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Myanmar insurgents strike in junta-dominated central area: NUG

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Pro-democracy fighters and allied ethnic minority insurgents have captured a string of military positions in central Myanmar, the latest setbacks for the junta that has lost control of about half the country, a parallel government in exile said on Thursday. The allied insurgent forces captured seven military camps in the Bago region, on the old main road between the former capital, Yangon, and Myanmar’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, the National Unity Government, or NUG, said in a statement. The NUG, set up by supporters of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said eight junta soldiers were killed in the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday by fighters from a pro-democracy People’s Defence Force, or PDF, and ethnic Karen fighters. One PDF member was also killed, the NUG said and it warned civilians that more attacks were coming. “The People’s Defense Forces will be stepping up military operations, so the public is advised not to visit military council units or checkpoints,” it said. The loss of territory in such a central area will be a set-back for the military which is also under major pressure in Rakhine state, in the west where ethnic Rakhine insurgents are closing in on a major hub for Chinese port and energy investments on the coast. The military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, has been pushed back in most parts of the country since late 2023 and is struggling to recruit soldiers to fill the ranks of the army. The junta has not released any information on the fighting in Bago. RFA tried to telephone junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment but he did not answer. In the Sagaing region, to the north of Bago, pro-democracy fighters captured a broadcasting station for the military-owned MRTV on Wednesday, the NUG said, adding that 11 junta soldiers were killed in that attack. It did not release information on its casualties in that attack. The Ministry of Defense said it responded to the Sagaing attacks with airstrikes and artillery support. Political analyst Than Soe Naing said while the attacks in junta-dominated heartland areas this dry season were significant, it would take bigger battles and more time “to dismantle the junta.” Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. . We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Battling a dictatorship, building a democracy

Editor02 mins

The rainy season had just passed when we made the difficult trek to eastern Myanmar last year to see how rebel troops were managing in the fourth year of war. We interviewed dozens of people over the course of three weeks – doctors and nurses from Yangon trying to adjust to life in the jungle and a group of young men and women working to build a kinder, friendlier police force with few resources. We met smiling fighters who despite being low on ammunition were managing to hold off major advances by military forces, and civilians trying to bring a sense of normalcy to the makeshift camps they had to flee to. We witnessed pain and suffering, as well as resilience, determination and uncertainty over what’s yet to come. As one person told us: “We cannot claim what will be tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. We just live, day-by-day.” We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar military bombs insurgents attacking key Chinese investment area

