Muslims continue protest against demolition of mosque in China

Agencies
August 11, 2018

Chinese state media has defended the planned demolition of a mosque in the country’s northwest, saying that no religion is bigger than the law even as thousands of ethnic Hui Muslims continued sit-in protests against the plan. Thousands of protesters thwarted attempts by officials in Wuzhong city on Thursday to demolish parts of the Weizhou Grand Mosque in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region for alleged violations during its recent renovation. The sit-in reportedly continued towards the weekend as the protesters stayed put in the mosque. They refused to leave and the appearance of large cooking stoves and large supplies of food and water last evening suggested many of them were in for the long haul, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

“The officials have not given us a clear answer. And we plan to carry on until the government makes it clear that it won’t make any changes to the mosque,” the Post quoted a protester as saying.

Chinese officials say the mosque authorities which carried out a renovation in 2015 made it look like a typical mosque from the Middle East and they want its “Arab style” domes to be replaced with Chinese style “pagodas”. This was deemed unacceptable by most members of the community.

“After taking down the domes, the mosque can no longer be an icon of Islam,” said a local man who declined to give his name. “Changing it to a traditional Chinese style is as incongruous as putting the mouth of a horse on the head of an ox,” he told the Post.

While there was no official reaction yet to the act of defiance by the Hui Muslim community, which unlike the Uygur Muslims from Xinjiang province, has a peaceful reputation, state media said no religion can be above the law.

“Chinese people enjoy religious freedom protected by the Constitution of China, the country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). No religion shall have the privilege over laws and regulations of the country,” an op-ed in state-run Global Times said today.

“All religious activities should abide by the country’s laws and all religions shall be treated equally,” it said, adding that “to effectively solve the issue, local authorities need to stick to the law and take local people’s feelings and interests into consideration,” it said.

Blaming local officials for allowing the construction, the report said “they need to admit their mistakes and inform the area’s Muslims why it is necessary to take corrective actions in regard to the illegality of the ungranted (unapproved) expansion”.

“When an issue such as this does arise, it is important for Chinese citizens to uphold the authority of the government’s laws and to achieve unity in society. They should also be vigilant against the intervention of foreign forces,” it said.

According to an official white paper released in April, China has about 20 million Muslims with Uygurs and Hui Muslims making up about 10 million each.

China is currently carrying out a massive crackdown against the militant East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in the volatile Xinjiang province where the majority Uyghurs are restive over increasing settlements of Han Chinese. Compared to Uygurs who are of Turkic origin with ethnic ties to Turkey, Hui Muslims are ethnically Chinese in origin. Most of them speak Mandarin, and apart from the white caps and headscarves worn by the more traditional members of the ethnic group, they are indistinguishable from the majority Han Chinese.

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ABDUL AZIZ SHE…
 - 
Sunday, 12 Aug 2018

ALLAHU AKBAR

 

HasbunAllahu wa nimal wakeel nimal maula nimal naseer

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News Network
May 29,2020

Washington, May 29: US President Donald Trump while speaking with reporters at the White House on Thursday said that he is more liked in India than the media in his own country --the United States.

"I know. And they like me in India. I think they like me in India certainly more than the media likes me in this country, " Trump told reporters at his Oval office.

"And I like Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi). I like your prime minister a lot. He's a great gentleman. A great gentleman," he added further while briefing the reporters.

But when asked over ties between India and China, the US President said, "They have a big conflict going with India and China. Two countries with 1.4 billion people. Two countries with very powerful militaries. And India is not happy, and probably China is not happy."

Reiterating his offer to mediate between India and China on the border issue, Trump said that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is not in "good mood" about the ongoing situation with Beijing.

However, informed sources from the Ministry of External Affairs told ANI on Friday that there has been no recent contact between Prime Minister Modi and the US President. The last conversation between them took place on April 4, 2020, on the subject of hydroxychloroquine.

Asked about his Wednesday's tweet regarding his offer to mediate between India and China, Trump said, "I would do that. If they (China and India) thought it would help." However, Trump did not clarify when did he speak to Modi.

Trump on Wednesday tweeted that he is "ready, willing and able to mediate" between India and China."We have informed both India and China that the United States is ready, willing and able to mediate or arbitrate their now raging border dispute," the US President said.

In response to Trump's mediation offer, India said on Thursday that it is engaged with the Chinese side to resolve the border issue peacefully.

India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the two sides have established mechanisms both at military and diplomatic levels to resolve situations that may arise in border areas peacefully through dialogue and "continue to remain engaged through these channels."

Indian and Chinese field commanders have been holding talks on de-escalating the tensions.

China has also struck a conciliatory tone on the border issue with India, saying the two countries pose no threat to each other and should resolve their differences through communication, while not allowing them to overshadow bilateral relations.

"We should never let differences overshadow our relations. We should resolve differences through communication. China and India should be good neighbours of harmonious coexistence and good partners to move forward hand in hand," said Chinese Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, on Wednesday.

The tensions escalated between India and China following a number of confrontations between soldiers of both armies.

Troops of India and China were engaged in two face-offs in Eastern Ladakh and North Sikkim along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC), where troops from both sides suffered injuries early this month.

