Arrests in Xinjiang

State security officials announced Aug. 3 that authorities had thwarted five planned terrorist attacks on civilians in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Chinese media reported. According to the reports, authorities confiscated firearms, knives, explosive material and literature advocating "violence and terrorism." The plots allegedly targeted the western cities of Urumqi, Kashgar, Aksu and Yili. Police provided no other details on the attack plans or how much the alleged attackers had prepared for the plot, so it is difficult to assess the specific threat the alleged plot actually posed. The ethnicity of those arrested was also not released, leaving it unclear what motivated the alleged plotters. Arrests of ethnic Uighurs supposedly plotting terrorist attacks have been fairly common in Xinjiang beginning long before the July 5 riots in Urumqi, as police have worked to counter any perceived threat presented by the Uighur movement in western China. Leaving out details probably represents an attempt by authorities to keep the pressure on subversive elements while avoiding statements or claims that could exacerbate an already-volatile situation.

Clashes in Algiers

Clashes erupted between Chinese citizens and Algerians during the afternoon of Aug. 3 in Algiers, Algeria. Witnesses said an altercation between an Algerian shopkeeper and a Chinese motorist broke out when the motorist refused to move his vehicle from the front of the Algerian's store in Bab Ezzouar quarter, a section of Algiers approximately 9 miles from the city center known locally as "Chinatown" because of the high population of Chinese living there. Though eyewitness accounts are contradictory, according to some witnesses, one man punched the other, after which the motorist fled the scene. Half an hour later, he returned to the store with approximately 50 of his compatriots wielding knives and iron bars, attacking the shopkeeper and others in the area. The situation escalated when 60 Algerians joined the fight, allegedly looting four or five Chinese-owned shops in the area later that evening. By Aug. 5, many of the Chinese shops in the area reportedly were closed and local police were maintaining an increased presence in the area. The brawl comes after the July 5 Xinjiang riots, and circulating reports of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the regional al Qaeda-linked organization in North Africa, calling for attacks on Chinese interests in Algeria. (AQIM had already caused the death of a Chinese engineer on June 17). While there are no indications that the Aug. 3 incident involved AQIM directly, the increased rhetoric in Algeria about the Xinjiang crackdown in addition to pre-existing animosities between the Chinese expatriate and Algerian communities in Algiers form a backdrop to the incident. AQIM has no interest in limiting its attacks just to Chinese, but will continue to target police, military and foreign targets in general. Chinese have and will continue to be victims in attacks, but it is unlikely that AQIM will go too far out of its way to target Chinese. Increased rhetoric can spark more amateur attacks from individuals unaffiliated with any militant group, however. Regardless, AQIM would surely approve of the Aug. 3 incident. This is because the incident provides a rallying point for Algerians not necessarily involved in AQIM or any other terrorist organization but who are upset with Chinese citizens who are widely perceived as flagrantly disregarding Muslim norms and undercutting local businesses, leading to increased economic hardship in a country already wracked with unemployment. Still, brawls between Chinese and Algerians in Algeria remain very uncommon. The timing of this brawl, coming as it does so soon after the July Uighur riots and the resulting increase in anti-China rhetoric suggests that the riots provided the spark that ignited the brawl. The Chinese Embassy in Algiers emphasized that this was an isolated incident, and that police have increased their presence in the affected area. But as seen in the July 5 Xinjiang riots and the June 25 factory riots in Guangdong province that sparked them, seemingly small altercations can quickly escalate and spread if popular sentiment supports them. With between 25,000 and 35,000 Chinese citizens working either independently or for Chinese companies in Algeria, there is a fairly large pool of potential contentions to choose from. Elsewhere in the Muslim world, Chinese citizens and groups in Turkey have reported receiving threats and the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a warning Aug. 3 to Chinese citizens in Turkey to avoid "sensitive sites and populous areas." Militant groups such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, aka the Turkestan Islamic Party, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan have issued threats similar to those issued by AQIM and have called for attacks against Chinese interests outside of China. Though Chinese companies doing business abroad rarely have faced violent attacks in the past, increased animosity and aggression against Chinese interests abroad remains a distinct possibility as Chinese domestic policies negatively impacting Muslims gain international attention. Click to view map