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese Myanmar’s military bombed insurgents attacking the cornerstone of China’s investment in the country on Wednesday, killing some civilians, residents said, as the rebels pressed on with an offensive on the west coast township of Kyaukpyu. The Arakan Army, or AA, is one of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgent groups and has nearly achieved its objective of defeating the forces of the junta that seized power in 2021 across the whole of Rakhine state. “This morning, the Arakan Army launched heavy weapons at the Dhanyawadi navy base, and there was also shooting,” resident Nay Soe Khaing told Radio Free Asia, referring to the main navy base in Kyaukpyu. “The military returned fire with a fighter jet and there were civilians killed when the plane dropped a bomb,” he said. More than 1,000 civilians had fled the area, Nay Soe Khaing and other residents said, adding that civilian casualties were hard to pin down because communications were mostly severed. RFA tried to telephone the AA spokesperson, Khaing Thu Kha, and junta spokesperson Hla Thein for information on the situation but neither responded by the time of publication. The AA, which draws its support from the state’s ethnic Rakhine Buddhist majority, has captured 14 of Rakhine state’s 17 townships, defeating the military in battle after battle since late 2023 in a stunning advance. Kyaukpyu, one of the insurgents’ last big targets in the state, is on a natural harbor in the northwestern corner of Ramree Island, about 250 miles northwest of the commercial capital Yangon. Besides its natural deep-sea harbor, the area has access to abundant oil, natural gas, and marine resources. China plans a deep-sea port in the Kyaukpyu special economic zone, or SEZ, as a hub for its Belt and Road development strategy. Oil and natural gas are already flowing from Kyaukpyu terminals to southern China’s Yunnan province, giving China an alternative route for its oil imports in case of conflict in the South China Sea. The AA launched their push on Kyaukpyu on Feb. 20 and the military has responded with attacks from the air and from naval vessels at sea. RELATED STORIES Arakan Army closing in on capital of Myanmar’s Rakhine state Myanmar adopts law for foreign firms to provide armed security EXPLAINED: What is Myanmar’s Arakan Army? Heavy battles expected Another resident said major fighting was expected. “The Arakan Army is surrounding all the military camps,” said Tun Kyi. “After they surround them, we know the battles are going to really intensify. So we can say the battle to capture Kyaukpyu has started.” China has not commented on the latest fighting but it has tried to mediate in Myanmar’s conflict. On Friday, the junta and Chinese-owned CITIC Group discussed development in the Kyaukpyu economic zone and the company’s deep sea port, according to the Ministry of Information. But Kyaukpyu resident Htein Kyi, who closely monitors development plans, said it was unrealistic to even think about the various business contracts given the security situation. “With all the trouble and instability, it’s simply impossible to implement such large-scale projects,” he said. The AA already controls nine of the 11 Chinese development projects in Rakhine state, the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar said in a report in January. While Chinese projects have faced disruption and delays in various parts of Myanmar, anti-junta forces have generally not set out to destroy facilities. On the contrary, some groups have promised to protect Chinese investments and personnel. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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UN abruptly cancels Uyghur scholar’s speech at Paris language forum

Editor08 mins

The United Nations on Monday abruptly cancelled a speech by a prominent exiled Uyghur scholar and linguist barely 24 hours before he was to address a Paris conference on language technologies, he told Radio Free Asia. In an email to Norway-based researcher Abduweli Ayup shown to RFA Uyghur, organizers provided no reason for rescinding the invitation to speak at the Language Technologies for All, or LT4ALL, conference, under the umbrella of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. But Ayup said the reason was likely because he questioned an earlier presenter about protections for the Uyghur language in China, where some 12 million Uyghurs live in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. He and other Uyghur activists say Beijing is trying to eradicate their mother tongue. They say it is but one aspect of Chinese efforts to “Sinicize” Uyghurs — a Turkic people who are distinct from Han Chinese — through a process of cultural assimilation. On Feb. 12, the LT4ALL organizing committee sent Ayup a letter inviting him to serve as a chair/rapporteur for an afternoon session scheduled for Feb. 25 entitled “Education, Inclusion, Innovation” at U.N. Headquarters in Paris, France. He accepted and was added to the program. But on Monday, Feb. 24, organizers sent him an email saying they had been “unable to secure approval” to include his presentation in the program, and that they were “informed at the last minute, and this decision is beyond our control.” “We had hoped to find a better solution, but unfortunately, we have no other option at this time,” the letter said. “As a result, we will not be able to include your presentation in the published file or program.” ‘Threatened and disgusted’ Afterwards, in posts to the social media platform X, Ayup called the decision “disgusting.” He suggested it was made in response to his questioning a day earlier of a presenter, who he described as “a Chinese language activist … [that] is a gov official [who] works for [state media outlet] Hunan TV.” RELATED STORIES Uyghur intellectual died while in custody of Chinese authorities Two Siblings of Norway-based Uyghur Activist Sentenced to Jail in China’s Xinjiang Rights Groups Blast Uyghur Activist’s Expulsion From UN Forum in New York Ayup said the presenter had discussed a language museum in China during his session, after which Ayup asked him whether it contained information about the Uyghur language and whether Uyghur language activists are safe in China. “After those two questions, I was questioned by the Chinese delegation,” he said. “I felt threatened, I felt disgusted and disappointed. I believe my presentation was cancelled because of the questions I had asked from the Chinese speaker.” Ayup did not provide evidence in support of his claims. But he noted that the panel he was listening to included a representative of iFLYTEK — a partially state-owned Chinese information technology company that the U.S. sanctioned in October 2019 for its alleged role in mass surveillance and human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Ayup elaborated further in a post to X, accusing UNESCO of having “welcomed the criminal [and] kicked human rights defenders out” of the conference. “iFLYTEK is the company [that] helped [the] Chinese regime to arrest over [1] million Uyghurs,” he wrote in the post. Family suffering Ayup is the founder of Uyghur Hjelp, a Norway-based Uyghur advocacy and aid organization which maintains a list of detained Uyghur intellectuals. In May 2021, RFA learned that Chinese authorities had sentenced Ayup’s brother and sister to several years in jail in Xinjiang, allegedly for failing to demonstrate loyalty to authorities as expected. Sources with knowledge of the situation, however, said that they were arrested because of his activities in exile. UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, Jan. 17, 2025.(Bertrand Guay/AFP) The confirmation of the sentence came on the heels of an RFA report confirming that Ayup’s niece, Mihray Erkin, had died at the Yanbulaq internment camp while being investigated by state security police in Kashgar prefecture. Ayup’s case is not the first time the U.N. has blocked a Uyghur activist from speaking at an event it organized. In April 2017, Dolkun Isa, a founder of the exile World Uyghur Congress and member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, was forced from a forum at U.N. premises in New York by security guards without explanation. Isa’s removal prompted a coalition of human rights groups and organizations representing minority peoples around the world to condemn the act, calling it an expression of “domination” by an unnamed U.N. member state — an apparent reference to China. Attempts by RFA to contact UNESCO for comment on its decision to rescind Ayup’s invitation to the LT4ALL conference went unanswered by the time of publication. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Taiwan detains China-linked cargo ship over severed undersea cable

