Middle East Archives - Page 5 of 33 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

Embattled Hong Kong women rights defenders deserve support and solidarity

Editor5 months ago011 mins

On International Women’s Day, as we celebrate the rights of women around the world and shine a spotlight on inspiring women, the women of Hong Kong who have paid a high price for fighting for equal rights and for basic rights and freedoms under an increasingly intolerant government. Women human rights defenders face gender-based challenges and restrictions that drive them to use alternative strategies in their activism to achieve their goals and overcome obstacles. They have demonstrated immense bravery and perseverance in the Hong Kong that has emerged since the imposition in 2020 of the National Security Law. During the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, young women were prominent in protests, and many faced gender-based and sexual violence. In particular, a number of women reported sexual assault and harassment by the Hong Kong police when they were in detention or in other forms of custody. Few of these cases were prosecuted and the perpetrators have not been held accountable to this date. Many women from Hong Kong said that gender-based and sexual violence was a known phenomenon, particularly at the hands of the police. They added that they would not file a complaint, because the investigation would also be conducted by the police, who were unlikely to hold their own officers accountable. Riot police detain a woman as anti-government protesters gather at Sha Tin Mass Transit Railway station in Hong Kong, Sept. 25, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) The women acknowledge the violations that they faced were an unfortunate part of pro-democracy activism, and although they did what they could to avoid assault and protect themselves, it was still worth the risk when fighting for democracy and rights and freedom in Hong Kong. In 2023, I wrote a submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on behalf of Hong Kong Watch, about these issues. I provided statistics and case studies, and interviewed women human rights defenders about their own experiences of gender-based and sexual violence, as well as what they observed around them. It was chilling to learn that such violations against women were normalized and that there were so few tools for accountability. But it is nevertheless inspiring to see these strong women persevere. At the United Nations in Geneva, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women did raise concerns about women’s rights in Hong Kong. The body urged the Hong Kong government to hold perpetrators accountable and strengthen the framework to protect women’s rights. They also warned the Hong Kong government against using national security and public order measures in a way that could violate women’s rights. A year on, the Hong Kong government has yet to implement these recommendations or show that they are taking women’s rights seriously. Chow Hang-tung At the top of the list of women deserving support on this day is Chow Hang-tung. The former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Chow was charged with “inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly” for a Tiananmen Square Massacre vigil in 2021. Remanded in custody since September 2021, Chow, an activist and lawyer, faces a potential 10 years in jail if convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” in a trial that is expected to begin in late 2024. Having reviewed her circumstances, the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Chow was arbitrarily detained, should be released immediately, and that her treatment is in contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Hong Kong is a signatory. Activist and barrister Chow Hang-tung arrives at the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on June 8, 2023. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP) Chow faces a number of very serious violations to her rights and freedoms, some of which are related to her gender. One thing is clear: she deserves to be free and to exercise her rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Chow remains calm and poised and a source of hope for many of us who stand up to the Hong Kong government, as well as the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. She has not given up and shows no sign of doing so. This year, Chow was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Swedish MP Guri Melby. Her brave and principled peaceful activism against the Chinese Communist Party makes her a deserving candidate. Chow has made immense sacrifices for the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, as well as the people of China. Article 23 advances Many more women in Hong Kong languish behind bars, many of whom are political prisoners, in the jurisdiction that has the highest percentage of women prisoners in the world. This includes women who have been arrested and charged under the 2020 National Security Law and the sedition law. Also on the list are women who were former key personnel at Apple Daily, former members of the Legislative Council, former district councilors, and many others. International Women’s Day this year coincided with the publication and Legislative Council reading of the Safeguarding National Security Bill, under Article 23 of the Basic Law in Hong Kong. Lawmakers take part in reading the draft of the Safeguarding National Security Bill at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on March 8, 2024. (Li Zhihua/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images) This fast-tracked law is set to prohibit new types of offences, and has proposed provisions which are vague and will criminalise the peaceful exercise of human rights while dramatically undermining due process and fair trial rights in Hong Kong. The bill will contribute to institutional violations of human rights, including women’s rights, in Hong Kong, and it is something the world must condemn and stand up against. Many human rights defenders, including many women human rights activists, are taking action today to raise awareness and coordinate responses to this Bill. On International Women’s Day, the strong women of Hong Kong who have fought for equality and against…

