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Invitation: RFA Uyghur Report Release Event Tomorrow (2/2)

by Rohit Mahajan

Dear friends -- Tomorrow Radio Free Asia will be releasing a research report on Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities detained in Xinjiang. Details of the related virtual event, hosted by GW's Central Asia Program, including a link to RSVP, follow below. Hope you can join us! Kind regards, Rohit Event The Central Asia Program and Radio Free Asia invite you to a virtual discussion of RFA's upcoming report Trapped in the System: Experiences of Uyghur Detention in Xinjiang Tuesday, February 2 , 2021 10:00 - 11:00 AM (EST) [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | Click here to join Webex event ] Event Number (access code): [ callto:120 804 6737 | 120 804 6737 ] Event password: CAP0202 [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | RSVP ] More than a million -- some say 3 million -- Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been arbitrarily detained and imprisoned in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region since 2016. While outlets like Radio Free Asia (RFA) have played a pivotal role in exposing Beijing’s sweeping detentions in the Uyghur homeland, documenting the process by which Chinese authorities target, interrogate, and detain Uyghurs and other minorities has been murky. Recently, RFA’s research department carried out a series of in-depth interviews with survivors from these camps. These rich firsthand accounts from the inside provide not just a detailed scene of the brutal en masse interrogations, incarcerations, classifications, and means of torture, but heart-wrenching, vivid pictures of the human beings caught in its gears. Please join the George Washington University's Central Asia Program on Tuesday, February 2 , 2021 at 10 am US ET as Dr. Sean Roberts, Associate Professor of International Affairs and Director of the International Development Studies Program at GW's Elliott School of International Affairs, hosts a discussion with Radio Free Asia about its forthcoming report. Speakers will include Betsy Henderson, Chief Strategy Officer and head of RFA’s audience research program; Alim Seytoff, Director of RFA's Uyghur Service; and Human Rights Watch’s Maya Wang, China Senior Researcher. SPEAKERS Sean Roberts is an anthropologist with regional expertise in Central Asia, where he also has also done extensive applied development work on issues related to civil society, governance, and human rights. Much of his academic work has focused on the Uyghur people in the People’s Republic of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, as well as in Central Asia and Turkey. His first book, The War on the Uyghurs: China’s Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority (Princeton University Press, September 2020 ) draws on his field research and in-depth interviews with Uyghurs. Roberts also writes on issues related to politics and development in the broader Central Asian region. He frequently comments for media outlets on current events both in Central Asia and in the Uyghur region of China. Roberts earned his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. @RobertsReport Betsy Henderson is Radio Free Asia’s Chief Strategy Officer. Henderson was RFA's founding Director of Audience Research, establishing RFA’s capacity to monitor its impact and gather audience feedback in Asia’s most repressive societies. In addition to conducting representative surveys and qualitative studies, Ms. Henderson developed unprecedented research programs for North Korea and China’s Tibetan and Uyghur regions. Since 2003, Henderson has overseen RFA’s journalism training and program evaluation, and now also is responsible for digital analytics, internal goal setting, impact reporting, and performance tracking. A former Associated Press reporter, Ms. Henderson lived and worked in southern China and in Taiwan and speaks Mandarin fluently. Her graduate studies at Columbia and University of Michigan focused on journalism, Chinese politics, and research methodology. Alim Seytoff is the Director of Radio Free Asia's Uyghur Service. During his tenure, which began in early 2017, RFA Uyghur broke the story of the mass arbitrary detentions of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region -- and has remained on the forefront of covering this human rights crisis since. Prior to RFA, Alim served as the Executive Director for the Uyghur Human Rights Project and was President of the Uyghur American Association. He has appeared on BBC, CNN and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, speaking about Uyghur related issues. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and has briefed U.S officials on the subject. Alim holds a BA in Chinese Studies from Xinjiang University and a BA in Broadcast Journalism from Southern Adventist University. He has a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Robertson School of Government at Regent University. Alim received his Juris Doctor degree from Regent University School of Law in 2006. Maya Wang is the senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch. Wang has researched and written extensively on the use of torture, arbitrary detention, human rights defenders, civil society, disability rights, and women’s rights in China. She is also an expert on human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. In recent years, her original research on China’s use of technology for mass surveillance, including the use of biometrics, artificial intelligence and big data, has helped galvanize international attention on these developments in China and globally. Wang has published on major international media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, ChinaFile, the Diplomat, the Guardian , and has been frequently quoted by international media including the New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg News, and the Associated Press. Cover illustration by Yette Su. Tuesday, February 2 , 2021 10:00 - 11:00 AM (EST) [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | Click here to join Webex event ] Event Number (access code): [ callto:120 804 6737 | 120 804 6737 ] Event password: CAP0202 [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | RSVP ] This event is on the record, open to the public, and will be recorded. The Central Asia Program Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University 1957 E Street, NW | Suite 412 | Washington, DC | 20052 [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | (202) 994-9509 ] | [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | infocap(a)gwu.edu ] | [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | centralasiaprogram.org ] [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | Facebook ] | [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | Twitter ] | [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | YouTube ] | [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | LinkedIn ] [ http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014K3Z9QtkjCDCS_zB1s-E5M58L8nZyr3NM7Vx05rHVVO-… | Join our mailing lists ] The Central Asia Program (CAP) promotes academic and policy research on contemporary Central Asia, and serves as an interface for the policy, academic, diplomatic, and business communities. Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies | George Washington University , 1957 E Street , Washington, DC 20052 [ http://www.ponarseurasia.org/ | www.ponarseurasia.org ] [ https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001ei9InUeyahpnWYtJr2PSZw%3D&… | Unsubscribe mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] [ https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&m=001ei9InUeyahpnWYtJr2PSZw%3D&… | Update Profile ] | [ http://www.constantcontact.com/legal/service-provider?cc=about-service-prov… | About our service provider ] Sent by [ mailto:infocap@gwu.edu | infocap(a)gwu.edu ] powered by [ http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF19_3GE | ] [ http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF19_3GE | Try email marketing for free today! ] Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 11 months