Editor05 mins

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan’s coastguard detained a cargo ship and its Chinese crew after an undersea cable in the Taiwan Strait was damaged on Tuesday, saying it cannot rule out the possibility it was a deliberate “gray zone” act. Gray zone activities are covert, ambiguous, and low-intensity tactics used to achieve strategic goals without provoking open warfare, something Taiwan has frequently said China was employing around the self-ruled island. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, or CGA, said that it received a report about the damaged cable from its telecommunication service on Tuesday morning and dispatched personnel to detain the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which dropped anchor near the cable off the southwestern coast of Taiwan around the time it was disconnected. “The suspected Togo-flagged cargo ship, Hong Tai, was found to be a Chinese-invested convenience-flag vessel with all eight crew members being Chinese nationals,” said CGA. The Hong Tai remained stationary near the damaged Taiwan-Penghu No.3 submarine cable from Saturday to Tuesday, prompting Taiwan’s coast guard to monitor and attempt radio contact, which went unanswered, according to CGA. The vessel was later escorted to Anping Port, though initial boarding efforts failed due to rough seas, the coastguard said, adding that the case was being treated as a national security matter. “Authorities are not ruling out the possibility of a Chinese gray-zone operation,” the agency said. Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told a briefing on Tuesday that he was not aware of the situation, though adding that it was not a “diplomatic issue.” He did not elaborate. Taiwan has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, compared with three each in 2024 and 2023. In 2023, for instance, two undersea cables connecting the Matsu islands were cut, disconnecting the internet. At that time, Taiwan authorities said that two Chinese vessels caused the disruption, but that there was no evidence Beijing deliberately tampered with the cables. RELATED STORIES Taiwan severs academic ties with Chinese universities, citing propaganda links China condemns US for tweak to Taiwan reference; Washington calls it ‘routine’ update Taiwanese army officer’s failed defection to China ends in 13-year sentence Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of employing gray zone tactics to destabilize the region without direct military conflict, citing Chinese military incursions, cyberattacks, economic coercion, election interference and undersea cable damage. Beijing regards Taiwan as its territory while the democratic island has been self-governing since it effectively separated from mainland China in 1949 after the Chinese Civil War. Taipei has condemned Beijing’s trade restrictions on the island’s exports and suspected disinformation campaigns ahead of elections, warning of growing threats to regional security. China, however, denies these accusations, asserting that its military activities are routine operations and that economic measures are based on regulatory concerns. Beijing insists Taiwan is a domestic issue and warns against foreign interference, maintaining that its actions are lawful and necessary to safeguard national sovereignty. Edited by Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Over 2 dozen teachers at Aksu school sentenced to prison in Xinjiang

