澳洲人报 中国人支持死刑

中国政府在奥运的预热阶段发出了信息：它绝对不会容忍分裂主义和宗教极端主义。五名穆斯林维吾尔族人被判处死刑。中国公众为此拍手喝彩。

　　在中国西北新疆地区的古丝绸之路城市喀什葛尔，中级人民法院判处其中两人死刑缓刑两年执行，还有一个人被判处无期徒刑。

　　政府鼓励与周边强硬派的中亚政府、与俄罗斯之间成长快速的军事合作行动，以此作为制止全球恐怖主义漫入新疆的战略的一个关键因素。新疆地区面积是新南威尔士的两倍，人口和澳大利亚的相当。

　　北京自美国911恐怖袭击后加强了这些工作。该地区重要国家参与的上海合作组织在三个月前在俄罗斯举行“和平任务－2007”大规模反恐演习，中国派出1600名士兵参加。

　　今年1月，中国警方突袭新疆南部帕米尔高原的营地，检察官说那是东突厥斯坦伊斯兰运动建立的训练营。在那次突击中有19人死亡。

　　维吾尔族人是印欧人种，在1945年中华人民共和国成立之时，新疆人口90%是维吾尔族人，但如今这个份额已经减少到45%，汉族人控制了地区快速发展的经济，包括输送往上海的天然气和石油。一些维吾尔族人多年争取成立独立的东土库曼斯坦国家。

　　新华社称该组织（被告的维吾尔族人是该组织成员）在2005年8月设立恐怖主义训练营，包括劫持公共汽车和政府大楼的演习，并实践所谓的宗教极端主义。新华社称他们计划通过圣战建立伊斯兰国家。

　　博客和网民对这次死刑判决的回应迅速，并大力支持。三大中文网站新浪、网易和搜狐都分别收到2000到3000条关于此事的帖子。新浪网友评论说：“我们不应该对企图分裂祖国的恐怖分子仁慈。让他们得到最严厉的刑罚吧”网易网友表示：“政府可不可以提供分裂分子的照片？这样老百姓就可以加入追捕。”（作者 Rowan Callick）

Chinese support for death sentences

THE Chinese public has applauded the death sentences handed to five Muslim Uighurs, as the Government sends a message in the run-up to the Olympic Games that it will not tolerate secessionism or religious extremism.

The Intermediate People's Court in Kashgar, an ancient Silk Road city in the Xinjiang region of China's northwest, suspended for two years the execution of two of the men, and imprisoned a sixth for life.

The Government is fostering fast-growing military co-operation among the hardline governments of neighbouring Central Asia, and of Russia, as a key element in its strategy to prevent any spillover of global terrorism into Xinjiang - a region about double the size of NSW, with the same population as Australia.

Beijing redoubled such efforts following the attacks on the US of September 11, 2001.

The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, encompassing the key countries in the region, staged three months ago Peace Mission 2007, a massive anti-terrorism exercise involving 1600 Chinese troops, conducted in Russia.

The brief court case at the weekend followed an armed raid last January by Chinese police on a camp that prosecutors said had been established by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement on the Pamirs plateau in southern Xinjiang. Nineteen people died during the raid.

The Uighurs are Indo-European people who comprised 90 per cent of Xinjiang when the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, but have since been reduced to a 45 per cent minority in a region now dominated by Han Chinese, who control the region's rapidly growing economy, including the production of gas and oil piped to Shanghai.

Some Uighurs have campaigned for many years for an independent state of East Turkmenistan - they are ethnically related to the Turks. This push was reinforced by the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1990, which resulted in the creation of several predominantly Muslim states in Central Asia.

The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, said the movement - of which the condemned Uighurs were members - set up in August 2005 a camp for terrorism training, including rehearsals for seizing a bus and a government building, and for practising what it called religious extremism.

Xinhua said they planned to establish an Islamic state through a holy war. They were assisted by international terrorists in training several dozen members, it said.

Xinjiang Governor Ismail Tiliwaldi claimed in March the group had links with al-Qa'ida.

The official report of the weekend trial said the six men were arrested by police at the remote camp site following a gunbattle during which 18 Uighurs were killed and 17 arrested.

Wang Lequan, the Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang, who was last month elected as a newmember of the 25-person national politburo, said recently that with foreign collusion in such rebellious activities, the security organisations "are on high alert".

Response to the death sentences by bloggers and "netizens" has been rapid and massive in its support. The three major Chinese websites, Sina, Netease and Sohu, have each already received 2000-3000 postings on the subject.

On Sina.com, one commentator said: "We shouldn't show any kindness toward the terrorists who attempt to split our motherland. Let them have the severest sentences."

A comment posted on Netease read: "Can the Government provide photos of separatists, so ordinary people can join the chase, too?"