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Month: May 2022

Top U.S. diplomat for Tibetan affairs visits refugees in Nepal

Editor06 mins

Uzra Zeya, the U.S. special coordinator for Tibetan issues, met with Tibetan refugees in Nepal as well as government officials during a recent visit to Kathmandu in the highest-level visit by a U.S. official in a decade, sources in the Himalayan country told RFA. Zeya, who also met with Tibetans in India on her trip, reportedly discussed the refugees’ undocumented status during the meeting. In 1995, Nepal stopped issuing refugee cards for Tibetans who flee across the border from their homeland, which has been under Chinese control since 1951. Nepal is seen by China as a partner in its Belt and Road Initiative to boost global trade through infrastructure investment, and Nepal’s government has cited promises of millions of dollars of Chinese investment as a reason for restricting Tibetan activities in the country. Zeya’s trip from May 20 to 22 was intended to “deepen cooperation on human rights and democratic governance goals, and to advance humanitarian priorities,” the State Department said on its website. “Zeya met with Tibetans in Jawalakhel where they raised the problems they are facing in the absence of proper documentation in Nepal … and deteriorating human rights conditions,” a Nepalese journalist told RFA’s Tibetan Service on condition of anonymity to speak freely. The lack of proper identification cards for the refugees is a result of pressure from the Chinese government, Vijay Karna, Nepal’s former ambassador to Demark, told RFA. “More than 5,000 Tibetan refugees and their families are facing problems regarding their refugee card. Resolving this issue would also be of huge significance to the Nepalese government,” he said. “Zeya’s meeting with the Tibetan community in Nepal during this visit sends a clear message to the Chinese government,” Karna said. “It is high time the Nepalese government resolves the issues of Tibetan refugees in Nepal with obtaining their identity cards.” Sangpo, who works at the Human Rights Organization of Nepal, told RFA that any solution to the ID card problem would have to be practical. “Right now an ID card would act only as an ID card and nothing more. To get a travel document, one must first run around to three or four different offices … and since there are no proper guidelines in place, the government should reconsider this,” Sangpo said. Zeya’s meeting with the Tibetan community in Nepal has been closely watched by China, Santosh Sherma, a co-founder of Nepal Institute for Policy Research, told RFA. “Before the arrival of Uzra Zeya and her delegation in Nepal, the Chinese ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi called on Nepal’s home minister to discuss the One-China Policy and bilateral relations between the two countries to get assurance from Nepal. So, Zeya’s visit has definitely made China anxious,” Sherma said.   Of his meeting with Zeya, Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba tweeted, “It was a pleasure receiving the US delegation led by Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human rights. We exchanged views on Nepal-US relations and matter of mutual interests.” Zeya announced in a tweet on May 21 that the U.S. would provide Nepal with $659 million through the United States Agency for International Development. The United States, U.N. and European Union have urged Nepal’s government to protect the rights of Tibetans living in Nepal and of refugees fleeing Tibet. The recent visit also coincided with the 75th anniversary of the Nepal-US diplomatic ties. Washington-based Freedom House rated Nepal “partly free” in its 2022 annual index of world liberty, with a score of 57 out of a possible 100. China was rated “not free” with a score of 9, while Tibet got an even lower ranking of just 1. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Lao villagers say they got little warning of dam water release