Editor07 mins

Read RFA coverage of this story in Uyghur. More than two dozen Uyghur teachers at a college in Xinjiang were arrested by Chinese authorities in 2017 and are currently still serving jail sentences, Radio Free Asia was able to confirm with officials at the school. Their arrests eight years ago occurred at a time when authorities in the northwestern region began rounding up Uyghur intellectuals, educators, businesspeople and cultural figures en masse and incarcerating them in re-education camps to prevent what China said was terrorism and religious extremism. Last week, RFA Uyghur reported that prominent historian Ghojaniyaz Yollugh Tekin, 59, who taught the Aksu Education Institute in the city of Aksu, had been arrested in 2017 and sentenced to 17 years in prison in late 2018 for his research, writings and views that Uyghurs are part of the Turkic world — and not Chinese. Upon further investigation, RFA learned that authorities also arrested and detained 25 other educators from the same school in 2017. But RFA could not determine the reasons for their arrests or the lengths of their sentences. Established in 1985, the college currently has about 220 staff members — more than half of whom are Uyghurs — and 3,000 students. During the early 2000s, there were 100-150 Uyghur teachers, according to Uyghur activist Tuyghun Abduweli, who hails from Aksu but now lives in Canada. A Chinese national flag flies over a vehicle entrance to the inmate detention area at the Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center in Dabancheng, western China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Apr. 23, 2021.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP) A person who works at the institute but who requested anonymity for safety reasons, said more than 20 teachers from the school were taken away in several groups in 2017. Their cases were filed by Aksu prefecture security agents, and the institute’s political affairs department and police station collaborated with them during the arrests and interrogations, the person said. Held in a Bingtuan prison A police officer who works at the institute told RFA that 26 teachers — mostly men — were arrested and are serving jail sentences. He said he was involved in the cases of three of the teachers arrested — Mutellip Mamut, Eli Qasim and Eziz Memet, the last of whom was about 47 years old at the time. Another police officer named two other imprisoned teachers — Abdusalam Eziz and Abdurahman Rozi — and said he assisted in their arrests as well as the arrest of Mutellip Mamut. Those arrested were initially taken to Aksu Prison, but were later transferred to a detention center run by the Bingtuan at its headquarters in Shihezi in northern Xinjiang, the police officer said. The Bingtuan is a state-run economic and paramilitary organization of mostly Han Chinese who develop land, secure borders and maintain stability in Xinjiang. RELATED STORIES Prominent Uyghur historian sentenced to 17 years in prison Uyghur lecturer said to be detained for not signing allegiance oath to CCP Uyghur literature professor confirmed detained in Xinjiang Uyghur linguistics professor serving 15-year sentence in Xinjiang New details emerge about Uyghur college teacher sentenced in China’s Xinjiang “Mutellip Mamut is currently at the Shihezi prison,” the police officer told RFA. Authorities held secret trials for the teachers, and institute leaders and staffers who collaborated on the cases were not allowed to attend, he added. Interrogated because of religious practices According to a person familiar with the situation in Aksu, a literature teacher named Abdusalam had been interrogated by authorities many times because of his religious practices and was eventually suspended from work. “His wife wore a hijab, and he himself prayed every Friday at home,” the person said. “He was frequently called out by the school because of this, and his wife was also suspended from her job.” Abdusalam was among those detained and jailed in 2017. A security officer from the school’s legal department confirmed the arrests and detentions of the teachers, but said he could not disclose their identities because of confidentiality requirements. About 10% of the institute’s teachers had been arrested, said another staffer. “They’re all in prison now,” said Tuyghun Abduweli. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Taiwan bans academic exchanges with 3 Chinese universities amid security concerns

