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Due to inconsistencies in the definitions and use of the term, '''terrorism in the People's Republic of China''' may be construed to encompass a variety of activities, including (though not limited to) violence committed in the name of nationalist or separatist movements in ] and ],<ref>Chung Chien-peng. . In ''China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly'', Volume 4 Issue 2, pp 75–87. Accessed 2 January 2010.</ref> political campaigns by the ],<ref name=Martin>Gus Martin, "Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues," (Sage Publications: 2003), ISBN 978-0761926160.</ref> and in some cases, non-violent acts of political or religious defiance. In contemporary China, violent acts of terrorism are comparatively rare. Many instances of terrorism by non-state actors involve the ] ethnic group in Northwest China.<ref name=Ogden>Ogden, Suzanne. in William J. Crotty ed. ''Democratic development and political terrorism: the global perspective''. Northeaster, 2005.</ref> Due to inconsistencies in the definitions and use of the term, '''terrorism in the People's Republic of China''' may be construed to encompass a variety of activities, including (though not limited to) violence committed in the name of nationalist or separatist movements in ] and ],<ref name=Chung>Chung Chien-peng. . In ''China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly'', Volume 4 Issue 2, pp 75–87. Accessed 2 January 2010.</ref> political campaigns by the ],<ref name=Martin>Gus Martin, "Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues," (Sage Publications: 2003), ISBN 978-0761926160.</ref> and in some cases, non-violent acts of political or religious defiance. In contemporary China, violent acts of terrorism are comparatively rare. Many instances of terrorism by non-state actors involve the ] ethnic group in Northwest China.<ref name=Ogden>Ogden, Suzanne. in William J. Crotty ed. ''Democratic development and political terrorism: the global perspective''. Northeaster, 2005.</ref>


==Etymology and use== ==Etymology and use==
There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper definition of "terrorism".<ref name="Williamson-38">{{cite book|author=Williamson, Myra|title=Terrorism, war and international law: the legality of the use of force against Afghanistan in 2001|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2009|isbn=9780754674030|page=38|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZuJIPP9HfRsC&pg=PA38}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Schmid, Alex P.|chapter=The Definition of Terrorism|title=The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research|publisher=Routledge|year=2011|isbn=0-203-82873-9|page=39|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_PXpFxKRsHgC&pg=PA39}}</ref> The term terrorism” traces its origins to the “]’’ during the ], and referred to the systematic use of terror by governments against their citizens. Beginning in the 1800s, the term took on new meaning. Terrorist tactics were embraced by ] and anarchist radicals as a means of fomenting revolution,<ref>Martha Crenshaw, “Terrorism in context,” (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995), ISBN-10: 0271010150.</ref> and the term increasingly came to denote the use of terror by civilians, typically against the state or state policies.<ref name="Williamson">{{cite book|author=Williamson, Myra|title=Terrorism, war and international law: the legality of the use of force against Afghanistan in 2001|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2009|isbn=9780754674030|page=38|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZuJIPP9HfRsC&pg=PA40}}</ref> In the modern context, the term “terrorism” is used almost exclusively to refer to non-state actors. There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper definition of "terrorism".<ref name="Williamson-38">{{cite book|author=Williamson, Myra|title=Terrorism, war and international law: the legality of the use of force against Afghanistan in 2001|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2009|isbn=9780754674030|page=38|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZuJIPP9HfRsC&pg=PA38}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Schmid, Alex P.|chapter=The Definition of Terrorism|title=The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research|publisher=Routledge|year=2011|isbn=0-203-82873-9|page=39|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_PXpFxKRsHgC&pg=PA39}}</ref> In a general sense, terrorism can be understood to refer to the use of unlawful violence, force, or threat against civilian populations for the purpose of invoking fear, with of objective of advancing a political, social, or ideological objective. The term terrorism traces its origins to the “]’’ during the ], and referred to the systematic use of terror by governments against their citizens. Beginning in the 1800s, the term took on new meaning. Terrorist tactics were embraced by ] and anarchist radicals as a means of fomenting revolution,<ref>Martha Crenshaw, “Terrorism in context,” (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995), ISBN-10: 0271010150.</ref> and the term increasingly came to denote the use of terror by civilians, typically with the objective of challenging the state or state policies.<ref name="Williamson">{{cite book|author=Williamson, Myra|title=Terrorism, war and international law: the legality of the use of force against Afghanistan in 2001|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2009|isbn=9780754674030|page=38|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZuJIPP9HfRsC&pg=PA40}}</ref> In the modern context, the term “terrorism” is used almost exclusively to refer to non-state actors.


International law differentiates between acts of terrorism—which are intended to deliberately harm or induce terror in innocent civilians—and acts of political opposition. Even the use of violence against a ruling regime as part of an anti-colonial or secessionist movement is not necessarily categorized as terrorism.<ref name=Ogden/> However, sitting governments may classify these as terrorist acts for the purpose of legitimizing a crackdown on political opponents. International law differentiates between acts of terrorism—which are intended to deliberately harm or induce terror in innocent civilians—and acts of political opposition. Even the use of violence against a ruling regime as part of an anti-colonial or secessionist movement is not necessarily categorized as terrorism,<ref name=Ogden/> though individual state's definitions of terrorism may vary to include a wider range of activities.


===Chinese cultural context===
In the case of China, there is currently no clearly established definition for terrorism, though the ] is in the process of drafting legislation that would clarify the use of the term. Human rights groups charge that the term is frequently applied to non-violent dissidents in China.<ref>Amnesty International, , 7 July 2004.</ref>
The concept of terrorism, as it evolved and is understood in the West, did not exist in ]. In that setting, political criminality took the form as violence against the emperor, and was viewed as harmful insofar as it induced fear and caused “chaos.”<ref name=Eterno/> With the exception of “good” political violence against rulers whose lack of propriety and virtue resulted in loss of the mandate of heaven, violence was seen as contrary to human nature and the ].<ref name=Eterno>Kam V. Wong, “Police Practices in Global Perspective,” John Eterno ed., (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011).</ref> Kam Wong argues that the dynamics of imperial China form the basis for contemporary Chinese understandings of terrorism.<ref name=Eterno/>

Fear of chaos and social disorder is a powerful factor in mobilizing political will to combat potential threats.<ref name=Ogden/><ref name=Wayne/> In the modern context, any group or force with the potential to challenge the existing social order or the political security of the rulers may be considered a form of terrorism, “to be condemned unrelentingly and suppressed at all costs.”<ref name=Eterno/>

There is currently no clearly established definition for terrorism, though the ] is in the process of drafting legislation that would clarify the use of the term. The draft legislation, as reported by ], classified as terrorism acts that "cause or aim to cause severe harm to society by causing casualties, bringing about major economic losses, damaging public facilities or disturbing social order."<ref name=BBC/> Human rights groups charge that the term is frequently applied to non-violent dissidents in China.<ref>Amnesty International, , 7 July 2004.</ref>

==State terrorism==
''See ], not to be confused with ]''

Although contemporary definitions of terrorism most often apply to the actions of sub-state actors, both the historical interpretation of the term as well as some contemporary scholarship allow for actions of the state to be classified as terrorism. University of California Santa Barbara professor and terrorism expert ] argues that "the state has been and remains a more likely employer of terrorism within the international system than insurgents,”<ref>''The Superpowers and International Terror'' Michael Stohl, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, Atlanta, March 27-April 1, 1984).</ref> but also stresses the need to differentiate between state violence and terrorism: “in terrorism the violence threatened or perpetrated has purposes broader than simple physical harm to a victim. The audience of the act or threat of violence is more important than the immediate victim."<ref>Stohl, National Interests and State Terrorism, The Politics of Terrorism, Marcel Dekker 1988, p.275</ref>

Following the Communist Party takeover of China in 1949, several ] were labelled as forms of state terror.<ref>Chaliand, Gérard; Arnaud Blin (2007). The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda. University of California Press. p. 198. ISBN 9780520247093.</ref> A 1951 article in Time magazine labelled the mass executions of “counterrevolutionaries” as a new ‘]’.<ref>Time magazine, , 16 April 1951.</ref> Of the ] of 1951, Jean-Louise Margolin wrote that the term “Red Terror” was fitting, as the essential function of these campaigns was “to demonstrate to the urban elite that no one was safe.” The definition of counterrevolutionary “was so vague and so wide that any past or current position that diverged even slightly from the Party line was enough to bring condemnation.” Individuals labelled counterrevolutionaries were subject to imprisonment, interrogation, or public execution.<ref name=Margolin>Jean-Louise Margolin, “China:A Long March Into Night,” in The Black Book of Communism (Harvard University Press, 2004), p 482.</ref> In his book '']'', historian ] described the use of terror and violence as the “foundation of the regime” under Mao, reaching an apogee during the ].<ref name=Dikotter/> Violence was “arbitrary and ruthless,” widespread enough to evoke fear in everyone, but not necessarily claiming many lives—an example of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey."<ref name=Dikotter>Frank Dikötter, “Mao’s Great Famine: The History of China’s Most Devastating Catastrophe,” (New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company, 2010).</ref> The use of terror and systematic violence became more important as a policy implement during the Great Leap Forward; with individual incentives to work eliminated through collectivization policies, cadres relied on violence and the threat of starvation to meet production quotas.<ref name=Dikotter/>

