- contact@ij-reportika.com
Category: Americas
Indian authorities in Manipur state force Myanmar refugees out of border villagers
Myanmar refugees who fled civil war and sought refuge in border villages in neighboring India’s Manipur state said they are are being deported by local authorities and a paramilitary group. Manipur state Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh said in a May 8 Facebook post that the deportation of nearly 5,500 “illegal immigrants” was underway, though he did not specifically refer to the Myanmar refugees. Of that number, authorities had collected the biometric data of almost 5,200 of them, he said. The Indian government has a policy to collect fingerprints of all foreigners residing in India, including refugees deemed “illegal immigrants,” for security purposes. The thousands of civilians from Chin state and Sagaing region poured over the Indian border and into Manipur state to escape armed conflict between junta troops and rebel forces that followed the military’s seizure of power in a February 2021 coup d’état. Another 60,000 Myanmar civilians from Chin state have crossed the border and sought shelter in Mizoram state, south of Manipur, according to Chin civil society groups in Myanmar and aid workers. The Mizoram government, however, has decided not to repatriate any of the Chin refugees until the situation there stabilizes. Many ethnic Mizos in Mizoram believe that they and the Chins belong to the same ethnic group. A screenshot of a post on X about the deportation of Myanmar refugees by N. Biren Singh, chief minister of northeastern India’s Manipur state, May 2, 2024. (@NBirenSingh via X) Singh’s announcement contradicted an earlier statement by Indian Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah that the government would not repatriate the refugees until peace had been restored in Myanmar. India is not a signatory of the U.N. refugee convention, which states that refugees should not be returned to countries where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. ‘A disregard of lives’ Soon after Singh’s comment, village administrators and soldiers from the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force that protects India ‘s northeastern border, began removing 30 refugee households, forcing them into a forest near border post 74, said a Myanmar refugee who declined to be named for safety reasons. “We were forced to remove our shelters and leave there,” said the refugee who fled Htan Ta Bin village in Myanmar after it was burned down. “Now we have to live in a yard.” An official from the Burma Refugees Committee–Kabaw Valley, an organization that helps people fleeing to Manipur from war-torn Myanmar, objected to the refugees being deported and said they have not received humanitarian aid. “They crossed the border because of the conflicts with junta troops who threatened their lives,” said the aid worker who declined to be identified out of fear for his safety. “They were arrested and handed over to the Myanmar junta,” he said. “It is a disregard of the lives of displaced persons, and we object to it.” Salai Dokhar, a New Delhi-based activist who runs India for Myanmar, a group that raises awareness of the rights of refugees, said it would not be safe for the refugees to return if biometric data collected by the Manipur government is handed over to the Myanmar junta. Before repatriating Myanmar citizens, the Indian government sends immigration documents or background information to the ruling junta based on refugee testimonies or documents they possess. A screenshot of a post on X about the deportation of Myanmar refugees by N. Biren Singh, chief minister of northeastern India’s Manipur state, May 2, 2024. (@NBirenSingh via X) “If they are handed over [to the junta] along with the biometric information, then the security of the deported persons would be worrisome,” he said. Dokhar also said he would question officials about the contradictory statements on Myanmar refugee deportation made by Singh and Shah. Neither the Myanmar Embassy in New Delhi nor the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees responded to RFA’s emailed requests for comments by the time of publishing. Call to stop deportations The International Commission of Jurists, a human rights NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland, called on the Manipur government to immediately stop the forced deportations and reconsider treatment of the refugees. On May 2, Singh announced on social media the deportation of 77 detained “illegal immigrants” from Myanmar, calling it the “first phase.” Of these, 38 women and children were handed over to Myanmar’s junta. However, the Manipur government has not yet released the remaining 39 from prison. More than 60 Myanmar refugees arrested by Indian authorities at the border are still being held in prisons, according to volunteer aid workers concerned about the refugees being deported. Translated by Aung Naing for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Joshua Lipes.