Editor07 mins

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan barred the island’s universities from collaborating with three mainland Chinese institutions, citing their ties with Beijing’s overseas propaganda arm, in what Taiwan opposition lawmakers said was a blow to cross-strait exchanges that have historically served as a bridge for dialogue despite geopolitical rifts. China and Taiwan have maintained educational exchanges, despite political and military tensions, allowing students and scholars from both sides to participate in academic collaborations, research projects and university partnerships. But on Thursday, Taiwan banned its universities from working with China’s Jinan University in the city of Guangzhou, Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, and Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College, citing their ties with the United Front Work Department. “Chinese universities affiliated with the United Front Work Department serve a political purpose rather than a purely academic one,” said Taiwan’s Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao. The United Front Work Departmen is a key arm of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, that conducts influence operations, propaganda and political engagement globally. It works to shape narratives, co-opt elites, and extend Beijing’s reach into academia, media, and diaspora communities. Critics, including Taipei, accuse it of covert interference, disinformation, and suppressing dissent, with several governments warning of its role in election meddling, intellectual property theft, and undermining democratic institutions. “To prevent political influence operations we must halt cooperation and exchanges,” Cheng added. The ban drew criticism from Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang, or KMT, which criticized it as “politically motivated” and “detrimental” to cross-strait exchanges. “Students from over 80 countries attend these universities. It is shortsighted for the DPP to isolate Taiwan academically,” KMT legislative Fu Kun-chi said, referring to the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party. KMT chairman Eric Chu Li-luan also said the policy would do more damage to Taiwan’s higher education sector. “Academic cooperation should be based on international accreditation, not political considerations,” Chu said. “The DPP is using this as part of its broader political strategy for 2025, creating division instead of fostering engagement.” A DPP legislator, Wu Szu-yao, however, defended the ban, comparing it to the global shutdown of Confucius Institutes due to similar concerns over Chinese influence. Confucius Institutes are Chinese-funded language and cultural centers, which have drawn suspicion around the world of Chinese propaganda and influence. The U.S., Europe and Australia have closed many of the institutes, citing threats to academic freedom and security. “Taiwan has never restricted normal academic and cultural exchanges, as long as they are free from official influence. But these schools, being under the United Front Work Department control, inherently serve political purposes and follow political directives,” Wu said. RELATED STORIES Taiwanese army officer’s failed defection to China ends in 13-year sentence Taiwan to scale up annual military drill as China tensions mount Did Taiwan ‘severely punish’ students for supporting unification with China? Taiwanese students have long pursued degrees in Chinese universities, drawn by lower tuition fees, scholarship opportunities, and career prospects in the mainland. Chinese students also study in Taiwan, though in smaller numbers due to political restrictions. Universities from both sides have established joint research programs and academic agreements, facilitating faculty collaboration and student mobility. But exchanges have not been immune to political influence. China has at times limited the number of its students permitted to study in Taiwan, citing political concerns, while Taipei has imposed tighter regulations on Chinese scholars and researchers due to security considerations. Cross-strait relations under Taiwan’s pro-independence leadership have further strained the programs, leading to a decline in Chinese enrollment in Taiwan. The COVID-19 pandemic also disrupted exchanges, though some academic collaboration has resumed. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually reunite, even by force if necessary. Beijing views the island’s leader, Lai Ching-te, a pro-independence advocate, as a separatist and has increased military drills, economic pressure and diplomatic isolation to counter his leadership. Edited by Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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North Korea confiscates dog fur-lined coats from civilians to clothe soldiers

