Kashgar, China, June 18 Kyodo - The Olympic torch relay passed through the mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang for a second day Wednesday, amid massive security.
Only spectators with permits were allowed to watch the event and people living along the route were told not to go out and to close their windows and curtains.
Security officials were deployed about every 5 metres as the torch was run through the streets. At least one man who tried to watch the relay without a permit was arrested by police.
Chinese security officials say they have broken up at least three terrorist plots organized by Muslim separatists in Xinjiang this year, although exiled Muslims from the region say the terrorist threat has been exaggerated to justify tighter security and Chinese government control.
The 6.5-kilometre relay in Kashgar began outside the main Id Kah Mosque in the centre of the city and ended at People’s Square.
Spectators waved Chinese flags and shouted slogans, including “Go China” and “Go Beijing.”
The front entrance to the Id Kah mosque, which attracts tens of thousands of worshippers a day, was closed and users were told to use side entrances.
The majority of people in Kashgar are Muslim Uighurs, who have their own distinctive language and culture.
The Xinjiang leg of the torch relay began Tuesday in the provincial capital Urumqi, which has a larger ethnic Chinese population, and ends Thursday in the cities of Shihezi and Changji.
The alleged terrorist plots uncovered this year in Xinjiang include a plan to bring down an airliner flying from Urumqi to Beijing and a conspiracy to kidnap athletes, journalists and other visitors attending the Olympic Games in the Chinese capital in August.
Beijing Olympics organizers confirmed Wednesday that the flame will be flown to Lhasa after the Xinjiang leg ends and a one-day torch relay will be held in the Tibetan regional capital Saturday.
Tibet is still closed to foreigners after the riots and anti- government protests that began in March.
The torch relay in Tibet was originally scheduled to last three days.
The Olympic torch has generally received a warm reception since it arrived in China in May after the international relay was disrupted by pro-Tibet activists, particularly in Europe and the United States.
But correspondents say the authorities appear nervous about the stages to be run through Xinjiang and ethnic-Tibetan areas.
The Olympic torch will pass through all of China’s provinces, regions and major cities before arriving in Beijing in August.
Tags: Kashgar City, Olympic Torch, Xinjiang
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