Australia sanctions entities linked to North Korea-Russia arms deal
Updated May 17, 2024, 04:47 a.m. ET. Australia has imposed targeted sanctions against entities linked to the unlawful weapons trade between North Korea and Russia. “Australia is imposing targeted financial sanctions, in coordination with international partners, on a further six entities associated with North Korea’s supply of arms and related materiel to Russia,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong in a statement on Friday. “Australia condemns, in the strongest possible terms, North Korea’s illegal export and Russia’s procurement and use of North Korean ballistic missiles, in support of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.” Noting the continued transfer of weapons from North Korea to Russia is a flagrant violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, Wong said Australia would work with Western allies to hold Russia and North Korea to account and address the security threat posed by the North. Wong’s statement came a day after the United States announced sanctions on two Russian individuals and three Russian companies for facilitating arms transfers with Pyongyang. U.S. Treasury officials said in a statement that the two countries had strengthened their military cooperation over the past year, with the North providing ballistic missiles and munitions to Russia in return for weapons and economic aid. The U.S., South Korea and others have accused Pyongyang of supplying Moscow with weapons to use in its war in Ukraine – an accusation that both countries have denied. A now-defunct U.N. panel of experts tasked with investigating violations of sanctions related to North Korea’s prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programs, released a report in March, detailing with photographs Russia’s arms dealings with North Korea. A few hours after Australia’s announcement, North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, the South Korean military said. “We identified several projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles fired into the East Sea [Sea of Japan] from the Wonsan area of North Korea,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The North Korean missile flew about 300 km (186 miles) before falling into the Sea of Japan, the JCS added. This is North Korea’s fifth ballistic missile test launch this year. The JCS said it was analyzing details of the missiles and shared relevant information with the U.S. and Japan. “We strongly condemn North Korea’s missile launch as a clear act of provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula,” the JCS said, adding that South Korea will closely monitor the North’s activities. Edited by Mike Firn. This story was updated to include information about North Korea’s missile launch.
Widespread Myanmar water shortage kills scores of people
Nearly 50 villages in western Myanmar are facing shortages of water, residents told RFA on Tuesday, after the hot season brought record high temperatures across the region. Ponds and small lakes across Rakhine State are drying up, leaving residents with limited water for drinking and cooking. The United Nations has warned that tens of thousands of people displaced by conflict face the risk of disease as a result of the lack of water. Villages across Ponnagyun township have faced severe drought since April, as the hot season reached its most intense period, said one resident, who declined to be identified in fear of reprisals. “There are two or three ponds in the village. But this year, the daytime temperature rose so high that the ponds went dry,” he said. “Some people don’t even bathe regularly and sometimes even lack drinking water. There are some aid groups donating water but it’s not enough because most of the villages need it.” Ponnagyun faces a water shortage every year but this year has been the worst, he said, adding that some residents were suffering from diarrhea from drinking dirty water. Nearly a quarter of the households in Ah Htet Myat Hle village’s camp for internally displaced people are facing a water shortage, a camp administrator said. Water-borne illnesses killed three people in the camp in April, with similar symptoms killing nearly 80 in other camps across the state in the same month, aid workers have said. Camp official Aung Myint told RFA that hundreds of people were facing various symptoms from drinking unclean water. “We are already having a lot of trouble in the camp. Hundreds of people are suffering from diarrhea. My child is also suffering from it, too,” he said. “Three people from the camp have died from disease. It is caused mainly due to unclean drinking water, rising heat and the toilets.” Mass displacement and disruption in Rakhine State from fighting between junta forces and ethnic minority insurgents from the Arakan Army, has forced thousands of people from their homes and deprived them of their livelihoods. Those forced into camps, mostly members of the persecuted Rohingya minority, lack access to doctors and sanitation. RFA tried to contact Rakhine State’s junta spokesperson, Hla Thein, but he did not respond. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
Police arrest 3 Cambodian opposition party members
