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Indian border fence cutting off crucial supply route to Myanmar’s Sagaing region

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese India is erecting a fence along its border with Myanmar, which residents of Myanmar’s Sagaing region say is cutting off trade routes and driving up the price of goods.  More than 1.6 million people have been displaced by conflict in Myanmar since February 2021, when the military seized power in a coup d’etat, according to the United Nations, with more than 50% of them – an estimated 821,000 people – from the Sagaing region. Many of the displaced there rely on cross-border trade from India for goods and medicine. Trade at the Tamu-Moreh border gate connecting India’s Manipur state to Sagaing was suspended in 2021 but area residents have continued to exchange goods through informal routes. India began construction of its border fence in Manipur state in June 2022 amid an influx of refugees from Myanmar, and Indian Union Government Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah said last week that around 30 km (20 miles) of the barrier have since been completed. Meanwhile, the junta has blocked roads leading to the checkpoint on the Myanmar side, and ethnic Chin commentator R. Lakher told RFA Burmese that India’s fence will make it difficult for residents in Sagaing to obtain goods and medicine from across the border. “The price of commodities has already significantly increased [because of the project],” he said. “This border area is relying on India for all its basic commodities and medical treatments. The local populace will surely suffer a lot of difficulties if the border fencing is completed.” A resident of Sagaing region who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, told RFA that those who need to cross the border are already being forced to do so at unfenced areas, where they must pay higher fees for transportation. “If the border fencing is completed … residents who have close relatives on both sides will face various difficulties,” he said. RELATED STORIES Closed borders with India cause food, fuel shortages in western Myanmar Food shortages reported in rebel-controlled areas of Myanmar’s Chin state Jailed Myanmar activists in India in danger of deportation: rights groups India shares a 1,643-km (1,020-mile) border with Myanmar, 398 km (250 miles) of which are located along Manipur state. The Indian government has earmarked US$3.7 billion to build the border fence, which will also cover 520 km (325 miles) in Arunachal Pradesh, 215 km (135 miles) in Nagaland and 510 km (320 miles) in Mizoram. Another resident of Sagaing told RFA that the border fence will impact people on both sides. “Not only the people of Myanmar, but also the people of India will suffer difficulties because people from both sides already have a long history of crossing the border,” he said. Rihkhawdar- Zokhawthar border gate bridge connecting Rihkhawdar town in Chin state and Mizoram state in India on February 10, 2024. (RFA) Salai Dokhar, the co-founder of aid agency India for Myanmar, said that the Manipur government is urgently erecting the fence because Myanmar’s anti-junta forces have gained control over its border areas. “As Myanmar rebel forces are in control of border areas close to India, the Indian government will have to deal with them, which I believe it does not want to do,” he said. Invitation to rebel forces While the Indian government conducts bilateral negotiations with Myanmar’s junta, it made overtures last week to the country’s rebel forces for the first time since the coup, according to a report by Reuters news agency. The report said that India extended invitations to Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, as well as to the China National Front, the Kachin Independence Army and the Arakan Army to attend a seminar by the government-funded Indian Council of World Affairs. A source with knowledge of the issue told RFA that Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is leading the preparation for the event, the theme of which will be “Constitutionalism and Federalism.” The source said that only the Chin National Front had confirmed their registration to attend the seminar, while the other three groups have yet to respond. Observers welcomed the move, which they called “pragmatic,” given the junta’s weakening grip on power in Myanmar’s border regions. “All the Indian borders [with Myanmar] are close to areas under the control of these [anti-junta] forces, and this shows that India has adopted more pragmatic strategies suitable for the situation on the ground,” said an ethnic affairs analyst, who also declined to be named due to fear of reprisal. Attempts by RFA to reach the Indian Embassy in Yangon and the Myanmar Embassy in New Delhi about the border fence went unanswered Friday, as did attempts to contact junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun for comment on India’s invitation to anti-junta groups. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told his junta counterpart Than Swe in New Delhi on July 26 that his government is open to engaging with all stakeholders in resolving Myanmar’s crisis. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. 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China investigates US company for refusing to buy Xinjiang cotton

