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Trafficked teens tell of torture at scam ‘casino’ on Myanmar’s chaotic border

Editor1 year ago026 mins

It was a clear day when Kham set out from his home in northwestern Laos for what he thought was a chance to make money in the gilded gambling towns of the Golden Triangle, the border region his country shares with Thailand and Myanmar. On that day – a Friday, as he recalled – the teenager had gotten a Facebook note from a stranger: a young woman asking what he was doing and if he wanted to make some cash. He agreed to meet that afternoon. She picked up Kham, 16, along with a friend, and off they went, their parents none the wiser. “I thought to myself I’d work for a month or two then I’d go home,” Kham later said. (RFA has changed the real names of the victims in this story to protect them from possible reprisals.) But instead of a job, Kham ended up trafficked and held captive in a nondescript building on the Burmese-Thai border, some 200 miles south of the Golden Triangle and 400 miles from his home – isolated from the outside world, tortured and forced into a particular kind of labor: to work as a cyber-scammer. Barbed wire fences are seen outside a shuttered Great Wall Park compound where Cambodian authorities said they had recovered evidence of human trafficking, kidnapping and torture during raids on suspected cybercrime compounds in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in Sept. 2022. Credit: Reuters In recent years, secret sites like the one where Kham was detained have proliferated throughout the region as the COVID-19 pandemic forced criminal networks to shift their strategies for making money. One popular scheme today involves scammers starting fake romantic online relationships that eventually lead to stealing as-large-as-possible sums of money from targets. The scammers said that if they fail to do so, they are tortured. Teen victims from Luang Namtha province in Laos who were trafficked to a place they called the “Casino Kosai,” in an isolated development near the city of Myawaddy on Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand, have described their ordeal to RFA. Chillingly, dozens of teenagers and young people from Luang Namtha are still believed to be trapped at the site, along with victims from other parts of Asia. The case is but the tip of the iceberg in the vast networks of human trafficking that claim over 150,000 victims a year in Southeast Asia. Yet it encapsulates how greed and political chaos mix to allow crime to operate unchecked, with teenagers like Kham paying the price. This fake Facebook ad for the Sands International is for a receptionist. It lists job benefits of 31,000 baht salary, free accommodation and two days off per month. Qualifications are passport holder, Thai citizen, 20-35 years old and the ability to work in Cambodia. Credit: RFA screenshot The promise of cash Typically, it starts with the lure of a job. In the case of Lao teenagers RFA spoke to, the bait can be as simple as a message over Facebook or a messaging app. Other scams have involved more elaborate cons, with postings for seemingly legitimate jobs that have ensnared everyone from professionals to laborers to ambitious youths. What they have in common is the promise of high pay in glitzy, if sketchy, casino towns around Southeast Asia – many built with the backing of Chinese criminal syndicates that operate in poorly policed borderlands difficult to reach. Before 2020, “a lot of these places were involved in two things: gambling, where groups of Thais and Chinese were going for a weekend casino holiday, or online betting,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch. “Then, all of a sudden COVID hits, and these syndicates [that ran the casinos] decided to change their business model. What they came up with was scamming.” A motorbike drives past a closed casino in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in Feb. 2020. As travel restrictions bit during the pandemic, syndicates that ran the casinos shifted their focus from gambling to scams, says Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. Credit: Reuters Today, gambling towns like Sihanoukville, in Cambodia, and the outskirts of Tonpheung, on the Laos side of the Golden Triangle, have become notorious for trapping people looking for work into trafficking. But besides these places, there are also numerous unregulated developments where scamming “casinos” operate with little outside scrutiny, including on the Thai-Burmese border. Keo, 18, had a legitimate job at a casino in Laos when he was contacted via WhatsApp by a man who said he could make much more – 13 million kip ($766) a month, plus bonuses – by working in Thailand. He could leave whenever he wanted, the person claimed. “I thought about the new job offer for two days, then I said yes on the third day because the offer would pay more salary, plus commission and I can go home anytime,” Keo said. He quit his job by lying to his boss, saying he was going to visit his family. A few days later, a black Toyota Vigo pick-up truck fetched him, along with two friends, and they took a boat across the Mekong to Thailand. Scams By that time, Keo realized he was being trafficked – the two men who escorted him and his friends were armed. “While on the boat, one of us … suggested that we return to Laos, but we were afraid to ask,” as the men carried guns and knives. He dared not jump. “Later, one of us suggested we call our parents – but the men said, ‘On the boat, we don’t use the telephone.’ We dared not call our parents because we were afraid of being harmed,” he said. “So, we kept quiet until we reached the Thai side.” Both Keo and Kham told RFA that they were eventually trafficked to Myawaddy Township, an area some 300 miles south of the Golden Triangle. Kham only remembered parts of the journey, when he was made to walk for miles. Keo told RFA Laos he was transported by a…

