After Urumqi Bloodshed, China Warns of Increasing Threat of Terrorism
Petar Kujundzic/ReutersParamilitary
police officers tried to stop a photographer from taking pictures in
Urumqi after an attack in a market on Thursday.
As China reels from its deadliest terrorist
attack in recent memory, officials and the state news media acknowledged
that the frequency of such assaults had grown and called for greater
preparedness to deal with the threat of violence against civilians.
On Thursday attackers threw explosive devices
from the windows of sport utility vehicles as they plowed into an early
morning market in Urumqi, the capital of the northwestern region of
Xinjiang, killing 31 and injuring more than 90.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It follows a series of deadly assaults for which China has blamed Xinjiang separatists. In March, a group armed with long knives killed 29 and wounded more than 100 in the southern city of Kunming. Three died in a bombing at a train station in Urumqi in April. Last October a vehicle plowed into crowds near Tiananmen Square in Beijing before catching fire, killing three occupants and two tourists and injuring 40.
Xinjiang is the home of the Turkic-speaking,
predominantly Muslim Uighur ethnic group, and many have complained of
economic discrimination, restrictions on their religious practices and
destruction of their traditional culture. A few have resorted to attacks
on the police and civilians in the name of creating an independent
state.
State media coverage after the attack on Thursday signaled that China does not expect the violence to end soon.
“Chinese people are increasingly aware of and concerned about terrorist attacks,” said an editorial
in Global Times, a newspaper owned by the ruling Communist Party’s
People’s Daily Group. “Violent terrorism haunting Xinjiang has become
more ferocious and obstinate than we expected and it is becoming a
chronic challenge to our social governance.”
The newspaper warned:
Catalysts for violent terrorism in China have spread, so we need to keep sober-minded. No matter how we adjust relevant policies and how many measures we take, we cannot ensure they will take immediate effects. If we are too impatient, we may flounder, doubt everything and finally lose confidence, thus leading to escalated chaos in ideology as well as social governance.
Online, many commenters reacted angrily to
the United States Embassy in Beijing for not calling the attack on
Thursday “terrorism.” On its official account on Sina Weibo, the Chinese
microblogging service, the embassy had written: “The U.S. Embassy
expresses condolences and sympathy to the victims, their families and
all people influenced by today’s violent attack against innocent
civilians in Urumqi.” The statement
posted on Thursday afternoon received more than 17,000 comments and was
reposted more than 26,000 times. The United States government has been
cautious in the past about labeling attacks in China as terrorism,
citing the lack of independently verifiable information.
Within 24 hours of the attack, the White House issued a statement saying the United States “condemns the horrific terrorist attack in Urumqi, China, today.”
On Friday, the United States Embassy
instructed its staff members to defer all personal travel to Xinjiang.
“In 2014, violent attacks, including acts of terrorism, have resulted in
several dozen injuries and deaths in public spaces throughout China,
including train stations and markets,” it said in a statement emailed to
citizens. The embassy said it had no information about specific threats
and noted that violent crime is not common in China, but that incidents
can occur without warning.
People’s Daily said in a front-page editorial
that the series of attacks was designed to put pressure on the
authorities. “Amid this quick succession of violent terrorist attacks,
the violent terrorists have meticulously chosen the time of their
violent terrorism to slaughter innocent masses to create an atmosphere
of terror and wild reaction to put pressure on the party and the
government,” it said.
Meng Jianzhu, China’s top security official,
held a teleconference with the police across China on Thursday evening,
and called on them to “firmly check the increasing number and frequency
of violent terrorist activities in Xinjiang,” according to comments paraphrased by Xinhua, the state-run news agency.
The latest attack came as many Chinese cities
were stepping up security precautions, holding counterterrorism drills
and increasing police presence at train stations, squares and other
public places.
The police generally do not carry guns, but
over the past month, China has begun firearms training for front-line
officers and has introduced armed patrols
in Shanghai and other cities. In Beijing, 5,000 police officers have
been added to subway patrols and armed officers have been stationed so
that they can respond to incidents in major shopping areas “within one
minute,” Zhang Bing, deputy director of the Beijing Public Security
Bureau, told China Daily.
In the southwestern city of Chengdu, the police posted a notice
with counterterrorism safety tips. The advice included not touching
suspicious packages, and ducking and hiding behind trash cans in the
event of a shooting.
“If you encounter a thug with a knife,” it said, “keep in mind these words: Run and hide.”
Amy Qin contributed research.
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