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 | East Turkestan is a Moslem region within Central Asia with a long tradition as an independent territory. It enjoyed sovereign status for three years until brutal Chinese annexation in 1948/9, since when it has been referred to by red-China as 'Xinjiang'. Despite the ecological catastrophe which has devastated Moslem East Turkestan, and poisoned forever its land and Uighur population, environmentalists have remained largely silent. Unlike Amnesty International, who have devoted some coverage to nuclear pollution in the region, groups such as Greenpeace have virtually ignored the issue and, apart from a token protest in Beijing in 1995, have appeared acutely senstitive towards the sensibilities of communist China. According to an AFP report (dated March 1st 2005) Greenpeace even claimed China could become a major global player in sustainable development, Yu Jie, Greenpeace energy policy advisor in Beijing, stated China had the potential to "be a world leader in renewable energy development,". Such praise as China continues to environmentally poison the Uyghur people and treat East Turkestan as a toxic dumping ground! Meanwhile, Greeneace -China has employed, Ms. May Zhou as its Senior Media Officer who was formerly with China's Communist propaganda machine, Xinhua. One can only presume she has developed a independent and critical outlook, one able to challenge the considerable environmental issues resulting from the policies of her former Communist employers. That said don't hold your breath! It seems both Ms Zhou and Greenpeace are keeping their distance from the selfless and courageous environmental activist, Mr. Sun Xiaodi, a former worker at a uranium mine near Tibet's eastern border. Arrested and detained by the Communist authorities on 6th April 2006, he has disclosed alarming reports of the dumping of uranium waste into the River Yangtse, with appalling consequences for the local environment and health of local people. Strangely his case does not feature on the website of Grenpeace-China. The flagship environmental group has no active campaigns to highlight the plight of East Turkestan, while Greenpeace-China is reported to have a "working-relationship" with the communist regime, upon which it seems to rely for its environmental information. Greenpeace-UK has consistently refused to campaign on the environmental issues in East Turkestan and the role of Exxon. Repeated appeals have been ignored, while its 'Stop-Esso-Campaign' insisted it would not take-up the matter.It seems that the bureaucrats of Greenpeace value their cordial relations with their counterparts in communist China, and the deformed Moslem children of Eastern Turkestan have nothing to thank them for. . |
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 | Between 1964 and 1995 red-China carried out 42 atmospheric and underground nuclear tests in East Turkestan. According to the International Physicians for the Prevention of War among other radio-active elements some 48 kilograms of Plutonium-239 has been released, according to medical opinion just one-millionth of a gram of this material can cause cancer! Shrouded in secrecy, communist China's programme has resulted in fallout being recorded as far away as Japan and the United States! | ||
 | According to Uighur sources one in ten of the population are suffering from various forms of cancer, with oesophagus cancer being 8 times higher than in communist China and a reported 70 percent incidence of vaginal cancers. As with premature births congenital defects resulting from radiation exposure are common among children, as evidenced by the 1996 UK television documentary 'Death on the Silk Road'. With some 85,000 people living within close proximity of the nuclear test site the Chinese newspaper, Mingbao, released a 1988 report documenting a figure of 20, 000 children suffering from deformaties. |
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 | Environmental concerns also surround the disposal of radioactive waste in East Turkestan with contamination of water, soils and vegetation. The region is used a nuclear dump with red-China exporting toxic wastes from its nuclear plants (such as Daya Bay, pictured left). Industrial and military nuclear waste is stored at dangerously basic concrete bunkers, either at near surface level or above ground. According to Pan Ziqiang, former Director of Safety for red-China's nuclear industry these are 'safe' for only about 10 years! Ground movement, weathering, seepage and leeching results in high-level contamination of local/regional drinking waters. Chinese industry transports waste to the region with 43 percent of polluting companies in East Turkestan failing to meet environmental-protection standards (China Daily September 25, 2000) |
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 | A third of communist China's coal resources and a quarter of oil reserves lie in the region making it a vital source for red-China's fuel requirements (it is estimated that in the near future East Turkestan will be red-China's second major center of oil production and premier supplier of gas). Little wonder the region is being exploited under a plan to develop the so-called 'western provinces of China'. The plan involve s construction of transport infrastructure, telecommunicartions agriculture and industrial refurbishment bringing with it fresh waves of Han- Chinese migration, stronger links with the Chinese interior and a dilution of Uighur identity. Apart from its damaging social and political impact unfettered oil and gas production, often with obsolete technology, has major ecological consequences
Investors and Western oil and gas companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon-Mobil and BP have poured money into red-China's oil industry (by April of 2000 alone Petro-China collected $3 billion and in August that year Sinopec received $3.4 billion). Such companies have been eager to comply with communist China's dictates and said nothing of the ecological damage in East Turkestan or the plight of its people. Their reward has been highly lucrative exploration and production contracts in East Turkestan, including Shell's award for construction of a 4000 km gas pipeline from the region to Shanghai.
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