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Influencer-Based YouTube Channels/Vlogs for Soft Power Propaganda Network

Propaganda Network of YouTube Influencers

China’s strategic use of influencer-based YouTube channels has become a crucial element in its soft power propaganda network, particularly in shaping global perceptions of China and countering Western narratives. These influencers, many of whom are expatriates or foreign residents in China, utilize their platforms to promote themes such as the alleged falsehoods spread by Western media, the superiority of China’s infrastructure, technology, and safety over that of the United States and their home countries, and the notion that China is always on the right side of geopolitical conflicts. A sample of the most prominent channels reveals the extensive reach and influence these platforms hold. For instance, channels like Jabiertzo with 845K subscribers and Daniel Dumbrill with 167K subscribers, frequently address topics such as the situation in Xinjiang, presenting narratives that counter reports on human rights issues. Similarly, Nathan Rich with 490K subscribers and Cyrus Janssen with 661K subscribers often highlight China’s advancements in technology and infrastructure, portraying China as a superior alternative to the United States. In total, the combined reach of these most prominent channels accounted for in this report amounts to 5.33 million subscribers, with a staggering 10,577 videos that have collectively garnered over 1.05 billion views. This extensive content library is used to disseminate China’s narrative on various global issues, reinforcing the idea that China’s approach is not only legitimate but preferable to Western models. Channels like Living in China and Niranjan China, with subscriber counts of 460K and 814K respectively, contribute to the portrayal of China as a safe, prosperous, and culturally rich society, often contrasting it with perceived notions. Channel Name Subscribers Videos Views Country Alex from Xinjiang 44.1K 70 7,204,566 Hong Kong Numuves 84K 392 15,687,017 China Daniel Dumbrill 167K 266 13,473,874 Hong Kong FerMuBe 41.2K 693 3,585,459 United States Jabiertzo 845K 915 218,626,212 Spain Asia Hot Topics 19.7K 97 2,650,695 United States Cross Pacific Confrontation 623 33 75,992 N/A VOC: Vision of China 4.47K 119 994,783 Canada Nathan Rich 490K 233 36,895,956 United States Noel Lee 31.2K 144 2,886,782 N/A Living in China 460K 320 57,661,697 United Kingdom Niranjan China 814K 575 125,939,595 India China Content Center 607K 4,069 210,156,033 United States BeeRose in China 18.4K 29 860,928 United States TripBitten 78.1K 224 7,788,812 United States Part Time Traveller – China 25.6K 553 3,760,153 India Cyrus Janssen 661K 411 119,111,974 United States Barrett 376K 601 52,129,466 United Kingdom Harvey in China 24K 133 2,336,921 United Kingdom Fel Thommy 263K 399 85,110,680 United States Reporterfy Media & Travel 211K 302 29,413,718 United Kingdom 5,333.73K 10,577 1,056,299,162 Statistics of some of the popular Chinese Propaganda YouTube Channels The strategic deployment of these influencer-led channels is a sophisticated tool in China’s Soft Power Propaganda Network, allowing the country to shape international discourse and influence global public opinion in favor of its geopolitical stance. Through engaging, relatable content that appeals to both Western and non-Western audiences, these YouTube channels effectively support China’s broader propaganda objectives, reinforcing its narrative of being a global leader in technology, governance, and social stability. Country Number of YouTube Users (in millions) as of April 2024 India 476 United States 238 Brazil 147 Indonesia 139 Mexico 84.2 Japan 79.4 Pakistan 66.1 Germany 65.7 Vietnam 63 Philippines 58.1 Turkey 58.1 UK 55.7 France 50.2 Egypt 48.1 Thailand 44.2 Number of YouTube Users (in millions) as of April 2024 Despite China being the world’s most populous country after India, it is notably absent from the list of leading YouTube audiences as of April 2024. This absence is primarily due to the Chinese government’s long-standing restrictions on YouTube, which has been blocked in the country since 2009. Consequently, the platform is inaccessible to the vast majority of China’s population, leading to a significant gap in its user base despite the country’s vast potential audience. Interestingly, this gap has given rise to a unique phenomenon where many foreign YouTubers, residing and working in China, create content that caters primarily to international viewers, particularly those in countries where YouTube remains highly popular. These content creators often focus on showcasing various aspects of Chinese culture, travel, and daily life, which aligns with the growing global interest in China. However, their content frequently extends beyond mere cultural exchange, becoming a vehicle for soft power and state-sponsored propaganda. These YouTube channels and vlogs are often subtly or overtly linked to the Chinese state, either through direct support or indirect influence. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leverages these influencers to build and promote narratives that align with its geopolitical objectives and desired international image. By presenting an idealized version of China, these influencers contribute to shaping global perceptions in a way that supports the CCP’s strategic interests. This content often portrays China as a modern, harmonious, and prosperous nation, glossing over or omitting discussions of controversial issues such as human rights, censorship, or political repression. Furthermore, these influencers may receive preferential treatment, easier access to restricted locations, and other incentives that are not available to independent journalists or content creators critical of the Chinese government. In this way, the CCP effectively utilizes foreign YouTubers as part of a broader soft power strategy, disseminating state-approved narratives to a global audience, while circumventing the direct use of traditional state media channels. This influencer-driven content plays a crucial role in the CCP’s efforts to build a favorable narrative about China on the global stage, leveraging the reach and appeal of YouTube to influence public opinion, even in the absence of direct access to the platform within China itself. Following some of the prominent YouTube channels indulged in Chinese Propaganda: Channel: Living in China Key Propaganda Themes: Channel: Niranjan China Key Propaganda Themes: Read the entire report for a comprehensive understanding of the Influencer Network: Link Niranjan’s content across these platforms consistently promotes a narrative of China’s advancements, quality of life, and rapid development, often contrasting these aspects with India and other countries to highlight China’s superiority. Channel: China Content Center Key Propaganda Themes: China Content Center consistently promotes narratives that emphasize China’s economic and…