Bay Fang Resumes Role as President of Radio Free Asia

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Jan. 24, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.489.8021 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/bay-fang-resumes-role-as-president-of-ra… | Bay Fang Resumes Role as President of Radio Free Asia ] WASHINGTON – Bay Fang was [ https://www.usagm.gov/2021/01/24/united-states-agency-for-global-media-repl… | appointed ] President of Radio Free Asia (RFA) by the Acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Kelu Chao. Fang returns to the office of RFA President, having previously served in the role from November 2019 to June 2020. “I am deeply honored to return to my position at the helm of this vital institution,” Fang said. “I know how much RFA matters to people living under authoritarian rule, and the ability to continue its unique brand of incisive journalism without fear or favor is critical in today’s world. “RFA both informs and empowers the citizens of countries where authoritarians continue to spin webs of disinformation. As President, I look forward to ensuring RFA continues to shine as a beacon of quality, independent journalism in Asia and beyond.” Fang first joined RFA as Managing Director for East Asia in 2015. In 2016 she became Executive Editor, and was named RFA’s President in November 2019. During her tenure, Fang spearheaded in-depth investigative ventures into [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/nk-labor-overseas-04052016112935.html | North Korea ] ’s practice of skirting international sanctions through globe-spanning forced overseas labor operations, and numerous multimedia projects showcasing RFA’s in-depth journalism [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/china-reach/ | on China’s influence in Southeast Asia ] . She also oversaw coverage of the surveillance state in China’s Uyghur and Tibetan regions, including RFA’s exclusive reporting on China’s extrajudicial detention of more than 1 million Uyghurs and related developments. Fang’s 20-plus-year career in journalism began when she served as the Beijing Bureau Chief for US News & World Report, where she won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for her story "China's Stolen Wives." Fang went on to cover the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for US News and World Report magazine, and later became the Diplomatic Correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. She has also served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, overseeing public diplomacy and public affairs for Europe and Eurasia. Fang earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard University, was a Fulbright scholar in Hong Kong and a visiting fellow at Oxford University. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