Cambodian authorities arrested three opposition party members on Thursday — one leader from a new party and two members of an older party — ahead of a range of elections on May 26, activists told Radio Free Asia. Sun Chanthy, 44, president of the National Power Party, formed last year, was questioned by police after being arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport upon his return from Japan, where he addressed Cambodian supporters. Charged with incitement, he was detained at Phnom Penh Municipal Police headquarters. Chea Mony, vice president of the National Power Party, traveled with Sun Chanthy to Japan and witnessed the arrest, saying it had to do with upcoming provincial, municipal, district and Khan council elections. Chea Mony said that during the visit to Japan, Sun Chanthy did not make political statements that would have disrupted Cambodia’s social order or national security. “There was no effect on national security according to accusations by the court,” Chea Mony told Radio Free Asia. “The council election is coming. We don’t need to explain, [but] this is a threat ahead of the election.” “This is a repeated action to scare the pro-democrats,” he said. “The party doesn’t have any plans to incite anyone.” New party The National Power Party was formed in 2023 by breakaway members of the Candlelight Party, the main political organization opposing the government under the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP. The CPP has ruled the country since 1979, often arresting political opposition members on politically motivated charges ahead of elections to ensure its own politicians retain power or win new seats in contested areas. In response to the arrest, the National Power Party issued a statement calling on the government of Prime Minister Hun Manet to release Sun Chanthy without any conditions and to restore political space so that the party can participate in the democratic process. Adhoc staffers Ny Sokha, (foreground, C), Yi Soksan, (rear C) and Nay Vanda arrive at an appeals court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 13, 2016. (Heng Sinith/AP) In the arrest warrant issued on May 7, Chreng Khmao, prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, ordered police to bring Sun Chanthy to the internal security office of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police before May 23 for questioning on the “incitement” charge. But the warrant didn’t mention what Sun Chanthy said during his Japan visit that brought about the charge. The Ministry of Justice issued a statement saying authorities arrested Sun Chanthy for incitement to provoke social chaos because he blamed the government of being biased and discriminatory with the distribution of poverty cards for the poor and that he twisted information. Candlelight Party members arrested Also on Thursday, police arrested two members of the Candlelight Party in Kampong Cham province — Dum Khun, second deputy head of Ampil commune in Kampong Siem district in Kampong Cham province, and Sim Sam On, commune councilor of Ampil — said former Candlelight Party leader Ly Kim Heang. They are being detained by Kampong Cham provincial police, she said, adding that authorities have not yet told their families the reasons for their arrest and have not allowed them to see the two men. The Candlelight Party issued a statement saying that the arrests constituted a threat aimed at eliminating legitimate political activities, and called for their release. Since the beginning of 2024, more than 10 members of the Candlelight Party have been detained by authorities, including six officials from Kampong Cham province. Ny Sokha, president of Adhoc, Cambodia’s oldest human rights group, warned that the government’s reputation would deteriorate and that it would face more pressure from the international community if it continued to arrest opposition party members. “This will affect the government’s reputation on the world stage,” he said. Translated by Yun Samean for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
Women account for 1 in 5 deaths in Myanmar since coup
Myanmar’s junta has killed more than 900 women and arrested nearly 5,000 others in just over three years since the military seized power in a coup d’etat, a political prisoner watchdog group said Tuesday. Shortly after the Feb. 1, 2021, coup, tens of thousands of civilians took to the streets of Myanmar to protest – many of whom were women. The junta responded with violent and sometimes deadly force, before launching a scorched earth offensive against rebel groups around the country. On Tuesday, Thailand’s Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (Burma), or AAPP, said in a statement that it had documented the junta’s killing of at least 929 women between the coup and May 6, 2024, accounting for nearly one in five of the 4,973 people killed since the takeover. The AAPP said that the junta arrested at least 4,778 women over the same period, making up 18% of the total 26,631 people arrested since the coup. Of the women arrested, at least 781 have been sentenced to prison, Naw Khin San Htwe, the secretary general of the Burmese Women’s Union, told RFA Burmese. In March last year, Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government said that the junta had killed 483 women in the 25 months since the coup and detained 3,125 others. The AAPP said Tuesday that the number of those killed and arrested is “likely much higher,” noting that it only tallied the deaths and arrests it had been able to verify. One woman’s case In one of the latest examples of women arrested and sentenced since the coup, a junta court last month found Lwin Cho Myint, the former general secretary