The ] is also frequently described as a campaign of "mass terror",<ref name=Ogden/> during which the Communist Party encouraged what Gus Martin calls “an ideologically extremist movement.”<ref name=Martin/> The campaign, which spanned 1966 to 1976, aimed to eliminate “revisionist” tendencies, and involved large-scale purges, denunciations, and killing of suspected counterrevolutionaries. At least 36 million people were persecuted,<ref name=MacFarquhar/> and estimates on deaths typically range from 400,000 to 1 million, with some estimates of 3 million<ref name=Margolin/>. Some of the worst excesses of the period occurred during the three-month "Red Terror" period of 1966, during which Mao encouraged young ] to make violent revolution.<ref name=MacFarquhar>Roderick MacFarquhar and Mitch Schoenhals, , (Harvard University Press, 2008).</ref> According to Suzanne Ogden, the Cultural Revolution was “state-directed terrorism against the alleged enemies of the regime,” involving the “state-sanctioned use of violence against civilians and property for politically motivated objectives.”<ref name=Ogden/> The terror of the period was enhanced by the arbitrary and unpredictable manner in which violence as “mass justice” was carried out.<ref name=Ogden/>

==Ethnic Separatism==
===Xinjiang===
{{Main|East Turkestan independence movement}}
Most instances of terrorism by non-state actors in contemporary China involve members of the largely Muslim Uyghur ethnic group, who are concentrated in the Northwestern province of Xinjiang.
According to Suzanne Ogden, only six incidents in China from 1990 to 2005 were clear cases of terrorism, most involving confirmed or suspected ethnic Uyghurs.<ref name=Ogden/> Among these was an incident on 6 February 1992 when Muslim separatists (possibly belonging to the East Turkestan Islamic Party) detonated a bomb on a public bus in ], and a bomb attack on a hotel in ] on 17 June 1992.<ref name=MAR2>University of Maryland Minorities at Risk Project, .</ref> Instances of violence by ethnic Uyghurs against security forces, organs or infrastructure of the state are far more common, but are distinguished by scholars from terrorism aimed against the civilian population<ref name=Ogden/> Chinese government authorities make no such distinction, and are often inclined to categorize all forms of violence in Xinjiang as manifestations of separatism or terrorism.<ref name=Wayne>Martin I. Wayne, “China’s war on terrorism: counter-insurgency, politics, and internal security,” (New York, NY: Routeledge, 2008), p 53.</ref>

Uyghur terrorism is not seen as an extension of global Islamic terrorism, nor is it religiously motivated. Instead, it is best understood as part of an ethno-nationalistic secessionist movement.<ref name=Ogden/><ref name=EWC/> For centuries, the region now known as Xinjiang was ruled on and off by China.<ref name=MAR>University of Maryland Minorities at Risk Project, .</ref> From 1944 to 1949, the Uyghurs established the ], and fought numerous armed revolts against Chinese rule before coming under the control of ] in 1955<ref name=MAR/><ref name=Ogden/> Throughout their history, the Uyghurs have resisted assimilation to Han Chinese culture, and identify more closely with the cultures of ]. Uyghur violence and the desire for independence largely stems from resentment over restrictions to religious freedom, political repression and discrimination, ethnic conflict with the ], and ineffective leadership by Han cadres.<ref name=Ogden/><ref name=MAR/> Resentment is exacerbated by income disparities between ethnic Han and Uyghurs, nuclear missile testing in the region, and concerns that the government in Beijing is exploiting Xinjiang’s natural resource wealth.<ref name=Ogden/>

Most Uyghurs desire greater autonomy and political participation, with a smaller number seeking the restoration of an independent state or union with the Turkic ethnic groups of ].<ref name=MAR/> Some groups have adopted violent tactics in pursuit of these goals, and outbreaks of ethnic violence in Xinjiang are not uncommon. Groups identified in Chinese government documents as having involvement in violent attacks include the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), East Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO), United Revolutionary Front of East Turkestan (URFET), and the Uyghur Liberation Organization (ULO).<ref name=EWC/> There are unconfirmed reports of Uyghurs operating within terrorist cells in Central Asia, but no definitive proof.<ref name=Chung/>

===Tibet===
Many ] desire greater cultural and political autonomy, if not full independence, and outbreaks of violent clashes with authorities in the region do occur intermittently. However, Tibetans seldom resort to acts of terrorism.<ref name=Ogden/> Ogden credits this, in part, to the swift and brutal response from authorities against manifestations of political violence or opposition in Tibet. As a consequence, most Tibetans have adopted a pragmatic, incremental approach to seeking change. The teachings of Buddhism—and of the ] in particular—also discourage violence.<ref name=Ogden/> Nonetheless, there are segments of the Tibetan population who disagree with the Dalai Lama's exhortations against violence, and view violent opposition as the only viable route towards independence.<ref name=Ogden/>


==Terrorism in contemporary China== ==Terrorism in contemporary China==
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The World Uyghur Youth Congress and East Turkistan Information Center are both non-government organizations based in Germany which, according to Uyghur groups, mainly serve to report information. Chinese government sources say that The Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement has carried out over 200 terror operations since 1990, and allege the group has ties to ], though they have not produced evidence to support the claim.<ref name=BBC2/> Chinese authorities have pressured other countries and multilateral organizations to ban the listed organizations as terrorist groups.<ref name=BBC2/> The World Uyghur Youth Congress and East Turkistan Information Center are both non-government organizations based in Germany which, according to Uyghur groups, mainly serve to report information. Chinese government sources say that The Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement has carried out over 200 terror operations since 1990, and allege the group has ties to ], though they have not produced evidence to support the claim.<ref name=BBC2/> Chinese authorities have pressured other countries and multilateral organizations to ban the listed organizations as terrorist groups.<ref name=BBC2/>

===The "Three Evils"===
The government of the People's Republic of China identifies terrorism as one of "]" which also include separatism and religious fundamentalism.<ref name=Chung/> These forces are seen by Beijing as inter-connected threats to social stability and national security. In particular, terrorism is viewed as a violent manifestation of ethnic separatism, and separatism is understood as a corollary of religious zealotry.<ref name=Chung/> Chien-peng Chung writes that the authorities' view of the three evils "means that the root causes of terrorism - religious freedom, cultural autonomy, living standards, and political rights of ethnic minorities - are not addressed directly or earnestly enough by the Chinese authorities." The unspoken source of ethnic strife "is the discriminatory practices in the execution of minority policies of the PRC government, even assuming the purest intent."<ref name=Chung/>


===Chronology of major events=== ===Chronology of major events===
Following is a partial list of events that have been described as terror attacks or attempted terror attacks by non-state actors in the People's Republic of China. Due to variations in the definitions and applications of the term, the characterization of some events as terrorist attacks may be disputed. In many instances, reports of violence or terror attacks could not be confirmed independently.<ref name=AFP/><ref name=EWC/> Foreign journalists have extremely limited access to Xinjiang, and are closely monitored if and when they gain permission to report in the region.<ref name=EWC/><ref>See, for example, Nicholas Kristof, , New York Times, 29 May 2008.</ref> As such, foreign reporting on incidents on Xinjiang necessarily relies on information released by the government of China or in the state-run press.<ref name=EWC/> In several instances, conflicting narratives of these have emerged from witnesses or from Uyghur groups overseas.<ref name=EWC/><ref name=doubts/>


