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RFA Breaking News: ‘No Releases’ of Thousands Held For Years in Xinjiang Township Political ‘Re-education Camps’

by Paul Eckert

‘No Releases’ of Thousands Held For Years in Xinjiang Township Political ‘Re-education Camps’ Aug. 6, 2018 - As many as 6,000 residents of the mostly Uyghur-populated township of Haniqatam in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have been held in political “re-education camps” for as long as two years, according to a local official. Beginning in April 2017, Uyghurs accused of harboring “strong religious views” and “politically incorrect” ideas have been jailed or detained in political re-education camps throughout the XUAR, where members of the ethnic group have long complained of pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule. A staffer at Haniqatam township’s No. 7 village police station, in Aksu (in Chinese, Akesu) prefecture’s Kuchar (Kuche) county, recently told RFA’s Uyghur Service that no one in his township’s 26 villages had been released from the camps in the nearly two years since authorities began detaining them. “No one has been released from the re-education camps yet,” the staffer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The earliest people sent for re-education went a year-and-a-half to two years ago.” “Approximately 5,000 to 6,000” residents of Haniqatam are currently held in the camps, he said, adding that “the ratio of residents sent to camps from each village is more or less the same” based on the population size of the area. While it was not immediately clear what ratio of the local population authorities are targeting for Haniqatam’s re-education camps, official sources in other parts of the XUAR have told RFA that superiors ordered them to detain as many as 40 percent of the residents of their villages. A village security chief in Haniqatam also recently confirmed that no detainees from the township had been released, the staffer said. According to the staffer, the last major roundup of detainees in the township happened seven or eight months ago and the last detention in the township took place sometime in early July, after occurring on an almost weekly basis. “There has been a very large number of people sent to the camps so far, and none have been released,” he said. “The government’s policy is good—I think people who should be taken in for re-education are already there. The policy is getting good results.” When asked if there were any plans to release those held in the camps, the staffer said local authorities had not been notified of any timetable. “More than 100” residents of No. 7 village are currently held in political re-education, he said, adding that if anyone from his area was released, “I would know.” The staffer said that authorities in Haniqatam are currently “transferring people from the No. 3 re-education camp to the No. 1 and No. 2 camps,” and said detainees could be getting divided up based on the severity of the reason for their detention. He did not specify where the camps are located in the township, and admitted that he had never been to visit them himself. An officer from the Haniqatam Police Department told RFA that the large number of detentions in the township had resulted in 12-hour shifts for him and his fellow officers. “We are very busy and our workload is immense … because there is a long line of [relatives of camp detainees] asking for help, every day” said the officer, who also asked to remain unnamed. “In some houses the husband has been taken away, while in others the wife has been taken away, and others still have had both detained, leaving the children behind, so the families come to inform us of their difficult situation and request our help.” In addition to requests for assistance, family members of those detained must visit with the local authorities to obtain permission to visit their loved ones in the camps, he said, which has led to long lines at the police station “all of the time.” Camp network An editorial in China’s official Global Times newspaper recently dismissed international coverage of the re-education camps in the XUAR, which it labeled “training institutes,” saying western media outlets were incorrectly labeling them as “detention” sites and “baselessly criticizing China’s human rights.” Aside from the brief mention in the article, China's central government authorities have not publicly acknowledged the existence of political re-education camps in the XUAR, and the number of inmates kept in each facility remains a closely guarded secret. But local officials in many parts of the region have in RFA telephone interviews forthrightly described sending significant numbers of Uyghurs to the camps and even described overcrowding in some facilities. Citing credible reports, U.S. lawmakers Marco Rubio and Chris Smith, who head the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said recently that as many as 500,000 to a million people are or have been detained in the re-education camps, calling it ”the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today.” Adrian Zenz, a lecturer in social research methods at the Germany-based European School of Culture and Theology, said the number “could be closer to 1.1 million, which equates to 10-11 percent of the adult Muslim population of the region.” Last week, China Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) and a partner NGO, Equal Rights Initiative, said they had found through interviews with people in the region that up to 3 million residents of the XUAR, especially ethnic Uyghurs, may have been detained in the political re-education camps or forced to attend “education sessions” for “de-radicalization” as of June this year. Reported and translated by RFA’s Uyghur Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this s tory online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/township-08062018145657.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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 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 ] . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] .