Editor011 mins

Heavy rains in northern Laos forced a hydroelectric dam on the Nam Ou River to release water unexpectedly, panicking downstream residents who said a late warning gave them little time to respond, sources in the country told RFA. The Nam Ou has a cascade of seven dams that have been operating since October 2021. They are part of Laos’ controversial economic strategy of becoming the “Battery of Southeast Asia” by aggressively damming the Mekong River and its tributaries and selling the generated power to neighboring countries. The Nam Ou 4 Dam, owned by the Power Construction Corporation of China, began releasing water on Monday after its reservoir rapidly rose. A district-level office in Phongsaly province issued a warning to its citizens earlier in the day. “The Khoua District of Phongsaly province would like to inform party members, government employees, chiefs of villages and all residents, that heavy rain is causing the Nam Ou River water levels to rise, and the amount of water in the Nam Ou 4 Dam reservoir is rising fast. Therefore, for safety reasons, all residents along the Nam Ou River and Nam Bak River should be extra cautious,” it said. A villager in the district told RFA’s Lao Service that the warning was too late. “The district issued the warning on May 23, and the dam released water the same day. We had no time to prepare for the worst, and we were worried about the possible loss of lives and property,” said the villager, who like all anonymous sources in this report declined to be named for safety reasons. Other villagers in the same district told RFA they were still concerned on Wednesday, two days after the dam began releasing water. “The Chinese company is discharging more water from the Nam Ou 4 Dam,” a resident of Phonxay Neua village, who declined to be named, told RFA. “Right now, the river is not yet at a dangerous level, but we are worried that our homes, land and other properties will be flooded, or will cause landslides.” “The district authorities haven’t informed us about how much water the dam is discharging and how high the water will rise,” the Phonxay Neua villager said. The sudden rise of the Nam Ou is uncharacteristic for this time of year, a resident of Sob Kai village told RFA. “Usually the Nam Ou and Nam Bak rivers in Khoua district rise in August or September, so this year is unusual,” the Sob Kai resident said, on condition of anonymity. “When the dam’s reservoir is full, it’ll release water. Each time, the authorities and the dam developer warn us, but many residents who live in remote areas might not be aware of the warning,” the Sob Kai resident said. Provincial authorities told RFA that their duty was simply to warn citizens and that they had effectively done that. “Our job is to receive the information about the discharge from the Chinese company and then inform our constituents. Measuring the water levels is the responsibility of the company, but we do check and monitor Nam Ou River water levels daily and report them to the province,” an official of the province’s Natural Resources and Environment Department told RFA. Thailand’s Water Department on Wednesday said heavy rains would increase the Nam Ou 4’s discharge from 500 cubic meters per second to 2,400 cubic meters per second from May 23 to May 31. More than half of the Thai-Lao border is demarcated by the Mekong River, which the Nam Ou flows into. “The water will flow down at 6,600 cubic meters [about 233,000 cubic feet] per second to the Mekong River through the Xayaburi Dam in Lao P.D.R. raising water levels downstream between one meter and 1.5 meters today, May 25, 2022, and tomorrow, May 26, 2022,” the statement said. Sustainable Development Thailand has called on the Mekong River Commission (MRC), an intergovernmental organization that works with the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to jointly manage the Mekong, to be more forthcoming with information prior to making decisions that affect people living along the banks of the river. “The Thai deputy prime minister, [Prawit Wongsuwon] met with the new CEO of the MRC [Anoulak Kittikhoun] and stressed that information sharing is important so that it can be used to warn residents along the river,” Surasri Kittimonthon, secretary-general of the Thai Office of National Water Resources, told RFA Wednesday. “The deputy PM called for sustainable development along the river such that information about the impact should be clear and tangible,” Surasri Kittimonthon said. Any kind of effort to warn people in advance will fail without China’s cooperation, however, an official of the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment told RFA. “When Chinese dams release more water, they don’t inform us. We have to measure the water levels (of the Mekong River) every day ourselves, then we report them to MRC,” the official said. A representative of the Thailand-based Love Chiang Khong Group, an environmental NGO, told RFA that the notifications from Laos and Thailand were less than useful. “The notification of the water released from the dams is not helpful at all. It won’t solve any of the problems or impacts on the people and the environment in the Lower Mekong River region,” he said. “The right way to solve these problems is for the governments and people to work together to properly manage the Mekong River water. The local people know best about their river, about fish, where they live and how they reproduce,” he said. In a report about Monday’s meeting published on its website, the MRC said China agreed in 2020 to share hydrological data from two of its Mekong River dams not only during the wet season but also in the dry season to help countries downstream plan for any “unusual” rise or fall. The report noted, however, that the agreement never clearly defined “unusual.” Laos has staked its future on power generation, hoping to export electricity…

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Thousands of homes burned by soldiers in Myanmar’s Sagaing region

