World Archives - Page 155 of 208 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

Britain investigates Vietnamese billionaire’s funding of Oxford University college

Editor2 years ago04 mins

The British government is investigating a £155 million (U.S.$191 million) grant to Oxford University’s Linacre college by a Vietnamese billionaire. Education Minister Michelle Donelan told the House of Commons that the ministry would give an update in the next few days after looking into the grant from VietJet founder Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. Donelan’s comments came in response to questions from a fellow Tory MP as the House of Commons considered the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill on Monday, British media reported. Conservative MP Julian Lewis asked Donelan whether she was concerned at conditions set by the Vietnamese billionaire such as renaming Linacre ‘Thao College,’ considering Vietnam is a country where people seldom enjoy freedom of speech Dr. Nguyen Quang A, co-founder and former director of Vietnam’s Institute of Development Studies, told RFA businesses that want to prosper in countries such as Vietnam need to have a good relationship with the government. “In Vietnam and China officials use political power to make money from citizens and business owners. The relationship between businesses and the government is the crystallization of corruption. One party uses money to gain political influence and to enrich themselves while the official uses his power to enrich himself. That is corruption. This relationship is reciprocal,” he said. Responding to RFA’s questions by text, human rights activist Nguyen Thi Hai Hieu, a fifth-year student studying in the UK, said the British government’s suspicions were completely justified. She said she agreed with the decision to investigate the donation, adding that she suspects it to be a money-laundering case involving the Vietnamese government. Hieu said she believed that investing in colleges or supporting scholarships for Vietnamese students was a good idea but not necessary even though she considered the British education system to be better than Vietnam’s. She said Vietnam should prioritize investment in its own education system because there are many disadvantaged areas in the country, where equipment and facilities in schools are still limited. Thao signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Linacre College on October 31, 2021. After signing the MoU and receiving the first £50 million of the agreed funding, Linacre College said it would approach the Privy Council, a group of politicians who advise the Queen, to ask to change the school’s name to Thao College. Critics say that changing the school’s name would lose the history of the collage, named after Thomas Linacre, a British scholar, humanities researcher and physician. Linacre used to treat ‘Utopia’ author Sir Thomas More, along with Cardinal Wolsey, chief advisor to King Henry VIII.