Kachin army storms northern Myanmar, taking 14 camps

Editor5 months ago07 mins

A rebel army in Myanmar seized over a dozen junta camps in the north, an official told Radio Free Asia on Friday. Since the Kachin Independence Army launched an offensive on Sunday, it has captured 14 camps near its headquarters in Lai Zar city on the Chinese border, said information officer Col. Naw Bu. Several townships in Kachin state have been caught in frequent conflict as junta troops and Kachin Independence Army soldiers fight for control of the area’s jade mines, highways, and border areas. Since China brokered a ceasefire between the Three Brotherhood Alliance and junta forces, Kachin state’s largest army – not in the alliance – has been a formidable opponent for the military in both Shan and Kachin states. Rebel soldiers seized camps on Myitkyina-Bhamo road on the fifth day of the six-day attack. “The largest camp, Hpun Pyen Bum where 120 millimeter heavy weapons are based, was captured on Thursday evening. Ntap Bum camp was also captured,” he said. “Most of the junta’s small defensive camps around Bum Re Bum and Myo Thit were captured. Now, these small defensive camps are being used [by the KIA] to attack big camps, like Bum Re Bum and Ka Yar Taung.” The junta army has been firing heavy artillery at the Kachin Independence Army’s headquarters in Lai Zar since Thursday, he added. The bombardment has impacted not only Lai Zar, but also the border with China. Shells fired by junta troops killed three civilians, including a child and a woman on Thursday. Three more fell across the Chinese border, destroying property, locals said. RFA contacted the Chinese Embassy in Yangon and national junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun to confirm the army fired shells into China, but neither responded by the time of publication. A Lai Zar resident told RFA this morning that the sounds of fighting could be heard everywhere as the junta continued to attack the city with heavy weapons. “Since this morning, gunshots have been heard in many places. There were more than eight rounds of artillery fired this morning until 8 a.m.,” he told RFA on Friday. “The shells landed on the other side of Lai Zar city, on the Chinese side and burned houses. Many people in the city have been fleeing to safety.” Grounded Flights and Closed Roads The Kachin Independence Army has not had control of these camps since 2011, Col. Naw Bu said, adding they also plan to reopen Bhamo-Myitkyina Road. The highway was closed in July after fighting erupted between the junta and Kachin Independence Army in Nam Sang Yang village, near Lai Zar. Bhamo Airport, Kachin state in Feb. 2024. (Citizen Journalist) Clashes in Kachin state’s capital have also impacted transportation in and out of the state. An airline ticket sales representative told RFA resistance groups began attacking multiple flight locations across the region. On Thursday, the Kachin Independence Army and allied People’s Defense Forces attacked the junta air force headquarters with short-range missiles. The groups also fired heavy weapons at Bhamo Airport, forcing it to close indefinitely and suspend flights. “Bhamo Airport has been closed since Thursday. The airport authorities have shut down the airport and are not sure when the planes will be allowed to land again,” a representative told RFA, asking to remain anonymous for security reasons. “I am not sure if the canceled flights will be replaced so I am just refunding people’s money.” A Bhamo resident who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons said fighting in the city continued into Friday. “The airport was attacked by a short-range missile and the runway was hit and damaged a little. People who are traveling urgently and the sick are having a hard time now the airport is closed,” he said. “Heavy weapons were also firing all night last night. I couldn’t sleep.” RFA contacted Kachin state’s junta spokesperson Moe Min Thein regarding the closures and conflict, but he did not respond. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.