6 years, 5 months

RFA Breaking News: Xinjiang Rapidly Building Crematoria to Extinguish Uyghur Funeral Traditions

by Paul Eckert

Xinjiang Rapidly Building Crematoria to Extinguish Uyghur Funeral Traditions June 26, 2018 - Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) are rapidly constructing crematoria staffed by dozens of security personnel, according to local officials, amid concerns over the eradication of ethnic Uyghur funeral traditions. Between March 2017 and February 2018, the XUAR government listed 5-10 million yuan (U.S. $760,000 to $1.52 million) tenders for contractors to build nine “burial management centers” that include crematoria in mostly Uyghur-populated areas throughout the region, according to a report listed on the official website of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC). While investigating an 8 million yuan (U.S. $1.22 million) tender from July last year for a center in Aksu (Akesu) prefecture's Shayar (Shaya) county, RFA’s Uyghur Service discovered a contact number for an existing crematorium in nearby Kuchar (Kuche) county and was told by an ethnic Han Chinese staff member there that the Shayar burial center and crematorium had yet to be completed. The staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Aksu government was “investing in these projects” and had earmarked funding to expand the size of the Kuchar crematorium as well. “A very few” ethnic minority corpses are sent to the Kuchar crematorium, he said, which are “normally brought to us with special documentation provided by the police.” “The police normally contact the head of the crematorium directly and make arrangements,” he said. “We have no right to get involved in these matters, and we have no knowledge of any details of the arrangements—only the officials know.” Among the ethnic minority corpses brought to his crematorium are those who have died in “political re-education camps,” he said, where authorities in the XUAR have detained tens of thousands of Uyghurs accused of harboring “strong religious views” and “politically incorrect” views since April 2017. When asked if authorities are building crematoria throughout the region, the staff member said the facilities “are being built everywhere,” and typically require a staff of 15 people, who cremate two to five corpses each week in a process that takes around 90 minutes for each body. “It looks like the trend for the future will be cremation rather than burial,” he said, noting that on television “the government is calling on people, regardless of ethnic background or religion, to choose cremation over burial, as the land in Xinjiang is limited in size, and also to protect the environment and create more green land.” “All I know is that they are expanding crematoria at the moment, but the policy regarding their use has not been implemented yet,” he added. Subverting traditions Officials have previously told RFA that burial centers help them comply with the “four different orders,” referring to guidelines for governing in the region—strengthening propaganda according to the promotion of Chinese-style religion, encouraging residents to self-report and criticize their own behavior, opposing religious extremism, and expressing gratitude to the Communist Party. But members of the Uyghur exile community say authorities are using the centers to subvert ethnic traditions and remove the religious context from funerary rites, thereby taking control of the last private aspects of Uyghur lives by regulating burial practices. Other members of the exile community say that authorities use the crematoria to secretly “deal with” the bodies of Uyghurs who have been killed by security forces during protests against pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule in the XUAR, or who have died under questionable circumstances in re-education camps. Burial centers are increasingly stepping in to arrange funeral services in communities where most of the adult men—who would normally assist with the ceremonies—are in detention, sources say. According to Uyghur tradition, the dead must be cleansed by a member of the local community who is versed in religious knowledge before relatives say a final farewell. Bodies are then transported by “jinaze,” a coffin-like carriage, to a nearby mosque for a closure prayer. Afterwards, an imam recites a sermon on the meaning of life and death, reminding the congregation that everyone eventually meets their creator, regardless of what they have done on earth. The body is then transported to a cemetery for burial, and a week later, the family holds a mourning ceremony which is attended by members of the community. Exile sources say that the ruling Chinese Communist Party had never previously interfered in Uyghur funerals due to the sensitivity of the tradition, but by using the burial centers and crematoria to take over services, authorities are now able to remove one more situation in which local religious leaders hold more influence over residents than the government. Other reports Amid concerns over the expansion of burial management centers in the XUAR, a job posting listed on the official government website for the region’s capital Urumqi last month called for “50 security personnel with above average health, who are physically and mentally fit, and exceptionally brave, to work in the crematorium located in the city’s Saybagh district for a salary of more than 8,000 yuan (U.S. $1,215) per month.” An employee who recently answered the listed telephone number confirmed that he was associated with the Urumqi City Funeral Management Center in Saybagh district, but referred inquiries about the positions to the center’s recruitment office. It was not immediately clear why 50 armed guards were needed to secure the site. Other recent reports have suggested that Uyghur government officials are being encouraged to sign documents agreeing to have their bodies cremated in death, rather than buried according to traditional Uyghur customs—a claim verified by at least one official RFA spoke with in Kashgar (Kashi) prefecture’s Yopurgha (Yuepuhu) county. Perhat Yorunqash, the vice president of the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress exile group, called the burial management centers a form of “psychological torture” for members of the exile community, who are unable to honor their loved ones back home with Uyghur burial rites according to Muslim tradition. But he also expressed concern over policies in the XUAR that he said have increasingly come to mirror those used by Germany’s Nazi regime against the Jews, and urged the international community to send observers to the region to report on the “atrocities and killings against our people.” Camp network China's central government authorities have not publicly acknowledged the existence of re-education camps in the XUAR, and the number of inmates kept in each facility remains a closely guarded secret, but local officials in many parts of the region have in RFA telephone interviews forthrightly described sending significant numbers of Uyghurs to the camps and even described overcrowding in some facilities. Citing credible reports, lawmakers Marco Rubio and Chris Smith, who head the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said recently that as many as 500,000 to a million people are or have been detained in the re-education camps, calling it ”the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today.” Adrian Zenz, a lecturer in social research methods at the Germany-based European School of Culture and Theology, said the number “could be closer to 1.1 million, which equates to 10-11 percent of the adult Muslim population of the region." China regularly conducts “strike hard” campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material. While China blames some Uyghurs for "terrorist" attacks, experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from the Uyghurs and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence there that has left hundreds dead since 2009. Reported by Gulchehra Hoja for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this s tory online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/crematoriums-06262018151126.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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 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 ] . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] .

