1.  Death toll rose to 184, and money, blood donated for riot victims

July 12 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the riot in Urumqi rose to 184 as of 11 p.m. Friday, according to the information office of the regional government.

Among the dead, 137 were Han people, including 111 men and 26 women. 46 were Uygur people, including 45 men and 1 woman. A man of Hui nationality also died.  

An oil tank blasted in a chemical plant in Urumqi Sunday morning. The explosion occurred around 10 am in a refinery of the company of the China National Petroleum Corporation. No casualties were reported. The cause is being investigated.

The Xinjiang branch of China Charity Federation said Saturday it had received 2.03 million yuan (297,218 U.S. dollars) in donation from all walks of life for victims in the Urumqi riot.

A total of 1,315 people from 13 ethnic groups had come to the blood collection stations to donate 400,000 milliliters of blood as of 10 p.m. Friday. More than 1,000 other people have made appointments with blood collection centers to donate blood in the coming days.

2.  Vice premier says China's ethnic policies effective, calls for more support

July 11 (Xinhua) --China's policies toward ethnic minorities have effectively helped ethnic regions experience drastic development in the past six decades, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said.

Speaking at a recent conference on supporting small ethnic groups, Hui said the central government would stick to its regional ethnic autonomy system, and make stepped-up efforts to boost the comprehensive development in regions dominated by ethnic minorities.

Small ethnic groups refer to those with a population less than 100,000 in China. The country boasts 22 such ethnic groups out of a total of 56.

Hui said China has always focused on equality, unity, mutual aid and harmony in its ethnic policies, to achieve common prosperity for all ethnic groups. The country's ethnic policies have won support from its entire people, he said.

"History tells us unity comes with blessings, while disunity with woes," he said, urging that the current hard-won ethnic unity must be cherished.

He said the government would increase support for small ethnic groups in 2009 and 2010, by accelerating modernization of agricultural technologies in ethnic regions.

3.  Urumqi looks to the future with prayer

July 11 (China Daily) -- Mosques run by Uygur and Hui communities in the city's Liudaowan area were opened for the afternoon prayer, a bold move by imams that scotched rumors that the government had asked all the mosques to shut their doors to avoid more violence.

A municipal official of the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region said the authorities did not ask any mosque to close. Some imams did close a few mosques, but they did so voluntarily out of security concerns.

Memetimin Hudaberdi, deputy chief of the Islamic association of Shuimogou district, which runs the Uygur mosque in Liudaowan, told China Daily that more than 1,000 people, almost as many as on other Fridays, prayed in the mosque. "The imams believed things would be under control, that's why they decided to keep the mosques open," he said.

The Friday congregational prayer, jumu'ah in Arabic, was a critical test for the authorities in their relentless efforts to restore order in the city. Combined with a heavy security presence, the efforts have restored peace and order to a large extent. But some people still fear that it could take a long time before the city emerges out of the shadow of the gruesome riots.

4.  Cross-Straits forum presents proposal to promote cultural exchanges

July 12 (Xinhua) -- The fifth Cross-Straits Economic, Trade and Culture Forum closed here Sunday with Chinese mainland and Taiwan participants agreeing to promote cultural exchanges and educational cooperation across the Taiwan Straits.

The proposal called on cultural institutions on both sides to enhance conservation of cultural relics. The two sides could also use cultural resources to jointly create top brand names, foster cultural market and promote culture industries, as well as set up criteria to step up intellectual property rights protection, it said.

Interaction in the broadcast, film and television sector should also be deepened and more joint projects in film and TV should be encouraged, it suggested. Mainland and Taiwan media institutions should be allowed to setup resident bureaus on each other's side at an early date to deepen information exchange, it said.

The proposal also encouraged and supported intercollegiate communications and cooperation between mainland and Taiwan universities, such as student exchange programs and acknowledgement of credits.

Both sides could jointly develop technologies and products in the fields of energy conservation and new energy, it proposed.

 In the past two days, about 530 participants, 270 from Taiwan, discussed how to inherit and innovate the Chinese culture, promote cross-Straits cultural cooperation, and extend cross-Straits educational exchanges and collaboration.