July 30

• The People's Supreme Court in Beijing sentenced two farmers from Chaoshan, Guangdong province, to death for counterfeiting more than 90 million yuan (about $130 million) worth of notes since 2004. The two were part of a counterfeiting ring in eastern Guangdong, a place known for having the greatest number of counterfeiting cases in the country due to its proximity to the coast and Taiwan. Many such cases have been investigated as part of a new national campaign against counterfeit notes launched in 2009.
• Three provincial committee-level officials from Zunyi, Guizhou province, were sentenced yesterday to 10, 11, and 14 years in prison. Among the sentenced was the city National People's Conference (NPC) vice chair, who took bribes of 580,000 yuan (about $85,000) connected to the launch of business ventures.

July 31

• The 11th Qinghai provincial NPC meeting ordered the arrest of He Zaigui, the former director of the provincial police department, in connection to "economic issues." According to an inside source cited by local media, the case is complicated and involves many other suspects. Provincial investigators are still looking into the case.

Aug. 1

• A man jumped to his death from the local government building in Xiaojian, Jiangsu province. Family members alleged that foul play was involved, providing photo evidence allegedly establishing that local officials and law enforcement known as chengguan previously had detained and beaten the man in connection to property disputes. According to locals, the township had previously collected about 10,000 yuan (about $1,500) from the man for permission to build a new house, but later revoked the agreement and granted the property to a business.

Aug. 2

• For the second time, more than 400 motorcycle taxi drivers protested a local government ban on their operations in Quanzhou, Fujian province. The government claims the drivers have repeatedly committed traffic violations and have been in involved in several other crimes. Some 1,000 motorcyclists took to the streets on Saturday, while around 100 police offers were deployed to maintain public order. Motorcycle taxis are illegal in China.

Aug. 3

• Three people died of the pneumonic form of the bubonic plague in Ziketan in the remote southwestern province of Qinghai, according to the provincial health department. Nine others, infected with the disease via rodents, are still being treated at a hospital. The Chinese Ministry of Health quarantined the town and sent medical experts to treat the patients.
• A suspect attacked three security personnel and a police officer with a knife in Shanghai's Pudong district while the four tried to apprehend him. One of the security personnel died later in the hospital, and another remains in critical condition. Police are investigating the case.
• A court in Liuyang, Hunan province, ordered the arrest of five officials from the city environmental protection bureau for failing to properly regulate a Changsha chemical plant that leaked chemicals in 2004 into a nearby village. According to local villagers, leaked cadmium and indium killed five people and poisoned their crops, rendering much of the land useless for the next 60 years. On July 29, more than 1,000 villagers protested to the local township, asking for government compensation and free medical checkups — but instead, six protesters were detained.

Aug. 4

• The People's Intermediate Court of Baise City, Guangxi province, sentenced the former chief of the Guangxi Youjiang Mining Bureau to 20 years in prison, local media reported. The former chief was charged with stealing 2.05 million yuan (about $300,000) in public funds, taking 600,000 yuan (about $88,000) in bribes, and acquiring property worth 5.4 million yuan (about $790,000) from suspicious sources.
• A black Porsche speeding on a municipal road in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, killed a 17-year-old girl crossing a street near midnight; witnesses said the victim was thrown 23 yards by the impact. The case is reminiscent of the highly publicized May 7 killing of a pedestrian by the son of a local Hangzhou elite speeding in a sports car.

Aug. 5

• An ammonia leak from a tanker truck carrying 30 tons of ammonia led to the hospitalization of 246 workers in the Chifeng Pharmaceutical Group's drug manufacturing plant in Inner Mongolia. Twenty-one people were affected by the leak, with three in critical — but reportedly not life-threatening — condition; 88 people suffered minor bodily reactions, while 137 were discharged with no symptoms. Local officials are investigating the leak.
• Kang Rixin, a Communist Party secretary and general manager of the China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC), is under investigation for severe "disciplinary violations," state media reported. The CNNC is the source for many military and civilian nuclear applications, including the production of nuclear weapons and generation of nuclear power. Kang had previously been elected to the anti-corruption body of the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection in 2002.