Junta airstrike hits passenger bus in Myanmar, killing woman

Editor5 months ago04 mins

Junta forces dropped an explosive on a passenger bus, killing an elderly woman, locals told Radio Free Asia Tuesday. Regime troops dropped the bomb from a Soviet-produced Mi-2 helicopter on Monday while battles raged nearby. Five passengers on board were injured, residents said, adding that the bus was enroute to Dawei, the capital of Myanmar’s southernmost Tanintharyi region. Fighting in Dawei has already left thousands homeless. On Sunday alone, 1,000 residents fled five villages in the township after a local defense force attempted to capture a junta camp, villagers told RFA Burmese On Feb. 17, a junta offensive on Dawei city’s eastern side near the Thai border initiated a 10-day battle with local resistance groups. The fighting left 7,000 Tanintharyi residents stranded and in need of food and medicine. Troops dropped the latest explosive on top of a bus parked on Myeik-Dawei No. 8 Road in Thayetchaung township around 4 p.m. The victim was a 60-year-old woman passengers could only identify by the partial name of Aung, according to an official from the No. 2 Battalion of Dawei district’s People’s Defense Force. “An elderly woman who was traveling with Mandalar Minn Express bus died. She was hit on her back, underarm and face,” he said, declining to be named for security reasons. “Her body was cremated on Monday. Her belongings are being kept by the No. 2 Battalion until they can be given to her family.” The defense force has not been able to reach Aung’s relatives, and no further identifying information could be confirmed at this time. Intense fighting near the Win Wa Police Station in Thayetchaung township, 28 kilometers (17 miles) south of Dawei city, caused the bus to park on the road, the official added. Dawei defense force’s Oak Awe column spokesperson Yaung Ni told RFA the junta army bombed other villages in Thayetchaung township and a strategic hill nearby. Battles continued into Tuesday when a junta artillery unit based in Dawei township’s Za Har village fired heavy artillery. The blast exploded in Maung Mei Shaung village’s Shin Dat We Pagoda compound, injuring two civilians. RFA contacted Tanintharyi spokesperson Thet Naing to confirm these claims, but he did not respond. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

State-funded film set during Indochina war attracts surprising interest

Editor5 months ago06 mins

A state-funded film about a 1947 battle between French troops and Vietnamese resistance forces has attracted a surprising level of interest from theatergoers who have lined up to watch the movie and requested a wider distribution. “Dao, Pho va Piano” – or “Peach, Pho and Piano” in English (with pho referring to the famous Vietnamese noodles) – was released on Feb. 10, the first day of Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year holiday. Vietnam’s government often uses the state budget to fund films about historical topics for propaganda purposes. But those movies often fail to attract viewers and are usually pulled from theaters after a short run. They sometimes later air on state television. Despite little advertising, word got out on social media that the film was worth watching. Last week, ticket requests crashed the website of Hanoi’s National Cinema Center and long lines were seen outside a Ho Chi Minh City theater. Battle of Hanoi The movie is set during the final days of the Battle of Hanoi, the first battle of the First Indochina War fought between the French and the Viet Minh, an independence-seeking coalition led by Vietnamese Communists. A key scene in the movie shows a barricade in Hanoi’s ancient quarter where Vietnamese militiamen use lunge mines – a type of suicide bomb used against tanks – to resist an attack by French forces. The self-sacrifice allowed Viet Minh units to withdraw from the city to a region north of Hanoi, where they regrouped and later defeated the French. A scene in the film “Dao, Pho and Piano.” (Thanhuytphcm) The film’s director, Phi Tien Son, noted that Vietnam has produced a dearth of good historical films over the years. “The country’s cinema industry still owes the audience a lot regarding films about historical topics,” he told Vietnam Television. “I hope my colleagues will gradually pay that debt in the coming time.” Hanoi resident Nguyen Hoang Anh said the movie does a nice job of depicting the elegant, tragic and romantic characteristics of living in Hanoi in the 1940s. But there are unrealistic battle scenes, some over-the-top theatrical dialogue and many illogical details, she told Radio Free Asia. The filmmakers should have made it clear that the story was a fictional reenactment of an historical event, she said. “What worried me is that the film made viewers wrongly think that the French planned to kill all residents and whoever stayed back [in Hanoi] would die,” she said. “My family – both my mother’s and father’s sides – lived through that time in Hanoi,” she said. “In fact, there were options for those who decided to stay or leave.” Wider screenings The government spent 20 billion dong (US$812,000) to make the film, but didn’t allocate much funding for advertising or distribution, according to the state-affiliated VietNamNet, one of the country’s largest news portals. In response to demand, the few theaters showing the movie have increased the number of screenings from three times per day to 15 daily, according to state media. As of Feb. 20, it has generated a revenue of more than 1 billion dong (US$40,600) – a surprising amount for a government-funded historical film. Last week, distribution company BETA Media agreed to show the movie in theaters nationwide, the head of Vietnam’s Cinema Department, Vi Kien Thanh, told VietNamNet. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

