Bingtuan 106, is in the middle of the long blue area to the south of the Tarim Basin on this map of the bingtuan. Otherwise known as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the bingtuan was set up in 1954 to secure China’s borders, and continuing access to the abundant natural resources in the area. Administratively, it is a law pretty much unto itself, answering only to Beijing, and having very little truck with regional officials who administer the civilian areas, which are home to millions of ethnic minority, Muslim, Uyghurs.
In this report by RFA’s Mandarin service (Chinese), retired bingtuan worker and petitioner Liu Xingyuan says 106 Bingtuan leader Luo Yucheng misdirected funds he said were to build a new highway. Liu, 80, has been writing letters of complaint since 1998, and has received threats and harassment from local authorities following a directive from China’s cabinet, the State Council, to sort out the issue as quickly as possible.