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Read RFA coverage of this story in Uyghur. China has launched an investigation into PVH Corp., the U.S. parent company of fashion brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, for suspected discriminatory measures by refusing to purchase cotton and other products from its northwestern region of Xinjiang, home to 12 million Uyghurs. Analysts said the measure appears to be a retaliatory response by Beijing against companies complying with U.S. laws that ban the import of materials and products from Xinjiang suspected of using Uyghur forced labor. “China is attempting to retaliate against U.S. sanctions on Xinjiang region by imposing its own sanctions on companies that follow U.S. sanctions,” said Anders Corr, principal of the New York-based political risk firm Corr Analytics. “It’s a very bad idea.” “Beijing is trying to tell Calvin Klein not to follow U.S. law but to follow Chinese law,” he said. China’s Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday that PVH Corp. must provide documentation and evidence within 30 days to show it did not engage in discriminatory practices over the past three years. “The U.S. PVH Group is suspected of violating normal market trading principles and unreasonably boycotting Xinjiang cotton and other products without factual basis, seriously damaging the legitimate rights and interests of relevant Chinese companies and endangering China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” the ministry said in a statement. Earlier this month, China adopted a resolution condemning a series of U.S. sanctions against the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and providing support for affected companies. RELATED STORIES China introduces resolution opposing US sanctions on Xinjiang Uyghur rights advocates applaud addition of Chinese companies to US blacklist Uyghur forced labor bill heads to Biden’s desk after unanimous House, Senate votes In response to the measure, Alison Rappaport, PVH’s vice president of external communications, said the company maintains strict compliance with relevant laws and regulations in the countries and regions where it operates.  “We are in communication with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and will respond in accordance with the relevant regulations,” she said, without further comment. Genocide In 2021, the U.S. government declared that China’s repression of Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang, including mass detentions, the sterilization of women, forced labor and cultural and religious erasure, amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity. Legislatures in several Western countries passed similar declarations. To punish China and get it to change its policies, the United States and other countries have banned the import of products from Xinjiang produced by Uyghur labor. About 90% of China’s cotton is produced in Xinjiang, most of which is exported. Since June 2022, the U.S. government has blacklisted companies in China that make products linked to forced labor in Xinjiang under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, or UFLPA.  The law also authorizes sanctions on foreign individuals and entities found responsible for human rights abuses in the northwestern region.  More than 80 companies are now on the entity list.  This May, the U.S. Homeland Security Department added 26 Chinese textile companies to the entity list under the act, restricting them from entering the U.S. market.  Consequences Henryk Szadziewski, research director at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, said China is using the measure to lash back over criticism of its policies in Xinjiang. “This is very much a message to multinational corporations that they should not comply with sanctions and other kinds of bans placed on entities operating in Xinjiang,” he said. “It definitely is a countermeasure to what is being done outside of China.” Nevertheless, multinational companies that adhere to U.S. sanctions and exclude forced labor products from their supply chains could face repercussions in China, Szadziewski said. “If you do want to operate in China, you really have to operate by their rules and not by the rules of elsewhere,” he said. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcom Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Chinese nuclear submarine sank at dock: media

