Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: CHN35420 Country: China Date: 30 September 2009 Keywords: China – Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region – Uighurs – July 2009 riots – State protection – Women – Children – Employment – Separatist movements – Freedom of religion – Returnees – Rebiyeh Kadeer This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. After the events of 5-7 July 2009 in Urumqi in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), how are Uighurs in XUAR being treated by Han Chinese residents and by the authorities? Are all Uighurs at risk of harm, or only those with certain profiles? 2. If Uighurs are being mistreated and discriminated against by Han Chinese because of their ethnicity, are the authorities taking measures to protect them? 3. Would a Uighur woman whose family members have a political profile relating to East Turkestan separatist movements and the 1962 demonstrations in Ghulja be at greater risk of harm? 4. How would the authorities treat an unemployed woman or girls if they were discovered praying at home or observing any other Muslim religious practice in private at home? 5. How would an unemployed woman or girls be treated if they were discovered going to the mosque or observing any other religious practice (eg celebrating Ramadan or Eid) in public? 6. What is the likelihood of a Uighur woman being arrested, detained and tortured upon return to China if the Chinese authorities were aware of her attending meetings with Rebiyeh Kadeer in Australia? RESPONSE 1. After the events of 5 -7 July 2009 in Urumqi in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), how are Uighurs in XUAR being treated by Han Chinese residents and by the authorities? Are all Uighurs at risk of harm, or only those with certain profiles? The information provided in response to this question is presented under the following four headings: Summary of violence and demonstrations in July and September 2009; Profile of those detained/arrested in the aftermath of the 5-7 July demonstrations; Reports of harm against Uighurs by Han Chinese residents; Reports on protests and events in Ghulja City (Yining), Ili (Yili) Prefecture. Summary of violence and demonstrations in July and September 2009: The violent demonstrations beginning Sunday 5 July 2009 in Urumqi developed from a protest by Uighurs against the government for its perceived failure to protect two Uighur factory workers reportedly killed by Han workers in Guangdong in late June 2009. Uighur sources state that the protest was peaceful and became violent only after police fired on the crowd; the government described the demonstration as a riot in which property and innocent people were attacked. There is evidence that the demonstration included and was closely associated with college and university students, and may have been initially organised through the Internet. Estimates of the number of protestors vary from 1,000 to 10,000; with approximately 20,000 Chinese security forces present by late Sunday evening. The violence involved Uighurs attacking Han, Han attacking Uighur, as well as the actions of security forces. The Chinese government publicly blamed the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), led by Rebiya Kadeer, for orchestrating the violence and demonstration; and initially announced that 156 people had died and 1,000 were injured. The exact number remains unknown. Later government figures indicated that 137 Han, 46 Uighur and 1 Hui died. Smaller protests were also reported in other cities in Xinjiang, including Kashgar and Hoten. Two days later on 7 July 2009, Han protestors marched in the streets of Urumqi with clubs, knives, axes, hammers and other weapons but were reportedly dispersed by the police. On 7 July 2009 the government announced that 1,379 men and 55 women had been detained following the 5-7 July events; that checkpoints had been set up in the city and neighbouring areas to prevent suspects from fleeing. Tight security measures had been implemented in cities throughout XUAR, including armed vehicles in Ghulja and house-by-house searches in Kashgar. Authorities believed that those behind the demonstrations may have also come from Kashgar and Hoten districts. By 7 July 2009, the government had begun to introduce restrictions on internet and telephone access to the area; and restricted the work of journalists in fully covering the initial and subsequent events. Reporters were expelled from Kashgar on 10 July 2009. On Friday 10 July 2009 the government attempted to close some mosques in Urumqi but others remained open there and in other cities. By mid-September 2009, government news agencies had reported the criminal detention of approximately 825 people and approval by the procuratorate to formally arrest an initial 237 people. Government officials stated