Burmese city of Mongmit left ravaged after months of battles

Editor5 months ago04 mins

Months of intense battles between anti-junta groups and junta forces have ravaged the city of Mongmit in Myanmar’s Shan state, resulting in widespread displacement, lootings and arson, according to locals. Currently under junta control, the city was once a battleground where the Three Brotherhood Alliance clashed with junta forces. A ceasefire between the two, mediated by China, was established on Jan. 11, but battles persisted with the Kachin Independence Army, which did not partake in the ceasefire agreement. After launching attacks on Jan. 18, the KIA, in alliance with the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front and People’s Defense Forces, temporarily took over the city, residents told Radio Free Asia on Friday. However, on Jan. 29, the junta forces recaptured the city through a fierce counterattack involving airstrikes and heavy artillery. This offensive led to the destruction of over 200 buildings, including key structures like the market, monasteries, and a school, as well as 100 residential homes. In this tumultuous period, close to 10,000 inhabitants evacuated the city, abandoning their homes and businesses for extended durations. The resulting void has triggered a wave of robberies throughout the urban neighborhoods, according to locals. The Kachin Independence Army joint forces and the military junta fought in Mongmit city in northern Shan state on Jan. 28, 2024. (Citizen journalist) A resident, among those who have returned to the city, told RFA that he saw a group of people holding sticks and swords looting houses. “They took everything without leaving anything behind. It was a group of people in plain clothes and most of them were criminals in the past,” said the resident who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons. “They did not even leave the fence door. They took it away and no one dared to say anything. Then they burned homes. It’s already like a ruined city.” Another woman from Mongmit said that nearly all the shops in the city had been looted, including her own. “Our shop has been looted and there is nothing left, just like every shop in the city now. It was broken into and our goods were stolen,” she said, declining to be identified for fear of reprisals. “It’s worse where there are no people now, some of them are returning to the city.” Mongmit and its neighboring city Mabein have been under martial law since Wednesday. Shan state’s junta spokesperson, Khun Thein Maung, did not respond to RFA’s inquiries. According to the Shan Human Rights Foundation’s statement on Tuesday, a total of 27 civilians were killed by heavy artillery and airstrikes from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2, including two mass killings. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Taejun Kang.

Mud-soaked residents scuffle with officials trying to demolish their homes

Editor5 months ago02 mins

Pleading for help from the mud, residents scuffled with authorities in Cambodia’s capital on Tuesday as they tried to block machinery brought in to demolish their homes to make way for a planned high-rise development. “I can’t live without my house! I used to cultivate rice during the dry season, but now they say I occupied the land illegally, and they will confiscate it,” cried a woman named Kong Toeur while sitting in waist-deep muddy water. “All children must know this pain!” she shouted. “This is Cambodia law.” Another villager, Tim Ouk, said the villagers had done nothing wrong. “Authorities must stop all machinery from destroying our houses,” she said. Such land disputes are common in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries as authorities seek land on which to build apartment buildings and shopping malls. In this case, authorities have been looking for ways to evict food vendors and residents from the area next to Ta Mok Lake in Phnom Penhl’s Preaek Phnov district. The lake is the city’s largest, with a total area of more than 3,240 hectares (8,000 acres). Hundreds of hectares of Ta Mok Lake have already been filled in to pave the way for the development projects. About 200 families are asking authorities to set aside four hectares of land from the development where they can live. Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