6 years, 6 months

RFA Breaking News: Nearly Half of Xinjiang Village's Residents Sent to 'Political Re-Education Camps': Official

by Paul Eckert

cid:e499a30d87d312d6e7ff3e0581ac9ea5a326b667@zimbra June 14, 2018 - Authorities in Qaraqash (in Chinese, Moyu) county, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), have detained nearly half of the population of a village in "political re-education camps," according to a local official. Beginning in April 2017, Uyghurs accused of harboring "strong religious views" and "politically incorrect" views have been jailed or detained in re-education camps throughout the XUAR, where members of the ethnic group have long complained of pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule. A duty officer with the Chinibagh township police station in Qaraqash recently told RFA's Uyghur Service that in his home village of Yengisheher, almost all of the adult males from the area's more than 1,700 households had been placed in camps, leaving few people behind to farm the local fields. "Overall, 40 percent of the population in our village is currently in re-education camps," said the officer, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity. The officer acknowledged that village authorities were following an official directive previously reported by RFA which brands Uyghurs born in the 1980s and 1990s as "members of an unreliable and untrustworthy generation" and targets them for re-education because they are considered "susceptible" to influence by dangerous elements. He said that "only children and old people" remain in the village, and that the local labor force had been decimated by the sweep. "If the husband is taken away, his wife must take over his work, and where there are young children in a family . they must help in the fields," the officer said. For families with no remaining able-bodied members, "the village cadres have made arrangements for their fields to be cultivated by other people," he added. The officer, who said he helps to question detainees, said none of his siblings had been placed in the camps because his grandfather had taught them to "refrain from anything which would get us into trouble, and to always be loyal and give a good impression to the authorities." "From a very young age, we followed the call of the [ruling Chinese Communist] party." When asked how many residents of Chinibagh township have been detained in the camps, the officer said he was unsure, and referred questions to his supervisor. The officer's claim comes after the party secretary of Qaraqash's Aqsaray township told RFA at the end of last year that he and other township officials had received an order from county-level authorities to target 40 percent of the population for re-education. At the time, RFA found that around 5,000 of Qaraqash's population of 34,000 people-or nearly 15 percent of the county's residents-had already been taken away to re-education camps. Reports suggest similar orders for "quotas" have been given in other areas of the XUAR, and that authorities are detaining as many Uyghurs as possible in re-education camps and jail, regardless of their age, prior service to the Communist Party, or the severity of the accusations against them. Camp network China's central government authorities have not publicly acknowledged the existence of re-education camps in the XUAR, and the number of inmates kept in each facility remains a closely guarded secret, but local officials in many parts of the region have in RFA telephone interviews forthrightly described sending significant numbers of Uyghurs to the camps and even described overcrowding in some facilities. Citing credible reports, lawmakers Marco Rubio and Chris Smith, who head the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said recently that as many as 500,000 to a million people are or have been detained in the reeducation camps, calling it "the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today." Adrian Zenz, a lecturer in social research methods at the Germany-based European School of Culture and Theology, said the number "could be closer to 1.1 million, which equates to 10-11 percent of the adult Muslim population of the region." China regularly conducts "strike hard" campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material. While China blames some Uyghurs for "terrorist" attacks, experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from the Uyghurs and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence there that has left hundreds dead since 2009. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this story online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/half-06142018132115.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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 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 . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