Editor06 mins

A Chinese nuclear submarine of the latest generation sank in late May or early June during construction at a shipyard in Wuhan province, U.S. media quoted defense officials as saying. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the suspected sinking of the sub at Wuchang shipyard, which had been believed only to build conventional diesel-powered submarines for the Chinese military. The newspaper said that the vessel that sank was the first of a new class of Chinese nuclear-powered submarines, called the Zhou class, which features a distinctive X-shaped stern. It was undergoing the final stage of construction when it sank.  The incident would indicate that the construction of nuclear submarines is moving to Wuchang from a previously known shipyard in Huludao, Liaoning province. Open source investigators reported unusual movements and activities at the shipyard on the Yangtze River in early June, when floating cranes were seen working to supposedly salvage the sub. Unidentified U.S. officials quoted by American media outlets said that China was trying to conceal the accident, which was a major setback for its submarine program.  ‘No information’ It is unclear whether the submarine had nuclear fuel on board when it sank and there are no indications of nuclear rescue efforts in the area in the following months. The Chinese embassy in Washington told news agencies that it “has no information to provide.” Taiwan, which closely monitors Chinese military activity, said it was aware of the reports. Defense Minister Wellington Koo said on Friday that authorities “have a grasp of the situation through multiple intelligence and surveillance methods,” the Reuters news agency reported, echoing words he used in June when Taiwanese media reported that a Chinese submarine had been spotted in the Taiwan Strait. RELATED STORIES Did the Chinese submarine accident happen? Singapore commissions 2 new submarines US denies coverup over sub collision in South China Sea China has the largest number of naval ships in the world – approximately 370 surface ships and submarines – according to the Pentagon’s 2023 China Military Power Report. Among them are six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 48 diesel-powered attack submarines.  China’s submarine force is expected to grow to 65 by 2025 and to 80 by 2035. Cadets demonstrate flag signals during a media tour to an open day at the People’s Liberation Army Naval Submarine Academy in Qingdao, Shandong province, China, April 21, 2024. (Reuters/Florence Lo) The suspected sinking of the Zhou-class submarine has provoked questions among Chinese military watchers. Some say that the waters of the Yangtze River around Wuhan are too shallow for new nuclear submarines.  “We must, of course, accommodate the possibility of a mistaken intel,” said Collin Koh, a regional military expert.  “It’s more likely this episode will end like the earlier news about a Chinese nuclear boat having met a mishap in the Yellow Sea or Bohai Gulf,” Koh said, referring to reports of an accident on a Chinese Shang-class nuclear submarine in August last year. British media at that time, citing leaked intelligence, said the Chinese attack submarine with hull number 417 was “caught in a trap intended to ensnare British sub-surface vessels in the Yellow Sea.” This resulted in systems failures that took six hours to repair and surface the vessel, resulting in the deaths of 55 sailors, the Daily Mail and the Times said. The Chinese military has never spoken about the incident and questions remain unanswered. Edited by Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Chinese truck convoys crowd main bridge to North Korea

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Read a version of this story in Korean The main bridge connecting North Korea has been packed bumper-to-bumper with Chinese trucks over the past week, indicating that relations between Pyongyang and Beijing are warming up and that trade is picking up swiftly, residents in China told Radio Free Asia. The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge spans the Yalu River border, connecting the Chinese city of Dandong with North Korea’s Sinuiju. Most, if not all, official overland trade between the two countries transits this bridge.  A resident of Dandong  told RFA that over the past few days more than 100 trucks crossed the bridge each day. “The frozen relationship between China and North Korea seems to be gradually thawing,” he said. “You can see that by looking at the number of vehicles traveling between North Korea and China through the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge.” Over the past few months, North Korea has been opportunistically cleaving to Russia, which needs all the allies it can get as Moscow’s war with Ukraine isolates it from the rest of the international community. North Korea’s relations with China have thus taken somewhat of a backseat.  But economically, North Korea depends heavily on China. The large daily convoys are drawing spectators who enjoy watching such a massive number of trucks cross the bridge all at once, the resident said. “The reason why the truck movement has increased these days is because fabrics, materials, and equipment are being transported to North Korea to produce clothing,” he said. “This used to be produced in China. This is newly developed news that I learned through a Chinese businessman who has ties to North Korean officials.” He said the trucks go out in the daytime and unload about 40 tons of cargo each. They then return at nighttime. Flood recovery efforts A lot of the goods being transported are needed in flood recovery efforts, another Dandong resident said. In late July and August, heavy rains caused the Yalu River to overflow its banks, damaging communities and even submerging several inhabited islands. “Most of the items loaded on the vehicles are construction materials needed to restore areas affected by recent floods,” he said. “Additionally, there are lots of raw materials being brought in so that North Koreans can make products that were previously made by North Korean workers in China.”   Previously North Korea would send large numbers of workers into China to earn foreign currency for the cash-strapped regime. But all North Korean workers were supposed to have returned home by 2019 according to international nuclear sanctions. The second resident said that the same kind of work is being done, just in North Korea instead of in China. “In the past, some Chinese companies with a legal address in Pyongyang produced clothing and electronic products in North Korea using Chinese materials and then changed them into Chinese products,” he said. In addition to sanctions deterring dispatched workers, the mood inside North Korea is also changing, according to the second resident. The North Korean government is also cautious to send workers abroad because it exposes them to the outside world and makes them less easy to control as they learn about life outside the top-down controlled North Korean society. The second resident said that it is difficult to export products labeled as made in North Korea due to sanctions against North Korea, so products made to order in North Korea are converted to products made in China. “It is impossible to count the number of vehicles lined up on the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, but at one glance, more than 100 vehicles are transporting goods to North Korea every day,” he said. “This is the result of both North Korea and China agreeing on various exchanges from the standpoint of mutual interest.” Translated by Claire S. Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.  We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta airstrike kills civilians sheltering in rebel territory

