CHINA-XINJIANG/ANNIVERSARY China celebrates 60th anniversary of Xinjiang autonomous region founding

Record ID: 1962697

  • Title: CHINA-XINJIANG/ANNIVERSARY China celebrates 60th anniversary of Xinjiang autonomous region founding
  • Date: 1st October 2015
  • Summary: URUMQI, XINJIANG, CHINA (OCTOBER 1, 2015) (CCTV - NO ACCESS CHINA) CELEBRATION CEREMONY BEGINNING CHINESE NATIONAL EMBLEM CHINESE OFFICIALS SEATED ON STAGE CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE, YU ZHENGSHENG, SEATED CHINESE OFFICIALS SEATED ON STAGE PEOPLE APPLAUDING YU WALKING TO PODIUM ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin
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  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACUF7Y3EK0OYHQMWFJHYFHFU32
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    China celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on Thursday (October 1) in its capital city of Urumqi.
    Top Chinese political advisor Yu Zhengsheng led a central government delegation, including Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, along with Xinjiang local authorities, to attend a celebration ceremony held in the Great Hall of Xinjiang, China's state television CCTV reported.
    Yu, in charge of religious groups and ethnic minorities and number four in the ruling Communist Party, told officials at an event marking the 60th anniversary in Urumqi, not to rest on their laurels.
    "Three forces (of terrorism, separatism and extremism), especially violent terrorism force, is the biggest harm to disturb Xinjiang and the common enemy for people of all ethnic groups. (We) must make a firm fist to proactively and resolutely crack down violent terrorist activities and unwaveringly fight against the three forces," Yu said, in a speech carried live on CCTV.
    Yu also said Xinjiang still faces a very serious situation in maintaining long-term social stability.
    The government says it faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists in energy-rich Xinjiang, on the border of central Asia, where hundreds have died in violence in recent years.
    But exiles and rights groups say China has never presented convincing evidence of the existence of a cohesive militant group fighting the government, and that much of the unrest can be traced back to frustration at controls over the culture and religion of the Uighur people who live in Xinjiang, a charge Beijing denies.
    As the country celebrated the anniversary on Thursday, U.S.-based Radio Free Asia announced that the number of people killed in a Sept. 18 attack at a coal mine in Xinjiang had reached 50. Most casualties of the attack at the Sogan colliery in Aksu were members of the Han Chinese majority, they said, and police were blaming knife-wielding separatists.
    Reuters was unable to reach officials for comment. Such incidents are frequently reported in overseas media but not confirmed by the Chinese government until days later, if ever.
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