{|class="wikitable"
* On 5 February 1992, four bombs were set in public buildings in ], ], China, the two on the buses of line 2 and line 30 exploded. The incidents led to at least 3 deaths, and 23 injured.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
! width=15% | Date
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| 5 February 1992 || Urumqi, Xinjiang ||] || Two buses exploded in Urumqi, resulting in at least 3 deaths, and 23 injured.<ref name=EWC>James Millward, , East-West Center, Foreign Studies 6, 2004.</ref> Unconfirmed reports indicated the attacks were perpetrated by the East Turkestan Islamic Party.<ref name=MAR2/> PRC document say that other bombs were discovered and defused in a local cinema and a residential building.<ref name=EWC/>
|-
| 13 January 1996 || ], Tibet || || In 1996, there were a series of bombing incidents in ], capital of China's ]. Four major attacks were acknowledged, although unofficial sources reported more. The attacks generally targeted and successfully wounded people, while Tibetan bombs in 1995 targeted buildings, such as the ] on the ].<ref name="TIN1"/> On 13 January, a ] monk exploded a ] at a shop owned by ].<ref name="nyt"/> Five days later on 18 January, the house of ], the head ] of the ]'s ], was bombed.<ref name="Hilton">{{Cite book|title=The Search for the Panchen Lama|first=Isabel|last=Hilton|publisher=]|year=2001|page=295}}</ref> Gyaltsen had opposed the ] to ordain ] in the ]. He was out of his house at the time of the explosion, but a person nearby was "seriously injured", according to the ].<ref name="TIN1">{{Cite news|url=ftp://coombs.anu.edu.au/coombspapers/otherarchives/asian-studies-archives/tibetan-archives/tibet-recent-history/newspaper-sabotage-jan96.txt|title=Tibetan Newspaper Sabotaged; Lama's House Bombed|date=28 January 1996|accessdate=15 January 2011|publisher=TibetInfoNet}}</ref> No group claimed responsibility for the bombings, but China blamed forces loyal to the Dalai Lama.<ref name="Hilton"/> On 18 March, a bomb exploded at the regional government and local ] compound. The government temporarily shut down tourism in Tibet in response.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1996&m=3&p=22_1|title=Bomb Explodes outside Lhasa Party Headquarters|date=22 March 1996|accessdate=15 January 2011|publisher=Tibet Information Network}}</ref> China initially denied all of the blasts, but later attributed them to separatists.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tibet|first=Michael|last=Buckley|publisher=]|year=2006|page=133}}</ref> The final blast of the year was detonated by remote control at 1:30&nbsp;am on Christmas day, in front of the central Lhasa municipal government offices. Five people were injured, including two ] and three shopkeepers.<ref name="Poole">{{Cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/tibetan-activists-set-off-lhasa-bomb-1316482.html|title=Tibetan activists set off Lhasa bomb|first=Teresa|last=Poole|location=Beijing|date=30 December 1996|accessdate=15 January 2011|work=The Independent |location=UK}}</ref> The official ] called the blast "an appalling act of terrorism", and the Chinese government offered a $120,000 reward for the perpetrator. Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region ] called on residents to "heighten our alertness and strengthen preventive measures".<ref name="nyt">{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/30/world/bomb-at-government-offices-wounds-5-in-tibetan-capital.html|title=Bomb at Government Offices Wounds 5 in Tibetan Capital|date=30 December 1996|accessdate=15 January 2011|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
|-
| 27 February 1997 || Urumqi, Xinjiang || ] || Bombs detonated on three buses in Urumqi, leaving nine dead and 68 seriously wounded.<ref name=EWC/> The Uyghur Liberation Party claims responsibility for the bombings.<ref name=EWC/>
|-
| 5 January 2007 || Pamirs Plateau, Xinjiang || ] || Chinese police raided a suspected ] (ETIM) training camp in ] in the Pamirs plateau near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.<ref name=DETAILS/> A spokesperson for the Xinjiang ] said that 18 terror suspects were killed and 17 captured. The raid also resulted in the death of one Chinese police officer and the injury of another. The ] said they confiscated hand grenades, guns, and makeshift explosives from the site.<ref name=DETAILS>British Broadcasting Service, , 8 January 2007.</ref>
|-
| 9 March 2008 || Urumqi, Xinjiang || || On 9 March 2008, China's state-run ] reported that authorities had successfully foiled a terrorist attack on a commercial jet.<ref name=Reuters>Ben Blanchard, , Reuters, 9 March 2008.</ref> The Souther China flight departed from Urumqi, and made an emergency landing in ] while en route to Beijing. Two individuals were reportedly taken into custody after flight crew discovered flammable material in the plane's toilet.<ref name=Reuters/> Xinjiang Governor Nuer Baikeli told reporters that the perpetrators "attempted to create an air disaster," but authorities provided no further details.<ref>Geoffrey York, , The Globe and Mail, 10 March 2008.</ref><ref name=cnn090308> CNN</ref>
|-
| 4 August 2008 || ], Xinjiang || ] || Suspected ETIM militants reportedly drove a truck into a group of approximately 70 jogging policemen. According to official Chinese media accounts, they then got out of the truck wielding machetes, and lobbed grenades at the officers, killing 16 people. Three tourists in the vicinity provided a different account of the event, however, saying that the attackers appeared to be uniformed paramilitary police officers attacking other officers with machetes.<ref name=doubts>Edward Wong, , New York Times, 29 September 2008.</ref>
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| 10 August 2008 || ], Xinjiang || || On 10 August, Muslim separatist ] ]ers made a dozen coordinated attacks on police stations, government offices, and businesses in Kuqa, Xinjiang, killing 11 people.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4499762.ece|title=China's Uighur rebels switch to suicide bombs|date=11 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2011|author=Parry, Richard Lloyd|work=The Sunday Times |location=UK}}</ref><ref name="Moore 10">{{Cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/2533765/China-beefs-up-security-in-Kuqa-after-new-terror-attack.html|title=China beefs up security in Kuqa after new terror attack|first=Malcolm|last=Moore|date=10 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2010|work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK|location=Urumqi}}</ref> The attacks began at 2:30&nbsp;am when five assailants drove taxis into the local ] and ] buildings.<ref name="Moore 10"/> The Communist Party chief in Xinjiang called the attack a "terrorist act" and suspected ETIM responsible.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1422778.php/Blasts_gunfire_kill_at_least_eight_in_Chinas_far_west__2nd_Roundup_|title=Blasts, gunfire kill at least eight in China's far west (2nd roundup)|date=10 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2010|publisher=]}}</ref>
|-
| 12 August 2008 || Yamanya, Xinjiang || || Chinese state-run media reported that three security officers were killed in a stabbing incident in Yamanya, near ] in Xinjiang.<ref name=AFP>AFP, , 12 August 2008.</ref> The official media did not specify what the attacker’s affiliations were.<ref name=AFP/>
|-
| 19 August 2010 || ] || ] || According to state-run media reports, six ethnic Uyghur men were involved in loading a vehicle with explosives and driving into a group of security officers at a highway intersection near Aksu, Xinjiang. Seven people, including two attackers, were killed, according to police spokespersons quoted by state-run media.<ref>David Barboza, , New York Times, 19 August 2010.</ref> In the wake of the attack, authorities in the region vowed to crack down “relentlessly” on criminal activity.<ref>Reuters, , 25 August 2010.</ref>
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| 18 July 2011 || ], Xinjiang || ] || State-run media reported that 18 people died when 18 young ] men stormed a police station in the city of Hotan. The men reportedly stabbed a security guard and two female hostages, and killed another security guard with a bomb. The attack ended when security officers shot and killed 14 of the attackers, according to official accounts. Chinese media initially referred to the attackers as rioters or thugs, though subsequent accounts called the event a terrorist attack. <ref name="AP">{{Cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015665074_apaschinaxinjiang.html China says 14 extremists killed in Xinjiang attack|first=Alexa|last=Olesen|agency=Associated Press|date=19 July 2011|accessdate=29 July 2011}}</ref> The Germany-based World Uyghur Congress provided a different accounts of event, saying that authorities provoked clashes by opening fire on Uyghurs participating in a non-violent protest against heavy-handed security crackdowns in the city.<ref name=AP/><ref>The Economist, http://www.economist.com/node/21524940 “Let them shoot hoops”], 30 July 2011.</ref> The Turkistan Islamic Party later claimed responsibility for the attack.<ref name="be">{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14834042 Islamic militant group 'behind Xinjiang attacks'|date=8 September 2011|accessdate=8 October 2011|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>
|-
| 30 - 31 July 2011 || Kashgar, Xinjiang || || At least 18 people died in an series of alleged terrorist attacks in the city of Kashgar. According to state-run media accounts, the violence began when two Uyghur men hijacked a truck, ran it into a crowded street, and started stabbing people, killing six.<ref>BBC, , 31 July 2011.</ref> The attack ended when the assailants were overpowered by the crowd, which killed one attacker. On the second day, state-run media reported that a “group of armed terrorists” stormed a restaurant, killed the owner and a waiter, and set it ablaze. They then proceeded to indiscriminately kill four more civilians.<ref>Michael Wines, , New York Times, 31 July 2011.</ref> Armed clashes then reportedly ensured, ending with police capturing or killing the attackers.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Bloody Weekend|first=Yongsun|last=Cheng|first2=Xiaodong|last2=Yu|publisher=News China|month=October|year=2011|pages=23–25}}</ref> The Turkistan Islamic Party later claimed responsibility for the attack.<ref name="be"/> One of the suspects appeared in a TIP video training in Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/MI22Ad02.html Catch-22 of Xinjiang as a gateway|first=Jacob|last=Zenn|date=2 September 2011|accessdate=9 October 2011|publisher=]|location=Kashgar}}</ref> ||
|}


