Engnews

engnews@rfanews.org

440 discussions

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

by Rohit Mahajan

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

4 years, 8 months

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

by Rohit Mahajan

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

4 years, 8 months

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

by Paul Eckert

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

4 years, 9 months

Radio Free Asia Hosts Secure Websites for Audiences with Restricted Access

by Rohit Mahajan

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

4 years, 9 months

Radio Free Asia Condemns Conviction of Vietnamese Blogger Truong Duy Nhat

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2020 Contact: Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> Radio Free Asia Condemns Conviction of Vietnamese Blogger and RFA Contributor Truong Duy Nhat WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia's President Bay Fang issued the following statement today in response to the conviction and sentencing of Truong Duy Nhat, a blogger who contributed to Radio Free Asia's Vietnamese Service, prior to his detention early last year. "Radio Free Asia categorically condemns the unjust conviction of Truong Duy Nhat," Fang said. "This deplorable act by Vietnamese authorities delivers another blow against free speech and free expression. "This miscarriage of justice only reinforces RFA's mission to provide the people of Vietnam with uncensored perspectives, and accurate news and information." The Hanoi People's Court convicted Nhat for "abusing his position <https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/charges-07252019152437.html> and authority while on duty" over alleged fraud involving state property while serving as bureau chief at a newspaper in Danang city between 2003-2004. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. His lawyer says he will appeal. Nhat, whose journalism had gotten him into trouble with Vietnamese authorities in the past, was abducted in January 2019 in Thailand after applying for asylum and brought back to Vietnam by force against his will. Two months later, RFA confirmed <https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/blogger-hanoi-03202019175732.htm l> he was being held at T16 prison in Hanoi. In November 2019, Nhat's lawyer was convicted <https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/sentenced-11152019155826.html> for tax evasion, a charge that critics believed was linked to willingness to represent him. Nhat is an established writer and journalist, well-known before contributing to RFA. He was jailed in Vietnam from 2013 to 2015 for his writings critical of the government. # # # 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 | Radio Free Asia | Vice President of Communications & External Relations <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

4 years, 10 months

Statement of RFA President on Former Cambodia Journalists’ Appeal

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 27, 2020 Contact: Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 |mahajanr(a)rfa.org Statement of RFA President on Former Cambodia Journalists’ Appeal WASHINGTON – The appeal by former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin to drop the reinvestigation into espionage charges laid against them was rejected by Cambodia’s Appeals Court today. The two were arrested after RFA was forced to close its Phnom Penh bureau in the fall of 2017. RFA President Bay Fang made the following statement: “Today’s decision is a disappointment. The legal limbo that Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin have endured for more than two years still drags on, as does the threat of long prison terms. Cambodian authorities should heed what the international community is telling them: This legal process is deeply unfair and undermines the principles of free expression and respect for a free press that are enshrined in Cambodia’s constitution. The case against Chhin and Sothearin should be dismissed.” # # # 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 | Radio Free Asia | Vice President of Communications & External Relations mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