Editor08 mins

Nearly 6,300 homes have been burned down in 19 townships in northwestern Myanmar’s war-torn Sagaing region during the past two months, forcing residents into tents and other makeshift shelters as the rainy season begins, according to data compiled by RFA. Most of Sagaing’s 34 townships and more than 5,900 villages have been affected by fighting between military forces and members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Forces (PDF). While the military denies it is responsible for the widespread arson, villagers who spoke to RFA said the fires were part of the junta’s strategy to crush opposition forces. Some of the fiercest armed resistance to junta rule has occurred in Sagaing since the military seized power from the country’s elected government in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup. As fighting between the military and the PDFs has intensified there in recent months, junta forces have conducted an arson campaign targeting rural villages, killing civilians and burning hundreds of homes, leaving thousands displaced. Among the 6,281 homes destroyed between April 1 and May 24, Kalemyo township had the highest number with 1,609 houses. Khin Oo township had the second-highest with 874 houses, followed by Mingin township with 609 houses. Homes have also been destroyed in Pale, Chaung-U, Myinmu, Wetlet and Kanbalu townships. A resident of Ngadin Gyi village in Khin Oo township, who declined to be named for safety reasons, told RFA that he could not rebuild his house so long as military forces are still conducting clearance operations in the area. “It’s unthinkable to build a house under this regime,” he said. “There’s also a financial problem [because] a house costs 2.5 million-5 million kyats ($1,325-$2,650). And no one can guarantee that this will not happen again.” Soldiers reportedly burned down more than 200 houses in Ngadin Gyi village on April 3, forcing residents to live in makeshift tents. A resident of Tayawgyin village in Yinmabin township, whose community was torched on May 15 and May 24, said the arson was an act of cruelty committed by the ruling junta. “Tayawgyin village has suffered fires twice,” said the villager who declined to be named. “They set fire to 25 houses the first time. Another 15 homes were set on fire yesterday. We cannot understand why they did that. It is just plain cruelty to the people.” Other villagers said their homes were set ablaze as they fled in fear of the soldiers. A resident in Tin Maw village in Kanbalu township, who also did not want to be named for security reasons, said he and his fellow villagers have been living in tents in the woods after Burmese soldiers burned their homes on May 17. “The houses and the barn where we had over 500 baskets of paddy were all gone,” he said. “Now I have to pitch a makeshift tent in the forest. We need timber to rebuild the [houses], and timber is scarce in this area. Only when the situation calms down will we be able to rebuild.” ‘This shouldn’t have happened’ Junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun rejected the arson allegations and blamed the fires on the PDFs. “We did not enter the villages,” he said. “Our main focus was their camps near the villages and places where they produced weapons. As is customary for PDFs, they attacked some villages when they heard that militia units had been formed. When they retreated, they set the villages on fire and blamed us, saying the army set fire to them.” Locals and civil defense groups said otherwise. Bo Moe Yan, a member of Taungdwin PDF in Minkin township, said residents just watched the military destroy buildings. “The actions of the military are so inhumane,” he said. “When they could not fight the PDFs, they would burn any house they came across. Almost all the houses and shops along Kalaywa and Yagyi Roads are now gone. This shouldn’t have happened. We just had to watch in agony.” Sagaing villagers who have lost their homes are now suffering from poor health and need food and shelter to get through the rainy season, locals said. The rainy season in Myanmar typically runs from mid-May through October. U Pe of the Black Peacock PDF in Pale township said the need for tents there is great, though the armed resistance groups are helping villagers as much as they can. “We need about 60,000 kyats ($32) to get bamboo and poles to build a tent,” he said. “We collect donations for those who cannot rebuild their houses yet. A palm leaf now costs about 150 kyats because most of the houses were destroyed by fire, and demand for them has gone up. It is hard to get them now because it is planting season.” After thousands of homes were destroyed in the fires, their group was able to donate only 23 tents, he added. More than 800,000 civilians across the country of about 55 million people have been displaced by hostilities since the coup, with Sagaing region having the highest number at more than 240,000. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane for RFA’s Burmese Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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UNHCR chief: World must not forget Rohingya refugees amid Ukraine crisis

Editor06 mins

Despite the Ukraine war, the world mustn’t forget about the plight of Rohingya and other refugees as well as the burden of their host countries, the head of the U.N.’s refugee agency pleaded Wednesday as he ended a five-day trip to Bangladesh. The conflict stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its humanitarian fallout is straining resources everywhere, including in supporting the sprawling refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh along the frontier with Myanmar, said Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “I am here to remind the international community that there is not just Ukraine. Bangladesh has been bearing the responsibilities for five years and this support cannot decline,” he told a press conference in Dhaka. “I will not accept it. I will put maximum pressure on all donor partners.” “It is very important that the world knows this should not be forgotten …. The risk is there of marginalization of some of the crises because so many resources are absorbed, especially by the Ukraine emergency,” he added. The camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district house about 1 million Rohingya refugees, including 740,000 who fled atrocities during a military offensive in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017. But only 13 percent of the U.S. $881 million needed by humanitarian agencies this year to support the Rohingya refugees in the South Asian nation has been funded as of May. “I am a bit worried… first of all, there are a bit more needs because there is also Bhashan Char, and now in Ukraine, in Afghanistan and a lot of other competing crises, we struggle a bit, but I am here also for that reason,” Grandi said. Bhashan Char is a remote island in the Bay of Bengal where the Bangladesh government has relocated some 26,000 Rohingya refugees since December 2020, ostensibly to ease the burden on the crowded mainland camps in Cox’s Bazar. During his stay in Bangladesh, Grandi visited refugee camps in both Cox’s Bazar and on Bhashan Char. Grandi said the war in Ukraine had added an additional financial burden on the United Nations, which was affecting the Rohingya camps as well. “The Ukraine emergency is posing a problem here as well. We buy liquid gas for … [these] camps. That price has gone up a lot and this is a direct impact of the crisis,” he said. When asked, Grandi acknowledged that funding for the Rohingya refugees would be more difficult than before. “I think the government knows that, we know that, and the donors know that.” The solution to the Rohingya crisis lies in Myanmar, the UNHCR chief said. “The Rohingya refugees I met reiterated their desire to return home when conditions allow. The world must work to address the root causes of their flight and to translate those dreams into reality,” Grandi said. Filippo Grandi (center), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, walks inside the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh, May 22, 2022. Credit: UNHCR. Grandi talked with Rohingya about their situation during his visit to refugee camps earlier this week, said Kin Maung, the founder of the Rohingya Youth Association in Cox’s Bazar. “We hope, following the visit of UNHCR boss, the process of repatriation will get more focus,” he told BenarNews. “We want to return to our homeland with dignity.”

