China Executes Five Xinjiang Activists - HK Paper

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China has executed five members of an organization which seeks independence for the restive northwestern province of Xinjiang, Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily News said on Saturday.

Xinjiang People's High Court on Wednesday found 13 members of the organization guilty of committing a range of crimes including splitting the country, illegal dealing and transport of arms, murder and robbery, the newspaper said.

Speak your mind Discuss this story with other people. [Start a Conversation] (Requires Yahoo! Messenger)

Five of the convicts were executed immediately. Two of them were sentenced to life imprisonment and the remaining six received jail sentences ranging from 17 to 20 years.

Xinjiang is home to Turkish-speaking Uighur militants who have been struggling for decades to establish an independent East Turkestan in the region, which borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and three former Soviet Central Asian republics.

The region has been rocked by anti-Chinese riots, bombings and assassinations since 1996. The worst rioting left nine dead and more than 200 injured in Yining city on February 5, 1997.

Ming Pao said members of the Xinjiang independence organization had received military training outside the country and were responsible for the Yining riots.

Chinese officials were not available to comment on the report.

Full Coverage See a Yahoo! special report on China

Related News Stories · In Shanghai, Old Bicycles Never Die, They Just Rust Away - Los Angeles Times (Jun 17, 2000) · A country interred in sand - Sydney Morning Herald (Jun 16, 2000) · Beijing Residents Feel Heat Wave - AP (Jun 15, 2000) · China summer grain output to fall 11% on drought, policy - Dow Jones Newswires (Jun 14, 2000) · US official criticises line on Tibet - Sydney Morning Herald (Jun 14, 2000) More In Full Coverage

Related Web Sites · China: Moving slowly onto centre stage - interactive map of China's history under communism, RealAudio interviews with Tiananmen dissidents, news, analysis, and more. From Out There News. · China Internet Information Center - get news and read Chinese government white papers, including ones on human rights, Tibet, and arms controls and disarmament. · China: 10 Years After Tiananmen - interviews on Tiananmen Square with Chinese democracy activists. From Human Rights Watch. · China: The Awkward Superpower - analysis and news from Time.com. · Introduction to Falun Gong More In Full Coverage

Opinion & Editorials · Expelled From China - Washington Post (Jun 7, 2000) · Despite China Pact, Reform May Be a Slow Boat - Time Magazine (May 26, 2000) · Arms-Control Talks Had Better Make Room for Beijing - Business Week Daily (May 25, 2000)

Magazine Articles · China's Mod Squads - Asiaweek (Jun 16, 2000) · Falun Gong and the Internet - Online Journalism Review (Jun 15, 2000) · 'Robocop' to The Rescue - Newsweek (Jun 6, 2000)

Audio · China Gives Workers Week Off to Mark May Day - NPR (May 2, 2000) · Israeli Foreign Minister Ephraim Sneh on the arms deal with China - BBC (Apr 12, 2000) · State Dept. Says Lockheed Martin Gave Sensitive Tech to China - NPR (Apr 6, 2000) More In Full Coverage

Video · Thousands of Falun Gong have been arrested - BBC (Oct 30, 1999) · Tensions mount between Chinese authorities and Falun Gong - CNN (Oct 29, 1999) · China arrests defiant Falun Gong members - CNN (Oct 29, 1999)

Message Boards · Zhaodaola Internet

Related Full Coverage · China - Taiwan Relations · China Economy · China-US Relations · Hong Kong News · Macau Handover

Yahoo! Categories · China · Chinese Government · Falun Gong More In Full Coverage