Brazilian kickboxer granted Cambodian citizenship after promoting national sport

Editor1 year ago05 mins

At Prime Minister Hun Sen’s behest, Cambodia has granted a Brazilian kickboxer and his wife citizenship for promoting Kun Khmer, the national sport, in the latest development in a controversy with Thailand, which calls the sport Muay Thai. Hun Sen also gave a U.S.$20,000 sponsorship to Thiago Teixeira, 34, who with his wife Roma Maria Rozanska-Steffen, an American citizen, became naturalized Cambodian citizens by King Norodom Sihamoni through a royal decree dated April 11, the Phnom Penh Post reported. The announcement came after the World Muay Thai Organization, or WMO, stripped Teixeira of a middleweight title that he won at the Apex Fight Series on April 1 in Germany, during which he waved Cambodia’s flag. Teixeira had said he wanted to represent Kun Khmer instead of being a Muay Thai fighter, despite training in the Thai sport for years. The two martial art forms — the most popular sports in their respective countries — are nearly identical and involve punching, kneeing and kicking opponents. But Cambodians argue that the sport originated from their culture, while Thais say it belongs to them. Cambodia has removed Muay Thai from a list of sports included in this year’s Southeast Asia Games, replacing it with Kun Khmer, amid a larger push for the national sport to gain international recognition. The biennial sports event will be held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on May 5-17. Political ploy? Critics said the prime minister was using the issue to try to increase his popularity among Cambodian voters ahead of July’s general election. Legal expert Vorn Chan Lout said Cambodia should be extra cautious before granting citizenship to foreigners because the law requires them to live in the country for three years and understand its culture to be eligible. “Politicians are smart to take advantage of events, but the most important thing is the government needs to have a long-term vision in order to pay gratitude to all athletes,” he said. Cambodia’s Citizenship Law allows foreigners to acquire citizenship through marriage and naturalization, though they must stay in the Southeast Asian nation for three years. Am Sam Ath of Licadho said Hun Sen’s government should support Cambodia’s home-grown martial arts athletes rather than foreign ones. “I urge the government to pay attention to Kun Khmer and to encourage athletes with sufficient training so they are able to fight,” he said. Cambodian kickboxers have complained that they are underpaid in the sport. Veteran Kun Khmer fighter Vong Noy said he stopped fighting because his earnings from the sport were not enough to support his family or pay medical bills for injuries he sustained during fights. “I stopped fighting now because I have been fighting for many years,” he wrote on Facebook. “I got famous, but I am facing financial issues, and I’m afraid that I will become disabled and not make enough money to raise my children.” RFA could not reach Teixeira for comment, but he told local media during a press conference in Phnom Penh after signing a contract with the World Champion Kun Khmer Club, that he already considered Cambodia his home and he would help promote Kun Khmer to the rest of the world. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