of the Student Union of the University of Technology in Sagaing region, guilty of violating the country’s anti-terrorism law and ordered that she spend 17 years in prison. A family member called her arrest and imprisonment “arbitrary” in an interview with RFA. “The junta is unjustly detaining and imprisoning anyone who dissents against them, fabricating charges to justify their actions,” said the family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. “Such imprisonment under false pretenses amounts to oppression,” the family member said. “The more repression, the stronger the revolution. If the repression increases, there will be uprisings all over the country.” In a more high profile case, on Jan. 10, a court in Yangon region’s notorious Insein Prison sentenced documentary filmmaker Shin Daewe to life in prison after finding her guilty on two counts of terrorism. Heavy punishments for dissenters Zu Zu May Yoon, the founder of the AAPP, told RFA that the junta regularly imposes heavy punishments on anyone who opposes its rule. “Following the coup, there were instances of political prisoners being condemned to death without anything made public,” she said, noting that even minor infractions under martial law incur a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. “During my time there [in prison], people sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or lengthy terms were all confined within the same penitentiary,” she said. “They were isolated from contact with anyone else and endured severe living conditions.” A woman touches a bus carrying prisoners being released from Insein prison for the Buddhist New Year, in Yangon on April 17, 2024. (AFP) AAPP said it had documented several young women who were shot dead during peaceful protests in the aftermath of the coup or died under suspicious circumstances while in custody. Among those killed during peaceful protests were Kyal Sin and Mya Thwet Thwet Khaing, aged between 19 and 20, who were shot dead by junta police at demonstrations in Mandalay and Naypyidaw in February 2021. Nobel Aye, a former political prisoner who was arrested and held at a detention center in eastern Bago region, was shot and killed by junta soldiers on the pretext that she had escaped from the courthouse in Waw township on Feb. 8, 2024. Nobel Aye’s brother Chan Myae said that he wanted justice for the killing. “We want to regain our lost human rights and get justice for the torture and killings,” he said. “I strongly protest the widespread violation of women’s rights in Myanmar, encompassing not only my sister but all women, by the [junta] forces that have seized power.” Violent deaths on the rise for women The Burmese Women’s Union’s Naw Khin San Htwe, told RFA that since the coup, women in Myanmar have been killed in increasingly violent ways. “If you look at the circumstances of the deaths, most of them died due to airstrikes, landmines, and heavy weaponry,” she said. “In addition, some were raped and murdered. Moreover, women have succumbed during interrogations, while others have been fatally shot in wartime conflicts.” Released prisoners are welcomed by family members and colleagues after they were released from Insein Prison Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Yangon. (Thein Zaw/AP) RFA has documented several cases of women taking up arms alongside men on the frontlines of the war against the junta, saying they could no longer tolerate the unlawful killings and arrests of their gender. One former nurse who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement of civil servants boycotting the junta now provides medical aid to injured rebels on the frontline. The former nurse, who also declined to be named citing fear of reprisal, told RFA that women are regularly subjected to sexual violence in detention, even if it does not escalate to rape. “They [the junta] transgress numerous human rights against women, perpetrating relentless violence,” she said. “Thus, I am compelled to persevere until the very end, aspiring to be the final torchbearer of resistance for my generation. My commitment remains steadfast to eradicate this scourge from our midst.” Translated by Kalyar Lwin. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
Myanmar helicopter crash ends in shootout, killing pilot, anti-junta group says
An insurgent group in eastern Myanmar said on Tuesday it shot down a junta military helicopter and killed its pilot then clashed with junta forces on the ground. The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force insurgent group said they opened fire on two helicopters delivering reinforcements and rations to a junta base in the town of Hpasawng in Kayah State on Monday. One helicopter was hit and came down in Bawlake township, an insurgent officer told Radio Free Asia. “The helicopter blew smoke and crashed after it was hit,” said the officer, who declined to be identified for security reasons. “The pilot was killed when we opened fire.” RFA has not been able to independently confirm the officer’s account. The Kayah State-based news site Kantarawaddy Times reported that two pilots had been killed. The junta did not release any information about such an incident and Kayah State’s junta spokesperson, Zar Ni Maung, did not answer his telephone when RFA tried to call for information. Junta spokesmen have in the past dismissed claims by insurgent forces of shooting down aircraft, which they have now done eight times since the latest