==Counter-terrorism==
* In 1996, there were a series of bombing incidents in ], capital of China's ]. Four major attacks were acknowledged, although unofficial sources reported more. The attacks generally targeted and successfully wounded people, while Tibetan bombs in 1995 targeted buildings, such as the ] on the ].<ref name="TIN1"/> On 13 January, a ] monk exploded a ] at a shop owned by ].<ref name="nyt"/> Five days later on 18 January, the house of ], the head ] of the ]'s ], was bombed.<ref name="Hilton">{{Cite book|title=The Search for the Panchen Lama|first=Isabel|last=Hilton|publisher=]|year=2001|page=295}}</ref> Gyaltsen had opposed the ] to ordain ] in the ]. He was out of his house at the time of the explosion, but a person nearby was "seriously injured", according to the ].<ref name="TIN1">{{Cite news|url=ftp://coombs.anu.edu.au/coombspapers/otherarchives/asian-studies-archives/tibetan-archives/tibet-recent-history/newspaper-sabotage-jan96.txt|title=Tibetan Newspaper Sabotaged; Lama's House Bombed|date=28 January 1996|accessdate=15 January 2011|publisher=TibetInfoNet}}</ref> No group claimed responsibility for the bombings, but China blamed forces loyal to the Dalai Lama.<ref name="Hilton"/> On 18 March, a bomb exploded at the regional government and local ] compound. The government temporarily shut down tourism in Tibet in response.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1996&m=3&p=22_1|title=Bomb Explodes outside Lhasa Party Headquarters|date=22 March 1996|accessdate=15 January 2011|publisher=Tibet Information Network}}</ref> China initially denied all of the blasts, but later attributed them to separatists.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tibet|first=Michael|last=Buckley|publisher=]|year=2006|page=133}}</ref> The final blast of the year was detonated by remote control at 1:30&nbsp;am on Christmas day, in front of the central Lhasa municipal government offices. Five people were injured, including two ] and three shopkeepers.<ref name="Poole">{{Cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/tibetan-activists-set-off-lhasa-bomb-1316482.html|title=Tibetan activists set off Lhasa bomb|first=Teresa|last=Poole|location=Beijing|date=30 December 1996|accessdate=15 January 2011|work=The Independent |location=UK}}</ref> The official ] called the blast "an appalling act of terrorism", and the Chinese government offered a $120,000 reward for the perpetrator. Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region ] called on residents to "heighten our alertness and strengthen preventive measures".<ref name="nyt">{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/30/world/bomb-at-government-offices-wounds-5-in-tibetan-capital.html|title=Bomb at Government Offices Wounds 5 in Tibetan Capital|date=30 December 1996|accessdate=15 January 2011|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
===Domestic counter-terrorism===
===International cooperation===
The government of the People’s Republic of China has, particularly since 2001, engaged in cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral level to gain support for its efforts to combat terrorism and ethnic separatism.


Much of this cooperation involves the Central Asian states, which are home to large ethnic Uyghur populations. The government has periodically demanded that authorities in ] and ] crack down on Uyghur secessionists<ref name=Chung/>, and that they extradite suspected terrorists and separatists to China.<ref>Graham Fuller and Jonathan Lipman, “Islam in Xinjiang,” in S. Frederick Starr Ed. Xinjiang: China’s Muslim Borderland (ME Sharpe, 2004).</ref> The Government of Kazakhstan has consistently extradited Uyghur terrorist suspects to China<ref name=RELTHRET>
* The ] occurred 25 February 1997 when three bombs exploded in Urumqi, Xinjiang province. The bombs were set on the three buses (line 10, line 44, and line 2), and made the death of 9, (including the death of 3 children at least{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}), and injury of 74. {{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

* On 5 January 2007, Chinese police raided a suspected ] (ETIM) training camp in ] in the Pamirs plateau near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.<ref name=DETAILS/> A spokesperson for the Xinjiang ] said that 18 terror suspects were killed and 17 captured. The raid also resulted in the death of one Chinese police officer and the injury of another. The ] said they confiscated hand grenades, guns, and makeshift explosives from the site.<ref name=DETAILS>British Broadcasting Service, , 8 January 2007.</ref>(See ])

*On 9 March 2008 Chinese officials {{Who|date=January 2012}} told the state-run ] that they had successfully thwarted a terrorist attack targeting the ] by Muslim separatists from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} A ] plane was forced to land on 9 March 2008 because "some people were attempting to create an air disaster". The flight had taken off from ], the capital of the ]. The militants' ] attempt was foiled by the ]s.<ref name=cnn090308> CNN</ref>

*On 1 August 2008, the ] (TIP) posted a video on the internet, named "Call to the Global Muslim Ummah", calling on Muslims to "choose your side", not travel with Chinese, and support the TIP. Some Chinese officials in Xinjiang downplayed the threat of terrorism.<ref name=DPA>{{Cite news|url=http://www.topnews.in/terrorists-issue-new-olympic-threat-us-analysts-say-257448|title=Terrorists issue new Olympic threat, US analysts say|first=Sahil|last=Nagpal|date=8 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2011|publisher=]}}</ref>

* On 4 August, the ] involved suspected ETIM militants who reportedly drove a truck into a group of approximately 70 jogging policemen. According to official Chinese media accounts, they then got out of the truck wielding machetes, and lobbed grenades at the officers, killing 16 people. Three tourists in the vicinity provided a different account of the event, however, saying that the attackers appeared to be uniformed paramilitary police officers attacking other officers with machetes.<ref>Edward Wong, , New York Times, 29 September 2008.</ref>

* On 8 August 2008, another video was released showing "a masked man with a rifle" threatening further attacks and advising Uyghurs to "avoid public transport during the Olympics".<ref name="Moore 10">{{Cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/2533765/China-beefs-up-security-in-Kuqa-after-new-terror-attack.html|title=China beefs up security in Kuqa after new terror attack|first=Malcolm|last=Moore|date=10 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2010|work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK|location=Urumqi}}</ref> On 10 August, Muslim separatist ] ]ers made a dozen coordinated<ref name="Moore 10"/> attacks on police stations, government offices, and businesses in ], Xinjiang, killing 11 people.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4499762.ece|title=China's Uighur rebels switch to suicide bombs|date=11 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2011|author=Parry, Richard Lloyd|work=The Sunday Times |location=UK}}</ref> The attacks began at 2:30&nbsp;am when five assailants drove taxis into the local ] and ] buildings.<ref name="Moore 10"/> The Communist Party chief in Xinjiang called the attack a "terrorist act" and suspected ETIM responsible.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1422778.php/Blasts_gunfire_kill_at_least_eight_in_Chinas_far_west__2nd_Roundup_|title=Blasts, gunfire kill at least eight in China's far west (2nd roundup)|date=10 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2010|publisher=]}}</ref>

*On 12 August 2008, Uyghur separatists killed three security officers in a stabbing in Yamanya{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}, near ] in Xinjiang. With the latest attack, the cumulative death toll during the Olympic Games was 31.<ref name="dt">{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008/08/13/story_13-8-2008_pg4_7|title=Three dead as unrest flares in Xinjiang|date=13 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2011|publisher=]}}</ref> On 13 August, public security authorities in ] foiled an attempted bus bombing. On 17 August 2008, a truck suddenly exploded and caught fire at the Baimiao Security Checkpoint in Beijing. 20 people were rushed to hospital and state media and officials have refused to comment, although possibility of a terrorist attack "has not been ruled out".<ref name="BSC20">{{Cite news|url=http://www.hkhkhk.com/engpro/messages/2448.html|title=Truck explosion injures 20 at Beijing security checkpoint 17 Aug|work=]|date=19 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2011|publisher=]}}</ref>