4 years, 11 months

RFA Publishes Rebel Pepper e-Book with Hong Kong, Uyghur Focus

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 9, 2019 Contact: Rohit Mahajan | 202.530.4976 | mahajanr(a)rfa.org <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> RFA Publishes Rebel Pepper e-Book with Hong Kong, Uyghur Focus WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia <https://www.rfa.org/english> (RFA) has released its second e-book featuring the artwork of Wang Liming, RFA's award-winning resident political cartoonist, known to many by his pen name "Rebel Pepper." The 60 illustrations, caricatures, and cartoons included in the latest volume, titled "Eyes on China: A Cartoonist's Take on Hong Kong, the Uyghurs, and More," display Wang's knack for commenting on complex newsworthy topics through wit and humor. This edition homes in on the ongoing human rights abuses <https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur> in China's Uyghur Region and the months-long pro-democracy protests <https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/hongkong-protest-01062020121707.ht ml> in Hong Kong -- two unfolding sagas covered closely by RFA's journalists and language services. The e-book is available free to download on iTunes <https://books.apple.com/us/book/eyes-on-china-cartoonists-take-on-hong-ko ng-uyghurs/id1493018048?ls=1> , Google Play <https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Radio_Free_Asia_Eyes_on_China _A_Cartoonist_s_Take?id=EVLHDwAAQBAJ> , and on RFA's e-book shelf <http://www.rfa.org/english/bookshelf> . "Rebel Pepper uses his trademark brand of political and social satire to focus on the pressing issues of the day for Radio Free Asia's audiences," said RFA President Bay Fang. "This new volume spotlights Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests and China's mass oppression of the Uyghurs, bringing an incisive, artistic perspective to two of the most critical stories that RFA has covered extensively." Wang grew up in China, where he began producing artwork on the many "sensitive" subjects deemed taboo by the ruling Communist Party. The severe restrictions on freedom to discuss certain political topics stifled his creativity, and his cartoons drew the ire of party officials. Wang was forced to leave his native China for Japan in 2014, before moving to Washington, D.C., where he started working for RFA in 2017. "As a political cartoonist in the United States, I am able to express myself in ways that are off-limits to people in China," said Wang. "It's my hope that through my work in this e-book more people can learn about the hugely significant issues that the Chinese government, and other repressive governments in Asia, try so hard to keep hidden." RFA previously published <https://www.rfa.org/about/releases/politicalcartoonist-ebook-121320171158 27.html?searchterm:utf8:ustring=%20rebel%20pepper> another e-book featuring Wang's artwork, "Drawing Fire: The Political Cartoons of Rebel Pepper," in December 2017, for which Wang was awarded the Society of Professional Journalists <https://www.spj.org/> ' Sigma Delta Chi Award. Wang's cartoons have also been featured in the Japanese edition of Newsweek, Index of Censorship and China Digital Times. # # # 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 | Radio Free Asia | Vice President of Communications & External Relations <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org | O: 202.530.4976 | M: 202.489.8021

5 years

RFA Breaking News: Former Tibetan Monk Stages Fatal Self-Immolation Protest in Ngaba

by Paul Eckert

Former Tibetan Monk Stages Fatal Self-Immolation Protest in Ngaba Nov. 28, 2019 - A young Tibetan man set himself on fire in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) county, a Tibetan region in the western Chinese province of Sichuan, this week in a protest against Chinese rule in Tibet, exile sources familiar with the case said on Thursday. "24-year-old Youten self-immolated on November 26, around 4 p.m. local time, in a village in Meruma township, Ngaba. He died on the spot," said Kanyag Tsering, a Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan. "After the self-immolation occurred, it was not known if the family could take possession of his remains. Due to clampdown on communication channels, details in the aftermath of the self-immolation are hard to ascertain," he said. Ngaba's main town and nearby Kirti monastery have been the scene of repeated self-immolations and other protests in recent years by monks, former monks, and other Tibetans calling for Tibetan freedom and the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet. "In Ngaba Meruma township, nearby monasteries and the markets in public places remained closely monitored and under surveillance, and this has affected people's normal life," said Tsering. Tsering identified Youten as the son of father Sodhon and mother Tsekho Kyi, who are residents of Meruma. "Youten was a monk in his childhood at Ngaba's Kirti monastery, and later disrobed and spent his time in nomadic areas," he said. Youten's protest follows the December 2018 self-immolation of DrukKho, also in Ngaba, and brings to 156 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans since the wave of fiery protests against Chinese rule of their homeland began in 2009. Reported by RFA's Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Paul Eckert. View this story online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/ngaba-immolation-11282019081135.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 .

