It cited him as saying that, without evidence to justify the claims, it should not be described as an action or a terrorist incident by Uighurs. However, he added that extreme methods by Uighurs could not be ruled out.
Other newspapers across China carried news of Monday’s crash low down on their front pages and in contrast to the Global Times used brief reports from state media – highlighting official efforts to control discussion of the event.
Chinese media outlets are known to receive instructions from the government directing their reporting of events deemed threatening by the ruling Communist party, which in recent months has moved to tighten controls over all forms of media.
The Beijing News, generally an outspoken paper, gave priority to a protest by doctors in eastern China. Like other newspapers, it did not run a report of the Tiananmen event by its own journalists, and republished an account from the official news agency Xinhua.
The state media reports, carried by all major newspaper and news websites, stressed official rescue efforts and did not contain information about whether the incident was deliberate.
Chinese social media sites, which are closely controlled albeit less strictly than print media, were an early source of pictures of the crash and speculation that it was an act of protest, but eyewitness accounts were rapidly removed.
The reports and witnesses said the SUV drove along the pavement outside the Forbidden City on the north side of the square before crashing into the crowd.
Images posted on Chinese social media sites showed the blazing shell of the car and tall plumes of black smoke.
China’s most popular Twitter-like service, Sina Weibo, employs thousands of staff in the northern city of Tianjin to delete politically sensitive posts, Chinese media have reported.
One eyewitness who posted photographs online told AFP that he had been contacted by Sina staff warning him not to post further information. The witness asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals.
The square – which always has a significant security presence – appeared normal on Tuesday, with no sign of any damage at the crash site.
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