*On 29 August 2008, police investigating a violent crime were ambushed and stabbed in the corn fields of ], ]. Two police died and five were injured.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://english.sina.com/china/2008/0829/182718.html|title=Two policemen killed in Xinjiang attack|date=29 August 2008|accessdate=22 April 2011|publisher=]}}</ref> One day later in the city of ], a public bus suddenly exploded, wounding two people. Although officials confirmed the incident to ], no Chinese media reported the story, leading the Hong Kong-based ] to accuse the Chinese government of suppressing information about terrorist incidents.<ref name="harbinbus">{{Cite news|url=http://www.hkhkhk.com/engpro/messages/2462.html|title=Hong Kong rights group reports bus blast in China's Harbin 30 August|work=]|date=1 September 2008|accessdate=22 April 2011|publisher=]}}</ref>

*On 19 August 2010, three people ] in the city of ], killing 8 and wounding 15. Officials categorized this attack as falling under the "]" of separatists, extremists and terrorists.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-09/11/content_11289427.htm|title=Xinjiang continues to face threats of terrorism|date=11 September 2010|accessdate=5 November 2010|work=China Daily|location=Urumqi}}</ref>

* On 18 July 2011, 18 people died when 18 young ] men ] in the city of ] and killed two security guards by stabbing and lobbing ]s. They occupied the police station, took eight hostages, and smashed and set fire to the police station. Shouting slogans and unfurling banners with ] writing, they refused to peacefully negotiate and engaged in a firefight with police. The attack ended within 90 minutes when police shot 14 attackers dead. Authorities detained four attackers and rescued six hostages, but were unable to save two.<ref name="AP">{{Cite news|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700164452/China-says-14-extremists-killed-in-Xinjiang-attack.html|title=China says 14 extremists killed in Xinjiang attack|first=Alexa|last=Olesen|agency=Associated Press|date=19 July 2011|accessdate=29 July 2011}}</ref> A regional spokesperson called the incident "a long-planned, unprovoked, terrorist attack" by "]s".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-07/21/content_12947603.htm |title=Attack on police station was 'long-planned |first=Wei|last=Shao|work=China Daily |date=21 July 2011 |accessdate=25 July 2011}}</ref> Authorities have discovered the membership of two of the 18 men in an ETIM-led group<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/07/understanding-hotan-xinjiang-riot-in.html|title=Understanding the Hotan (Xinjiang) Riot in China|first=D.S.|last=Rajan|first2=Ashok|last2=Tiku|date=29 July 2011|accessdate=29 July 2011|location=Chennai|publisher=Sri Lanka Guardian}}</ref> and the ETIM later claimed responsibility for the attack.<ref name="be">{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14834042|title=Islamic militant group 'behind Xinjiang attacks'|date=8 September 2011|accessdate=8 October 2011|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

* On 30 and 31 July 2011, 23 people died in additional terrorist attacks in the city of ]. On the first day, two Uyghur men hijacked a truck, ran it into a crowded street, and started stabbing people, killing nine, until they were overpowered by the crowd, who killed one attacker. On the second day, the premature explosion of two ]s intended for a ] restaurant killed four people. The 12 would-be car-bombers abandoned their original plan and instead stormed the restaurant with knives, killing 13 people. A firefight ensued with police capturing the group and killing seven attackers.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Bloody Weekend|first=Yongsun|last=Cheng|first2=Xiaodong|last2=Yu|publisher=News China|month=October|year=2011|pages=23–25}}</ref> ETIM later claimed responsibility for the attack,<ref name="be"/> confirming that one of the suspects who escaped (but was later shot by police) had received training in ETIM camps in Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/MI22Ad02.html|title=
Catch-22 of Xinjiang as a gateway|first=Jacob|last=Zenn|date=2 September 2011|accessdate=9 October 2011|publisher=]|location=Kashgar}}</ref>

==International cooperation==
===Kyrgyzstan===
The ] and ] governments increased security along their borders with each other and ] on 11 January 2007 after Chinese government officials expressed concern that "international terrorists" were traveling through ] and Central Asia to carry out attacks. The warning followed a high-profile ] in ], ] run by ] members. General Sadyrbek Dubanayev, deputy chief of Kyrgyzstan's border guards, said, "After the announcement of the special operation by the Chinese side, we briefed everyone and then Kyrgyzstan and China decided to increase security along the border."<ref name=INFILTRATION> RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
</ref>

===Afghanistan===
Chinese Communist Party leader ] said on 22 January 2007, "China appreciates ]'s valuable support on such issues concerning China's core interests as ], human rights and fighting 'East Turkestan' terrorists." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao said, "There should not be double standards in counterterrorism. At the same time, no country wants to see another Al Qaeda in China."<ref name=AFGHANCOOP> New Kerala</ref>

===Kazakhstan===
The Government of Kazakhstan has consistently extradited Uyghur terrorist suspects to China<ref name=RELTHRET>
Jamestown Foundation</ref> and in 2006 participated in a large-scale, joint counter-terrorism drill.<ref name=PIPELINE> Uyghur American Association Jamestown Foundation</ref> and in 2006 participated in a large-scale, joint counter-terrorism drill.<ref name=PIPELINE> Uyghur American Association
</ref> </ref>


The Chinese and Kyrgyz governments increased security along their borders with each other and ] in January 2007 after Chinese government officials expressed concern that "international terrorists" were traveling through ] and Central Asia to carry out attacks. The warning followed a high-profile ] in ], ] run by suspected ] members.<ref name=INFILTRATION> RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
] ] led a 150-person delegation to Kazakhstan on 2 July 2005 after visiting Moscow, Russia for four days. The Chinese Government issued a press release saying the Chinese-Kazakh energy and security "relationship deepens constantly." Upon arriving Hu met with President Nazarbayev in an official ceremony. They discussed anti-terrorism, energy, and transportation.<ref name=HU> Space War
</ref> </ref>

The Governments of China and Kazakhstan held an anti-terror drill, known as the "Tian-Shan-1-2006" drill, from 24–26 August 2006, starting in ], Kazakhstan and ending in ], China through the ]. The drill is the first time China and Kazakhstan have held anti-terrorism maneuvers.<ref name=THREATS> Uyghur American Association</ref> The Collective Security Treaty Organization held exercises in the ] simultaneously.<ref name=PIPELINE/>

The simulation lasted for three days and involved Kazakh forces from border patrol, the Interior Ministry, and the Emergency Situations Ministry, and Chinese law enforcement forces and security services. 700 police officials used armed helicopters and anti-riot vehicles to force the 'enemy' into a narrow valley along the border of Kazakhstan and Xinjiang, China after rescuing 'hostages'.<ref name=HOSTAGEZ> Global Research Center for Research on Globalization</ref><ref name=DRILL> The Boston Globe</ref> About 100 observers from other SCO nation-members attended the exercises.<ref name=EVIL> Uygur American Association</ref> The first day of exercises began in Almaty and ended in ], a city in ]. When officials of '']'' contacted the Foreign and Defense Ministries of both nations, inquiring about the exercises, Islam Dosmailuly, a spokesman for Kazakhstan's ], told them he did not "know if will or not. I'm waiting for information. If gets here, we'll certainly comment on it. But, for now, I have no information." '']'' reported that the policemen practiced freeing hostages.<ref name=THREATS/>

Some analysts said the simulation practiced securing the ], which sends petroleum from Kazakhstan to refineries in Xinjiang. Kazakhstan sends about 3.5 million tons through the pipeline annually and wants to increase output to 20 million tons.<ref name=PIPELINE/>

Konstantin Syroyezhkin, a senior analyst at Kazakhstan's Strategic Studies and Research Institute, said "there are many common threats and these are already. There is drug trafficking, immigration]], and ] and political extremism. There are a number of threats. And these are counter-terrorism exercises, international terrorism. Why should they not hold them? Look, there's a mess in Afghanistan; there must be some mutual cooperation in that matter. And anyway, it is not the first time they have held such exercises. Last year, or before last year, it was organized as a planned maneuver, there is nothing suspicious about that." Kazakhstan has held joint counter-terrorism exercises with NATO under the ] program and the ].<ref name=THREATS/> Meng Hongwei, Chinese Vice-Minister of Public Security and commander of the Chinese troops for the drill, warned that the "three evil forces" of terrorism, ] and ] and increasing cross-border drug trafficking were affecting the region. Vice-Minister Hongwei said, "the exercise will help establish the SCO's active role in maintaining regional security and stability." SCO nation-members plan to hold another another series of anti-terrorism exercises in Russia in 2007. Vladimir Boshko, first vice-chairman of the Committee of the National Security of Kazakhstan, said the drill would improve anti-terror cooperation among SCO nation-members.<ref name=EVIL/>

