Sky News, 15 May 2014 

Three Han officials were murdered and their bodies dumped in a lake during a visit by China’s President to the Xinjiang region last month, it has emerged.

Two had their throats cut while the third was stabbed 31 times, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA).

It happened on April 27 at the start of President Xi Jinping’s four-day tour of the region.

US-funded RSA says it was informed of the murders by local officials and police who had previously kept them secret.

The three victims were among a party of four men who had gone fishing on Lake Kokkolyar.

When the fourth man could not find his companions he became worried and contacted police.

They launched a search that led to the discovery of the three bodies, Enver Tursun, deputy chief of the police station in Janggilieski, told RFA.

A map showing the location of the Turpan Oasis in Xinjiang
He said the three victims were aged between 38 and 45. One was head of a bank while the other two worked in the telecommunication department.

All three had been transferred to Xinjiang two years ago. The fourth official was a director of a state-owned company.

The far western region is periodically hit by unrest, which Chinese authorities blame on separatists from the area.

Rights groups say tensions are driven mainly by cultural oppression, intrusive security measures and immigration by Han, China’s ethnic majority.

President Xi was in Kashgar on the day of the killings, visiting armed police units.

On the last day of his trip, men armed with explosives and knives attacked a rail station in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi, leaving three dead and 79 wounded.

http://news.sky.com/story/1262156/chinese-officials-killed-during-presidents-visit