Engnews April 2020

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RFA Breaking News: Police, Uyghur Twitter Campaign Contradict China’s Claim to Have Emptied Camps

by Paul Eckert

Police, Uyghur Twitter Campaign Contradict China’s Claim to Have Emptied Camps Aug. 1, 2019 - China’s assertion that it has released 90 percent of the million-plus Uyghurs held in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) internment camps was refuted by police in the region and by members of the Uyghur community living in exile who launched a twitter campaign challenging the claim. China presented the two top ethnic Uyghur officials in the XUAR at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday to deliver a surprising claim that the vast majority of Uyghurs had completed training in re-education camps and rejoined their families. “The majority of people who have undergone education and training have returned to society and returned to their families,” Erkin Tuniyaz, the vice chairman of the XUAR government, told the news conference. “Most have already successfully achieved employment,” he said. “Over 90 percent of the students have returned to society and returned to their families and are living happily,” said Tuniyaz, who was flanked by Shohrat Zakir, the XUAR government chairman. The two Uyghur men work under XUAR Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, the architect of the system that has incarcerated up to 1.5 million Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities accused of harboring “strong religious views” and “politically incorrect” ideas since April 2017. The claims, which were presented without evidence, were met with dismissal and derision by leading human rights experts and Uyghur diaspora groups, who described the statements as the latest in a long history of Chinese disinformation about Xinjiang. One expert warned that released detainees could be drafted for forced labor in factories. “China is making deceptive and unverifiable statements in a vain attempt to allay worldwide concern for the mass detentions of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang,” said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and South-East Asia. “Given China’s record of heavy censorship, outright falsehoods and systematic obfuscation about the situation in Xinjiang, it remains imperative that UN human rights investigators, independent observers and the media be given unrestricted access to the region as a matter of urgency,” he added. The Germany-based World Uyghur Congress while slamming the Chinese claim noted that Zakir’s own sister and several other relatives have received political asylum in Western countries after fleeing Chinese repression. #prove90% hits Twitter In a view consistent with other human rights and Uyghur groups, Bequelin said Amnesty had “received no reports about large scale releases – in fact, families and friends of people who are being detained tell us they are still not able to contact them.” In an effort to verify the XUAR officials’ assertions RFA’s Uyghur Service, conducted telephone interviews with police in the region. “I did not hear that anybody was released from the education. We would have been informed if anybody had been released,” said a policeman at a village police station in Hotan (Hetian in Chinese). “There are 1700 people in the village, and about 250 of them are in the education camps, and so far we have only one person, aged between 40- 50, who was released,” said the policeman, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity due to the risk of punishment for talking to foreign media. A Uyghur woman in Hotan City told RFA that seven of the 12 houses on her street have been left “ empty and padlocked” by the re-education campaign. “All of them were sent to the education camps for about two years,” she said, describing the detained Uyghurs as all business people from Karakax (Moyu, in Chinese) county in Hotan. “There are fewer people everywhere, even in the city. Stores are open, but there are very few people who are shopping and there is a money shortage,” added the woman. In Kumul (in Chinese, Hami) prefecture, one official in the Kumul city neighborhood committee said he didn’t know that