Political prisoner executions would backfire on Myanmar junta, say analysts

Editor2 years ago010 mins

As talk that Myanmar’s junta was set to hang veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy and three other men went viral on social media Thursday, other junta opponents and analysts said carrying out the executions would backfire against the military regime that has ruled the country since a coup last year. The rumored executions at dawn Thursday did not take place, but critics said carrying out death penalties handed down after brief, closed trials on terrorism charges would bring more international opprobrium and galvanize domestic opposition against the unpopular junta. “There will be calls for more pressure against the junta in the international arena, and the junta will find it more difficult to impose their rule on young people across the country,” Aung Moe Zaw, chairman of the Democratic Party for New Society, told RFA. “I think more people will be out on the streets,” he added. On June 3, Ko Jimmy, lawmaker Phyo Zeyar Thaw of the National League for Democracy party that was banned after the military overthrew the country’s elected government on Feb. 1, 2021, and two other men lost appeals of their death sentences. The junta rejected the possibility of a pardon for the condemned men. Ko Jimmy, whose real name is Kyaw Min Yu, was a prominent leader of the pro-democracy 88 Generation Students Group who fought military rule three decades ago. The 53-year-old activist was arrested in October after spending eight months in hiding and was convicted by a military tribunal in January under the Counter-Terrorism Law. He was accused of contacting the National Unity Government (NUG), and People’s Defense Force (PDF), an opposition coalition and militia network formed by politicians ousted in the Feb. 1 coup that the junta has declared terrorist organizations. In September, the NUG declared a nationwide state of emergency and called for open rebellion against junta rule, prompting an escalation of attacks on military targets by various allied pro-democracy militias and ethnic armed groups. Myanmar democracy activist Ko Jimmy (L) and former Myanmar lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw (R) in a combination photo created on June 3, 2022. Credit: AFP/Myanmar’s Military Information Team First judicial execution since 1988 Ko Jimmy was also accused of advising local militia groups in Yangon and ordering PDF groups to attack police, military targets, and government offices, and asking the NUG to buy a 3D printer to produce weapons for local PDFs. The four death sentences, as well 111 others that have been handed down by junta courts between the military’s 2021 coup and May 19 this year, have drawn criticism from legal experts and rights groups, who say the regime is threatening the public with unfair executions. The United Nations, Washington, Ottawa, and Paris have issued statements strongly condemning the decisions in the cases now proceeding to execution. An appeal against carrying out what would be the first judicial execution in Myanmar since 1988 came from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who wrote junta leader Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on June 10, urging him to “reconsider the sentences and refrain from carrying out the death sentences.” If carried out, the executions “would trigger a very strong and widespread negative reaction from the international community” and hurt efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Myanmar, wrote Hun Sen, in his capacity as 2022 rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member. Thiha Win Tin, a former member of the All Burma Federation of Students’ Unions, Said plans to execute the four would spark an angry reaction from many quarters of society which don’t accept the legitimacy of the junta or the military tribunals that meted out the death penalty. “This is not a death penalty. They were simply arrested and ordered to be killed,” he said. “It’s not just Phyo Zeyar Thaw and Ko Jimmy. Many of our comrades have been killed during interrogations, some killed on the streets–unarmed and peaceful protesters arrested late in the night,” added Thiha Win Tin. Hatred of army will grow Mar Kee (also known as Kyaw Kyaw Htwe), a political ally of Ko Jimmy since the 1980s, said “the consequences will not be good” if the executions were carried out. “There were people in the country who accepted Jimmy and Zeyar Thaw and their work, and there were those who didn’t. Even those who didn’t accept them, as well as those in the middle, would be outraged if the death penalty were to be imposed on people for their political beliefs,” he told RFA. “I think the hatred against [the army] will grow.” Local anti-junta PDFs groups and other regime opponents have issued a series of warnings in recent days that they would retaliate if Ko Jimmy, Phyo Zeyar Thaw and the others were put to death. Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, at a conference in Naypyidaw Thursday, defended the planned executions as a necessary measure by a sovereign country, but did not say when they would take place. “Innocent people lost their lives because of these two’s encouragement [of anti-junta militias],” he said. “I just said innocent people. I am not talking about security personnel.” “At least 50 lives were lost thanks to their support. So how can you say it’s not fair?” said Zaw Min Tun. The junta has not provided evidence to support the allegations, and the spokesman did not elaborate. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Thai-based advocacy group, said that 1,958 people have been killed and 14,139 anti-regime activists across the country have been arrested in more than 16 months since the military coup. Of those, 11,081 are still in custody. Political analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe said no one in Myanmar would believe in the multi-party elections the military has promised to hold in 2023 if the executions were carried out. “When the elections are held in 2023, these guys, who were supposed to be contesting the elections but have been executed unfairly, would be absent,” he told RFA….

Migration from Myanmar to Thailand surges amid fighting, COVID concerns

Editor2 years ago08 mins

The number of migrants crossing illegally from Myanmar to Thailand has surged in recent months as residents of regions near the border flee fighting with government troops and outbreaks of COVID-19, sources say. Nearly 20,000 migrants trying to cross the border were arrested by Thai police during the last five months alone, with many discovered in life-threatening situations, according to the Foundation for Education and Development, a Thai-based NGO. Some had been left behind by traffickers in caves or forest areas near the border, foundation spokesman Min Oo said in a statement. “Sometimes Thai police officers would find them after receiving tips from local residents, and the migrants would then sometimes try to escape,” he said. “Just the other day, a car full of Myanmar migrants fell off the road into an abyss. Also, two women died of suffocation after being left in a crowded car in the jungle. There have been shootings on the road as well,” he said. “The situation is very bad.” The number of Myanmar migrants detained by Thai police is growing day by day, with many now facing shortages of food and shelter, Min Oo said. Most were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar’s Sagaing, Magway and Mandalay regions and Karen and Kayah states following the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup that overthrew civilian rule, he added. Others trying to cross have been looking for work after factories in Myanmar shut down due to fighting and the spread of COVID-19 in the military-ruled country, said Thida Win, a resident of Magway region’s Yayzagyo township now working at a garment factory in Thailand after crossing the border in April. “Most of the factories in Myanmar were closed because of COVID and the coup, and as a result many people were left without jobs. So instead of just sitting at home they took loans and came to Thailand to work,” she said. “Because we are here illegally, we don’t dare go out except to go to work and then return home. I send every penny I earn back to my sisters, and when my debt is paid, I will call my brother and sister here to work too, as they have no jobs where they live,” she said. Aung Ko Win, a second-year university student from Sagaing who is currently looking for work in a small Thai border town, said people pay between 20,000 and 30,000 baht ($571.59 to $857.39) if they want to work illegally in Thailand. “We are suffering from the war in Sagaing, so I left my family and came to Thailand when it became difficult to earn a living at home, and after passing through many checkpoints on the way, I got here and am now staying with a friend,” he said. “I have no idea where to find a job. I’ll have to take any kind of work that comes by. All of this is for the sake of my family.” Most illegal migrants in Thailand work in the construction and fishing industries or in factories, with others working as house maids or as hired hands in farming, sources say. They can earn between 10,000 and 15,000 baht a month, but because they work illegally they have no insurance or labor rights. Reached for comment, Adisorn Kerdphol — an official with the Migrant Workers Group in Thailand — told RFA he has raised the issue of the detained migrant workers with the Thai government, while a staff member of the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok dealing with migrant workers told RFA that the Thai government would deport the migrant workers after their release from jail. Speaking to RFA on Thursday, Pairote Chotikasathien, the director general of the Thai Ministry of Labor’s Department of Employment, said that Thailand has since January brought Myanmar workers into the country legally to fill labor shortages in industry and the fishing sector. “As for the illegal workers, we will propose to the government that they have them registered, hopefully by late June or sometime next month,” he said. Meanwhile, workers coming into Thailand illegally will still be detained and repatriated by the same route through which they entered. And though immigration law stipulates that an illegal migrant may be jailed for up to two years and fined 20,000 baht, they are normally just sent home, he said. The International Labor Organization said in a 2021 report that around 1.6 million people were unemployed in Myanmar following the spread of COVID and the military coup, with 25 million — more than half the country’s population — possibly facing famine by the end of 2022. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Additional reporting by Pimuk Rakkanam in Bangkok. Written in English by Paul Eckert and Richard Finney.