Hundreds of Taiwanese ‘disappear’ in China over past 10 years

Editor1 year ago017 mins

Read related stories in Mandarin: 10年来857名台湾人在中国被失踪或任意逮捕 and 强迫失踪在中国：纪念日背后的无尽悲痛与抗争 More than 800 nationals of democratic Taiwan have “disappeared” over the past 10 years in China, which has long used forced disappearances to silence and control its own dissidents and rights activists, rights groups said on Friday. Figures compiled by the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and several other non-government groups showed that 857 Taiwan nationals have been “forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily arrested” in China, activists told a joint news conference in Taipei. They include publisher Li Yanhe (pen name Fu Cha), detained in Shanghai since April 2023, democracy activist Lee Ming-cheh, who served a five-year jail term in Hunan province for “attempting to subvert state power,” and businessman Lee Meng-Chu, jailed for nearly two years for “espionage” after he snapped photos of People’s Armed Police personnel at a Shenzhen hotel at the height of the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Speaking on the United Nations’ International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Taiwan Association for Human Rights chief Eeling Chiu called on China to fulfill its obligations under international human rights law. “China should … immediately release those who have been forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained,” Chiu told journalists, calling on the Taiwan authorities to ratify United Nations conventions against torture and enforced disappearances as soon as possible. “[They should also] actively assist the families of those who have been arbitrarily arrested and detained in China and set up assistance mechanisms for them,” she said. Members of a support group for disappeared Taiwanese publisher Fu Cha hold up signs calling for his release to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Aug. 30, 2024. (Huang Chun-mei/RFA) Activist Wang Chia-hsuan of a petition group in support of Li Yanhe, or Fu Cha, said Li was born in China but had permanent residency in Taiwan at the time of his disappearance, having lived in Taipei for more than a decade. He has been incommunicado for 527 days, and has been detained on suspicion of “incitement to secession,” Wang said. He called on Taipei municipal authorities to step up efforts to communicate with the Chinese authorities regarding Li’s case. Lee Ming-cheh told the news conference that his disappearance and subsequent jailing put huge pressure on his family back home. “Collaborators with the Chinese government in Taiwan warned my wife off talking to Taiwanese NGOs or speaking out publicly about my case, saying they would allow her to travel to China to visit me [if she complied],” he said. “If she spoke publicly about my case, she wouldn’t be allowed to go to China,” Lee said, accusing the Chinese government of abusing current crime cooperation agreements with Taiwan to persecute its residents. Negotiating is key Ruling Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Puma Shen said the Taiwanese authorities could do a better job of negotiating in the early stages of such cases. “Government officials … should call on China for more appropriate handling of [such] cases,” Shen said. “If that doesn’t happen, then we should cut off communication [with China].” “If we continue to communicate past that point, there will be no deterrence at all … and it will send the message that it’s OK if our people keep disappearing,” he said. Taiwanese publisher Li Yanhe in an undated photo. (Fu Cha via Facebook) Meanwhile, Taiwanese lawmaker Hung Shen-han warned that it’s not only Taiwanese who are at risk of arbitrary arrest and “disappearance” in China. “The risk to individuals of being disappeared and prosecuted in China don’t just apply to Taiwanese,” Hung said, adding that some democratic countries have issued travel advisories to their citizens on the matter. “The Chinese government uses its laws, along with various undemocratic and unsupervised practices, to threaten the personal safety of people from all countries who go to China,” he said. “Chinese citizens themselves face the same problem.” Geng He, the U.S.-based wife of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng said it has been seven years since he “disappeared” on Aug. 13, 2017. “Gao Zhisheng has been missing for seven years and 17 days, with no news or explanation, neither verbal nor written,” she told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. “They deploy the whole state apparatus in its entirety to target people like Gao Zhisheng who speak the truth and work on behalf of the people,” Geng said. The couple’s entire family has also been affected, she said. “My entire family’s ID cards have been confiscated for the past 15 years now,” Geng said. “This has caused great inconvenience to my family in terms of their ability to work, go about their lives, access medical treatment and travel.” “They’re being controlled to death,” Geng said. “Basically, they can’t leave their homes.” Gao’s sister died by suicide in May 2020, while his brother-in-law also took his own life after being forced to beg the authorities to “borrow” his own ID card so he can access his cancer medication. Disappeared Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng in an undated photo. (Weiquanwang) Veteran rights lawyer Bao Longjun said the authorities have also “disappeared” his wife Wang Yu, also a prominent rights attorney, on several occasions in recent years. She was incommunicado for several hours on Wednesday during the trial of rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and activist Xu Yan in Suzhou. “I feel like it’s about ruling the country through terror,” Bao told RFA Mandarin. “There is no legal basis for [enforced disappearances].” “If you are even slightly disobedient, they will immediately bring state power to bear, forcibly restricting your freedom, and controlling you to achieve what they think is stability,” he said. Uyghurs and Tibetans Chinese authorities have also forcibly disappeared Uyghurs and Tibetans in the far-western part of mainland China. An estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims have been detained in Xinjiang under flimsy pretexts during mass incarcerations that began more than seven years ago in an effort by Chinese authorities to prevent religious extremism, separatism and terrorism. Former Xinjiang University President Tashpolat Teyip, who himself vanished in 2017…