3 years, 11 months

Conviction of Nguyen Tuong Thuy a ‘Blatant Assault’ on Press Freedom: RFA President

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Jan. 5, 2021 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] Conviction of Nguyen Tuong Thuy a ‘Blatant Assault’ on Press Freedom: RFA President WASHINGTON -- Radio Free Asia (RFA) President Stephen Yates issued the following statement today condemning the Ho Chi Minh People’s Court’s sentencing of Nguyen Tuong Thuy, a Vietnamese blogger who has contributed commentary to RFA’s Vietnamese Service, to 11 years in prison: “Radio Free Asia unequivocally condemns today’s conviction of Nguyen Tuong Thuy and calls for his immediate release. The harsh sentencing of Thuy and two other independent journalists is a blatant assault on basic freedoms and flies in the face of the freedom of expression enshrined in Vietnam’s constitution. Despite this development, RFA will continue to bring the people of Vietnam trustworthy journalism and provide a platform for independent commentary.” Nguyen Tuong Thuy was convicted of “making, storing and spreading information, materials and items for the purpose of opposing the state” after maintaining his own innocence at a one-day trial. Two other Vietnamese freelance journalists, Le Huu Minh Tuan and Pham Chi Dung, were handed prison sentences of 11 and 15 years respectively. RFA had previously [ https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/vietnameseblogger-05232020141145.html | called on ] Vietnamese authorities to release the blogger when he was arrested last May. Two other RFA Vietnamese contributors are serving jail terms in prison in Vietnam. They are Truong Duy Nhat, a blogger who was sentenced in March last year to 10 years, and Nguyen Van Hoa, a videographer who was sentenced in November 2017 to seven years. # # # Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

4 years

RFA Breaking News: Iran's Sanctioned Shipping Line Runs Network of Hong Kong Companies

