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RFA's Tibetan Service Launches Satellite TV Broadcast

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 18, 2015 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA's Tibetan Service Launches Satellite TV Broadcast WASHINGTON - Marking Losar, the Tibetan new year, Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> 's Tibetan Service <http://www.rfa.org/tibetan/> today launched its first satellite television broadcast <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNgPnreV_cw#t=61> . The half-hour program airs daily at 6 p.m. in China's Tibetan regions and 3:30 p.m. in Dharamsala, India. "With the launch of RFA Tibetan's daily satellite TV broadcast, we begin a new and exciting chapter for both RFA and our Tibetan audiences," said Libby Liu, President of Radio Free Asia (RFA). "Starting today, as we join Tibetans everywhere around the world in celebrating Losar, RFA will provide a great way to access uncensored news and information." Since it began in December 1996, RFA's Tibetan Service - which broadcasts in the Uke, Amdo, and Kham dialects - has covered the Chinese authorities' longstanding crackdown on Tibetan protests, and political, religious, and human rights abuses throughout the Tibetan ethnic regions of China. Press freedom watchdog group Reporters Without Borders <http://index.rsf.org/#!/> considers China among the world's most challenging and restricted media environments for journalists. Despite these challenges, the service has broken the vast majority of stories related to the ongoing wave of self-immolations in China's Tibetan regions since they began in 2009. The service's new half-hour daily satellite TV broadcast opens another channel for RFA Tibetan to focus on these and other issues through news programming, as well as hosted talk shows, and special interviews. The service joins RFA's Myanmar, Mandarin, and Cantonese services, which also offer its audiences satellite television programming. # # # 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 | Media Relations Manager <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

9 years, 11 months

RSF’s Index Paints “Grim Picture” of Press Freedom’s Future in Asia: RFA President

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 12, 2015 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RSF’s Index Paints “Grim Picture” of Press Freedom’s Future in Asia: RFA President Seven of RFA’s nine target countries and territories in bottom 10 percent WASHINGTON – Threats to journalists and netizens, and censorship issues continued to hurt the media environments of Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> ’s target countries, according to Reporters Without Borders’ 2015 Press Freedom Index <http://index.rsf.org/#!/> . Radio Free Asia (RFA) President Libby Liu said the report continues to paint “a grim picture of the future of press freedom in Asia,” with seven of RFA’s nine language services now operating in the bottom 10 percent of media environments in the world. Meanwhile, the two RFA countries not in the bottom 10 percent, Myanmar and Cambodia, still continue to struggle with government pressure on journalists and news outlets to self-censor. “In all of RFA’s countries, press freedom continues to be under threat and under attack,” Liu said. “The seriousness of the situation is evidenced in areas once considered the few bright spots of our broadcast regions. “In Hong Kong, for example, authorities used the Umbrella Movement demonstrations as an excuse to escalate their efforts to rein in media freedoms, including attacks on and firings of editors and reporters critical of the city’s and mainland China’s leadership. “Our journalists on the ground in Myanmar and Cambodia continue to experience and witness both countries struggling with free press issues, including the use of civil and criminal courts as a means to intimidate journalists with the threat of prosecution. “With this latest report, Reporters Without Borders continues to paint a grim picture of the future of press freedom in Asia, especially with countries under authoritarian rule – and it reinforces the need for our work there now more than ever.” The survey ranked North Korea second to last at 179 of the 180 countries researched, with China at 176, Vietnam at 175, and Laos at 171. Cambodia was ranked at 139 and Myanmar at 144. Hong Kong, once considered a bastion of free expression in China, saw steep declines. The report cited police misconduct aimed at reporters and photojournalists during the Umbrella Movement <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/umbrella/home.html> pro-democracy protests. The report cited China and Vietnam as among its worst press freedom offenders, with both countries arresting bloggers and journalists. In China, these included famous journalist Gao Yu <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/denies-11212014101216.html> , who was forced to make a televised “confession,” cyber-dissident Xu Zhiyong <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/zhang-xiangzhong-06122014103936.html> , and leading Uyghur blogger and economics professor Ilham Tohti <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/separatism-verdict-11212014161952.ht…> , who have joined “the hundred or so other news and information providers already in detention.” In Vietnam, independent journalist Truong Minh Duc <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/media-11252014204726.html> was in intensive care for weeks after being attacked by eight policemen on Nov. 2, 2014. RFA <http://www.rfa.org/about/> 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 Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Radio-Free-Asia/31744768821> and YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/user/RFAVideo> , among other widely used platforms in its countries of operation. RFA’s language services are Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, and Uyghur, in China; Myanmar; 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 | Media Relations Manager <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