any inmates had been released. Asked about the XUAR government figure presented in Beijing, he then stated: “maybe 90 percent.” Another person from the Kumul city neighborhood committee told RFA, however, that: “We have about 100 people undergoing ‘education’ from our district and three of them were released so far.” Meanwhile, the Uyghurs living in exile with relatives incarcerated in the XUAR have conducted a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #prove90%. “ China show me my parents, my cousin Ilzat and my other relatives. #prove90 % (of) concentration camp detainees (are) being released as you stated. It’s been years since I last heard my parents’ voice,” wrote a man calling himself Alfred Uyghur. ‘Where the hell is my father-in-law?’ Another Uyghur man on Twitter, Arslan Hidayat, wrote “#China says they’ve released 90% of #Uyghurs from “Re-Education” camps, then where the hell is my father-in-law, prominent actor and comedian ‘Adil Mijit’?” Adil Mijit, a well-loved Uyghur comedian, went missing in late 2018, and social media sources as well as anonymous reports shared with RFA confirmed he was now serving a three-year prison term for making a trip to the Muslim holy city of Mecca without authorities’ permission. The latest campaign follows a similar one in February, when after China showed a video of a Uyghur mistakenly thought to have died, the Uyghur exile community had launched a social media campaign under the hashtag #MeTooUyghur, calling on Chinese authorities to release video of their relatives who were missing and believed detained in the vast camp network. Beijing initially denied the existence of internment camps, but changed tack earlier this year and started describing the facilities as “boarding schools” that provide vocational training for Uyghurs, discourage radicalization and help protect the country from terrorism. Reporting by RFA’s Uyghur Service and other media outlets that those in the camps are detained against their will and subjected to political indoctrination, routinely face rough treatment at the hands of their overseers, and endure poor diets and unhygienic conditions in the often overcrowded facilities. RFA has also discovered repeatedly that many of the Uyghurs forced to go through vocational training were already highly educated, accomplished professionals in various fields. The mass incarcerations of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and Kirgiz have prompted increasing calls by the international community to hold Beijing accountable for its actions in the region, and Tuesday’s claim that many Uyghurs were released was seen as an effort to blunt that criticism. The Global Times , a tabloid published by the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, doubled down on the “vocational education” propaganda on Thursday in an editorial praising the purported release of “trainees.” “This time, the autonomous region released a great amount of crucial information on the vocational education and training centers. Information received by the Global Times through other channels also shows that a great number of trainees have indeed graduated and returned to the society,” it said. “Although officials have yet to publish detailed figures, the improving situation of Xinjiang is expanding to all spheres. As a powerful interim measure, the vocational education and training centers play a pivotal role in making these achievements possible,” said the daily. Reported by Mamatjan Juma and Alim Seytoff for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by RFA’s Uyghur Service. Written in English by Paul Eckert. View this story online at: [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/twitter-campaign-08012019163200.html | https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/twitter-campaign-08012019163200.html ] Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA ’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the U.S. Agency for Global Media ( [ https://www.usagm.gov/home/ | USAGM ] ) . If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org | engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org ] . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org | engnews-join(a)rfanews.org ] .