by Paul Eckert

Iran's Sanctioned Shipping Line Runs Network of Hong Kong Companies Nov. 18, 2020 - Iranian state shipping routes are continuing to evade U.S. sanctions by operating via a complex network of companies and subsidiaries registered in Hong Kong, dozens of which are traceable to a purported individual in Shanghai named on publicly available records as Shen Yong, a recent RFA investigation has revealed. RFA had earlier linked Shen Yong to four shipping companies -- Reach, Delight, Gracious and Noble -- registered in Hong Kong that were named as having done business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), using company records in Hong Kong. Further investigations have shown that Shen Yong is named on the records of some 37 companies registered in Hong Kong, which between them control at least 10 ocean-going container vessels and five oil tankers. Most are connected in some way with IRISL. IRISL has previously been accused of transporting ballistic missiles to Iran and materials associated with nuclear proliferation, and is a frequent target of U.S. sanctions. Corporate records show that IRISL first started setting up Hong Kong-registered companies in 2008, using a complex network of holding companies, or shell companies. Such companies rarely hold any assets or conduct any business; their main purpose is to act as a shareholder for another company, and can be effectively used in multiple layers across different geographical locations to obscure the true owners of a business. The first IRISL-linked companies start appearing in Hong Kong's companies registry in 2008, gradually increasing as Iran was sanctioned by the United Nations in 2010, and accelerating after 2016 with the establishment of at least 10 new companies in Hong Kong, despite the country's signing of a nuclear non-proliferation agreement. U.N. resolutions require all member states to freeze the assets belonging to IRISL or its agents, as well as those of any entities, funds or economic resources owned or controlled by the company. No enforcement by Hong Kong But the resolution was clearly not implemented in Hong Kong, where at least 11 IRISL-linked companies continued to operate in the city under the period covered by U.N. sanctions. US political risk management consultant Ross Feingold said the United States could feel let down by Hong Kong's inaction on sanctions. "What view will the U.S. take of Hong Kong's [lack of] action on sanctions? They will think it hasn't done enough," Feingold said. He said Washington may not be able to rely on the city's cooperation in future, given worsening relations between the U.S. and China. "Whether or not Hong Kong cooperates with the U.S. is now subject to political factors," he said. The Hong Kong government's Commerce and Economic Development Bureau told RFA that the Hong Kong government has been in strict compliance with U.N. Security Council sanctions, and has implemented them according to instructions from Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. While the Hong Kong authorities did delist 19 IRISL vessels that had been registered in the city in 2012, they appear not to have moved against the companies that controlled them. Robert Clifton Burns, a former associate professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center who specializes in economic sanctions, said that U.N. sanctions placed member states under a legal obligation to seize or freeze assets linked to sanctioned parties. "[If] somebody in ... a member state that has a blocking obligation comes into possession or control of property or funds of the blocked person, then they are required to ... put it into a blocked account," he said. "The example I always used to give was ... if Osama Bin Laden walked into a McDonalds ... and ordered a hamburger you couldn't give him the hamburger ... and if he gave you the U.S.$5 to pay for the hamburger you couldn't give him the U.S.$5 back," he said. Secondary sanctions Even under unilateral U.S. sanctions, Burns said, secondary sanctions affect even businesses outside of the U.S. "There doesn't have to be any U.S. nexus for a transaction," he said. "If the foreign bank engages in providing certain types of financing to Iran's automotive and petroleum sector, and provides it in certain amounts, then they would be subject to U.S. sanctions, even though there would be no other U.S. link to it." In 2018, when the U.S. pulled out of the Iran nuclear non-proliferation agreement, a number of IRISL affiliates in Hong Kong changed shareholders, listing the Cyprus-registered Montenavo and Santarosa shipping companies as their shareholders for the first time. A search of Cypriot company records has revealed that both companies are controlled by the same shareholder, a Shanghai-based individual named as ChengCheng Dai. One of them, an IRISL subsidiary called Ideal Success Investment Ltd. lists its shareholders and directors as Ahmad Sarkandi and Ghasem Nabipour, both of whom were targeted by U.S. sanctions at the time the company was set up in 2008, according to a recent search of the Hong Kong companies registry. ChengCheng Dai is shown has having received her shares from an Iranian individual, Fateh Tamiji in September 2018 , a former CEO of ROD Ship Management, an IRISL subsidiary that has previously been the target of U.S. sanctions for shipping arms. Few details are available regarding ChengCheng Dai. Her date of birth is given as 1992, and her address is listed as Chunlei Village, Heqing, Shanghai. An e-mail sent to IRISL requesting further information had met with no reply at the time of writing. Recent media reports suggest China and Iran are currently in talks over a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement that will see China continue to import Iranian oil, as well as becoming a major investor and partner in Iranian security and governance. According to Feingold, China is keen to ensure its imports of Iranian oil continue, while Iran is hungry for China's technology exports. "China doesn't really need to pay much attention to U.S. sanctions," he said. "It's just going to carry on with its trade relations." Reported by Jack Davies for RFA's Khmer Service, and by Chan Jeun-lam and Gigi Lee for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. View this story online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/hongkong-iran-11182020174050.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA ’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the U.S. Agency for Global Media ( [ https://www.usagm.gov/home/ | USAGM ] ) . If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org | engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org ] . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org | engnews-join(a)rfanews.org ] .