5 years, 1 month

RFA Breaking News: Expert Says 1.8 Million Uyghurs, Muslim Minorities Held in Xinjiang's Internment Camps

by Paul Eckert

>> >> >> >> >> Expert Says 1.8 Million Uyghurs, Muslim Minorities Held in Xinjiang’s Internment Camps >> >> Nov. 24, 2019 - Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have detained up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in as many as 1,300 to 1,400 internment camps, one of the world’s foremost experts on mass incarcerations in the region said in a paper released Sunday. >> >> Adrian Zenz, senior fellow in China Studies at the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, obtained a cache of more than 25,000 files from different government departments in the XUAR to inform his latest estimate of the number of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities being held in a vast network of camps in the region since April 2017. >> >> Zenz had initially estimated that some 1.1 million people are or have been detained in the camps, which he refers to as Vocational Training Internment Camps (VTICs), but in March this year revised his assessment to 1.5 million. Camp inmates have been accused of harboring “strong religious views” and “politically incorrect” ideas. >> >> “Adding 177,000 to the current internment estimate of 1.6 million results in a combined figure of 1.777 million, or approximately 1.8 million,” he said in the report, which also cited members of the Hui Muslim minority as being among those detained. >> >> “This means that 15.4 percent of the adult Turkic and Hui minority population are or have been interned. This is equivalent to just below one in six members of that population, with the difference to the author's previous estimate from July 2019 of 1.5 million being explained by using updated population figures, including the Hui population in the sample.” >> >> Zenz said that his new estimate was based on information obtained mostly from rural minority regions in the XUAR’s Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian), Kashgar (Kashi), and Kizilsu Kirghiz (Kezileisu Keerkezi) Autonomous prefectures. >> >> Camps in the region number up to 1,400, Zenz said in Sunday’s report, providing more specific details following an interview with RFA’s Uyghur Service earlier this month, in which he said that he had obtained convincing evidence to suggest that his “original estimate of at least one camp per administrative unit between township and prefecture levels, which adds up to 1,200, was accurate.” >> >> “Xinjiang has at least 119 detention centers, one per administrative unit above township level,” the report said. >> >> “Likely, there are more than that. That means that the region has probably somewhere between 1,300 and 1,400 extrajudicial internment facilities (excluding prisons).” >> >> In one tranche of data included in Sunday’s report, Zenz posted a spreadsheet containing detailed information on nearly 1,500 persons detained from just one village in Kashgar’s Yarkand (Shache) county, with the last six digits of their identification numbers redacted for privacy reasons. >> >> The report more generally includes lists of detainees including “young persons with their status of study or work, lists of children with both parents in some form of detention and how they are being cared for, lists of couples of mixed ethnicity and whether they still live together, lists of families and their >> fulfillment of family planning requirements.” >> >> It also details “lists of persons below the poverty line or who are currently (or no longer) receiving minimum welfare payments, or lists of persons who have failed or are unable to repay their government-issued debt.” >> >> ‘Coercive and abusive’ >> >> While Beijing once denied the existence of the camps, China this year changed tack and began 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 organizations, however, has shown 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. >> >> According to Zenz’s report, official government documentation “repeatedly and unambiguously testifies to the fact that Xinjiang’s VTICs engage in known