China’s Xi appeared ‘humble’ but now rules supreme, ambassador says

Editor5 months ago012 mins

China’s Xi Jinping was once a “humble” leader who has “totally changed” since taking control of the country in the style of Mao Zedong, according to the memoir of Hideo Tarumi, a former Japanese ambassador to Beijing who left his post in December amid deteriorating bilateral ties. In the memoir published by the literary magazine Bungeishunjū just two months after he left his post, Tarumi describes meeting Xi during a visit to Japan when he was vice president under Hu Jintao in 2009. Tarumi’s job on the night was to greet each guest personally, and he noticed that Xi showed no sign of impatience while waiting to be greeted, despite the fact that Tarumi was running late, and took a while to get to him. The encounter was to leave Tarumi with the impression of a “humble” official, he wrote, adding that Xi has “totally changed” since taking power in 2012. “Xi Jinping’s aura has totally changed,” Tarumi wrote, adding that he is now surrounded by far more security guards than his predecessor Hu Jintao, making it hard to approach him. He said Xi has now steered China away from the decades of economic reform launched by late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979, and along a path that is closer to that chosen by Mao Zedong. Former Japanese ambassador Hideo Tarumi’s memoir in a recent edition of the Japanese magazine Bungeishunjū. (Chi Chun Lee /RFA) “Xi Jinping’s actions prove that he chose … to use a high degree of centralization to maintain the legitimacy of Chinese Communist Party rule,” Tarumi wrote, adding that the centralization of power in Xi’s hands now means that the formerly powerful Politburo Standing Committee is now subordinate to Xi Jinping. He said Xi had “sacrificed the economy to achieve national security goals,” or regime stability. ‘Contradictory’ But he said the amendment of the Counterespionage Law last year and the loosening of immigration controls are also tied in with economic development. “It’s a contradictory thing, and the ambassadors of Europe and the United States are also confused about it,” Tarumi wrote of the two moves. The reform era ushered in by Mao’s successor Deng Xiaoping saw people freed up to make money as fast as they liked, and the start of a burgeoning private sector and decades of export-led economic growth, while political ideology and authoritarian rule took a back seat. In August, top Chinese economist Hu Xingdou published a 10-point plan calling for a return to those policies, and a move away from Beijing’s aggressive “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy under Xi. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a daily briefing in Beijing, Aug. 3, 2022. (Andy Wong/AP) Yet Xi, who is serving a third and indefinite term in office after abolishing presidential term limits in 2018, is widely seen to be moving in the opposite direction to Deng. He’s cracking down on private sector wealth and power and boosting the state-owned economy while eroding the freedoms enjoyed by the country’s middle classes. Face-off Tarumi was feted as a “China hand” by the nationalistic Global Times newspaper when he took up his post in 2020 and has since gained a reputation as a fearless challenger of Wolf Warrior diplomacy. In the book, he also describes being hauled in by foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying and lectured after then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took part in a regional strategic forum on Taiwan, which China claims as its territory despite never having ruled the democratic island. Tarumi went reluctantly after instructing his staff to “ignore” Hua’s summons – and after the foreign ministry threatened to cut him off from all future meetings. Hua berated him with Japanese militarism leading to “the slaughter of many Taiwanese.” But Tarumi, who had served in Japan’s economic and trade office in Taiwan, retorted that he knew more about Taiwan than she did, and that Japan’s 50-year rule over Taiwan was due to the ceding of the island under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in the wake of the First Sino-Japanese War. Hua appeared at a loss for words at this, and replied only: “Some people say Japanese militarism started in the 19th century. These new interpretations are unacceptable,” according to Tarumi’s memoir. A few months later, Tarumi faced an even bigger problem. One of his diplomats was detained by police after having lunch with Dong Yuyu, deputy head of editorials at the Communist Party’s Guangming Daily newspaper, who was arrested for spying on Feb. 21, 2022. Hideo Tarumi, Japan’s ambassador to China, gives a speech at his residence in Beijing, March 30, 2022. Tarumi, who left his post in Dec. 2023, has published a memoir. (Embassy of Japan in China) “Foreign personnel engaged in activities inconsistent with their status in China,” Hua told a regular news briefing at the time. “The relevant Chinese authorities conducted investigations and inquiries into this matter.” According to Tarumi, the Japanese diplomat had presented his passport and work permits, informing the police that his detention had violated the Vienna Convention because it breached his diplomatic immunity. Tarumi made an immediate protest to the foreign ministry, meeting with assistant foreign minister Wu Jianghao, who told him that the meeting was “irregular.” Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s General Secretary Toshihiro Nikai before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 24, 2019. (Fred Dufour/pool photo via AFP) Tarumi replied that Wu had misrepresented the meeting and objected strongly, with the support of the ambassadors of 13 other countries, according to his account. Eventually, the Japanese diplomat was released. A Beijing-based journalist who declined to be named said China intensified its surveillance of Japanese diplomatic missions following the incident, barring them from taking part in exchange activities as they normally would, and isolating them in their embassy and consulates. Listening devices Tarumi’s memoir appears to confirm this claim, adding that a number of dinner invitations sent to prominent Chinese intellectuals were declined after the incident, while…