6 years, 7 months

Radio Free Asia Ends TV Broadcasts in Myanmar

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2018 Contact: Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia Ends TV Broadcasts on DVB: RFA President WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia (RFA) aired its last original TV broadcast on the <http://www.dvb.no/> Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) network on Myanmar's MRTV channel this evening. The Myanmar government told DVB that it could not carry RFA's programming if the word "Rohingya" continued to be used. As a policy, RFA does not accept interference by outside groups or governments in making its editorial decisions. RFA's Burmese Service's TV programming was available on the network since October 2017. RFA content and programming will continue to be available for its audience in Myanmar on shortwave radio, social media ( <https://www.youtube.com/user/RFABurmeseVideo> YouTube/ <https://www.facebook.com/pages/RFA-Burmese/39218993127> Facebook) and RFA Burmese's <https://www.rfa.org/burmese/> website. RFA's President Libby Liu said: "Radio Free Asia will not compromise its code of journalistic ethics, which prohibits the use of slurs against ethnic minority groups. RFA will continue to refer to the Rohingya as the 'Rohingya' in our reports. Use of other terms, even those that fall short of being derogatory, would be inaccurate and disingenuous to both our product and our audience. "By forbidding the use of the word 'Rohingya,' Myanmar's government is taking an Orwellian step in seeking to erase the identity of a people whose existence it would like to deny. RFA will continue to provide audiences in Myanmar with access to trustworthy, reliable journalism, particularly when reporting on issues that local and state-controlled media ignores and suppresses." # # # 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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Director of Public Affairs and Digital Strategy <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

6 years, 7 months

RFA Breaking News: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Orders State Organs to Repatriate Defectors

by Paul Eckert

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Orders State Organs to Repatriate Defectors June 7, 2018 - North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has ordered government agencies, including the powerful State Security Department, to exert pressure on the family members of those who have defected to South Korea in a bid to get them to return home, according to sources inside the country. A source from North Hamgyong province, on the border with China, recently told RFA’s Korean Service that Kim’s directive concerned “bringing back people who were tricked by the South Korean National Intelligence Service” and had “gone to South Korea against their will.” “The instruction stresses that the South Korean National Intelligence Service should be held responsible for this disgraceful act while a peaceful atmosphere with South Korea is being created,” the source said, referring to a recent thaw in tensions between the two rival nations that saw Kim meet with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in last month to discuss peace on the Korean Peninsula. Kim also called for plans to “stop the traitors from taking an active part in the United Nations and on other international stages,” where they have exposed human rights abuses in the North, and to entice “North Korean defectors in South Korea who are experiencing difficulties adjusting to South Korean society” to return home, he said. In order to do so, the source added, government agencies have begun “quietly investigating the families of defectors.” “State security agents are gathering information on defectors’ families in each person’s work unit and are simultaneously working to propagandize defectors,” he said. “They are forcing the defectors’ family members to try to convince their relatives in South Korea to come back [to North Korea].” A second source from Yanggang province, also on China’s border, told RFA that State Security agents have stepped up patrols in his region recently and specifically mentioned a case in which they had “visited the home of a defector family and forced the mother to call her son” who had relocated to the South. “The State security agents are maneuvering to have the son come back home,” he said. However, the source said, “most [family members of defectors] are wary” of the orders they have been given by the authorities and instead “tell their relatives who have fled to South Korea or other countries not to be tricked by State Security Department” propaganda. A North Korean defector who relocated to the South Korea three years ago confirmed to RFA that family members recently began calling and trying to convince him to return home. “I recently received two calls from my wife in North Korea during which she begged me to return, saying that if I changed my mind and came back to the heart of North Korea’s leader, [the authorities] would not accuse me of any crime and we could live happily ever after,” said the defector, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “My wife proudly said our son [in North Korea] is doing well at his school … but I could tell from the sound of her voice that she was very nervous. I got the feeling that there was someone next to her, giving her instructions.” Around 30,000 North Koreans have fled to the far wealthier South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. According to South Korea’s Unification Ministry data, 1,418 reached the South in 2016, while arrivals fell 21 percent to 1,127 in 2017. The South has blamed the drop in defections on tighter border controls by North Korea and China, after a spike in 2016 that included an unusually high number of North Korean elites. Reported by Myungchul Lee for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this s tory online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/defectors-06072018142629.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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 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 ] . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] .

