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RFA BREAKING NEWS: Chinese Officials Force Management Change at Tibetan Monastery

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Chinese Officials Force Management Change at Tibetan Monastery MAY 15, 2014 -- Chinese authorities have removed officials from a key monastery in a restive county of China’s Qinghai province whom they suspect of opposing Beijing’s rule, replacing them with monks of their own choosing, according to sources in the region. The move is believed to be the first high-profile management change by Beijing of a monastery in Tibetan-populated areas in recent years. The revamp this week at the Nyatso Zilkar monastery in Yulshul (in Chinese, Yushu) prefecture’s Tridu (Chenduo) county has heightened local fears that Zilkar’s new managers will now be acting under exclusive Chinese control, an area resident told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Wednesday. “This action has completely broken the tradition of the [monastery] managing its own discipline and activities,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “With this appointment of a new management committee for Zilkar monastery, the monks are worried about their future.” Chinese authorities in recent months had increasingly interfered in the work of Nyatso Zilkar, “accusing the management team of the monastery in involvement in separatist activities and pressing for their removal from management positions,” a Tibetan source told RFA last month. On May 10, the monastery’s managers were called to a meeting in nearby Dzatoe town, a local source told RFA on Wednesday. “The officials insisted that the current management team must be changed, and the pressure became so intense that the management committee members were replaced on May 11,” he said. An initial list of 32 candidates, including both Nyatso Zilkar monks and laypeople from nearby villages, was first shortened to 28 and then reduced further to a final list of nine, RFA’s source said, adding that these nine were then chosen without input from the monastery itself. Taken into custody When the head of nearby Khangmar village challenged two of those initially named, he was taken into custody for a day and a half and “questioned in detention,” the source said. “Later, he was released,” he said. Nyatso Zilkar, where monks in recent years have led protest marches and held prayer gatherings to honor self-immolation protesters, appears to have been principally targeted for new restrictions, but other local monasteries have also come under heightened scrutiny, one source said, identifying them as Shelma, Drubgyu, and Lu. “We are extremely worried, as this could have an impact on the monasteries’ activities,” he said. In December 2013, Chinese security forces surrounded monasteries with paramilitary police and detained monks in Driru (Biru) county in the neighboring Tibet Autonomous Region when county residents defied orders to fly the Chinese flag from their homes, according to Tibetan sources. Two years before, authorities in Tibet’s Chamdo prefecture had forced the return of monks and nuns to a monastery abandoned following a bomb attack on a government building, warning senior leaders that they could be shot if they fail to heed the order, sources said. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing’s rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 131 Tibetans to date setting themselves ablaze to protest Chinese rule and call for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. 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/change-05152014173009.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, 7 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Xinjiang Police Open Fire at Protest Against Clampdown on Islamic Dress