Spirit of Uyghurs is celebrated in paintings of ‘Home’

Editor6 months ago013 mins

“Home” means different things to young Uyghurs – some of whom may have not even visited their ancestral homeland in China’s far western Xinjiang region. That was the theme of the latest annual art competition for Uyghur artists and others held by the Uyghur Collective, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based youth group that has organized the annual event since 2019. Uyghur artist Gülnaz Tursun from Kazakhstan expressed admiration for the young artists’ sense of pride in being Uyghur, evident in their creations. “This art contest has a great theme, with each painting expressing sentiments of homeland, home and family,” she said. “It warms my heart to see that even while living abroad, our youth still harbor a deep longing for their homeland, evident in their works that reflect a profound love for their roots – a sentiment that truly touched me,” Tursun said. Munawwar Abdulla, the Uyghur Collective’s founder who also works as a researcher at Harvard University, said she and others came up with the competition five years ago because there were not enough platforms for Uyghurs abroad, especially those in the fine arts, to display works that “embody Uyghurism.” The competition is a way for Uyghurs living in the diaspora to preserve their culture, language and religion amid measures by the Chinese government to wipe them out in Xinjiang – which the mostly Muslim Uyghurs prefer to call East Turkistan – and replace them with China’s dominant Han culture. It is also a way for young Uyghurs who were born abroad to stay connected to their homeland, where the Chinese government has repressed Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities, and committed severe human rights violations that have amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity, according to the United Nations, the United States and other Western countries. ‘I felt compelled’ Thirty pieces by Uyghur artists around the world were submitted during the latest contest, with submissions due by Dec. 25, 2023. The entries were showcased on the Uyghur Collective’s social media accounts, and viewers voted online between Jan. 13-15. The Uyghur Collective announced three winners on Jan. 17. In second place, ‘Freedom and Liberty’ by Adina Sabir, 16, from the United States, shows a tea set and a wheel of Uyghur flatbread on a table with New York City in the background. (Adina Sabir) First place went to Kübra Sevinç, 17, from Turkey for her entry titled “Bir Tuwgan,” or “Relative,” depicting a Uyghur mother wearing traditional ikat robe while holding her child against a backdrop of mountains and two yurts on grassland. She won US$300. Competition judge Malik Orda Turdush said the watercolor painting was “elegantly drawn, skillfully portraying flowers, clothing and the bond between mother and child.” Sevinç, who incorporated symbols from the Turkish world in the picture, said she became familiar with Uyghur people and Xinjiang after her father attended a protest in 2019 and brought home the blue flag of East Turkistan, which has been hanging in their house ever since. “Upon seeing that blue flag, I felt compelled to do something for our brothers and sisters in those distant places,” Sevinç said. “I was following Instagram pages about the Turkish world, and a drawing contest on this page caught my attention. Given its connection to Uyghurs and East Turkistan, it felt profoundly meaningful to me.” Yearning for the homeland Uyghur artist Merwayit Hapiz from Germany said Uyghur parents in the diaspora play a crucial role in nurturing children to develop with a deep love for their motherland. “In those paintings, you can discern their profound respect for Uyghur ethnicity, Uyghur life and culture,” she said. “Their yearning for the homeland is palpable. The artworks mirror the Uyghur education and pride instilled by parents in the diaspora. A nation’s existence is revealed through its art and culture.” In recent years, authorities in Xinjiang have detained an estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in “re-education” camps, destroyed thousands of mosques and banned the Uyghur language in schools and government offices. China has said the camps have been closed and has denied any policies to erase Uyghur culture. “The oppression faced by the Uyghurs felt as if it was targeted to me as well,” said Sevinç. “As a Turk, the ancestors of the Uyghurs were also my ancestors. All my paintings have significance, and I was delighted to create art on a subject that means a lot to me, focusing on the Uyghurs.” “Freedom and Liberty” by Adina Sabir, a 16-year-old living in the United States, claimed second place and a $200 prize. The work shows a teapot, teacups and a wheel of Uyghur flatbread on a table. A doppa skullcap hangs on a nearby wall alongside an open window through which the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyscrapers can be seen. “‘In ‘Freedom and Liberty,’ the juxtaposition of two locations, notably the Statue of Liberty outside the window and the robust Uyghur atmosphere indoors, makes us think,” Turdush said. Sabir said she wanted to express her love for her country, the United States, and for her Uyghur homeland in her painting. “In this painting, the country outside the window and the culture within the house both are a home to us,” she said. “In this free country, we are able to live with our traditions. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom.” Kashgar spring Joy Bostwick, an artist originally from Flagstaff, Arizona, won third place for her watercolor painting “Spring in Kashgar,” a depiction of a lane in the city, a stop along the Silk Road in southern Xinjiang, whose Old City was torn down by Chinese authorities. In third place, ‘Spring in Kashgar’ by Joy Bostwick, an artist originally from Arizona, depicts a lane in Kashgar. (Joy Bostwick) In the watercolor, a Uyghur woman sells flatbread on a table shaded by a red umbrella at the base of a tradition building with a carved wooden balcony that is typical of architecture in southern Xinjiang, while another person holding the hand of a toddler…

