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Urumqi protesters confront police over syringe attacks

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-04 22:14

Residents Uncertain of Future

"I bought a lot of food today. Who knows what will happen next, " said Luo Huanzhang, from the Guangming Road area.

The roadside outdoor agricultural produce market was crowded and many people said they intended to stock up, Luo said. Residents were also keeping their forays into public places short.

Related readings:  Police chief visits Urumqi to defuse unrest  Urumqi still uneasy after needle stabbings  Calm restored in Urumqi following syringe protests  51 to be prosecuted in wake of Urumqi riot  Post-riot counseling offered to Urumqi students

"I don't know whether I should go to work," said an employee with the Xinjiang branch of China Life Insurance (Group) Company, who only offered his surname Tang.

Traffic controls imposed at 9 pm Thursday banned vehicles on major roads in downtown areas such as Youhao Road, Guangming Road and Renmin Square.

Bedding seller Chen, 28, said she closed her shop on Wednesday as protests against the needle attacks flared.

"People have been so upset and unnerved recently. Doing business was almost impossible," said Chen.

"My friends keep asking me to return to my hometown and I'm still thinking about it," said Chen, who has lived in the city for 26 years since arriving with her parents from Chongqing, in southwest China.

"My career is rooted here, I don't want to leave," said Zhang Shiying, who runs a construction materials shop in the city's northern area.

Zhang, a native of Beijing, opened his business in Urumqi 14 years ago.

Alip Toglak's restaurant on the Jianshexi Road has had no customers for the last two days.

"This region is safe. Please come to eat in my restaurant," the 50-year-old Uygur man pleaded with passersby.

"I will not shut down the restaurant.

"I hope life will return to normal soon," he said.

The Experimental Primary School of Urumqi, a first-class school in the city's south with more than 1,000 students, was closed Friday, and it was unclear whether it would resume classes on Monday, said Ding Lan, an 11-year-old student.

The management authority of the Appendant School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Xinjiang branch, in northern Urumqi, required parents to pick up their children on Thursday, said Xi Rui, a teacher with the school, which has 1,000 primary and middle school students.

She said the school had received an order on Friday to suspend classes until further notice.

A reporter with the Xinjiang Economic Daily said staff of the Xinjiang Administration of Education had ordered the closure of schools on Friday, and it was unclear when they would reopen.

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