Editor07 mins

North Korean authorities are confiscating winter coats lined with dog fur — considered a luxury item — from civilians and giving them to under-supplied soldiers, residents told Radio Free Asia. The reasons for this campaign that began last month seem to be two-fold: To provide warm gear for army personnel in North Korea’s frigid winters, and to keep civilians from looking like they are wearing winter military uniforms. “Social security agents have been stopping men wearing dog fur coats on the streets and confiscating them on the spot,” a resident in South Pyongan province, north of the capital Pyongyang, told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for personal safety. “This is the first time they’ve done something like this,” he said. “They say it is because civilians cannot wear military uniforms.” In fact, aside from their warmth, the coats’ similarity to military uniforms is one reason why they are popular with civilians, he said. “It symbolizes authority,” the resident said. RELATED STORIES ‘Rooster hairstyle,’ see-thru sleeves now banned in North Korea North Korea bans leather coats to stop citizens from copping leader’s iconic look North Korea punishes women for wearing shorts, declaring them ‘capitalist fashion’ But few North Koreans can afford them. Only the wealthy can buy the specially-made coats. High quality dog fur-lined coats can cost up to 1 million won (US$50), more than the annual salary at most government-assigned jobs, the resident said. “They are the best winter clothing because the entire inner layer is lined with dog skin and fur,” he said. “They are expensive and can only be purchased from a specialty clothing maker.” Supply chain collapse North Korea’s nearly 1-million strong military has been chronically under-supplied for decades. Ever since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, which provided aid to the country, North Korea’s economy has suffered, and the military has struggled to equip its own personnel. A North Korean soldier wears a dog fur coat along the Yalu River in 2014.(KBS News) In principle, North Korean soldiers should receive summer uniforms once a year and winter uniforms every two years, but supplies are erratic. Things are so dire that last year the military began requiring soldiers to return their uniforms when they are discharged, so that they could be given to other soldiers. With the military lacking adequate clothes and soldiers shivering in the cold, it’s a bad look for wealthy civilians to be out and about in their toasty dog fur-lined coats, the resident said. “Only one in 50 men wear these dog fur-lined coats in the city of Unsan,” he said. “I’ve seen it worn by merchants who drive from place to place selling goods, and by the husbands of wealthy women.” With men required to work for a pittance at government-assigned jobs, most families are really supported by the women, who run small businesses. Women who become successful and wealthy, or who were already born into wealth, can afford to splurge on an expensive coat for their husbands. Not for the average soldier In the northwestern province of North Pyongan, the dog fur-lined coats are now a rarity, a resident there told RFA on condition of anonymity. Civilians “used to show off by wearing their dog-fur coats, but the authorities started confiscating them,” he said. “These kinds of coats are not supplied to the average soldier, but to officers and soldiers stationed at guard posts close to the border with South Korea.” He said the authorities ask the civilians how they can wear such a luxury when there are soldiers guarding the front line that shiver in tattered second-hand uniforms. “The soldiers have to participate in winter training,” he said, which means they have to “lie on their bellies on frozen ground, so these dog fur coats are essential to them.” He said the agents confiscating the coats tell their owners that their clothing will go military units on the front. “Some of these men protest against this, but they hold their tongues because they don’t want to be punished for speaking out.” Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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INTERVIEW: A former China correspondent examines identity and control under Xi