9 years, 11 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetan Monk Self-Immolates in Second Protest This Week

by Joshua Lipes

cid:image001.png@01CCE405.460E1840 Tibetan Monk Self-Immolates in Second Protest This Week DEC. 23, 2014 - A Tibetan monk set himself on fire in Sichuan on Tuesday in the second self-immolation protest this week against Beijing's rule in Tibetan-populated areas of China, sources said. Kalsang Yeshe, 38, set himself ablaze at around 11:20 a.m. local time outside the Tawu Nyitso monastery in the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture's Tawu (Daofu) county, sources in the region and in exile told RFA's Tibetan Service. "He self-immolated in protest against Chinese policies in Tibet and called for the return of [exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama to Tibet," one source said, speaking from exile on condition of anonymity and citing local contacts. Yeshe staged his protest "in front of the offices of the Chinese Public Security Bureau and work team stationed at the monastery," the source said. Engulfed in flames, Kalsang Yeshe collapsed on the ground, and Tibetans nearby rushed to prevent his body being taken away by the police, a local source told RFA. "But police dispersed the crowd by firing warning shots and took possession of his body," the source said, adding, "It is unknown whether he is dead or alive." Other sources said that Yeshe died at the scene, however. 'Well-respected monk' Yeshe had previously studied at the Ganden Jangtse monastery in South India before returning to Tibet, where he began a campaign against illiteracy among the elderly and "taught Buddhism and the Tibetan language," a local source said, adding, "He was a well-respected monk." Yeshe's burning brings to 136 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans protesting Chinese rule since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, and is the third to take place this month. On Monday, a 20-year-old woman named Tsepe in Sichuan's Ngaba (Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture died after setting herself ablaze in Ngaba county's Meruma town. And on Dec. 16, Sangye Khar, 33, self-immolated in front of a police station in Gansu province's Sangchu (Xiahe) county in the Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Both died to protest Chinese policies in Tibetan-populated areas, sources told RFA. Chinese authorities have tightened controls in a bid to check self-immolation protests, arresting and jailing Tibetans linked to the burnings. Some have been imprisoned for up to 15 years. Reported by Sonam Lhamo, Lobsang Choephel, and Lhuboom for RFA's Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/second-12232014124427.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.

10 years

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetan Woman Dies in Second Self-Immolation Protest This Month