round of war in Myanmar began after the army overthrew an elected government in early 2021. Karenni Nationalities Defense Force members near Than Lwin Bridge in Hpasawng city on May 6, 2024. (Karenni Nationalities Defense Force) The Karenni officer said at least 10 soldiers in the second helicopter had parachuted to the ground after the first helicopter was hit, and battled Karenni forces. Though junta forces have the advantage of air power, the insurgents have been making gains in several different parts of the country since late last year, including in Kayah State, on the Thai border. As of Tuesday morning, allied insurgents were monitoring the crash site but there had been no further reports of casualties, said a Karenni Nationalities Defense Force news and information official. The junta and Karenni forces have been battling since the rebels launched an offensive to capture two infantry battalion positions near Hpasawng on Saturday. The junta’s army has launched more than 20 airstrikes in its defense of Hpasawng, a Karenni officer said. Anti-junta forces have claimed responsibility for shooting down a total of eight junta aircraft, including a transport helicopter and fighter jets, in Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, and Rakhine states, since 2021, according to data compiled by RFA. Kayah State, home to various insurgent factions battling to take territory from junta forces, has seen escalating violence in recent months, with landmines claiming more victims and accusations of rights abuses leveled against junta forces. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
Fake images of US college protests circulate in China
Pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses have gotten attention on Chinese social media, but some of these posts show unrelated demonstrations that happened months or even years earlier. One aerial video showing a massive gathering of thousands of people packed together – purported to be at Columbia University in New York – is actually a demonstration in January in Hamburg, Germany, against a far-right political group. Another photo claimed to show a protester holding up a famous Mao Zedong quote in Chinese, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” But Asia Fact Check Lab found this to be from a pro-gun rally held in Virginia in 2020. As the Israeli-Hamas conflict drags into its seventh month, student demonstrations supporting the Palestininans and calling for a cease-fire have spread across dozens of U.S. university campuses. The aerial video of thousands gathered in public was shared on the popular Chinese social media platform Weibo on April 28, with the breathless caption: “U.S. university demonstration: Pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University is majestic!” Chinese netizens claimed that a video posted on Weibo shows a pro-Palestinian demonstration in April, but in reality it wasn’t. (Screenshot/Weibo and TikTok) But a reverse image search found the video, shared on TikTok Jan. 21, 2024, actually depicted 80,000 people in Hamburg, Germany, protesting against the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party “since their ‘secret meeting’ with the fascist Identitarian Movement was revealed. Keyword searches including “AfD” found the Hamburg demonstrations were one amongst a series of protests to break out against the party after a news report surfaced that the group had considered a plan to expel all people of “non-German backgrounds” from the country, including immigrants who have already obtained residency at a meeting with influential leaders. Video of demonstrations against the AfD released by German media and government agencies match the purported footage of pro-Palestianian demonstrations at Columbia University spread on Weibo. (Screenshots/YouTube) In another case, a number of Weibo influencers and X accounts also recently claimed that one protester at an unspecified college campus held up a poster with the Mao quote, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” But this is false. The photo is from a pro-gun rally held in Virginia in 2020, and has nothing to do with any pro-Palestine demonstration. The photo of a purported April protest recently spread on Weibo has actually been circulated online since 2020. (Screenshot/Sina Military and Weibo) A reserve image search reveals that a version of the same image shown in a larger frame was published in an article published on the Chinese military news blog Sina Military in 2020 Keyword searches using visual clues from the photo, including a banner that reads Constitutional Conservatives, found that it shows a rally held by pro-gun advocates from all across the U.S. in Richmond in 2020. A closer look at the image also shows a street sign reading “N. 9th St.” at the top of the frame. A search in Google Maps found that this was a street in Richmond and not part of the university campus. A person uploaded a photo of the pro-gun rally to Google Maps in January 2020 in real time as it was happening. (Screenshot/Google Maps) Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke, Taejun Kang and Malcolm Foster. Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Uyghur spy turns to religion and lands in Xinjiang prison
A Uyghur official who spied on fellow Uyghurs in Xinjiang is serving a seven-year prison sentence on the charge of religious extremism after he was moved by Muslim sermons and gave up smoking and drinking alcohol, area authorities said. The change of heart in Yasin Tursun, a Chinese Communist Party member and secretary of Terim village in southern Xinjiang’s Peyziwat county, pleased his family but upset authorities, the sources said, insisting they not be identified for security reasons. After struggling to find a reason to arrest and convict him, authorities accused him of being “two-faced” and sentenced him to prison in October 2019, two policemen and a county official told Radio Free Asia. He is estimated to be about 55 now. Tursun’s case highlights how Beijing has clamped down harshly on the mostly Muslim Uyghurs, and their religious practices — including prayer and abstaining from alcohol and fasting during the month of Ramadan — in the far-western region of Xinjiang in the name of suppressing religious extremism and terrorism. It also shows how Chinese authorities have enlisted Uyghurs to spy on their own people. ‘Two-faced’ When Tursun ended up embracing Muslim practices, authorities in 2017 fell back on the common accusation of being “two-faced” — used by the Chinese Communist Party to describe officials or party members who are either corrupt or ideologically disloyal to the party. Among Uyghurs, it is applied to those who show an interest in carrying on their cultural and religious traditions. In Tursun’s case, authorities were upset that he gave up alcohol and tobacco, promoted their abstinence and listened to Muslim sermons, the sources said. Tursun was handed over to the authorities, and following an investigation was sentenced to seven years in prison, they said. Some village cadres — including Tursun — who worked as spies had unexpectedly inspiring experiences at secret and public religious events, said an official from Peyziwat county, called Jiashi in Chinese. They were moved by the orderliness and kindness at these gatherings, as well as by the eloquent speeches of religious leaders and their insightful interpretations of the world, humanity and life, said the official, asking not to be identified. This caused some of the Uyghur cadres to disengage from their work activities, and even resign, he said. ‘Swayed’ by religion One police officer from Terim village said all former Uyghur cadres from the the second sub-village had been arrested. “We had 10-16 cadres, but now there are none left,” he told RFA. The security director of Terim’s fifth sub-village said two “two-faced” Uyghur cadres, including Tursun, had been influenced by “religious extremism.” Tursun was arrested for his association with religious individuals, while the other cadre, Rahman Ghopur, about 33 years old, was arrested for promoting the idea of not crying at funerals, he said. Tursun was removed from his role because of “bad habits” such as abstaining from alcohol, the security director said. “Yasin Tursun was removed from his position because he made his wife wear modest clothes and he himself grew a beard,” he told RFA. “The investigation indicated that he had been influenced by religious individuals. I heard he was swayed while working at religious events.” The security director said he was in the courtroom when Tursun was sentenced for “religious extremism,” and that others who were listed among his mobile phone contacts faced similar circumstances. A second officer from the police station in Terim said Tursun’s previous lifestyle of spying had nearly destroyed his family, but after he embraced religion, his relationships with his wife and children improved. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
In reversal, China now wants to preserve Kashgar’s Old City
In an about-face, Xinjiang’s highest legislative body has issued new regulations to protect Kashgar’s Old City — the heart of Uyghur culture — which they previously ordered to be destroyed and reconstructed, leaving only a small area as a tourist attraction. The measures, which take effect on May 1, prompted accusations of Chinese hypocrisy by experts on the far-western region, who say it’s meant to benefit investors in tourism and deflect criticism of Beijing’s persecution of the 11-million mostly Muslim Uyghurs. The Regulation on the Protection of the Ancient City of Kashgar passed on March 31 aims to protect the cultural heritage of Kashgar’s ancient city, which is was once a key trading post on the Silk Road between China and Europe. But starting in 2008, China has already demolished 85% of Kashgar’s ancient quarter and relocated thousands of residents to newer “earthquake-resistant houses,” according to a June 2020 report by the Uyghur Human Rights Project, or UHRP, on the destruction of the Old City. By the end of 2010, more than 10,000 ancestral earthen homes there had been destroyed, and shops near the 15th-century Id Kah Mosque were transferred to new buildings made to look like Uyghur architecture, according to journalist Nick Holdstock, who has written two nonfiction books about Xinjiang. “Above their doors are wooden signs saying ‘Minority Folk Art’ or ‘Traditional Ethnic Crafts’ in English and Chinese,” he was quoted as saying in the UHRP report. Police officers patrol in the old city in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, May 4, 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters) Now all that is left is about 15% of the Old City, which has largely been renovated into a Disneyland-like tourist center for visiting Chinese tourists and dignitaries. The supposedly ancient Kashgar gate that appears frequently in Chinese promotional material is