Did Taiwanese ships fly the Chinese flag while passing through the Red Sea?

Editor1 year ago09 mins

A video and photograph of a cargo vessel have been shared in Chinese-language social media posts that claim they show vessels from the Evergreen Group – Taiwan’s shipping and transportation conglomerate – flying a Chinese flag while passing through the Red Sea in July. But the claim is false. Evergreen vessels have not passed through the Red Sea since December 2023. A video of a cargo ship was posted on Chinese social media Bilibili on Aug. 17. “A cargo ship belonging to China’s Taiwan-based Evergreen Group passed through the Red Sea flying the five-star red flag without incident. Previously, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked passing ships in the Red Sea, but ships flying the Chinese and Russian flags have usually been able to pass through safely,” the video’s caption reads. The 12-second video shows multiple scenes, including China’s national flag, the Five-star Red Flag, and a cargo ship with an “EVERGREEN” sign on it. Separately, a photo of what appears to be Evergeen’s cargo vessel was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Aug. 18, alongside a caption that reads: “The Evergreen Hotel refused to fly the Chinese flag, but Evergreen Marine flew the Chinese flag when it passed through the waters under the jurisdiction of the Houthis in the Red Sea.” A number of influencers posted photos of Evergreen ships purportedly flying China’s flag (Screenshots/X, Weibo and Bilibili) The claim began to circulate online after Chinese social media users criticized a decision by a branch of the Taiwanese Evergreen Laurel Hotel in Paris to refuse to fly China’s national flag during the Olympics. Some users further criticized the Evergreen Group, the hotel’s parent company, for what they said was double standards after several of its ships passed through the Red Sea in July while flying the Chinese flag for protection. Evergreen Group is a Taiwan conglomerate with businesses in shipping, transport and associated services such as energy development, air transport, hotels and resorts. Taiwan has been self-governing since it effectively separated from mainland China in 1949 after the Chinese civil war, but China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that should be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. However, the claim about the Evergreen vessels flying the flag is false. Vessels in question Reverse image searches found the two vessels seen in the Bilibili video and the photo on X are Evergeen’s EVER ALP and EVER BUILD. A comparison of the EVER ALP and the EVER BUILD with the respective Chinese influencers’ content. (Photo/AFCL) According to the ship tracking service Marine Traffic, both vessels are under the jurisdiction of Panama. Since the internationally recognized United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that a ship must sail under the flag of the state to which it is registered, those ships should fly Panama’s flag. Information on the EVER ALP and EVER BUILD. (Screenshot/Marine Traffic) According to a contingency plan issued by Evergreen in December 2023, all of its cargo vessels originally scheduled to pass through the Red Sea between Asia, Europe and the eastern United States would be rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope due to the threat of attacks on merchant ships. Since the release of the contingency plan by Evergreen, the EVER ALP has not passed through the Red Sea, while the EVER BUILD has only sailed between northeast China and Thailand, nowhere near the Red Sea. Records from the ship tracking service Marine Traffic also show that neither the EVER ALP nor the EVER BUILD has sailed through the Red Sea since the group issued its contingency plan. The respective routes of both vessels recorded on Marine Traffic show that they have not entered through the Red Sea in the last 9 months. (Screenshots/Marine Traffic) A representative of Evergreen told AFCL that it had not changed its company-wide shipping reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, and the company required its vessels to follow the international and industry practice of flying the flags of the country under whose jurisdiction they sail. Hoisting a different country’s flags A former Taiwanese Coast Guard official told AFCL that, in practice, there are cases when a ship might fly a different country’s flags. It is common for ships to fly another country’s flag alongside their own registered state flag to show goodwill when passing through that country’s territorial waters, the official said. In disputed waters, ships from one country involved in the dispute might fly the flag of the other country to reduce the risk of interference from the rival state’s authorities or militias. Lastly, ships from smaller or less powerful nations often fly the flag of a more powerful country when passing through pirate-infested waters to create a deterrent, the official explained, adding that Taiwan did not legally permit ships under its jurisdiction to engage in the second or third scenarios. Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang. 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.

Top White House official in Beijing for talks with foreign minister

Editor1 year ago04 mins

U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in China on Tuesday on a three-day trip that includes talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and comes after complaints from China’s neighbors about what they see as its territorial intrusions. Sullivan and Wang “will hold a new round of China-U.S. strategic communication,” according to China’s foreign ministry, exchanging views on bilateral relations, “sensitive issues” and “major international and regional hotspots.” A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on Friday that Sullivan and Wang would discuss a range of topics including areas of disagreement, such as Taiwan, Ukraine and the Middle East. RELATED STORIES Top White House official to visit China Philippines, China clash near disputed shoal in South China Sea Philippines joins US-led allies in multilateral maneuvers in South China Sea The visit comes amid protests by U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines about what they say are Chinese incursions. Japan said a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane entered Japanese airspace for two minutes on Monday, which Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi described as “utterly unacceptable.” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday China was trying to verify the report, adding that its military had “no intention of intruding” into any country’s airspace. Meanwhile, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Tuesday that China was “the biggest disrupter” of peace in Southeast Asia. His comments came after a clash on Sunday between Philippine and Chinese vessels near a disputed reef in the South China Sea. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is welcomed by Director General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Yang Tao (C) and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns (L) upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Aug. 27, 2024. (Ng Han Guan/POOL/AFP) Sullivan was greeted at Beijing’s Capital Airport by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s North American and Oceanian department head Yang Tao, and U.S. ambassador Nicholas Burns. His trip is the first official visit to China and the first by a national security adviser since Susan Rice went to Beijing under the Obama administration in 2016. Sullivan and Wang have met in Washington, Vienna, Malta and Bangkok over the past 18 months. Edited by Mike Firn.

