URUMQI, China (Reuters) - The government in China's far western city of Urumqi ordered shops to close on Monday, sending new rumors through the city despite calls for calm after reported syringe attacks that inflamed ethnic tension.
Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang region, has been struggling to return to order after days of panic and protests over claims that Muslim Uighurs used syringes to attack residents, especially members of China's Han ethnic Chinese majority.
Five people were killed last week when thousands of protesters demanded the resignation of Xinjiang's veteran Communist Party chief. Nearly 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, died in July protests by Uighurs in Urumqi.
On Monday, a shopping mall manager said businesses in the city center had received an afternoon call from government offices abruptly ordering them to close by 6 pm. Streets emptied and buses were packed as shops shut and people scurried home.
No reason was given for the closure, but the order sparked a rash of new rumors of unrest. The city's new Party secretary, Zhu Hailun, called for stability and a new focus on improving prospects for poor residents.
"We must control the current situation. We absolutely cannot have a recurrence or spreading (of unrest)," Zhu said in remarks reported on Monday in national media.
"We will severely punish those responsible for the July 5 riots, investigate and try them quickly, to give the people an answer and satisfy them."
A crowd of Han Chinese gathered east of Urumqi's Uighur district in the afternoon, but troops kept them from beating up a Uighur after another reported needle stabbing, reporters said.
PUNISHMENT FOR RUMOURS
A notice from law-and-order authorities late on Sunday warned residents they faced possible jail terms for rumor-mongering.
"Those who deliberately concoct and spread false information about innocent members of the public being stabbed with needles" could be tried and sentenced to up to five years in jail, Xinhua news agency quoted the notice as saying.
Anyone convicted of injecting others with dangerous substances could face a long prison term or even the death penalty, it said.
The government has portrayed the alleged syringe attacks as a separatist plot by Uighurs, who call Xinjiang their homeland. Many Uighurs resent government controls on their religion and culture, as well as the growing presence of ethnic Han Chinese.
Officials gave no details on how the five deaths occurred last week in protests by Han Chinese demanding greater security.
Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang region, has been struggling to return to order after days of panic and protests over claims that Muslim Uighurs used syringes to attack residents, especially members of China's Han ethnic Chinese majority.
Five people were killed last week when thousands of protesters demanded the resignation of Xinjiang's veteran Communist Party chief. Nearly 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, died in July protests by Uighurs in Urumqi.
On Monday, a shopping mall manager said businesses in the city center had received an afternoon call from government offices abruptly ordering them to close by 6 pm. Streets emptied and buses were packed as shops shut and people scurried home.
No reason was given for the closure, but the order sparked a rash of new rumors of unrest. The city's new Party secretary, Zhu Hailun, called for stability and a new focus on improving prospects for poor residents.
"We must control the current situation. We absolutely cannot have a recurrence or spreading (of unrest)," Zhu said in remarks reported on Monday in national media.
"We will severely punish those responsible for the July 5 riots, investigate and try them quickly, to give the people an answer and satisfy them."
A crowd of Han Chinese gathered east of Urumqi's Uighur district in the afternoon, but troops kept them from beating up a Uighur after another reported needle stabbing, reporters said.
PUNISHMENT FOR RUMOURS
A notice from law-and-order authorities late on Sunday warned residents they faced possible jail terms for rumor-mongering.
"Those who deliberately concoct and spread false information about innocent members of the public being stabbed with needles" could be tried and sentenced to up to five years in jail, Xinhua news agency quoted the notice as saying.
Anyone convicted of injecting others with dangerous substances could face a long prison term or even the death penalty, it said.
The government has portrayed the alleged syringe attacks as a separatist plot by Uighurs, who call Xinjiang their homeland. Many Uighurs resent government controls on their religion and culture, as well as the growing presence of ethnic Han Chinese.
Officials gave no details on how the five deaths occurred last week in protests by Han Chinese demanding greater security.
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