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Xinjiang Police Open Fire at Protest Against Clampdown on Islamic Dress MAY 20, 2014 -- Police in China’s restive Xinjiang region opened fire Tuesday at a protest by hundreds of mostly Muslim ethnic minority Uyghurs angry over the detention of several women and middle school girls for wearing headscarves, according to residents who fear several were shot dead. The mass protest in front of government buildings in a township in Aksu prefecture’s Kucha county turned violent when participants beat the principal of the girls’ school and a township official and pelted stones at the buildings, the residents said. Eyewitnesses said up to four people may have been killed and several others wounded when special armed police blasted several rounds of gunfire at random apparently to control the swelling crowd near the Alaqagha township state buildings. Police also detained dozens among the protesters, who had demanded the immediate release of the girls and several other women detained by local authorities for wearing headscarves and Islamic robes. “I heard the sound of gunfire. All the protesters were shocked and fled in different directions,” a Uyghur woman who was at the protest scene told RFA’s Uyghur Service. “I don’t know for sure how many people were shot dead but the people around me were saying three or four were gunned down on the spot and several others wounded, including in the legs,” she said. “The armed police also detained many people.” Trigger She said the incident was triggered by an ongoing crackdown by local authorities on Uyghur men sporting beards and women wearing headscarves as well as on schools with girls adhering to Islamic dress. An unknown number of them had been detained by the authorities in recent days. “Their families and relatives gathered at the main door of government buildings today and demanded that the detainees, including schoolgirls, be freed,” the woman said, adding that the protests became bigger as other residents joined to express their anger over the detentions. She said the protesters beat the principal of the Alaqagha township middle school—identified as Tursun Qadir—who helped the authorities round up girls wearing headscarves. “The head of the township government [identified just as Ahmad] emerged to speak to the protesters but he was also beaten by the angry protesters.” Police who were contacted by RFA said the situation had calmed down by late Tuesday but refused to provide details such as the number of fatalities and of those detained. “The situation is already under control,” an officer at the Alaqagha township police station said, declining to elaborate on the incident, the latest in a series of violent events to rock Xinjiang. An officer at the neighboring Dongqotan police station, when contacted, said police were huddled in an emergency meeting and wanted all queries to be directed to the county authorities. Curbs on Islamic practices Uyghur rights groups accuse the Chinese authorities of heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, including curbs on Islamic practices and the culture and language of the Uyghur people. Many Uyghurs say headscarves are a marker of Uyghur rather than Muslim identity. Chinese authorities, however, discourage the wearing of headscarves, veils, and other Islamic dress in the region. More than 100 people, mostly Uyghurs, are believed to have been killed in violence in the region over the last year as the authorities launched an aggressive campaign to clamp down on dissent and suppress what they call “separatist” campaigns. A woman resident of Alaqagha said she heard numerous gunshots from her house several meters away from the protest site on Tuesday. She said power supply to the township has been cut off and security forces were in full force in the streets. “Now, the police and other security forces are patrolling everywhere. We cannot walk in the streets. The electricity has been cut off and we are staying at home without lights.” Security tightened Security has been stepped up across Xinjiang since three people were killed and 79 injured in a knife and bomb attack on a railway station in the regional capital Urumqi when President Xi Jinping concluded a visit to the region last month. Following the attack, Xi called for "decisive actions" against such raids, saying "the battle to combat violence and terrorism will not allow even a moment of slackness,” the official Xinhua news agency said. Deadly 2009 ethnic riots between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in Urumqi left around 200 people dead and sparked a security crackdown targeting Uyghurs. Reported by Eset Sulaiman for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by Eset Sulaiman. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/dress-05202014202002.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, 8 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Three Han Chinese Officials Murdered in Xinjiang During President Xi's Trip

