5 more death sentences in Xinjiang riot killings

5 more death sentences have been announced bringing to 22 the number of people sentenced to death in the ethnic street violence early this year in Xinjiang between Uighurs and Han. It appears that the violence was initiated principally by Uighurs and that the bulk of the victims were ethnic Han who are the overwhelming majority of China's citizens. Nearly 200 died in the strife. This group of condemned is reported to be Uighur.

The Times account is HERE

8 more death sentences in Xinjiang

Three more death sentences were announced today in the July 5, 2009 Urumqi riots. Two have Muslim names and one a Han name, according to China Daily's account today. Earlier this week five death sentences were announced but the press account (like today's) does not specify if any were with a two year reprieve - which usually converts to life in prison. On November 10 nine were executed, after Supreme People's Court review, for their part in the riots which left nearly 200 dead, says China Daily.

China Daily reports that on November 5 internet service was restored in Xinjiang.

Image: China Daily - President Hu Jintao visiting the region in August 2009

Death penalty call in Xinjiang riots

“To those who haChinese President Hu Jintao hurried back home from the G8 meeting in Rome in response to the ethnic clashes in Urumqi, Xinjiang that claimed 160 lives. He called for severe punishment - including the death penalty against the perpetrators. “To those who have committed crimes with cruel means, we will execute them,” Li Zhi, the top Communist Party official in Urumqi, said July 8.

197 are now reported dead, according to China Daily, July 19, 2009. Many arrests are sure to follow.

The moment poses a severe challenge to the Chinese judicial system, long the object of western criticism.

The death penalty itself has been the object of much debate. A move away from the death penalty has been promoted under the leadership of Supreme People's Court chief Xiao Yang. The policy maxim "kill fewer, kill carefully" - though infelicitous - captures the leadership's view.

According to a 2008 China Daily report the SPC has rejected about 15 percent death penalties since it removed provincial courts' final review power on Jan 1 2007. "Death sentences have been decreasing gradually, which means better human rights protection."

Xiao says it's "too early and unrealistic for China to abolish the death penalty because of the country's long history of capital punishment". Even for non-violent and financial crimes, deserve death "if their actions are extremely harmful to society" in his view.

"We need to keep the death penalty and use it as an effective deterrent, even though we can't exaggerate this factor. We must be extremely careful while handing down a death sentence. We should have human rights in mind."

"Extremely careful" may be a challenge when carnage as great as last week's has occurred. But looking back at the last major event in Xinjiang provides cause to believe that the rsponse will in fact be reasonably restrained. In April 2009 4000 local Xinjiang officials gathered in an arena to hear the announcement of the execution of two Uighur men who had driven an explosive-laden truck into a crowd of 70 border policemen, killing 17.

The attack, in Kashgar, Xinjiang, took place four days before the start of the Beijing Olympics in early August 2008. Trial and Supreme Court review were completed in four months. Although the procedural steps and barriers that we have do not exist there, the system - from a deterrent point of view, and retributive point of view appears to have functioned in an exemplary way. The punishment fit the crime, and justice was swift.

Fight terror - speak Mandarin?

URUMQI: Teaching Mandarin to students in the remote Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was helping the fight against terrorism, chairman of the autonomous region Nur Bekri said.

"Terrorists from neighboring countries mainly target Uygurs that are relatively isolated from mainstream society as they cannot speak Mandarin. They are then tricked into terrorist activities," Bekri said. The China Daily story is here.

The Uyghur autonomous region has a population of 20 million, 60% Uyghur or Kazhak. It is the old assimilate or separate problem. We know how it worked out in the USSR - mixed results, shall we say.

This measure can be contrasted to that of April 10. At a stadium filled with 4,000 local officials in Xinjiang, authorities announced the Supreme Court had upheld the judgments and that executions were imminent for two men who carried out a 2008 attack that killed 17 border guards. A few days later another vehicle bomb was exploded in the province. The China Daily reports are here and here.

That the will and means could be mustered to kill 17 paramilitary border police highlights the depth of the problem - one likely to be mitigated only slightly by assimilationist measures like Mandarin language study.

China is not an ideological union like the USSR. It is a proud ethnic giant unlikely to relinquish sovereignty in minority regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet. But the development and persistence of such centripetal forces tells us that the status quo is not a viable option. The assimilation-autonomy conundrum is far from resolution.

image: China Daily, August 4, 2008