China leads, as wind and solar reach record power generation in 2022

Editor1 year ago09 mins

Wind and solar reached a record 12% share of global electricity generation in 2022, up from 10% in 2021, with China leading in both sectors, a report by an independent think tank said Wednesday. Solar was the fastest-growing source of electricity for the eighteenth year in a row, rising by 24% year-on-year, according to the fourth Global Electricity Review released by Ember, a U.K.-based energy and climate research group. The global growth in wind and solar power was primarily driven by rising use in China, which accounted for 37% of the worldwide increase. Solar’s share of global power output last year was 4.5%, or 1,284 terawatt hours, up from 3.7% in 2021. A terawatt hour is equal to 1 trillion watts of power for one hour. Meanwhile, 312 terawatt hours of wind energy were added to global electricity generation in 2022. It means wind now contributes to 7.6%, or 2,160 terawatt hours, in the international power mix, up from 6.6% last year, an increase of 17% year-on-year. Ember said 2022 is “a turning point in the world’s transition to clean power.” “2022 beat 2020 as the cleanest ever year, as emissions intensity reached a record low of 436 gCO2/kWh [grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated], “the report said. The data revealed that China emerged as the global leader in solar, generating 418 terawatt hours of electricity, accounting for 4.7% of the country’s total electricity. The report said about a fifth (or 55 gigawatts) of all the solar panels installed globally in 2022 were on China’s rooftops, driven mainly by an innovative three-year policy called “Whole-County Rooftop Solar” that started in 2021. Wind power stations of German utility RWE, one of Europe’s biggest electricity companies are pictured in front of RWE’s brown coal fired power plants of Neurath, Germany, Mar. 18, 2022. Credit: Reuters China also retained its position as the world’s largest wind power generator in 2022, with a 9.3% wind share in its electricity mix. Denmark took the lead in wind generation by percentage share, with 55% of its electricity coming from wind power alone, while Chile topped the list of countries with the highest share of solar energy, with 17% solar in its electricity output. In the U.S., the share of wind and solar in total electricity generation increased from 13% in 2021 to 15%, or 644 terawatts hours, in 2022. Around 60% of its electricity still comes from fossil fuels, with a large chunk coming from gas, followed by coal. 80% of the rise in global electricity demand was met by new wind and solar generation in 2022, said the report that collated 2022 electricity data from 78 countries, representing 93% of global electricity demand. “Electricity is cleaner than ever, but we are using more of it,” the report said. The combination of all renewable energy sources and nuclear power represented a 39% share of global electricity generation last year, a new record high. The power sector is the most significant global contributor to planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions. China, the largest CO2 emitter due to coal Among the top 10 power sector emitters, China led the world by three times more than the U.S., the second-biggest carbon dioxide emitter. Ember said China produced the most CO2 emissions of any power sector in the world last year since coal alone made up 61% of China’s electricity mix, which is 17 percentage points fall from 78% in 2000, even though in absolute terms, it is five times higher compared to the start of this century. At 4,694 million metric tons of CO2, China accounted for 38% of total global emissions from electricity generation. However, China alone accounted for 53% of the world’s coal-fired electricity generation in 2022, which showed a dramatic revival in appetite as new coal power plants were announced, permitted, and went under construction dramatically in China. “China is the world’s biggest coal power country but also the leader in absolute wind and solar generation,” said Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, the report’s lead author and Ember’s senior electricity analyst. “Choices being made about energy in the country have worldwide implications. Whether peaking fossil generation globally happens in 2023 is largely down to China.” Li Shuo, a senior policy advisor for Greenpeace in East Asia, said China is “the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to the global power sector.” “China has no doubt been leading global renewable energy expansion. But at the same time, the country is accelerating coal project approval,” Li said, adding such a dichotomous relationship “won’t carry the country far to truly decarbonize.” Coal power remained the single largest source of electricity worldwide in 2022, producing 36%, or 10,186 terawatt hours, of global electricity. In 2022, coal power rose by 108 terawatt hours, a 1.1% increase, reaching a record high, largely attributed to the global gas crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war and the revival of coal-fired power stations to meet demand by some countries. Coal use for electricity rose in India by 7.2%, in the E.U. by 6.4%, in Japan by 3.1%, and in China by 1.5%. Gas-fired power generation fell by 0.2%. Overall, that still meant that power sector emissions increased by 1.3% in 2022, reaching an all-time high of 12,431 million metric tons of CO2, the report said. Without renewables, it is estimated that power sector emissions from fossil fuels would have been 20% higher in 2022. Last year may have been the “peak” of electricity emissions and the final year of fossil power growth, with clean power meeting all demand growth this year, according to Ember’s forecast. According to modeling by the International Energy Agency, the electricity sector needs to move from being the highest emitting sector to the first sector to reach net zero by 2040 to achieve economy-wide net zero by 2050. This would mean wind and solar reaching 41% of global electricity by 2030, compared to 12% in 2022. Edited by Mike Firn.

