Engnews September 2016

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RFA Breaking News: Bomb Blast Kills County Police Chief in Xinjiang's Hotan

by Paul Eckert

Bomb Blast Kills County Police Chief in Xinjiang's Hotan Sept. 18, 2016 - A county police chief was killed and three officers are believed to have died in China's restive region of Xinjiang on Saturday when a bomb exploded in a house they were searching, local police told RFA's Uyghur Service. The police were raiding homes in a village in Guma (In Chinese, Pishan) County of Hotan (Hetian) Prefecture when a bomb exploded in the basement of a house they were searching that belonged to a family suspected of radical behavior, police from neighboring districts told RFA. "What I know is that Gheyret Mamut was leading a group of four officers in a house-to-house search of No.23 Village of Kokterek Township. The house they were searching belonged to a blacklisted family and there was nobody in the house," said Turup Abbas, deputy chief of Guma County Police Department. "When they entered the cellar at the center of the house, suddenly a bomb exploded, and Gheyret Mamut died on the spot. Three of the officers were heavily injured," said Turup Abbas. "I am not sure whether the three wounded policemen taken to the hospital are alive or dead. There has been no official announcement issued yet of a death toll," he added. A second police officer in Muji told RFA that Gheyret Mamut, 45, was "among the dead" and described the same sequence of events leading to the explosion. "According to an oral announcement by our station chief, a group of police in Kokterek Township was conducting house-to-house searches in the village, and one or a bunch of homemade bombs exploded when they were checking the cellar of the house," said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Don't spread rumors A farmer from nearby No. 21 Village of Kokterek Township told RFA he attended a meeting early on Sunday at which the village Communist Party secretary discussed the explosion and urged villagers not to talk about it. "We were just warned not to say much about the incident, to avoid spreading rumors, to advise youth not to challenge the government and to call the police if strangers appear in the village," said the farmer. "From the neighbors I heard that the police chief died in the cellar, and the three police officers were dead when they arrived at the hospital," the farmer added. Memet Eli, a police officer in Kokterek Township, said he did not know details about the explosion, but was familiar with the house where it took place and had interrogated a couple that lived there but did not remember their names. "The house belonged to the owner of a fast-food restaurant in Guma County that is located in front of a teachers college," he told RFA. "I have gone there several times to bring him to the police station for interrogation. I only remember that he has a four-year-old child and that he and his wife were about 30 years old and were blacklisted because of signs of extremism in their life," said Memet Eli. The family's fate and whereabouts were unknown. 'Emergency situation' The farmer from No. 21 Village said, however: "Some people are saying that there was no one in the house other than police when the bombs exploded, but other people say the owner and his friends were hiding in the cellar when the police entered." Meanwhile, an officer from Guma's neighboring Qarghiliq (Yecheng) County said his district was "under an emergency situation now." "In order to prevent potential attacks or incidents, most of our officers are patrolling streets or guarding sensitive places like government buildings, or Han immigrant resident complexes," said the officer. Kokterek Township was the hometown of the perpetrators of a May 2014bombing at a market in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi that killed 43 people, including the four attackers. China has vowed to crack down on what it calls religious extremism in Xinjiang, and regularly conducts "strike hard" campaigns including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material. While China blames Uyghur extremists for terrorist attacks, experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from the Uyghurs and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence there that has left hundreds dead since 2009. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Written in English by Paul Eckert. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/uyghur-hotan-09182016105401.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

8 years, 1 month

RFA e-Book by Han Dongfang Uncovers 'Dark Side of China's Economic Rise,' Proposes a Way Out

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 8, 2016 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia e-Book by Labor Advocate Han Dongfang Uncovers 'Dark Side of China's Economic Rise,' Proposes a Way Out Workers interviewed share personal accounts of falling victim to unfair system WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia (RFA) published an e-book today that highlights the struggles and challenges faced by China's workers during the country's dramatic economic rise. "China's Workers Wronged," available for a free download on RFA's website <http://www.rfa.org/english/bookshelf> , is based on 88 interviews with Chinese workers conducted in recent years by China Labor Bulletin Executive Director Han Dongfang for RFA. "China's workers' struggles are an underreported story that deserves more attention," said Dan Southerland, RFA's Executive Editor. "Han Dongfang brings the dark side of China's economic rise to light." "With this e-book, RFA makes available to our audiences an important, in-depth investigation of a story so often overlooked." While the rise of China as a global economic powerhouse has been well documented, less well known is how ordinary workers reaped few rewards during this period of astounding growth. Their side of the story is subject to censorship in the Chinese state media and is often underreported in Western media. Roughly half of Han's interviewees were victims of the injuries or illness endemic among coal miners, construction workers and others whose local governments deny them the benefits that are owed to them. Some interviewees tell of being cheated out of their wages or arbitrarily reassigned to jobs with lower pay and poorer working conditions. Some are simply fired without compensation. Seeking justice through the court system, they often hit a stone wall. As Han explains in the foreword to his book, China's official trade union is "in league with the Communist Party and the factory bosses, and does nothing to represent the workers." Many of these stories are harrowing, but are also inspiring. The book closes with several encouraging examples of how workers have come together to defend their legal rights and push for better pay and working conditions. "Going forward," states Han, "the key task for China's workers is to reclaim the trade union and make it an effective bulwark against employer abuses." Based in Hong Kong, Han Dongfang has been an advocate for workers' rights in China for more than two decades. He first came to international prominence during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 when, as a railway worker, he helped set up China's first independent trade union, the Beijing Autonomous Workers' Federation. In 1993, he was expelled to Hong Kong, where the following year he set up the China Labor Bulletin to promote labor rights in mainland China. He also has his own radio talk show on Radio Free Asia in which he conducts regular interviews with Chinese workers and farmers. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Director of Public Affairs and Digital Strategy <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

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Engnews September 2016