After a series of brazen attacks attributed to Islamic extremists, Chinese authorities have ratcheted up surveillance and restrictions on Muslim Uighur minorities, even as the government relations with the large Uighur population rapidly deteriorates.<\/p>\n
By William Wan
Friday, May 9, 11:09 AM E-mail the writer<\/p>\n
BEIJING \u2014 After a series of brazen attacks attributed to Islamic extremists, Chinese authorities have ratcheted up surveillance and restrictions on Muslim Uighur minorities, even as the government relations with the large Uighur population rapidly deteriorates.<\/p>\n
In the past week alone, Chinese authorities have clashed with locals in the restive province of Xinjiang, sentenced others to prison and announced new measures that critics say amounts to religious and ethnic persecution.<\/p>\n
Police shot dead one person <\/a>and captured another on Thursday in an area of Xinjiang that has seen some of the worst clashes, according to state media. In a terse statement distributed by the state-controlled Xinhua News Agency, police said that during a police stop, the suspects suddenly attacked a police officer and threw explosive devices at a patrol car.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, state media in the Xinjiang city of Kashgar said five people have been sentenced for inciting separatism and endangering state security. As their prison sentences were announced, ranging from seven to 15 years, more than 300 local cadres and students were described as applauding and cheering the punishment, state media said.<\/p>\n Authorities said the five who were found guilty had purchased flash drives containing extremist or jihadist material and spread them electronically. They were also accused of setting up illegal groups to teach fundamentalist religious thoughts to youths.<\/p>\n History of conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n For years, many Uighurs and other smaller Muslim minorities in Xinjiang have agitated against <\/a>China\u2019s authoritarian government. Their protests are a reaction, Uighur groups say, to oppressive official policies, religious restrictions and widespread discrimination.<\/p>\n The Chinese government has long denied any oppression of Uighurs or any other ethnic group and has blamed terrorist acts on separatist Muslims who want to make Xinjiang an independent state.<\/p>\n Ethnic rioting and clashes in Xinjiang reached a peak in 2009, resulting in roughly 200 deaths and triggering a crackdown by local authorities. Renewed protests last year also turned violent and are thought to have claimed more than 100 lives.<\/p>\n Recent attacks have led to heightened vigilance throughout Xinjiang. Kashgar, for example, has been described in recent days by local media as a city on lockdown. The Xinjiang Daily News<\/a> described how local authorities have mobilized Communist Party members as well as local companies, schools and community groups to act as 24-hour \u201csecurity watchers.\u201d The newspaper also described police surveillance as around the clock and noted cameras in the sky, patrols on the ground, checkpoints at crossroads and security in venues, communities and work units.<\/p>\n In the Aksu prefecture of southern Xinjiang, where most residents are Uighur, Chinese authorities are trying monetary rewards to convince locals to inform on each other. A notice dated April 16 that was posted on the official Web site of Shayar County, Aksu prefecture, encouraged residents to tip off authorities. The notice listed at least 36 types of information desired and offered rewards between $8 to $8,000.<\/p>\n The government notice appears to have been removed after it was reported by some Chinese and foreign media. According to a screenshot provided<\/a> by the Uyghur Human Rights Project, a Washington-based human rights organization, authorities offered rewards for informing on activities such as prayer in public places, disputes between ethnic residents and Han Chinese residents and reporting people with bizarre dress or long beards and foreigners.<\/p>\n Aksu is one of Xinjiang\u2019s most heavily guarded areas and has seen many clashes in the past. In February<\/a>, roughly a dozen people armed with knives and explosive devices reportedly attacked patrolling police there. Eight were shot dead by the police and three others killed in the suicide bombing, state media reported. A month earlier in Aksu, six people attacked a local police station and were shot down.<\/p>\n Religious persecution?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe Chinese authorities\u2019 intensified drive to repress religious practice and belief among Uyghurs has led to a marked decline for religious freedom in the past year,\u201d said Uyghur Human Rights Project<\/a> director, Alim Seytoff.<\/p>\n By conflating extremists and terrorism with regular Uighurs\u2019 customs, such as wearing long beards,and religious practices such as praying, the government has decided \u201cnearly every Uyghur is complicit in \u2018illegal religious activity\u2019 and forces Uyghur believers to abandon their faith in order to avoid state punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n Chinese terrorist experts, however, disagree, saying such measures are not targeting religion but necessarily responding to a growing terrorist threat. Li Wei, director of the anti-terrorism center at China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said encouraging residents to report suspicious activities is a common method used by many countries. \u201cThis alone won\u2019t exacerbate the relations between ethnic groups, because eventually the authorities would verify and investigate such tips,\u201d Li said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should not mix terrorism with issues of ethnic and religion; that\u2019s what terrorists want,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The intensified tensions follow an explosion and attack on a train station<\/a> in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi last week at the tail end of Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s visit to region. The attack killed three and injured at least 79.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, six people were injured in a knife attack <\/a>at the Guangzhou Railway station in Guangdong Province. Initial witness reports on Chinese social media described several men in white hats similar to the doppa traditionally worn by Muslims, but local authorities have not identified the attackers.<\/p>\n