===India===
{{Main|2007 Delhi security summit}}
The Delhi summit on security took place on 14 February 2007 with the ]s of China, India, and ] meeting in ], ], India to discuss terrorism, drug trafficking, ], and the security situations in ], Iran, ], and ].<ref name=BIGTHREE> BBC News</ref><ref name=HOUSE> New Kerala</ref>

The Indian Foreign Ministry released a statement on behalf of all three governments saying, "We shared our thoughts on the political, economic and security aspects of the global situation, the present world order and recent developments in various areas of mutual concern. We agreed that co-operation rather than confrontation should govern approaches to regional and global affairs. There was coincidence of views against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and on the need to address financing of terrorism and its linkages with ]."<ref name=BIGTHREE/>


==See also== ==See also==
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]


Revision as of 17:44, 6 March 2012

Part of a series on
Terrorism and political violence
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Organizational structures
  • Methods
  • Tactics
Terrorist groups
Relationship to states
State terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism
Response to terrorism

Due to inconsistencies in the definitions and use of the term, terrorism in the People's Republic of China may be construed to encompass a variety of activities, including (though not limited to) violence committed in the name of nationalist or separatist movements in Xinjiang and Tibet, political campaigns by the Communist Party of China, and in some cases, non-violent acts of political or religious defiance. In contemporary China, violent acts of terrorism are comparatively rare. Many instances of terrorism by non-state actors involve the Uyghur ethnic group in Northwest China.

Etymology and use

There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper definition of "terrorism". In a general sense, terrorism can be understood to refer to the use of unlawful violence, force, or threat against civilian populations for the purpose of invoking fear, with of objective of advancing a political, social, or ideological objective. The term terrorism traces its origins to the “Reign of Terror’’ during the French Revolution, and referred to the systematic use of terror by governments against their citizens. Beginning in the 1800s, the term took on new meaning. Terrorist tactics were embraced by Marxist and anarchist radicals as a means of fomenting revolution, and the term increasingly came to denote the use of terror by civilians, typically with the objective of challenging the state or state policies. In the modern context, the term “terrorism” is used almost exclusively to refer to non-state actors.

International law differentiates between acts of terrorism—which are intended to deliberately harm or induce terror in innocent civilians—and acts of political opposition. Even the use of violence against a ruling regime as part of an anti-colonial or secessionist movement is not necessarily categorized as terrorism, though individual state's definitions of terrorism may vary to include a wider range of activities.

Chinese cultural context

The concept of terrorism, as it evolved and is understood in the West, did not exist in imperial China. In that setting, political criminality took the form as violence against the emperor, and was viewed as harmful insofar as it induced fear and caused “chaos.” With the exception of “good” political violence against rulers whose lack of propriety and virtue resulted in loss of the mandate of heaven, violence was seen as contrary to human nature and the Tao. Kam Wong argues that the dynamics of imperial China form the basis for contemporary Chinese understandings of terrorism.

Fear of chaos and social disorder is a powerful factor in mobilizing political will to combat potential threats. In the modern context, any group or force with the potential to challenge the existing social order or the political security of the rulers may be considered a form of terrorism, “to be condemned unrelentingly and suppressed at all costs.”

There is currently no clearly established definition for terrorism, though the National People's Congress is in the process of drafting legislation that would clarify the use of the term. The draft legislation, as reported by Xinhua News Agency, classified as terrorism acts that "cause or aim to cause severe harm to society by causing casualties, bringing about major economic losses, damaging public facilities or disturbing social order." Human rights groups charge that the term is frequently applied to non-violent dissidents in China.

State terrorism

See State Terrorism, not to be confused with State-sponsored terrorism

Although contemporary definitions of terrorism most often apply to the actions of sub-state actors, both the historical interpretation of the term as well as some contemporary scholarship allow for actions of the state to be classified as terrorism. University of California Santa Barbara professor and terrorism expert Michael Stohl argues that "the state has been and remains a more likely employer of terrorism within the international system than insurgents,” but also stresses the need to differentiate between state violence and terrorism: “in terrorism the violence threatened or perpetrated has purposes broader than simple physical harm to a victim. The audience of the act or threat of violence is more important than the immediate victim."

Following the Communist Party takeover of China in 1949, several political campaigns under Mao Zedong were labelled as forms of state terror. A 1951 article in Time magazine labelled the mass executions of “counterrevolutionaries” as a new ‘Red Terror’. Of the Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns of 1951, Jean-Louise Margolin wrote that the term “Red Terror” was fitting, as the essential function of these campaigns was “to demonstrate to the urban elite that no one was safe.” The definition of counterrevolutionary “was so vague and so wide that any past or current position that diverged even slightly from the Party line was enough to bring condemnation.” Individuals labelled counterrevolutionaries were subject to imprisonment, interrogation, or public execution. In his book Mao's Great Famine, historian Frank Dikötter described the use of terror and violence as the “foundation of the regime” under Mao, reaching an apogee during the Great Leap Forward. Violence was “arbitrary and ruthless,” widespread enough to evoke fear in everyone, but not necessarily claiming many lives—an example of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey." The use of terror and systematic violence became more important as a policy implement during the Great Leap Forward; with individual incentives to work eliminated through collectivization policies, cadres relied on violence and the threat of starvation to meet production quotas.

The Cultural Revolution is also frequently described as a campaign of "mass terror", during which the Communist Party encouraged what Gus Martin calls “an ideologically extremist movement.” The campaign, which spanned 1966 to 1976, aimed to eliminate “revisionist” tendencies, and involved large-scale purges, denunciations, and killing of suspected counterrevolutionaries. At least 36 million people were persecuted, and estimates on deaths typically range from 400,000 to 1 million, with some estimates of 3 million. Some of the worst excesses of the period occurred during the three-month "Red Terror" period of 1966, during which Mao encouraged young Red Guards to make violent revolution. According to Suzanne Ogden, the Cultural Revolution was “state-directed terrorism against the alleged enemies of the regime,” involving the “state-sanctioned use of violence against civilians and property for politically motivated objectives.” The terror of the period was enhanced by the arbitrary and unpredictable manner in which violence as “mass justice” was carried out.

Ethnic Separatism

Xinjiang

Main article: East Turkestan independence movement

Most instances of terrorism by non-state actors in contemporary China involve members of the largely Muslim Uyghur ethnic group, who are concentrated in the Northwestern province of Xinjiang. According to Suzanne Ogden, only six incidents in China from 1990 to 2005 were clear cases of terrorism, most involving confirmed or suspected ethnic Uyghurs. Among these was an incident on 6 February 1992 when Muslim separatists (possibly belonging to the East Turkestan Islamic Party) detonated a bomb on a public bus in Urumqi, and a bomb attack on a hotel in Kashgar on 17 June 1992. Instances of violence by ethnic Uyghurs against security forces, organs or infrastructure of the state are far more common, but are distinguished by scholars from terrorism aimed against the civilian population Chinese government authorities make no such distinction, and are often inclined to categorize all forms of violence in Xinjiang as manifestations of separatism or terrorism.

Uyghur terrorism is not seen as an extension of global Islamic terrorism, nor is it religiously motivated. Instead, it is best understood as part of an ethno-nationalistic secessionist movement. For centuries, the region now known as Xinjiang was ruled on and off by China. From 1944 to 1949, the Uyghurs established the East Turkestan Islamic Republic, and fought numerous armed revolts against Chinese rule before coming under the control of Beijing in 1955 Throughout their history, the Uyghurs have resisted assimilation to Han Chinese culture, and identify more closely with the cultures of Central Asia. Uyghur violence and the desire for independence largely stems from resentment over restrictions to religious freedom, political repression and discrimination, ethnic conflict with the ethnic Han population, and ineffective leadership by Han cadres. Resentment is exacerbated by income disparities between ethnic Han and Uyghurs, nuclear missile testing in the region, and concerns that the government in Beijing is exploiting Xinjiang’s natural resource wealth.

Most Uyghurs desire greater autonomy and political participation, with a smaller number seeking the restoration of an independent state or union with the Turkic ethnic groups of Central Asia. Some groups have adopted violent tactics in pursuit of these goals, and outbreaks of ethnic violence in Xinjiang are not uncommon. Groups identified in Chinese government documents as having involvement in violent attacks include the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), East Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO), United Revolutionary Front of East Turkestan (URFET), and the Uyghur Liberation Organization (ULO). There are unconfirmed reports of Uyghurs operating within terrorist cells in Central Asia, but no definitive proof.

