Scores killed in China protests

Scores killed in China protests

Violence in China's restive¹ （不安的，不稳定的）western region of Xinjiang has left at least 140 people dead and more than 800 people injured, state media say.

Several hundred people have also been arrested after the violence erupted （爆发）in the city of Urumqi on Sunday.

Xinhua news agency said police restored （恢复）order after demonstrators（示威者） attacked passers-by and set fire to vehicles.

The government has blamed separatist（分离主义者） Uighurs（维吾尔人的） based abroad for orchestrating attacks on majority ethnic² Han Chinese.

Uighur exiles（放逐） said police had fired indiscriminately（无差别） on a peaceful protest. An overnight curfew（宵禁） was imposed.

'Foreign plot'

Eyewitnesses³ said the violence started on Sunday with a few hundred people, and grew to more than 1,000.

Xinhua says the protesters carried knives, bricks and batons⁴, （指挥棒，接力棒）smashed cars and stores, and fought with security forces.

Uighur groups insisted a peaceful protest had become victim to state violence.

The Xinjiang government has blamed the latest unrest on businesswoman Rebiya Kadeer, the Uighurs' leader who is living in exile in the United States.

"An initial investigation⁵ showed the violence was masterminded（巧妙的策划） by the separatist World Uighur Congress led by Rebiya Kadeer," the government said in a statement, according to Xinhua.

It said the violence had been "instigated⁶ （教唆，煽动）and directed from abroad".

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in China says Xinjiang, a mainly Muslim area, has been a source of tension for many years.

Some of its Uighur population of about eight million, want to break away from China, and its majority Han Chinese population.

The authorities say police are securing order across the region and anyone disrupting order will be detained and punished. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

 

 

1 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

4 batons   

n.（警察武器）警棍( baton的名词复数 )；（乐队指挥用的）指挥棒；接力棒

参考例句：

• There were many riot policemen with batons. 有许多带警棍的防暴警察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chinese police fight? Number one is a person with batons to fight! 满街飘的中国国旗，是一个老华侨在事发时那出来分给大家的，很感动，真的，从来一向多一事不如少一事的中国人今天团结到一起站出来反抗。 来自互联网

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 instigated   

v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government has instigated a programme of economic reform. 政府已实施了经济改革方案。
• He instigated the revolt. 他策动了这次叛乱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》