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Category: East Asia
Former Taiwan presidential hopeful Ko Wen-je charged with corruption
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Ko Wen-je, a former Taipei mayor and one-time presidential candidate, has been charged with bribery, profiteering, embezzlement and breach of trust and could face more than 28 years months in prison if convicted Ko, who won support among younger voters in a presidential election this year with promises to upend Taiwan’s political establishment, was indicted on Thursday and released on NT$30 million (US$1 million) bail on Friday after spending 113 days in detention. Ko, chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, or TPP, has denied the charges. “I still believe in myself. I’m not the type of person who would seek personal gain, engage in corruption, or break the law,” he told reporters outside his home on Friday. “That said, facing challenges like this makes me realize there are areas in my life I need to reflect on.” His party called the indictment a “politically motivated crackdown and judicial injustice.” Prosecutors allege Ko orchestrated financial benefits worth billions of New Taiwan dollars for private developers during his mayoral tenure, embezzled political donations, and accepted bribes totaling tens of millions. “After committing these crimes, investigators found shredded notes in his office containing instructions for accomplices to leave the country and inquiries about internal financial records,” the prosecutor’s office said in a news release. “This behavior demonstrates his attempts to evade responsibility and his poor attitude following the offenses, leading to the specific charges requested,” it added. Rise and fall Ko, a physician, rose to fame in Taiwanese politics by winning two elections for the mayor of Taipei in 2014 and again in 2022. In 2019, he founded the TPP, positioning it as an alternative to Taiwan’s dominant political parties, the Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, and the Kuomintang, or KMT. In the 2024 presidential election, Ko and the TPP gained significant support among younger voters, presenting a fresh alternative to the establishment and posing a challenge to the dominance of the major parties. Ko has, however, stirred controversy with what critics see as an ambiguous stance on cross-straight relations. The TPP had maintained a nuanced approach, emphasizing the importance of peace and stability while advocating for Taiwan’s sovereignty. Ko criticized the DPP and KMT over their China-related policies, calling the approach of the former overly confrontational and of the latter too conciliatory. In 2015, Ko promoted a concept he called “one family on both sides of the Strait”, speaking in favour of exchanges between Taiwan and China and fostering goodwill. The ruling DPP, which takes a pro-sovereignty stance, accused Ko of “echoing” the Chinese Communist Party’s unification rhetoric and “undermining” Taiwan’s sovereignty. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. The democratic island has been self-governing since it effectively separated from mainland China in 1949 after the Chinese Civil War. Edited by Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Notebook found on North Korean soldier outlines tactics for countering drones
A North Korean soldier’s notebook described tactics for shooting down Ukrainian drones, including diagrams and details on how a three-person team should be used to lure and destroy the unmanned devices, the Ukrainian Special Forces said on Thursday on Telegram. The notebook was found on a dead soldier named Jong Kyong Hong in Russia’s Kursk region, according to the Telegram post. Radio Free Asia was unable to independently verify the information. About 50 North Korean soldiers were killed in Ukrainian drone attacks in Kursk last week, according to South Korea’s spy agency. “North Korean troops are being ‘consumed’ for front-line assaults in an unfamiliar battlefield environment of open fields, and they lack the ability to respond to drone attacks,” said South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, as cited by lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, who was briefed by the agency on Dec. 19. The Ukrainian Special Forces posted a photograph of the notebook in its Telegram post. A diagram shows one person standing in front of the drone as the other two team members are positioned behind it, preparing to shoot. “When a drone is spotted, form a team of three,” writing in the notebook said. One person’s role is to lure in the drone from a forward position while maintaining a distance of about 7 meters (23 feet), the notes said. The other two should be ready to shoot the drone from a distance of 10 to 12 meters (32 to 40 feet), it said. “When the person luring the drone stands still, the drone will also stop, making it possible for the two to aim and shoot it down,” the writing said. ‘Human bait’ The Ukrainian