4 years, 1 month

Radio Free Asia Wins National Murrow Award -- Second Year in a Row

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Oct. 13, 2020 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia Video Series Wins National Murrow Award Project delves into looming problems in China’s economy WASHINGTON – [ https://www.rfa.org/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA) applauds the [ https://www.rtdna.org/ | Radio Television Digital News Association’s ] (RTDNA) announcement of RFA as the winner of a National Murrow Award for its [ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhpxddL0HGm41Vyx7DhhR2wuRPTwJ_NoB | “Gray Rhino” series ] . The series, made up of four short videos, focuses on issues in China’s financial sector and the problems they may pose to the country’s citizenry. This marks the second consecutive year RFA has won the prestigious award. “RFA’s Mandarin Service deserves full credit for producing a unique series that has shed light on the Chinese economy and its true impact in China,” said Min Mitchell, RFA’s Managing Director for East Asia. “As we have seen with the outbreak of Covid-19 and the authoritarian crackdown in Hong Kong, growing distrust in China of the official narratives makes products like ‘Gray Rhino’ all the more relevant. “This award is a proud moment for all of us at RFA and is a reminder of the importance of investigative journalism in closed countries.” Released in February 2019, when many Chinese households were beginning to feel the negative effects of China’s economic instability, RFA Mandarin’s “Gray Rhino” series takes an in-depth look at major economic problems, such as bad debt in China’s financial and government sectors, and the country’s real estate bubble. With the series, the Mandarin Service’s digital team has provided clear, easy-to-understand analyses of complex issues that are neglected in Chinese domestic media. As of October 2020, the series has reached nearly 400,000 views on YouTube. RFA’s Mandarin Service also won a National Murrow Award [ https://www.rfa.org/about/awards/murrow_award-06182019124513.html | last year ] for “The Women Against the State,” a documentary on China’s “709” Crackdown – a nationwide roundup of lawyers and legal activists that began in July 2015 – and the collective actions of wives of those held in custody at the time. Both of these award-winning productions were created by the Mandarin Service’s digital team. RFA joins CBS News Radio, CNN, and NPR, among others, as winners of this year’s National Murrow Awards. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

4 years, 3 months

RFA Breaking News: Fire Visible From China Destroys Train and Warehouse at North Korean Station

by Paul Eckert

Fire Visible From China Destroys Train and Warehouse at North Korean Station July 10, 2020 - A fire at a train station in the North Korean city of Sinuiju destroyed a freight train carrying hundreds of tons of cooking oil from China and a warehouse full of cargo, witnesses who watched the blaze from across the Chinese border told RFA Friday. People in Dandong, China, across the Yalu river border from Sinuiju reported seeing large columns of smoke rising from the city Thursday morning local time. There has been no word on casualties or the cause of the fire. “Here in Dandong, we could see the black smoke rising more than 100 meters (100 yards) at about 11 a.m. yesterday, near Gangan Station in Sinuiju across the river,” a resident of Dandong told RFA’s Korea Service. The station is 1.8 km (1.1 mile) from the Yalu river and visible from Dandong on clear days. “People from Dandong who were walking along the Yalu stopped in their tracks, wondering what was going on in Sinuiju,” said the source, who requested anonymity to speak freely. “A Chinese citizen resident of Sinuiju confirmed that the smoke was caused by a fire at the station,” said the source, adding, “the fire burned a freight train that had arrived at the station after carrying a full load of cargo from Dandong.” According to the source, the black smoke was a result of cooking oil going up in flames. Five of the train’s 15 cars were loaded with soybean oil, which is in short supply in North Korea. “If you consider that a single freight car can carry 50 tons, then it means 250 tons of soybean oil was totally burned, causing the huge amount of smoke. The other 10 cars that were carrying foods such as flour have all been completely burned too,” the source said. The international market price of one ton of soybean oil is estimated to be around U.S. $800. If the source’s estimate is accurate, the cooking oil alone was worth $200,000. Another resident of Dandong, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA that an acquaintance in Sinuiju who witnessed the fire said firefighters struggled to deal with the situation. “Gangan Station was equipped with a foam fire extinguisher, but people over there say that their initial effort to stop the fire failed because the extinguisher was empty. It did not contain any foam fluid,” the source said. “They also say that no one could get close to the burning train because of all the smoke, caused by the burning soybean oil, which went up only a few minutes after the fire started,” said the source. “So the people at the station who trying to extinguish the fire had no choice but to watch for an hour and a half while all the other valuable cargo stored in the station’s warehouse was burned down,” said the source. According to the second source, trains from Dandong don’t normally stop at Gangan Station after passing through customs. “Instead of departing immediately for Pyongyang, they have to disinfect trains and quarantine the cargo for a certain amount of time to prevent coronavirus from spreading,” said the second source. “The cause of the fire, whether there were any casualties, and how much damage was caused by the fire has yet to be determined,” the second source said. Sinuiju is North Korea’s sixth largest city, with a population of 360,000 people. Reported by Joonho Kim for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. View this story online at: [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/fire-07102020181854.html | https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/fire-07102020181854.html ] Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA ’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the U.S. Agency for Global Media ( [ https://www.usagm.gov/home/ | USAGM ] ) . If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org | engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org ] . To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to [ mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org | engnews-join(a)rfanews.org ] .

