Tag: Human rights

Biden administration declares Chinese actions in Xinjiang as ‘genocide’
1Apr By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Biden administration declares Chinese actions in Xinjiang as ‘genocide’

US President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday declared Chinese actions against the Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang as ‘genocide’.The US Department of State, in a 2020 report on Human rights practices, said: “Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang”.Chinese authorities’ genocide in Xinjiang was first officially declared by Michael Pompeo during the waning days of the Donald Trump administration. Now, Antony Blinken affirmed Pompeo’s assessment during his confirmation hearing, but the word’s inclusion into Tuesday’s report formalizes the outlook as an official U.S. government assessment.The State Department said the crime inc...
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China used Twitter, Facebook more than ever for Xinjiang Propaganda in 2020: Research
1Apr By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia

China used Twitter, Facebook more than ever for Xinjiang Propaganda in 2020: Research

A new research by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has said that the Chinese government’s propaganda activity on Twitter and Facebook over its policies toward ethnic minorities in Xinjiang reached an all-time high in 2020, as Beijing sought to portray its approach, including use of widespread internment camps, as beneficial to the remote northwestern region.According to the research, the frequency of tweets about Xinjiang from Chinese state media and diplomatic Twitter accounts increased to an average of nearly 500 tweets per month in 2020, up from about 280 per month in 2019.“Since early 2020, there’s been a stark increase in the Chinese Government and state media’s use of US social media networks to push alternative narratives and disinformation about the situation in Xinjiang. ...
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UN panel finds ‘alarming’ media restrictions in Pakistan
29Mar By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

UN panel finds ‘alarming’ media restrictions in Pakistan

A United Nations human rights panel has reached out to the Pakistan government to express its concerns over an “alarming pattern of restrictions” on freedom of expression in the country.The UN panel has informed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government that it has received information regarding a series of “alleged meritless charges” brought against some journalists and human rights defenders.The documents sent to the government by the panel include cases that have been dismissed as well as those in which journalists were questioned or threatened but not prosecuted.Last year, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in a ‘White Paper on Global Journalism’ had listed five countries, including Pakistan, as the ‘Most Dangerous Countries for Practice of Journalism in the World’Th...
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Chinese consul-general calls Canada ‘running dog’ of US
29Mar By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Chinese consul-general calls Canada ‘running dog’ of US

Alleging that the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ruined the friendly ties between China and Canada, Li Yang, the Chinese Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, has said that Trudeau has turned Canada into a “running dog of the United States”.“Boy, your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada, and have turned Canada into a running dog of the US. Spendthrift!!!” Li Yang tweeted on Sunday.His remark comes a day after China had announced sanctions against two American religious-rights officials and a Canadian MP in response to western countries’ sanctions on Beijing over the issue of human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.However, the United States condemned China’s sanctions and said that Beijing’s attempt to silence criticism of human r...
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US to hold China accountable for human rights abuses: US Speaker
24Mar By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

US to hold China accountable for human rights abuses: US Speaker

The United States Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday lauded the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on China and said that Washington will hold Beijing accountable for human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang as well as against people in Tibet and Hong Kong“The Biden administration’s coordinated sanctions on China are a strong and resounding step to hold China accountable for its barbaric atrocities against the Uyghur people,” Pelosi said in a statement.“America, together with our allies, will continue to hold Beijing accountable for its campaign of human rights abuses, including those targeting the Tibetan people, people of Hong Kong and journalists, human rights lawyers and advocates on the mainland,” she added.Pelosi said that the US Congress will further its actions w...
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EU approves sanctions on Chinese officials over rights abuses in Xinjiang: Report
18Mar By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

EU approves sanctions on Chinese officials over rights abuses in Xinjiang: Report

Increasing China’s troubles, European Union (EU) officials have approved sanctions on Chinese officials, who are accused of human rights violations in the Xinjiang province.The penalties, which were approved at preparatory meetings for next week’s Foreign Affairs Council, will be formally adopted at a meeting of the bloc’s top diplomats on Monday.These will be the first sanctions against Beijing since an EU arms embargo in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The embargo is still in place.Across the world, China has been rebuked for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination.Meanwhile, Beijing has vehemently d...
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Increasing number of foreigners avoid travel to China due to fear of detention: Report
13Mar By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Increasing number of foreigners avoid travel to China due to fear of detention: Report

Academics, NGO workers and media professionals have said that they are unwilling to travel to China after the detention of foreigners in the country.China’s President Xi Jinping forges increasingly hostile relations with Western governments and hence, some fear being a target of a possible diplomatic spat between their government and Beijing.Several people pointed to the detention of two Canadians in China in December 2018 – Micheal Kovrig, an NGO worker and Michael Spavor, who organised trips to North Korea – after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on charges filed in the US.Last year, Chinese-Australian TV anchor Cheng Lei, who worked for the state media channel CGTN, was also detained amid worsening ties between Beijing and Australia.Gordon Matthews, a professor of...
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US Congressman expresses solidarity with Sindhi community as Pak crackdown on minorities
10Mar By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

US Congressman expresses solidarity with Sindhi community as Pak crackdown on minorities

US Congressman Adam Schiff has condemned the human rights abuses in Pakistan’s Sindh province, including disappearances, torture, forced conversions and extrajudicial killings.While supporting the Sindhi Foundation’s ‘Long Walk for Freedom, Nature, and Love’, Schiff said that he hopes the long walk “can raise awareness for these crimes and bring peace and justice to Sindh”.“I am so pleased to be able to offer a few words of encouragement and support for the long walk for freedom, nature and love. I have had the honour of getting to know more about the Sindhi people and their peaceful and inclusive culture,” he said.He also expressed concern over the “trends of human rights abuses in Sindh province, including disappearances, torture, forced conversions and extrajudicial killings”.According ...
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Sri Lanka seeks India’s support ahead of UNHRC session
23Feb By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia

Sri Lanka seeks India’s support ahead of UNHRC session

Ahead of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in March, Sri Lanka has sought India’s support in UNHRC’s probe in Colombia’s record in human rights and related accountability.According to media reports, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking support during the upcoming session of the UNHRC.Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage said that it was part of the president’s efforts to secure the support of the member states.“We made the first request from India. When he (Rajapaksa) meets with the envoys of the respective countries, he hands over these letters to be sent to their leaders,” the Foreign Secretary said.The core group of countries that work on Sri Lanka’s issue at the UNHRC has indicated that it will move a ...
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‘Let’s each manage our own business’: Top Chinese diplomat on US’ remarks on human rights abuses
7Feb By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

‘Let’s each manage our own business’: Top Chinese diplomat on US’ remarks on human rights abuses

In a sharp response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling out Beijing for its gross human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, the top foreign policy aide to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Yang Jiechi has said “let’s each manage our own business.”Yang told Blinken during their Friday call that the US should “correct recent mistakes, and work with China to promote the healthy and stable development of China-US relations by upholding the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation,” according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.Yang said that both sides should respect the other’s core interests, as well as political systems and developmental paths of their own choosing, according to the statement.“Each side should focus ...
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