In four languages, young Uyghur gives video testimony about detained uncle

Editor1 year ago09 mins

For Nefise Oghuz, giving testimony about the illegal imprisonment of her uncle and what she says is the genocide of Uyghurs in western China was her “duty.” The 20-year-old Uyghur student provided statements in four languages — Uyghur, English, Mandarin and Turkish — on social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, about how police in Urumqi, capital of western China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, arrested her uncle, Alim Abdukerim, 33, at his home on Aug. 28, 2017. “I dared to share this video testimony as I could not bear the sufferings of my people facing genocide,” she told Radio Free Asia. “I could not accept the fate of my uncle and that of millions of Uyghurs in the concentration camps, and I felt terrible for my nephew, who had not seen his father even once after he was born.” Abdukerim’s family did not know his whereabouts for two years, though Oghuz later obtained information that he was in prison in Korla, known as Ku’erle in Chinese and the second-largest city in Xinjiang, two years after he was taken away. “My innocent uncle has been in jail for the past six years,” Oghuz says in the multilingual videos. “I demand the Chinese government release my uncle, Alim Abdukerim, immediately.” ‘I could not bear this injustice’ “My uncle Alim Abdulkerim has been detained in Xinjiang for six years because he is Uyghur. He hasn’t been able to see his son, Abdulkerim, who is now six years old. We believe he is innocent and appeal to the Chinese government to release him and reunite him with his family. pic.twitter.com/EdWEMkhVri — Nefise Oğuz (@NefiseOguzz28) April 2, 2023 The videos have received widespread attention from Uyghurs in the diaspora as well as an outpouring of reactions on social media. “Since we could not get any information about him, I could not bear this injustice,” Oghuz told Radio Free Asia by phone from Istanbul, where she and her family have lived since 2015. “So, I gave this testimony. For the past years, we kept mum, fearing that our testimony would cause harm to other relatives in our homeland,” said the sophomore majoring in English journalism at Turkey’s Istanbul University, who studied in bilingual classes in Xinjiang until middle school. “Although I have not openly advocated for my uncle previously so as not to cause trouble for my relatives back home, I have advocated for my uncle through various channels in a more discreet way,” she said. “Realizing my uncle had suffered too long, we lost our confidence in the Chinese government’s justice and began openly demanding his release.” Chinese police detained Abdukerim shortly after he married amid a larger crackdown on Uyghurs beginning in 2017 during which authorities arbitrarily detained ordinary and prominent Uyghurs, such as businesspeople, writers, artists, athletes and Muslim clergy members into “re-education” camps. China has claimed that the camps were vocation training centers set up to prevent religious extremism and terrorism in the restive mostly-Muslim region. But those who survived the camps say Uyghurs there were subjected to torture, sexual assault and forced labor. The U.S. government, the European parliament and the legislatures of several Western countries have declared that the Chinese government’s abuses against the Uyghurs amount to genocide and crimes against humanity. A report issued by the U.N.’s human rights body has said that the camp detentions may constitute crimes against humanity. . Reason for arrest unclear Abdukerim, who has a young son he’s never seen, was a computer engineer responsible for managing computer and internet-related business at a family-run company called Halis Foreign Trade Ltd. He and Oghuz grew up together. Oghuz said she tried to obtain information about him from relatives in Xinjiang and from Chinese social media sources. “We don’t know why the Chinese government arrested him,” she said. “He had never been abroad. I think the Chinese authorities detained him for being Uyghur and Muslim.” Following Abdukerim’s arrest, the family’s company closed its doors. His crime and the length of his sentence remain unknown, though Oghuz learned that he is being held at a prison in Korla that operates under the auspices of the Xinjiang Construction and Production Company, a state-owned economic and paramilitary organization also known as Bingtuan. His prisoner number is 3153. “I hope the Chinese government releases my uncle and allows him to meet his son,” she said. “It’s OK if I don’t see him, but his son needs to see his father. I will not stop being my uncle’s voice until the Chinese authorities release him.” Different languages Oghuz said she presented testimony in Turkish, hoping that the Turks would pay attention to the sufferings of the Uyghurs, thousands of whom live in the diaspora in the southern European country. She gave it in English, hoping that the international community would also pay attention, at a time when Uyghur rights groups are calling for concrete measures to hold China to account for its actions in Xinjiang. And she gave testimony in Chinese to try to force the Chinese government to respond to her demand. “For those who think they cannot give testimony in foreign languages, they may provide it in the Uyghur language,” Oghuz said. “Your testimony will eventually cause anxiety among the perpetrators,” she said. “The Chinese will see your testimony and worry that if more people like you speak up, they will expose their crime to the broader global community.” Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Philippines, US launch largest-ever joint war games