Special Forces deemed the method as “living human bait.” The special forces said that it was unclear whether the tactic was unique to the North Korean military or if it was something that the Russian military had taught to them. Russian forces have complained that North Korean soldiers were a “burden” because of their “ignorance” of drone warfare, the South Korean spy agency said in its briefing last week. Initial evidence from Ukraine has shown that North Korean soldiers are ill-prepared and lack the skills for modern warfare, said Federico Borsari, a resident fellow at the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis. “They lacked counter-drone equipment, and with little cover they were easy targets for Ukrainian FPV operators,” he said, using the initials for “first-person view” –- a kind of drone that wirelessly transmits video feed. “Many were killed while trying to hide among tall, dry grass crops and leafless tree lines,” he said. “Snow –- and Ukraine’s thermal sensors -– made them easily identifiable as most of those soldiers didn’t wear white camouflage.” RELATED STORIES Ukraine reveals handwritten letter of a fallen North Korean soldier in Kursk More than 3,000 North Koreans killed, wounded in Russia’s Kursk: Zelenskyy Russians see North Koreans as a ‘burden’ over ignorance of drones: South says American, South Korean and Ukrainian authorities have said there are up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia, deployed there primarily to help Russia push Ukrainian forces out of positions they captured in Kursk in August. Earlier this week, Ukraine reported that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in Kursk. South Korea has estimated that the number of casualties among North Korean troops is at least 1,100. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, or DIU, noted on Dec. 17 that North Korean forces appeared to have taken additional measures to mitigate the threat of drone strikes. “After serious losses, North Korean units began setting up additional observation posts to detect drones,” the DIU wrote in a post to its official Telegram channel. On Thursday, DIU said on its website that North Korea has added at least five more observation posts to improve its drone reconnaissance. It also said that Russian drone units have started providing tank and artillery support for North Korean troops during assaults. Recent footage had suggested that the North Koreans were sometimes receiving no assistance from Russian forces during combat. Translated by Jay Park and Leejin Chung. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Myanmar Christians, wary of airstrikes, celebrate Christmas in a cave
Many members of Myanmar’s Christian minority celebrated Christmas in fear this year, worried that the military would unleash airstrikes on them, with some worshippers taking to the safety of a cave deep in the forest for Christmas Eve mass. Predominantly Buddhist Myanmar has been engulfed in conflict since the military overthrew an elected government in 2021, with fighting particularly heavy in ethnic minority areas where many Christians live and where generations have battled for self-determination. “Christmas is a very important day for Christians, it’s also important to be safe,” said Ba Nyar, an official in an ethnic minority administration in eastern Myanmar’s Kayah state in an area under the control of anti-junta insurgents. “That’s why lately religious ceremonies have only been held in Mother’s Cave, which is free from the danger of air strikes,” he told Radio Free Asia, referring to a cave in the forest that covers the state’s craggy hills near the border with Thailand. Several hundred people, most of them women and children, crowded into the cave on Christmas Eve, squatting on its hard-packed floor for a service led by a priest standing behind an altar bedecked with flowers and candles. Ba Nyar and other residents of the area declined to reveal the cave’s location, fearing the junta would bomb it with aircraft or attack drones if they knew where it was. Villagers in a cave for Christmas Eve mass in a rebel zone in Myanmar’s Kayah state on Dec. 24, 2024.(Christ the King – Loikaw via Facebook) Most of those attending the service in Mother’s Cave have been displaced by fighting in Kayah state, where junta forces have targeted civilians and their places of worship, insurgents and rights groups say. Nearly 50 villagers were killed in Kayah state’s Moso village on Christmas Eve in 2021, when junta troops attacked after a clash with rebels. In November, the air force bombed a church where displaced people were sheltering near northern Myanmar’s border with China killing nine of them including children. More than 300 religious buildings, including about 100 churches and numerous Buddhist temples, have been destroyed by the military in attacks since the 2021 coup, a spokesman for a shadow government in exile, the National Unity Government, or NUG, said on Tuesday. RFA tried to contact