that those ―not deeply‖ involved in the demonstrations, and who did not cause physical injury to property or persons, would be detained, reeducated and required to repent, with possible further surveillance or supervision. Some of those detained reportedly appeared to have no involvement in the events of 5 July (this information is given in three summaries of events compiled by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) reports: Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2009, ‗Xinjiang Authorities Forcefully Suppress Demonstration, Restrict Free Flow of Information‘, 6 August http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=125582 – Accessed 21 September 2009 – Attachment 1; Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2009, ‗Authorities Pledge Crackdown Following Xinjiang Demonstration and Clashes‘, 6 August http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=125931 – Accessed 21 September 2009 – Attachment 2; Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2009, ‗Xinjiang Authorities Continue Detentions, Announce Arrests Connected to July 5 Incident‘, 14 September http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=128326 – Accessed 21 September 2009 – Attachment 3). The Congressional-Executive Commission on China report of 6 August 2009 gives the following summary of the official accounts of Guangdong Factory attacks against Uighurs on 26 June 2009 which triggered the July events. Two main official versions of the events appear to have been presented: one that the attack was caused by ―a fake rumor on the Internet claiming six men from the XUAR had raped two women at the factory‖, and that those spreading the rumour had been detained; the other that a female factory worker entered a dormitory for workers from the XUAR, was teased, reported the incident to her co-workers, who then ―went to the Xinjiang workers‘ dorm, where ―emotions became agitated‖ and a ―fight broke out‖: Uyghurs demonstrating in Urumchi were protesting government handling of a reported attack on Uyghur workers in late June by Han workers at a factory in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, also described in Chinese sources as a brawl among the workers. According to a June 29 report from Xinhua (via china.org.cn), a ―mass brawl‖ broke out on June 26 after a factory worker upset over not being rehired for a job posted what Xinhua described as a fake rumor on the Internet claiming six men from the XUAR had raped two women at the factory. Police took the factory worker into detention for posting the rumor, Xinhua reported. ―Police found no rape cases at the Xuri Toy Factory,‖ according to the article, which also reported that two workers from Xinjiang had died and 118 were injured in the brawl. A Uyghur factory worker who was an eyewitness to the event reported than Han factory workers instigated the attack when they entered a dormitory for Uyghur workers, according to a July 5 RFA report. Following the attack, authorities sequestered Uyghur factory workers, according to the report. (See also a June 29 RFA report for additional information.) A June 30 China Daily article said that roughly ―600 Uygur workers were sent from the factory to temporary accommodations after the incident.‖ A Guangdong provincial official pledged to pursue the people who had murdered the two Uyghur workers, according to a June 26 report on Nanfang Net, though no information was immediately available on the investigation. Overseas Uyghur rights organizations have criticized the government for failing to take steps to stop the attack and for its lack of transparency in handling the matter. See, e.g., a June 29 press release from the Uyghur American Association and July 1 press release from the World Uyghur Congress. A public security official from Shaoguan reported on July 7 that authorities detained 13 people-- including ―three natives of Xinjiang‖--for their role in the ―massive fight,‖ according to a Xinhua report from that day. In addition, authorities detained two people for ―spreading rumors on the Web that Xinjiang employees had raped two female workers,‖ according to the report. Following the July 5 Urumchi demonstration, Xinhua reported that XUAR government chairperson Nur Bekri attributed the July 26 Shaoguan incident to a Uyghur worker‘s attack of a Han Chinese worker. ―The fight was triggered by the sexual assault of a female Han worker by a Uygur coworker, [Nur Bekri] said,‖ according to a July 6 Xinhua report. In a July 6 Chinese-language Xinhua report (via Ta Kung Pao), Nur Bekri said a female factory worker entered a dormitory for workers from the XUAR and was teased by the residents. After she reported the incident to her co-workers, the workers went to the Xinjiang workers‘ dorm, where ―emotions became agitated‖ and a ―fight broke out,‖ according to the report.