by Joshua Lipes

cid:image001.png@01CCE405.460E1840 Tibetan Woman Dies in Second Self-Immolation Protest This Month DEC. 22, 2014 - A Tibetan woman set herself on fire and died in Sichuan province on Monday in the second self-immolation protest this month against Beijing's rule in Tibetan-populated areas of China, sources said. Tsepe, 20, set herself ablaze at around 2:00 p.m. local time in Meruma town in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) county in the Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, local sources told RFA's Tibetan Service. "Today, a 20-year-old Tibetan woman self-immolated in protest against China's repressive policies," one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Soon afterward, the police arrived and took her body away," the source said. Sources gave the woman's name as Tsepe and described her as a resident of Meruma town's Unit No. 4. "Her father's name is Chidor Rinchen, and her mother's name is Chenpa," one source said. Reached for comment, a duty officer at a local police station denied knowledge of the incident, adding, "You should ask the higher authorities," before hanging up the phone. 'Good character' Separately, a Tibetan monk living in India said Tsepe was known for her "good character and personal integrity," citing contacts in Ngaba. "Tsepe had been living with her parents as a nomad and had not been to school since she was young," the monk, Kanyak Tsering, said. "Police took her parents and brother Yime away for questioning shortly after her protest, but it is not known if they will be detained," he said. In addition to her brother Yime, Tsepe leaves behind five other siblings, sources said. Tsepe's burning brings to 135 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans protesting Chinese rule since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, and is the second this month. The last Tibetan self-immolation occurred on Dec. 16 in Gansu province when Sangye Khar, 33, set himself ablaze in front of a police station in Amchok township in Sangchu (Xiahe) county in the Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a local source told RFA's Tibetan Service. Khar died "in protest against Chinese policies in Tibetan areas," RFA's source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Tightened controls Chinese authorities have tightened controls in a bid to check self-immolation protests, arresting and jailing Tibetans linked to the burnings. Some have been imprisoned for up to 15 years. "Tibetans continue to set themselves alight in protest against China's policies and rule in Tibet," Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren, director of the London-based advocacy group Free Tibet, said in a statement on Monday. "The ongoing crisis in Tibet will not be resolved until the world's leaders put pressure on China to recognize Tibetans' desire for freedom instead of criminalizing it," she said. Reported by Yangdon Demo, Lobsang Choephel, and Chakmo Tso for RFA's Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/second-12222014121523.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.

10 years

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Suspected North Korean Government Agents Assault Refugee Who Fled Country

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Suspected North Korean Government Agents Assault Refugee in Denmark DEC. 17, 2014 – Suspected North Korean government agents have assaulted a North Korean living in a refugee center in Denmark and warned him that they would cut his head off if he does not return home, according to a rights group. “We are currently trembling in extreme fear and anxiety,” the refugee, who lives with his wife at the center in the small Danish town of Hanstholm in the northern part of Denmark, told the U.S.-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK). Bae Jun Sik was assaulted by the agents this week and has been hospitalized at Hillerod Hospital in Hanstholm in the latest of several attacks on him since Nov. 10. “I have spoken with hospital staff, who confirmed that he has a broken nose, an injury to his head, and scars on his neck, most likely proof of an attempt to strangle him,” Greg Scarlatoiu, HRNK’s executive director, told RFA’s Korean Service. “He says he went out [of the center] for a cigarette, opened the door for people outside, and they tried to strangle him with a plastic string. His wife heard the noise, screamed, and they ran away,” Scarlatoiu said. In a written message to HRNK just before the attack, Bae said he entered Denmark after escaping from a North Korean political prison camp, where he and his family had been held. They were thrown in the camp after being caught and repatriated while trying to enter China illegally in their bid to seek asylum in a foreign country. “My father, unable to endure the torture by the North Korean State Security Department, committed suicide [at the camp],” said Bae, whose application for asylum together with that of his wife are currently being processed by Danish authorities. Bae, who left behind his three-year-old infant and a nine-year-old child at the camp, said he had been threatened and assaulted by “agents of the North Korean regime” over the past month. “These agents have also brandished a knife at me,” he said in his message, a copy of which was handed to RFA by HRNK. Bae said after he was first assaulted on Nov. 10, he received a threatening text message on the same day. “The text message said that ‘the motherland forgives you. Return to the loving care of the Party. If you do not, we will not hesitate to cut your head off.” Additional threats The threats did not end even after he was transferred to a second refugee center as the agents harassed and tried to force him to give details of North Korean refugees in Denmark. “At the second refugee center we moved to, I was threatened with a knife and dragged to some place, where the agents put me on the phone with someone,” he said. “The person on the phone was a North Korean, and this person asked me how many North Korean refugees there are in Denmark.” When he refused to answer, he was told, “If you don’t want to die a useless death in some faraway place, come back to North Korea while we are still giving you the chance.” Before his latest assault, Bae received a written threat on Dec. 12. “It said that ‘wherever you go, we will find you. We know where you are. You will see for yourself the last moments of those who betray the motherland.’” The Danish immigration authorities and police had asked him and his wife if there was a reason for the agents to threaten them in this way. “If there is a reason, it is only that we have committed the ‘crime’ of being born in North Korea,” he said, adding that he fled his country “because—like many other North Korean refugees—I could no longer endure the hunger and deprivation.” “I had to find a way to live.” “We have nowhere to turn for help.” 'Unreal rights situation' Bae said he wanted his case publicized “to let the world know of the unreal human rights situation in North Korea.” “I would also like to sincerely ask for your help with regards to my current situation, and I would like to ask for your continued attention.” Scarlatoiu said that Bae was not asking for help with expediting his asylum application, but seems to be in need of protection. He said he had spoken to the Danish Red Cross and immigration authorities about Bae’s plight since being contacted by the North Korean 10 days ago, several times a day. “As you will see from the message, he has been followed, threatened, and assaulted by persons he believes are agents of the North Korean regime—both Koreans and non-Koreans,” Scarlatoiu said. He said the Danish authorities initially did not take the threats serious due to miscommunication. Even after understanding his plight, they could not provide additional protection, he said. “The Red Cross had thought that he'd been in a fight with other refugees. They verified that he is a North Korean whose application is being processed, and they raised no red flags whatsoever.” After he was issued the threatening message last week, the local police also spoke to Bae, Scarlatoiu said. “They also brought in a translator who helped decipher the threatening message and interview the refugee. However, everyone informed me that they don't have the resources to provide additional protection.” Agents abroad Bae has provided HRNK the dates of birth and full names of all his family members he claims were taken to political prison camps. “I also spoke with his wife. I may not know much, but I can tell for sure when I am talking to a Korean lady who appears to be genuinely frightened and in distress,” Scarlatoiu said. Both Bae and his wife insist they stand out as the only Koreans around at the refugee center and that the North Korean agents have informants among the foreign refugees at such centers. North Korea’s hard-line communist regime had sent agents abroad previously to abduct defectors, who are subsequently imprisoned without trial, beaten, tortured and even executed, reports have said. The abductions were reported mostly in South Korea and China but a man who admitted to having taken part in such schemes was recently caught in Canada and deported. Reported by RFA’s Korean Service. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/assault-12172014183304.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.

