URUMQI, China, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Tensions in Urumqi, China, have reached into the Communist party hierarchy, with public demand for the resignation of the region's party chief.
Wang Lequan, party chief of the far western Xinjiang-Uighur region for 15 years, has come under attack from the ethnic Han majority in Urumqi, thousands of whom took to the streets to protest a series of syringe stabbings, The Washington Post reported.
Wang had previously been accused of poor response to the July 5 ethnic riots between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese in which 197 people died.
The outcry against Wang comes as China prepares for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. The government expects Wang to ensure the Xinjiang ethnic discontent does not upset the country's political stability, the Post reported.
The report said Wang and Chinese President Hu Jintao remain allies. Wang is also a member of the powerful Politiburo.
Analysts told the Post it would be virtually impossible to oust Wang from the party leadership. But the government also needs to reassure Urumqi's Han residents.
The government has already fired the city's party secretary and the regional police chief. Chinese authorities have said those found guilty of using harmful substances in the needle attacks would face severe penalty including death.
Despite these measures, the Post said some Hans don't seem reconciled.
"Wang Lequan has to go," a guest at a family wedding was quoted as saying, adding he doesn't "believe a word Wang Lequan says."