4 years, 5 months

Radio Free Asia Condemns Arrest of Vietnamese Blogger

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 23, 2020 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | [ mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org | mahajanr(a)rfa.org ] Radio Free Asia Condemns Arrest of Vietnamese Blogger WASHINGTON -- Radio Free Asia (RFA) today condemned the [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/blogger-arrest-05232020112257.html | arrest ] of Nguyen Tuong Thuy, a Vietnamese blogger who has contributed commentary to RFA’s Vietnamese Service for six years. Police reportedly accused Nguyen of “making, storing, and disseminating documents and materials for anti-state purposes.” Last March, RFA contributing blogger Truong Duy Nhat was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Nguyen Van Hoa, an RFA videographer continues to serve a seven-year jail term. RFA President Bay Fang issued the following statement: “Radio Free Asia condemns the arrest of Nguyen Tuong Thuy, whom we learned was detained today by authorities in Hanoi. This alarming development, while intended to silence free speech, reinforces the need for independent journalism in Vietnam. We urge authorities to grant his immediate and unconditional release.” # # # Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

4 years, 7 months

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

by Paul Eckert

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

4 years, 7 months

Radio Free Asia Uyghur Reporter Wins ‘Courage in Journalism’ Award

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : May 20, 2020 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia Uyghur Reporter Wins ‘Courage in Journalism’ Award WASHINGTON - [ https://www.rfa.org/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA) Uyghur journalist Gulchehra Hoja today was announced as a winner of the [ https://www.iwmf.org/ | International Women’s Media Foundation’s ] Courage in Journalism Award for her coverage of the [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7P2rlLPxro | ongoing human rights abuses ] occurring in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The award, which this year marks the 30th anniversary of its inception, “honors the brave journalists who report on taboo topics, work in environments hostile to women, and share difficult truths. ” “The outstanding journalism of Gulchehra and Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur Service first alerted the world to the human rights crisis in China’s Uyghur Region and continues to remain on the forefront of this evolving story,” said RFA President Bay Fang. “She and her colleagues perpetually face down intimidation and challenges to bring this critical coverage to RFA’s audiences, as well as to the world. This recognition is well deserved.” Hoja said, “I am honored to receive this award, and I hope that this recognition will encourage others in their pursuit of justice and truth.” [ https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/14/asia/uyghur-china-xinjiang-interview-intl/in… | Hoja ] and her colleagues in the Uyghur Service have been at the [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/training-camps-09112017154343.html | forefront ] of coverage of the internment of, by credible estimates, more than 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the XUAR. Members of the service have received widespread [ https://www.economist.com/china/2019/10/24/to-suppress-news-of-xinjiangs-gu… | recognition ] for their contributions to reporting on the crisis. Hoja herself has reported on the [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/crematoriums-06262018151126.html?se… | construction of crematoria ] near the internment camps in the XUAR, the [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/abuse-10302019142433.html?searchter… | sterilization and sexual abuse ] of female detainees, and the [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/children-11082018162416.html | situation facing “orphaned” children ] whose parents have been detained. Hoja, along with at least five [ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/03/radio-free-asia-u… | other members of RFA’s Uyghur Service ] , have had family members in China detained or jailed in retaliation for their work at RFA. Three other journalists were also named winners of this year’s Courage in Journalism Award: Jessikka Aro of Finnish broadcaster [ https://yle.fi/aihe/yleisradio | Yle ] ; imprisoned Egyptian multimedia journalist Solafa Magdy; and Yakeen Bido, a freelance broadcast journalist in Syria. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

