CHINA – Leaked documents showy Uyghurs detained for simple acts of faith…

A photo showing the leaked documents that detail information of those detained.

 

Full Story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-18/uyghurs

For decades, Uyghur imam Memtimin Emer was a bedrock of his farming community in China’s far west. On Fridays, he preached Islam as a religion of peace. On Sundays, he treated the sick with free herbal medicine. In the winter, he bought coal for the poor.

Key points:

  • The leaked database has information on 311 individuals and more than 2,000 of their relatives, neighbours and friends
  • It shows the Chinese Government detained them for religious activities such as praying, attending a mosque, and growing a beard
  • Information leaked last year showed the “training” camps were centres for forced ideological and behavioural re-education

But as a Chinese Government mass detention campaign engulfed his native Xinjiang region three years ago, the elderly imam was swept up and locked away, along with all three of his sons living in China.

Now, a newly revealed database has exposed in extraordinary detail the main reasons for the detentions of Mr Emer, his three sons, and hundreds of others in Karakax County: their religion and their family ties.

The leaked database contains details of 311 individuals and lists information on more than 2,000 of their relatives, neighbours and friends.

It shows the Chinese Government focuses on religion as a reason for detention — not just political extremism, as authorities say, but ordinary activities such as praying, attending a mosque, or even growing a long beard.

Each entry includes a detainee’s name, address, national identity number, detention date and location, along with a detailed dossier on their family, religious and neighbourhood background, the reason for their detention, and a decision on whether or not to release them.

Issued within the past year, the documents do not indicate which government department compiled them or for whom.

 

China wants to administer an area deep inside Australia’s Antarctic claim…

A Chinese flag flying over Antarctica

Australia’s Government has deflated China’s ambition to manage the summit of the Antarctic ice sheet, an area within Australia’s Antarctic claim.

Key points:

  • China wants to administer an area deep inside Australia’s Antarctic claim
  • Beijing’s proposal for a code of conduct at “Dome A”, a high point on the continent, was discussed this month in Prague
  • Australia’s Government has declared China’s draft code has “no formal standing” within the Antarctic Treaty System

Countries involved in Antarctic affairs met in the Czech Republic this month for their annual diplomatic get-together, and China’s proposal was the subject of discussions.

The bid from China to implement a code of conduct at “Dome A” — some 4,000 metres above sea level — was not supported by Australia.

Dome A has been recognized as perhaps the best location for space observation on Earth due to its high elevation and outstanding visibility.

China’s draft code tabled at the meeting “has no formal standing in the Antarctic Treaty System”, according to a statement by a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson provided to the ABC.

In Antarctica multiple nations sometimes access the same areas for science. One nation or a group of nations take on responsibility for how this occurs.

China’s proposed code is the latest attempt by Beijing to manage activity in this remote location. China is the only nation with a base in the area.

It originally proposed a “specially managed area” five years ago to protect the local environment and coordinate activities in this region.

Full Story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-30/antarctica-china-code-of-conduct-dome-a/11318646

Uyghurs were enslaved and forced to convert to Islam, Chinese Government claims

A masked Uighur boy takes part in a protest against China, at Fatih Mosque in Turkey

Uyghurs in Xinjiang were forced to become Muslim and have been an integral part of China for thousands of years, Beijing said in a new report, in an attempt to justify its controversial crackdown against the ethnic minority in the far-western region.

Key points:

  • China has sought to justify treatment of Uyghurs that Western countries have condemned as “cultural genocide”
  • Beijing’s report hits back at “double standards” of critics and defends “anti-terrorism” efforts
  • Experts say the white paper is a classic case of China’s ongoing information warfare

A white paper released on Sunday by China’s State Council Information Office — the Government’s propaganda arm — presents the ruling Communist Party’s interpretation of history, claiming “Islam is neither an indigenous nor the sole belief system of the Uyghur people”.

The report also said that Islam spread into Xinjiang by “the Arab Empire” and that the Turkic Uyghur people “endured slavery” at the hands of “the Turks”.

“Conversion to Islam was not a voluntary choice made by the common people, but a result of religious wars and imposition by the ruling class,” it said, declaring that the Government nevertheless respects “the Muslims’ right to their beliefs”.