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Japan criticizes ‘provocative’ China-Russia air patrol during Quad summit

Editor09 mins

Japan has described as “provocative” a joint patrol by Chinese and Russian air forces over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, conducted when Quad leaders met in Tokyo to discuss regional security. At Tuesday’s meeting, the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States declared a “steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”     Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi said after the summit that Japan had “communicated through our diplomatic routes our grave concerns” over the China-Russia joint patrol. “We believe the fact that this action was taken during the Quad summit makes it more provocative than in the past,” Kishi told reporters in Tokyo, adding that it was the fourth such incident since November. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense said in a brief statement that a joint aerial strategic patrol was carried out “in the airspace over the waters of the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean.” The two militaries staged the patrol “in accordance with their annual military cooperation plan,” the statement said. The Russian Defense Ministry denied that the joint patrol was aimed against third countries.  It said that during the 13-hour mission Russian and Chinese bombers did not intrude into Japanese and South Korean airspace. South Korea said at least four Chinese and four Russian warplanes entered its air defense zone several times during the day of the patrol, Reuters reported. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend an event during the summit of Quad leaders in Tokyo, Japan, May 24, 2022. Credit: Reuters. China-Russia no-limit partnership The Russian ministry maintained that the Russian and Chinese aircraft “ operated strictly in compliance with the provisions of international law.”  It said the patrol included Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of the Russian Aerospace Force and Hong-6K (commonly known as Xian H-6) strategic bombers of the Air Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). A number of Russian Su-30SM jets provided fighter support for this air task force and at some sections of the route, the bombers were “escorted” by F-2 aircraft of the South Korean Air Force and F-15 jets of the Japanese Air Force, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Japan’s Ministry of Defense Joint Staff confirmed that Japanese fighters “scrambled to cope with a suspected intrusion into Japan’s airspace over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.” It said in a press release that Japan identified four Chinese H-6 bombers, two Russian Tu-95 bombers and a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft. This is the fourth consecutive year that Chinese and Russian air forces have conducted such joint strategic air patrol. The two militaries have also carried out numerous joint exercises on land and at sea. At a briefing on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the latest event demonstrated that the Sino-Russian partnership is “quite alive and well.” Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a summit in February, in which they praised the bilateral partnership as having “no limits” and “no forbidden areas of cooperation.” “China-Russia cooperation is driven by strong internal dynamics and valued for its independence. It is not targeted at any third party and will not be affected by others,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Tuesday. The Russia-initiated war in Ukraine has pushed the two countries even closer and Beijing has so far refused to condemn the Russian invasion. “As the international community responds to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the fact that China took such action in collaboration with Russia, which is the aggressor, is cause for concern. It cannot be overlooked,” Japanese Defense Minister Kishi said, referring to Tuesday’s joint patrol. Containing China The Quad summit on Tuesday, though not mentioning China, did reaffirm the grouping’s “resolve to uphold the international rules-based order where countries are free from all forms of military, economic and political coercion.” Analysts say the four Quad nations share concerns about China’s growing influence and assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. Beijing has been responding to international criticism by holding military drills and deployments. On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden said his country is “committed” to defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. On the same day, China announced increased naval activities in the two strategically important straits northwest and southwest of Japan.  Japan’s Ministry of Defense Joint Staff said two Type 054A frigates of the PLA Navy – the Xuzhou and the Handan – transited the Tsushima Strait towards the Sea of Japan while the Sovremenny-class destroyer Hangzhou entered the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Miyako Strait from the East China Sea. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the PLA Eastern Theater Command said it has “recently organized joint combat-readiness patrol and real-combat training exercises involving multiple services and arms in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan Island.” “These actions are stern warning against the recent collusion activities between the US and the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces,” said command spokesperson, Senior Col. Shi Yi. He did not specify the dates when the exercises took place. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province that should be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary. The Eastern Theater Command of the PLA is responsible for Taiwan, Japan and the East China Sea.