10 years

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetan Man Dies in Self-Immolation Protest in Front of Police Station

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Tibetan Man Dies in Self-Immolation Protest in Front of Police Station DEC. 16, 2014 – A Tibetan man set himself on fire and died in Gansu province on Tuesday in the first self-immolation protest in three months against Beijing’s rule in Tibetan-populated areas in China, sources said. Sangye Khar, 33, set himself ablaze between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. in front of a police station in Amchok township in Sangchu (in Chinese, Xiahe) county in the Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service. Khar died “in protest against Chinese policies in Tibetan areas,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The last two Tibetan self-immolations also occurred near police stations. Authorities have stepped up security in Amchok and clamped down on communications, including the Internet. “When I heard about the incident, I called my friends and went to see [Khar’s] condition, but the Chinese authorities had already taken his body away,” he said. “Soon after this, the presence of security personnel increased in the area, and restrictions were imposed on the movements of the people in the area.” Community of farmers Chinese police tried to extinguish the flames on Khar's burning body but apparently failed, a Tibetan living in exile and giving his name as Tamdin told RFA, citing contacts in the region. “We could not confirm that he died at the scene, but I heard that the Chinese took his body to Labrang [monastery], where it was cremated,” he said. Another local source confirmed the self-immolation, saying Khar was a resident of Amchok township’s Chung Nyuthang village. “The members of his community are primarily farmers dependent on the cultivation of land,” said the source, who sent RFA Khar's photo. “His father’s name is Ranglo, and his mother’s name is Yudron." “All lines of communication are now blocked, and it is very difficult to get updates,” he said. Burning numbers climb Khar’s burning brings to 134 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans protesting Chinese rule since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009, and is the first since September. The last Tibetan self-immolation occurred on Sept. 17 when a 22-year-old student burned himself to death in front of a police station in Gansu province's Tsoe (Hezuo) county in protest against Chinese rule. Lhamo Tashi set himself on fire and shouted slogans before succumbing to his burns on the spot. A day earlier, on Sept. 16, Konchok, 42, set himself on fire beside a police station in Qinghai province's Gade (Gande) county in the Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, but Tibetans nearby managed to douse the flames and rushed him to a nearby hospital. News of his burning in Tsang Khor town emerged only in early October, apparently due to the communication clampdowns usually imposed by Chinese authorities following self-immolation protests, they said. Chinese authorities have tightened controls in a bid to check self-immolation protests, arresting and jailing Tibetans linked to the burnings. Some have been jailed for up to 15 years. Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/new-12162014125456.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.

