VZCZCXRO0992
RR RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHCN #0171/01 2140820
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 010820Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2899
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0045
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0016
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3527

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000171 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, DS/IP/ITA, DS/IP/EAP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  8/1/2033 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM ASEC CH
SUBJECT: KUNMING  BOMBINGS:  SOME LOCAL PERSPECTIVES 
 
REF: A. BEIJING 2946 
     ¶B. 07 CHENGDU 267 
     ¶C. 07 CHENGDU 100 
 
CHENGDU 00000171  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate 
General, Chengdu. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Following the July 21 bombing of two buses in 
Southwest China's Yunnan provincial capital of Kunming, security 
forces remain on alert with a noticeable stepped up presence in 
some downtown areas.  Speculation in the city appears still 
focused, although not exclusively, on alleged ethnic Uighur 
involvement.  With rumors of possible other bombings, as well as 
two recent false alarms, local nerves are somewhat on edge.  End 
Summary. 
 
Atmospherics 
-------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) During a July 29-30 visit to Kunming, CG discussed with 
official and other contacts the local security situation.  Post 
confirmed on July 21 with the Yunnan Public Security Bureau that 
two separate explosions involving buses traveling west (Route 
54) along one of Kunming's principal roads had occurred during 
that morning's rush hour killing two and injuring 14 people. 
Chinese authorities dismissed a subsequent claim of 
responsibility by the ethnic Uighur "Turkestan Islamic Party" 
(TIP).  Up to two other bus bombings were "rumored" to have also 
occurred in Kunming that day. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The British "Guardian" newspaper later reported a bus 
explosion might have occurred on July 28 in Kunming, although 
local officials denied it.  During CG's stay in Kunming he was 
told by an eyewitness that the incident referred to by the 
"Guardian" was in fact a bus tire blowing out.  The eyewitness 
said he and everyone else in the immediate area initially 
thought there had been another bombing when they heard a loud 
boom and saw black smoke rising from one of the front tires of 
the bus. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Not surprisingly, security appeared tighter than usual 
at the Kunming airport upon CG's arrival late the afternoon of 
July 29.  Additional baggage search/metal detector procedures 
were in place for passengers and only those holding tickets were 
allowed within the airport terminal.  CG's local driver said all 
vehicles parked at the airport had to first go through a 
security inspection, including engine checks.  The driver added 
that motorcycle security patrols were stepped up in several 
areas of the city.  CG saw a motorcycle patrol of eight 
uniformed "special police" (Te Jing) wearing flak vests and 
combat helmets near Kunming's Green Lake district, popular with 
tourists and close to where the bus bombings occurred. 
 
¶5. (SBU) During the evening of July 29, a downtown area of 
Kunming was closed off when bomb disposal personnel (with 
remote-controlled robot) were called in to deal with a 
suspicious looking brief case that was left unattended in a 
public area.  According to local officials, the brief case 
turned out to be just a brief case.  One contact described how, 
when he was on a Route 54 bus on July 30, security officials 
both riding the bus and stationed at bus stops inspected all 
passengers who tried to board with packages.  Route 54 buses 
have recently had very few passengers. 
 
Government Contacts 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) On July 30, Yunnan FAO Director Zhou Hong (protect) told 
CG there were not yet any specific leads on the July 21 
bombings.  She remarked that "all scenarios" were being 
considered.  Referring to possible alleged involvement by ethnic 
Uighurs from Xinjiang in Northwest China, Zhou remarked that, if 
"Eastern Turkestan" (Dong Tu) forces had been involved, she 
doubted Kunming's local Hui (ethnic Han Muslims) residents would 
try to shield them.  (Note:  Islam in what is now Yunnan 
Province dates back to at least the 13th century; one estimate 
puts Kunming's current Hui population at around 500,000.  End 
note).  Zhou added that, although Yunnan does not have any 
indigenous Uighurs, some Uighurs live in the province 
"illegally."  A reward of RMB 300,000 (about USD 44,000) is 
being offered to anyone who can provide information that leads 
to the arrest of those responsible for the bombings.  Local 
security officials are currently trying to track the origin of 
the components used in the bombs. 
 