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Hong Kong unlikely to see Tiananmen vigil, as Taiwan plans major June 4 event instead

Editor013 mins

Hong Kong’s once-annual candlelight vigil for Tiananmen massacre victims is likely to be suppressed for a third year running, amid ongoing political crackdown under the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and plans are afoot to move the event to democratic Taiwan. The vigil has been banned — ostensibly for public health reasons — for the past two years and the leaders of its organizing group, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, arrested for colluding with foreign powers under a national security law imposed by Beijing from July 1, 2020. The Ming Pao newspaper reported that the Leisure and Cultural Service Department (LCSD), which administers the Victoria Park soccer pitches where the rally used to take place, has suspended any bookings on June 4, the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, although bookings are available on other days in the same month. An LDSD official who answered the phone on Tuesday said that “non-designated bookings” had been suspended at its sports facilities, and that nobody had tried to hire the soccer pitches between June 1 and 5 this year. However, the department’s official website carried a notice dated May 12, announcing that two of the park’s six soccer pitches will be “closed for maintenance” throughout May and early June. The Hong Kong Police said on Monday that they hadn’t received any application to hold a large gathering on Hong Kong Island on June 4. League of Social Democrats spokeswoman Chan Po-ying said the group hasn’t yet decided what, if anything, it will do to mark this year’s anniversary. Former chairman Avery Ng said there are currently no plans for such an event. “The government has used a number of excuses in the past few years to refuse to allow citizens to hold large-scale gatherings,” Ng told RFA. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if any application by other people to hold a June 4 event was turned down this year too.” “Of course, the government keeps hoping that people will forget about June 4, but I don’t think they will,” he said. People attend a vigil commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen square pro-democracy protests and crackdown outside of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, California, June 4, 2021. Deeply rooted after 30 years You Weijie, spokeswoman for the Tiananmen Mothers victims’ group said it was a shame that the event couldn’t go ahead in Hong Kong, but said people wouldn’t forget the date, nor the three decades of vigils that had already happened. “The candlelight vigil in Victoria Park went on for more than 30 years, and is deeply rooted in the memories of everyone with a conscience,” You told RFA. “It’s part of the desire to live a free life.” “The candlelight won’t be extinguished; it will just be lit by people of conscience all over the world,” she said. Many of those commemorating those who died when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled into Tiananmen Square, putting a bloody end to weeks of student-led protests in the spring and early summer of 1989 will likely be on the democratic island of Taiwan. Taiwan’s New School for Democracy has said it will keep up the vigil tradition in support of Hong Kong, which now has around 1,000 political prisoners amid a citywide crackdown on dissent instigated by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the wake of the 2019 protest movement. Chairman Tzeng Chien-yuan said the group will co-host the vigil in Taiwan on the night of June 3-4, now that Victoria Park is no longer an option. “Back when I was growing up, I actually used to envy Hong Kong’s freedoms and rule of law,” Tseng said, in a reference to Taiwan’s peaceful transition from single-party state under authoritarian rule by the Kuomintang (KMT) to a pluralistic democracy with a strong human rights record. “Taiwan’s path to democracy was nourished and supported by Hong Kong, and I think we Taiwanese are duty bound to speak up for Hongkongers and for all Chinese people now that the June 4 event can’t be held there any more,” Tseng said. People hold candles during a vigil in Hong Kong on June 4, 2018, to mark the 29th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing. Credit: AFP Pillar of shame The centerpiece of this year’s ceremony will be a smaller replica of the Pillar of Shame sculpture, which was dismantled and removed from public view among other commemorative artworks on Hong Kong university campuses, amid a crackdown on public criticism of the government under a draconian national security law imposed on the city by Beijing. “The rule of law has fallen in Hong Kong, which is so close to Taiwan,” Tseng said. “It means Taiwan is also under great threat from the expansionism, infiltration and encirclement [practiced] by the CCP.” “We have also been through a struggle on the way to democracy … so the Taiwanese people are on a historic mission … to use our democracy as a model,” he said. The Taiwan branch of Amnesty International also plans to premiere “May 35th”, a Hong Kong stage play linked to June 4, in Tainan and Taipei on June 1 and 3 respectively, its secretary general Eeling Chiu told RFA. “The June 4 commemoration has been banned and suppressed in Hong Kong for the past two years,” Chiu said. “We want to bring May 35th to Taiwan … so that more Taiwanese know about June 4.” Chiu said younger Taiwanese are an important political force. “They bring a lot of change … so we are looking forward to reaching more young people.” As the anniversary approached, a U.S.-based rights group said there are now more than 1,000 political prisoners in Hong Kong, compared with a handful at the start of the 2019 protest movement. “The large number of political prisoners is a key indicator of the deterioration of the rule of law, judicial independence, and protections of civil and political liberties, marking Hong Kong’s rapid descent into authoritarianism,” the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC) said in a recent report. “In few places in the world…

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Hundreds join student protests at two Beijing universities over COVID-19 measures

