Dec 14, 2006

East Turkestan: China Warns of Security Threats


Human Rights groups say China is using its support to the U.S.-led "war on terror" to tighten its grip on the region of Xinjiang where members of the Uighur community have been seeking greater independence.

China must step up its awareness of security risks and improve strategies for protecting national security in the face of non-traditional threats, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.

The country must prepare to deal with threats of infiltration, subversion and sabotage, and protect its political, economic and information security, Xinhua said in a commentary released following a Communist Party meeting.

"Non-traditional security threats are popping up, the risk to international finance is increasing, scrambles over energy resources are being exacerbated and problems due to ethnicity, race and religious questions are emerging," it said.

The commentary did not name specific threats, but China has been trying to shore up security at airports and in the capital before it hosts the 2008 Olympics.

The government is also keen to keep internal dissent that challenges the Communist Party's one-party rule in check, and critics say it uses the pretext of security and stability to crack down on its political opponents.

Human rights groups say China has also used its support for the U.S.-led "war on terror" to tighten its grip on the far western region of Xinjiang, an oil-producing region where members of the Muslim, ethnic Uighur community have been seeking greater independence.