10 years, 1 month

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Chinese Court Frees Uyghur Linguist Following Appeal

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Chinese Court Frees Uyghur Linguist Following Appeal DEC. 11, 2014 – Chinese authorities have freed a U.S.-educated Uyghur linguist who sought to set up schools to promote the ethnic minority language in the Xinjiang region after more than a year in prison, according to a close relative. Abduweli Ayup was ordered jailed 18 months and fined 80,000 yuan (U.S. $13,000) for “illegal fundraising” in August by the Tengritagh (in Chinese, Tianshan) district court in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’s capital Urumqi after being detained for more than a year. He was released on Nov. 27 after his partners in an education venture, Muhemmet Sidik and Dilyar Obul, who were convicted in the same trial, appealed their verdict, the relative said, speaking to RFA’s Uyghur Service on condition of anonymity. State media had not reported the release of Ayup, who did not lodge an appeal against his sentence. Uyghurs in exile have suggested that the charges against Ayup and his partners were politically motivated, after the linguist’s essays and lectures on maintaining the Uyghur language in schools drew widespread support in China’s Uyghur community. “After Abduweli’s trial, our family assumed that he would be released in February 2015, based on the decision of the court [which included his time already spent in detention], but the authorities freed him three months before the end of his jail term,” he said. The conviction of Ayup, who has a Master’s Degree in Linguistics from the University of Kansas, had received international attention. A group of supporters in the United States launched a petition on MoveOn.org to publicize his case, receiving hundreds of backers from across the globe. They also set up a Facebook page “Justice for Uyghur Linguist Abduweli Ayup” to highlight his plight. The petition called on the ruling Chinese Communist Party to protect the rights of ethnic minorities, among other requests. The mostly Muslim Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness. Ishat Hesen, vice president of the Uyghur American Association, said he found it strange that Ayup had been convicted of illegal fundraising instead of crimes against the state or separatism. But he said the authorities were likely eager to avoid drawing international attention to his case in the same way that the September sentencing of Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti to life in prison for "separatism" had invited criticism from rights groups and Western governments. “Ilham Tohti’s case was one of the big lessons for the Chinese government,” Hesen said. Partners appeal The education venture partners, Sidik and Obul, who together with Ayup had set up Mother Tongue International Co. to push for Uyghur language education in Xinjiang, had been sentenced to jail for up to 27 months and fined up to 130,000 yuan (U.S. $21,000). They were “unsatisfied” with their verdicts and had appealed to the Urumqi Intermediate Court, the relative said. “We don’t know what the intermediate court’s ruling was on their appeal, but either way, my uncle was released from prison three months early.” Ayup’s elder sister told the relative that the partners’ prison terms had been reduced, but it was unclear by how many months, adding that the two men were being held in Liudawan prison in Urumqi. He said that the day after his uncle’s release, Ayup had traveled from the capital to his home in Kashgar’s old city, where he was “recovering from his trauma” along with his wife and two daughters. “I heard that [his] mood is normal, but he is thin and his body is weak, so he needs some time to recover,” he said. Kashgar kindergarten An active promoter of the Uyghur language in Xinjiang, where Beijing is strongly pushing the use of Mandarin Chinese in schools, Ayup established a Uyghur-language kindergarten in Kashgar, China’s westernmost city, together with his business associates in the summer of 2012. Authorities said they closed down the school in March 2013 because it was operating “without complete documentation,” though they later let it reopen on a smaller scale. They refused the trio’s permission to open another school in Urumqi. Ayup said he plans to return to teaching at the kindergarten in Kashgar, which his wife had continued to operate in his absence, according to his relative. But he has abandoned his dream of opening a Mother Tongue school in Urumqi, he added. The relative said Ayup will have his work cut out for him in trying to rebuild the status of the kindergarten, which saw a major drop in attendance after he was jailed. “After [he] was detained, his wife took over the responsibilities of the daily work and teaching at the kindergarten. The local authorities warned her several times that they would close the kindergarten, but later they let her continue her work,” he said. “The problem was that Uyghur parents would dare not send their children to the kindergarten, because they worried the government would interfere in the school’s affairs after my uncle was jailed. The number of children decreased, but my aunt insisted on continuing the kindergarten.” Avoiding a political tone “[Ayup’s] writings and lectures aroused strong feelings in the Uyghur community in the Uyghur Region. After he was detained in August, there was a lot of reaction from Uyghurs and international human rights organizations,” Hesen said. “I think the Chinese authorities would never want to create a second Ilham Tohti among the Uyghurs, so the court avoided taking a political tone on [Ayup’s] case and convicted him of illegal fundraising.” The Xinjiang region, which is home to millions of Turkic-speaking Uyghurs, has seen an upsurge in violence that has left hundreds dead since 2012, and which China has blamed on terrorists and Islamist insurgents seeking to establish an independent state. But rights groups accuse the Chinese authorities of heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, including violent police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people. Reported by Eset Sulaiman for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by Eset Sulaiman. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/linguist-12112014153845.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.