Editor09 mins

Hundreds of students gather have been gathering this week at two Beijing universities to protest over COVID-19 restrictions, according to video footage uploaded to social media. Hundreds of students at the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), and at Beijing Normal University (Beishida), gathered to show their displeasure with current restrictions on t heir movements, as the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to roll out its zero-COVID policy across the country following a grueling weeks-long lockdown in Shanghai. The protests came as district officials in Beijing’s Haidian district announced a local lockdown, with classes at the two universities suspended from Monday. Students at CUPL gathered in their hundreds outside the main block, lighting up their phone flashlights, and demanding the option to go back home, as well as clear information about the timing of final exams and greater transparency from the school administration. The rally was followed by a similar gathering at Beishida on Tuesday, during which some protesters shouted historic slogans linked to China’s first peasant uprising in 209 BC. Footage of the protest posted to social media showed a crowd of people waving their lit-up mobile phones. “Everyone is concerned right now about the policies the university is announcing,” a student says in one of the clips. “[We] demand clarification of the timing and methods used for the final exams, and that they respond positively to student demands, with no backlash or interviews.” A poster at Beishida said the administration had given them a verbal promise that they would be able to at least apply to go back home for the duration of the COVID-19 measures, and promised not to retaliate against students who took part in the protest. A scene of students at Beijing Normal University rallying against restrictions on their movements under the Chinese Communist Party’s zero-COVID policy, May 24, 2022. Credit: Participants. ‘They want their freedom back’ A Weibo post said some 300 people turned out on Tuesday evening, although around 500 were expected to take part. Another source said most of the students were angry over the decision to stop face-to-face classes, while still requiring students’ presence on campus to take part in online classes, citing other students at different universities in the same district who were being allowed home. A resident of Haidian who gave only the surname Zhang said the students want some measure of freedom back. “Students feel that being stuck indoors all day isn’t what they signed up for, and they want their freedom back,” Zhang said. “Similar incidents took place at the Beijing International Studies University (BISU).” “I don’t know when Beijing will get back to normal; they are estimating not until June,” Zhang said. Beishida announced on Tuesday that many students are currently on their way back home to study from their hometowns, and will complete their studies and exams online. June 4 anniversary approaches People’s University alumnus Guo Baosheng, who now lives in the U.S., said students have shown that there is still a spirit of resistance, and that the university’s diplomatic approach — at least promising to meet some of their demands — was likely due to the fast-approaching 33rd anniversary of the student-led protests of 1989 and their bloody conclusion in the Tiananmen massacre. “One of the reasons for the compromise is that zero-COVID is causing very real public resentment,” Guo told RFA. “The lower-ranking cadres, including school leaders, are actually very unhappy about the zero-COVID approach, and should be somewhat flexible.” “Another reason is that we are entering the most sensitive period for Beijing colleges and universities, namely, the anniversary of June 4, 1989,” he said. Guo said the authorities typically step up surveillance and monitoring of students’ activities in the run-up to the anniversary. “I was a key target in my school around the June 4 anniversary in 1993,” he said. “The school leaders will need to guide students [to a satisfactory resolution] before [the anniversary], so as to minimize potential instability.” This year’s anniversary is all the more sensitive as it falls ahead of the 20th party congress later this year, during which CCP leader Xi Jinping is hoping to be voted in for an unprecedented third term in office. The official website of the Tiananmen district management committee of the Beijing municipal government said on Tuesday it is suspending all spontaneous visits to Tiananmen Square through June 15. Tourists wishing to view the square must book a slot a day in advance, have a green code on their COVID-19 test and trace app, and a negative PCR test from within the last 48 hours, it said. All visitors will have to pass through security checkpoints, as usual. Meanwhile, Chaoyang district resident Ye Jinghuan said the area has been under tight restrictions for the past 20 days, with all residents required to work from home, and schools, restaurants and public transportation all shut down. “The most unbelievable thing about this is that many communities are totally negative, and yet they are still under lockdown,” Ye told RFA. “If you want to leave Shibalidian township, you need to get a pass, a PCR test certifcate and so on,” Ye said. “As of [Sunday], five Beijing districts have required residents to work from home and shut down public transportation.” Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Chinese medical experts in North Korea to advise on COVID response