Editor013 mins

After nearly a decade covering China as an NPR correspondent, Emily Feng returned to Washington, D.C. Her reporting spanned a period of profound social and economic change : Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power; the Xinjiang detention camps; Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the crackdown against it; China’s strict zero-COVID policy; and the country’s transformation into a surveillance state. Ultimately, Feng was caught in the crossfire of the U.S.-China rivalry — her visa was unexpectedly rejected, forcing her to relocate to Taiwan for the final years of her reporting. Her new book, “Let Only Red Flowers Bloom,” is a reflection on the search for identity and belonging under Xi Jinping’s rule. It will be published March 18. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. RFA: You moved to China in 2015 at the age of 22. What was the biggest question you had, and did you find the answer? Emily Feng: I wanted to see China for myself. I had visited family in the south a few times, but I was curious about how the country was changing, especially under Xi Jinping, who was then in his third year as leader. I wondered if China would continue opening up — economically, politically and culturally. I had just started consuming more Chinese-language culture, and I was interested in how cultural production would evolve. The day I arrived was about a week after the July 9 crackdown on human rights lawyers. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was a watershed moment in Chinese politics. It shaped the China I would experience over the next several years. RFA: The July 9 crackdown shocked many. What were its lasting effects? Emily Feng: It had systemic impacts. Many influential lawyers lost their licenses — people who had been shaping ideas about China’s legal and political future. It wasn’t just about individuals; it rippled across corporations, organizations and society as a whole. A security guard watches from a tower at a detention facility in Yarkent county in China’s Xinjiang region on March 21, 2021.(Ng Han Guan/AP) RFA: Were there any key moments during this period when you felt that social control was tightening? Emily Feng: I started thinking about this issue because of what was happening in Xinjiang. In 2017, I began reporting on Xinjiang, and at first, I had only heard about the existence of some camps. But as I continued following the story, I realized that the Xinjiang issue and the situation of the Uyghurs had much broader significance for the entire country. It wasn’t just a problem in the western region — it was connected to policies on ethnicity, identity, language and culture at the time. It also tied into a larger question of what kind of nation China and the Communist Party were trying to create. So, starting from Xinjiang as an entry point, I began to ask: Why does identity play such a central role in contemporary Chinese politics? RFA: How did you build trust with the people you interviewed, and how did you weigh the risks, both for yourself and for them? Emily Feng: It’s a daily conversation — with editors, with yourself, and, most importantly, with your sources. Many of my stories weren’t about government leaks; they were about personal experiences. Earning trust meant showing that I was willing to listen and making the effort to be there. Sometimes, it took years for people to open up. One Uyghur family I interviewed, for example, only felt comfortable sharing their full story after they had processed what had happened to them. In China, I might have to spend a lot of time exploring 10 different stories, but there’s only a 20% or even just a 10% chance of success. RFA: Did you ever face danger yourself? Emily Feng: Yes. I was investigated for my work, and my news organization was audited as part of the U.S.-China media tensions. Many reporting trips were cut short, and interviewees were sometimes detained while I was speaking with them. People I talked to risked losing jobs or public benefits. It’s not a black-and-white situation, but it’s something I had to be aware of when reporting in China. A worker wearing protective gear and standing behind a fence in a residential area under COVID-19 lockdown talks with a man on a scooter in the Xuhui district of Shanghai on June 16, 2022.(Hector Retamal/AFP) RFA: Your reporting often focuses on human stories. Under Xi’s rule, how is the younger generation navigating identity? Emily Feng: For me, identity was the central theme in all the stories I found most interesting in China. It’s also why I decided to collect many of them and write a book about it. I argue that identity is key not only to understanding this vast country, which is so important economically and geopolitically, but also to understanding how China sees itself and, consequently, what its future holds. Every decade or so, there’s this question: What kind of country can China become? The expectations of what Chinese people thought their country would become 10 years ago — before COVID, before the economic downturn — are vastly different from what a 20-year-old in Beijing or Shanghai envisions today. The theme of identity also allowed me to give a personal twist to these big, weighty questions that often dominate newsroom discussions. What gets lost in much of that coverage is the fact that these issues affect real people. Despite being a country so far away from the U.S., I wanted to humanize these stories, to make readers ask, ‘What if this were happening to my friend?’ I wanted to help people feel what it’s like to live in their world, because that’s what I’ve lost since leaving China — and, I think, what we’ve all lost now that there are fewer reporters on the ground in mainland China. RFA: In this era of tighter control, how do people carve out personal or ideological space? Emily Feng: It’s increasingly difficult….