Cambodia announces fundraising effort for ‘border infrastructure’

Editor1 year ago04 mins

Cambodians are being asked to pay for infrastructure projects in a remote border area where an economic cooperation agreement with Vietnam and Laos has recently sparked criticism and protests from opposition activists. The projects would be aimed at developing four provinces in northeastern Cambodia that are part of the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Triangle Development Area, or CLV. Prime Minister Hun Manet’s Cabinet announced the creation of a Foundation for Border Infrastructure Development on Monday in a statement that included the names of six banks where people could send money. It was unclear what infrastructure projects would be funded by the foundation. The provinces – Kratie, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri – are thinly populated. Money raised under the initiative would help the government “in the spirit of national unity, peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity, [to] promote stronger and more sustainable border development,” Hun Manet said. “Cambodians of all backgrounds, both inside and outside the country” are encouraged to contribute, the prime minister said. Several high-profile Cambodian businessmen have already posted messages on social media that showed their donation to the foundation. The 1999 CLV agreement between the three countries was aimed at encouraging economic development and trade between the four northeastern provinces and neighboring provinces across the border. But some activists recently began expressing concerns that the CLV could cause Cambodia to lose territory or control of its natural resources to Vietnam. Overseas Cambodians held protests in South Korea, Japan, France, Canada and Australia on Aug. 11. Planned demonstrations in Cambodia on Aug. 18 were never held after the government deployed security forces and arrested more than 30 people. The fundraising effort appears to be aimed at harnessing some of the nationalistic sentiment sparked by CLV critics, according to Oum Sam An, a former lawmaker for the former main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party. “This is demagogic politics to deceive the people,” he told Radio Free Asia. “He is trying to show that his family is patriotic and didn’t cede any land to Vietnam.” RFA was unable to reach a government spokesperson for comment on the new foundation. Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

A far cry from sweet and sour: Hong Kongers bring their food to the UK

Editor1 year ago015 mins

Hong Kongers fleeing a political crackdown in their home city are the biggest wave of migrants to settle in Britain since the Windrush generation arrived from the Caribbean — and they’re bringing their food with them. While previous generations of Chinese immigrants would gravitate towards Chinatowns in London and Manchester to make and sell dim sum or roast Cantonese duck to local diners, this cohort is bringing an updated menu of Hong Kong food that offers fellow migrants a nostalgic taste of home. Instead of being concentrated in inner city areas like their forerunners, the nearly 200,000 holders of the British National Overseas passport are making use of a lifeboat visa program to fan out across the country, from Sutton in Surrey, to Brick Lane and Canary Wharf in East London, to affordable neighborhoods in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. They’re even growing their own vegetables in their backyards instead of relying on the fresh foods available through chains of Asian foods wholesalers. A shop in the U.K. sells Hong Kong-style milk tea. (Cynthia Hung Jones/RFA) The Hong Kong food stall with the longest line of waiting diners at a weekend food market in the Canary Wharf financial district in early June 2024 offers salt beef tripe, brisket and tendon braised Hong Kong style, attracting a mixed crowd of expectant customers. For some, it’s the taste of home, and for others raised on typical fare from earlier British Hong Kong takeaways, it’s a far cry from sweet and sour chicken balls. “Food has always been an important part of the way that immigrant communities construct their identities,” says Hong Kong columnist Carpier Leung. “I have high