actually a modern creation and doesn’t reflect traditional Uyghur design. China’s past actions appeared to be motivated by a “campaign to stamp out tangible aspects of Uyghur culture,” the UHRP report said. Cradle of Uyghur civilization This is particularly painful for Uyghurs because Kashgar is considered to be the cradle of their civilization, with two millennia of history. Urumqi may be the political capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, but Kashgar has been the historic center of Uyghur statecraft, politics, art, music literature, trade, culture and religion. It was in Kashgar that in the 11th century prominent Uyghur Turkologist Mahmud Kashgari penned the “Divan Lugat-it Turk,” the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages, which also contains an early map showing countries and regions from Japan to Egypt. A strategic trading post along the Silk Road, Kashgar was visited by Marco Polo on his way to the court of Kublai Khan during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century, and before that had been the capital of the Uyghur Karakhanid Empire, a Turkic-Uyghur empire that lasted from 999 to 1211. It was in Kashgar that the first East Turkistan Republic was declared in 1933, before China aided by the Soviet Union invaded and took control of the region in 1949 against the wishes of the people to remain an independent country. ‘Museumify’ Now, after all the destruction China has wrought in the city, new regulations call for the preservation of the old quarter’s overall historical appearance, natural environment, historical buildings, ancient trees, traditional communities, streets, courtyards, buildings and other structures such as street-side pillars. They will also protect intangible cultural heritage, including historical events, figures, handicrafts, traditional arts and customs and rituals. “Any demolition, alteration or disruption of the architectural or landscape features designated for conservation is strictly prohibited,” the regulation says. But experts say the measures will hardly rectify the damage already done, and will only serve to turn what’s left of Kashgar’s vibrant culture into a tourist attraction. “It seems absurd in the present context to think that the Chinese government actually is concerned about the preservation of Uygur culture,” said Sean Roberts, director of the Central Asia Research Project at George Washington University. “One of the dangers that Uyghur culture faces right now in China is being ‘museumified’ in a way that no longer reflects active lived culture, but reflects something that is packaged for tourists,” he said. Deflecting criticism More seriously, the move is likely meant to deflect attention from atrocities China has committed against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Roberts said. Besides the destruction of thousands of mosques and other structures significant to Uyghur heritage, Chinese authorities have suppressed Muslim religious practices and arbitrarily detained Uyghurs in state-sponsored camps, where some have been subjected to forced labor, sterilization, contraception and abortion. Since 2017, an estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs have been herded into concentration camps, where they are subjected to forced labor, mistreatment and human rights abuses. A woman cooks in her house next to the remnants of other houses, demolished as part of a building renovation campaign in the old district of Kashgar, in Xinjiang province August 3, 2011. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) China has denied committing atrocities in Xinjiang and says the camps are actually vocational centers that have been shut down. But the United States has determined that China’s actions against the Uyghurs constitute a genocide, while a U.N. report said they may amount to crimes against humanity. Benefitting Chinese developers The new regulation will benefit Chinese investors involved in tourism in the city, said Henryk Szadziewsk, a senior researcher at the Uyghur Human Rights Project. For example, Beijing-based tourism and property developer Zhongkun Investment Group Ltd. is involved in restoration efforts and tourism initiatives in the Old City, he said. Following earlier reconstruction work, the Old City’s neighborhood Communist Party committee leased the reassembled quarter to Zhongkun, which began marketing the area as a “living Uyghur folk museum” and established a “near monopoly” over Kashgar’s tourism, the UHRP report said. “The new Kashgar Old City has a different set of people who occupy that space — people who have interests in tourism and people who have interests in the exploitation of that,” Szadziewski told RFA. “To…
China’s communists once used Hong Kong to subvert a mainland government