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Three Han Chinese Officials Murdered in Xinjiang During President Xi's Trip MAY 14, 2014 -- Three senior Han Chinese officials were brutally murdered and their bodies dumped in a pond when President Xi Jinping visited the Xinjiang region—home to the restive mostly Muslim Uyghur minority—last month, according to police and local officials who had kept the bloody crime under wraps. The killing of the trio—two of whom had their throats slit and the third who had been stabbed 31 times—occurred on April 27, the first day of Xi’s four-day regional visit, which ended with a deadly blast at a railway station in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the officials said. The three were among four officials on a fishing expedition in a lake in Kargilik county in Kashgar prefecture when they were killed, just one day before Xi visited the prefecture, police said. When one of the officials couldn’t find the other three while fishing in Kokkolyar Lake, he reported the matter to police, resulting in a massive search that led to the discovery of their bodies, said Enver Tursun, deputy chief of the police station in Janggilieski town, where the incident occurred. "Two of the men had their throats cut and were dumped into the lake, while the third one was stabbed in 31 places before he was also pushed into the lake,” Tursun told RFA’s Uyghur Service. “It indicates that the third man had resisted against the murder suspects.” County level officials He said that the men, aged between 38 and 45, were senior county level officials—one was head of a bank and the two others were chiefs of the telecommunication department—all of whom were transferred to Xinjiang two years ago. The fourth official was a director of a state-owned company. All four were based in Poskam county, which neighbors Kargilik county. “For 15 days, the regional police department chief Chen Tingjiang and leaders of the prefectural police department of Kashgar have been on the case and, so far, over 150 people have been interrogated with some of them still in detention, but we still are unable to pinpoint the suspects,” Janggilieski police chief Kuresh Hesen told RFA. “We have now widened the search area,” he said. A Janggilieski Politics and Law Commission official said the bodies were handed over to the wives of the men the next day. A note posted on the Internet on May 3, and later deleted, claimed that the authorities had ordered the wives of the three Han officials to quickly bury their husbands. As the three men did not have any bad records, the families believed they may have been victims of a “terrorist attack,” according to the note, which could not be immediately authenticated with the authorities. Four other killings unconfirmed The note, circulated on the Baidu and Tianya online forums, also mentioned four other killings on the same day of the murder case in Kargilik county, including that of a 13-year old female middle school student who was allegedly stabbed by “a woman wearing a black veil.” None of them could be confirmed with the authorities. A teacher at the girl’s No. 2 Middle School in Poskam county, however, confirmed with RFA’s Cantonese Service that the student was from the school, though she refused to provide any personal details. Police had identified three to five initial suspects from the more than 150 people rounded up for questioning over the murder case, but have refused to give their identity, although many assume they are Uyghurs. The Janggilieski Politics and Law Commission official said police believe the suspects were from Lengger village in the town, “which is 99 percent Uyghur.” 'Front line' Xi visited a Kashgar police station on April 28, telling police officers that the prefecture is the “front line in anti-terrorist efforts and maintaining social stability.” "Grassroots police stations are 'fists and daggers' so you must spare no efforts in serving the people and safeguarding public security," Xi was quoted saying by state media. Henryk Szadziewski, senior researcher at the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project said the murder case in Kashgar ahead of Xi’s visit to the prefecture was a significant development. “It is a very alarming incident if the details are confirmed,” he told RFA’s Mandarin Service. “The timing is probably the reason why the information was suppressed,” he said, noting that Xi had conveyed a message of “stability” and “security” during his visit. Three people were killed and 79 injured in a knife and bomb attack on a railway station in Urumqi as President Xi Jinping concluded his Xinjiang trip. Following the attack, Xi called for "decisive actions" against such raids, saying "the battle to combat violence and terrorism will not allow even a moment of slackness,” the Xinhua official news agency said. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA’s Uyghur Service, the Cantonese Service, and Nadia Usaeva for the Mandarin Service. Translated by Shohret Hoshur, Shiny Li and Nadia Usaeva. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/murder-05142014192309.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, 8 months

Radio Free Asia Hosts Vietnamese Bloggers Event Ahead of World Press Freedom Day

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2014 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia Hosts Vietnamese Bloggers Event Ahead of World Press Freedom Day Netizens Joined by Experts from U.S. State Department, Google, and other groups WASHINGTON - Marking the upcoming commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) today hosted "Towards a Free Media in Vietnam" featuring six Vietnam-based bloggers and digital activists, in addition to U.S. human rights, media, and technology experts. In two panels, speakers discussed ways to promote opening Vietnam's oppressive digital landscape and media environment. The event was co-sponsored by RFA's Open Technology Fund <https://www.opentechfund.org/> (OTF), Vietnamese reform party Viet Tan <http://www.viettan.org/-English-.html> , ACCESS <https://www.accessnow.org/> , Electronic Frontier Foundation <https://www.eff.org/> (EFF), and Reporters Without Borders <https://en.rsf.org/> (RSF). "For RFA's audience - and everyone around the world - empowerment begins with free speech and free press on any platform," said Libby Liu, President of RFA. "The will and determination of these courageous bloggers from Vietnam, who risk so much to join us here today, are an inspiration. "Their cause is our cause. And it is the cause of all who pick up the banner of free expression and free media around the world." Vietnam's authoritarian government encourages the Internet's growth for the sake of economic gains. But at the same time, it retains tight controls and clamps down on government criticism online. It blocks websites, including RFA's; launches cyber attacks on online media; aggressively monitors its citizens' Internet use; routinely shuts down social media platforms; restricts content allowed online through a series of decrees; imposes narrow limits on providers such as the country's abundant Internet cafes; and jails bloggers - 31 at last count - making Vietnam second only to China as the world's biggest prison for netizens. This stark reality, along with hopes of finding ways to change it, were discussed in the first panel by the visiting bloggers, who included Le Thanh Tung, a freelance journalist and digital activist; Ngo Nhat Dang, a freelance journalist and contributor to the BBC Vietnamese section; Nguyen Dinh Ha, a blogger and digital activist; Nguyen Thi Kim Chi, an actress who began blogging; and To Oanh, a blogger and former contributor to state-owned newspapers. Speaking about these issues on the second panel, which was moderated by President Liu, were Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Do Hoang Diem, Chairman of Viet Tan; Jon Fox, Global Advocacy Manager at ACCESS; and Google Program Manager Meredith Whittaker. # # # 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, 8 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: North Korean College Students Ordered to Adopt Leader Kim's Haircut