¶7. (C) Yunnan Information Office Director Deng Meiying (protect) 
 
CHENGDU 00000171  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
commented to CG that what worries government authorities most 
about the bombings is that they appear to indicate a degree of 
coordination and planning that can not be explained as just the 
action of one angry individual.  On the other hand, the 
explosive devices used were "crude and unsophisticated," not the 
work of a "well-financed organization."  She asserted, "Uighurs 
are of course dangerous," but there have not been any 
significant security incidents involving Hui in Yunnan "since 
the 1980's."  (Note:  refs b and c discuss continued 
sensitivities about the killing of approximately 900 Hui by 
People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops during a confrontation in 
1975 in the village of Shadian about 250 kilometers southeast of 
Kunming.  Shadian is currently the center of a very active 
madrassa that attracts students from throughout western China. 
What will be China's largest mosque is currently being 
constructed there.  End note.) 
 
Malaysian Consul General 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Malaysia's Kunming-based Consul General (protect) told CG 
his local security contacts stressed to him "Eastern Turkestan" 
forces could not have been behind the July 21 bombings.  When he 
asked them why not, they replied "because we already rounded up 
all Uighurs (and Tibetans) in Kunming during the last several 
months in preparation for the Olympics and sent them back to 
their home villages;" and, "we did not pick up any suspicious 
discussions between Uighurs during our monitoring of local cell 
phone conversations."  The Malaysian Consul General said his 
security contacts really did not appear to know who was 
responsible for the bombings.  He has not come across any 
evidence to support rumors that there were four -- not two -- 
bus bombings in Kunming on July 21. 
 
¶9. (C) While he doubts local Hui would support Uighurs to "cause 
trouble," the Malaysian CG also volunteered he has been tasked 
by his government to try to keep an eye on possible 
foreign-supported radicalization of young Hui in Shadian.  Hui 
leaders in Shadian are quite wealthy due to their control of 
mining and manufacturing interests in the area, but it is 
possible that recent expansion of mosques and madrassas in 
Shadian has also been facilitated with overseas support.  (Note: 
 per ref b, the head of a new madrassa near Shadian told us in 
late 2007 that his school had Saudi instructors.  A senior 
instructor at Shadian's main madrassa studied for a number of 
years in both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.  End note). 
 
¶10. (C) According to the Malaysian Consul General, one theory 
currently being investigated by government authorities is that 
the bombings could be linked to a violent confrontation that 
took place just two days earlier on July 19 between ethnic Dai 
and local security officers in Menglian (southern Yunnan near 
the Burma border).  The confrontation allegedly involved a 
dispute at a rubber plantation that left at least two Dai dead 
and 15 injured, as well as 41 police injured and eight police 
vehicles smashed.  The Malaysian Consul General speculated the 
dispute could have been due to illegal land grabs by 
Han-controlled firms.  Menglian is also a major transiting area 
for drugs smuggled in from Burma. 
 
Two Businessmen 
---------------------- 
 
¶11. (C) One local business contact (ethnic Han; former PLA) told 
CG "most people" in Kunming blame Uighurs for the bus bombings, 
noting with irony that "when the Uighurs don't do anything, the 
government blames them for something; when they claim to have 
done something, the government says they didn't."  According to 
the contact, Yunnan attracts many Uighurs because they can find 
work from wealthy Hui businessmen and the overall political and 
security environment is far less strict than in Xinjiang. 
(Note:  see ref c for a discussion CG had in early 2007 with a 
Saudi-trained Uighur instructor at the Najiaying mosque south of 
Kunming in which he made similar points about the advantages of 
living in Yunnan.  End note).  The contact asserted that even 
before the bombings, "Chinese" in Kunming were wary of 
interacting with "Muslims."  He pointed to a passing van driven 
by a Hui that had Koranic verses in Arabic stenciled on the back 
window and noted, "you don't want to get into a traffic accident 
with `those people.'" 
 
¶12. (C) A longtime foreign businessman resident in Kunming told 
CG most of his local staff believe Uighurs were behind the July 
21 bombings and that government officials may be trying to cover 
up that there were other bombings as well.  He said that rumors 
of possible further incidents during the Olympic period are 
rampant and some of his local staff are avoiding crowded 
downtown areas. 
 
CHENGDU 00000171  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
Comments 
------------- 
 
¶13. (C) Whoever turns out to have been responsible for the July 
21 bus bombings, there appears little question that Yunnan 
authorities are taking seriously the possibility of other 
incidents and putting into place added security measures.  One 
example?  According to the general manager of a restaurant where 
CG hosted a lunch on July 30 for Kunming-based Consuls Generals 
(Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia), security officers 
closely searched the premises ahead of time and stationed 
plainclothes personnel inside and in front of the restaurant 
during the event. 
BOUGHNER