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar junta jets bombed a shelter for displaced people in a rebel-held town in Rakhine state on Thursday killing 14 civilians and wounding 25, an insurgent force official told Radio Free Asia. The Arakan Army, or AA, has made significant gains in its battle for self-determination over the past year, capturing 10 of the 17 townships and major military bases in Myanmar’s westernmost state but the junta has been hitting back, in particular with its air power. Air force jets bombed the coastal town of Thandwe early on Thursday, hitting public administration offices where people displaced by the fighting have been staying, said the AA spokesperson. “Two jets came in and dropped two bombs each on the city hall and the environmental preservation office. More than 200 displaced people were sheltering in the office,” said the spokesperson, Khaing Thu Kha. “The injured were sent to hospital. Most were elderly people and children.” RFA tried to contact Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson Hla Thein for information on the airstrikes but he did not answer telephone calls. A Thandwe resident said he believed the jets had deliberately targeted civilians, though there was no particular evidence for that. “The people sheltering there are mainly from Thandwe township and Gyeik Taw village,” said the resident who declined to be identified for safety reasons. Residents and members of the AA say junta attacks in Rakhine state have increasingly targeted schools, monasteries, residential areas and government buildings that the AA has captured. The junta has denied targeting civilians though human rights investigators also say civilians in rebel-held areas are increasingly being killed in airstrikes. On Wednesday, junta attacks on nearby Myebon township’s Kan Htaunt Gyi village killed two women villagers and wounded seven people, residents said. The military has launched an offensive in Shan state, on northeastern Myanmar’s border with China, aiming to recapture lost territory there from two main insurgent forces allied with the AA. On Sept. 2, the junta designated all three members of the alliance “terrorist groups”. According to RFA data, junta airstrikes and heavy weapons attacks killed nearly 2,000 civilians and injured nearly 4,000 between the military’s February 2021 coup d’etat and May 2024. RELATED STORIES Myanmar junta arrests dozens for sending supplies to rebel zone A new generation in Myanmar risks their lives for change Myanmar junta airstrike kills dozens, including prisoners Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.  We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Biden meets Vietnam’s president in New York

