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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 002492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2034 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PTER PREL KIRF CH
SUBJECT: XINJIANG: INCREASED ETHNIC TENSIONS AND HIGH 
SECURITY 
 
REF: A. BEIJING 2183 
     ¶B. BEIJING 1055 
 
Classified By: Classified by Political Section Chief Aubrey Carlson. 
Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Ethnic tension between Han Chinese and 
Uighurs has increased dramatically in three southern 
Xinjiang province cities and in Urumqi since the early- 
July ethnic violence in the provincial capital, according to 
local residents.  Contacts did not report any increase in 
restrictions on religious practice following the July 
violence.  Restrictions on foreigners and diplomats have 
increased in southern Xinjiang following the violence, 
according to local hotel operators and a Swiss diplomat. 
Across Xinjiang, a clear propaganda campaign is underway 
aimed at promoting "ethnic unity."  Physical security was 
at a much higher level than witnessed in visits during 
the summer 2008 Olympics, with large numbers of People's 
Armed Police patrolling all cities PolOff visited.  In 
Urumqi, the Rebiya Kadeer Trade Tower and several other 
buildings in the vicinity were closed and clearly 
condemned.  Some Urumqi residents expressed anger toward 
Rebiya Kadeer in line with PRC government allegations 
that she played a role in the July violence.  Anger 
toward Xinjiang Party Secretary Wang Lequan appeared 
equally if not more widespread, with multiple contacts 
condemning him as corrupt and blaming him for the 
violence.  End Summary. 
 
Unofficial Visit 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (C) PolOff traveled August 25-29 to the southern 
Xinjiang cities of Hotan (Mandarin: Hetian), Karagilik 
(Yecheng) and Kashgar (Kashi), as well as regional 
capital Urumqi.  The provincial Foreign Affairs Office 
was not involved in the trip, so no official meetings 
took place.  PolOff gathered information through informal 
conversations with local residents. 
 
Increased Ethnic Tensions 
------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Following deadly riots in Urumqi in early July, 
southern Xinjiang had seen a dramatic increase in 
tensions between ethnic Han Chinese and Uighurs, 
according to multiple residents.  According to "Kurt" 
(protect), a Uighur Christian and forestry expert in 
Hotan, hatred and increased distrust between Han and 
Uighur residents of Hotan were the most noticeable 
results of the Urumqi rioting.  Han residents were afraid 
to enter Uighur-owned stores, asserted Kurt.  Hotan 
Consumer Protection Committee cadre "Xiao Tu" (protect), 
an ethnic Han, agreed, saying that tensions between Han 
and Uighur had been getting worse for years but the 
recent riots had made things "very bad."  Asked why 
ethnic tensions had increased, a Uighur Hotan taxi driver 
explained that "all the victims" in Urumqi were Uighurs 
shot by police during a peaceful commemoration of Uighurs 
killed in a factory in Shenzhen.  Pressed on why there 
had been no reported violence in Hotan, he said only "we 
are lucky there aren't many Han here."  A Uighur tour 
guide nicknamed "Patty" said that one reason for the 
ethnic tensions was that authorities only seemed 
interested in finding and punishing Uighurs for the 
Urumqi violence.  Not all interlocutors were willing to 
state that ethnic tensions had increased, however.  Yang 
Yong (protect), a Beijing-trained Hui Imam whose 
congregation was majority Uighur, claimed that race 
relations had improved in his neighborhood following the 
violence.  (Note:  During our conversation, Yang did not 
stray from the government line.  Yang told PolOff that a 
plainclothes police officer had visited his mosque 
shortly after PolOff called to set up a meeting.) 
 
Religious Practice 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Observation of Ramadan was proceeding "smoothly," 
Imam Yang Yong told PolOff.  Yang claimed that increased 
security presence in Hotan was designed "to ensure the 
safety of worshipers" during the month of Ramadan. 
According to Yang, the government did not interfere in 
celebration of Ramadan, though he noted that as in the 
past, students under 18 and people whose job performance 
might be "negatively affected" were not permitted to fast 
lest it interfere with their duties.  PolOff spoke with 
Muslim Uighurs in Kashgar and Hotan who were fasting and 
 
BEIJING 00002492  002 OF 003 
 
 
reported no interference in their religious practices. 
In visits to the 8th Elementary School and 1st High 
School in Hotan, PolOff witnessed female students wearing 
traditional headscarves.  Kurt, the Uighur Christian, 
reported that existing "government restrictions" on his 
religion had not changed since the Urumqi violence. 
 
Restrictions on Foreigners and Access to Information 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶5. (C) Police control of foreigners visiting Hotan had 
increased following the Urumqi violence, said Xiao Tu, 
the Consumer Protection cadre.  The Uighur manager of the 
Jiangsu Hotel in central Hotan agreed, saying that police 
had further restricted the number of hotels at which 
foreigners could stay and she had begun quoting 
drastically raised prices to foreigners in order to ward 
them off.  In Kashgar, Swiss Guangzhou Consul General 
Werner Nievergelt told PolOff that despite Guangzhou 
Foreign Affairs Office assurances that he and his wife 
would be permitted to vacation in Xinjiang, he had been 
detained in a town 50 kilometers from the town of Yili 
and told it was not safe for him to be in Xinjiang at 
all.  Nievergelt reported that the security officials who 
had stopped him had been "very rude" and had pointed a 
machine gun at him during his detention.  He speculated 
that it was his diplomatic status that had caused him to 
be expelled from the region.  Internet, text messaging 
and international calls were all inoperable across 
Xinjiang during PolOff's visit. 
 
