Dozens of police officers wearing bulletproof vests and toting assault rifles guard the camp of an international off-road race across China’s troubled far-western region of Xinjiang. The show of strength at the mobile camp that follows the Silk Way Rally highlights China’s concerns about security in Xinjiang, a vast region that has been hit by … Read more
Worshippers quietly passed through metal detectors as they entered the central mosque in China’s far western city of Kashgar under the stern gaze of stone-faced police officers. The increasingly strict curbs imposed on the mostly Muslim Uighur population have stifled life in the tense Xinjiang region, where beards are partially banned and no one is … Read more
An earthquake early Thursday killed at least four people in a remote area of northwest China’s Xinjiang region, state media reported. The shallow 5.4-magnitude quake struck at 5:58 am (2158 GMT Wednesday) 213 kilometres (133 miles) south-southwest of the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar, the US Geological Survey said. Xinhua news agency said four … Read more
A Chinese official who allegedly declined to smoke in front of Muslims in Xinjiang has been demoted for taking an “unstable political stance,” a state-run newspaper reported Tuesday. Xinjiang, home to China’s Muslim Uighur ethnic minority, restricts religious practises — such as growing beards, wearing headscarves, and fasting during Ramadan — that are seen as … Read more
China has introduced new restrictions in the far western region of Xinjiang in what it describes as a campaign against Islamist extremism. The measures include prohibiting “abnormally” long beards, the wearing of veils in public places and refusing to watch state television. Xinjiang is the homeland of the Uighurs, a traditionally Muslim group who say … Read more
China has introduced new restrictions in the far western region of Xinjiang in what it describes as a campaign against Islamist extremism. The measures include prohibiting “abnormally” long beards, the wearing of veils in public places and refusing to watch state television. Xinjiang is the homeland of the Uighurs, a traditionally Muslim group who say … Read more
China has introduced new restrictions in the far western region of Xinjiang in what it describes as a campaign against Islamist extremism. The measures include prohibiting “abnormally” long beards, the wearing of veils in public places and refusing to watch state television. Xinjiang is the homeland of the Uighurs, a traditionally Muslim group who say … Read more
China has announced bans on beards and burkas in its remote violence-wracked Xinjiang region as part of tighter ‘anti-extremism’ regulations that also prohibit refusing to watch government propaganda. Xinjiang is the homeland of the Uighurs — a traditionally Muslim group, many of whom complain of cultural and religious repression and discrimination. The area has been … Read more
Islamic State militants from China’s Uighur ethnic minority have vowed to return home and “shed blood like rivers”, according to a jihadist-tracking firm, in what experts said marked the first IS threat against Chinese targets. The threat came in a half-hour video released Monday by a division of the Islamic State in western Iraq and … Read more
More than 10,000 armed police in China’s western Xinjiang region staged a mass rally in the capital Urumqi, state media said, as authorities rolled out a rapid-response air patrol system to quell unrest that the government blames on Islamist militants. The rally held on Monday, complete with circling helicopters and armored vehicles, was at least … Read more
China has created a 100 million yuan ($14.5 million) fund for “anti-terrorism” awards in a violence-wracked part of the country, state media reported, as the government steps up a campaign targeting unrest. The government of Hotan in the far western region of Xinjiang will give prizes of up to 5 million yuan ($730,000) to those … Read more
A prefecture in China’s restive Xinjiang region has ordered all vehicles to be equipped with GPS-like tracking software, police and media reports said Tuesday, as authorities step up an “anti-terrorism” campaign. All drivers in the Bayingol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture must install a China-developed satellite navigation system called Beidou “to prevent theft, but also primarily to … Read more
Eight people were killed in a knife attack on a crowd in China’s restive Xinjiang region, including three assailants who were gunned down by police, local officials said on Wednesday. Ten other people were injured in the attack Tuesday evening in Pishan county, according to an announcement issued by the government of the nearby city … Read more
An exiled advocate for China’s ethnic Uighur minority said Monday that some of the group were fighting and dying in Syria — including for Islamic State (IS) — though she claimed they had been duped into doing so. Rebiya Kadeer, who heads the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), said that among the thousands of Uighurs who … Read more
China will encourage labor-intensive manufacturing industries located along the eastern coast to relocate inland, it said in a new 2016-2020 plan to develop the economy of its western regions. The country’s cabinet, the State Council, approved the western development five-year plan on Friday, according to a notice published by China’s official government website late on … Read more