10 years, 1 month

RFA Unveils e-Book on Asian Women Fighting for Human Rights

by Rohit Mahajan

cid:image001.jpg@01CC3004.B37985F0 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 8, 2014 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA Unveils e-Book on Asian Women Fighting for Human Rights *On Dec. 10 at 10:00-11:30 am ET*, join editor on Twitter for Q&A #HerStoryTold WASHINGTON – Ahead of Human Rights Day, <http://www.rfa.org/english/> Radio Free Asia (RFA) today unveiled an e-book profiling the lives, work, and sacrifice of women from Asian countries and regions under authoritarian rule taking up the fight for human rights on their families’ and communities’ behalf. <http://www.rfa.org/english/bookshelf> ‘It’s not OK’ collects and presents portraits of these remarkable women, whose often untold stories demonstrate courage under fire, in China, Southeast Asia, and North Korea. The book is available in English for a free download for iPads and tablets. Along with the e-book, RFA is launching a companion <http://www.womensrights.asia/> website with additional related content. “Whether fighting for their homes at Boeung Kok Lake, demanding answers in the disappearance of her husband, or making sure her traditions and culture are passed on to younger Tibetans, these women all share one essential quality – an unyielding strength of spirit,” said Libby Liu, President of RFA. “They never sought the fight, but took it up without hesitation the moment they refused to accept injustice and inhumanity. “With this project, we aim to put a spotlight on these extraordinary Asian women whose struggle is seen to be a universal one for fairness, compassion, and justice.” Each portrait selected by RFA’s nine language services is based on RFA reporting and interviews over the years, in addition to other sources. The e-book also includes multimedia content, including video, graphics, and illustrations, the latter of which were created by the Broadcasting Board of Governor’s <http://www.innovation-series.com/tag/oddi/> Office of Digital & Design Innovation (ODDI). On Wednesday, Dec. 10 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. ET, the project’s executive producer, Catherine Antoine (@antoinec) and RFA staff, will answer questions about the e-book and the women’s profiles via Twitter (questions should use the hashtag #HerStoryTold). The women featured in this edition are: from China, Ding Zilin, a Tiananmen mother, and Jiao Xia, the wife of jailed investigative journalist Qi Chonghuai; from Vietnam, Đỗ Thị Minh Hạnh, a young labor activist recently released from jail; from Myanmar, Zin Mar Aung, a former political prisoner who helps other recently released prisoners; from Cambodia, Yorm Bopha and Tep Vanny, land rights activists; from North Korea, Lee Ae Ran, the first North Korean defector to obtain a doctoral degree who helps other defectors in South Korea; from Laos, Ng Shui Meng, wife of missing Lao activist Sombath Somphone; from China’s Tibetan regions, Rinchen Khandro Choegyal, who supports overseas Tibetans and nuns in India; and from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Patigul Ghulam, who has been jailed several times for demanding information about her son's whereabouts since he disappeared in July 2009. RFA plans to release a second edition in March 2015 with more profiles and content. # # # 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 | Media Relations Manager <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