hopes for the influence that this wave of immigration can have on Hong Kong cuisine.” The new wave is already breaking on British shores. Over the past two years, more supermarkets have started selling packages of dim sum like har gau shrimp dumplings and char siu pork buns, while Hong Kong-style egg tarts and the city’s signature mix of strong black tea with evaporated milk have started popping up in trendy cafes in areas where Hong Kongers have congregated. You can buy street snacks like egg waffles and French toast, Hong Kong diner (or cha chaan teng) style, in Sutton and Manchester these days. Dreams of Mong Kok Nicole, who founded the Hong Kong nostalgia restaurant HOKO in Brick Lane, said she was drawn to the area because its grittiness and trendiness reminded her of Kowloon’s Mong Kok district. That was home to the “fishball revolution” of 2016 when disgruntled young people — some of them supporters of the city’s independence movement — ripped up paving bricks from the area’s narrow shopping streets and hurled them at police. Founder Nicole outside her Hong Kong nostalgia restaurant HOKO in London’s Brick Lane. (Cynthia Hung Jones/RFA) The first thing you see when you walk into HOKO is a row of evaporated milk tins used by cha chaan teng, with their distinctive red-and-white packaging. The next is the diner-style layout with high-backed, partitioned seating of the kind where low-paid office workers would rub shoulders with blue-collar workers in search of an affordable breakfast or set lunch deal. The tables are stacked with orange melamine chopsticks, with menus in glass cases, throwbacks to Nicole’s memories of these eateries that date back to the 1960s and ‘70s in her home city. Cantopop by Justin Lo is blaring from the speaker system, while posters of Hong Kong bands bedeck the walls. “We sell Hong Kong food that tells a story,” she says, listing milk tea, French toast, pork chop, Swiss chicken wings and borscht, all staples of cha chaan teng — food that arrived in a global free port from somewhere else, only to acquire a peculiarly Hong Kong twist, making it quite unlike the original. “Swiss chicken wings” was the result of a miscommunication between English-speaking tourists and Hong Kong chefs, who heard “Swiss” when the customer said “sweet,” according to HOKO’s menu. Milk tea was brought in during British colonial times and persisted long after British tea-drinkers had forgotten all about evaporated milk. Nicole thinks the latest generation of migrants from Hong Kong is “braver, and truer to ourselves and to Hong Kong cuisine.” Telling the difference Another Hong Kong eatery in east London, Aquila, has directly imported some of its ingredients from Hong Kong to ensure its dishes remain authentic. “We have to insist on that authenticity so that British people will be able to tell the difference between Hong Kong and China [when it comes to food],” says co-founder Lucas. The founders and manager of Hong Kong restaurant Aquila in London’s Leytonstone pose for a photo under the flags of British Hong Kong and the Republic of China (Taiwan) in June 2024. (Cynthia Hung Jones/RFA) The first thing you see when you walk into this joint is a political statement — the flags of British Hong Kong and the Republic of China, currently located in democratic Taiwan, alongside photos from the 2019 protest movement against the loss of Hong Kong’s promised freedoms that would land a person in hot water back home, under two national security laws. But the founders don’t worry much about annoying China, which took back control of Hong Kong in 1997 and still insists on a territorial claim on Taiwan. “I’m running a British business — what is there to be afraid of?” says Lucas. “My grandfather’s business was ruined by the Chinese Communist Party, and my family has been anti-communist ever since.” “I hope that customers will ask why these things are on display, so I can tell them the story of Hong Kong,” he adds. Chicken hotpot Not all food translates easily, however. Hong Kongers have developed a passion in recent years for a local form of chicken hotpot. But Hong Kong migrant and entrepreneur Sam says he doesn’t think the dish has taken off with British diners, who prefer their chicken boneless and not floating around in scalding hot…

