Community Organizing in China

The regional government in Xinjiang is responding aggressively to the unrest among the Uygurs in western China.  Unlike what’s been reported to be the government’s response in Tibet, the Chinese government appears intent on getting to the sources of the frustration of the people.  According to the official Chinese newspaper, Global Times, thousands of officials have been sent into the region to address the concerns of the local population.  And these officials are not the usual “big-footing” bureaucrats from Beijing.  They are minorities.

Wang Lequan, secretary of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said the officials, mainly from ethnic minority groups, have been sent to explain government policies and solve disputes.

And while some peace has been restored to the region, there have been a bizarre spate of attacks against Han Chinese using syringes.  There is an intense investigation that seeks to find the perpetrators of these attacks, who have been threatened with the death penalty.  Typically, the Chinese attribute the problems to outside agitators.  The highest ranking party official in the region is Wang Lequan, secretary of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The social order had returned to normal in the wake of the July 5 riot, but the enemies at home and abroad were not reconciled to ailure and so they conducted the needle attacks to spark public panic and anger, Wang said.