People rest at a shop in business in the Erdaoqiao area in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 9, 2009. Shopping malls, supermarkets, agricultural product markets and gas stations are resuming business in the riot-torn Urumqi. (Xinhua/Hou Jun) Photo Gallery>>>

Hu holds key meeting on Xinjiang riot, vowing severe punishment on culprits

    BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday night convened a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to discuss the deadly Xinjiang riot.

    Standing Committee members agreed that stability in Xinjiang was the "most important and pressing task," according to a statement issued Thursday. They also vowed "severe punishment" of culprits in accordance with the law. Full story

Senior Chinese leader stresses stability, vows lawful punishment of outlaws

 

Zhou Yongkang (C), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, visits Aygul, an injured woman of minority group, at a military hospital in Urumchi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 9, 2009. Zhou started an inspection tour in Xinjiang on Thursday. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) Photo Gallery>>>

   URUMQI, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government and the Communist Party of China (CPC) will severely punish the outlaws in the Xinjiang riot, and restore normal social order in the region as soon as possible, senior Chinese leader Zhou Yongkang said here Thursday.

    Authorities would take stability as their top priority at hand, and crack down hard on violence, in accordance with laws to protect the lives and property of people of all ethnic groups, and safeguard ethnic unity, said Zhou, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Full story

Senior Chinese leader highlights social stability

    LANZHOU, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese leader He Guoqiang stressed social harmony and stability on Wednesday, in the wake of the riot in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

    He, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, made the remarks during a two-day visit to Gansu Province, which neighbors Xinjiang where at least 156 people were killed in Sunday's riot.  Full story

Xinjiang Party chief calls for avoiding ethnic conflicts amid fresh chaos

Video frame grab shows Wang Lequan, secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, delivers a televised speech on the riot on July 5 in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 7, 2009. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    URUMQI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The city of Urumqi would adopt a "comprehensive traffic control" Tuesday night to avoid further chaos amid the ongoing unrest, said Wang Lequan, Communist Party chief of Xinjiang in northwest China, in a televised speech Tuesday.

    The traffic control would be imposed from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, said Wang, secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).  Full story

Chinese police chief urges tough crackdown on gangsters

Meng Jianzhu (C), China's state councilor and public security minister, visits a man injured in the July 5 riot, at the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Urumqi, capital of the region in northwest China, July 8, 2009. (Xinhua/Wang Fei) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China's chief police officer on Tuesday asked nationwide police authorities to take proactive measures and crack down upon mafia-like groups for the 60th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

    Meng Jianzhu, state councilor and public security minister, made the remarks at a tele-conference Tuesday, urging police authorities to master the movements of gangster groups.  Full story

Commentary: Riot a catastrophe for Xinjiang

Firemen put out a fire in Dawannanlu Street in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on July 5, 2009. (Xinhua/Shen Qiao) Photo Gallery>>>

    by Xinhua writers Zhao Ying and Zhou Yan

    BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Sunday's deadly riot in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region bruised the beautiful city of Urumqi and shocked the world, barely 16 months after the nightmarish Lhasa violence that still clings to many Chinese minds.

    "Oops! Not again!" was almost the universal response when news of the unrest came Sunday night, when blood tainted Urumqi, with at least 140 lives lost and more than 800 others injured.  Full story

Commentary: Riot shall not stop Xinjiang's developing steps

    BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- At this time of the year, Xinjiang enters its most beautiful season, when people expect the harvesting of its famous Manaizi grapes, tourism booms and there are flourishing cultural and trade events. But this July the world has been shocked by a deadly riot in its capital Urumqi.

    The wreckage of burnt cars, broken windows, dead bodies on the streets and the moans of the injured attested to the brutal Sunday night when 156 people were killed and more than a thousand injured. Subsequent sporadic gatherings by either ethnic Uygur or the Han Chinese gave a clue as to how intricate and sensitive the situation there had been. Full story

People's Daily urges lawful punishment for outlaws in Urumqi

    BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The People's Daily, the Communist Party of China's mouthpiece, is to publish an editorial Thursday calling for the lawful punishment of those who commit violent crimes during the riot in northwestern China.

    The unrest in Urumqi, capital city of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has led to the death of at least 156 people, with more than 1,000 others injured.  Full story