a street,\u201d was punctuated by a brazen train station bombing<\/a> in the regional capital city Urumqi<\/p>\n After Mr. Xi\u2019s visit where he reviewed security measures, the yearlong strike-hard campaign was officially launched<\/a> in May. (It wasn\u2019t the first such campaign, as authorities have used the strike-hard terminology in past efforts to stem<\/a> violence in Xinjiang.)<\/p>\n Last year was particularly deadly in Xinjiang. Numerous reports in Chinese state media suggested a violent cat-and-mouse game between police and suspected separatists that featured big suspect roundups, brutal attacks and the deaths of police, suspects and civilians, plus the imam<\/a> of a large mosque.<\/p>\n Human-rights groups worry<\/a> that some arrests in Xinjiang are politically motivated.<\/p>\n This week, Human Rights Watch warned that China\u2019s pending counterrorism law<\/a> is a recipe for abuse because it could provide security forces \u201cenormous discretionary powers\u201d and too broadly define terrorism.<\/p>\n Among those criminally prosecuted in Xinjiang last year was Ilham Tohti<\/a>, a Uighur scholar and well-known critic of China\u2019s ethnic policies. He was sentenced to life in prison on separatism charges despite widespread protests by foreign governments and rights groups, which called him a moderate.<\/p>\n The new arrest tally was announced by Xinjiang officials presenting a work report to the regional People\u2019s Congress where they credited the rise to faster prosecutions last year, the official report said Friday. It said the number of criminal cases handled by Xinjiang courts rose 59% to 34,816.<\/p>\n An article on the report in China Daily quoted<\/a> Nixiang Yibulayin, chief prosecutor of the Xinjiang People\u2019s Procuratorate, as saying, \u201cWe\u2019ve shortened the time between approving arrests and prosecution in major terrorist-related cases so the suspects can be tried as soon as possible to show the region\u2019s determination to fight terrorism in accordance with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n The tone of the strike-hard campaign<\/a> has spilled into other areas of China, particularly in southern Yunnan province where the March train station attack took place.<\/p>\n Last week, the Ministry of Public Security said<\/a> it had cracked hundreds of cases of alleged \u201cjihadi migration\u201d involving mostly Uighurs trying to cross into Southeast Asia, and police released<\/a> dramatic video of a confrontation just last week with two Uighurs that left them both dead.<\/p>\n On Friday, a Chinese newspaper, Global Times, estimated<\/a> 300 Chinese citizens, mostly from Xinjiang, were in Malaysia with plans to fight in Syria or Iraq for the radical group Islamic State.<\/p>\n Asked about the Malaysia report on Friday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman didn\u2019t comment directly but said China is against all forms of terrorism.<\/p>\n