Tibet

Many Tibetans desire greater cultural and political autonomy, if not full independence, and outbreaks of violent clashes with authorities in the region do occur intermittently. However, Tibetans seldom resort to acts of terrorism. Ogden credits this, in part, to the swift and brutal response from authorities against manifestations of political violence or opposition in Tibet. As a consequence, most Tibetans have adopted a pragmatic, incremental approach to seeking change. The teachings of Buddhism—and of the Dalai Lama in particular—also discourage violence. Nonetheless, there are segments of the Tibetan population who disagree with the Dalai Lama's exhortations against violence, and view violent opposition as the only viable route towards independence.

Terrorism in contemporary China

Legal definition and use

Under China's criminal law, acts of terrorism can carry a prison sentence of up to ten years. Since 2001, over 7,000 Chinese citizens have been convicted on terrorism charges. However, the law does not clearly define what constitutes a terrorist organization or activity. In October 2011, Chinese authorities began crafting a bill that would more clearly define terrorism. According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the draft bill defines terrorist acts as those that are intended "induce public fear or to coerce state organs or international organisations by means of violence, sabotage, threats or other tactics...These acts cause or aim to cause severe harm to society by causing casualties, bringing about major economic losses, damaging public facilities or disturbing social order." Human rights and international law experts have raised concerns over the implications of the bills in light of the lack of judicial independence in the People's Republic of China. A representative of Human Rights Watch was reported as saying “strengthening law enforcement powers without appropriate judicial checks and balances is dangerous,” and further noted that it was unclear how and by whom organizations and individuals would be designated as terrorists.

Organizations designated as terrorists

The Ministry of Public Security issued a list of what it considers terrorist organizations on 15 December 2003. These include the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement, the East Turkestan Liberation Organization, the World Uyghur Youth Congress, and the East Turkistan Information Center. The Ministry further named eleven individuals as terrorists.

The World Uyghur Youth Congress and East Turkistan Information Center are both non-government organizations based in Germany which, according to Uyghur groups, mainly serve to report information. Chinese government sources say that The Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement has carried out over 200 terror operations since 1990, and allege the group has ties to al-Qaeda, though they have not produced evidence to support the claim. Chinese authorities have pressured other countries and multilateral organizations to ban the listed organizations as terrorist groups.

The "Three Evils"

The government of the People's Republic of China identifies terrorism as one of "Three Evils" which also include separatism and religious fundamentalism. These forces are seen by Beijing as inter-connected threats to social stability and national security. In particular, terrorism is viewed as a violent manifestation of ethnic separatism, and separatism is understood as a corollary of religious zealotry. Chien-peng Chung writes that the authorities' view of the three evils "means that the root causes of terrorism - religious freedom, cultural autonomy, living standards, and political rights of ethnic minorities - are not addressed directly or earnestly enough by the Chinese authorities." The unspoken source of ethnic strife "is the discriminatory practices in the execution of minority policies of the PRC government, even assuming the purest intent."

Chronology of major events

Following is a partial list of events that have been described as terror attacks or attempted terror attacks by non-state actors in the People's Republic of China. Due to variations in the definitions and applications of the term, the characterization of some events as terrorist attacks may be disputed. In many instances, reports of violence or terror attacks could not be confirmed independently. Foreign journalists have extremely limited access to Xinjiang, and are closely monitored if and when they gain permission to report in the region. As such, foreign reporting on incidents on Xinjiang necessarily relies on information released by the government of China or in the state-run press. In several instances, conflicting narratives of these have emerged from witnesses or from Uyghur groups overseas.

Date Location Main article Description
5 February 1992 Urumqi, Xinjiang 5 February 1992 Urumqi Bombings Two buses exploded in Urumqi, resulting in at least 3 deaths, and 23 injured. Unconfirmed reports indicated the attacks were perpetrated by the East Turkestan Islamic Party. PRC document say that other bombs were discovered and defused in a local cinema and a residential building.
13 January 1996 Lhasa, Tibet In 1996, there were a series of bombing incidents in Lhasa, capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Four major attacks were acknowledged, although unofficial sources reported more. The attacks generally targeted and successfully wounded people, while Tibetan bombs in 1995 targeted buildings, such as the obelisk on the Qinghai-Tibet highway. On 13 January, a Tibetan Buddhist monk exploded a homemade bomb at a shop owned by Han Chinese. Five days later on 18 January, the house of Sengchen Lobsang Gyaltsen, the head lama of the Panchen Lama's Tashilhunpo Monastery, was bombed. Gyaltsen had opposed the 14th Dalai Lama to ordain Gyaincain Norbu in the 11th Panchen Lama controversy. He was out of his house at the time of the explosion, but a person nearby was "seriously injured", according to the South China Morning Post. No group claimed responsibility for the bombings, but China blamed forces loyal to the Dalai Lama. On 18 March, a bomb exploded at the regional government and local Communist Party compound. The government temporarily shut down tourism in Tibet in response. China initially denied all of the blasts, but later attributed them to separatists. The final blast of the year was detonated by remote control at 1:30 am on Christmas day, in front of the central Lhasa municipal government offices. Five people were injured, including two night watchmen and three shopkeepers. The official Radio Tibet called the blast "an appalling act of terrorism", and the Chinese government offered a $120,000 reward for the perpetrator. Vice Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region Gyamco called on residents to "heighten our alertness and strengthen preventive measures".
27 February 1997 Urumqi, Xinjiang Urumqi bus bombs Bombs detonated on three buses in Urumqi, leaving nine dead and 68 seriously wounded. The Uyghur Liberation Party claims responsibility for the bombings.
5 January 2007 Pamirs Plateau, Xinjiang Xinjiang raid Chinese police raided a suspected East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) training camp in Akto County in the Pamirs plateau near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. A spokesperson for the Xinjiang Public Security Department said that 18 terror suspects were killed and 17 captured. The raid also resulted in the death of one Chinese police officer and the injury of another. The Public Security Bureau said they confiscated hand grenades, guns, and makeshift explosives from the site.
9 March 2008 Urumqi, Xinjiang On 9 March 2008, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that authorities had successfully foiled a terrorist attack on a commercial jet. The Souther China flight departed from Urumqi, and made an emergency landing in Lanzhou while en route to Beijing. Two individuals were reportedly taken into custody after flight crew discovered flammable material in the plane's toilet. Xinjiang Governor Nuer Baikeli told reporters that the perpetrators "attempted to create an air disaster," but authorities provided no further details.
4 August 2008 Kashgar, Xinjiang 2008 Kashgar attack Suspected ETIM militants reportedly drove a truck into a group of approximately 70 jogging policemen. According to official Chinese media accounts, they then got out of the truck wielding machetes, and lobbed grenades at the officers, killing 16 people. Three tourists in the vicinity provided a different account of the event, however, saying that the attackers appeared to be uniformed paramilitary police officers attacking other officers with machetes.
10 August 2008 Kuqa County, Xinjiang On 10 August, Muslim separatist suicide pipe bombers made a dozen coordinated attacks on police stations, government offices, and businesses in Kuqa, Xinjiang, killing 11 people. The attacks began at 2:30 am when five assailants drove taxis into the local public security and industry and commerce buildings. The Communist Party chief in Xinjiang called the attack a "terrorist act" and suspected ETIM responsible.
12 August 2008 Yamanya, Xinjiang Chinese state-run media reported that three security officers were killed in a stabbing incident in Yamanya, near Kashgar in Xinjiang. The official media did not specify what the attacker’s affiliations were.
19 August 2010 Aksu, Xinjiang 2010 Aksu bombing According to state-run media reports, six ethnic Uyghur men were involved in loading a vehicle with explosives and driving into a group of security officers at a highway intersection near Aksu, Xinjiang. Seven people, including two attackers, were killed, according to police spokespersons quoted by state-run media. In the wake of the attack, authorities in the region vowed to crack down “relentlessly” on criminal activity.
18 July 2011 Hotan, Xinjiang 2011 Hotan attack State-run media reported that 18 people died when 18 young Uyghur men stormed a police station in the city of Hotan. The men reportedly stabbed a security guard and two female hostages, and killed another security guard with a bomb. The attack ended when security officers shot and killed 14 of the attackers, according to official accounts. Chinese media initially referred to the attackers as rioters or thugs, though subsequent accounts called the event a terrorist attack. The Germany-based World Uyghur Congress provided a different accounts of event, saying that authorities provoked clashes by opening fire on Uyghurs participating in a non-violent protest against heavy-handed security crackdowns in the city. The Turkistan Islamic Party later claimed responsibility for the attack.
30 - 31 July 2011 Kashgar, Xinjiang At least 18 people died in an series of alleged terrorist attacks in the city of Kashgar. According to state-run media accounts, the violence began when two Uyghur men hijacked a truck, ran it into a crowded street, and started stabbing people, killing six. The attack ended when the assailants were overpowered by the crowd, which killed one attacker. On the second day, state-run media reported that a “group of armed terrorists” stormed a restaurant, killed the owner and a waiter, and set it ablaze. They then proceeded to indiscriminately kill four more civilians. Armed clashes then reportedly ensured, ending with police capturing or killing the attackers. The Turkistan Islamic Party later claimed responsibility for the attack. One of the suspects appeared in a TIP video training in Pakistan.

