On October 9 two Chinese engineers were kidnapped in South
Waziristan, a region of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan. During a
rescue attempt by the Pakistani government one hostage was rescued
but the other was killed. During this year, several attacks
targeting Chinese workers have taken place in Pakistan. The
Pakistan correspondent of the People's Daily compiled an
investigative report on their safety.
Vulnerable targets
On May 3 a group of Pakistanis used a remote-controlled car bomb
to attack Chinese engineers at Gwadar Seaport in southwestern
Pakistan, killing three and injuring nine. At the end of July, a
Chinese run club in Islamabad was bombed, causing many to be
injured. The reason for the bombing has still not been
established.
After the two engineers were kidnapped, China National Water
Resources and Hydropower Engineering Group Corp (Sinohydro), whom
the hostages worked for, suspended its dam project and withdrew all
of its Chinese staff to a site outside the tribal area. Sinohydro
has since arranged for their return to China. Pakistani security
forces and police have strengthened 24-hour protection for other
Chinese contractors.
Overseas Chinese in South Asia comprise five major groups:
embassy and consulate staff, resident correspondents and
representatives of large enterprises; engineers, technicians and
workers for Chinese aided or contracted construction projects;
local overseas Chinese; businesspeople from privately or
individually owned firms; and volunteers working for international
agencies. Generally, the latter two groups are in a minority and
difficult to count.
There are about 500 Chinese in Afghanistan. Chinese aided and
contracted projects include a dam repair in northern Kabul,
construction of a hospital and two schools in central Kabul and a
road building project in the northern province of Kunduz, where
eleven Chinese workers were killed on June 10.
More than 5,000 Chinese work and study in Pakistan. Besides
diplomatic staff, most of them work for construction projects like
Gwadar Seaport and the dam in Waziristan. Taking local overseas
Chinese into account (including those with Pakistani nationality)
there are about 10,000-15,000 Chinese in the country.
Two threats
One threat to Chinese workers is from conflicts within Pakistan.
The Gwadar Seaport attack and the hostage incident are typical
examples. They were not aimed at China directly, but used Sino-Pak
relations to try to force the Pakistani government to accept their
conditions.
The other threat is from East Turkistan forces. Around China's
National Day Holiday (October 1-7), AFP reported that East
Turkistan forces had established a military base in Pakistan and
intended to attack Chinese diplomatic institutions in South Asia. A
major figurehead of East Turkistan forces was shot dead in Pakistan
last year, whilst a Sino-Pak joint anti-terror military exercise
held this August showed that they are still active there.
Many construction projects with Chinese aid or contracted by
Chinese companies are in remote areas and are easily targeted by
terrorists. However, security can be increased with centralized and
blocked working and living sites as well as the protection of local
police and military forces. Attacks have usually happened when
Chinese workers are in transit, so how to protect them then has
become the most important challenge.
Greater security urged
With the boom of Chinese invested and aided projects, conflicts
between Chinese enterprises and local economic interests may
increasingly result in violence.
China has been a target of terrorism for a long time. On one
hand, China needs to cooperate with the international community to
fight terrorism by sticking to its "walk out" strategy. On the
other hand, practical and effective measures are needed to reduce
the threat to overseas Chinese:
First, Chinese aid construction companies should raise awareness
of safety issues by allocating more money for security budgets when
bidding for overseas projects and working out emergency response
strategies.
Second, Chinese companies should work with local governments and
police forces to step up protection, such as asking for patrols and
strengthening communications with local forces and authorities.
Third, Chinese companies should promote the wealth-bringing
aspects of projects to local populations.
Fourth, when attacks take place, local forces should be urged to
make all-round investigations, with help of Chinese forces if
needed, and to punish the criminals without mercy as a warning to
others. Both sides should negotiate for compensation according to
international conventions and Chinese actual loss.
Chinese in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore have drawn lessons from
recent incidents. They have employed 24-hour security, strengthened
walls and gates, set up electronic monitoring systems and have
started to avoid going outside at night. Some even lowered flags,
took down ornaments that could identify them and changed their
license plate to a local number.
The Chinese Embassy to Pakistan reminds those in Pakistan to
contact them and ask for help if they face any difficulties.
(China.org.cn by Li Shen, November 8, 2004)