4 years, 7 months

‘Journalism Has Never Been More Essential’ -- RFA President Bay Fang

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : April 28, 2020 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ‘Journalism Has Never Been More Essential’ -- RFA President Bay Fang WASHINGTON -- Ahead of World Press Freedom Day, [ https://www.rfa.org/english/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA) President Bay Fang shares insights on how, during the global coronavirus crisis, journalism is “ more essential than ever ” in a new commentary piece. “ By pursuing the truth, journalism stands in the way of the CCP and authoritarian rulers in other countries deceiving their publics over their handling of COVID-19. Independent reporting is necessary to keep citizens informed and help the international community tackle a virus transcending political affiliations and national boundaries ,” Fang states. Read the full commentary [ https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/rfa-journalism-04282020110623.html | HERE ] . # # # Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

4 years, 8 months

Radio Free Asia Documentary on China's Great Famine Wins at New York Festivals

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : April 22, 2020 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia’s Great Famine Documentary Wins at New York Festivals Radio Awards Feature on North Korean defectors’ journey also recognized WASHINGTON – [ https://www.rfa.org/english/ | Radio Free Asia ] ’s (RFA) Mandarin Service was announced yesterday as a gold medal winner at the 2020 [ https://radio.newyorkfestivals.com/ | New York Festivals ] Radio Awards in the Documentary category. The service won a top prize for its piece titled, “ [ https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/duomeiti/tebiejiemu/h-07092019124144.html | China’s Great Famine: Sad Songs of Peasants in a Food War ] ”, a collection of oral histories from survivors of the man-made catastrophe that unfolded between 1959 and 1961. RFA’s Korean Service was recognized as a finalist in the Best Human Interest category for its series on North Korean defectors, “ [ https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/news_indepth/ne-jn-10212019102706.html?… | 13 North Koreans’ 10,000 km Journey in Search of Freedom ] .” “Radio Free Asia’s Mandarin and Korean Services deserve this recognition,” RFA President Bay Fang said. “Whether sharing first-hand accounts of survivors from a brutal period in China or covering the grueling journey of North Korean defectors seeking a better life, RFA journalists bring to light great stories of humanity that need to be told. “For audiences in China and North Korea, two of the world’s worst abusers of media freedom, this brand of in-depth journalism is especially important.” In producing “China’s Great Famine,” Mandarin Service reporters Yun Wang and Yasa Guo worked closely with three Chinese scholars who collected and archived oral accounts from those who endured years of starvation and hardship. These chilling personal stories of the famine, which claimed tens of millions of lives, are shared publicly for the first time. The radio documentary chronicles a horrific chapter in history that has been suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party, which has never reported the actual number of lives lost. For RFA’s finalist entry, the Korean Service’s reporter Jung Min Noh accompanied a rescue mission to cover the incredible journey of 13 North Korean asylum seekers. This group, which included two children, crossed the Mekong River into a country in Southeast Asia, ending a perilous two-month journey to begin the process of seeking asylum in South Korea. Due to concerns over the coronavirus crisis, the New York Festivals Radio Awards ceremony, usually held annually in Manhattan, was cancelled this year. [ https://radio.newyorkfestivals.com/winners/List/0ba71550-d2a9-40b0-9885-f39… | Other winners ] at this year’s New York Festivals Radio Awards include the BBC, CBS, Bloomberg, and Al Jazeera, as well as RFA’s sister network Alhurra. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

4 years, 8 months

RFA Breaking News: Ruling Party Lecturers Admit COVID-19 is Spreading in North Korea, Contradicting Official Claims