4 years, 7 months

Radio Free Asia President Renews Call for Release of Journalists, Family Members

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : May 2, 2020 Contact : Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org RFA President Renews Call for Release of Journalists, Family Members WASHINGTON -- Marking World Press Freedom Day, [ https://www.rfa.org/english/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA) President Bay Fang reiterated the call to release RFA contributors, former journalists, and family members targeted by authorities in connection with RFA’s journalism. The cause of press freedom has taken on a greater urgency as the world fights back against the COVID-19 pandemic, she stated. “RFA has witnessed governments resorting to the most brutal of methods in cracking down on free press, whether it’s jailing RFA contributors for critical coverage in Vietnam, detaining the relatives of RFA’s Uyghur journalists in China, or prosecuting former RFA reporters on politically motivated charges in Cambodia,” Fang said. “The continued erosion of press freedom in RFA’s broadcast countries, as audiences seek answers, only reinforces the need for independent journalism. “As the world battles a deadly pandemic, journalism and journalists -- and all of those involved in the news-gathering enterprise -- are more essential than ever.” [ https://www.rfa.org/english/ | Radio Free Asia ] (RFA), along with 73 other media outlets, and press freedom and safety groups, signed onto [ https://cpj.org/2020/04/cpj-73-media-and-rights-groups-urge-asian-heads-of.… | a letter ] led by the [ https://cpj.org/ | Committee to Protect Journalists ] (CPJ) urging Asian heads of state to release jailed journalists -- including RFA Vietnamese contributors Truong Duy Nhat and Nguyen Van Hoa. The letter, published Monday on CPJ’s website, invokes the threat that the coronavirus poses to imprisoned populations, and addresses, among other leaders, the heads of state of four RFA broadcast countries (China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar). Two Cambodian journalists formerly with RFA's Khmer Service, Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin, continue to [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/reporters-court-01272020205952.ht… | face politicized charges ] after a protracted two-and-a-half-year legal battle. At least six of RFA’s Uyghur journalists currently have relatives detained, missing, and jailed in connection with their work in [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/china-is-harassing-… | exposing ] the human rights crisis in China’s Far West, where at least a million Uyghurs are being held in internment camps. RFA's target countries are among the world’s most repressive media environments, according to [ https://rsf.org/en | Reporters Without Borders’ ] (RSF) recent [ https://rsf.org/en/ranking | 2020 World Press Freedom Index ] . Seven out of RFA’s nine language services broadcast into countries that are ranked among the survey’s bottom 10 places. [ https://freedomhouse.org/ | Freedom House ] , which [ https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores?sort=asc&order=Poli… | assesses ] countries based on political rights and civil liberties afforded to citizens, classifies all of RFA’s broadcast countries as “not free.” “Journalism stands in the way of the CCP and authoritarian rulers in other countries deceiving their publics over their handling of COVID-19,” Fang said earlier in a [ https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/rfa-journalism-04282020110623.html | commentary ] piece. “Our mission -- despite threats, intimidation, and censorship -- must never cease, as long as there is truth and the public good to be defended.” # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the United States Agency for Global Media. Rohit Mahajan Vice President of Communications and External Relations Radio Free Asia

4 years, 8 months

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