Editor09 mins

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Vietnamese counterpart, To Lam, met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, with the pair praising rapidly warming bilateral relations nearly half a century after the end of the Vietnam War. It marked the end of a whirlwind trip to New York for Lam, who in May became president – typically considered the second-most powerful office in Vietnam – and then ascended to the top role of general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam last month. Lam earlier met with U.S. business executives on Monday and delivered a concise – and mostly circumspect – inaugural speech as Vietnam’s president to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. He also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday and with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday. Meeting at the InterContinental New York Barclay hotel three blocks from the U.N. Headquarters, Lam thanked Biden for sending condolences upon the passing of his predecessor as general secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong, who died aged 80 after 13 years in office. Vietnam’s President and ruling Communist Party Chief To Lam meets with U.S. President Joe Biden (not pictured) on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United National General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, U.S., Sept. 25, 2024. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters) “Even during his lifetime, the late general secretary often spoke of you with fond memories and sincere appreciation,” Lam said to Biden in his remarks in front of reporters prior to the closed-door meeting. “His historic visit to the U.S. in 2015 followed by your visit to Vietnam in September last year were historic milestones,” he added, “and have significantly advanced the growth of the Vietnam-U.S. relations, resulting in the higher level of the relations that we enjoy today.” “We appreciate very much your fondness for Vietnam, and your historic contributions have been pivotal in elevating our bilateral relations.” ‘Unprecedented cooperation’ Reading from notes, Biden noted that he and Vietnam’s leadership elevated bilateral ties to the “highest level possible” during his trip to Hanoi last year, which commentators at the time said was driven by the countries’ mutual distrust of Beijing’s growing power. “Since then, we’ve been very proud of the progress we’ve made,” Biden said, pointing to U.S. investments in microchips and supply chains in Vietnam and the countries’ “unprecedented cooperation” on cybersecurity as areas where the relationship was blossoming. U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Vietnam’s President and ruling Communist Party Chief To Lam (not pictured) on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United National General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, U.S., Sept. 25, 2024. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters) Neither leader directly mentioned China in their remarks, with the Vietnamese government seeking to carefully balance its growing ties with America with productive relations with its northern neighbor. However, Biden said Hanoi and Washington were united in efforts to build “a more open and secure Indian Ocean, committed to freedom of navigation and the rule of law” – an apparent gaffe meant to refer to the Indo-Pacific region, which U.S. officials use for the vast region stretching from India through the Pacific to America’s west coast. “We continue our path breaking work to heal the wounds of war,” he added. “There’s nothing beyond our capacity to work together.” A senior administration official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity after the talks said it was “an extremely warm meeting” and that the pair had also discussed “stability in the South China Sea.” Earlier on Wednesday, Lam met with Guterres, the U.N. secretary general, and discussed “the importance of multilateralism, the work of the U.N., international law including the Convention on the Law of the Sea,” according to a readout released by the United Nations. Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son also met with his Laotian and Cambodian counterparts, Saleumxay Kommasith and Sok Chenda Sophea, to affirm continuing cooperation in the wake of Cambodia’s recent decision to withdraw from a three-country development pact. US business leaders Lam was not only in New York for diplomatic meetings, though. His meeting with U.S. executives at a forum on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Monday was a productive one, according to Vietnamese state media, which reported that numerous cooperation deals were signed by Vietnamese and American businesses. Vietnam’s President To Lam addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, 24, 2024. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) Former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who is now the president of global affairs for Facebook parent company Meta, told Lam during their talks that the company planned to manufacture its Metaverse virtual reality glasses in Vietnam, the reports said. A separate meeting with Nick Ammann, Apple’s vice president in charge of global government affairs, produced an agreement to create an Apple research and development center at the National Innovation Center in Hanoi, including scholarships for Vietnamese students to study artificial intelligence and “the internet of things.” Vietnamese tycoon Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao’s Vietjet Group also signed a $1.1 billion cooperation agreement with Maryland-based Honeywell Aerospace Technologies to provide avionics and aviation technical services for Vietjet’s aircraft fleet, the reports said. Deals on liquid natural gas and data center development were also signed during the forum, according to the state media reports. After five days in New York, Lam is scheduled to fly to Cuba on Wednesday night for meetings with his country’s old communist allies in Havana. He is scheduled to return to Vietnam on Friday. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta raids Shan state online scam center, detains hundreds

Editor06 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar junta authorities arrested nearly 750 people, including more than 240 Chinese nationals, in a raid on an online scam near Myanmar’s border with China, sources close to regional authorities told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday. China has been pressing authorities in Myanmar for the past year to crack down on the online fraud gangs, many of which target Chinese citizens, and the arrests in the Shan state border town of Muse follow recent Chinese efforts to help Myanmar’s junta quell armed opposition to its rule. A resident of Muse said junta forces raiding the scam center on Monday had clashed with guards there, members of a pro-junta militia who were apparently caught unaware by the raid. “A shootout between the junta’s local militia and junta soldiers erupted in Muse’s Mingalar neighborhood and many people were arrested, including Chinese nationals,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for security reasons. “Security control at the town’s gates has been tightened more than ever.” It was not clear if there were any casualties in the shooting but sources close to Myanmar authorities said junta troops had detained nearly 750 people and 247 Chinese nationals among them would be handed over to authorities in China.  RFA called Myanmar military officials in Muse and Shan state’s junta spokesperson, Khun Thein Maung, for more information but neither responded by the time of publication.  The Chinese embassy in Myanmar did not respond to inquiries from RFA by time of publication. Illegal casinos, online gambling and scam centers have proliferated along Myanmar’s borders with both China and Thailand, as well as in Laos and Cambodia, many run by Chinese gangsters, law enforcement organizations say.  The operations often thrive on the labor of people tricked into thinking they’ve landed legitimate jobs but forced to adopt false identities online in what have become known as “pig-butchering” schemes, forming relationships with victims then tricking them into investing in fake schemes. University of Texas researchers estimated in a March report that scammers had tricked investors out of more than US$75 billion since January 2020.  China has turned to both junta authorities and its insurgent enemies, who control increasingly large areas in Shan state, for help in tackling the gangs. Chinese media reported early this year that 44,000 telecom fraud suspects had been handed over to China including 2,908 “fugitives” but action against the scam centers appeared to dwindle later in the year as fighting intensified between the Myanmar military and anti-junta forces. Suspects detained in a raid on a scam center in Shan state town of Muse. Sept. 23, 2024 (Citizen photo) China is keen to see an end to the turmoil in Myanmar that threatens its economic interests, which include oil and natural gas pipelines from the Indian Ocean coast, and has in recent weeks pressed main insurgent forces in Shan state to agree to halt their offensives against the junta, although neither side appears ready to lay down their arms. Analysts say China is hoping that an election the junta has promised to hold next year can pave the way for a resolution of Myanmar’s conflict, and it has offered help to organize the vote and a census that the military said will be held soon. RELATED STORIES No limits to lawlessness of Myanmar’s predatory regime Myanmar border militia emerges as nexus in regional scam network ‘Most easily corrupted’ Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar form scam epicenter Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.  We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Tibetan monk jailed for 18 months over Dalai Lama’s speech