Editor1 year ago013 mins

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

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

Editor1 year ago022 mins

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

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

Editor1 year ago010 mins

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

More than 4,000 people flee into Thailand after fighting in Kayin state intensifies

Editor1 year ago08 mins

Intense fighting in southeastern Myanmar’s Kayin state has prompted more than 4,000 people to flee across the Thai border, where many have crowded together in makeshift camps on goat and cattle farms, aid workers said. Citizen video obtained by Radio Free Asia showed several dozen people wading chest-deep across the Thaung Yin River into Thailand. Some carried a bag or wore a backpack while others appeared to be crossing without any personal possessions. The refugees staying on goat and cattle farms around Mae Sot don’t have enough access to toilets and are dealing with hot weather, aid worker Myo Myint Aung told RFA. April is the hottest time of year. “There is no toilet for them at the goat farm,” he said. “We will have to relocate them to the cattle farm but since there are too many refugees there and transportation is difficult, they are still kept at the goat farm.” A person helping the displaced war refugees said there are currently 3,000 war refugees in Thailand’s Mae Sot district and over 1,000 in Mae Yama district. The refugees have fled intensifying fighting in Kayin state between forces for and against the military junta, which took over the government in a 2021 coup. On Wednesday, the anti-junta Karen National Liberation Army, or KNLA, raided two outposts of the military junta and the Karen Border Guard Force – an ethnic Karen force aligned with the Myanmar military – near Shwe Kokko in Myawaddy township. Shwe Kokko is the site of a Chinese-backed U.S $15 billion real estate and casino mega-project that has gained notoriety as a bastion of illegal activity, including drug trafficking. Fierce fighting also broke out at a casino residence and at the village’s Kayin New Year celebration grounds. Myanmar citizens from Shwe Kokko are seen at the Thai border after fleeing fighting between the pro-junta Karen Border Guard Forces and anti-junta KNU’s Karen National Liberation Army on April 5, 2023, Credit: Citizen journalist ‘We left everything at home’ People only had time to grab a few clothing items before leaving their homes, said Min Thant, a Myawaddy township resident who fled to one of the new camps in Thailand. “Shwe Kokko residents said earlier that they were going to flee as the sound of heavy artillery shelling was too close to our village,” he said. “The artillery shelling got even closer to the village around 8 a.m. and everyone fled here… We couldn’t bring much with us except some necessary clothes and ran. We left everything at home.” Thai authorities are helping displaced people flee from Myanmar to Thailand, and are helping them find shelter in five locations, said Ye Min of the Aid Alliance Committee, a Thailand-based migrant worker rights organization. “Thai authorities have designated some places in Thai villages, schools and some locations on the opposite side of the border from where battles broke out,” he said. “Thai residents from nearby villages cook food and send it to them. The Thai military is also providing them with water and health care.” Worries of possible forced return A staff member at Friends without Borders, a Thai NGO that works on the Thai-Myanmar border, told BenarNews that she is still worried that the refugees may be deported prematurely even though they are currently being treated with leniency by Thai authorities. “I praise the authorities for not barring them,” Pornsuk Kedsawang said. “But what worries me is that they may send them back too soon, so I beg the authorities to keep them until the situation is calm.” A Mae Sot resident said residents are planning to provide food to refugees with physical and mental injuries. “When a war breaks out, people develop anxiety and fear,” he said. “They are scared of bullets or injuries. They are worried that their homes and belongings would burn. They cry with such worries and anxieties.” Saw Khin Maung Myint, the junta’s Karen state spokesman, said to RFA that he has reported the refugee situation to government officials in Nay Pyi Taw. “Our government (state administration) can’t reach out to the refugees who are in Mae Sot,” he said. “If I may say, I think that the Union government is responsible for such cases. That’s why we report the issues to the Union government.” Saw Khin Maung Myint did not answer RFA’s inquiry about the situation of the fighting. Junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun also did not respond to a request for comment from RFA. A Myawaddy resident said fighting had calmed down by Thursday morning. The Karen Border Guard Force has not yet released any information about the casualties on both sides as a result of the fighting. RFA contacted the KNLA joint forces by telephone, but was unable to contact them. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news organization.