by Paul Eckert

RFA Breaking News: Ruling Party Lecturers Admit COVID-19 is Spreading in North Korea, Contradicting Official Claims April 17, 2020 - Authorities in North Korea have been telling citizens in public lectures that there were confirmed cases of coronavirus within the reclusive country’s borders as early as late March, contradicting Pyongyang’s claims that it remains free of the epidemic that has spread to all of its neighbors, RFA has learned. Two sources within North Korea say the government held lectures at every organization and neighborhood watch unit in late March to educate people about the pandemic, where speakers publicly stated that COVID-19 was spreading in three specific areas of the country. “[They] held a lecture session for all the residents titled ‘Let’s all work together on the coronavirus quarantine project to [successfully] implement the Supreme Leader’s policies,’” a resident in Ryanggang province, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, told RFA’s Korean Service Thursday. “The speaker at the lecture publicly stated that there were confirmed coronavirus patients among [the people],” the source added. “They said that the [Korean Workers’] Party’s quarantine guidelines had not been implemented properly by us, and that this caused serious damage to the people’s economy,” the source said. “The speaker appealed to us all to prevent [further] damage [to society] so we can together win the war against the coronavirus,” said the source. North Korea’s dilapidated, underfunded health-care system – where some hospitals lack reliable running water and electricity – leaves the population particularly vulnerable to a pandemic. The announcement that there were North Koreans who had contracted the virus did not sit well with residents in attendance, according to the source. “They were wondering how it could be possible when the authorities had been claiming that there were no victims in North Korea thanks to the party’s thorough emergency quarantine measures,” the source said. The source said authorities had been touting these policies and contrasting North Korea’s situation with that of South Korea and the rest of the world, where large numbers were falling ill and dying. “The speaker reiterated that North Korea has the most superior socialist healthcare system, making it the country with the fewest confirmed cases in the world,” said the source. Suspicious residents The authorities, he added, told the audience for the mandatory lectures that in North Korea, which is the size of the U.S. state of Missisippi, there were confirmed cases in only three areas – Pyongyang, South Hwanghae province, and North Hamgyong province. But residents found that to be suspicious. “North Hamgyong and South Hwanghae are located at the top and bottom of the map of our country, and Pyongyang is in the middle. Can you believe that there are confirmed cases in only these three areas?” questioned the source. “If the virus spread from the northern end of the country [near the border with China] to the southern end, it means it has to have spread across the entire country.” Another source who requested anonymity told RFA from Pyongyang on Wednesday that the lectures were held in the capital as well and the same claims were made. “The lecturer told us we should be proud that we live in the country with the fewest confirmed coronavirus cases because of our socialist medical system and healthcare policies,” said the second source. “They even told us that we should pledge our undying loyalty to our leader for providing us with such a great healthcare system,” the second source said. The attendees in Pyongyang, however, did the exact opposite. “They say that the Supreme Leader [Kim Jong Un] did nothing for residents who are struggling to make ends meet. They are criticizing the authorities for blaming the people for failing to implement the party’s quarantine guidelines [instead of themselves]” On April 1, Pyongyang publicly declared to foreign media that its preventative measures against the deadly virus were 100 percent successful and that not a single case existed in the country. “Not one single person has been infected with the novel coronavirus in our country so far,” Pak Myong Su, director of the anti-epidemic department of North Korea’s Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Headquarters, told a news conference. He attributed this to measures such as the closure of borders and quarantine and inspection procedures. Since the epidemic flared up in China in January, RFA’s Korean Service has reported on Pyongyang’s extensive preventative measures, including the quarantine of entire counties near the Chinese border, the cancellation of key political and cultural events, and the establishment of a quarantine center in a large Pyongyang hotel. Porous border with China The government also isolated foreign residents and those who recently had been to China, issued mandates that citizens don facemasks while in public, cancelled public meetings in favor of video conferences, and suspended trade with China. But despite these measures and those reported by other outlets, Pyongyang never reported a single confirmed case of the virus. Outside experts have publicly expressed their doubts, saying it is very likely that it crossed into North Korea from China in the early days of the epidemic, because the long border is quite porous. On top of that, North Korea’s healthcare system largely collapsed during a 1990s famine and remains rudimentary and resource-starved. But according to data presented by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering, as of Friday, Pyongyang has still not reported any cases, a fact clearly contradicted by the statements made at the late March community lectures to the North Korean people. RFA and other media outlets have reported many mysterious deaths in North Korea without confirming they were due to COVID 19. In February, RFA reported that a hospital in Chongjin, North Hamgyong hurriedly cremated patients who had died of pneumonia-like symptoms and that the entire hospital had to be disinfected. An official told RFA that the fact that the hospital cremated the bodies instead of allowing the deceased patients’ families to perform the rite was highly irregular and indicated that they likely died of a highly contagious disease. Earlier this month, a local reporter for the Japan-based Asia Press reported that Chongjin had a growing number of suspected COVID-19 cases, with patients showing symptoms of cough and high-fever, some of whom perished. As of Friday, the WHO did not reply to questions from RFA on the lecturers’ admission that COVID-19 has taken hold in Pyongyang, North Hamgyong and South Hwanghae. Reported by Jieun Kim for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. View this story online at: [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/confirmed-coronavirus-04172020192920… | https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/confirmed-coronavirus-04172020192920… ] Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA ’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the U.S. Agency for Global Media ( [ https://www.usagm.gov/home/ | USAGM ] ) . If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org | engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org ] . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org | engnews-join(a)rfanews.org ] .

