DefenseNews
08-10-04, 05:30
China Urged To Expand Military in Restive Xinjiang Region
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING
A top military official has urged the strengthening of China’s 2.5 million semi-military presence in the westernmost Xinjiang region to combat separatism and attempts at "sabotage and infiltration," state press reported Oct. 8.
The call was made by Zhang Qingli, commander-in-chief of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp, an offshoot of the People’s Liberation Army that was established in the ethnic Uighur-dominated region 50 years ago to ensure Chinese rule.
"The Corp should not be weakened but [should be] be enlarged in the new era, with the main task to develop the economy, maintain the stability of Xinjiang, promote unity among ethnic groups and consolidate border defense," Zhang was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed during a recent visit to Xinjiang to reinforce the role of the Corp for similar reasons, the report said.
The 2.54-million strong Corp staffs 186 regimental farms and more than 1,500 industrial, construction, transport and commercial enterprises in Xinjiang, Xinhua said.
It does not form a part of China’s 2.5-million-strong People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest standing army. Nonetheless it "plays an irreplaceable role in smashing and resisting internal and external attempts at sabotage and infiltration, and maintains the stability and safety of the borders of the country," Xinhua said.
The Corp has also played a role in "a recent battle against the so-called ‘Eastern Turkistan’ terrorist group," it said.
The Muslim group has long called for the establishment of an independent area in the region called East Turkistan.
Xinjiang, a strategically important area bordering Central Asia, is home to a number of ethnic groups, of which the Uighurs, Muslim speakers of a Turkic language, form the largest.
Human rights groups have accused the Chinese government of using the global anti-terror campaign to harshly punish Uighurs who hold dissenting views, even those who were non-violent.
The Corp in Xinjiang has been seen as a colonial element in the region since the People’s Liberation Army took over there in 1949.
The Corp, dissolved in 1975 but reinstated by the central government in 1981, and has enjoyed extensive water, land use and resource rights in the arid Xinjiang region.
Last year, the per capita GDP in the Corp was $1,283, higher than the country level of $1,000, Xinhua said.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=417962&C=asiapac
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING
A top military official has urged the strengthening of China’s 2.5 million semi-military presence in the westernmost Xinjiang region to combat separatism and attempts at "sabotage and infiltration," state press reported Oct. 8.
The call was made by Zhang Qingli, commander-in-chief of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp, an offshoot of the People’s Liberation Army that was established in the ethnic Uighur-dominated region 50 years ago to ensure Chinese rule.
"The Corp should not be weakened but [should be] be enlarged in the new era, with the main task to develop the economy, maintain the stability of Xinjiang, promote unity among ethnic groups and consolidate border defense," Zhang was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed during a recent visit to Xinjiang to reinforce the role of the Corp for similar reasons, the report said.
The 2.54-million strong Corp staffs 186 regimental farms and more than 1,500 industrial, construction, transport and commercial enterprises in Xinjiang, Xinhua said.
It does not form a part of China’s 2.5-million-strong People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest standing army. Nonetheless it "plays an irreplaceable role in smashing and resisting internal and external attempts at sabotage and infiltration, and maintains the stability and safety of the borders of the country," Xinhua said.
The Corp has also played a role in "a recent battle against the so-called ‘Eastern Turkistan’ terrorist group," it said.
The Muslim group has long called for the establishment of an independent area in the region called East Turkistan.
Xinjiang, a strategically important area bordering Central Asia, is home to a number of ethnic groups, of which the Uighurs, Muslim speakers of a Turkic language, form the largest.
Human rights groups have accused the Chinese government of using the global anti-terror campaign to harshly punish Uighurs who hold dissenting views, even those who were non-violent.
The Corp in Xinjiang has been seen as a colonial element in the region since the People’s Liberation Army took over there in 1949.
The Corp, dissolved in 1975 but reinstated by the central government in 1981, and has enjoyed extensive water, land use and resource rights in the arid Xinjiang region.
Last year, the per capita GDP in the Corp was $1,283, higher than the country level of $1,000, Xinhua said.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=417962&C=asiapac