Eight songs that didn’t make it into China’s Lunar New Year gala

Editor6 months ago025 mins

As people across China welcome the Year of the Dragon, the ruling Communist Party’s propaganda machine has stepped up a campaign of “positive energy” and “good news” about the economy despite widespread reports of slashed bonuses, unpaid wages and youth unemployment and disenchantment. Yet the songs that have truly resonated with people during the past year weren’t featured on the annual star-studded Spring Festival Gala show aired by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday. Most of these songs first emerged on social media and became quite popular – until censors blocked many of them. But people are still able to see and hear them using virtual private networks, or VPNs, or finding other ways to circumvent China’s “Great Firewall.” Some are still viewable on Bilibili, the Chinese version of YouTube, or other social media platforms. 1. “You’re Not Really Happy” by Mayflower “Are you happy?” an interviewer asks an oil-smeared mechanic at the start of a reboot of the 2008 Mayflower hit “You’re not really happy.” “Sure,” says the man, adding that happiness is fixing cars and not giving his parents any cause to worry. “But what about your happiness?” asks the interviewee. “I don’t know,” says the man uncertainly, in a remixed video posted to X by citizen journalist Mr Li is not your teacher. Undercutting propaganda images of a prosperous country that is merely undergoing some “problems and challenges,” the song’s lyrics highlight the need to pretend everything is fine, just to survive. “You’re not really happy — that smile’s just a disguise,” say the lyrics. “The world laughs, and you join in, hiding your tears. Survival’s the game, no choice, just comply.” “Why take this punishment when you’ve already lost … let sorrow end now, start fresh, breathe new air,” it concludes, striking a chord with X users when it was posted on Feb. 2, ahead of the Lunar New Year festivities. “Chinese people’s happiness is like North Korean happiness, like Stockholm syndrome happiness,” commented @pifuzhinu113541 on the video. “Because ‘unhappiness’ is a crime!” “This is most people,” added @Louis00135, while @DodgyLee1 quipped: “Propaganda department: Don’t spread rumors if you don’t believe them. Also the propaganda department: The whole country is brimming with optimism!” U.S.-based current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan said the song “lays bare the scars that lie below the glamorous image projected by the Chinese Communist Party.” “The video raises the question why, in the world’s second-largest economy, so many people from different social classes, men, women and children, are having such a hard time, and can’t achieve happiness,” Tang said. 2. “Descendants of the Dragon” by Namewee Malaysian rapper Namewee’s love letter to the “little pinks” drips with cultural references and political irony, and has notched up more than 7 million views since it dropped — just in time to welcome the Year of the Dragon. Complete with emperor figure in a Winnie-the-Pooh mask as a stand-in for Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, the song isn’t the first time Namewee has taken aim at the “little pinks,” some of whom recently also went viral in a stand-off with British boogie-woogie pianist Brendan Kavanagh around the public piano at London’s St. Pancras Station. Images and references to Winnie-the-Pooh are banned by Chinese internet censors due to a supposed resemblance to Xi, who is suspected of ordering the removal of Lunar New Year’s Eve from the list of official public holidays this year, because its name (除夕 chúxì）is a homophone for “get rid of Xi” (除习 chúxí). According to Namewee’s Facebook page, the song is satirically “dedicated to every Chinese at home and abroad from all over the world (including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), to defend the dignity of the Chinese people!” “As a ‘descendant of the dragon,’ we must always remember: Love the party, love the country, love the chairman!” The track fires out multiple puns on the Chinese word for dragon, “龙 lóng,” taking aim at those who further the aims of the authoritarian government, despite not wanting to live under its rule. “There’s a group of people from the East,” Namewee raps, “who love their motherland but live in London, Cambodia, Northern Myanmar and Thailand … everywhere, from NYC to LA, chain-smoking, talking on the phone all day, to their cousins and their nephews, calling all their fellow villagers to come and join them.” “Hating on Japan and dissing the U.S. is our duty … flooding YouTube, criticizing and spreading fake news — FALSE!” it says. “His Majesty dons the Dragon Robe,” Namewee raps, while dancing alongside “Emperor Poo.” “Together, we learn to roar like a dragon.” A Chinese person who recently emigrated to Australia and gave only the nickname Liga for fears of reprisals said anti-communist culture is now hip, with the potential to reach large global audiences. “This is a new trend, the attractiveness of anti-communist creative content, which can be monetized,” Liga said. “It shows that people who are dissatisfied with the Chinese Communist Party are now a political force that cannot be ignored, despite not having the right to vote.” “Their influence is pretty formidable, with the help of the internet,” they said. 3. “Qincheng Prison Welcomes You” by RutersXiaoFanQi Chinese censors have gone to considerable lengths to have the channel silenced, filing takedown requests that YouTube has complied with despite growing concerns over Beijing’s “long-arm” overseas law enforcement. The channel’s song “Qincheng Prison Welcomes You” opens with the face of Winnie-the-Pooh shining down as the sun, and warns that anyone found insulting Xi will find themselves welcome at Beijing’s notorious Qincheng Prison. YouTuber @RutersXiaoFanQi puts out a steady stream of spoof videos and satirical content targeting Xi Jinping, in what has become a sub-genre using the hashtag #InsultTheBun. “Insult Winnie, commit thought crimes, the trail to jail is your fate,” sing the robotic synthesized voices. “Make yourselves at home, fellow inmates, old and new alike.” “You may laugh, but you’re on the list — can’t you see?” “The monarchy’s no longer a…

