Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Response from the BBC


Annoyed that there was no coverage by the BBC of the Uighur problems, I wrote to them suggesting that they cover the Olympic torch relay in Xinjiang, and, co-incidence or not, they have. They have also loaded up some lovely new pictures, two of which I have borrowed. One shows the ancient market in Urmuqi, a major city in the region. The other is a view of the modern city which lies on the ancient Silk Road.

The Chinese government has pulled yet another fast one and pushed the torch through the Uighur region a week early. People living on the route have been told to stay indoors, close their windows and doors, not look out of them and watch the proceedings on television! Being used to the type of punishment involved for not obeying orders, they did just this.

Urmuqi, although seemingly having many new buildings and roads, is apparently the most polluted city in China. The region is rich in minerals and fossil fuels. No doubt it is por in safety and environmental concerns. Who cares, they are only a minority ethnic group fighting for a place in their own land.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Olympic Torch to East Turkisthan

The Olympic torch will be paraded in East Turkisthan, but our News services will not report it. If a thousand people are killed we can be sure only that our news services will not report it.

The Uighurs are more frightened than the Tibetans and they have less hope. The Uighurs in this country are very afraid to show themselves because they still fear reprisals from the Chinese government if they speak up. We cannot comprehend such fear. We have no knowledge of what form such reprisals may take. They know.

In little old Cardiff I was taken to task by a random Chinese person for showing a picture of the Dalai Lama in public. He thought it was a terrible thing and shoudn't be shown. He actually became quite angry about it. Is is suprising how many people do not understand the principles of Freedom of Speech.

We have to have greater dialogue with the Chinese people. Even though they live here they do not understand us. The fault is ours.