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Hong Kong’s Democratic Party plans to disband amid ‘political environment’

Editor08 mins

Once Hong Kong’s biggest opposition party, the Democratic Party has announced plans to disband amid a political crackdown in the city under two security laws. “It is a decision that we made based on our understanding of the overall political environment,” Chairman Lo Kin-hei told journalists following a meeting of the party’s central committee on Thursday. “Developing democracy in Hong Kong is always difficult, and it’s been especially difficult in the past few years,” Lo told reporters in the party’s headquarters, adding: “This is not what we wanted to see.” Lo said he hoped that Hong Kong would return to the values ​​of “diversity, tolerance and democracy” that were the cornerstones of the city’s past success. The move is widely seen as the symbolic end of any formal political opposition in Hong Kong, where critics of the authorities can face prosecution under security legislation brought in to quell dissent in the wake of the 2019 protests. It follows repeated calls for the party’s dissolution in Chinese Communist Party-backed media like the Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po. The news came just weeks after a court in Hong Kong sentenced 45 democratic politicians and activists to jail terms of up to 10 years for “subversion” after they took part in a democratic primary in the summer of 2020. The ongoing political crackdown has already seen the dissolution of the Civic Party, which disbanded in May 2023 after its lawmakers were barred from running for re-election in the wake of the 2020 National Security Law. The pro-democracy youth activist party Demosisto disbanded in June 2020. ‘That light has faded’ Lo said the disbandment couldn’t go ahead without a vote from a general meeting attended by 75% of the party’s members. He said he will chair a three-person working group to handle the process following what he called a “collective decision” by the Central Committee. Lo declined to comment on reports that party members had been harassed or threatened by people acting as messengers for the Chinese government. He said the party wasn’t in financial difficulty. Founding party member Fred Li said the Democratic Party had “done its duty and shone its light on Hong Kong.” “But we can see today that that light has faded,” Li said in comments reported by the Hong Kong Free Press. Martin Lee, known as the “father of democracy” in Hong Kong, April 26, 2021.(Anthony Wallace/AFP) He said its death would mark the end of democratic party politics in Hong Kong. “The Democratic Party was once the most important party when it came to gauging public opinion, so its death actually represents the ultimate death of public opinion [as a political force] in Hong Kong,” Wong said. ‘We must be vigilant’ He said fears that Hong Kong would become a base for opposition to Chinese Communist Party rule had led Beijing to break its promise that the city could keep its freedoms for 50 years after the 1997 handover. He warned that Beijing was trying to undermine Taiwan’s democracy by placing its supporters in positions of power, much as it did in Hong Kong. “Taiwanese people must be vigilant and must not believe the Chinese Communist Party’s promises to Taiwan that it can keep its freedoms if it submits to Beijing’s rule,” Wong said. “We must be vigilant, and we must resist.” Political commentator Sang Pu said the Democratic Party would never be allowed to field candidates under the current system in Hong Kong. “A political party that doesn’t run for election has no way to raise funds,” Sang said. “They get rejected [by venues] even when they try to hold party events … for spurious reasons like chefs getting into a fight or broken water meters.” “They are being badly suppressed, so at this point it’s probably better to give up,” he said. Recent electoral reforms now ensure that almost nobody in the city’s once-vibrant opposition camp will stand for election again, amid the jailing of dozens of pro-democracy figures and rule changes requiring political vetting. The last directly elected District Council, which saw a landslide victory for pro-democracy candidates amid record turnout that was widely seen as a ringing public endorsement of the 2019 protest movement. The first Legislative Council election after the rule change saw plummeting turnout, while Chief Executive John Lee was given the top job after an “election” in which he was the only candidate. Since Beijing imposed the two national security laws banning public opposition and dissent in the city and blamed “hostile foreign forces” for the resulting protests, hundreds of thousands have voted with their feet amid plummeting human rights rankings, shrinking press freedom and widespread government propaganda in schools. The government has blamed several waves of pro-democracy protests in recent years on “foreign forces” trying to instigate a democratic revolution in Hong Kong. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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