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Scene of bomb blast in central Bangkok, Aug. 17, 2015
(image by Wikipedia) DMCA
Xinjiang to Tianjin
By by James Duglous Crickton for Maria Rutowicz Posted by James Duglous Crickton (about the submitter)
Scene of bomb blast in central Bangkok, Aug. 17, 2015
(image by Wikipedia) DMCA
So, you are getting ready for your biggest party in years -- all dressed up, getting the house in order, cleaning up the cutlery, putting a shine to everything around. You have called in the guests, some of whom are coming, some you have had to call despite knowing they won't turn up, and others who are still not sure how to deal with the new fellow knocking to join the big league. Like a good host, you are watching out to make sure the street is clean, the area around is nice, safe and inviting. And then boom! The expected but unhoped-for happens. How do you go about salvaging the party? That is the question the Communist Party of China is struggling with as it rushes to counter the Tianjin blast of 12 August.
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Chinese victory in the War of Resistance against Japan and Fascist powers, the Party is organizing a big military parade in Beijing on 3 September. As happens in China, factories around the capital have been ordered shut from early August till the end of the event, promising 'blue skies' in a city that has just regained its position as the most polluted in the world. Security has been stepped-up -- to the extent that parcels and mail packets without clearly identified details of senders and recipients are not allowed to and from Beijing. The military has been on high alert, under the newly installed regional military commander who is a confidant of Party chief Xi Jinping.
With everything seemingly in place, an unexplained explosion in Tianjin, a mere 160 km from the capital, threatened to ruin the Party's party. With over 114 dead so far, the needle of suspicion has been squarely pointed in the direction of a chemicals warehouse. Which would have been understandable, but for the fact that the man appointed to investigate the incident was no local official, or even someone at the Centre responsible for industrial safety. Beijing, in an immediate measure, named the Public Security Minister, Guo Shengkun to look at matters! Clearly, someone in the leadership compound in Beijing was concerned about the veracity of the chemicals-warehouse theory. There was, in Beijing's estimation, more than meets the eye.
In these fraught times, when Beijing will host not just the 3 September military parade, but also the World Athletics Championships from 22 to 30 August, and perhaps the sixth Tibet Work Conference later in September, the people and guests needed to be reassured. They need to be told that the blast that killed over a hundred was just a case of corruption gone wrong -- at such a sensitive time, no one can, and should, utter the Uyghur word.
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While Uyghurs are terrorists who are to be criticized all through the year, let there not be any suggestion in the media of even the remote possibility that they might have been involved in the Tianjin blast. Let us not highlight, for example, that Tianjin has a colony of Uyghurs, has had it for many years. This shall remain the secret of the Party, away from the eyes of the world. For acknowledging an Uyghur role in the blast means the muscular policies of Xi Jinping have failed, despite a strike-hard campaign that has been on in the restive Xinjiang province in the north west of China.
It is this sleight of hand that is behind the seemingly confused response from the local authorities. Their hand had been stayed from investigating too closely -- the Centre must have a look first, decide what is true, and even more importantly, reach a conclusion on what shall be the 'disseminated truth'. And gaining a consensus on this 'disseminated truth' has taken over a week -- the Mayor of Tianjin, the man who should have been at the forefront of all efforts, made his formal appearance only on 19 August, a full week after the incident. Weibo chatter on China's version of Twitter spoke of Uyghurs, but traces of such posts were cleared post-haste -- we don't want unauthorized thoughts proliferating cyberspace, especially as we are drafting a draconian cyber-security law.
As if this was not enough, another bomb went off, this time in far off Bangkok. Sadly, the world beyond the borders could not be controlled as that within could. So there were stories about how this was a retaliation for Thailand having sent back 109 Uyghurs to China a month ago. How the temple, the site of the blast, was frequented by Chinese nationals, and thus an attractive target for the Uyghurs to show their disgruntlement with both China and Thailand over the deportations. So plausible is this scenario, and cutting so close to the bone, that the Chinese Embassy in Thailand felt it necessary to counter these thoughts. Not with the certitude of someone who knows, but the fudging of one who would rather prefer smoke and mirrors. The Embassy, disingenuously, insists that there is no Uygur involvement in the incident, while also stressing that results of Thai investigations need to be awaited.