4 years, 9 months

Radio Free Asia Hosts Secure Websites for Audiences with Restricted Access

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : April 17, 2020 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] Radio Free Asia Hosts Secure Mirror Websites for Asian, Chinese Audiences Sites circumvent blocking, improve access to COVID-19 and other sensitive coverage WASHINGTON – [ https://www.rfa.org/english | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA), in partnership with the [ https://www.opentech.fund/ | Open Technology Fund ] (OTF), is hosting dedicated .onion addresses for its Mandarin and Cantonese Services’ websites, in addition to its English-language site. These sites enhance the ability of audiences in restricted media environments, including mainland China, to securely access RFA’s up-to-date, accurate reports and content on the [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/coronavirus/ | coronavirus ] pandemic, among other topics deemed sensitive to censors. “Radio Free Asia’s mission is to inform audiences in China about critical developments and topics that are censored in state media,” said Bay Fang, RFA’s President. “With the deadly Covid-19 pandemic and the abuse of information about it via China’s official media, this responsibility for our organization takes on an even greater urgency. These secure websites will help to protect and empower our audiences, whether they are in mainland China, where RFA’s online content is blocked, or in Hong Kong where the growing threat of surveillance can have a chilling effect on freedom of information.” “RFA’s decision to begin hosting dedicated Tor .onion sites will only make it easier for audiences in Asia to get around censors and access news and information relevant to their everyday lives,” said Sarah Aoun, Director of Technology at OTF. “RFA continues to leverage the power of technology in order to further fulfill its mission of bringing free press to closed societies.” In hosting .onion websites, RFA joins other news organizations such as the [ https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50150981 | BBC ] and [ https://www.dw.com/en/deutsche-welle-websites-now-accessible-via-tor-protoc… | Deutsche Welle ] in making its content available on this secure network. In the months since the coronavirus outbreak, RFA Mandarin has seen a boost in visits to its website, along with sharp increases in the number of user profiles following the service’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Concerns about blocking by Chinese authorities, who tightly control the narrative around major news developments, were a significant factor in the decision to better ensure access to RFA’s timely reports. These include RFA’s recent investigation into [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/wuhan-deaths-03272020182846.html | the official statistics ] of Wuhan's coronavirus fatalities, as well as coverage of Hong Kong’s [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/hongkong-police-01162020132158.html | pro-democracy movement ] , and the crackdown on ethnic minorities such as [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/locked-up-in-china/ | Uyghurs ] and [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet | Tibetans ] , among other restricted issues. China’s vast filtering and censorship of its internet and social media platforms has earned it the dubious distinction of being “the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom,” according to [ https://www.freedomonthenet.org/report/freedom-on-the-net/2019/the-crisis-o… | Freedom House ] . RFA’s .onion websites are: English: [ https://www.rfa62zl6z6owmtlf.onion/english/ | https://www.rfa62zl6z6owmtlf.onion/english/ ] Cantonese: [ https://www.rfa62zl6z6owmtlf.onion/cantonese/ | https://www.rfa62zl6z6owmtlf.onion/cantonese/ ] Mandarin: [ https://www.rfa62zl6z6owmtlf.onion/mandarin/ | https://www.rfa62zl6z6owmtlf.onion/mandarin/ ] Users who download the Firefox-based Tor browser and use the appropriate web addresses will be able to obfuscate their identity and the websites they are attempting to access. (These addresses are not accessible when using non-Tor browsers.) In order to protect users’ privacy, Tor [ https://www.torproject.org/about/history/ | routes internet traffic through multiple servers ] , encrypting it at each step. The Tor Project receives funding from a number of organizations, including OTF, which became an independent nonprofit organization in 2019 after operating as an RFA program for seven years. (RFA and OTF are both funded through an annual grant from the [ https://www.usagm.gov/ | U.S. Agency for Global Media ] .) # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the United States Agency for Global Media. [ https://www.rfa62zl6z6owmtlf.onion/cantonese/ ] Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

4 years, 9 months

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Engnews April 2020