10 years, 1 month

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Jailed Prominent Vietnamese Blogger Dieu Cay Freed, on Way to US: Sources

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Jailed Prominent Vietnamese Blogger Dieu Cay Freed, on Way to US: Sources OCT. 21, 2014 – Authorities in Hanoi have freed one of Vietnam’s most prominent jailed bloggers and dissidents, Nguyen Van Hai, and deported him to the United States, sources said Tuesday. Hai, who is also known by his pen name Dieu Cay, was handed a 12-year prison sentence in September 2012 for conducting “anti-state propaganda” amid a crackdown on bloggers in the one-party state after his online articles slammed communist rule and highlighted alleged abuses by the authorities. He was first arrested in 2008. "Blogger Dieu Cay is on an airplane heading to the U.S.," a source in Hanoi told Radio Free Asia's Vietnamese Service, speaking on condition of anonymity. A source dealing with the State Department said she was told that Hai was on his way to Los Angeles. The State Department in Washington would not confirm the news. Straight to airport Hai's wife Duong Thi Tan said he was taken straight from his jail to the airport and put on a plane to the United States. "They let him go from Hanoi airport. We are in Saigon," Tan told RFA from Ho Chi Minh City, where she and their son are residing. "We only got a message saying that Hai was on the way to the Noi Bai airport. I called that number again several times, but he did not answer," she said. "The last message was he was on the airplane that was about to take off. I don’t know where it was heading to." "Hai could not call us at home," she said. "In fact, they did not let the family know anything about his release. There was no signal or notice. They deported him to exile, they did not release him just like what they said." Just two months ago, Hai had refused to make an official application to the authorities seeking his release from prison, insisting instead that they explain the reasons for his initial arrest and demanding that he be freed without condition. “He said that he told them he is innocent and that his arrest was illegal,” Tan said. Following a visit to Vietnam in early August by U.S. Senators John McCain and Sheldon Whitehouse, rumors had spread that Hai might be freed from jail on Vietnam’s Independence Day on Sept. 2, Tan said. On July 27, 2013, Hai ended a five-week-long hunger strike at Prison No. 6 in Vietnam’s northern Nghe An province after judicial authorities agreed to investigate his complaints over abuses in prison. Arrested in April 2008 after helping to lead anti-China protests, Hai was sentenced in 2009 to 30 months in prison on a charge of tax evasion but was not freed after completing his term, and was then charged with carrying out propaganda against the state. An appeals court upheld his sentence in December 2012, and authorities have repeatedly transferred him from one prison to another. Hai’s case has been adopted by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and raised by U.S. President Barack Obama, whose administration has called on Hanoi to release all political prisoners in Vietnam. These included attempts by prison officials to force him to sign a document admitting guilt in the charges for which he was convicted, Tan said. Paris-based press freedoms watchdog Reporters Without Borders lists Vietnam as an “Enemy of the Internet” and the third-largest prison in the world for netizens. Vietnam is second only to China for the number of journalists jailed, according to the annual prison census of the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which counts 16 out of 18 Vietnamese reporters currently behind bars as bloggers. Reported by RFA's Vietnamese Service. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/blogger-10212014122030.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.

