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Month: April 2023

Philippines, US launch largest-ever joint war games

Editor013 mins

Treaty allies the United States and the Philippines kicked off their biggest-ever annual joint military exercises on Tuesday, amid growing regional tensions between the U.S. and China over Taiwan and anti-American protests by Filipinos.  The Balikatan Exercise 2023 brings together 17,680 troops – an estimated 12,000 Americans, 5,000 Filipinos, and more than a hundred Australians – who will participate in live-fire drills and other activities until April 28. The drills aim to boost bilateral readiness for cyber-defense operations and maritime security, officials said. “Balikatan,” which means “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog, got underway a day after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought to allay public fears that a beefed up American military presence here would unnecessarily draw the Southeast Asian country into a conflict in case China attacked Taiwan. Gen. Andres Centino, the Philippine military’s chief of staff, said the drills would not only bolster  bilateral ties but “contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region in a definitive manner.” Among the drills on the program are a command post exercise, cyber-defense exercise, field training exercise, and humanitarian civic assistance activities. “All these major events are intended to ensure the achievement of the end state of our Balikatan 2023 exercises, which is to fully develop mutual defense capabilities to enhance cyber defense operation and strengthen the country’s maritime security and domain awareness,” Centino said in a speech Tuesday inaugurating the drills. A bilateral command post exercise aims to strengthen the allies’ ability to plan, coordinate, and provide command-and-control of forces against a range of scenarios and simulated challenges. It also trains both militaries to refine tactics and procedures related to maritime security. And during this year’s Balikatan, participants for the first time will carry out a live-fire training with Patriot missiles and Avenger air-defense systems, which Ukraine has used against invading Russian forces. During the live-fire exercise at sea, Filipino and American troops will target and sink a 200-foot-long mock enemy vessel in the waters off Zambales province facing the West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea that lies within Manila’s exclusive economic zone. Beijing and Manila, as well as other Southeast Asian countries and Taiwan, have overlapping claims in the strategic waterway.  Another new component of the war games is cyber defense. “The cyber domain is very important because a lot of our subsystems in command-and-control, and intelligence all rely on the cyber domain,” said Col. Mike Logico, a Filipino officer and spokesman for Balikatan 2023. Heather Variava, the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, said Balikatan symbolized “the marquee annual event” for the two countries’ alliance.  “The U.S. and Philippines share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific that is more connected, prosperous, secure and resilient,” Variava said in her speech at the opening ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippine military’s headquarters in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Gen. Andres Centino, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, speaks during the opening ceremony of the annual “Balikatan” exercises, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Philippines, April 11, 2023. Credit: Basilio Sepe/BenarNews On Monday, President Marcos tried to calm jitters and criticism among Filipinos about his administration’s decision in February to grant U.S. forces access to four more Philippine bases under an expanded defense pact, as tensions build between China and Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province. He said the bases would not be used for carrying out military attacks. Last week, his government revealed the names and sites of the four bases. Three of these are located on the main and northernmost Philippine island of Luzon, including two sites that face Taiwan. A fourth site, in Palawan province, faces the South China Sea where territorial tensions between China and the Philippine have been high in recent years.  Marcos on Monday insisted that the Americans would use the newly selected locations to pre position equipment that they could readily access in times of natural disasters. “Now, the reaction of China is not really surprising because they worry too much. But … the Philippines will not allow the bases to be used in offensive action. The bases are only to help the Philippines if the country needs help,” Marcos told reporters on the sidelines of an event honoring Filipino war veterans. “What we are doing is strengthening our defenses of our territories in defense of the republic,” Marcos said. This largest iteration of the Balikatan drills began a day after the Chinese military concluded three days of maneuvers and war games around Taiwan, including simulated precision strikes. China launched the drills as a response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States early this month, where she met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The unprecedented meeting on U.S. soil further angered China, which also expressed its displeasure over the Marcos administration’s move to grant the U.S. access to other bases in the Philippines. “The U.S. military has been coming all the way from the other side of the Pacific to stir up trouble in the South China Sea and ganging up with its allies from other parts of the world to flex muscle,” the Chinese Embassy in Manila said earlier in a statement. The U.S. has heightened tensions, driven a wedge between China and the Philippines, as well as “upset the joint effort of countries in this region to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea,” it alleged. Opposition to war games Meanwhile on Tuesday, Philippine activist groups held protests outside Camp Aguinaldo and the U.S. Embassy in Manila to express their opposition to the joint military drills in different parts of the country and the expanded access for U.S. forces at local bases. “The Philippines is ours. U.S. get out of our country!” some protesters chanted outside the military’s headquarters in Quezon City. In a separate statement, the anti-U.S. International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) said the Balikatan exercises were “nothing but a blatant display of U.S. imperialism’s military intervention and aggression in the country…