U.S. Embassy says it doesn’t support opposition – only ‘multi-party democracy’

Editor1 year ago07 mins

The U.S. Embassy said Thursday it doesn’t “support any particular individual, institution, or political party” in Cambodia, and only wants the country to have “an inclusive, multi-party democracy.” The statement from Embassy spokesperson Stephanie Arzate on Thursday followed a public warning from Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this week of a break in diplomatic relations if “Cambodia’s foreign friends” support opposition party groups and politicians. “Promoting democracy and respect for human rights is central to U.S. foreign policy in Cambodia and around the world,” Arzate said in response to an inquiry from Radio Free Asia. “We support the Cambodian people and their sustained aspirations for an inclusive, multi-party democracy that protects human rights as enshrined in the Kingdom’s constitution.” Speaking at a hospital inauguration in Tbong Khmum province on Monday, Hun Sen alluded to recent lawsuits and criminal court verdicts against prominent opposition party politicians. “You have to choose between an individual group that breaks the laws and the government,” he said. “Please choose one. If you need those who were penalized by law, please do so, and you can then break diplomatic relations from Cambodia.” In recent months, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and Hun Sen have been working to silence and intimidate opposition figures ahead of the July general elections through a series of arrests and lawsuits. In the same remarks on Monday, Hun Sen said he would continue to hunt and eliminate opposition groups – who he accused of committing treason – out of the political arena. In one high-profile example, opposition party leader Kem Sokha was sentenced to 27 years for treason last month in a decision widely condemned as politically motivated. The charges stemmed partly from a 2013 video in which he discusses a strategy to win power with the help of American experts. The United States Embassy has rejected any suggestion that Washington was trying to interfere in Cambodian politics. Cambodia’s Defense Minister Tea Banh says that if countries want to hold joint military exercises with Cambodia, they should invite it to do so and should also cover the costs. Credit: Associated Press file photo Ammo, fuel, explosives Defense Minister Tea Banh laid down his own challenge to foreign countries, saying that if any nation wants to hold joint military exercises with Cambodia, they should invite Cambodia to do so and should also cover the costs. Cambodia and China are currently holding joint military exercises – focusing on security operations during major events and humanitarian relief – at the Military Police Training Center in Kampong Chhnang province. The Golden Dragon exercises run from March 23 to April 8. Earlier in March, the two nations staged their first-ever joint naval drills in waters off Sihanoukville in southwest Cambodia. The province is home to the Ream Naval Base that China is helping Cambodia to develop. Tea Banh said the Chinese military has provided ammunition, explosives, gasoline and other military equipment for the joint drills. Additionally, the Chinese military will hand over all military equipment to Cambodia once the drills have been completed, he said. China has been the only country to reach out to Phnom Penh about joint exercises, the minister said at a ceremony on Wednesday. Other countries have only complained about Cambodia’s military, but have taken no action, he said. “If you truly have a genuine intent, please come have a real discussion about this,” he said. “How much would you responsibly be able to cover for the costs of expenses of a joint exercise?” Military ties between China and Cambodia have deepened in recent years, with Beijing providing aid, equipment and training. In 2021, the United States imposed an arms embargo on Cambodia over concerns about “deepening Chinese military influence” in the country. Wei Wenhui, China’s southern regional commander, said at Wednesday’s ceremony that China and Cambodia are important countries in the region with responsibility for safeguarding security and prosperity. He added that China promotes the development of peace in the world and pursues a policy of defense – not hegemony, or perpetual expansion or influence. The United States is committed to working with partners in the region to support a common vision for freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific, Arzate told RFA via email on Thursday when asked about Tea Banh’s remarks. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

