Published by: THE WORLD UYGHUR NETWORK NEWS, June 11, 1997

Hong Kong Hongkong Standard, 06/02/97

By Fong Tak-ho

Beijing has ordered a nationwide crackdown against ethnic minorities in

a bid to prevent violent attacks by Xinjiang secessionists during the

handover period. Under the crackdown ethnic minorities throughout the

country, especially those living in Guangdong, were to be repatriated

to their rural hometowns, Chinese sources said.

It is understood the campaign will be conducted under the guise of a

drive against the spread of illegal migrants. According to the central

administration's policy, all residents without a resident's licence,

work permit or valid identity card are regarded as illegal residents.

Most migrants from Xinjiang living in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and

Shenzhen fall foul of these requirements, sources say. The crackdown

came after secessionists in the restive Xinjiang province vowed to

exact revenge for the deaths of their comrades in February riots and

subsequent executions.

A series of bomb blasts rocked Beijing and the Xinjiang capital of

Urumqi in February, leaving at least nine dead and dozens injured.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin has laid down four priorities for

security arrangements during the handover.

Officials should look to ensure smoothness, stability, the safety of

state leaders and an incident-free period, according to sources. To

ensure a peaceful transition, all major leaders in the relevant central

ministries and regional governments are working round-the-clock to

prepare thorough security arrangements.

A hotline between departments in all major cities has been set up to

ensure speedy communication in case of emergency. A Communist Party

official in Xinjiang said security forces were preparing for

secessionist attacks during the handover. He said all officials in the

region had cancelled holidays over the handover period.

It is understood that security operations in southern border areas have

also been pushed up a gear to stave off possible attacks. All military

forces and police have cancelled leave until the handover celebrations

are over.