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Myanmar’s military bombs village ceremony killing scores of civilians

Editor04 mins

As many as 100 villagers have been killed and more than 50 injured when junta aircraft bombed crowds attending an office opening ceremony in Sagaing region’s Kanbalu township, locals said. Most of the injured and dead were women and children, witnesses told RFA. They said it was hard to tell how many people had died because the bodies were so badly mangled by the bombs and machine gun fire. “I saw the bodies of four to six children who had been blown about 100 feet [30 meters from the building],” said a local who didn’t want to be identified. “I saw bodies ripped open and burnt.” People Media, the news agency of the Union Solidarity and Development Party – which serves as the junta’s electoral proxy party –  said the army’s Northwestern Regional Headquarters carried out Tuesday morning’s attack on Pa Zi Gyi village. It did not mention the number of casualties. The air strike happened during the inauguration of a public administration office established by Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government, Nay Zin Latt, the National League for Democracy MP for Kanbalu township told RFA. The junta dissolved the NLD last month after the party failed to re-register with the Election Commission but members continue to work with the NUG to try to restore democracy in Myanmar and carry out administrative work in areas not under junta control. Locals said junta troops carry out frequent raids on Pa Zi Gyi. Nay Zin said many people died on the spot after a jet fighter dropped two bombs and an Mi-35 attack  helicopter fired over 200 shots from its machine guns. He said more than 800 locals were attending the ceremony. “There was a group of local residents who were discussing how to manage social issues in the community,” he said.  “They were bombarded by the air and shot at non-stop with machine guns. The shooting took about 15 minutes.” He said the injured were taken to nearby villages and some local voluntary groups were providing medical treatment.  RFA called Aye Hlaing, Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson and social affairs minister, but no one answered. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Anti-junta fighter killed during deportation from Thailand to Myanmar

Editor08 mins

One of three Burmese armed resistance fighters who sought medical assistance in Thailand was killed as Thai authorities handed them over to junta authorities en route to Myanmar, Radio Free Asia has learned. The incident prompted Thailand’s opposition Commoners Party on Monday to condemn the Thai government for cooperating with Myanmar’s military regime in what it said was a violation of domestic and international law. The three members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force entered the Thai border town of Mae Sot, across from Myawaddy in Myanmar’s Kayin state, on April 1 seeking medical treatment, but were arrested by Thai authorities at the Thai-Myanmar border immigration gate. On the morning of April 4, they were sent back across the border to Myanmar’s Karen Border Guard Force, who arrested them and transferred them into the custody of junta troops. Following their deportation, reports emerged that the three PDF members – Thiha, the Lion Battalion’s deputy platoon commander, and fighters Htet Nay Win and Saw Phyo Lay – were killed in junta captivity. On Monday, the Lion Battalion spokesperson Anyar Thar told RFA that Saw Phyo Lay was shot as he attempted to escape during the handover and later died from his injuries. The status of the other two men remained unclear. “When [the PDF fighters] learned that they were being handed over to the BGF [Border Guard Forces], they jumped out of the boat that was carrying them,” he said. “Troops from both sides shot at them. [Saw Phyo Lay] who was about to die [from his injuries] was even handcuffed, put back into the boat and sent over to the BGF. This shows how good the relations are between the BGF and Thai authorities.” Anyar Thar said that Thiha and Htet Nay Win have been sent to the junta’s Southeast Regional Military Headquarters based in the Mon state city of Mawlamyine. Neither the junta nor the Karen Border Guard have released any news regarding the incident and attempts by RFA to reach Col. Saw Chit Thu, the head of Myanmar’s Border Guard Force, went unanswered on Monday. Opposition condemnation On Monday, Thailand’s opposition Commoners Party issued a statement criticizing the Thai government for collaborating with Myanmar’s junta and accusing it of perpetrating an “inhumane act” by assisting the junta in committing “war crimes.” The statement also called on Thailand’s Immigration Department to publicly clarify why it violated international and domestic laws by repatriating the PDF fighters after they entered Thailand in need of medical attention. “I do not accept the Thai government’s policy towards Myanmar anti-junta activists and refugee applicants,” Commoners Party spokesperson Kornkanok Khamta told RFA Burmese. “The government is sending them back to unsafe locations. We all have to show that we are one with the people of Myanmar.” Two of the People’s Defense Force fighters from Myanmar are seen in the back of a vehicle before being transferred to Myanmar security forces earlier this month. Credit: RFA screenshot from Twitter When asked about the Thai government’s response to the Commoners Party statement, Kornkanok Khamta said none was provided. “They silently neglect the statements of other organizations as well,” she said. Attempts by RFA to contact Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke went unanswered on Monday. Human rights groups have also called on the Thai government to examine its immigration department’s handling of the three resistance fighters. Speaking to RFA, Patrick Phongsathorn, a legal expert for the NGO Fortify Rights, urged the Thai government to investigate the situation as soon as possible and to prosecute the officer responsible for deporting the PDF members under Thailand’s anti-torture law. Refugees fearful Previously, Thai authorities have arrested Myanmar nationals seeking shelter in Thailand after fleeing fighting between the military and anti-junta forces and warned them to abide by Thai law, but mostly allowed them to stay on humanitarian grounds. One Myanmar refugee in Thailand named Nikki told RFA that members of the Burmese community there are now worried for their safety after the three PDF fighters were arrested and returned across the border. “This incident has seriously scared the Burmese people who are taking refuge in Thailand,” she said. “We are too scared to even go out to buy food. Thai police are regularly arresting Burmese refugees in Mae Sot, targeting the undocumented and political refugees.” Reports of the deportation came amid an April 5-8 attack by a combined force of the ethnic Karen National Liberation Army and the Lion Battalion on military and Karen Border Guard Force bases located north of Myawaddy. Although details of the attacks were not immediately clear, injuries have been reported and nearly 10,000 residents of the area are believed to have fled the fighting to safety. Some of the anti-junta fighters injured in the battle were taken to the Thai side of the border on April 9 and later arrested by Thai police. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matt Reed.