Family of young Tibetan still in the dark 6 months after his arbitrary arrest

Editor2 years ago04 mins

Chinese authorities arrested a young Tibetan language activist six months ago, and his whereabouts remain unknown, even to his family, sources in Tibet told RFA. Lodoe, son of Rigzin, is a university graduate in his 30s from Seshul county (in Chinese Shiqu), part of the Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province. As he is fluent in both Chinese and Tibetan, the government offered him a job, which he turned down to advocate for the preservation of the Tibetan language. “Lodoe was arrested unexpectedly by the Chinese authorities six months ago from Seshul County and taken to Chengdu, [Sichuan’s capital],” a Tibetan source in Tibet told RFA’s Tibetan Service, on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Since then, his whereabouts and condition are unknown. His family has learned from some sources that he will be convicted soon, but they still don’t know where exactly he is being detained at the moment — whether in a prison or a detention center,” the source said. The arrest of Lodoe is part of a larger crackdown by the Chinese government on Tibetan writers, intellectuals and cultural leaders. Authorities arbitrarily imprison them for long periods of time in undisclosed locations, without revealing the exact charges or the dates of their sentences to their families, sources said. “Usually officials from a respective county will come and take individuals away to detention,” the source said. “However, this time Chinese officials from Sichuan province came to arrest Lodoe. Many believe that Lodoe was arrested for having communicated with people in exile and also for advocating for Tibetan language rights. Chinese officials have still not cited any reasons for his arrest,” the source added. “We still don’t know the exact month and date of his arrest [either].” Chinese authorities have frequently detained Tibetan writers and artists who promote Tibetan national identity and culture — with many sentenced to lengthy prison terms — following region-wide protests of Chinese rule that swept Tibet and Tibetan areas in western provinces of China in 2008. Language rights have become a particular focus for Tibetan efforts to assert national identity in recent years, with informally organized language courses typically deemed “illegal associations” and teachers subject to detention and arrest, sources say. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Split between opposition leaders could solidify Hun Sen’s rule in Cambodia