Australia-Papua New Guinea security agreement concerns China, says PNG’s top diplomat

Editor1 year ago06 mins

Beijing has raised concerns about a proposed security agreement between Papua New Guinea and Australia, the Pacific island country’s foreign minister said Monday as he returned home from an official visit to China seeking development assistance for his nation. The prime ministers of Papua New Guinea and Australia said earlier this year that they wanted negotiations for a wide-ranging bilateral security treaty to be done by the end of April. Australia is the largest donor to Papua New Guinea. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang “raised China’s concerns on [the] proposed PNG-Australia Bilateral Security Treaty and its intended purposes,” Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said in a statement Monday. The two officials met in Boao, Hainan province, last week. Qin, Tkatchenko said, “went on to seek reassurances that the purported bilateral security arrangement with Australia was not in some way seeking to counter China’s influence in PNG and the Pacific.” Tkatchenko’s statement highlights the balancing act for Pacific island countries as China and the United States vie for influence in the vast ocean region. Over several decades, China has become a significant source of trade, infrastructure and aid for economically lagging Pacific island countries as it seeks to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and gain allies in international organizations. Last year, Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, alarming the United States and its allies such as Australia. The small island nations also hope to gain from renewed U.S. interest in the region. However, some leaders have said they don’t want to be swept up in superpower competition or to be forced to take sides in the Sino-American rivalry. In his statement, Tkatchenko said he explained to China’s foreign minister that the proposed security agreement with Australia was not only about defense and would cover a range of security areas from policing to biosecurity. He also asserted that Papua New Guinea’s recent decision to close its Taiwan trade office was due to a need to cut costs rather than geopolitics. “It will be one focused more on building PNG’s capacity and capabilities to face these security challenges from the external environment but more importantly internally,” he said. “It will not be solely [a] defense agreement between PNG and Australia.” Qin also mentioned China’s concerns about the agreement for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines next decade under the AUKUS security pact with the United Kingdom and the United States, according to Tkatchenko. AUKUS is widely understood to be part of U.S. efforts to contain China, which now rivals the United States in economic power and is rapidly building up its military arsenal. Qin, said Tkatchenko, “compared this alliance to a typical Cold War mentality” that goes against aims of nuclear nonproliferation and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone created by the 1986 Rarotonga Treaty. Tkatchenko said he explained Papua New Guinea’s strong support for the Pacific being a nuclear-free zone. China bankrolled Papua New Guinea’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2018, which brought together leaders of countries that comprise about 60% of the world economy. Beijing’s promise at that time to help Papua New Guinea build hundreds of kilometers of roads has not materialized. Tkatchenko said Qin reassured him of China’s ongoing support for Papua New Guinea projects it is involved in including rebuilding of police barracks in Port Moresby and maintenance of the international convention center, which was built for the APEC meeting. China and Papua New Guinea would also renew discussion on the possibility of direct flights between Port Moresby and Shanghai, he said. BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, produced this report.

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