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Read RFA coverage of this story in Tibetan. A Tibetan monk has been sentenced to over 18 months in prison on charges of sharing a speech by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on social media, Tibetans living in exile told Radio Free Asia. Chinese authorities arrested Jampa Choephel of Penkar Thang Monastery in Rebkong county, Qinghai province, shortly after he shared a speech by the Dalai Lama on March 10, they said. The date marks Tibetan National Uprising Day, the start of a failed Tibetan rebellion against Chinese rule in 1959. Possessing or sharing photos or videos of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader who has resided in northern India since 1959, is considered an act of separatism and has been a punishable offense in Tibet for decades. Choephel’s case is part of a broader crackdown on Tibetan Buddhist clergy and intellectuals, many of whom are imprisoned in undisclosed locations for extended periods. Most have been arrested for expressing their views or sharing information about conditions in Tibetan areas under Chinese rule. The monk was held in the county’s Gurathang Prison until his “secret” trial in August when he was sentenced, said the sources, both of whom declined to be identified so they could speak freely without reprisal. Choephel’s family was not informed about the trial because Chinese authorities considered it politically sensitive, the first source said.  Following the trial, Choephel was held for an additional month in the same jail, and the total six months he spent in detention were counted as part of his sentence, according to the sources.  An aerial view of Rebkong county in western China’s Qinghai province, Oct. 26, 2017. (Eric Lafforgue/Art In All Of Us/Corbis via Getty Images) Authorities monitor family In the meantime, Chinese authorities are closely monitoring the monk’s family, the second source said. “This constant surveillance has created a climate of fear and anxiety for them, preventing them from inquiring about his well-being,” he said.  On Sept. 22, Choephel was transferred to a prison in Xining, capital of Qinghai province, where he will serve the remainder of his sentence, the sources said. Chinese authorities tightly control Tibetans who live in Rebgong, called Tongren in Chinese, a restive area of Malho, or Huangnan, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, restricting their political activities and peaceful expressions of cultural and religious identity. Choephel, originally from Rebgong Medpa, went into exile in India in 1986. He spent 10 years studying at a Tibetan monastery in Dharamsala from which he graduated in 1996.  Upon returning to Tibet, he resided at Penkar Thang Monastery in Rebgong, where he devoted himself to meditation.  A master of Tibetan calligraphy, Choephel also taught writing and English. But he remained under constant surveillance by the Chinese authorities, with police frequently monitoring and issuing warnings around his residence during significant occasions.  Additional reporting by Dechen Wangmo. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi and Dawa Dolma for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Joshua Lipes. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Leaked audit of VW’s Xinjiang plant contains flaws: expert

