Xinjiang official stresses fighting separatism, says 198 sentenced for deadly riot

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of Xinjiang stressed here Sunday the fight against separatism as he announced 198 people have been sentenced in connection with a deadly riot in the remote northwestern Chinese region last July.

Those people were tried in 97 separate cases and the final figure of the people sentenced will likely be higher, because the investigations, prosecution and trials are still going on, the regional government chairman, Nur Berkri, said.

"China is a socialist country ruled by law, and the dignity of law allows no violation and the interests of people cannot be encroached upon," he told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature.

"Any criminal activity that undermines social order and damages people's life and property will be punished by law," he said.

"That is a basic value universally recognized by international communities, and also a social responsibility that a responsible government must undertake."

Local authorities earlier said the riot in the Xinjiang regional capital of Urumqi on July 5, 2009 left 197 people dead and more than 1,700 injured.

"The figures have not changed by now," Nur Berkri said.

The July 5 riot demonstrated that the fight against separatism in Xinjiang will be a long-term, complicated and acute task, he said.

He said a few secessionists are reluctant to see the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang to live a happy life with the leadership of the Communist Party of China and in the big family of the motherland, and they do everything possible to sabotage ethnic relations, distort Xinjiang's history, and advocate separation.

"They're reluctant to accept failure after the July 5 riot. We believe they will become more violent and will launch new attacks," he said.

"But no matter what methods they use, they are doomed to failure," he said.

Nur Berkri also told reporters that it will not "take long" for people in Xinjiang to have a full access to Internet that was cut after the riot.

So far, Xinjiang Internet users had access to all commercial websites and 31 popular portal websites, such as Xinhuanet.com and Sohu.com, he said.

WEALTH GAP NOT ETHNIC ISSUE

The imbalance of living standards in Xinjiang is a regional issue, rather than an ethnic one, Nur Berkri said at the press conference.