6 years, 7 months

RFA Breaking News: Vietnam Blogger 'Mother Mushroom' in Hunger Strike Over Prison Treatment

by Paul Eckert

Vietnam Blogger 'Mother Mushroom' in Hunger Strike Over Prison Treatment June 1, 2018 - Jailed Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known also as “Mother Mushroom” has launched a hunger strike in protest at her treatment in prison, refusing to eat prison food she says sickens her, her mother told RFA’s Vietnamese Service on Friday. Quynh — who had published a blog under the handle Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom — was arrested Oct. 10, 2016 and was sentenced in June 2017 to a decade in jail on charges of spreading “propaganda against the state” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. Quynh’s mother, Nguyen Thị Tuyet Lan, visited her on Thursday at No. 5 Prison in Yen Dinh, Thanh Hoa province, in the country’s north central coast region, taking the blogger’s children to see her. “Quynh told me that from May 5 to May 11 she was on hunger strike to protest the prison’s treatment and that she won’t eat any food provided by prison because she felt sick after eating the food,” Lan told RFA. “She said her joints are all swollen and get worse when she has to lay on the floor,” added Quynh’s mother. Quynh, a Catholic, has not been allowed by prison authorities to receive a bible or letters from family or friends, while all letters that the blogger sent home to her family were collected by prison authorities and only given to her mother during Thursday’s visit, Lan said In February, Quynh was moved to Yen Dinh, more than 620 miles from her former location in the city of Nha Trang on the country’s south central coast without notifying her family, her mother told RFA at the time. Another female political prisoner, Tran Thi Nga, meanwhile, has been cut off from seeing her family for several months as part of disciplinary measures, her husband old RFA on Friday. A human rights defender noted in Vietnam for her online activism, Nga, 40, was sentenced on July 25 to nine years in prison for spreading "propaganda against the state" under Article 88 of Vietnam’s penal code, a provision frequently used to silence dissident bloggers and other activists. Her appeal was rejected in December. Nga’s husband, Phan Van Phong, told RFA that he received a phone call on Tuesday from an anonymous woman who said she was Nga’s cellmate and had just been released. “She called me and told me not to visit Nga this time because she is not allowed to see her family,” Phong said. “I don’t know who that person is. She told me that Nga’s health is normal. I have not been able to talk to Nga over the phone since Tet festival (in mid-February),” he said “She is not allowed to use her 5 minute phone call per month entitlement,” added Phong. No reason was given for Nga’s punishment, but Phong said that prison authorities had told him before that Nga always displayed a “protest attitude” since she was brought to her current prison. Phong added, however, that he still intended to take their two children to come see Nga in coming days. Like Quynh, Nga was transferred to a distant prison without informing her family – a measure authorities use to increase prisoners’ isolation and make it difficult for family and friends to visit them. Nga was moved in March to a prison in Gia Long Province, more than 1,000 km (620 miles) from her home in Ha Nam. Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Paul Eckert. View this s tory online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/prisoners-political-06012018162141… 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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 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 ] . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] .

6 years, 7 months

RFA Wins Gracie Award for Rohingya Feature

by Paul Eckert

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : May 23, 2018 Contact: Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] Radio Free Asia Wins Gracie for Online Feature on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis WASHINGTON – [ https://www.rfa.org/english/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA) last night was named a winner at the 2018 Gracie Awards for its in-depth webpage “ [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/rohingya-crisis/ | The Rohingya: World’s Least-Wanted People ] .” The page’s designer Minh-Ha Le, accepted the Gracie award for best website in the category for interactive news media. The Gracies are sponsored by the Alliance for Women in Media which recognizes excellence for women creators in the media and entertainment industry. “This web feature tells a difficult, complex, and fast-evolving story that needs to be told,” said Bay Fang, the executive editor of the project. “While the world watches, close to a million people, scarred by unspeakable horrors, have fled their homes to begin a life of uncertainty.” “In Myanmar, the tragedy continues with officials turning a blind eye to this man-made catastrophe that is deliberately misrepresented in Burmese media.” “Credit for this honor belongs to RFA’s web designer Minh-Ha Le. Working with RFA’s graphics and editorial teams, Minh-Ha designed a timely, important feature.” The project explores the long persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar through graphics, [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O44KNZwBS7Q | videos ] , key quotes, and current news. More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims, including about 20,000 pregnant women, fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state last August in the wake of a military counter-offensive. The exodus put a huge strain on impoverished Bangladesh, which is struggling to provide housing and health care for Rohingya, many of whom escaped with little more than the clothes on their back. The government of Myanmar does not recognize Rohingya Muslims as citizens and refers to them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Myanmar security forces have been blamed for killings, rapes and arson against the Rohingya community, in what the U.N. has described as “ [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/un-human-rights-council-condemns-m… | textbook ethnic cleansing ] ” of the persecuted Muslim minority. Other [ https://allwomeninmedia.org/gracies/2018-gracie-winners/ | winners ] at the Gracie Awards this year include NPR, CNN, ABC News, and VICE News, among others. # # # 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 Broadcasting Board of Governors.