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Myanmar’s rebel groups bomb pavilions built by military for New Years water festival

Editor010 mins

Myanmar’s New Years, called Thingyan, is normally a water festival in which people can drench each other during the hottest time of the year. And junta troops have been busy building pavilions around the country to create a sense of normalcy in the war-wracked country. But in an apparent attempt to dispel any notions of stability under military rule, rebel groups set off several bombs this past weekend at these pavilions in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Mawlamyine. No one was injured in the blasts, but they have clearly contributed to the turmoil in the country that has slid into civil war since the military’s February 2021 coup d’etat.  An anti-junta urban guerrilla group known as the Dark Shadow claimed responsibility for the explosions in Yangon’s Sanchaung, Dagon, and Thar Kay Ta townships, and at People’s Square downtown, in a statement issued on April 8.  The perpetrators of the bombings in Mandalay’s Zay Cho Market and in the Mon state city of Mawlamyine remained unknown on Monday. A resident of Yangon named Ye Myo told RFA Burmese that while no one was hurt in the explosions, the junta has responded with increased security at the sites ahead of the April 13-16 Thingyan celebrations. “The bombs that went off in the pavilion in front of the Sanchaung Police Station and the pavilion in front of People’s Square were very loud,” he said. “The junta has increased security after the blasts. We used to see only one or two military security personnel [near the sites], but after the blasts, we can see around 10 security personnel have been assigned to keep watch at night.” Ye Myo said that authorities dismantled at least three pavilions on Sunday in Yangon’s Mingalardon township amid reports that anti-junta forces planned to fire “remote-controlled missiles” at the sites. On Monday, the pro-junta Myawaddy newspaper reported that two members of the anti-junta Special Task Agency were arrested in Yangon’s Alone township for allegedly planning to carry out bombings during the water festival. The report said they were planning to frighten away would-be participants at the festival and that “effective action” will be taken against them. Attempts by RFA to reach the Special Task Agency for comment on the report went unanswered by the time of publishing. Trying to create a celebration Sources said that despite the bombings, the junta is continuing preparations for Thingyan with beefed up security in Myanmar’s various regions and states. They said that in addition to a festival pavilion planned for city hall in Naypyidaw, the junta is preparing some 20 smaller pavilions on Pyinmana-Taung Nyo Road in the capital’s Zabu Thiri township and a water festival parade.  But most people have no intention of taking part in Thingyan celebrations this year, a resident of Pyinmana, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA.   “I haven’t heard anything about preparations for the celebration by residents so far,” he said. “But I think the junta is trying very hard to create a very big celebration.” The Pyinmana resident said junta troops are on patrol at the pavilion sites “around the clock.” Other sources told RFA that the junta has been ordering civil servants from several government departments to take part in the Thingyan festivities and to organize traditional dance performances. Thingyan pavilions built by Myanmar’s military junta are seen along Inya Road in Yangon on Monday, April 10, 2023. The Yangon-based Dark Shadow (YGN-UG) anti-junta group claimed responsibility for the bombings in that city. Credit: RFA A resident of Mandalay named Ko Moe said that the junta is preparing to hold Thingyan festivities as usual, despite the bombing there, adding that there are “more pavilions this year” than last. “One significant addition compared with last year is the pavilion at Nay Cho market,” he said. “The junta is trying to bring large crowds to that area, too. I think they are building the pavilions at a vast cost with the help of those who support them and people in their inner circle.” He said that last year’s Thingyan Festival parade organized by the junta was a failure as residents boycotted the event. Tin Oo, a resident of Yangon, said that in addition to a pavilion being built at city hall, the junta has instructed each township administrator to build large pavilions for their townships and to organize traditional dance presentations for entertainment. “The junta’s intent is to make this year’s water festival crowded with people, whatever it takes,” he said. Tin Oo said the junta is offering 10,000 kyats (U.S.$5) per day to security guards and anyone who is willing to join celebrations at the pavilions, and 50,000 kyats (U.S.$24) per day and festival wear to dance troupes that are willing to take part. “[These offers are meant] to draw large crowds during the festival, which I think will be impossible,” he said. “We’ll have to wait and see if this year’s Water Festival will be crowded or not.” Calls for boycott Anti-junta political groups, meanwhile, are urging people across the country to go on strike instead of participating in the regime’s Thingyan celebrations.  Nan Lin of the Ta-Ka-Tha University Students’ Union Alumni Force told RFA that the junta is trying to draw large crowds during the Thingyan festival because it wants to “divide the people” and “make an impression that the situation in the country is under control.”  “The junta is forcefully controlling Myanmar’s heartland regions by burning down civilian villages, killing everyone in its way, and committing excessive, forceful and cruel atrocities, but in urban areas, it aims to make an impression that things are back to normal,” he said. “This is part of the junta’s plan to divide the people.” The armed opposition has called on people not to associate with the junta during the Water Festival and not to use military-related products. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcom Foster.