Highly Visible Security 
----------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) In all towns visited by PolOff, convoys of between 
two and seven military troop transport trucks holding 
approximately twenty armed personnel wearing military 
fatigues patrolled streets twenty-four hours a day. 
(Note:  Truck license plates and markings were either 
removed or obscured in virtually all cases.  PolOff 
observed one patrol truck in Hotan and one in Urumqi with 
visible license plates.  In both cases the prefix, WJ 80, 
indicated the vehicle belonged to the People's Armed 
Police.) 
 
¶7. (C) As he observed the passing of a large convoy of 
troop trucks in Hotan, a Uighur camera salesman turned to 
PolOff, saying, "I hate them."  Pressed to elaborate, the 
camera salesman would not, saying that he was "too 
afraid."  In Kashgar, PAP units were stationed on street 
corners and sites including the Id Kah mosque (guarded by 
more than 80 men), People's Square and various government 
buildings.  In Urumqi, PolOff saw similar static posts 
across the city but were most prevalent in Uighur areas, 
where every street corner had at least one post. 
Armaments at these posts included shotguns, bats, machine 
guns and rifles with fixed and in some cases uncovered 
bayonets.  PolOff observed Special Police (Te Cha) 
augmenting PAP posts and guarding government buildings 
and Hospitals in Urumqi but not Kashgar.  Armed PAP and 
police were deployed at the Urumqi International 
Exhibition Center, the site of a much publicized upcoming 
trade show, although efforts were made to reduce their 
profile by positioning them behind banners.  All observed 
markings and uniforms of armed guards were either those 
of the People's Armed Police,local municipal police or 
special police. 
 
Propaganda Campaign Underway 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) PolOff observed large numbers of red propaganda 
banners in all cities visited.  The most common themes 
were "ethnic unity," "combating separatism," and 
"striking the three evil forces" (i.e., terrorism, 
separatism, extremism).  Also prevalent were wanted 
posters and announcements warning residents not to house 
or give aid to outsiders (wailai renyuan).  The Xinhua 
bookstore in Kashgar had prominently displayed the two- 
volume "Strengthening Ethnic Unity, Protecting Xinjiang 
Stability" Propaganda Education Materials, which feature 
a forward blaming Rebiya Kadeer for inciting the worst 
violence in Xinjiang in 60 years. 
 
Urumqi - Rebiya Kadeer Building 
------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) PolOff visited the Rebiya Kadeer Trade Tower 
located in Urumqi's Uighur neighborhood near Erdaoqiao. 
 
BEIJING 00002492  003 OF 003 
 
 
The tower, which still prominently displayed the name 
"Rebiya" in characters on the roof, had been closed and 
was clearly condemned.  A Uighur shop owner adjacent to 
the tower suggested that it was being destroyed because 
of its age.  A Han cab driver became angry when PolOff 
inquired about the building, saying that it was being 
destroyed because of Rebiya Kadeer's "betrayal." 
Buildings surrounding the Trade Tower, including one 
across the street, were in various stages of demolition. 
The Uighur area in which the building was located had the 
highest concentration of armed PAP and Special Police 
that PolOff witnessed in Urumqi and was not far from the 
PAP staging area located in the parking lot of the Urumqi 
Theater.  The large number of armed PAP made further 
inquiries with local Uighurs difficult. 
 
Urumqi Public Enemies:  Wang Lequan and Rebiya Kadeer 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶10. (C) Two Han cab drivers in Urumqi became visibly 
upset when PolOff brought up the subject of Rebiya Kadeer 
and her alleged role in the July violence.  One of these 
cab drivers directed his anger at the United States for 
"protecting" Kadeer.  Not all Han residents with whom 
PolOff spoke shared these sentiments, however.  Another 
Han Urumqi resident, who gave his surname as Zhang, said 
that he generally trusted only 30 percent of what the 
media said and argued that Rebiya Kadeer should not be 
blamed for the violence because she "only said some 
things."  A Uighur resident told PolOff that "she is not 
a bad person" but declined to elaborate. 
 
¶11. (C) In contrast to the mixed emotions expressed about 
Rebiya Kadeer, no one with whom PolOff spoke defended 
Xinjiang Party Secretary Wang Lequan.  Han Urumqi 
resident Ma Jie (protect) blamed Wang Lequan and his 
fellow provincial leaders exclusively for the violence. 
Ma said that he was sure that Wang Lequan would be 
removed from power following the October National Day 
celebrations.  Ma claimed that all People's Armed Police 
active in Urumqi were from outside of Xinjiang because 
local PAP allegiance to Wang made central authorities 
nervous.  Other residents with whom PolOff spoke agreed 
with this assessment of Wang.  An elderly Han cell phone 
salesman told PolOff that "if Wang Lequan were good and 
had done his job properly, the Uighurs would not have 
been angry."  Ma Changkui (protect), a Hui taxi driver, 
told PolOff that it was widely believed that Wang Lequan 
was very corrupt.  Ma lamented what he called the "lack 
of supervision" in the Chinese system and claimed that 
PRC President Hu Jintao's visit to Xinjiang earlier in 
August had been aimed at "supervising" Wang.  Ma Changkui 
agreed that Wang would either be removed from power or 
transferred following National Day celebrations.  Zhang, 
the skeptical reader of Chinese media, told PolOff that 
"so many common people did not have to die on July 5" and 
blamed Wang for the delays in the security response. 
HUNTSMAN