6 years, 7 months

RFA Breaking News: Workers Reduced to ‘Slaves’ Amid Rampant Debt Bondage in Cambodia’s Brick Sector

by Paul Eckert

Workers Reduced to ‘Slaves’ Amid Rampant Debt Bondage in Cambodia’s Brick Sector May 3, 2018 - Brick workers in southeastern Cambodia’s Kandal province are selling themselves and their families into slavery as “collateral” for debts they owe to factory owners, which can never be repaid due to the seasonal nature of their work, according to sources. More than 100 brick factories operate in Kandal’s Muk Kampoul district, located around 30 kilometers (19 miles) outside of Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, employing thousands of workers who labor throughout the dry season. But while factory owners get rich off of the profits to be had feeding the thriving construction industry in the capital, workers labor under harsh conditions for measly pay that they say is barely enough to feed themselves and their families, let alone establish savings. Many of the workers were initially employed elsewhere, but after receiving traditional loans through banks, agreed to transfer that debt to brick factory owners—who do not charge them interest and offer accommodations at the kilns—and work for them to repay it. Others incurred debt after repeatedly taking loans offered by factory owners to supplement their income during the rainy season, when there is not enough sunlight to dry bricks and no work to be had. Workers are regularly forced to bring their family members to labor at the factories to act as “collateral” for the debts they owe and can rarely pay off, and some have incurred debts so large that multiple generations have been required to toil at the brick kilns. Ven Phea, the deputy chief of Chheu Teal village, in Muk Kampoul’s Prek Anhchanh commune, told RFA’s Khmer Service that there are 13 brick factories in her village, which mostly employ workers from neighboring Svay Rieng and Prey Veng provinces. She said that many of the migrant workers had transferred debts with banks to brick factory owners under agreements which require that family members join them in working at the factories and cannot leave until the debts are satisfied. “When they agree to take loans from factory owners, they must inform them as to the total number of their family members,” Ven Phea said. “Workers must list all of their names and the amount they want to borrow. Let’s say they need [a loan]—how many people will come to work for them in return? Maybe four or five people … So these people will be named on an agreement to work in return for settlement of the debt,” she said. “The owner will not agree if the worker wants to work elsewhere, unless they repay all their debts first.” Never enough Most workers RFA’s Khmer Service spoke to asked to remain unnamed, citing fear of reprisals, but described the difficulties they endured earning a living at the kilns. Many said they received no fixed wage, but were instead paid according to the total number of bricks they made and that, due to the seasonal nature of their earnings, they would never have enough to fully pay back their debt. Vin Mao told RFA she had been working at the same brick factory in Muk Kampoul since she was a child as part of a bid to pay off a large debt her parents incurred from the factory’s owner. After more than 15 years, and now with two children of her own, she said she had saved nothing for herself and remained saddled with debt. “I don’t have anything left, except debt,” Vin Mao said, while piling bricks into the bed of a truck, her skin stained red with clay. “During the dry season, there is work to do and I can earn money to repay my debts. But during the rainy season, I don’t have anything to do, so I end up having to borrow more money [from the factory owner] to support my family.” Another worker named Skoan Yun, who runs a factory’s kilns firing bricks, told RFA he had worked there since 1993, but had never earned more than enough to feed himself and his family. He said his family members would like to find other work, but they cannot leave the factory because