Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)

Liu Xiaobo for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

July 2009 

I was going to write a serious blog on 新疆, until I read this OpEd piece by Stephen Vines in the South China Morning Post.  He and I are of the same mind on this, except he's so much more eloquent than I am.  There's no need for me to add anything.  Here it is in its entirety.

This is from the SCMP, by Stephen Vines, a couple years ago, same title.  I couldn't have said it better.  My comments are in red.

This is an essay by Jim Hoagland of the Washington Post, as reprinted by the SCMP July 16, 2007.   To all citizens of the world who care about the wellbeing of the most populous nation in the world, this is right on target!

A leading al-Qaeda figure has urged Uygurs in Xinjiang to launch a holy war against "oppressive" China - the most serious threat yet against Beijing from the terrorist movement.

Abu Yahya al-Libi appeared in a video posted on an Islamist website yesterday to warn that China would collapse, just like the former Soviet Union did two decades ago.

"The state of atheism is heading to its fall. It will face what befell the Russian bear," he said, accusing China of massacring Uygurs and seeking to dissolve their identity.

"There is no way to remove injustice and oppression without a true return to the Uygur's religion and ... serious preparation for jihad in the path of God the Almighty and to carry weapons in the face of the Chinese invaders.

"It is a duty for Muslims today to stand by their wounded and oppressed brothers in East Turkestan ... and support them with all they can."

He also accused China of using "satanic ways" to oppress Muslims in the autonomous region and replacing them with other ethnicities while "looting their wealth and undermining their culture and religion".

Libi is considered the third most powerful figure in the movement, with key operational and inspirational roles.  His comments mark the first time core al-Qaeda leaders have shown a willingness to take their fight to China .

                                      October 8, 2009, South China Morning Post

This MSN, with the same American Gweilo friend of mine, took place during the closing ceremony of the Games.  In order to avoid confusion or misunderstanding, I added some Cantonese translation in parenthesis of some American colloquial expressions most HKers may not be familiar with.

I'll start with a couple of my past blogs.  This is an MSN correspondence between myself and a friend of mine in the US, last autumn, near the end of the Beijing Olympics.

This is part I of two parts.  Part II will be blogged in a few days.