China warns rioters of death penalty

In an escalating campaign to stamp out ethnic violence, Chinese forces on Wednesday saturated the western city of Urumqi, helicopters dropped leaflets urging calm and the local Communist Party boss warned of the death penalty for rioters convicted of killings.

By Los Angeles Times

URUMQI, China — In an escalating campaign to stamp out ethnic violence, Chinese forces on Wednesday saturated the western city of Urumqi, helicopters dropped leaflets urging calm and the local Communist Party boss warned of the death penalty for rioters convicted of killings.

"We're determined to maintain social stability," Urumqi's party chief, Li Zhi, said at a news conference. "To those who committed crimes with cruel means, we will execute them."

Despite the massive show of force, Han Chinese and the Turkic minority Uighurs continued to fight in the city streets.

Since Sunday, violence virtually has paralyzed Urumqi, and authorities fear it could spread to other parts of the Xinjiang region.

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Comments (5)

And if you get a few innocent bystanders mixed in, I guess those are just the eggs you have to break? Posted on July 9, 2009 at 9:28 AM by Mike Garrison. Jump to comment

And unlike the weak United States judicial system that spends millions on convicted killers, China will follow through with its warning and only... Posted on July 9, 2009 at 8:12 AM by radrevmark. Jump to comment

radrevmark - "And unlike the weak United States judicial system that spends millions on convicted killers, China will follow through with its... Posted on July 12, 2009 at 6:46 PM by VeteranforObama. Jump to comment

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