and pre-existing forms of coercive and abusive political >> re-education.” >> >> He cites at least five different XUAR government or educational institution websites as stating that the VTICs “are dedicated brain-washing institutions” that claim to “wash clean the brains of people >> who became bewitched by the extreme religious ideologies of the ‘three forces,’” or the terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism China says are threatening Xinjiang. >> >> Zenz’s report also bolsters reports that internment camp detainees are “in involuntary internment” and that the camps are “heavily guarded, prison-like facilities.” >> >> Shifting strategy >> >> Speaking with RFA earlier this month, Zenz said that China significantly increased its internment and internment capacity in the XUAR in 2018, but gradually shifted from “vocational training” into what he called “involuntary or coercive forms of labor” in the second half of last year. >> >> Zenz said that while it is difficult to confirm such trends, as there is limited evidence to work from and China’s government doesn’t provide statistics, he believes that “in 2019 Xinjiang has been moving from internment into forced labor.” >> >> Last month, at a hearing in Washington held by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), witnesses including Zenz highlighted reports of a widespread system of forced labor in the XUAR, which requires Uyghurs and other ethnic minority Muslims to work in the production of textiles, food, and light manufacturing. >> >> Zenz detailed a forced labor system he called even “more shocking” than that of the internment camps, which he said involved coerced military, political, and vocational training for the purpose of working in officially subsidized companies as part of a “business of oppression.” >> >> China is the world’s largest cotton producer and Zenz noted that some 84 percent of China’s cotton is produced in the XUAR, meaning that between the textile industry and other forms of work—including on components that are sent to eastern China and incorporated into finished products—it is extremely difficult for customs officials in the U.S. to determine whether imported goods are linked to forced labor in the region. >> >> He said at the time that “the situation in Xinjiang is so serious, that it is necessary and warranted to call for an ethical boycott of any products made in whole or in part in Xinjiang.” >> >> Mass incarcerations >> >> Mass incarcerations in the XUAR, as well as other policies seen to violate the rights of Uyghurs and other Muslims, have led to increasing calls by the international community to hold Beijing accountable for its actions in the region. >> >> U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month singled out China as one of the worst perpetrators of abuse against people of faith, particularly in the XUAR. >> >> In September, at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said that the U.N. has failed to hold China to account over its policies in the XUAR and should demand unfettered access to the region to investigate reports of the mass incarceration and other rights abuses against Uyghurs. >> >> On Saturday, The New York Times published a 403-page trove of documents it said were released by someone within the “Chinese political establishment” that told of how Xi called for an “all-out ‘struggle against terrorism, infiltration, and separatism’ using the ‘organs of dictatorship,’” in internal speeches following an attack by Uyghur militants that killed more than 30 people at a train station in 2014. >> >> While it was unclear how the documents, commonly referred to as the “Xinjiang Papers,” were selected, the Times said that the leak came from an official who requested anonymity and expressed hope that their disclosure would hold party leaders, including Xi, accountable for policies in the region. >> >> View this story online at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/detainees-11232019223242.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 (USAGM). >> >> 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 .