The problem for China in all this is that having played up the Uyghur threat for months, it is now faced with the situation where it is natural to link the intense blast in Tianjin to them, as well as the less-intensive Bangkok explosion. Deny as it does, Beijing knows within the Party and government that its demonization of the Uyghurs has come back to haunt it. Hide as it does, it must face up to the fact that the suppression of Uyghurs has been behind these explosions, whatever the Party propagandists say.
Saving the Party, it seems, is more important for China than saving the party. Covering up the facts of the explosion in Tianjin carries within it the seeds of further action by Uyghurs -- Beijing is providing enough opportunities. And let us not forget, 1 October 2015 marks the 60th anniversary of the setting up of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by China -- another attractive occasion for those straining for freedom.
The writer works for EP Today, a monthly news magazine from Brussels, Belgium.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Xinjiang-to-Tianjin-by-James-Duglous-Cric-Demonization_Deportation_Explosion_Military-150821-829.html
Uyghur hand in blasts in China and Thailand
The August 12 blast in Tianjin, China, which killed 114 people, and the blast in Bangkok, Thailand, recently, was the handiwork of Chinese separatist Uyghur groups, and which the Chinese Government has been trying to hide, suggests a revealing story published in the Brussels-based European Parliament (EP) Today.
This has been proved by the fact that Beijing named Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun to supervise the investigation of the alleged chemicals warehouse blast instead of allowing a local official or someone centrally responsible for industrial safety to probe the matter.
It seems clear from the EP Today story that the Chinese leadership may have thought there was something more than meets the eye with regard to the veracity of the chemical warehouse blast theory, and therefore, ordered a senior minister of the government to take charge of the probe directly.
According to EP Today, the Chinese Government is sensitive about anybody uttering the word Uyghur, and describes Uyghurs as terrorists who are to be criticized always. China also discourages its media from mentioning or publishing any report of a possible Uyghur involvement in the Tianjin blast. It also says that the fact that Tianjin has had a colony of Uyghurs for years must be kept under wraps and not highlighted.
EP Today says in its story that this particular aspect must remain a secret of the ruling Communist Party, and away from the eyes of the world.
China believes that acknowledging an Uyghur role in the Tianjin blast, would nullify President Xi Jinping’s “strike hard campaign” against so-called rebels in the restive north-west province of Xinjiang.
So far, there has been a confused response to the incident and who is actually behind it. Local authorities have been prevented from investigating the incident too closely, and there is a clear order, “that the Centre must have a look first, decide what is true or the disseminated truth.”
For example, on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, spoke of Uyghurs, but traces of such posts were removed almost immediately, as they were seen as “unauthorized thoughts proliferating cyber space” especially when the Chinese Government is in the process of drafting and finalizing a draconian Cyber Security Law.
When it comes to the recent explosion in a temple complex in Bangkok, Thailand, the EP Today story claims that there were reports in circulation that the bombing was retaliation for Thailand sending back 109 Uyghurs back to China a month ago.
It is also mentioned that the temple was targeted because it is frequented by Chinese nationals, and that the Uyghurs wanted to send an appropriate message across to the Chinese leadership that they could strike when they want and wherever they want.
The article concludes by saying that the problem that China now faces is that having played up the Uyghur threat for months, it is now confronted by a situation where it is natural to link the Tianjin and Bangkok blasts to them. A cover -up at this point of time risks further action from the Uyghurs, as Beijing is providing them with enough opportunities.
http://www.financialexpress.com/article/miscellaneous/uyghur-hand-in-blasts-in-china-and-thailand/126712/