Editor08 mins

A Chinese delegation of medical experts has arrived in Pyongyang to advise North Korea on strategies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been spreading rapidly over the past month, sources in both countries told RFA. Though North Korea has been reluctant to ask for foreign help during the pandemic, Pyongyang specifically requested that China send a team of experts for guidance, a North Korea-related source in Beijing told RFA’s Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Last week 13 medical officials, doctors and medical technicians left Beijing for Pyongyang, and they are currently staying at the National Academy of Sciences in Pyongyang’s Unjong district,” the source said on Sunday. “North Korea requested help in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 across the country, especially around the Pyongyang area,” he said. The Chinese experts will work closely with North Korea’s National Emergency Quarantine Command, hoping to pass on practical knowledge and expertise in dealing with the virus. They will also train North Korean medical personnel. “So far, China has provided supplies like COVID-19 test kits, protective shields, and vaccines to North Korea. In the future, China will also provide support for production technologies and facilities that can produce diagnostic kits,” said the source. North Korea last year rejected 3 million doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine last September, saying that other countries needed them more. The vaccines the source was referring to are not confirmation that North Korea has begun officially accepting vaccines from China. Sources have told RFA that doses for elite members of society have made their way to Pyongyang in small amounts. For more than two years, North Korea denied that any of its citizens had contracted the coronavirus. This month, Pyongyang finally announced its first cases and deaths, saying the Omicron variant had begun to spread among participants of a large-scale military parade in late April. The country declared a “maximum emergency,” but the situation has worsened as nearly 3 million people have reported having symptoms of the virus. The government has been isolating suspected patients, but the country’s healthcare system is woefully underdeveloped and ill-prepared to withstand the shocks of a major pandemic. As COVID-19 cases increased drastically in Pyongyang, the Central Committee of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party requested urgent assistance from China, a resident of Pyongyang told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. “They asked for China to provide medical equipment such as COVID-19 vaccines, test kits and protective clothing and face shields,” said the second source. “While the medical equipment is being brought to Pyongyang, the Central Committee has also requested China’s help in releasing technology needed to help with biological research,” he said. The government established a bio-research center to fight COVID-19, but it hasn’t produced any results yet due to a lack of overseas knowledge. “China agreed to help with our request. The medical staff and technicians came to Pyongyang last week and have been conducting technical training at the National Academy of Science Bio research center located in Pyongyang,” he said. North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on May 14 that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, ordered researchers to learn from China’s quarantine achievements and experiences. “The Chinese government is willing to support and strengthen cooperation with North Korea during the COVID-19 response,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said. About 2.9 million people have been hit by outbreaks of fever, 68 of whom have died, according to data based on reports from North Korean state media published by 38 North, a site that provides analysis on the country and is run by the U.S.-based think tank the Stimson Center. Around 2.5 million are reported to have made recoveries, while 400,200 are undergoing treatment. The country has only a handful of confirmed COVID-19 cases, which 38 North attributed to insufficient testing capabilities. Data published on the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center showed North Korea with only one confirmed COVID-19 case and six deaths as of Tuesday evening. Tuesday marked the first day that no new deaths were recorded since North Korea declared the emergency on May 12, the state-run Korea Central News Agency reported. “In a few days after the maximum emergency epidemic prevention system was activated, the nation-wide morbidity and mortality rates have drastically decreased and the number of recovered persons increased, resulting in effectively curbing and controlling the spread of the pandemic disease and maintaining the clearly stable situation,” KCNA said. Reuters reported that many analysts doubt the accuracy of the statement, citing the difficulty of assessing the true scale of the virus’ spread throughout the country. Translated by Claire Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Cambodian opposition party’s signs destroyed in run-up to local election