Editor2 years ago2 years ago011 mins

The split between Cambodian opposition leaders Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy could help Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) hold power, sources in the country told RFA. Kem Sokha, while on trial Wednesday on unsubstantiated charges of treason, declared that his alliance with his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) co-founder Sam Rainsy was over, seemingly confirming rumors that the country’s top opposition partnership of the past decade had ended. Sam Rainsy, who has been living in self-imposed exile in France since 2015, attributed Kem Sokha’s statement to the legal pressure he faces and said that there was no change in their relationship. Such a split, if genuine, could help the CPP in general elections next year, and all but ensure a smooth transition of power from Hun Sen to his son, Han Manet, exiled political analyst Kim Sok told RFA’s Khmer Service. Hun Sen has ruled the country since 1985. “Hun Sen will transfer power to his son because he has seen sign of split between the opposition leaders,” he said. Mey Chandara, coordinator for the Phnom Penh-based Cambodia Youth Network, told RFA that the split will cause a rift in supporters of the opposition at a time when they should be unified to challenge the ruling party. “We don’t want to see them separate. We want the opposition’s voices to demand justice in the upcoming election,” he said. Sam Rainsy founded the Candlelight Party under a different name in 1995. In 2012, supporters from his party and Kem Sokha’s Human Rights party merged to form the CNRP, which was dissolved by Cambodia’s Supreme Court five years later after it performed well in the country’s 2017 communal elections. Candlelight, as a separate party from the CNRP, was technically not affected by the ban and has risen to become the largest opposition party in the country. Sam Rainsy has thrown his support behind Candlelight, whereas Kem Sokha believes that its participation in what he viewed as a compromised election earlier this month only serves the CPP and its claims of winning the elections in a landslide. Seng Sary, a political analyst, said the divide between the two opposition leaders was real, and not initiated for strategic purposes. He said that the split was initiated by Kem Sokha, who did not support the opposition Candlelight Party in this year’s local commune elections. CPP spokesman Chhim Phalvorun dismissed the idea that the CPP would benefit from the split between Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha. CPP will stay in power because it has the support of the people, he said. “When a wife and husband get a divorce, it is their issue. It has nothing to do with outsiders,” he said. If the rift in the opposition can be described as a divorce, it is not an amicable one, at least as far as Kem Sokha’s daughter, Kem Monovithya, is concerned. She wrote scathing criticism of Sam Rainsy on her Facebook account, accusing him of allowing Hun Sen and the CCP to use him to attack her father. “We think the ruling party wants to destroy the opposition party as a whole, especially the [Cambodia] National Rescue Party,” she wrote. “[The CPP] is doing two things. It is destroying Sam Rainsy through threats to arrest him, so he fled. At the same time, it is destroying Kem Sokha by using Sam Rainsy’s hands to attack him because he hasn’t fled,” Kem Monovithya wrote. “We think the ruling party and Sam Rainsy’s faction think that if Kem Sokha dares to defend himself or express any different ideas [from Sam Rainsy’s], his popularity will decline,” she said. Kem Sokha is now more popular than when he started the Human Rights Party in 2007, Kem Monovithya added. “Kem Sokha has been the main leader since 2007, so we will continue our courage and speak the truth, even if the truth hurts Sam Rainsy’s faction or the ruling party,” she said. “In simple language, we will fight both.” Activist yet to meet lawyer Cambodian American activist Theary Seng, who on Tuesday was arrested while she protested a mass trial that convicted her and more than 50 other democracy advocates for their associations with the CNRP, has still not been allowed to meet with her lawyer in prison. By forbidding him to meet with his client, the lawyer, Choung Choy Ngy, told RFA that Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar Prison was breaking Cambodian law, which specify that prisoners be allowed to meet with legal counsel to discuss appeals. He said he was preparing a complaint to the Ministry of Interior, seeking intervention from Minister Sar Keng to allow him to meet Theary Seng. “Theary Seng wasn’t at the announcement of the court verdict, so she doesn’t [officially] know what the verdict is, so my intention was to inform her and explain her rights to appeal,” Choung Choy Ngy said. “I am sad that prison officials didn’t allow me to meet her.” Prison Department spokesman Nuth Savna told RFA that officials have designated her as a special case, so they have worked to ensure her safety, so for the time being the prison will not allow visitors. “We didn’t allow the visit due to safety and security factors,” he said, adding that prison officials received information that there is a plan by Theary Seng supporters to protest in front of the prison. The prison should allow her to meet with her lawyer, otherwise it is a violation of Theary Seng’s rights, Am Sam Ath of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights told RFA. The U.S. State Department said it was “deeply concerned” about Tuesday’s verdict in a statement published Wednesday evening. “The sentencing of these opposition activists, many of whom are associated with the disbanded Cambodia National Rescue Party, is the latest instance in an alarming pattern of threats, intimidation, and persecution of opposition political leaders and parties. These actions undermine multiparty democracy and the rule of law,” department…