the military spokesman, Major General Zaw Min Tun, for comment but he did not answer phone calls. The junta rejects the accusations by opposition forces and international rights groups that it targets civilians and places of worship. About 6.5% of Myanmar’s 57 million people are Christian, many of them members of ethnic minorities in hilly border areas of Chin, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin states. No Christmas carols In northwestern Myanmar’s Chin state, people fear military retaliation for losses to insurgent forces there in recent days and so have cut back their Christmas festivities. “When the country is free we can do these things again. We just have to be patient, even though we’re sad,” said a resident of the town of Mindat, which recently came under the control of anti-junta forces. “In December in the past, we’d hear young people singing carols, even at midnight, but now we don’t,” said the resident, a woman who declined to be identified for safety reasons. “I miss the things we used to do at Christmas,” she told RFA. In Mon Hla, a largely Christian village in the central Sagaing region, a resident said church services were being kept as brief as possible. Junta forces badly damaged the church in the home village of Myanmar’s most prominent Christian, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, in an air raid in October. “Everyone going to church is worried that they’re going to get bombed,” the resident, who also declined to be identified, told RFA on Christmas Day. “The sermons are as short as possible, not only at Christmas but every Sunday too,” she said. The chief of the junta, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, attended a Christmas dinner on Sunday at St. Mary’s Cathedral in the main city of Yangon and reiterated a call for insurgents to make peace, saying his government was strengthening democracy. Anti-junta forces dismiss his calls as meaningless and say there is no basis for trusting the military, which overthrew a civilian government in 2021, imprisoned its leaders and has tried to crush all opposition. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Along the Mekong, fishers and farmers battle a plastics catastrophe
A monsoon storm brewed above Boonrat Chaikeaw as he cast his net into the endless tide of trash in the Mekong River on one day in June. He brought home more plastic than fish over six trips into the polluted waters of the Golden Triangle between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. Below the Golden Triangle, at the center of the river’s lower basin, children swam among plastic debris as workers cleared the riverbanks of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh — with identical plastic pick-up efforts on Tonle Sap lake. Further downstream, in Vietnam, the river spiderwebs into the tributaries, swamps and islands that comprise the Mekong Delta. In Can Tho, which lies along a Mekong tributary, fish farmers are relieved to no longer be living off a river besieged by plastic waste. Dozens of fish leap out of the water during feeding time at a fish farm on Son Island in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.(RFA) The Mekong River supports millions of people along its 4,300-kilometer (2,700-mile) path from its headwaters in the Tibetan Plateau through Southeast Asia and eventually into the South China Sea. But its size and the politics of shared management has made it particularly susceptible to plastics pollution. Globally, the Mekong river is , an independent environmental reporting and analysis nonprofit. RFA retains full editorial control of the work. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
US missile deployment in the Philippines is legitimate: Manila
MANILA – The Philippines’ acquisition and deployment of a U.S. mid-range missile system is “completely legitimate, legal, and beyond reproach,” its defense chief said on Tuesday. China protested against the plan by the Philippines to acquire a Typhon mid-range missile system from the United States to boost its maritime capabilities amid rising tensions in the disputed South China Sea. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called the plan “provocative and dangerous,” and said on Monday it was an “extremely irresponsible choice” not only for the Philippine people and people of all Southeast Asian countries, but also “to history and to regional security.” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said any deployment for the security of the Philippines was its affair. “The Philippines is a sovereign state, not any country’s ‘doorstep’,” Teodoro said in a statement. He did not refer to the Chinese comment on the missile system but reiterated that the enhancement of Philippine defense capabilities was intended to serve its national interest and “not targeted against specific countries.” “Any deployment and procurement of assets related to the Philippines’ security and defense fall within its own sovereign prerogative and are not subject to any foreign veto,” Teodoro said. RELATED STORIES Philippines ratifies defense pact with Japan, amid China tensions China, Philippines trade accusations over South China Sea confrontation Philippines enacts laws asserting maritime claims China and the Philippines have been trading accusations of provocation and intimidation over escalating tensions in parts of the South China Sea that they both claim, especially near reefs that lie inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, but are also claimed by Beijing. “If the Chinese Communist Party is truly intent on reducing tensions and instability in the region, they should … stop their provocative actions … withdraw their illegal presence from the Philippines’ EEZ, and adhere to International Law,” said Teodoro, who also accused Beijing of building up a nuclear arsenal and ballistic missile capability. Typhon system On Monday, Philippine army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido – while delivering his year-end report to an audience of domestic and foreign journalists in Manila – confirmed that the army has endorsed a plan to acquire a mid-range missile system “to boost the country’s capability in protecting its territory.” The mobile system, called Typhon, was deployed to the Philippines early this year as part of a joint military exercise with the U.S. military. Chinese defense minister Dong Jun said in June the deployment was “severely damaging regional security and stability.” The missile system, developed by U.S. firm Lockheed Martin, has a range of 480 kilometers (300 miles), and is capable of reaching the disputed Scarborough Shoal as well as targets around Taiwan. Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido delivering his year-end report on Dec. 23, 2024, in Manila.(Jason Gutierrez/BenarNews) Galido said that the Typhon would “protect our floating assets,” referring to Philippine navy and coastguard vessels. The acquisition is taking place as the army is “tasked to come up with plans to contribute to the comprehensive archipelagic defense,” according to Galido, who added that “one of our inputs is to be able to defend this land through this type of platform.” Chinese spokeswoman Mao Ning criticized the plan, saying that the Philippines, “by bringing in this strategic offensive weapon, is enabling a country outside the region to fuel tensions and antagonism in this region, and incite geopolitical confrontation and arms race.” BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. Edited by Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Uyghur intellectual died while in custody of Chinese authorities
A Uyghur intellectual and educational activist, who was arrested the night before his daughter’s wedding five years ago, died only two months later while in detention, two people familiar with the situation told Radio Free Asia. Ibrahim Dawut was a former chemistry teacher at a high school in Kashgar, in China’s far-western Xinjiang region, who advocated for classes in the Uyghur region to be taught in Uyghur. He an outspoken critic of China’s bilingual education system in which some classes were taught in Mandarin and others in Uyghur. In 2019, Chinese authorities arrested him amid a sweep of mass arrests of mostly Ugyhur men. While the specific charges were unclear, he was taken away because of “his influence on society in Kashgar,” according to a source who had just recently moved to Europe. Dawut had been tailed by police since 2016 and had been called in for interrogation four or five times, she said. “The police took him away from his family on the night of July 28th, 2019, and we did not even know what had happened and why they took him,” said the source who requested anonymity for safety reasons. Dawut was in his late 50s at that time, and his daughter was to be married the following day, she said. “We looked for him for around 5-10 days and learned that the police arrested around 500-600 men, including him,” the source said. Dead and buried On Oct. 6, authorities informed Dawut’s family that he had died, she said, but buried him without showing his body to his family, prompting enormous outrage among his relatives. The police made his family sign a document which said he died from a heart attack, and they did not allow anyone to visit his tomb, she said. “When I asked the reason for his death, no one said anything,” she said. His death was confirmed by a staff member of the No. 6 High School in Kashgar, where Dawut had worked, but the person said he didn’t know any details. “He died several years ago. As far as I know, he died. The reason for his death is unknown,” he said. “Because details of his death were not reported to the school, we will not intervene in this type of case directly.” Educational activism Dawut had advocated for Uyghur language-based education through his writings since 2000 and often expressed disdain for the government’s bilingual education policies in Xinjiang, the source