Bicycle built for who?

Editor1 year ago01 mins

To Lam made his first foreign trip as general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party to China, where President Xi Jinping gushed about the two countries’ “shared future.” But the goals of the neighboring nations with similar political systems don’t always align, including on matters of sovereignty in the South China Sea, where China’s sweeping territorial claims have earned rebukes from Hanoi and sparked widespread public protests in Vietnam. While both leaders are pedaling forward, they appear to be headed in opposite directions.

Rebels seize junta oil field in central Myanmar

Editor1 year ago05 mins

Insurgents in central Myanmar seized a junta oil field, rebel groups told Radio Free Asia on Thursday, the fourth such oil facility captured in recent fighting that has seen the military lose significant amounts of territory. Myanmar has produced oil in the Irrawaddy River valley since the 19th century but its offshore gas fields are a much more important source of revenue for the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup. Pro-democracy insurgent members of milita’s known as People’s Defense Forces, or PDFs, in the Magway region seized the Thagyitaung-Sabal oil field in Pakokku township on Tuesday following a pre-dawn assault on about 50 soldiers defending it, a PDF spokesman told RFA. “We’ve been holding the field and have soldiers cutting off the ground route,” said Pauk township’s PDF information officer Ko Sit. “Six junta soldiers were killed and two were arrested during the fighting,” he said. He gave no information on casualties among PDF fighters. PDF fighters seized weapons and ammunition, and about six million kyat (US$1,000) in cash, he said. The military responded with airstrikes and sent reinforcements to a police station in nearby Pauk township, Ko Sit said, adding that fighting continued into Wednesday as junta forces tried to regain control of the field. RFA tried to contact Magway region’s junta spokesperson Myo Myint for comment but he did not return calls. The oil field, operated by the junta-owned conglomerate Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, or MOGE, produced 119 barrels of crude oil and 2.5 million cubic feet (71,000 cubic meters) of natural gas per day in 2018, according to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy. Thagyitaung-Sabal oil field run by the junta’s Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise on June 7, 2023. (People’s Spring-Facebook) Resource-rich parts of Myanmar have seen heavy fighting this year as rebel groups try to capture them. Kachin state in northern Myanmar has jade and rare earth mines while parts of Shan state in the northeast has rich ruby mines. PDF groups captured Myaing township’s Kyauk Khwet oil field on March 2 and Pauk township’s Letpanto oil field on April 19. On Aug. 15, PDF forces occupied the Pu Htoe Lon oil field in Gangaw township. RFA was not immediately able to contact the MOGE for comment about the latest loss of an oil field. The U.S. Treasury Department has described the MOGE as “the largest single source of foreign revenue for Burma’s military regime, providing hundreds of millions of dollars each year.” Last October, it announced sanctions against MOGE, banning companies from providing it with financial services. Magway region has no privately owned oil fields, after the junta ordered their closure in June last year. Although it gave no reason, owners and workers said the junta was worried that profits were being used to fund PDFs. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.

