Xinjiang whistleblower: 'Every detail told by survivors was true'
Asiye Abdulaheb risked everything to share the first-ever leak of secret documents describing China's mass internment of ethnic minorities. She's hoping their release will make the world see what is going on in her native Xinjiang. Beijing (dpa) – When Asiye Abdulaheb looked at the documents on her laptop, she immediately knew the stakes were high. China’s mass internment of ethnic minorities in its western region of Xinjiang had long been documented by journalists and rights
Beyond ‘Decoupling’: How China Will Reshape Global Trade In 2020
Beijing (Forbes) - The idea of a “decoupling” between the United States and China started gathering steam earlier this year, as the trade war between the two countries intensified and negotiators on both sides repeatedly failed to reach a solution. In theory, decoupling would mean ripping up global supply chains, freezing foreign investment initiatives and burning down the geopolitical bridges that were built over the past four decades between Washington and Beijing. Decoupli
The Capital of Xinjiang Is Now in Turkey
Ethnic cleansing of Uighurs in China has forced an exodus to Istanbul—and a desperate effort to keep their culture alive. ISTANBUL (Foreign Policy)—On a Sunday morning in April, 9-year-old Nefise Kerim dragged her older sister, Saniya, to a bookstore in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu neighborhood. The girl’s brown eyes scoured the bookshelves full of colorful tomes depicting an Arabic script. Kerim wanted to come after she had seen an announcement on Facebook that a new magazine for
China to hold massive military parade amid headwinds for leader
China is set to stage its largest military parade ever to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Communist Party coming to power. But while President Xi Jinping will use the occasion to reassert his position, he faces headwinds on multiple fronts. Beijing (dpa) – On October 1, more than 15,000 troops and 580 sets of military equipment will roll down Beijing's historic Chang'An Avenue, while more than 160 military aircraft will whiz through the air above. The military parade, C
China prepares giant military parade for October 1 celebrations
Pigeons caged, dogs banned and Internet slowed as China prepares to mark 70 years of Communist rule Beijing, China (Al Jazeera) - Wu Xiaoliang gushes about the tanks and missiles that are set to roll through the streets of central Beijing on October 1 to mark 70 years of Communist rule, in what will be China’s largest-ever military parade and a show of the country's strength. The 32-year-old horticulturist is a fan of a popular military drama on television, The King of Land B
Organizers say nearly 2 million marched in record Hong Kong protest
Hong Kong (dpa) - Nearly 2 million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to rally against a controversial extradition bill on Sunday, organizers said, in the largest protest since the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The figure was announced on Sunday night as thousands of people remained on the streets of Hong Kong, filling major highways and stopping traffic in the government district. Sunday's protest is even larger than a similar one held last weekend when organiz
Thirty years later, Tiananmen Square survivors seek truth, change
Thirty years ago on June 4, the Chinese army opened fire on student protesters in Tiananmen Square. The government has attempted to erase the "incident" from history, but victims and some perpetrators are keeping the memory alive. Beijing/Taipei (dpa) – Fang Zheng recalls the students' withdrawal from Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on the morning of June 4, 1989, as peaceful. A few thousand students had sat overnight around the Monument to the People's Heroes, in the square, foll
‘Seldom uses front door’: report reveals how China spies on Muslim minority
Authorities use an app to collect personal data on Uighurs as part of a vast surveillance network, Human Rights Watch says Beijing (The Guardian) - Using too much electricity or having acquaintances abroad are among a list of reasons that prompt authorities in China’s western Xinjiang region to investigate Uighurs and other Muslims who might be deemed “untrustworthy” and sent to internment camps, according to a Human Rights Watch report. The report, released on Thursday, anal
China pushes Xinjiang internment camps out of sight, out of reach
An estimated 1 million members of ethnic minorities are being held in internment camps in China’s far west. Beijing says the camps offer 'training' and people will gradually be released, but in fact the camps are growing larger and more isolated. Yining, China (dpa) – At first, word spread that many of the Uighurs who had gone missing in Yining, a city cradled between mountains in north-west China, were being held inside a former Communist Party school. Some had been there a
China’s #MeToo Activists Have Transformed a Generation
A small group of feminists has shifted attitudes—and prompted harsh pushback. GUANGZHOU, China (Foreign Policy)—Sophia Huang’s fingers were racing over her two iPhones at a restaurant in downtown Guangzhou, southern China, as her food went cold. Huang had just found out that the professor Chen Xiaowu, whose sexual harassment of a student ignited China’s #MeToo movement in January 2018, had been awarded the country’s most prestigious research grant. She was furiously posting o