said. Dawut translated Chinese school books into Uyghur for high school students in Kashgar and provided students with school materials in Uyghur. He also opened bookstores in Kashgar and elsewhere, sold textbooks written in Uyghur and launched foreign language and college entrance exam preparatory courses. Abduweli Ayup, founder of Norway-based UyghurHelp and Dawut’s former student, said Dawut played a key role in opening a Uyghur language school in Kashgar, providing both support and financial investment. In 2011, Dawut invited Ayup to teach English and Turkish at the Nurhan Education Training Center he had founded and to help establish the Uyghur Mother Tongue Kindergarten. “We opened a school together. I was responsible for teaching English, Turkish and mother tongue, and he was responsible for teaching college entrance exam preparatory courses.” Ayup said. Dawut had also been an activist for teachers, organizing them and filing a lawsuit against the local government for withholding teachers’ salaries for several months to fund a state highway project. The legal battle was successful in pointing out that the state was responsible for highways, not the local government, and the teachers received their full salaries and a public apology. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Myanmar junta chief urges peace after troops suffer setbacks
Myanmar’s junta chief has reiterated a call for insurgents battling to end military rule to make peace, saying his government was strengthening democracy, his latest offer of talks as his forces suffer a string of setbacks. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who overthrew an elected civilian government in a 2021 coup and has tried to crush opposition to the takeover, made his latest plea at a Christmas dinner on Sunday at St. Mary’s Cathedral in the main city of Yangon. “The government is implementing the roadmap, national and political visions to strengthen the multi-party democratic system that the people desire and to return to the correct democratic path,” the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted Min Aung Hlaing as saying. “The government is committed to resolving issues encountered within the society through peaceful co-existence, specifically through dialogue to achieve success,” he said, adding that issues had to be resolved “through political methods but not handled in armed struggle.” Neighboring China is keen to see an end to Myanmar’s instability and has been pressing all sides to talk and has promised to support a general election expected next year. Min Aung Hlaing did not refer to his military’s setbacks in his Sunday address. Despite his calls for talks and Chinese pressure on the armed opposition, the military has been losing ground in several regions. On Friday, a regional army headquarters fell to the Arakan Army, or AA, ethnic minority insurgent group in Rakhine state, after months of fighting. The AA, which draws its support from the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist population, now controls about 80% of the state with the military boxed into small areas, including the Kyaukphyu economic zone on the coast where China has oil and gas pipelines and wants to build a port. In Chin state to the northwest, insurgents said they had made more advances against the military in recent days and they now controlled 85% of the state, which is largely Christian. RELATED STORIES EXPLAINED: What is Myanmar’s Arakan Army? Junta forces are mobilizing in central Myanmar amid Shan state ceasefire, rebel say Over one-third of Myanmar’s population to need aid by 2025: UNOCHA ‘Respect Rohingya rights’ Min Aung Hlaing’s calls for talks have been rejected by insurgent groups and a parallel civilian government in exile, the National Unity Government, who say they have no faith in the words of a military that has for decades stifled all dissent and locked up or killed its enemies. “The number one thing is that the revolutionary forces do not trust the military council,” said an official from one of the many pro-democracy guerrilla groups known as People’s Defense Forces, or PDFs, that have sprung up since the 2021 coup. “The other thing is that the junta is losing on the ground militarily so it’s impossible for us to hold talks with them now,‘’ said the official from a PDF in the central Monywa district. With the AA making sustained advances in Rakhine state, members of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority, many of whom are based in northern parts of the state on the border with Bangladesh, issued a plea for the AA to respect their rights. “We urge the Arakan Army and its political wing … to uphold and respect the rights of the Rohingya and all ethnic and religious minorities,” the Rohingya groups said in a joint statement. “Undoubtedly, the Burmese military is our common enemy,” the groups said, while accusing the AA of human rights violations against Rohingya, including widespread arson and killings. The AA denies rights abuses but rights investigators say the AA has committed serious violations, particularly since the junta launched a campaign this year to recruit Rohingya men into militias to fight the AA. The Rohingya organizations, many based abroad, said they strongly rejected the groups that cooperated with the military and called on the AA to recognize the Rohingya as “an integral part of the (the state’s) diverse communities.” The groups also called for an emergency aid corridor to be opened up from Bangladesh to prevent famine. The United Nations says up to 2 million people face “the dire prospect of famine” in Rakhine state amid economic collapse and a worsening humanitarian crisis triggered by the 2021 coup. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Teenagers fight US militarization of Palau with UN complaint over rights violations
Read this story on BenarNews KOROR, Palau — School students in Palau are taking on the United States military with a legal complaint to the United Nations over a “rapid and unprecedented wave of militarization” in their Pacific island nation. They allege that American military activities are destroying ecosystems, disturbing sacred sites, threatening endangered species, and breaking laws that protect the environment and human rights. A group of children play near the ocean in Koror, Nov. 29, 2024.(Harry Pearl/BenarNews) She is one of the seven teenagers, aged between 15 and 18, leading the pushback against U.S. military activity. Over the past year they travelled the length of the country visiting defense sites, interviewing local communities and documenting environmental impacts. Last month the students filed a submission to the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights to a healthy environment and the special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples. Together with the Ebiil Society, a local nonprofit, and human rights lawyers in Guam, they alleged American military violations of environmental laws and indigenous rights in Palau. The group is among a young generation of Pacific activists using international legal mechanisms to fight for their rights, such as law students from Vanuatu who asked the International Court of Justice to give an opinion on states’ obligations to combat climate change. ‘Bulldozing’ through Palau Palau is one of three Pacific island countries including the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia that give the U.S. exclusive military authority in their territories in exchange for economic assistance under compacts of free association. The U.S. is now using the “compact provisions, which have never before been invoked, to justify a rapid and unprecedented wave of militarization throughout Palau,” according to the U.N. submission. The Palauan students’ complaint is focused on six U.S. military sites spread between Palau’s northernmost tip and its southernmost edge, including an over-the-horizon radar facility and a WWII-era airstrip being upgraded by U.S. Marines on the island of Peleliu. Ann Singeo, executive director of Palaun environmental nonprofit the Ebiil Society, on Nov. 27, 2024 in Koror.(Harry Pearl/BenarNews) U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees American forces in the region, did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. But Palau President Surangel Whipps rejected any accusations that environmental laws had been broken or that local communities had not been adequately informed about military projects. Whipps acknowledged there were concerns about militarization in the community, but argued that for a small nation like Palau, which has been subject to “unfriendly behavior” by China, having the protection of the U.S. was a good thing. “We’ve always been a target because of our location, whether we like it or not,” he told BenarNews in an interview. “During World War II, we were a target and that’s why Japan built all the infrastructure here and used Palau because of our location. “If you’re going to be a target, you need to make sure that you’re protected. Our forefathers decided that the best relationship that we could have with the United States is in free association … but as partners, we have some obligations.” Nest Mechaet, a state legislator for Elab hamlet, sits at her family’s traditional land in Ngaraard state, Palau, Nov. 30, 2024.(Harry Pearl/BenarNews) She said there were fears that earthmoving might damage historical sites and affect sediment flows into the marine environment nearby, which is home to endangered dugongs, turtles and saltwater crocodiles. “Some old people say there are ancient stone platforms here,” she told BenarNews, looking out over the bay below where the radar will be positioned. “There are mangrove clams, sea cucumbers, fish – you name it. People are out there for food.” It’s unclear what impact the Angaur lawsuit or calls for a review of the permit in Ngaraard will have on the radar, which the U.S. had originally aimed to complete by 2026. The U.S. radar system, which will add to American early-warning capabilities for the western Pacific, is expected to bring economic benefits to the island including higher paying jobs and rental incomes. A sign at the ferry dock in the city of Koror calling for a ‘No’ vote against a proposed amendment to the Peleliu constitution, Nov. 25, 2024.