of the debt they owe to its owner. “Let’s say that each rainy season [the owner] loaned us 700,000 riels (U.S. $174)—it takes 10 days for two people to finish the work needed to earn that 700,000 riels [and pay him back],” he said. “Within that time, we each spend around 100,000 riels (U.S. $25) each [on supporting our families], so in the end we can never make enough to pay.” Debt bondage In December 2016, local rights group LICADHO released a report on Cambodia’s brick factories, based on interviews with around 50 workers, which said the industry “relies on a workforce of modern-day slaves—multigenerational families of adults and children, trapped in debt bondage.” “Debt bondage is widely used by factory owners as a way of guaranteeing themselves a long-term, cheap and compliant workforce,” the report says. “Because of the low rates of pay and a system of payment by piece, children are often drawn into factory work alongside their parents,” it adds, noting that debt bondage and child labor are unlawful under Cambodian law and various international treaties. Of the workers interviewed, LICADHO said the lowest debt incurred was around U.S. $1,000, though most reported owing between U.S. $2,000-3,000, and the highest debt reported was U.S. $6,000. Many said they had first gone into debt to pay medical bills, while others had borrowed money for farming and had been unable to repay because of crop failure, before transferring the debt to factory owners. Am Sam Ath, the head of LICADHO’s investigation unit, recently told RFA that brick workers are treated like “slaves” by using them as collateral for debts that owners know will never be made whole. “When laborers go to work [at brick factories], they don’t receive any work contract, only debt agreements,” he said. “This means that the worker takes on debt and will have to work for the owner to repay it. Should they or their family members want to quit, they will have to settle all of their debts first. If they don’t honor their debts, the owner will threaten them with a lawsuit—several workers have already been subject to such threats.” Am Sam Ath said that the government could eliminate debt bondage in the brick industry by setting a minimum wage for brick workers, similar to what exists for workers in the country’s highly profitable garment industry, instead of allowing them to be paid by brick. He also called on the government to prevent factory owners from allowing workers to take on too much debt, which could cause them to default on loans over the course of several generations. Government assessment Veng Hieng, the director of Cambodia’s Department of Child Labor under the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, told RFA that the country’s laws prohibit the transfer of debt from parent to child, or other members of the family’s next generation. He said that the use of family members as loan collateral is “not how Cambodia’s brick industry operates,” but that if such cases do exist, they should be reported to the authorities, who will “take action in accordance with the law and arrest the perpetrators.” “At our ministry, we take all efforts to carry out correct measures in terms of conducting inspections [of all industries],” he said. “The brick industry is a minor sector, but there is no slavery—or debt bondage that can be referred to as a kind of slavery—within the sector. Generally, owners take stringent measures. Otherwise, they will be subjected to warnings, fines or have their businesses shut down.” In LICADHO’s report, the group called brick factory conditions “hazardous,” said accommodations at the facilities are often “unsanitary,” and noted that accidents regularly occur at work sites. It said lax government oversight means that laws regulating the industry are not enforced and owners routinely go unsanctioned. Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this s tory online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/bricks-05032018130520.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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at mahajanr(a)rfa.org .