Editor08 mins

Members of Cambodia’s largest opposition party said on Tuesday their campaign signs for June 5 elections in southern Siem Reap province were vandalized and destroyed in the latest of a pattern of harassment. Candlelight Party officials have complained for weeks about incidents of harassment by local officials representing Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). Every five years, voters in the nation of 16 million people elect councils to represent rural precincts know as communes and urban districts called sangkat. This year some 86,000 candidates from 17 political parties are competing for 11,622 seats in 1,652 precincts nationwide. While the councils hold relatively little power, the June 5 election will test the dominance of the CPP and the limits of political freedom for opponents five years into Hun Sen’s crackdown on civil society, media and the internet. Sock Kissing, the chief of the Candlelight Party’s northwestern province, told RFA’s Khmer Service that signs his party hung in public places were deliberately destroyed, which he said shows the bias held by local officials toward the CPP. “The Candlelight Party urges the authorities to provide equal protection toward the party’s candidates, supporters and party property,” he said. The Candlelight Party has risen from the ashes of the main opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, whose strong showing in previous communal elections in 2017 prompted Hun Sen have the party dissolved, paving the way for his CPP to win all 125 parliamentary seats in 2018. With its rise has come what Candlelight officials say are made-up accusations that the party has used fake names for candidates and has put forward candidates in violation of Cambodian election laws. Several Candlelight Party activists have been jailed on allegations of submitting false documents to run in the communal elections, and many others say they have been harassed or attacked by people loyal to the CPP. Sock Kissing said that although authorities are monitoring the campaign trail in Siem Reap, they are watching his party in hopes of catching its candidates slip up, rather than ensuring a free and fair election. He intends to file a complaint with the National Election Commission. The Provincial Election Committee’s secretariat chief, Men Vann Sam, told RFA that he had worked with local officials to resolve all complaints. “We are investigating the incidents with local authorities. We are working for all parties, not only the Candlelight Party,” he said. Norn Thera, a Candlelight candidate in Siem Reap, told RFA that he also submitted complaints about political harassment, which makes it hard to conduct a campaign fairly. “I am very sad over the incidents. I can’t accept it. Many party’s banners were destroyed in public spaces,” he said. Destruction of any political party’s property is a crime that affects the political rights of the Cambodians, Sam Kuntheamy, director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, told RFA. Voting holiday for textile workers The labor ministry announced Tuesday it will give garment factory workers three days paid leave from June 4-6 to vote. Yang Sophoan, director of the Cambodia Alliance of Trade Unions, told RFA that the move is a possible indication of CPP’s confidence in its position heading into the election. “It shows that the CPP thinks it has a huge advantage in the election,” she said. Before the pandemic, Cambodia’s garment sector employed about 1 million workers and accounted for 45 percent of Cambodia’s exports. The CPP, the only party large enough to field candidates nationwide, is expected to win a landslide victory, enjoying the power of incumbency and patronage in what Hun Sun has effectively turned into a one-party state at the national level. The government should allow time for workers from remote areas of the country to travel back home to vote, Ath Thun, president of the Cambodian Labour Confederation, told RFA. Government spokesperson Phay Siphan said the government was not considering extending the voter leave beyond three days. Given the country’s modern infrastructure, he said workers should not need more than 10 hours of travel. The government is not covering transportation expenses, Phay Siphan said. The Ministry of Labor, however, urged factories to pay the workers before they leave to vote, or at least loan them money for travel expenses. Meanwhile, NGOs monitoring the campaign say they have reported no serious incidents so far. Kang Savang, a monitor with the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said parties have continued to conduct their campaigns, including by marching and distributing leaflets.  “There is no serious irregularity or threat during this election campaign,” he said. The National Election Commission issued a statement Tuesday that said the campaigns were proceeding normally.  “In general, the election campaign in the fourth day went smoothly with security, safety and order, without violence or intimidation,” it said. Translate by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Mobile phone service cut amid heavy fighting in Myanmar’s Sagaing

Editor06 mins

Myanmar junta troops on Tuesday briefly cut mobile phone service to eight townships in Sagaing region, leaving more than a million residents without cell access in an effort to mask the movements and operations of Military Council forces in the war-torn area, Myanmar sources say. Phone lines were cut for six hours from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., with affected areas including Monywa, Pale, Khin Oo, Ye-U, Kanbalu, Kyun Hla and Kani. local sources said. “Yes, the phone lines were cut off around 7,” a resident of Khin Oo told RFA, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “I found a missed-call notification on my phone earlier and now I’m calling you back, but even still the signal is dropping off now and then. “The spot I’m speaking from now has a pretty strong signal, and there is also a place where you can get 2G internet service. But we have to find these kinds of places to make our calls go through,” he said. “Service has been available on and off, but right now it seems to be working again,” said a villager in Sagaing’s Ye-U, where more than 150,000 residents have had trouble making and receiving calls since 6 a.m. “Earlier in the morning, both of my phones didn’t work.” Local providers MPT and Telenor were both down, the source said, also declining to be named. “Service is okay one minute, and then the next it’s not,” he added. Nearly 20 calls made by RFA to affected townships at around 10 a.m. failed to connect, while a call made in the afternoon to a resident of Monywa was blocked. Phone service was largely restored in the township by around 1 p.m., residents said. Myo Swe, director general of the ruling Military Council’s Directorate of Communications, told RFA he was unaware of the reports of a cut-off in services. “I don’t know anything about this issue. We’ll take a look into that,” he said. Inn Phat village in Sagaing’s Khin Oo township is shown after being burned by Myanmar junta troops, May 16, 2022. Photo: Citizen Journalist But a spokesman for the Myanmar Defense Force, an armed group set up to oppose junta rule, said that junta troops had cut phone service in Sagaing to prevent reporting of their activities and movements in the area. “They don’t want news of their soldiers committing arson reaching the media and the international community,” the spokesman, Bo Taw Win, said. “We have video files of some of them burning houses, but we can’t upload them because of the weak signals. We can only upload photos. “But they also want to cover up our victories. They don’t want people to know about the intensity of the fighting here, and they don’t want any aid from donors to reach us,” Bo Taw Win said. Military activity had been reported in Kani and Ye-U townships after phone service was cut Tuesday morning, he added. Northwest Myanmar’s Sagaing region has been the center of some of the strongest armed resistance to junta rule since the military seized power from the country’s democratically elected government in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup. Myanmar’s military has for months conducted an arson campaign in Sagaing targeting rural villages, killing civilians and burning hundreds of homes, leaving thousands displaced. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0