Uyghurs sentenced to cumulative 4.4 million years in prison: study

Editor1 year ago010 mins

All told, Uyghurs imprisoned by China in the far-western region of Xinjiang have been sentenced to a cumulative 4.4 million years, a report by Yale University’s Genocide Studies Program says. And the true tally is probably far higher, researchers said. The figure highlights the scale and severity of the Chinese government’s crackdown on the mostly Muslim Uyghurs since 2017, when thousands of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities were herded into re-education camps and prisons. The 25-page report, “Uyghur Race as the Enemy: China’s Legalized Authoritarian Oppression & Mass Imprisonment,” frames the massive incarceration not only as a crime against humanity and genocide, but also as a form of “dangerous lawfare” designed to erode the Uyghurs’ future prospects for dignity, prosperity and freedom. The study drew on information from the Xinjiang Victims Database, which has data on nearly 62,700 Uyghurs detained in Xinjiang, based on leaked Chinese police documents and other records. Researchers also studied records from the Xinjiang High People’s Procuratorate from 2017 to 2021. It does not include numbers from years since then, after the court stopped publishing data, meaning the true number is much higher. They found 13,114 cases that included a prison sentence, with an average term of 8.8 years, and multiplied the figure by 500,000, which they called a “conservative” figure based on the 540,000 individuals prosecuted by court from 2017 to 2021, to get 4.4 million years. “This is happening on a scale that the world has not seen,” said Uyghur human rights lawyer and advocate Rayhan Asat, principal author of the report. “And if China is allowed to fulfill the 4.4 million years of a cumulative imprisonment it has sentenced the Uyghur people to, it will mean a total ethnic incapacitation for the Uyghur people.” RELATED STORIES UN rights chief calls on China to protect human rights in Tibet and Xinjiang Rights groups blast UN for inaction on China’s repression in Xinjiang Call for debate on rights violations in Xinjiang rejected by UN Human Rights Council UN human rights chief issues damning report on Chinese abuses in Xinjiang This data is crucial for understanding the profound human rights violations and the long-term impacts on the Uyghur community. ‘Legalized human rights abuse’ The Chinese government uses “legalized authoritarianism” to extend the reach of the authoritarian state by weaponizing its legal system against people critical of state policies, the report said. In the case of Xinjiang, Beijing has recognized the Uyghur identity as an enemy and has used laws such as Article 120 of the Criminal Law governing terrorist crimes, the Counter-Terrorism Law, and the Xinjiang Implementing Measures for the Counter-Terrorism Law “to legitimize human rights abuses,” it said. “The involvement of laws as a means of carrying [out] human rights abuses sufficiently characterizes Uyghur incarceration as a legalized human rights abuse,” it said. The study also noted that while the Chinese authorities make public criminal records in other parts of the country, records from almost 90% of cases in Xinjiang are not public. Asat told Radio Free Asia that she wanted to contextualize the consequences of China’s actions for the entire Uyghur population given that the mass incarceration of Uyghurs without due process and with disproportionately harsh imprisonment is already horrific in isolation. She has publicly campaigned on behalf of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China, including her brother Ekpar Asat, who has been held in detention in Xinjiang since 2016. “With a cumulative imprisonment of 4.4 million years — a conservative estimate — it’s nearly impossible for the population to carry on their culture and community — our culture and community,” she said. Human toll The analysis comes before the second anniversary on Aug. 31 of a report by former U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet who visited Xinjiang in May 2022 and said China’s mass detentions of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in the region may constitute crimes against humanity. Her successor, Volker Türk, this March urged China to carry out recommendations from his office to protect human rights in Xinjiang, Tibet and across the country, but Beijing ignored his call. “[In] the context of mass imprisonment, it gives an idea of just how much, human capital is lost to the Uyghur community, the Uyghur population in China as a result of what is arguably a political and arbitrary, punitive, ethnically-based system of mass imprisonment,” said David J. Simon, director of the university’s Genocide Studies Program. “The one other thing I will add about that figure is that the authors of the report have stressed to me that it is a conservative estimate — that the real number, the number of years that Uyghur political prisoners may actually be facing under these laws, could actually be substantially higher,” he told RFA. The report makes several recommendations to address the issue. It says Türk, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, and U.N. member states must trigger all accountability mechanisms to pressure China to free innocent detainees and to use diplomatic tools to collectively push for the release of all imprisoned Uyghurs. It also recommends that individual states declare they are not willing to do business with China and to impose targeted sanctions like those already imposed by the United States, Britain, the European Union and Canada. The report also recommends that the U.N.’s Human Rights Commission and the OHCHR jointly condemn Beijing’s actions and establish a Commission of Inquiry in China to investigate atrocity crimes. “It’s been nearly a decade after China rolled out its extensive atrocity campaigns against the Uyghurs, and the world’s attention is slowly waning due to other crises emerging,” Asat said. “But the horrors in the Uyghur region have not ceased.” With additional reporting by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Myanmar rebels capture last junta base in township on China border