(Harry Pearl/BenarNews) On the island of Peleliu, where U.S. Marines are revamping the Japanese wartime airfield, some local chiefs and former legislators are seeking an injunction against a proposed constitutional amendment concerning military activity in the state. Peleliu’s constitution currently requires the approval by 75% of residents in a referendum for any permanent military facilities to be built on the island or training to take place – a provision adopted after WWII. Under the amendment, which was put on the ballot of a Dec. 3 state election, the article would be repealed and authority on military matters transferred exclusively to the governor and legislature, according to court documents reviewed by BenarNews. It also proposes reducing the size of the state government from 15 members to 11 and removing five seats reserved for traditional chiefs. Whipps described a lot of the criticism about U.S. military projects in Palau as “misinformation” and suggested it was possibly “another Chinese attempt to convince people that things are really worse than they really are.” But Singeo, from the Ebiil Society, said it was important to mobilize young people to fight for the “survival of a culture and nation.” “No matter how strong they are, how big they are, this is not their home,” she said. “For me as an adult, to not support the kids to do this is the same as condemning them to a future of chaos, conflict and keeping their head down not saying anything.” BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Bosnian Genocide survivors reflect on the parallels with Uyghurs’ suffering
Survivors of the Bosnian Genocide 30 years ago told Radio Free Asia that they see parallels between their suffering and the experiences of Uyghurs in China’s far-western Xinjiang region. At that that time, the international community failed to stop the mass killings and other crimes against Bosnian Muslims. The 1992-95 Bosnian War left 100,000 dead, including the slaughter of 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica. Bosnians don’t want to see that happen again, and yet they see it unfolding in various locations around the world. “We have been shouting for many years that ethnic genocide should never happen again, but we are witnessing it every day,” said Almasa Salihovic, 36, who at age 8 fled with her family from advancing Serb forces and lost a brother in Srebrenica. Refugees from the overrun UN safe-haven enclave of Srebrenica gather outside the UN base at Tuzla airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 14, 1995.(Darko Bandic/AP) “We know that Uyghur Muslims, because of religion and everything else, are being forced to perform labor, basically tortured,” said restaurant owner Abdu Porcovic, 39, who also survived Bosnia’s genocide. “All their freedoms are being reduced,” he added. Muhtar Abdurrahman, a Uyghur scholar whom RFA interviewed in Sarajevo during an October meeting of the World Uyghur Congress, called on the Chinese government to stop its persecution of the mostly Muslim Uyghurs. “They should remember how the perpetrator of the Bosnian genocide, Slobodan Milosevic, was brought before an international criminal court and faced justice,” he said. Milosevic, president of Serbia between 1989–1997 and president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 until his overthrow in 2000, was tried on charges of committing war crimes at an international criminal tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, in the early 2000s. He died before the case concluded. ‘Fascist government’ Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, who led the Bosnian Serb Army and was known as the “butcher of Bosnia,” were also tried and convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. Gloved hands hold human skull during exhumation from mass-grave site near Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia, Sept. 18, 2009.(AP) Their fate suggests that those responsible for modern-day genocides also will see their day in court, Abdurrahman said. “We firmly believe that [Chinese President] Xi Jinping and his henchmen and his fascist government one day will face justice here in the International Criminal Court one day,” he said. The Bosnia War ended with the signing of the Dayton Accords in December 1995, a peace agreement that divided Bosnia and Herzegovina into two autonomous states — the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina dominated by Bosniaks and Croats, and the Bosnian Serb Republic dominated by Bosnian Serbs. Despite the immense hardships facing Uyghurs, Abdurrahman is hopeful that the situation in Xinjiang will follow a similar trajectory. “We are convinced that this genocide will eventually play a role in the birth of an independent Uyghur nation,” he said. Translated by RFA Uyghur Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
