Those spreading rumours will face jail terms in Xinjiang: Chinese authorities

October 10th, 2009 BEIJING - In the wake of an al Qaeda militant urging the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang to launch jihad against the oppressive Chinese regime, Bejing has vowed to work with the international community to deal with terrorism. "We will continue to cooperate with the international community to jointly face the terrorism threat...Xinjiang has fully implemented the policies of equality of all ethnic minorities and religious freedom," China Daily quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma, as saying.

September 21st, 2009 BEIJING - The Chinese government Monday published a white paper on the development and progress in northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. The paper termed national unification, ethnic unity and social stability as important for the region's development.

September 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - China has said that Pakistan saved Beijing from embarrassment by persuading certain Islamic countries not to take the issue of ethnic violence in Xinjiang before the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. Replying to a question while interacting with media persons at the Chinese embassy here, Chinese Ambassador Lou Zhaohui said: "Yes, Pakistan played its role in doing so." Zhaohui said Islamabad has been very helpful in assisting China counter the Xinjiang violence and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

August 26th, 2009 UYGUR - Chinese President Hu Jintao, who made his first trip to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region since last month's deadly riot, has warned the separatists that they are "doomed to fail". The July 5 riot, which killed 197 people and injured more than 1,600, were masterminded by the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism both at home and abroad, he said.

August 4th, 2009 URUMQI - Chinese authorities Tuesday formally arrested 83 people in connection with the July 5 riots that left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 injured in the country's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, officials said. Prosecutor Utiku'er Abudrehman made the announcement at a press conference in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

July 28th, 2009 Chinese leader stresses ethnic unity to minoritiesBEIJING — China's president called Tuesday for the strengthening of ethnic unity in the country — his first public comments on the issue more than three weeks after deadly riots in the far west killed nearly 200 people. President Hu Jintao did not directly refer to the violence in Xinjiang between minority Uighurs and majority Han Chinese.

July 11th, 2009 URUMQI - The death toll in the riots in China's Urumqi city has risen to 184, authorities said Saturday. The dead comprise 137 people from the Han community, including 26 women.

July 11th, 2009 Woman China blames for violence wants dialogueWASHINGTON — The woman Chinese authorities blame for violent unrest in western China's Xinjiang (shihn-jahng) region is asking for outside intervention to create a dialogue between her ethnic Uighurs (WEE-gers) and Chinese authorities. In an interview with AP Television, Rebiya Kadeer says bad blood caused by Chinese mistreatment and suspicion of its Uighur minority has created a situation that "doesn't come to the negotiating table that easily." Nevertheless, Kadeer says, the Uighurs still want a dialogue with the Chinese government for a peaceful settlement.

July 11th, 2009 URUMQI - Authorities in northwest China's Xinjiang province Saturday said that tourism and air transport have been affected by the July 5 ethnic violence that claimed at least 184 lives. Authorities in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said Saturday both tourism and air transport have been hurt by the July 5 riot that left 184 dead in Urumqi, the regional capital.

July 10th, 2009 URUMQI - Some mosques in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi were closed Friday following Sunday's deadly riot that left at least 156 people dead, a Chinese official said. All five major mosques near the Southern Jiefang Road, centre of Sunday's violence, were closed Friday morning.

July 9th, 2009 BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao vowed "severe punishment" for the perpetrators of the Xinjiang riots that left at least 156 people dead and over 1,000 injured, a statement said Thursday. Hu Wednesday night presided over a meeting of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) standing committee of the politburo of the central committee.

July 8th, 2009 BEIJING - Chinese authorities have lifted a curfew in the riot-hit CITY OF Urumqi after order was restored following deadly riots, a spokesman said. "The curfew was lifted in the morning and now the situation has normalised," the spokesman told RIA Novosti.

July 7th, 2009 URUMQI - Internet connectivity was cut in parts of Xinjiang's capital Urumqi following Sunday's riot to prevent violence from spreading, an official said Tuesday. "We cut Internet connection in some areas of Urumqi in order to prevent violence from spreading to other places," said Li Zhi, the Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of Urumqi.

July 7th, 2009 URUMQI - The death toll from riots in the western Chinese cities of Urumqi and Kashgar has risen to 156. The official Xinhua news agency quoted senior government officials as saying that Beijing would take firm steps to bring the troubled desert province of Xinjiang under control.

April 19th, 2009 Moderate quake rattles China's northwestBEIJING — Chinese seismological authorities say a moderate earthquake registering a magnitude of 5.5 Sunday has struck China's far western Xinjiang region. No injuries were immediately reported.