Editor1 year ago06 mins

One of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgent armies has taken full control of a strategically important township in Kachin state on the border with China, its information officer told Radio Free Asia. The Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, together with People’s Defense Forces loyal to the shadow National Unity Government, defeated junta forces to capture their last remaining battalion base in Momauk township in northern Myanmar on Monday, Col. Naw Bu said. “We were able to completely seize Infantry Battalion 437,” he said. “The military council launched airstrikes but now we can say we have taken control of the whole of Momauk township.” There were casualties on both sides, Naw Bu said, but he declined to give details. RFA telephoned the junta’s Kachin state spokesman and social affairs minister Moe Min Thei to ask about Momauk but he did not answer. The KIA, fighting for self-determination against the forces of the junta that toppled a democratically elected government in 2021, launched an initial attack on Momauk on May 7, then began their final push, along with their allies, on July 24. Momauk is about 130 kilometers (870 miles) south of the Kachin state capital of Myitkyina, and only about 14 kilometers (9 miles) east of the town of Bhamo where the junta’s Operations and Command Headquarters 21 is based, Naw Bu said. Junta forces had withdrawn towards Bhamo, which is on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, he said. The KIA and its allies have captured more than 20 junta camps in the township since late July and about 200 junta camps in the whole of Kachin state since the beginning of the year, he said. RELATED STORIES China fires into Myanmar after junta airstrike on border, group says Fighting flares near state capital in north Myanmar Northern Myanmar residents caught up in fighting, dozens hurt Residents flee fighting Junta airstrikes, artillery attacks and arson led to the destruction of more than 100 homes in Momauk and more than 3,000 people had fled, many to the safety of areas under KIA control, residents said. One displaced resident sheltering near the Chinese border said he was afraid of more fighting. “The town is being cleared up but I haven’t gone back,” said the man, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “I would like to check my home if I could but I’m still worried that there will be more fighting,” he said, referring to Bhamo and Mansi towns where junta forces are based. “There are so many difficulties when we flee and shelter with relatives”. The KIA is one of several insurgent forces to make significant gains against junta forces since late last year. An alliance of three rebel factions has pushed junta forces out of major towns in Shan state, to the southeast of Kachin state, while the military has lost ground to ethnic minority insurgents in Rakhine state in the west, and in Kayah and Kayin states in the east, as well as in parts of the deep south. The junta has responded with airstrikes including on the KIA headquarters at Lai Zar on Aug. 15. That attack unsettled neighboring China, which fired warning shots at junta jets, according to the KIA. The United Nations says about 3 million people have been forced from their homes by the fighting in Myanmar, many since clashes surged at the beginning of the year. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Category: Europe