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

North Korean College Students Ordered to Adopt Leader Kim's Haircut MARCH 26, 2014 -- Colleges in North Korea have ordered male students to sport the same hairstyle as the country's young leader Kim Jong Un while female students are being advised to keep their hair as short as that of first lady Ri Sol Ju, according to sources inside the hermit kingdom. The order, issued in early March, has sparked resentment among some male students not in favor of trading their hairstyle for Kim's shaved sides and long parted top look, which a decade ago was regarded as a style sported by smugglers, the sources said. The instruction for male students to get the same haircut as their leader is not based on any directive from Kim but on a recommendation from the ruling Workers' Party, according to a North Korean from North Hamgyong province near the border with China. Still, colleges nationwide are treating it as a directive and "many students are disgruntled by it," the source told RFA's Korean Service, speaking on condition of anonymity. The round-faced Kim's trademark half-buzz, half-mop hairstyle "is very unique but it does not look good on some face shapes," the source said. "However, the college authorities have told the students that this is a party recommendation and must be adhered to." "In the past, the authorities did not make a particular hairstyle compulsory,” the North Korean said. "This is the first time. So criticism against the instruction is unavoidable." One source said he knew of a college student, a neighbor, who had just unhappily shed his hairstyle for Kim's look. 'Preposterous policy' The absence of a written directive from the government or ruling party on the hairstyle reform makes it easier for the authorities to ease the policy if there is a groundswell against it, according to observers of developments in North Korea, a reclusive country with intricate rules aimed at stage managing information. The Swiss-educated Kim came to power after his father Kim Jong Il, who favored a bouffant hairstyle, died in December 2011. A North Korean living in Pyongyang on a visit to a Chinese border town confirmed that college students had received the new hairstyle instructions. "In North Korea, Pyongyang is the launchpad for any national policy," he told RFA, saying the instructions were issued early this month. However, there was confusion over the reasons behind the haircut instructions, the Pyongyang resident said. "In mid-2000, youngsters wouldn't dare sport the Kim Jong Un hairdo," he said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. "At that time, the authorities would pounce on anyone with such a hairstyle because they would be deemed to be a smuggler." "It's not the first time North Korea has had this preposterous policy," he said. List of approved styles Last year, according to reports, the North Korean government recommended a relatively generous range of 28 hairstyles for its citizens—18 for women and 10 for men. The reports were based on pictures seen on the walls of hair salons around the impoverished country showing the approved styles for men and women. Married women were allowed more flexibility in their hair choices than single women. But the new call for female college students to sport the short hairstyle of Kim's fashion-conscious wife Ri is merely a "suggestion," the source from North Hamgyong province said. Ri, who entered the public eye as the first lady in July 2012, raised eyebrows when she displayed a new, shorter hairstyle at a concert featuring a police performance troupe in September last year. The North Korean paper Rodong Sinmun printed a picture from the event, showing Ri wearing her hair short and dressed in a deep blue shirt with a black collar, contrasting with the shoulder-length perm she had sported while attending a performance a month earlier. The North Korean source said college students have been advised, however, against wearing the above-the-knee skirts at times donned by Ri. Reported by Joon Ho Kim for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Bong Park. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/haircut-03262014163017.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, 9 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: More than 200 Asylum-Seeking Uyghurs Detained in Thailand