6 years, 8 months

A Year 'Like No Other': RFA President Responds to RSF Press Freedom Index

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 25, 2018 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org A Year 'Like No Other': RFA President Decries 'Unprecedented' Crackdown on Independent Voices in Asia Rise of Authoritarianism, China Model Undercuts Asian Press Freedom in RSF's Index WASHINGTON - The media environment in <http://www.rfa.org/english/> Radio Free Asia's broadcast region is showing dramatic decline, according to the Reporters Without Borders <https://rsf.org/en> (RSF) 2018 Press Freedom Index <https://rsf.org/fr/classement> . And this is particularly true in Cambodia and Burma - countries for which press freedom hopes have eroded over the past year. The report <https://rsf.org/fr/classement-mondial-de-la-liberte-de-la-presse-2018-la-ha ine-du-journalisme-menace-les-democraties> especially cites China's model of media suppression, which has been exported to and duplicated by many countries under authoritarian rule in Asia. "The past year up to now has been like no other for RFA," RFA President Libby Liu said. "Authoritarian strongmen in Asia - who rule countries to which RFA broadcasts - have shown little, if any, restraint in targeting RFA journalists and sources, as well as their families and loved ones. "More countries have adopted China's censorship model, which has led to unprecedented efforts to attack and jail reporters and citizen journalists, and crush all forms of dissent. "RSF is absolutely correct in noting the dramatic fall in Cambodia. There two former RFA reporters - Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin - have been jailed for almost six months on trumped-up charges that are clearly related to their past connection with our organization. And this is after the Cambodian government forced the closure of RFA's bureau in Phnom Penh just after last year's communal elections and before national polls this summer. "Six of RFA's Uyghur reporters still have family members missing or detained in re-education camps in China. Authorities have given no word of these individuals' whereabouts, let alone their well-being or if they're receiving the medical care they need. "In Vietnam, former RFA contractor Nguyen Van Hoa and RFA contributors such as blogger Mother Mushroom and Nguyen have all received harsh, long jail sentences." RSF's annual survey is especially critical of Cambodia, which fell 10 places in the Index to 142nd, one of the biggest falls in the region. The report cites Prime Minister Hun Sen's "ruthless offensive against media freedom in 2017, shutting down more than 30 independent media outlets and jailing several journalists in a completely arbitrary manner." RSF says the documented crackdown in Cambodia on "independent voices," the government's "increased dominance of the mass media," and the "meticulous control of social media" are a "disturbing echo of the methods used in China," which has invested heavily in Cambodia's pro-government mouthpiece media. China meanwhile is described in the report as becoming a "contemporary version of totalitarianism," citing Xi Jinping's steps to establish a "new world media order under its influence." In Vietnam, people who blog about banned subjects can expect a 15-year jail term. Of the 180 countries ranked, RSF put North Korea dead last, China at 176; Vietnam, 175; and Laos, 170 - consistent with the 2017 index. Cambodia dropped 10 places to the 142nd spot and Myanmar to 137, dropping six places from last year's index. The report also cited other worsening trends in Asia. China now has more than 100 bloggers and journalists detained as President Xi Jinping has stepped up efforts to retain complete control over internal news coverage. <http://www.rfa.org/about/> RFA provides accurate, fact-based news and information via short- and medium-wave radio, satellite transmissions and television, online through the websites of its nine language services, and social media such as <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Radio-Free-Asia/31744768821> Facebook and <https://www.youtube.com/user/RFAVideo> YouTube, among other widely used platforms in its countries of operation. RFA's language services are Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, and Uyghur, in China; Burmese; Khmer (Cambodian); Vietnamese; Lao; and Korean. # # # 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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Director of Public Affairs and Digital Strategy <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

6 years, 8 months

Radio Free Asia's Rebel Pepper e-Book Wins Major Award

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24, 2018 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia's Rebel Pepper e-Book Wins Prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia <https://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) was announced as a winner of a Sigma Delta Chi award for " <https://www.rfa.org/english/bookshelf> Drawing Fire: The Political Cartoons of Rebel Pepper" by the Society of Professional Journalists <https://www.spj.org/> (SPJ) in the international competition's new category of best e-book. RFA's e-book collects the work of resident political cartoonist and Chinese dissident Wang Liming, who goes by the pen name of "Rebel Pepper." The collection was released <https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/politicalcartoonist-ebook-12132017115827 .html> last December and includes a selection of Wang's drawings tackling issues from North Korean nuclear provocations to Cambodian political machinations to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, among others. "Rebel Pepper's political cartoons show the power of humor and satire as tools of free expression," said Bay Fang, RFA's Executive Editor, who edited the e-book. "This collection is especially resonant with RFA's audiences in countries under authoritarian rule that restrict free speech and free press. "Radio Free Asia is honored to accept this prestigious award for our e-book that shows the amazing breadth of Rebel's work." In his native China, Wang's success in giving expression to the thoughts of his thousands of followers on both taboo subjects and everyday experiences drew the wrath of the Chinese Communist Party. In 2014, Wang was forced to leave his homeland, finding haven first in Japan before settling in Washington, D.C. Throughout his journey he continued to hone his craft, challenging Chinese state-controlled narratives and expanding his graphic editorials for RFA. "Drawing Fire" includes 50 of Wang's cartoons, in which he shapes nuanced geopolitical complexities into sharp and relatable pieces of visual art. Wang's cartoons have appeared in the Japanese edition of Newsweek, Index of Censorship, and China Digital Times, among other publications. He began working for RFA in June 2017. Other notable winners <https://twitter.com/spj_tweets/status/988475924466237440> of this year's Sigma Delta Chi Awards include reporters, columnists, and designers with the Associated Press, ProPublica, NPR, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Center for Investigative Reporting, Politico, and the Intercept, among others. # # # 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 Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan | Radio Free Asia | Director of Public Affairs and Digital Strategy <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

6 years, 8 months

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