China nationalizes private schools in ongoing reform of education sector

Editor2 years ago06 mins

Authorities across China have begun nationalizing private schools, amid ongoing reforms aimed at bringing all educational institutions under the direct control of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Thirty-eight private primary and secondary schools across more than 10 districts were forced back into public ownership in the northern city of Xi’an, the municipal education bureau announced on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Shanghai municipal government said it had “bought out” around 20,000 places at the city’s private schools, effectively turning at least 30 private schools into free education providers. Former teacher Jia Minling said Shanghai’s government had previously welcomed private education in the city, and the number of private schools had mushroomed, many of them offering extremely high standards of teaching and facilities. “If they are taking back [the private sector] in this way, then it means education will be completely in the hands of the government,” Jia said. “Private schools make efforts to compete for enrollments, and the teachers are very responsible and really serious about improving the children’s grades.” Provincial authorities in the central province of Hunan, eastern province of Jiangsu and the southwestern province of Sichuan have recently all announced they are moving to ensure that private schooling accounts for no more than five percent of the education sector in their province. An education insider in Shanghai who gave only the surname Pan said the nationalization program appears to be gathering momentum across China. “They are gradually bringing them back into the public sector, although they can’t do that all in one go,” Pan said. “Now there are targets being set for each district.” “A lot of Shanghai private schools have reduced their fees … so now, not only do they not make money, they can’t even operate. They call it delisting.” The government has bought out some of the places at private schools, in order to enable students to pay no fees, according to reports, while imposing lower or zero fees on others. More than 17,000 school places have been forcibly bought out by the government, across 87 schools, with 30 schools now charging no fees at all. Eradicating private education Jia said the government was “interfering” with the schools’ private operations. “Private schools are responsible for their own profits and losses,” Jia said. “What right do they have to interfere with that?” “If the tuition is too high, they will not be able to recruit students. They are restricted by the market economy,” he said. “[The government] are building public schools with taxpayer money.” “Private schools are private enterprises that didn’t ask the government to invest a cent when they built their schools, nor were their teachers paid by the education bureau,” he said. “Now they want to take them back into public ownership when they see them doing well.” The ministry of education announced in August 2021 that there will be no more private education in China by August 2023. On June 15, 2021 the ministry set up a new department to monitor off-campus education and training provisions and to implement “reforms to the off-campus education and training sector,” and the CCP leadership then signaled on July 30 that it would crack down on private tuition schools and other measures aimed at slashing homework and out-of-hours educational activities. Training institutions were banned from offering subject-based tutoring on national statutory holidays, rest days, or winter and summer vacations. More than 75 percent of students in primary and secondary education attended after-school tutoring in 2016, the most recent industry figures showed, and the need to hothouse children privately to get them into the best schools was criticized by CCP leader Xi Jinping in March as a barrier to boosting birth rates. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