10 years, 2 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: 22 Killed in Farmers' Market Attack in Xinjiang's Kashgar Prefecture

by Param

22 Killed in Farmers' Market Attack in Xinjiang's Kashgar Prefecture OCT. 18, 2014 – Four ethnic minority Uyghur men armed with knives and explosives attacked a farmers' market in northwestern China's unrest-plagued Xinjiang region this week, leaving 22 people dead, including police officers and the attackers themselves, according to police Saturday. The daring Oct. 12 raid on the majority Han Chinese Farmers Trading Center in Maralbeshi (in Chinese, Bachu) county in Kashgar prefecture has prompted a new security buildup in the region, where an upsurge of violence fueled by ethnic tensions has left about 300 dead in the past year and a half. The four Uyghurs stabbed an unknown number of police officers as they stormed into the township market hurling explosives and attacking Han Chinese stall owners before they were gunned down, police officers in the Chongqurchaq and Konabazar police stations in Maralbeshi told RFA's Uyghur Service. "According to brief notice I received, a total of 22 people were killed, including the four attackers, but I have no idea how many police officers were among the 18 [victims]," Qahar Ayup, the chief of the Chongqurchaq police station, said. Hashim Eli, a police officer at the Konabazar police station, said dozens of people were injured in the latest violence. "The four men arrived in two motorcycles at the farmers' market at 10:30 a.m.," he said. "Two of them attacked police officers patrolling the street while the other two attacked the Han Chinese stall owners who were just entering the market to open their stores." “Most of the business owners in the market were Han Chinese," Eli said. "The attackers carefully planned the attack to ensure that there were no Uyghur customers in the market." He said the four attackers, aged between 25 and 30, were from Aksakmaral Township in Maralbeshi county. Security stepped up Police said security has been stepped up following the attack, which came two days after two Uyghur men went on a stabbing spree in neighboring Hotan prefecture’s Guma (in Chinese, Pishan) county on Oct. 10, killing three police officers and three government officials before they were gunned down. “It's true we have placed the city on red alert after the violence in Maralbeshi," Obul Yasin, a police officer in neighboring Tumshuk (in Chinese, Tumushuke) city said. "An emergency meeting has been held by Tumshuk City Police department and we have taken steps to prepare for any possible attacks here," he said. China has accused "terrorists" and Islamist insurgents seeking to establish an independent state for the persistent unrest in Xinjiang, where an anti-terror campaign has been underway since May, Uyghur groups have blamed the violence on heavy-handed rule, including violent police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people. Radicalize Rights groups warn that the strike-hard campaign in Xinjiang could further radicalize the Uyghurs into fueling more violence. The Uyghur men who staged the Maralbeshi attack may have been frustrated by the jailing of more than 1,000 Uyghur youths in the county since May, when the authorities launched the anti-terror campaign, a retired government employee in the area said. “The Maralbeshi incident was not even reported in the local media but almost all the residents in the county heard about it and know why this happened," he said. Foreign journalists find it difficult to visit violence-wracked areas in Xinjiang, making it almost impossible to independently verify state media reports on the unrest in the region. Death penalty On Oct. 13, a court in Kashgar prefecture sentenced to death 12 people, all believed to be Uyghurs, blamed for attacks that killed 37 people in July, state media reported. The official Xinhua News Agency said the court sentenced another 15 people to death with a two-year reprieve while nine others received life sentences. Another 20 people received terms of four to 20 years. The sentences were linked to July 28 violence in Kashgar’s Yarkand (in Chinese, Shache) county in which police shot dead dozens of knife and axe-wielding Uyghurs who went on a rampage, apparently angry over restrictions during the Ramadan holiday and the cold-blooded killing of a family of five. It was one of the worst clashes in Xinjiang since bloody riots in the regional capital Urumqi in 2009 between Uyghurs and Han Chinese that left almost 200 people dead. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by Shohret Hoshur. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/attack-10182014194433.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.

10 years, 2 months

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