URUMQI, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Tests of victims'
samples found no dangerous viruses or chemicals involved in a string of bizarre
hypodermic syringe stabbings in Urumqi, capital of China's far western Xinjiang
region, a military medical expert said Sunday.
Qian Jun, head of the disease control and biological
security office with China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences, said the
academy's Beijing lab found no needle injury samples were tainted with
radioactive substances, toxic chemicals or HIV virus.
The samples were not contaminated with other
dangerous viruses or substances either, such as anthrax bacillus, yersinia
pestis, francisella tularensis, brucella and botulinum toxin, Qian told a press
briefing.
Local and military medical experts have rechecked
about 250 victims and found no clearly worsening wounds or serious illnesses, he
noted.
By Sept. 4, local authorities had confirmed 531
victims of hypodermic syringe stabbings in Urumqi, 171 of whom showed obvious
syringe marks. The majority of the victims were of the Han ethnic group.
Tens of thousands of angry and panic residents in
Urumqi took to the streets last week, protesting against needle attacks and
demanding security guarantees.
Qian suggested offering more psychological
counselling to ease anxiety and depression of the victims as many are haunted
with lingering fears of hidden infections.
The Urumqi General Hospital affiliated to the Lanzhou
Military Area Command has arranged three psychological experts and opened four
counselling hotlines to help ease victims' fears and panic.
Wang Wenxian, deputy director of the Urumqi municipal
public security bureau, said the needle stabbings did not cause serious damages
to the victims' health, but they caused public panic and disturbed social order.
The acts violated China's Criminal Law and should be
harshly punished accordingly, Wang told reporters.
A court in Urumqi said three Uygurs were given jail
terms ranging from seven to 15 years Saturday over syringe stabbings or
threatening to use needle attacks for robbery.
Wang added that more police and armed police forces
would patrol on the city's streets and those who offer tip-offs for needle
attackers would receive rewards.
He also urged the attackers to surrender to the
police, saying those who surrender or report others' crimes could receive
lighter punishment.
Zhou Yongkang (R4 BACK), member of
the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of
China (CPC) Central Committee, speaks at a meeting after hearing reports
on the preparation for the security during the National Day holiday and
the situations in the country's far western Xinjiang and Tibet, in
Beijing, Sept.12 , 2009. (Xinhua Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- A senior leader of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) on Saturday urged concrete measures to maintain
stability, which he described as an "arduous" task.
Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of
the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, made the remarks at a meeting after
hearing reports on the preparation for the security during the National Day
holiday and the situations in the country's far western Xinjiang and Tibet. Full story
URUMQI, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three Uygurs were given
hefty sentences ranging from 7 to 15 years in jail Saturday over syringe
stabbings or threatening to use needle attacks for robbery, which triggered
public scare in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Court hearings on two cases involving two men and a
woman began at about 10 a.m. at the Municipal Intermediate People's Court of
Urumqi and ended at about 1 p.m.. Full story
URUMQI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- "Urumqi is an
interesting place. I like it very much," said Mckay Barrow, an American teaching
English in a city with the jitters in the wake of more than 500 hypodermic
needle attacks.
"People of different ethnic groups and countries live
here together, and civilizations of central China, Buddhism and Islam also
coexisted here," Barrow, who moved to Urumqi from North Carolina in the United
States last October, said in fluent Chinese. .
