Bad Press

The Uighur riots in western China are teaching the government how to spin.

David Gray / Reuters-Landov

A Uighur woman yells at Han Chinese soldiers to demand the release of imprisoned Uighur men.

By Mary Hennock | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Jul 7, 2009

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Last weekend's riots in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, represented the worst ethnic tension in China since marches by monks sparked anti-Chinese riots in Tibet last spring: 156 people died, at least 828 were injured, 261 buses and cars were torched, and 203 shops and 14 homes were burned down. Xinjiang's violence seems to have begun with a police crackdown on ethnic minority Muslim Uighurs protesting for justice on behalf of two Uighurs killed in a factory brawl in southern China. Even by the dubious official numbers, the death toll in Urumqi dwarfed last year's toll (22) in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. Police have detained at least 1,434 people since Sunday, and there are 20,000 security forces patrolling Urumqi's streets today.

Crisis? What crisis? For perhaps the first time, China is managing the PR with aplomb. It moved just as swiftly to justify its crackdown as it did to deploy the crackdown itself. Party officials know that the riots risk tarnishing China's global image the way Lhasa did, so they have undertaken a swift program of public relations, getting the official version of the story out fast and busing in foreign journalists to visit the riot-torn city center. The Chinese are suddenly looking like credible spin doctors.

This is another step in the learning curve for the ruling Chinese Communist Party, accustomed to the one-party state privilege of going relatively unquestioned. Internet and mobile phones have made full news blackouts like after the 1976 Tangshan earthquake—or the 1997 riots and shootings in Yili (also in Xinjiang)—impossible, so the CCP has been forced to learn spin.

That's not to say news blackouts aren't in force. To contain the damage to its reputation, China's government has adopted a twin-track strategy with opposite treatment for old and new media. It swiftly shut off the Internet and mobile phones on Sunday to control news and imagery seeping out, while feeding the press and TV with pictures and information. Web connections were still unavailable late Tuesday in Xinjiang; mobile signals and texting services remained intermittent. Twitter has been blocked, too.

These measures are harsher than during the Lhasa riots, where residents remained able to speak to the outside world, though many were too fearful to say much. The contrast reflects Xinjiang's higher level of development and the government's greater anxiety, says Prof. Xiao Qiang at Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. "Urumqi is a very wired city. … [If] the government want[s] to control this information, they have no choice" but to enforce a blackout, he says.

Unlike Tibet last year, the riot area remains open to foreign journalists, a sign that Beijing has learned media-management lessons from the globally hostile coverage it got for barring reporters in Tibet. The day after the Urumqi bloodshed, the State Council Information Office set up a Xinjiang Information Office in Urumqi to assist foreign reporters. It went further, inviting foreign media on a trip to Xinjiang to tour the riot zones, visit hospitals, and see the damage for themselves. Journalists were given CDs loaded with photos and TV clips. "They try to control the foreign journalists as much as possible by using this more sophisticated PR work rather than ban[ning] them," says Xiao.

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Posted By: clu1984 @ 09/10/2009 11:43:06 PM

OH MY GOSH, THOSE COMMENTS WERE MADE BY THE CHINESE WERE DOLTS... I AM ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED BY THEIR KNOW-NOTHING COMMENTS. WHOMEVER ARE READING THEIR COMMENTS PLEASE DO NOT GET MAD AT THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE DEEPLY POISONED BY THE COMMUNIST EDUCATION, SO THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE NOT SENSE OF RESPECT OR SENSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WITHIN THEIR COMMENTS.

CHINESE ARE KIND ENOUGHT TO LET THEM IN? WHY DON'T YOU ASK YOURSELF WHY THE PLACE IS CALLED XIN JIANG? IT MEANS THE NEW LAND. IF IT WAS ORIGINALLY BELONGED TO CHINA, THEN WHY WOULD IT BE THE NEW LAND? IF YOU THINK THERE IS NO ETHNIC, THEN WHY WOULD YOU EVEN CALL YOURSELF HAN PEOPLE THEN? OR EVEN CHINESE? YOU SHOULD JUST CALL YOURSELF A PERSON FROM EARTH!
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Posted By: jordan c. fan @ 07/17/2009 9:05:21 AM

The Uighur Issues. In Order For China To Be Successful, All Chinese Must Make Sacrifice.

]By: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet of Environment

In order for China to be successful, all Chinese must make sacrifice. I, Myself as Prophet of Environment has made the most sacrifice. Don't forget that the Uighurs and many other tribes in Chin's Xinjiang region or elsewhere, like gypsy, are only nomads. The Uighurs are really aliens believing their loyalty should be completely devoted to Islam. Their loyalty are neither to China nor the Chinese government. Due to rumours and false propaganda from Islamic terrorists, the United States and their allies, Uighurs felt that they have been ignored by the Chinese government and want to share China???s current ???growing prosperity??? without any contributions to its success. Most of you should already know that prosperity in China is really just a myth. Many Han Chinese people are currently suffering due to exploitation by private industries and businesses. Many laborers work much longer work hours for only slightly higher income. Some were not pay for their work and were cheated by crooked employers. Many other Hans are unemployed. While many of those Han Chinese were willing to take those abuses from their employers with cooperation and without complains for the good of the country, many ethnic minorities were dissatisfy for their already improve living standard.

Among some of those minorities are the Uighurs. While China is already kind enough to let them pass through Chinese land as nomads, they still do not appreciate but continue to create chaos. If they are causing anymore troubles they might as well get, the hell, out of China. The Uigurs should now go to other places if they feel left out when the growing prosperity of the Han leaves them more alienated. By definition as nomads, they simply don't belong to any country. China should expel all of them ASAP! Protests and riots will create too much damages to natural resource and Environment therefore must be stopped immediately. Also, go to Hell will those false Western propaganda and wicked American journalists.

In order for China to be successful, all Chinese must make more scrifice and stop complaining. By now, all of you could easily see that the entire China with more than 1.3 billions people even when they are all combined have no match to My Great intelligence and Power. Even the entire world has combined, they still cannot challenge Me. I always have the perfect solution for the most difficult problems. I am the indisputable leader of China and the world. As Messenger and Prophet of Environment, I roll the dice and make all judgements and decisions. I am the only person who can save this world..
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Posted By: jordan c. fan @ 07/15/2009 6:51:06 AM

The Uighurs Are Nomads.

By: Jordan C. Fan, Prophet of Environment.

Don't forget that the Uighurs and many other tribes in China's Xinjiang region or elsewhere, like gypsy, are only nomads. China is already kind enough to let them pass through Chinese land. If they are causing troubles they might as well get, the hell, out of China. The Uigurs should now go to other places if they feel left out when the growing prosperity of the Han leaves them more alienated. By definition as nomads, thy simply don't belongs to any country. By now, all of you could easily see that the entire China with more than 1.3 billions people even when they are all combined have no match to My Great intelligent and Power. Even the entire world has combined, they still cannot challenge Me. I always have the perfect solution for the most difficult problems. I am the indisputable leader of China and the world. I am the only person who can save this world.