For two years Chinese authorities secretly detained the newborn baby, her siblings, and their parents. Their whereabouts and wellbeing remained unknown to family members or lawyers until word began to trickle out in July 2022: the baby and her sister, then 6 years old, had been kept in a psychiatric hospital since October 2020. Their … Read more
Every exiled Uyghur carries a load: the “enormous pain, the hole in your heart, the burden on your shoulder and the nightmare in your sleep,” in the words of Yalkun Uluyol. Uluyol’s father is serving a 16-year prison sentence; an uncle has been condemned to life; and 30 or so other family members are serving … Read more
A United Nations review of China’s human rights record set to occur in January should shine a light on Beijing’s atrocity crimes. But there are three ways in which this Universal Periodic Review (UPR) may actually worsen rather than improve the human rights situation inside China. In 2006, the U.N. created the UPR, in which … Read more
In late November 2022, the Chinese internet was overwhelmed by expressions of grief and rage, despite the government’s best efforts to maintain its strict censorship of online dissent. The outpouring was triggered by a fire in Urumqi, capital of the western region of Xinjiang, that killed at least 10 people after harsh COVID-19 rules reportedly … Read more
This week, a man U.S. President Joe Biden has accused of genocide will arrive in San Francisco so that the two can meet. It will be Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s first trip to the United States since 2017. During this period, he has presided over atrocity crimes targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic … Read more
Advertisement Two months ago, I was in Taiwan where, among other people, I met two Taiwanese men who spent time in Chinese prisons. Their stories serve as a warning of the potential fate for Taiwan itself if Xi Jinping decides to take the island. Lee Ming-che was sentenced to five years in jail in China … Read more
The Debate | Opinion The California governor can and should address human rights – such as free speech, peaceful protest, and participation in public affairs – as part of his discussions on climate change. Advertisement As Gavin Newsom, the governor of the U.S. state of California, heads to China to discuss climate change with President Xi Jinping, … Read more
ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia Lu Siwei was arrested on July 28, as he tried to board a train from Vientiane to Bangkok, and is expected to face deportation soon. A train waiting at the platform at Thanaleng Station in Vientiane, Laos, where the Chinese dissident lawyer Lu Siwei was arrested on July 28, 2023. Credit: Flickr/shankar … Read more
Advertisement Starting on July 9, 2015, the Chinese government launched an unprecedented nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers. In the following few months, police interrogated and detained over 300 lawyers and paralegal assistants and raided three law firms. Dozens of lawyers and legal assistants and activists were detained, and 15 were eventually convicted. These lawyers … Read more
Advertisement History is marked by the recurring tragedy of publics rallying around leaders with attractive-sounding rhetoric, from new constitutions to government-led development and social justice, to prosperity through privatization. Whether on the right or the left, the most consistent outcome is to empower and benefit the elites selling the concept. China’s new Global Civilization Initiative … Read more