China's internal troubles (not the Far West)

[Bill Moore]

It is noteworthy that I've yet to see any foreign reporting from Kunming, where I'd be surprised foreign reporters are based. In the past far better, non-orchestrated reporting has come from non-Chinese sources, e.g. a visiting BBC World Service reporter in Lhasa, Tibet a few years ago.

Not surprisingly there is no additional news coming from China, what did sort of surprise me is the lack of social media reporting from Kunming. In an article I read yesterday it stated China's government effectively removed most SM comments related to the attack. That could have been done for good reasons, for example, to prevent social rage movement against the Uyghurs who may or may not have been the culprits. It may also have been blocked to cover something up.

As a tactic, the cat is out of the bag. I suspect there will be copy cat attacks in the future globally along these lines. Based on what little I could find on witness accounts it didn't seem the attackers were well versed in the best way to inflict lethal blows with a knife, since more than one witness said they were focused on the striking the head and shoulders. Probably would have been more fatalities if they chose other target areas.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/worl...icle-1.1707232

Sean Roberts, a cultural anthropologist at George Washington University who has studied Uighurs and China for two decades, said the Kunming violence would be a new kind of attack for ethnic Uighurs — premeditated, well-organized and outside Xinjiang — but still rudimentary in weaponry.

“If it is true that it was carried out by Uighurs, it’s much different than anything we’ve seen to date,” Roberts said by phone.

If it was Uyghurs this particular group doesn't seem to be tied to Al-Qaeda (some are, and we captured and killed a few in Afghanistan over the years), because they probably would have access to explosives and other weapons. I wouldn't rule out a martial art cult either.

[omarali50]

Kunming apparently has a Uighur slum that has even been the site of some Chinese "hearts and minds" efforts. http://www.scmp.com/news/china/artic...loody-massacre
This level of dedication to hopeless causes takes Muslims, so i personally dont have any doubt that it was Uighurs.
The CCP will surely crack down hard, but they are also trying NOT to ignite a major domestic media storm. It doesnt look good for the state to have such problems in the first place. Raises doubts about the mandate of heaven. http://shanghaiist.com/2014/03/03/ne...ront-pages.php
btw, Pakistani conspiracy theorists are convinced its CIA trying to destabilize China.

[AdamG]

Riots in southeastern China after brutal police-inspector killed a man with a hammer in broad daylight. People smashed several police cars and were attacked with tear gas.

At least 4 Chengguan, the most hated police-inspectors in China, were beaten to death by angry people in Cangnan County of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province (located in the industrial southeast), after they killed a man with a hammer. The police-inspectors hit the man with a hammer until he started to vomit blood, because he was trying to take pictures of their violence towards a woman, a street vendor. The man was rushed to hospital, but died on the way.

Thousands of angry people took to the streets, surrounded the police-inspectors in their van, attacked them with stones, bats, and beat them to death. People were shouting that the police-inspectors be killed on the spot for what they did: “Kill them! Kill them!”

Read more at http://libertycrier.com/china-violen...BoAjq41imth.99

[davidbfpo]

There are more details on thsi French report, which explains that thsoe attacked were not the regular or state police, but auxiliaries tasked to regulate street trading:

he Chengguan are notorious in China. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, branches have been set up in more than 650 cities in China. Yet no overarching framework exists to regulate and supervise these parallel police units. As a result, Chengguan have earned a reputation for “brutality and impunity” [Editor's note: in 2009, a guide appeared instructing Chengguan on the arts of ‘beating up’ illegal street traders]. Several victims allege to have bore the brunt of this abuse, including being “punched, kicked” and “thrown from their vehicle into the street”.

Link:http://observers.france24.com/conten...99-police-unit

[davidbfpo]

A BBC commentary by Raffaello Pantucci, of RUSI and close observer of China's activity in the far west Xinjiang Province. He asks:

China's long-discussed counter-terrorism legislation, passed this week, frames the way the country will counter terrorist threats at home and abroad. But it is capable of getting to the root of the problem?

(He concludes) If China wants to be able to properly and effectively tackle its terrorism problems at home and abroad, it needs to start to think in this way too. It needs to find a way to not only disrupt terror networks but to understand why people are drawn to terror in the first place and how it can address the issue.

Link:http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35199712

[Bill Moore]

http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/a...iananmen-alive

Amid Crackdown, China’s Dissidents Fight to Keep the Spirit of Tiananmen Alive

In

the years following the bloodshed in 1989, during which hundreds or even thousands died, a number of surviving political activists struggled to carry on the legacy of nonviolent resistance. Their endeavors were met with merciless government suppression, and a spate of arrests ensued.

In the spring of 2008, dissidents including the prominent writer Liu Xiaobo drafted Charter 08, a petition calling for human rights, democracy and the end of one-party rule in China, which was initially signed by a coalition of 303 Chinese citizens and posted online in December 2008. The idea of Charter 08, free for anyone to sign, was that its signatories would form a loose group with the common cause of promoting human rights and democracy in China.

The article describes how this movement was rapidly suppressed. It further illustrates that non-violent resistance has little chance of success when the state maintains control of its security forces and is willing to use oppressive measures against its own people. The West remains relatively silent because of their economic interests.

The collective suffering of China’s dissidents, known only to a tiny population of the country, is enormous, while the concrete results of their sacrifices are difficult to see.

All these recent developments bode ill for the future of political opposition in China. As prominent dissident Mo Zhixu wrote, “Grassroots resistance is entering the toughest period. How to cope with the increasingly frozen ‘ice age’ will be a test to all activists.”

One can continue to hope the Chinese people will rise up and compel change, but I tend to think that is a long shot, not one we should bet on.

[AdamG]

If you're looking to post something about John Oliver on Chinese social media this week, chances are you can't. The British television host been censored on China's biggest social media site, just days after he criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping on his popular US show Last Week Tonight.

In the show's latest episode, Mr Oliver highlights the political, human rights and economic issues China is currently facing, and delivers some striking criticisms of the Chinese government.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-44557528