Counter-terrorism

Domestic counter-terrorism

International cooperation

The government of the People’s Republic of China has, particularly since 2001, engaged in cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral level to gain support for its efforts to combat terrorism and ethnic separatism.

Much of this cooperation involves the Central Asian states, which are home to large ethnic Uyghur populations. The government has periodically demanded that authorities in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan crack down on Uyghur secessionists, and that they extradite suspected terrorists and separatists to China. The Government of Kazakhstan has consistently extradited Uyghur terrorist suspects to China and in 2006 participated in a large-scale, joint counter-terrorism drill.

The Chinese and Kyrgyz governments increased security along their borders with each other and Tajikistan in January 2007 after Chinese government officials expressed concern that "international terrorists" were traveling through Xinjiang and Central Asia to carry out attacks. The warning followed a high-profile raid on a training camp in Akto County, Xinjiang run by suspected East Turkestan Islamic Movement members.

See also

References

  1. ^ Chung Chien-peng. "Confronting Terrorism and Other Evils in China: All Quiet on the Western Front?. In China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Volume 4 Issue 2, pp 75–87. Accessed 2 January 2010.
  2. ^ Gus Martin, "Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues," (Sage Publications: 2003), ISBN 978-0761926160.
  3. ^ Ogden, Suzanne. "Inoculation against Terrorism in China" in William J. Crotty ed. Democratic development and political terrorism: the global perspective. Northeaster, 2005.
  4. Williamson, Myra (2009). Terrorism, war and international law: the legality of the use of force against Afghanistan in 2001. Ashgate Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 9780754674030.
  5. Schmid, Alex P. (2011). "The Definition of Terrorism". The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 0-203-82873-9.
  6. Martha Crenshaw, “Terrorism in context,” (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995), ISBN-10: 0271010150.
  7. Williamson, Myra (2009). Terrorism, war and international law: the legality of the use of force against Afghanistan in 2001. Ashgate Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 9780754674030.
  8. ^ Kam V. Wong, “Police Practices in Global Perspective,” John Eterno ed., (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011).
  9. ^ Martin I. Wayne, “China’s war on terrorism: counter-insurgency, politics, and internal security,” (New York, NY: Routeledge, 2008), p 53.
  10. ^ BBC News, China draft bill defines terrorism amid 'real threat', 25 October 2011.
  11. Amnesty International, "People’s Republic Of China: Uighurs Fleeing Persecution As China Wages Its ‘War On Terror’", 7 July 2004.
  12. The Superpowers and International Terror Michael Stohl, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, Atlanta, March 27-April 1, 1984).
  13. Stohl, National Interests and State Terrorism, The Politics of Terrorism, Marcel Dekker 1988, p.275
  14. Chaliand, Gérard; Arnaud Blin (2007). The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda. University of California Press. p. 198. ISBN 9780520247093.
  15. Time magazine, “China:Reign of Terror”, 16 April 1951.
  16. ^ Jean-Louise Margolin, “China:A Long March Into Night,” in The Black Book of Communism (Harvard University Press, 2004), p 482.
  17. ^ Frank Dikötter, “Mao’s Great Famine: The History of China’s Most Devastating Catastrophe,” (New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company, 2010).
  18. ^ Roderick MacFarquhar and Mitch Schoenhals, “Mao’s Last Revolution”, (Harvard University Press, 2008).
  19. ^ University of Maryland Minorities at Risk Project, “Chronology for Turkmen in China”.
  20. ^ James Millward, "Violent Separatism in Xinjiang:A Critical Assessment", East-West Center, Foreign Studies 6, 2004.
  21. ^ University of Maryland Minorities at Risk Project, Assessment for Turkmen in China.
  22. ^ Ananth Krishnan, Concern as China mulls over anti-terror laws, The Hindu, 26 October 2011.
  23. "China identifies Eastern Turkistan terrorist organizations, terrorists". GlobalSecurity.org. 16 December 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2010. BEIJING, 15 Dec. (Xinhuanet) – China's Ministry of Public Security Monday issued a list of the first batch of identified "Eastern Turkistan" terrorist organizations and 11 members of the groups. This is the first time China issued a list of terrorist organizations and terrorists.
  24. ^ British Broadcasting Corporation, "China issues 'terrorist' list", 15 December 2003.
  25. ^ AFP, [Three dead as unrest flares in China's restive Xinjiang, 12 August 2008.
  26. See, for example, Nicholas Kristof, Terrorism and the Olympics, New York Times, 29 May 2008.
  27. ^ Edward Wong, "Doubt arises in account of an attack in China", New York Times, 29 September 2008.
  28. ^ "Tibetan Newspaper Sabotaged; Lama's House Bombed". TibetInfoNet. 28 January 1996. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  29. ^ "Bomb at Government Offices Wounds 5 in Tibetan Capital". The New York Times. 30 December 1996. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  30. ^ Hilton, Isabel (2001). The Search for the Panchen Lama. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 295.
  31. "Bomb Explodes outside Lhasa Party Headquarters". Tibet Information Network. 22 March 1996. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  32. Buckley, Michael (2006). Tibet. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 133.
  33. Poole, Teresa (30 December 1996). "Tibetan activists set off Lhasa bomb". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  34. ^ British Broadcasting Service, China 'anti-terror' raid kills 18, 8 January 2007.
  35. ^ Ben Blanchard, China foils attempted terror attack on flight, Reuters, 9 March 2008.
  36. Geoffrey York, Olympic terror plot foiled, Beijing says, The Globe and Mail, 10 March 2008.
  37. Report: China thwarts two terrorist attacks CNN
  38. Parry, Richard Lloyd (11 August 2008). "China's Uighur rebels switch to suicide bombs". The Sunday Times. UK. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  39. ^ Moore, Malcolm (10 August 2008). "China beefs up security in Kuqa after new terror attack". The Daily Telegraph. Urumqi. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  40. "Blasts, gunfire kill at least eight in China's far west (2nd roundup)". Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  41. David Barboza, Blast Kills 7 in Restive Chinese Region, New York Times, 19 August 2010.
  42. Reuters, China detains four over attack on Xinjiang police, 25 August 2010.
  43. ^ Olesen, Alexa (19 July 2011). Associated Press China says 14 extremists killed in Xinjiang attack http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015665074_apaschinaxinjiang.html China says 14 extremists killed in Xinjiang attack. Retrieved 29 July 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  44. The Economist, http://www.economist.com/node/21524940 “Let them shoot hoops”], 30 July 2011.
  45. ^ . BBC News. 8 September 2011 Islamic militant group 'behind Xinjiang attacks' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14834042 Islamic militant group 'behind Xinjiang attacks'. Retrieved 8 October 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  46. BBC, “China: Unrest in Kashgar, Xinjiang, leaves 15 dead”, 31 July 2011.
  47. Michael Wines, “Deadly Violence Strikes Chinese City Racked by Ethnic Tensions”, New York Times, 31 July 2011.
  48. Cheng, Yongsun; Yu, Xiaodong (2011). "The Bloody Weekend". News China: 23–25. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  49. Zenn, Jacob (2 September 2011). Kashgar: Asia Times Catch-22 of Xinjiang as a gateway http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/MI22Ad02.html Catch-22 of Xinjiang as a gateway. Retrieved 9 October 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  50. Graham Fuller and Jonathan Lipman, “Islam in Xinjiang,” in S. Frederick Starr Ed. Xinjiang: China’s Muslim Borderland (ME Sharpe, 2004).
  51. Kazakhstan exacerbates "religious threat" by maneuvering between Beijing and Washington Jamestown Foundation
  52. Kazakstan Joins China on Counter-Terror Exercise Uyghur American Association
  53. China: Border security tightened amid 'terrorist infiltration' warning RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

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