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

More than 200 Asylum-Seeking Uyghurs Detained in Thailand MARCH 13, 2014 -- More than 200 Uyghurs fleeing ethnic tension in China’s restive northwestern Xinjiang region have been detained in Thailand and face deportation back home where they could be punished, according to some of their relatives. Thai police on Wednesday swooped down on a secret camp in a mountainous rubber plantation in Songkhla province in southern Thailand where the 235 mostly Muslim ethnic minority Uyghurs were believed to be waiting to be smuggled across to neighboring predominantly Muslim Malaysia, the relatives said, speaking from Malaysia and Turkey. The Turkic-speaking Uyghurs had initially told the Thai authorities that they are from Turkey, fearing they would be deported back to Xinjiang if their true identity is revealed, a relative told RFA's Uyghur Service, speaking from Malaysia. Thai authorities have already informed Chinese diplomats in Bangkok about the group's illegal presence in Thailand, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The detained Uyghurs have spoken with Thai officials through an interpreter and they described themselves as Turkish in order to prevent any departure to China and with expectations of assistance from Turkey," the source explained. Thai authorities showed the detainees flags of different countries, including China, to identify their nationality but they refused to acknowledge Chinese citizenship, the relatives said. "Today a Chinese delegation, probably from the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, went to them and said, 'You are Uyghurs, we can take you to China, don't worry,' but the detainees did not say anything to the delegation except, 'We are Turkish.'" "The detainees are so nervous as China has already intervened in the case." Detention center The Uyghurs have been taken from the camp to a detention center in southern Thailand, sources said. Thailand and Malaysia and several other Southeast Asian neighbors—such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos—with strong trade and diplomatic ties to China have deported Uyghurs home in the past, following pressure from China. According to the two relatives of the Uyghurs held in Thailand, they fled Xinjiang in the hope of gaining political asylum through the office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR). "Since it is very dangerous and difficult for Uyghurs to reside in the interior Chinese provinces, they have fled to Thailand using all possible means and to eventually seek political asylum through the U.N.," a relative from Turkey said. "Since there are no Uyghurs residing in Thailand to assist them, they wanted to enter Malaysia to get in touch with U.N. officials and request political asylum, but were detained in the process." Several batches Other sources told RFA that the 235 Uyghurs may have arrived in Thailand in several batches over a couple of months. Many minority Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region say they are subjected to political, cultural, and religious repression for opposing Chinese rule in their homeland, as well as denied economic opportunities stemming from rapid development of the northwestern region. They blame the problems partly on the influx of majority Han Chinese into the region. China has intensified a sweeping security crackdown in Xinjiang, where according to official figures about 100 people are believed to have been killed over the past year-—many of them Uyghurs accused by the authorities of terrorism and separatism. Rights groups and experts say Beijing exaggerates the terrorism threat to take the heat off domestic policies that cause unrest or to justify the authorities' use of force against Uyghurs. Many Uyghurs refer to Xinjiang as East Turkestan, as the region came under Chinese control following two short-lived East Turkestan republics in the 1930s and 1940s. “The experience over the past few years shows that people who leave China illegally and try to seek political asylum abroad are severely punished upon their forceful return," a Uyghur source said. Past deportees Uyghur exile groups have criticized the Chinese authorities in the past for consistently refusing to provide information on the whereabouts and legal status of Uyghurs who had been deported home, although Beijing had assured the international community that the deportees would be dealt with transparently upon their return. In 2012, two Uyghur asylum-seekers who were deported back to China from Cambodia were sentenced to life imprisonment in a punishment imposed in secret by Chinese authorities and described as severe by rights groups, family members told RFA at the time. The duo were among 18 Uyghurs from Xinjiang who were believed sentenced to various prison terms since Cambodia deported them on Dec. 19, 2009. Another Uyghur in the same group that was deported was sentenced to 17 years in prison. The jail terms of the 15 other Uyghurs were not known. The Uyghurs had fled from China in small groups between May and October 2009 and had applied to the UNHCR for refugee status in Phnom Penh. 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/thailand-03132014183027.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, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetan Father of Two Self-Immolates in Ngaba