China balancing close ties with Russia and distance from Ukraine war: analysts

Editor2 years ago2 years ago011 mins

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is struggling to balance his country’s geopolitical interests with his support for Russia in the wake of president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, analysts said following a call between the two leaders. China’s foreign ministry said Xi had told Putin that Beijing would work with Moscow on bilateral cooperation, but struck a cooler note on Ukraine. “China is willing to work with Russia to continue supporting each other on their respective core interests concerning sovereignty and security, as well as on their major concerns,” it paraphrased Xi as saying. “China is also willing to work with Russia to promote solidarity and cooperation among emerging market countries and developing nations, and push for the development of the international order and global governance towards a more just and reasonable direction,” Xi told Putin. But he called for a “responsible” approach to the war in Ukraine. “Xi emphasized that China has always independently assessed the situation on the basis of the historical context and the merits of the issue, and actively promoted world peace and the stability of the global economic order,” the foreign ministry statement said. “All parties should push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner,” it quoted Xi as saying in a phone call marking his 69th birthday. According to the Kremlin, the two leaders discussed “increasing economic cooperation, trade and military-technical ties between China and Russia.” The Chinese statement made no mention of military or technical cooperation. There was also no mention of a trip by Putin to China, suggested by Xi during a phone call on March 4. “[Beijing] is worried about U.S. sanctions, but covertly supporting Russia won’t satisfy Putin, so they need to talk to each other personally,” current affairs commentator Lu Nan told RFA. “Actually, what Xi Jinping does will be a long way from want Putin wants.” A photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the Russian Embassy in Santiago, Chile is defaced in a protest in support of Ukraine, February 26, 2022. Credit: AFP Marriage of convenience Xi and Putin last met in person just before Russia invaded Ukraine, vowing to boost ties during the February 2022 Winter Olympics. China has refused to describe the Ukraine war as an invasion, nor to condemn Russia’s military action in Ukraine, blaming eastward expansion by NATO for stoking security tensions with Russia and calling for the issue to be resolved through negotiation. Chinese has repeatedly said there is “no upper limit” on bilateral cooperation, but vowed to play a “constructive role” to normalize the situation in Ukraine. Liu Hsiao-hsiang, associate researcher at Taiwan’s Institute for the National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), said the relationship between Beijing and Moscow remains a marriage of convenience. “China and Russia have no choices right now,” Liu told RFA. “China knows very well that even if it supports the West and the United States on Ukraine, that won’t win it the goodwill of the U.S.” “Russia is its natural support base … but when calculating how to support [Russia], they will always prioritize their own national interest,” he said. The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday it sees China as a close Russian ally. “China claims to be neutral, but its behavior makes clear that it is still investing in close ties to Russia,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement shortly after Xi and Putin’s call, adding that Washington is monitoring Chinese activity closely. “China is still standing by Russia. It is still echoing Russian propaganda around the world. It is still shielding Russia in international organizations,” the spokesperson said. “And it is still denying Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine by suggesting instead that they were staged.” “Nations that side with Vladimir Putin will inevitably find themselves on the wrong side of history,” the statement said. “It’s in the best interests of the United States for it to dampen China’s support for Russia with verbal threats and actions of appeasement,” Lu said. “China won’t overtly challenge Washington, but it will carry on quietly buying grain and natural resources from Russia, so as to meet its own domestic needs and also appear to be supportive of Putin,” he said. CCP ‘word games’ Liu said that when the two leaders last spoke in March, the war in Ukraine had barely begun, and both likely underestimated the strength of Ukrainian military resistance. “How the geopolitical situation changes in future will be the decisive factor,” Liu said of the bilateral relationship. “The relationships between the major powers will shift along with the changes in the way the war is going.” The call came as Xi issued a new directive setting out guidelines for the use of the Chinese military for “non-war operations.” The Chinese government has previously defined non-war military operations as actions to create military deterrence, international peacekeeping, anti-terrorist activities, anti-smuggling, anti-drug operations, and martial law. The full text of the outline has not yet been published. Germany-based analyst Wu Wenxin said the move has parallels with Putin’s “special military operations” against Ukraine, and indicate that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is trying to create a legal basis to invade the democratic island of Taiwan. “There are two reasons for this. One is that Xi Jinping’s status is threatened [due to the zero-COVID policy], and he wants to stabilize support from the military … ahead of the 20th CCP National Congress [later this year],” Wu told RFA. “The other is that Xi Jinping may want to invade Taiwan,” said. “But starting a war looks very negative, so he has come up with the phrase ‘non-war military operation’.” “The CCP is playing word games,” Wu said. Akio Yaita, Taipei bureau chief for Japan’s Sankei Shimbun and an expert on China, said the move is in keeping with Beijing’s insistence that the Taiwan Strait is part of China’s territorial waters. “Everyone is still very worried about whether Xi Jinping will use this kind of ‘non-military action’ as justification when he launches…

Three people killed as troops target villages in Chin State

Editor2 years ago03 mins

Three people died Thursday after junta forces fired artillery shells at a farm in Mui Tui village in Chin State’s Mindat township, residents told RFA. Yaw Man, an official from Mindat People’s Administration which is engaged in armed resistance, said a man and two women died when shells exploded. He said the military council’s Infantry Battalion No. 274 started shelling villages in the northern part of the city on Thursday morning. Mui Tai village is located 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) from Mindat. “A 70-year-old man, a 60-year-old woman and a 30-year-old woman working on the farm died on the spot. Another was wounded by bullets. The shells also landed in the village. Three houses were destroyed there,” said Yaw Man, adding the the injured man was being treated at a charity clinic near Mindat Township. Residents told RFA that Infantry Battalion No. 274, which is based in Mindat, fired shells seven times targeting villages, including Mui Tui, in the north of Mindat city from around 9:30 a.m. Locals said the army was not targeting local People’s Defense Forces (PDFs), but deliberately aiming at the villages. Calls to a military council spokesman by RFA on Thursday morning went unanswered. In the past, the spokesman has said the army had to open fire to destroy villages where local PDFs were sheltering and conducting military training. On May 23, heavy artillery fired by Infantry Battalion No. 274 hit a house in Madat village critically injuring an 11-year-old boy whose right leg had to be amputated. Chin State was one of the first regions in Myanmar to form militias to fight the military following the coup in February last year. More than 200 people have been killed in the state since then according to the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), which monitors human rights abuses. At least 10 civilians have been killed in Mindat City and Mindat Township since February 1, 2021. Fighting between junta troops and local militias has forced nearly 90,000 locals to flee their homes in Chin State.

