Luobot Posted July 21, 2008 at 08:18 AM Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 at 08:18 AM I just read that a bus in Kunming exploded followed by another one about an hour later resulting in several deaths. Hardly the work of a group like Al-Qaeda toppling the Twin Towers, but the deliberate random killing of anyone who can be killed as they go about their daily life, whether the cause be political, economic, or otherwise, is the unmistakable and unacceptable ugly mark of terrorism. Hopefully, this isn’t a harbinger of worse to come in the weeks leading up to and into the Olympics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 21, 2008 at 08:32 AM Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 at 08:32 AM Xinhua is saying that it looks like a deliberate act (人为破坏案件) and that they're stepping up security at transportation hubs, etc. Any members live in Kunming and look like a Uighur? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renzhe Posted July 21, 2008 at 10:17 AM Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 at 10:17 AM Is there anything that HASN'T happened in this lead-up to the Olympics? The only thing missing is the Three Gorges Dam bursting (knock on wood, hope I don't jinx it). My condolences to the victims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xuechengfeng Posted July 21, 2008 at 06:17 PM Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 at 06:17 PM Looks they are trying to link it to the police firing into the crowd of farmers demonstrating, when a couple were killed. If that's the case, I don't quite understand. . . why would the farmers retaliate by bombing a public bus with innocent civilians and not a police station or government building? Something doesn't quite sound right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 21, 2008 at 06:23 PM Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 at 06:23 PM Where are you seeing that? They might just be very angry and quite stupid - people who go around blowing up anything probably aren't thinking it through very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xuechengfeng Posted July 21, 2008 at 06:47 PM Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 at 06:47 PM I've read a couple of articles that mention the previous protests, indicating a possible link. There is the possibility that they didn't think it through, but I don't know if I would buy that. If they were intelligent enough to concoct explosives that could blow these buses apart, you would think they would realize that a police or government building would be a "better" target. http://shanghaiist.com/2008/07/21/kunming_bus_blasts_manmade_delibera.php http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aXlRQFJCrEHY&pid=20601080 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlaing Posted July 22, 2008 at 12:07 AM Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 at 12:07 AM The Nytimes.com has the chinese government placing blame on Uigher separatists, though it could be just due to 2 farmers being shot during a violent protest of 500 farmers with knives where 41 police were injured. I think this could be weng'an related issues of local protests more than olympic terrorism. What do you think? have fun, Simon:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 22, 2008 at 12:20 AM Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 at 12:20 AM The Nytimes.com has the chinese government placing blame on Uigher separatists No it doesn't. The article doesn't link them with this incident at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gato Posted July 22, 2008 at 12:38 AM Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 at 12:38 AM No it doesn't. The article doesn't link them with this incident at all. It does. The Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement is a Uighur separatist group. The Uighur language is very close to Turkish. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/world/asia/22china.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Chinese officials have singled out the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement and say they destroyed 41 training bases and arrested 82 people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy_Rising Posted July 22, 2008 at 12:51 AM Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 at 12:51 AM It does. The Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement is a Uighur separatist group. The Uighur language is very close to Turkish.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/wo...=1&oref=slogin Chinese officials have singled out the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement and say they destroyed 41 training bases and arrested 82 people. No, it doesn't. Read the article closely. It's a deceptively written article that implies a connection but doesn't state it. The first half is about the bus bombing. Then it says: Beyond the escalating internal disturbances, the authorities are warning that foreign terrorist groups may be plotting to disrupt the Olympics. Chinese officials have singled out the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement and say they destroyed 41 training bases and arrested 82 people. Note here that it doesn't say that ETIM was responsible for it. If you see the sentence before you can understand that the Chinese officials have sinngled out ETIM as a "foreign terrorist group" that "may be plotting to disrupt the Olympics." Not as the parties responsible for the completely unrelated (for now) Kunming bombing. They're putting two unrelated pieces of information in the same article. But as has already been demonstrated people will already make the connection even if it's not there. Poor journalism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 22, 2008 at 01:07 AM Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 at 01:07 AM I wouldn't even have said it was deceptively written - description of the incident, reference to unrest in Guizhou and Yunnan, and then there's a signaled change of direction with "Beyond the escalating internal disturbances, the authorities are warning that foreign terrorist groups . . . " I want to know where our Kunming contingent is . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajax Posted July 22, 2008 at 01:34 AM Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 at 01:34 AM I'm in Kunming. Probably like most foreigners here, I was still in bed at 7 am. Woke up to a text message saying not to take the bus. It shouldn't surprise me, but the thing that always creeps me out when anything happens here is the rumor mill. At first I heard there were 2 bombs, then 3 bombs, then 4+, and then finally at least 6 and gangs of terrorists roaming the streets. Of course the buses didn't appear to stop running at all and were packed as usual. The traffic radio station (91.8 ) had live coverage of this all day. Didn't see anything flipping through the tv channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.stinky Posted July 25, 2008 at 02:18 PM Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 at 02:18 PM just arrived back in kunming today, was in guangxi renting an apartment. no apparent changes in behavior observed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted July 26, 2008 at 01:04 AM Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 at 01:04 AM This report is from RTHK -> 疆 獨 組 織 承 認 在 昆 明 炸 毀 巴 士 美 國 一 個 監 察 恐 怖 活 動 的 機 構 說 ， 一 個 自 稱 東 突 疆 獨 組 織 發 放 錄 影 帶 ， 承 認 日 前 在 昆 明 發 動 襲 擊 三 輛 巴 士 ， 五 月 上 海 的 巴 士 爆 炸 ， 以 及 本 月 中 廣 州 的 塑 膠 廠 爆 炸 ， 都 是 他 們 策 動 。 這 個 東 突 組 織 提 出 警 告 ， 他 們 的 目 標 是 同 北 京 奧 運 關 係 最 大 的 地 點 。 組 織 發 言 人 呼 籲 準 備 出 席 奧 運 的 觀 眾 ， 尤 其 是 穆 斯 林 ， 應 該 改 變 計 劃 。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajax Posted July 26, 2008 at 07:22 AM Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 at 07:22 AM This is being reported by the mainland and Western media as well: http://news.ifeng.com/mainland/200807/0726_17_676733.shtml http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7526643.stm "Our Blessed Jihad in Yunnan" Creepy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wushijiao Posted July 26, 2008 at 07:45 AM Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 at 07:45 AM It does make one wonder whether or not all the recent security measures that seem paranoid and extreme are in fact justified based on solid (internal) reports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 26, 2008 at 08:22 AM Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 at 08:22 AM Yahoo has them claiming four separate incidents. I think they're just reading newspapers and seeing what they can claim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.stinky Posted July 28, 2008 at 03:04 PM Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 at 03:04 PM just received a text message from a friend saying there has been another bomb on one of kunming's busses. have only found this bit so far: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/28/china1?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront "...A police officer contacted by the Guardian said the accounts were only rumours but witnesses described a blast shortly after 9pm local time...." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 28, 2008 at 04:41 PM Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 at 04:41 PM A tyre burst. Not sure what it says about modern news that a burst tyre in Kunming is headline news in the UK so quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianlondon Posted July 28, 2008 at 05:43 PM Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 at 05:43 PM The West seems to have gone China mad. Living in Germany and not speaking German, I very rarely watch TV, but when I do I can cope with around 5 minutes each of CNN and BBC World. CNN especially appears to go "oh lookie! Pollution in Beijing! The athletes will all die!" every 60 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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