Studies over the anti-malarial drug, which is believed to cure the highly contagious coronavirus, have shown side-effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation. But Trump continues to defend his decision to take hydroxychloroquine saying he believes that it gives an additional level of safety.

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Agencies
June 21,2020

New Delhi, June 21: Diesel prices rise to record high after 60 paise hike in rates, petrol up 35 paise; rates up by Rs 8.88 and Rs 7.97 in 15 days.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 79.23 per litre from Rs 78.88, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 78.27 a litre from Rs 77.67, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies. 

In Bengaluru, petrol will be costlier by 37 paise at Rs 81.81 per litre, while diesel will cost 57 paise more per litre at Rs 74.43.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

The 15th daily increase in rates since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs after ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision, has taken diesel prices to a new high. The petrol price too is at a two-year high.

Over 63 per cent of the retail selling price of diesel is taxes. Out of the total tax incidence of Rs 49.43 per litre, Rs 31.83 is by way of central excise and Rs 17.60 is VAT. 

Petrol in Mumbai costs Rs 86.04 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 76.69.

Prior to the current rally, the peak diesel rates had touched was on October 16, 2018 when prices had climbed to Rs 75.69 per litre in Delhi. The highest-ever petrol price was on October 4, 2018 when rates soared to Rs 84 a litre in Delhi.

When rates had peaked in October 2018, the government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each. State-owned oil companies were asked to absorb another Re 1 a litre to help cut retail rates by Rs 2.50 a litre.

Oil companies had quickly recouped the Re 1 and the government in July 2019 raised excise duty by Rs 2 a litre.

The government on March 14 hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each and then again on May 5 by a record Rs 10 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 13 on diesel. The two hikes gave the government Rs 2 lakh crore in additional tax revenues.

Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers, adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of a decline in international oil prices to two-decade lows.

International oil prices have since rebounded and oil firms are now adjusting retail rates in line with them.

In 15 days of hike, petrol price has gone up by Rs 7.97 per litre and diesel by Rs 8.88 a litre.

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News Network
July 27,2020

Tokyo, Jul 27: Gold hit an all-time high on Monday as tit-for-tat consulate closures in China and the United States rattled investors, boosting the allure of safe-haven assets, although sentiment was mixed with tech gains supporting some Asian stocks.

MSCI's ex-Japan Asia-Pacific index rose 1.3 percent as Taiwan's TSMC, Asia's third-largest company by market capitalisation, rose almost 10 percent.

The chipmaker's gains boosted other tech stocks in the region and came after rival Intel signalled it may give up manufacturing its own components due to delays in new 7-nanometer chip technology.

Also soothing sentiment, Chinese shares eked out gains after big falls late last week, with CSI300 index rising 0.5 percent.

S&P500 futures were last up 0.4 percent in choppy trade while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5 percent, resuming trade after a long weekend and catching up with falls in global shares late last week.

Global shares had lost steam last week after Washington ordered China's consulate in Houston to close, prompting Beijing to react in kind by closing the US consulate in Chengdu.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China last week, saying Washington and its allies must use "more creative and assertive ways" to press the Chinese Communist Party to change its ways.

"US President (Donald) Trump used to say China's President Xi Jinping is a great leader. But now Pompeo's wording is becoming so aggressive that markets are starting to worry about further escalation," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi Securities.

Gold rose 1.0 percent to a record high of $1,920.9 per ounce, surpassing a peak touched in September 2011, as Sino-US tensions boosted the allure of safe-haven assets, especially those not tied to any specific country.

The yellow metal is also helped by aggressive monetary easing adopted by many central banks around the world since the pandemic plunged the global economy into a recession.

Some investors fret such an unprecedented level of money-printing could eventually lead to inflation.

MORE STIMULUS

Hopes of a quick US economic recovery are fading as coronavirus infections showed few signs of slowing.

That means the economy could capitulate without fresh support from the government, with some of earlier steps such as enhanced jobless benefits due to expire this month.

Investors hope US Congress will agree on a deal before its summer recess but there are some sticking points including the size of the stimulus and enhanced unemployment benefits.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the package will contain extended unemployment benefits with 70 percent "wage replacement".

Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, want enhanced benefits of $600 per week to be extended and look to much bigger stimulus compared with the Republicans' $1 trillion plan.

Investors are looking to corporate earnings from around the world for hints on the pace of recovery in the global economy.

"It looks like rising coronavirus cases are starting to slow down recovery in many countries," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

Concerns about the US economic outlook started to weigh on the dollar, reversing its inverse correlation with the economic well-being over the past few months.

The dollar index dropped 0.3 percent to its lowest level in nearly two years.

The euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.1693, hitting a 22-month high of $1.16590 as sentiment on the common currency improved after European leaders reached a deal on a recovery fund in a major step towards more fiscal co-operation.

Against the yen, the dollar slipped 0.5 percent to 105.605 yen, a four-month low while the British pound hit a 4 1/2-month high of $1.2832.

Oil prices dipped on worries about the worsening Sino-US relations.

Brent futures fell 0.46 percent to $43.14 per barrel while US crude futures lost 0.44 percent to $41.11.

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