by Rachel Vandenbrink

Tibetan Father of Two Self-Immolates in Ngaba December 4, 2013 — A Tibetan father of two self-immolated in protest against Chinese rule in a restive Tibetan prefecture in Sichuan province, triggering clashes and a security crackdown in the area, according to sources. Konchok Tseten, aged 30, torched himself late Tuesday at the Ngaba county's Meruma township center in the Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, shouting slogans against Beijing's rule in Tibet and calling for the return of Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, said the sources, speaking from inside Tibet. With his body engulfed in flames, Tseten managed to run for a distance along the main street before he collapsed, the sources said. Local residents clashed with police as they tried but failed to stop security forces from taking the severely injured Tseten away, they said. "While his body was on fire, he called for the long life of the Dalai Lama and appealed for the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet," a Tibetan with contacts in the area told RFA's Tibetan Service. "He also called for the reunion of Tibetans inside and outside Tibet." "Even after he collapsed on the ground, he was seen by local witnesses folding his hands together in prayer and uttering some words that were not audible," the Tibetan said. Eyewitnesses also said that local residents resisted police attempts to take away Tseten, who had suffered severe burns, resulting in a scuffle and the detention of several Tibetans. "The police arrived at the scene and tried to take him away as he was burning, but the local Tibetans who had gathered at the township resisted and tried to stop the police. This lasted for about one hour before the security forces took him away," another Tibetan said. Relatives detained Police detained Tseten's wife and several of his relatives, among others. "All the Tibetan stores and restaurants in Meruma town were ordered to be closed and many mobile phones were confiscated from the locals." Details of Tseten's condition were not immediately available amid a clampdown on information in Ngaba county following the self-immolation, the 124th since Tibetans launched burning protests in 2009 calling for Tibetan freedom and for the return to Tibet of the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in 1959 following a failed national uprising against Chinese rule. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing’s rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008. Chinese authorities have tightened controls in a bid to check self-immolation protests, arresting and jailing Tibetans whom they accuse of being linked to the burnings. Some have been jailed for up to 15 years. The authorities have also attempted to pressure local Tibetans to sign an official order that forbids any kind of activities to support or sympathize with self-immolation protests, residents said. Reported by Lumbum Tashi and Lobe Socktsang for RFA's Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burn-03042012113258.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 .

10 years, 10 months

RFA Wins Gracie for Exposé on 'Birth Tourism' in Saipan

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 18, 2014 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA Wins Gracie for Exposé on Birth Tourism in Saipan WASHINGTON Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> (RFA) has won a Gracie Award for its Cantonese Service <http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/> s exposé, Born in the USA: Instant Citizenship in Saipan <http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/features/hottopic/feature-China-birth-06262013 104200.html?encoding=simplified> , in the category of investigative program or feature. Sponsored by the Alliance for Women in Media <http://www.allwomeninmedia.org/> (AWM), the annual Gracies recognize exemplary media and entertainment programming created by women and focused on issues relating to women. We are thrilled to win a Gracie again this year among so many respected colleagues in journalism, said Libby Liu, President of RFA. Womens stories and stories that affect women are an important part of Radio Free Asias coverage every day. This award continues to inspire us at RFA to produce exceptional programming that makes an impact on womens lives throughout Asia. For RFAs winning entry, Cantonese Service journalist Vivian Kwan investigated the cottage industry of birth tourism in the U.S. territory of Saipan, an island in the western Pacific. Since the U.S. government waived the visa for Chinese tourists to visit the Northern Mariana Islands, which include Saipan, near-term Chinese women have been going there in great numbers. If they give birth during their stay, the mothers bypass Beijings one-child policy and can take advantage of instant U.S. citizenship status for their newborns. Kwan posed as an expectant mother and contacted two Chinese travel agencies to learn about the 11,000 USD packages that include accommodations, meals, documentation, hospital booking, an interpreter, and a driver. Excluded is the medical coverage, which can run up to 12,000 USD. Between 2010 and 2012, births attributed to Chinese tourists increased by 60 percent. The local government of the one-hospital island has requested that the federal government impose tighter border controls. RFA, along with this years winners, will be recognized at the 39th annual Gracies Gala on May 20 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Winners <http://www.thegracies.org/2013-grace-awards.php> include ABC News, CNN, NBC Nightly News, and Al Jazeera America, 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. RFAs 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, 11 months