Editor011 mins

Volkswagen’s audit of its joint venture plant in Xinjiang — where human rights groups accuse it of using Uyghur forced labor — contains flaws that make it unreliable, said an expert who obtained a leaked confidential copy of the audit. The German automaker had declared in December that the audit of the factory, a joint venture with Chinese state-owned SAIC Motor Corp., showed no signs of human rights violations. But after analyzing the leaked audit report, Adrian Zenz, senior fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, found that contrary to its claims, the audit failed to use international standards and was therefore “unsuited to meaningfully assess the presence or absence of forced labor at the factory.” “The methodology of the audit was extremely faulty and insufficient,” he told Radio Free Asia in an interview. Zenz also found problems with auditors themselves. Last year, Volkswagen hired the Berlin-based consultancy Löning-Human Rights & Responsible Business GmbH to perform the audit. Löning in turn commissioned the Shenzhen-based Laingma law firm, which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party, to conduct the actual examination. The Volkswagen-SAIC Motor joint venture plant is seen on the outskirts of Urumqi in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, April 22, 2021. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) But Zenz found that neither Liangma nor its expert, British national Clive Greenwood, had experience in performing social audits or SA8000 certifications based on internationally recognized standards of decent work. “Liangma’s audit did not conform to the SA8000 standard that it claimed to assess,” Zenz wrote in the 24-page report issued Thursday that was posted on the website of the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington–based conservative defense policy think tank. “Shortcomings in the audit’s method and implementation mean that it was not able to adequately assess forced labor risks,” he wrote. Inconsistencies Löning, which claimed the application of SA8000 auditing principles, neglected key aspects of this standard and ignored the region’s repressive political environment, Zenz found.  Furthermore, Liangma’s website does not advertise auditing services or indicate that the firm has expertise in conducting them. And the audit did not assess all the indicators of possible forced labor, he later told RFA in a phone interview. Zenz also found that two Han Chinese lawyers and Greenwood conducted the audit, but did not ask employees questions about possible forced labor, and they didn’t follow standards for worker interviews, he said.  An aerial view of Volkswagen cars to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Nanjing, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, June 23, 2024. (AFP) The auditors live streamed interviews with workers back to their home office, thereby affording workers no confidentiality and risking intercepts via the internet by the Chinese government, he said.   By reading the leaked audit document, one can “assess the discrepancy between Volkswagen’s final statement about the audit and what the audit itself actually said,” Zenz said. Volkswagen defended the audit, saying it “always adheres to the legal requirements in its communications,” a company spokesperson told RFA in an email, asking not to be identified by name. “At no time has there been any deception of investors or the public.” Calls to withdraw News of the leaked audit prompted the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China to issue a statement on Friday saying it was dismayed by its contents. “It is totally unacceptable for a major company like Volkswagen to continue operating a factory where assimilationist policies are promoted, and unacceptable that claims were made about the integrity of their supply chain due diligence which appear to be false,” said the statement issued by lawmakers from various democratic countries focused on relations with China. The group called on Volkswagen to withdraw from Xinjiang and provide a full explanation in response to reports about the audit. RELATED STORIES US lawmakers query credibility of Volkswagen forced labor audit     Volkswagen reviews Xinjiang operations as abuse pressure mounts     Volkswagen under fire after audit finds no evidence of Uyghur forced labor   Protesters disrupt Volkswagen shareholder meeting over alleged Uyghur forced labor   The audit also indicated that the factory held staff activities to promote “ethnic unity” and ensure “harmony,” though these activities are associated with forced assimilation, Zenz’s report notes.  “This raises severe ethical concerns over Volkswagen’s continued presence in the region,” Zenz wrote. “A review of the audit shows that it did not attempt to assess forced labor according to international standards,” Zenz said. “It simply claims no forced labor based on a visual inspection of the factory and a review of worker contracts.” Furthermore, Greenwood, who joined Liangma in September 2023, shortly before the audit to participate in it, has publicly stated that SA8000 audits are worthless in China, the report said. “Mr. Greenwood’s enigmatic and in parts highly obscure background is marked by twists, turns, contradictions and obfuscation,” Zenz said in the report.  ‘Profiting from exploitation’ Uyghur rights groups have repeatedly called for Volkswagen to withdraw its presence and supply chains from Xinjiang and to shut down its joint venture in Urumqi. The World Uyghur Congress, or WUC, headquartered in Germany, said Volkswagen had “long demonstrated its complicity in the Chinese government’s genocide of Uyghurs.”   The Volkswagen-SAIC Motor plant is seen on the outskirts of Urumqi in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, April 22, 2021. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) “Credible and independent audits are not possible in a repressive environment, where millions of Uyghurs are under extensive surveillance, arbitrarily detained, and tortured for words or appearances that do not conform to Communist Party ideals,” Gheyyur Qurban, the group’s director of German Advocacy, said in a statement. “It is high time for VW to leave,” he said. Rushan Abbas, executive director of Campaign for Uyghurs, or CFU, said the leaked audit report pointed to “not mere oversight” but a “deliberate, cold-blooded betrayal of basic human dignity.”  CFU said it received a copy of the leaked audit report in August and that its findings had been shared with Financial Times, Der Spiegel and German TV broadcaster ZDF. “Profiting from the exploitation and suffering of innocent people is the height of moral…

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0