Ukraine military drops leaflets urging North Korean troops to surrender
The Ukrainian military is dropping Korean-language leaflets urging North Korean troops fighting on Russia’s side of the war to “Surrender today and join South Korea tomorrow,” Radio Free Asia has learned. The leaflets appear in a video shared on the Telegram social media website by InformNapalm, an organization that has been reporting on the situation in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian website evocation.info also published on Telegram evidence that North Korean soldiers are provided with Russian ID, likely to hide their nationality in the event they are killed. The two social media posts are among many reports of North Korean participation in the war, which Pyongyang and Moscow have not outwardly confirmed. A Ukrainian NGO group published video on Telegram that shows drones carrying leaflets urging North Korean troops fighting for Russia to surrender. InformNapalm’s leaflet video shows a drone with a camera flying the leaflets over a wooded area. A caption in Ukrainian says, “Leaflets are dropped into the woods where North Korean soldiers are hiding.” RFA previously reported that a similar type of drone engaged North Korean troops in a battle in the Kursk region, killing 50 of them. But this time it was just leaflets. In addition to the “surrender” leaflet, there’s another that says “You’ve been sold!” A video posted on Dec. 19, 2024, of leaflets to be dropped, by the Ukrainian military on North Korea soldiers, which say “You’ve been sold.”(InformNaplam via Telegram) South Korean intelligence reported that Russia is paying every North Korean soldier about US$2,000 per month, but observers believe that just like North Korea’s dispatched workers, most of the money is likely sent to the cash-strapped North Korean government. RFA has not independently verified the authenticity of the video. According to InformNapalm, once North Korean soldiers surrender or are captured, their identities are protected and they are provided with support to go to South Korea to start a new life, but it acknowledged that it is still too early to tell how effective the leaflet campaign will be. RELATED STORIES Russians see North Koreans as a ‘burden’ over ignorance of drones: South says Ukraine drones kill 50 North Koreans in battle in Kursk region Russians ‘burning faces’ of dead North Koreans to keep them secret: Zelenskyy This fourth one appears as an HTML with a “Be careful!” message – Meanwhile, a Russian military ID with a bullet hole and blood stains on it was found on a dead North Korean soldier in the Kursk region, the photo published by evocation.io purports to show. The ID card is legible in the photo. It says the deceased soldier is Kim Kan-Bolat Albertovich, a native of Russia’s Tuva Republic, in southern Siberia, born on April 13, 1997. The ID card of a North Korean soldier disguised as a Tubain.(Invocation Info via Telegram) RFA cannot independently verify the authenticity of the photo. According to the ID, Pvt. Kim was allegedly born in the village of Bayan-Tala, graduated secondary school in 2016, worked as a roofer, and then entered military service in the Tuvan 55th Mountain Infantry Brigade. But a person with that name and birthdate does not exist in Russian records, the evocation.io reported. The soldier’s Korean signature also appears on the first page, suggesting his real name is Ri Dae Hyok. The document has more inconsistencies. It lacks photos, order numbers and official seals. Additionally, “Kim” has allegedly been a soldier since 2016, but he first received a weapon on Oct. 10, 2024, and a personal tag (AB-175311) a day later. If legitimate, this photo would confirm what South Korean intelligence revealed in October, that North Korean troops sent to Russia were issued fake Russian identification cards that said they were residents of southern Siberia, which is home to a people who are racially similar to East Asians. It is difficult to tell if the photo is legitimate or if it is propaganda, David Maxwell, vice president at the U.S.-based Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, told RFA. “If Russia or North Korea is attempting to hide their soldiers’ identities, it makes no sense. They’ll inevitably be exposed,” Maxwell said. “It’s another foolish move by the Russians and North Koreans because when these soldiers are captured or killed, their identities will be revealed.” He said it is already well known that North Korea is supporting Russia, so efforts to pass North Koreans off as a different Russian ethnic group was pointless. “Maybe it makes them feel better, but I don’t find this very important or credible.” Translated by Claire S. Lee and Jay Park. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika