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Sagaing court sentences activists to between 3 and 13 years in prison

Editor02 mins

A court in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region has sentenced nine activists to prison terms ranging from three to 13 years, according to friends of the families. Final year law student and anti-regime strike leader Kyaw Win Sein received a 10-year sentence Friday under the Counter Terrorism Law, and one and a half years for incitement to sedition in the civil service. Kyaw Win Sein is believed to be around 30-years-old. He actively participated in anti-regime protests in Homalin township and boycotted his lessons after the military seized power in a February 2021 coup. Shortly after the coup, the junta issued a warrant for his arrest but he managed to evade capture until August last year. Fellow activists sentenced by the Homalin township court on Friday – seven men and a woman – also received long prison terms. “Nwet Nwet Aung was imprisoned for 10 years; Aung Hein for 10 years; Aung Ko Min for 10 years; Thet Tun Oo for 10 years; Sai Wai Yan for 13 years; Nay Naw for five years; Pyoe Thet Tin for five years; and Aung Myint Oo for three years,” said a family friend who declined to be named for fear of reprisals. “They all are in good health.” According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners the junta arrested more than 21,000 people since seizing power in a February 2021 coup. Of those nearly 17,400 are still being held in prisons across the country. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Malaysian government clarifies PM’s statements on South China Sea

Editor08 mins

Malaysia’s government was on the defensive as it clarified its South China Sea policy, a day after the opposition leader skewered Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for apparently taking a softer stance over a territorial dispute with China.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on the issue at the weekend amid a buzz among the public and analysts about comments that Anwar made after he returned from his first official visit to China as PM.    In its statement, the foreign office said that the country’s position on the South China Sea “is consistent and remains unchanged.” “The Government of Malaysia is unequivocally and firmly committed to protecting Malaysia’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and interests in its maritime areas in the South China Sea, as depicted by our 1979 Map,” it said. The 1979 Map, issued by the Malaysian Department of Mapping and Survey, has served as the official reference for the country’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. “Malaysia firmly holds the view that matters relating to the South China Sea must be resolved peacefully and constructively, in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS),” the statement said. By stating the term “negotiation,” Prime Minister Anwar had “made the point that issues relating to the South China Sea should be discussed or resolved in a peaceful manner… and without compromising Malaysia’s principled position, to avoid any escalation of disputes and the threat or use of force,” the ministry further stated. “[I]t is therefore within this context that Malaysia will continue the diplomatic approach in our engagements with other States, including China,” it said.  After he returned from his trip to Beijing, the prime minister said he had told Chinese President Xi Jinping that, as a small country, Malaysia needed to continue with oil exploration in the waters of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Radio Free Asia and affiliated organization BenarNews reported on April 5. But “if the condition is that there must be negotiations to secure [our rights], then we are prepared to negotiate” with China, Anwar said. His remarks raised eyebrows in Malaysia and abroad because it seemed he was climbing down from the tougher stance that he took on the South China Sea issue before he became prime minister.  The PM, while afterwards answering questions in Parliament, seemed to adjust his conciliatory tone by adding that he “insisted that the area … falls within Malaysia’s territory” and that “in the meantime our exploration efforts will continue.” During his meeting with Xi in Beijing, the Chinese leader brought up the offshore work of Malaysian state petrochemical firm Petronas in the  Southeast Asian nation’s EEZ in the South China Sea, Anwar also told lawmakers. He said he told Xi that Petronas would continue its work because “Malaysia considered the area as part of its territory,” but “should China feel that they have the rights to the area, we could discuss and negotiate the matter.” On Thursday, Muhyiddin Yassin, leader of the Bersatu party that heads the opposition Perikatan coalition, ripped Anwar for his comments. “This statement is reckless and should never be issued by a prime minister. The indirect implications of this statement have indirectly acknowledged the Chinese claim to territories that are already Malaysian territory that must be defended,” Muhyiddin said. The South China Sea is one of the world’s busiest waterways and has an abundance of natural resources. It is home to several flashpoints involving maritime disputes over oil and gas exploration projects and fishing rights. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including waters within the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. An oil rig is seen off the coast of Johor, Malaysia, Nov. 7, 2017.  Credit: Reuters/Henning Gloystein The initial statement by Anwar about his government being “prepared to negotiate” with China about the rights to explore natural resources in the South China Sea had led to some criticism that Malaysia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction on its continental shelf is recognized and not a matter of dispute or up for negotiation. Analysts warned against what they see as “China’s bilateral approach” where Beijing tries to “divide and conquer” members of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN when it comes to the South China Sea disputes using its superior economic weight. “Xi Jinping has used official state visits by President Marcos Jr. of the Philippines in January and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in April to press China’s claims in the South China Sea and to press for bilateral discussions,” said Carlyle Thayer, a veteran regional specialist. Several ASEAN states have accused China of impeding and harassing their oil and gas activities in areas within their exclusive economic zones that also fall within China’s nine-dash line, which Beijing uses to claim “historic rights” to almost 90% of the South China Sea.  In 2016, a U.N. tribunal declared this imaginary boundary as illegal, in a case brought by the Philippines. Edited by Imran Vittachi.

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INTERVIEW: ‘If I don’t speak up on their behalf, I’ll always be in pain’

Editor022 mins

A Nov. 24 fire in an apartment block in Xinjiang’s regional capital, Urumqi, sparked protests across China, with many people expressing condolences for the victims of the fatal lockdown blaze and others hitting back at ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy. Huang Yicheng was among them, turning up at a spontaneous protest at Shanghai’s Urumqi Road, only to be detained and mistreated by cops, who hung him upside down at one point, as he described in an earlier interview with Radio Free Asia given under the pseudonym Mr.Chen. Now in Germany, Huang spoke to RFA Mandarin about his plans for the future: Huang Yicheng: I’m from Shanghai. I am 26 years old and a graduate of the Chinese department of Peking University. I am currently a postgraduate student at the University of Hamburg, Germany. On Nov. 27, 2022, I was arrested by the police on Urumqi Middle Road, Shanghai, put onto a bus, and then escaped from the bus. Then a white man helped me escape the scene.  RFA: You were interviewed by me on Nov. 27, the weekend when the “white paper” movement took place. You were interviewed anonymously then, so why did you choose to disclose your real name and appearance now? Huang Yicheng: This is because I have now left China. I saw that there were so many people around the same age as me who took part in the white paper movement with me, who have been arrested and imprisoned. So I feel that I will always be in pain and have uncontrollable anxiety if I don’t stand up and speak out on their behalf, even though there are great risks involved in doing so. Protesters shout slogans in Shanghai, China, during a protest Nov. 27, 2022. Credit: AFP screenshot from AFPTV I hope that everyone can call for the release of Cao Zhixin and the other peaceful demonstrators who are now behind bars.  The government should tell us how many people were arrested in each city after the white paper movement, and issue a complete list of names for each city, so the rest of the world knows exactly what is going on. RFA: You just said that you are aware of the great risk of doing so. How would you deal with this risk? Huang Yicheng: This is very hard to think about, because now I have revealed my true identity, educational background and my true appearance. But I want to use this to encourage others in the same boat. But I also think it’s almost impossible to remain entirely anonymous in the current online environment. So instead of talking about how scared we are, we should face up to the risk and the fear. In that way, I hope that the next generation, or our own generation, within the next 10, 20 years or even sooner than that, will get to live in a society without the need for such fear, where we are free to express our thoughts without fear. RFA: Did you decide to study abroad due to safety concerns, or were you planning to do that anyway? Huang Yicheng: I had originally planned to study abroad, but it was very, very difficult to get a visa during the zero-COVID restrictions. I started this application before the Shanghai lockdown [of spring 2022], and it took more than a year to come through. This delay was one of the reasons that I took part in the white paper protests in the first place, as well as the three-month lockdown in Shanghai. It was an experience that changed my life. RFA: Were you worried that you might be prevented from leaving the country because you had taken part in the protest? Huang Yicheng: Yes, yes I was. I think everyone else had similar worries. They had already taken away two busloads of detained protesters from Urumqi Road in Shanghai between the evening of Nov. 26 and the early morning of Nov. 27. The video clips being shot at the time were very worrying. I never thought going into it that I would get detained. That’s why I want to speak out in support of the people who were detained. Hopefully we can put some pressure on [the authorities] and get them released. RFA: When I interviewed you on Nov. 27, when you had gotten back home, you said that you were very worried that the police would come looking for you, so you asked for anonymity. Did they come looking for you? Huang Yicheng: No, they didn’t. My identity was kept well hidden, and they didn’t find me. Cao Zhixin, an editor at the Peking University Publishing House, was arrested after attending a Nov. 2022 protest in Beijing’s Liangmahe district. Credit: Screenshot from video RFA: How did you manage to protect yourself? Huang Yicheng: I just hid at home and cut off all contact with friends at home and abroad. I don’t know if they used facial recognition or anything like that. I also made a video statement to be posted in case I got arrested and gave it to a friend I trust. He would have posted it if I had been detained. RFA: Given that you were actually caught by the police and put on the bus, it’s pretty lucky that you managed to escape – a fluke, wasn’t it? Huang Yicheng: When I think about it now, I can hardly believe it. It was a bit dream-like. When I was detained and put on the bus, it was parked on the southwest side of the intersection between Urumqi Road and Wuyuan Road. I was probably in the second row, near the door. Protesters are taken away by police in a bus on Urumqi Road in Shanghai on Nov. 26, 2022. Credit: Associated Press The policeman got off the bus and went to detain other demonstrators, but he didn’t handcuff us. We could see from the Twitter account “Mr Li is not your teacher” that there was…

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Hanoi bans guided tours to its famous ‘Railway & Coffee Street’

Editor02 mins

For years, Hanoi’s “Railway & Coffee Street” has attracted tourists who come to see the trains run through the alley, barely clearing the shops that line either side. But now authorities in Vietnam’s capital have banned tours to the site, saying they have become dangerous, state media reported. The city’s tourism department said that tourists tend to cluster at certain choke points, causing traffic to back up and increasing the potential for accidents. The department ordered travel firms not to take tourists, especially foreigners, to the area. It wasn’t clear if there has been an increase in accidents along the route, but in September, local authorities closed one section of the rail line and put up barricades around it after a Korean tourist collided with a train while taking photos in the Railway & Coffee Street.   Tourists take photos as a train comes down the track in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019. Credit: Reuters The tourist sustained only minor injuries because the train had been running at a low speed. The report said this was the first time that authorities have enacted safety measures related to the street. According to the tourism department, Hanoi has received nearly 1 million foreign visitors in the first three months of this year, six times higher than that of the same period last year. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

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Holding out hope for a ‘spring’ free from China’s repression

Editor010 mins

While spring has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, Uyghurs in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region are still waiting for their spring to arrive, when they will be delivered from the repression of China’s government. That’s the main sentiment expressed in a new online collection of 15 poems and short stories by writers with connections to East Turkistan, Uyghurs’ preferred name for Xinjiang. The Asian American Writers’ Workshop released “Spring Will Come: Writings from East Turkistan” on March 20, the eve of the Nowruz Festival, when Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang celebrate the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one on the day of the vernal equinox, which usually takes place on March 21.  The writings reflect the impacts of colonialism, lessons learned from past failures, and warnings for the future. They also deal with spiritual resistance, determination, adherence to one’s goals, and hope for freedom. “[T]hrough the title ‘Spring Will Come,’ we express our desire and belief that we cannot live in cruel winter forever and that spring will come to our land eventually,” said Munawwar Abdulla, a researcher at Harvard University who translated some of the contributions. The “cruel winter” she refers to is China’s repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang since 2017. At that time, authorities began detaining Uyghurs in “re-education” camps where they were forced to learn Mandarin Chinese and sometimes subjected to torture, sexual assaults and forced labor. Despite evidence and witness testimony about the abuse, Beijing has vehemently maintained that the camps were vocation training centers to prevent religious extremism and terrorism in the restive region. “Spring is the message of hope, resistance, resilience, and all good stuff.” Abdulla said. When will winter be over? The collection begins with famous Uyghur poet Abdurehim Ötkür’s poem “Calling Out for Spring,” the first stanza of which reads: When will this bitter winter be over? I call out for Spring with my every breath. Like a lion roaring in pain in the night,  I cry out for Spring to arrive. The publication comes as calls mount for the international community to take concrete measure to hold China accountable for what the United States government and several Western parliaments have said amount to genocide and crimes against humanity. The works also serve as a refutation of the Chinese government’s efforts to wipe out Uyghur culture, language and religion in an effort to Sinicize the region.  Amid the crackdown in recent years, authorities have detained in the camps and in prisons Uyghur intellectuals, including writers and artists, prominent business people, notable sports figures, Islamic clergymen and academics. “When more people in the world recognize that the Uyghur people have become genocide victims, it is important to let the world know that Uyghur people are a civilized people with a unique culture,” said Rahima Mahmut, a UK-based artist who also translated some of the pieces in the collection.  “They have writers, poets, artists, and talented people in every field,” she told Radio Free Asia. “China has portrayed Uyghurs as uneducated, uncivilized people who must be ‘re-educated.’ They have been making such efforts to paint Uyghurs in a negative light for many years. That is the main purpose of publishing this collection.” Voices of the diaspora The collection includes poems written in the 1940s in Xinjiang and ones written in English by diaspora Uyghurs as late as last year, said Mahmut, who also serves as UK director for the World Uyghur Congress, a Uyghur rights group.  “It manifests the connection diaspora Uyghurs have with their homeland,” she said.  The poem “My Plea” by Ilminur, known among diaspora Uyghurs as Efvan, is based on the 2017 crackdown in which her relatives were caught up. The first stanza reads: Oh, Heavenly Mountains, Behind you are corpses,  Before you is troubled silence. How many rivers are flowing deep red  Within your valleys? Oh, rebellious savage wolves, Will your howl save the world? Chinese authorities took Ilminur’s parents to the camps and sentenced other relatives to 10-to 18-year prison terms, she said.  “These events impacted me deeply, and I wrote this poem hoping that our land under the heavenly mountain will be free,” Ilminur told RFA. Ilminur, who illustrates Uyghur children’s books and magazines in the diaspora, provided bright sketches for the collection of works that evokes a sense of home and hope.  Her favorite drawing depicts three Uyghur women making round flatbread, or naan, by hand and placing it in an over. The drawing accompanies Abdushukur Muhammet’s poem “The Road Home.” “I feel good whenever I see this picture because I immediately think of my home and mother, Ilminur said. “Any sensible person will remember his mother, his home, when he sees it and feel the warmth.”  ‘Light in the darkness’ Mahmut, the UK-based artist,said she was particularly moved by Ilminur’s poem and Abdurrahim Imin’s poem, “The Beloved Will Come.” Efvan’s poem “depicted the reality that our people are suffering tremendously, and the world turned deaf,” said Mahmut. Imin’s poem, meanwhile, expresses hope that despite hardship and oppression, there must come a beautiful time when Uyghurs will be free.  “That poem gives our readers hope and tells them there is a light in the darkness, and we will get our liberty one day, and we can be free,” Mahmut said.  Mahmut and Abudulla were involved in the project from start to finish, collecting writings, translating them to English, and editing them after the Asian American Writers’ Workshop first contacted them about the compilation in June 2022. Other works in the collection are “If Needed” by Muyesser Abdulehed, “Elegy for a Home Besieged” by Munawwar Abdulla, writer Zunun Qadiri’s short story “The Edict,” and contributions by Uyghur writers currently in prison in Xinjiang, including Abduqadir Jalalidin’s “Boredom” and Perhat Tursun’s “Guest.”  The collection also includes pieces by two Kazakh writers.  “The global community must not just see our cries for help, our misery, and suffering,” Mahmut said. “I hope they also feel by reading our poets’…