Former Cambodian opposition chief Kem Sokha claims end to alliance with Sam Rainsy

Editor2 years ago010 mins

Cambodia’s top opposition partnership of the past decade is no more, one half of the duo said Wednesday, confirming rumors of a split within the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and raising questions over who can mount a legitimate political challenge to strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen. Speaking during proceedings for his trial on unsubstantiated charges of treason at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, former CNRP President Kem Sokha announced that his relationship with the party’s acting President Sam Rainsy had ended, although Sam Rainsy was quick to dismiss the comments as the result of legal pressure. “I am using this platform to speak about politics [to put an end to speculation]. Sam Rainsy and I are done. I would like to inform you that this is true. It’s no longer ‘Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha as one,’” Kem Sokha said in a rare courtroom audio recording that was later published by the pro-ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Fresh News media outlet. “Before, Samdech [Hun Sen] maintained a culture of dialogue with Sam Rainsy, but now there is none. He [Sam Rainsy] led the Candlelight Party to join the [commune] election and in doing so, he left us and attacked me. I want to clarify this during the trial.” Sam Rainsy, who founded the Candlelight Party in 2005 before joining forces with the CNRP, has been living in self-imposed exile in France since late 2015. The opposition leader tried to return in November 2019 to lead a peaceful uprising against Hun Sen’s CPP, but his plan to enter Cambodia from Thailand was thwarted when he was refused permission to board a Thai Airways plane in Paris. Kem Sokha told the court on Wednesday that he had “never supported” his former ally’s plan to return, which has subsequently been used by authorities to try and convict several opposition members on charges of incitement to overthrow the government. His comments came after being pressed by the court prosecutor to explain his connection to the events of 2019. “I didn’t support him. I asked my supporters not to join. If I were granted political rights by the judge, I would have held a press conference to explain this,” Kem Sokha said, referring to a court-ordered ban on his political activities during his trial. “I’ve decided that Cambodia is my homeland and I have no other place that I belong. I have no interest in bringing foreigners into the country to provoke chaos.” Speaking to RFA Khmer following Wednesday’s hearing, Kem Sokha’s lawyer Pheng Heng confirmed his client’s statement. “This is real audio recorded during the trial. He responded to the same questions [asked by the prosecutor] who accused him of assisting with Sam Rainsy’s repatriation,” he said. “Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha ended their alliance when Sam Rainsy threw his support behind the Candlelight Party.” Pheng Heng added that he was “surprised” that the court had allowed Kem Sokha’s statement to be taped during the trial, as reporters are normally banned from making audio or video recordings during hearings and said that he will discuss with his client whether he intends to file a complaint. Kem Sokha leaves the Phnom Penh Municipal Court following a hearing in his case, June 15, 2022. Credit: citizen journalist Rumors of a split Kem Sokha’s claim to have ended his relationship with Sam Rainsy appear to confirm pervasive rumors of a schism within Cambodia’s opposition that were reignited following a four-hour meeting last month between the former CNRP president and Hun Sen at a funeral for the latter’s brother, during which the two discussed national policy issues. CNRP supporters had dismissed the rumors as part of a bid by the CPP to fracture the opposition ahead of nationwide elections for local councils held earlier this month but had urged party leaders to issue a statement clarifying the status of their relationship. The CPP claimed a sweeping victory in the commune polls last week — a contest that rights watchdogs said was heavily slanted toward the ruling party and marred by intimidation and obstruction of the opposition. The official election results will be announced on June 26. On Wednesday, Sam Rainsy told RFA that Kem Sokha had lied about the nature of their alliance, insisting that “nothing has changed.” “We must look at the circumstance. Is he speaking his mind or is he being pressured? He spoke before the court that charged him,” he said. “I don’t change my stance. Kem Sokha is a hostage of Hun Sen. He can’t say what he wants. Hun Sen has threatened Kem Sokha that he will send him back to prison.” Sam Rainsy also alleged that the leak of the courtroom audio is “part of a plot” organized by Hun Sen. “This is a plot to show that Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha are splitting,” he said. “If Cambodia’s democrats remain united, it will mean the end for Hun Sen. So, I’m not interested in what Kem Sokha said in this circumstance.” Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017, two months after the arrest of Kem Sokha for his role in an alleged scheme to topple Hun Sen with the help of the U.S. government — charges he denies. The former CNRP president, who faces up to 30 years in jail, declined to vote in this month’s election and was joined by many of his followers. Sam Rainsy told RFA that amid efforts to return the CNRP to legal status, the best way forward for Cambodia’s opposition supporters is to rally behind the Candlelight Party. “While we are in the jungle, we need candlelight until the sun rises,” he said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