5 years, 1 month

RFA Breaking News: Rohingya Genocide Case Against Myanmar Based on ‘Compelling’ Evidence: Lawyer

by Paul Eckert

Rohingya Genocide Case Against Myanmar Based on ‘Compelling’ Evidence: Lawyer Nov. 21, 2019 - An attorney assisting Gambia with its lawsuit against Myanmar for state-sponsored genocide at the U.N.’s top court said Thursday that he is confident that the West African nation will win the case based on copious, strong evidence of army atrocities against the Muslim Rohingyas. “The evidence is plentiful,” Paul Reichler, an attorney at Foley Hoag LLC in Washington told RFA’s Myanmar Service. He spoke a day after the Myanmar government announced that State Counselor and Foreign Affairs Minister Aung San Suu Kyi would lead a team in defending the country at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Netherlands. “There are many, many fact-finding reports by U.N. missions, by special rapporteurs, by human rights organizations,” Reichler said. “There is satellite photography, and there are many, many statements by officials and army personnel from Myanmar which altogether show that the intention of the state of Myanmar has been to destroy the Rohingya as a group in whole or in part,” he said. “And we’re very confident that at the end of the day the evidence will be so compelling that the court will agree with The Gambia,” he said. In the lawsuit filed 10 days ago, Muslim-majority Gambia accuses Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention for the brutal military-led crackdown on the Rohingya in 2017 that left thousands dead and drove more than 740,000 across the border into Bangladesh. The West African country filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The first public hearings at the ICJ will be held on Dec. 10-12. Myanmar has largely denied that its military was responsible for the violence in Rakhine state, which included indiscriminate killings, mass rape, torture, and village burnings, and has defended the crackdown as a counterinsurgency against a group of Muslim militants. The government has also dismissed credible evidence in numerous reports and satellite imagery that point to the atrocities, and claimed that the Rohingya burned down their own communities and blamed soldiers. Myanmar’s powerful military and the civilian-led government are together working with legal experts to take on the lawsuit, Agence France-Presse reported Thursday, quoting military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun. Separate cases pertaining to the persecution of the Rohingya have been filed at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and in an Argentine court, the latter of which names Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and top military commanders deemed responsible for the atrocities. Myanmar has refused to cooperate with the ICC because the country is not a party to the Rome Statute which created the international court. O n Thursday, Christine Schraner Burgener, the U.N. special envoy on Myanmar, welcomed the Southeast Asia country’s decision to defend itself before the ICJ. The special envoy ended a 10-day mission to Myanmar on Nov. 21 during which she met with government and military official, diplomats, think tanks and U.N. agencies. “She welcomed the government’s position on the case filed by The Gambia to the International Court of Justice that, as a party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide since 1956, Myanmar would take its international obligations seriously and would defend itself in front of the ICJ,” said a statement issued by the U.N.’s Myanmar office. State responsible for army actions Some of Myanmar’s top rights attorneys meanwhile weighed in on Aung San Suu Kyi’s decision to appear before the ICJ. “As a foreign minister, it is reasonable that she will lead the defense team,” said Thein Than Oo, one of the founding members of the Myanmar Lawyers’ Network. “As a leader of the country, Daw [honorific] Aung San Suu Kyi has consistently denied the accusations. This charge is not just for human rights violations. She will be defending the genocide accusation. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has consistently denied that charge. I think she will deny it in the court too. She has to.” Kyi Myint, chairman of the Union Attorney and Legal Aid Association, raised questions about the ICJ’s impartiality. “We’ve got a very short period for preparation,” he said. “It’s less than 20 days. They should give us between three and six months, so that we have enough time to prepare the defense.” Kyi Myint went on to say that Aung San Suu Kyi should point out her limited authority over the military, as mandated in Myanmar’s constitution “During the defense at the court, she should demonstrate her limited authorities over the military, showing them a copy of the 2008 constitution,” he said. “If she is willing to take the fall when the military is silent, that’s up to her.” But Reichler said that would provide no protection for Aung San Suu Kyi. “The army is part of the state. The civilian government is part of the state,” he said. “The state is responsible for the behavior of agents, of its organs, of its entities, of its ministries and of its military forces,” he added. “The idea that there are people in the government who oppose genocide … does not absolve the state of the responsibility that it has for operations of a different part of its government,” Reichler said. “The state is responsible whether the civilians support that genocide or not. It is the state that is carrying it out, whether it is the civilians or the military,” he said. Damage to country’s image Representatives from Myanmar’s political parties defended the government. Pyone Kathy Naing, a lawmaker from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said that the West has misunderstood the term “clearance operations,” the actions that Myanmar security forces took in Rohingya communities in Rakhine state in 2017 in response to deadly attacks by a Muslim militant group. ‘The term ‘clearance operation’ is misunderstood in the Western world,” she said. “The military’s clearance operations were to clear out the terrorists — not to drive out the [Muslims]. We need to clarify it.’ “For the lawsuit, we need to counter strategically with a highly expert legal team,” she added. Soe Thein, an independent legislator and former minister of the President’s Office agreed, saying, “We need to fight back with an expert international legal teams — spending millions of dollars.” Oo Hla Saw, a lower house lawmaker from the Arakan National Party (ANP), raised concern over the impact that the ICJ lawsuit would have on Myanmar. “This lawsuit’s impact on our society will be huge, especially because our country’s image will be damaged whether we win or lose since we are accused of rights violations,” he said. “The second thing is economic impact,” he said. “We will be isolated. We might be sanctioned by large western countries. Nobody can be sure, but the impact will be huge because Western countries and the OIC countries will be influencing these motives.” “This will be a very big problem for us,” he added. Reported by Ye Kaung Myint Maung, Khin Khin Ei, Nay Myo Htun, Thet Su Aung, Thiha Tun, and Phyu Phyu Khaing for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung and Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Roseanne Geri n. View this story online at: [ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rohingya-genocide-case-against-mya… | https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rohingya-genocide-case-against-mya… ] 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 ] .

5 years, 1 month

← Newer
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
...
44
Older →

Jump to page:

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

Engnews