Full Story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-22/china-report-says-xinjiangs-uyghurs-forced-to-convert-to-islam/11330490

Chinese military made secret visit to Cambodia before mysterious drone crashed…

A group of men in military outfits investigate the done that looks like a small plane with wings at the scene of the crash.

A high-level delegation of Chinese military mapping experts visited a Cambodian naval base in December, three weeks before a huge Chinese surveillance drone crashed in the adjoining province, according to a leaked document obtained by the ABC.

Key points:

  • The drone has revived speculation about China’s role in Cambodia
  • Cambodia’s Air Force says it does not know who owns the military-style drone
  • A leaked document reveals ties between Cambodian Armed Forces and the PLA

Cambodia’s Air Force spokesman claimed to have no knowledge of who owned the military-style drone or what it was doing surveying the southern coastline.

But the crashed drone has revived speculation about China’s role in the South-East Asian nation after reports emerged last year of a 30-year deal to host Chinese troops, weapons and supplies at the Ream naval base.

When US Vice-President Mike Pence raised the alleged secret base, there were howls of denial from Khmer leaders.

Full Story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-05/secret-chinese-delegation-visited-cambodian-naval-base/11928184

China launches propaganda blitz to discredit Uyghurs, [VIDEO]

Aydidar Kahar tucks her long hair behind her ear and smiles at the camera.

Key points:

  • Uyghurs are using #StillNoInfo to demand news about their missing loved ones
  • Chinese state media releases a slew of testimonies from relatives to say they’re “safe and sound”
  • Experts say the family members are coerced or intimidated for propaganda purposes

She takes the viewer on a tour of a mall in Xinjiang — decked out with luxury brands like Versace, Gucci and Dior — before the video abruptly cuts to her sitting at a desk, staring straight into the camera lens.

“Isn’t the department store and the subway you just saw an epitome of the dramatic changes in Xinjiang?” she said, in a video broadcast by Chinese state-owned Global Times.

“Grandma, you have been defaming Xinjiang … people in Xinjiang are living a decent life.”

Full Story here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-18/safe-and-sound-china-propaganda-undercuts-xinjiang-uyghur/11865648

China remains the world’s worst polluter…but…

A composite image of a smoggy Shanghai and wind turbines.

Shanghai, one of the world’s most populous cities, will today enact strict green policies limiting disposable takeaway utensils and hotel room essentials, as it officially rolls out a major recycling overhaul.

Key points:

  • China contributed to almost a third of the global renewables investment in 2018
  • But the Asian power remains the world’s largest producer of carbon emissions
  • China provides billions of dollars in support for overseas coal plants per year

The ban on the provision of a slew of single-use items such as chopsticks, forks, shower caps and toothbrushes unless requested by customers comes amid Beijing’s green push to tackle pollution and their ambition to become a global leader in clean technology.

While China remains the world’s largest producer of carbon emissions — where air pollution is still responsible for more than 1 million premature deaths a year — the Asian power is also the biggest investor in renewable energy.

The latest report by the UN’s renewable energy advisory body, REN21, shows China led renewable energy investment worldwide for the seventh successive year, contributing to almost a third of the global renewables investment in 2018 at $US91.2 billion ($130.2 billion).

Full story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-01/china-leader-in-renewable-energy-wages-war-on-pollution/11249162

China is harassing Uyghur minority people living in Australia and ‘fake police cars’

A car with what appears to be Chinese police markings parked at night.

A diplomatic war of words has emerged between the American and Chinese embassies in Canberra, amid claims Beijing is harassing Uyghur minority people living in Australia.

Key points:

  • The US ambassador said Uyghurs were being “harassed by agents of a foreign power”
  • He said fake Chinese police cars were being parked outside their homes
  • China’s foreign affairs ministry said the allegation was “laughable”

Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been subject to a wide-ranging security crackdown in China’s far-western Xinjiang region, where it is believed more than a million people have been rounded up and put in detention camps.

In an interview with ABC News Breakfast last Thursday, US ambassador Arthur B Culvahouse Jr said China was monitoring and intimidating Uyghurs living in Australia, and that this involved the use of fake Chinese police cars.

“Uyghurs who are lawfully in Australia, who are raised in Australia, working, paying taxes in Australia, are being harassed by agents of a foreign power,” he said.

Full story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-18/us-and-china-clash-over-uyghur-harassment-and-fake-police-cars/11802578