UN member states criticize China over Uyghurs at Human Rights Council session

Editor2 years ago2 years ago09 mins

Nearly 50 United Nations member states on Wednesday issued a joint statement criticizing China’s atrocities against Uyghurs and calling on the U.N. human rights chief to release a long-overdue report on abuses in Xinjiang. Paul Bekkers, the permanent representative of the Netherlands to the U.N. office in Geneva, delivered the statement on behalf of 47 countries, saying the member states continued to be “gravely concerned” about the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Bekkers cited well-researched and credible reports of the detention of more than 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in the region, along with widespread surveillance, discrimination, and severe restrictions on culture and freedom of religion that these groups face there. “We are also concerned about reports of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, forced sterilization, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labor, and forced separation of children from their parents by authorities,” he said. Bekkers also said the member states continued to be “gravely concerned” about deteriorating human rights situations in Hong Kong and Tibet. In the statement, the nations urged China to respect for the rule of law, to protect human rights, to provide unfettered access for independent observers to Xinjiang, and to respect the principle of non-refoulement, which prevents people who have the right to be recognized as refugees from being forcefully returned to countries where they could be harmed. The statement from the member states came more than two weeks after Michelle Bachelet, a former Chilean president who has served as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights since 2018, wrapped up a six-day visit to China in May, including stops in its far-western region Xinjiang. At a news briefing following the visit, Bachelet, 70, said she was not in China for an official investigation of the situation in Xinjiang, though she said she had “unsupervised” access to sources that the U.N. had arranged to meet there. Uyghur rights groups demanded her resignation after they said she repeated Chinese talking points and said she had been unable to assess the full scale of what Beijing calls “vocational education and training centers” in Xinjiang, but which the human rights community and scholars call internment camps. Bekkers said Beijing should stop arbitrary detentions and immediately release those held, end travel restrictions, and begin impartial investigations into allegations of racial, ethnic and ethno-religious profiling, which were among the eight recommendations relating to Xinjiang issued in August 2018 by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination within Bachelet’s office. Bekkers also called on Bachelet to disclose more information about her visit to China. “We are interested in more detailed observations, including on the restrictions the Chinese authorities imposed on the visit as well as on your access to members of civil society and to places of your choice,” he said. As for the overdue report on abuses in Xinjiang, Bachelet informed the Human Rights Council in September 2021 that her office was finalizing its assessment of information on allegations of rights violations. Three months later, a spokesperson said the report would be issued in a matter of weeks, but it was not released. Support is growing The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) praised the issuance of the statement, saying it was pleased to see many countries from Latin America and the Pacific sign onto it, though the effort was bittersweet. “However, like last time, there is no single Muslim nation among them. It is very tragic,” said Semet Abla, vice chairman of WUC’s Executive Committee. But WUC president Dolkun Isa pointed out that the number of U.N. member states supporting the Uyghurs has been steadily growing with 47 backing Wednesday’s statement, compared to 43 showing support for Uyghur issues in 2021, and 14 in 2018. “Even Israel was one of the signatories of the statement,” he said. “Even though Turkey did not sign the statement, it issued a strong condemnation and rebuke of the Chinese concentration camps.” On Monday, Bachelet told officials attending the Human Rights Council session that she raised concerns about the human rights situation concerning Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang during her trip. “My office’s assessment of the human rights situation in Xinjiang is being updated,” she said in an oral update at the session. “It will be shared with the government for factual comments before publication.” Bachelet also said that her office and the Chinese government agreed to hold an annual senior meeting on human rights and to continue exchanges on human rights issues of concern. “We are now elaborating concrete steps to put the agreements into action,” she said. Sophie Richardson, China director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, noted that Bachelet now has said that she will release the report before the end of her term ends in August or September. “And we certainly hope that she follows through on that,” she told RFA. “We are a bit skeptical, but nevertheless still think that it is extremely important to hear the United Nations Human Rights Office offer up its assessment based on remote monitoring of what Human Rights Watch deems crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities,” Richardson said. Bachelet also said Monday that she would not seek a second term for personal reasons, but later told reporters her decision was not connected to criticism over her China trip. “As my term as high commissioner draws to a close, this council’s milestone 50th session will be the last which I brief,” she said. Translated by Mamatjan Juma for RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Category: World