Chinese police ‘used tear gas’ to free 54 children from illegal preachers

Police in China’s far western region of Xinjiang rescued 54 children from illegal preachers, state media said yesterday, in what an exiled rights group said was a violent raid on a school teaching the Koran.

China’s official Xinhua news agency said 12 children received burns when “the suspects ignited a flammable device to resist capture” in the remote southern Xinjiang city of Hotan.

“Acting on tips from residents, police raided an illegal religious preaching venue, where the children were held,” according to an unidentified spokesman.

Xinjiang is home to the mainly Muslim Turkic-speaking Uyghur people, many of whom chafe at Chinese government controls on their culture and religion.

A German-based Uyghur exile group, the World Uyghur Congress, said police had used tear gas in the attack. Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the Congress, said: “Both sides were involved in a clash and then authorities used tear gas causing injuries on both sides. The aim was to eradicate religious belief.”

He said police had arrested 47 people, including 11 women, following the raid, accusing them of owning illegal publications and disturbing social stability.

Hotan has seen numerous violent incidents over the past few years.

The government, wary of instability and the threat to the Communist Party’s grip on power, often blames what it calls violent separatist groups and religious extremists for attacks on police or government targets.