Beijing insisted Hong Kong pass stringent security legislation known as Article 23 due to fears that the city would be used as a base from which to bring down the government — because that’s exactly what the Chinese Communist Party used the city for. Hong Kong passed the Safeguarding National Security Law on March 23 as a mandatory obligation under Article 23 of the city’s Basic Law. It was billed by the government as a way to close “loopholes” in the already stringent 2020 National Security Law, which was imposed on the city by Beijing, ushering in a crackdown on dissent in the wake of the 2019 protest movement. But its roots go much further back in history, according to a veteran journalist and a legal expert, to when the Chinese Communist Party was itself trying to overthrow the Chinese government led by the Kuomintang nationalists. A lawmaker holds a copy of the proposed Safeguarding National Security Bill at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, March 19, 2024. (Louise Delmotte/AP) Secret documents recently declassified by the Chinese government reveal how the Chinese Communist Party used Hong Kong as a base from which to subvert the 1911 Republic of China regime founded by Sun Yat-sen after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Reading these documents, I found that the Chinese Communist Party turned Hong Kong into a base for propaganda, for United Front [outreach and influence] operations, organizational operations and mass mobilization. The setting up of these various bases can be traced back to the 1930s, and were documented in a report made by Wu Youheng, then secretary of the Hong Kong municipal party committee, to the Central Committee. The Chinese Communist Party really did turn Hong Kong into a base for subverting the central government and dividing China. This is a key reason why Beijing has always seen Hong Kong as a potential threat to its grip on power, due to its relative freedom and connectedness to the outside world. From Hong Kong, Chinese communists raised funds to finance their campaigns, stored equipment and other reserves, and trained new cadres, according to party documents and other historical texts. Supply and communication line Hong Kong also formed part of a secret supply line that ran along the southeastern coast to Shanghai, then to the party’s Central Revolutionary Base in the eastern province of Jiangxi, and people also moved along the route. Through this secret communication line used to move supplies and arms, more than 200 important leading cadres of the Communist Party of China including Zhou Enlai and Liu Shaoqi were sent to Hong Kong for rest and recuperation. This secret supply line was also an important channel for the communists to receive arms from the Soviet Union. A young woman is caught between civilians and Chinese soldiers, who were trying to remove her from an assembly near the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, June 3, 1989.(Jeff WidenerAP) Even more importantly, the Chinese Communist Party took advantage of the relative freedom enjoyed by Hong Kong residents under British rule to set up a command center from which to run its entire military operation for the South China region in the city. Even the first provincial party committee for Guangdong province was set up in Hong Kong, on Aug. 7, 1927. By January 1939, the party had set up a southern branch of its Central Committee to direct political, military, mass struggle and other work throughout southern China, and held a major conference in the city’s Wanchai district in 1947. The Wanchai Conference, where participants talked about waging guerrilla warfare against the Kuomintang regime, including a concept they termed “red separatism.” The Chinese Communist Party has itself made full use of Hong Kong’s freedoms to subvert the central government of the Republic of China and implement armed separatism to split the country. It is precisely because of this historical experience that the party is very aware of Hong Kong’s potential to overthrow a corrupt regime, and is very afraid that others will use their own tactics against them. This is the deep-seated reason why Beijing is afraid of Hong Kong. ‘Political city’ Those fears were brought into far sharper focus on June 4, 1989, when around a million Hong Kongers turned out in protest at the massacre of civilians in and around Tiananmen Square by the People’s Liberation Army, according to Eric Lai, a research fellow at the Center for Asian Law, Georgetown University. “With so many Hong Kong people supporting the Tiananmen student movement, they thought it would likely continue to be a thorn in the Chinese Communist Party’s side after the 1997 handover,” Lai said. He said Beijing revised Article 23 of the planned Basic Law after that event, adding in a number of “national security” crimes including “subverting the central government,” “collusion with foreign forces,” a crime for which pro-democracy media magnate Jimmy Lai is currently on trial. Since that day, Chinese officials including former Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office director Lu Ping resolved that Hong Kong could never be allowed to become “a political city.” Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, center, is flanked by Deputy Foreign Ministers Li Ke Nung, left, and Chang Wen Tien at the final session of the Geneva Peace Conference on July 21, 1954. (AP) Lu said that once Hong Kong becomes a political city, there will be endless internal disputes that will give opportunities for foreign forces [to interfere], Lu Ping’s view was shared by almost all the communists I knew in Beijing. Today, Hong Kong is once more a power base for the Chinese Communist Party, with the city’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security wielding huge power on Beijing’s behalf, according to Eric Lai. “The Article 23 legislation … once again confirms that the Committee for Safeguarding National Security has supreme power and further consolidates the legitimacy of its rule,” Lai told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. What’s more, the legislation has become a vehicle for the translation…