Radio Free Asia Responds to RSF 2014 Press Freedom Index

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 11, 2014 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia President Responds to Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index Seven of RFA's nine language services in the bottom 10 percent WASHINGTON - In response to the release of Reporters Without Borders' 2014 World Press Freedom Index <http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php> , Radio Free Asia <http://www.rfa.org/english/> 's President Libby Liu noted that the survey shows little change in the poor media environments of China, Vietnam, North Korea and Laos, while Cambodia continued on its downward trajectory with heightened press threats in the past year. The survey also cited the slowdown of media reforms in Myanmar threatening the progress made in recent years. "This year's index paints a sobering portrait of RFA's countries as some of the world's worst for journalism," Liu said. "In China and Vietnam, an unrelenting crackdown continues on journalists, netizens, and cyberactivists who venture beyond state-controlled media headlines. "Myanmar, where RFA's on-the-ground presence has only strengthened over the past several years, continues to shows promise but is also at risk of losing ground. "Of particular concern is the worsening situation in Cambodia, where RFA's journalists have witnessed firsthand a pattern of intimidation, threats, and unsubstantiated accusations of bias waged by the government. Unfortunately, we anticipate that this pattern will continue." The survey ranked North Korea second to last at 179 of the 180 countries researched, with China at 175, Vietnam at 174, and Laos at 171. Cambodia was ranked at 144, with continued signs of deterioration. Myanmar showed slight improvement, ranking at 145 (up from 151 last year). 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 and YouTube, 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

10 years, 11 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Tibetan Man Sets Himself Ablaze in First Burning Protest This Year

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Tibetan Man Sets Himself Ablaze in First Burning Protest This Year FEB. 6, 2014 — A Tibetan living in northwestern China’s Qinghai province has set himself on fire in protest against Beijing’s rule in the first self-immolation protest by Tibetans this year, triggering a security crackdown, local sources said Thursday. Phagmo Samdrub, 29, set himself ablaze “for the cause of Tibet” at around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday near the Panchen Day School in Dokarmo township in Tsekhog (in Chinese, Zeku) county in the Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a local resident told RFA’s Tibetan Service. “On Feb. 5, a Tibetan called Phagmo Samdrub self-immolated for the cause of Tibet,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity and adding that Samdrub had been taken away by Chinese authorities. By the early hours of Thursday, Chinese forces had tightened security “very conspicuously” in Tsekhog and nearby Rebgong (Tongren) county, the scene of several earlier self-immolation protests, the source said. “Communication channels have been restricted in areas around Tsekhog, and it is said that [Samdrub] has been taken to government headquarters in Tsekhog county.” “No further details are available,” he added. Calling the Tsekhog county police department for comment, an RFA reporter was told that he had reached “the hospital” by mistake before the phone was hung up. Repeated calls to the same number were not answered Thursday. Burnings continue Samdrub’s protest brings to 126 the number of Tibetan self-immolations challenging Chinese rule in Tibetan areas and follows the Dec. 19 burning of a respected Tibetan monk in China’s Gansu province. Tsultrim Gyatso, 43, self-immolated at a road junction in Sangchu (Xiahe) county in the Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture after penning a one-page suicide note in which he called for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, sources said. Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing’s rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008. Chinese authorities have tightened controls in a bid to check self-immolation protests, arresting and jailing Tibetans whom they accuse of being linked to the burnings. Some have been jailed for up to 15 years. Last month, three Tibetan men were ordered jailed for up to two years on charges of involvement in self-immolation protests against Chinese rule in Gansu province, sources in the region said. The three —Dorje Rabten, Kalsang Jinpa, and Dorje Tashi—were sentenced on Jan. 2 by the Tsoe (in Chinese, Hezuo) city court in Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, according to a source in Tibet. Reported by Lumbum Tashi 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/ablaze-02062014133904.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, 11 months

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