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No more fancy photo shoots, wedding veils or banquets in North Korean weddings

Editor08 mins

No more wedding photos of bride and groom clinking wine glasses. No wedding veils. No extravagant banquets or over-the-top flower arrangements. And no pictures of the bride lighting the groom’s cigarette. All those smack of anti-socialist attitudes, and don’t embrace traditional North Korean ideals, authorities in the country say. Instead, women should dress in traditional if colorful attire (men can wear Western suits), and weddings should be humble, “patriotic” affairs that are less wasteful as the country suffers chronic food and fuel shortages, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia. Photos of the bride and groom clinking glasses, the bride lighting the groom’s cigarette, and the groom lifting his bride in the air have all been highly discouraged in the new North Korean wedding guidelines.  The wedding guidelines, which also tell newlyweds to avoid sunglasses, clothes emblazoned with foreign letters, large flowers worn on the bride’s head and long vehicle processions, were announced in recent community lectures, a resident of the South Hamgyong province said on condition of anonymity to protect her safety. “The core content is that weddings should be frugal, and done in [the North Korean] way,” she said.  Those who are seen to be violating the “noble morals of socialist lifestyle” were threatened with unspecified punishments, she said. Brides should not wear a veil while donning traditional Korean wedding attire. ‘Unpatriotic’ Even in North Korea, weddings have become an occasion to show off wealth and status, and authorities appear to be alarmed about that.  Also, many weddings were postponed during the coronavirus pandemic, so officials held lectures on acceptable wedding practices in anticipation of a nuptial surge this spring, the sources said. “The lecturer talked about how some people set up lavish wedding banquets or show off their power and status or arrange for a long procession of cars when the groom takes the bride away,” the first source said.  “Acts like these, they said, are unpatriotic because they waste fuel and food during this difficult time,” she said. North Korean wedding guidelines advise against marrying couples wearing sunglasses at their ceremony. Wedding photos should also be formal to avoid displaying behavior that isn’t considered appropriate, the lecturers said, according to the residents RFA spoke to. Attendees were told to avoid taking wedding photos that are not in the North Korean style, “such as of the groom holding and lifting the bride above his waist, or of the bride and groom clinking wine glasses or of the bride lighting a cigarette for the groom,” said the source.  Marrying couples are urged to refrain from wearing any clothing featuring visible foreign characters or brand logos at their ceremony. In nearby North Hamgyong province, these lectures focused on being humble in what types of poses are used in wedding photos, and spent a considerable amount of time discussing the choice of flowers during weddings, a resident there told RFA. “Many years ago, the authorities issued guidelines on the size of the flowers that the bride and groom should wear on their chest and hair at weddings, as well as what they should not do when taking pictures,” the second source said. “We should not decorate the chest with flowers larger than 7-8 centimeters (3 inches) and on the head, no more than 15 (6 inches).” She said that every flower shop has a picture showing the government’s standards for the size of wedding flowers. North Korean workers are discouraged to miss or leave work early to attend a wedding ceremony. Don’t miss much work Also, wedding attendees were told to miss as little work as possible, the first source said. “Young people attending a wedding were advised to go after work,” she said. “And groups of 10 or more young people should not follow the bride and groom when they are on their photo shoot.” The lecturers threatened to punish couples who violated the standards, but didn’t specify what their consequences would be. “The intention is to impose punishment according to recently adopted laws,” she said. Brides are discouraged from wearing large flowers in their hair or on their chests.  The source may have been referring to the 2020 Rejection of Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, which lays out punishments for various cultural offenses such as spreading South Korean or foreign cultural practices. The law does not specifically list which acts are considered “reactionary,” the Seoul-based Korea Joongang Daily noted in a report published shortly after it was passed.  But authorities have used it to prevent people from dancing in a “capitalist” way, speaking or writing “like a South Korean” or lending money at high interest rates.  North Korean wedding guidelines warn against newlyweds showing off wealth with long vehicle processions.  Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. Illustrations by Amanda Weisbrod.

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