Myanmar junta kills 6 internally displaced women and children

Editor6 months ago04 mins

Junta troops shot and killed women and children living in eastern Myanmar, a human rights group told Radio Free Asia. The group was attacked while fleeing a junta offensive in Kayah state’s Shadaw township, Karenni State Interim Executive Council secretary Zue Padonmar said Wednesday. After being captured in the forest outside their village, they were taken alive as hostages. “It happened on Feb. 5. Three women and three children were killed. One of the women who was killed was pregnant,” she said. “The children who were killed were very young. This kind of incident rarely happens. They are war-torn displaced people … They were taken as human shields.” The victims included two disabled women in their 50s, a 33-year-old pregnant woman, and three children between the ages of three and seven. The women’s bodies were found with wounds on their faces and legs, likely inflicted during their interrogation, said Banyar, director of the Karenni Human Rights Group, who goes by one name. They were later shot in the head. The group was captured when a special operations force launched an offensive in Kayah state. The column was reinforced at Shadaw Byuhar Hill by a helicopter of troops who captured the women and children, along with a man, to use as human shields, Banyar said. Only the man was able to escape. The regime’s targeting and killing of civilians is a war crime, Zue Padonmar told RFA. The Karenni Interim Executive Council said it is preparing to take legal action against the junta in domestic and international courts. Zue Padonmar also urged the international community not to cooperate with the junta or sell them aviation fuel. RFA contacted junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun to confirm details about the alleged shooting, but did not receive a response by time of publication. The junta also carried out an aerial bombardment on a school at Daw Si Ei village in western Demoso township on Feb. 5, killing four children and injuring at least 10, according to local defense forces. A total of 4,500 civilians have been killed across the country in the three years since the military coup, according to a statement by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners on Feb. 7. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Category: Middle East