Radio Free Asia
@RadioFreeAsia
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Delivering reliable, uncensored news and providing an open forum for citizens in Asian countries that restrict media, free press and free speech.
Joined October 2008
North Korea has sentenced to death a man who smuggled and sold copies of the Netflix series “Squid Game” after authorities caught seven high school students watching the Korean-language global hit show, sources in the country told RFA.
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Security forces in recent days have destroyed ambulances, medical equipment, and internationally recognized Red Cross flags, and have injured medics, according to the Myanmar Red Cross Society.
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Here’s the latest from RFA cartoonist Rebel Pepper – U.S. Companies Kowtow Before China. Numerous U.S. companies have run afoul of Chinese nationalism under the rule of President Xi Jinping. Recent examples include Apple Computers, game-maker Blizzard, and the NBA.
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On the eve of the 34th anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square, Radio Free Asia collected stories from young Chinese netizens about their knowledge of the events surrounding June 4, 1989.
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A huge New Year's Day pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong ends with clashes between police and protesters. More than 100 people were detained. Demonstrators are trying to carry their movement's momentum into 2020.
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"The freezing of these assets is appalling, and sets a dreadful precedent in one of the world's major financial centres," said the U.K.-based rights group Hong Kong Watch.
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"Hong Kong is no longer a place ruled by law, and we hope that true Hong Kong people can persist," Yip said. "The government has taken the wrong path, believing that the problem can be resolved with violence.".
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A petition calling on the U.S. to freeze an equivalent amount of Chinese-owned assets in the U.S. had gotten more than 12,000 signatures. "The attempt is just to suppress Hong Kongers' human rights.".
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Tiananmen Mothers, a group representing victims of the June 4 massacre that ended weeks of pro-democracy protests in 1989 has called on Xi Jinping to take responsibility for the actions of the government ahead of this year's 34th anniversary.
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"Hong Kong is under-resourced to deal with this excess mental health burden," professor Gabriel Leung, dean of medicine at the University of Hong Kong, who co-led the research, told reporters.
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"Hong Kong's people have shown us that 'one country, two systems' is absolutely not viable," Tsai said.
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June 4 marks the 35th anniversary of the #Tiananmen massacre, in which the People’s Liberation Army killed hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians, stamping out weeks of protests in the heart of China’s capital.
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"I don't think Hong Kong really enjoys academic freedom," Wong said. "Naturally, you can publish freely, but you may suffer revenge or retaliation afterwards . perhaps by losing your job or being asked not to say anything.".
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Protests erupt in Hong Kong, and police respond with tear gas and water cannons. The protesters are angry at plans by Beijing to impose tough national security laws and crack down on dissent in Hong Kong.
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"The youth of Hong Kong have shown us with their lives, their blood and tears, that one country, two systems does not work.
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"I think it is very crucial for Hong Kong to find out the whole truth of the Yuen Long attack, why the police didn't deploy any officers to prevent the attack from happening.".
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"I had hoped to spotlight Beijing’s deepening assault on international efforts to uphold human rights," Roth said of the report. "The refusal to let me enter Hong Kong vividly illustrates the problem.".
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A recent opinion poll shows that around 80 percent of Hong Kong people are in favor of a total border shutdown to limit the impact of the Wuhan novel coronavirus epidemic, called nCoV-2019 (Wuhan) by the WHO.
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Protesters said they would never forget that the Hong Kong police failed to respond to more than 24,000 emergency calls from the area as the white-shirted mob ran amok, bludgeoning passengers for 39 minutes before police arrived on the scene.
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"The fact that he has now been transferred to a maximum security jail just strengthens our beliefs," A Ming said. "His transfer to a top security prison shows that what we are doing is the right thing.".
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An exhibition by the Australia-based Chinese dissident artist Badiucao opened Friday at the Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, Poland.
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"The events of the past few weeks are very clear--the Central People’s Government is now exercising their so-called comprehensive jurisdiction over every aspect of Hong Kong domestic affairs," Kwok said.
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Pavlou has reported being physically attacked by Chinese Communist Party supporters during a campus brawl at UQ sparked by Chinese students' opposition to a Hong Kong protest-related activity.
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"We want members of Congress to know that we're not just lobbying; we will do anything in our power to protect Hong Kong, and we're going to keep up the pressure.".
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"Some in the city's legal establishment are now bracing for the possibility that China will begin to meddle in the appointment of new judges, following objections by some pro-Beijing lawmakers in Hong Kong to two recent appointments on the top court.".
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An internal message is being passed around the Chinese Football Association to the effect that the ruling Chinese Communist Party expects the national team to beat Hong Kong.
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"It is impossible to argue that these two organizations aren't bound by Article 22 of the Basic Law," Lee said. "No matter how high their status, they are still under the central government.". "It makes no sense for them to pretend.".
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"International users must consider an ethical issue: whenever they use WeChat, they are actually helping to train algorithmic robots to help oppress domestic users in China," CitizenLab director Ron Deibert told RFA.
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Out of 327 journalists, 95 percent said press freedom in Hong Kong had worsened compared to a year earlier, while 72 percent said the Chinese Communist Party's increasing control had made them uneasy about reporting criticism of authorities.
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"Previously, opposition to interference by external forces was the language of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but now it is also the language of our Hong Kong SAR government," Carrie Lam told a pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong.
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"Hong Kongers have regularly taken to the streets to demand accountability in the face of abusive policing tactics that have included the wanton use of tear gas, arbitrary arrests, physical assaults and abuses in detention.".
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Jin from global K-pop sensation BTS (BTS_official) carried the torch for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on Sunday, greeted by throngs of cheering fans. #JinxOlympics2024
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"Usually, strike action is taken to fight for the personal rights and interests of employees, but this time our demands are very clear," Choi said. "We want to see [the government] protect public health in Hong Kong.".
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A protester surnamed Leung said protesters want to keep up their defense of the city's freedoms. "We need to keep this up," Leung said. "The [ruling] Chinese Communist Party has been cracking down on Hong Kong.".
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"They wouldn’t comment. I think it speaks for itself. They’re just not willing to take the same positions around human rights in China that they are in the United States.".
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Protester action figures are Part of Hong Kong’s “yellow” economy. Products and businesses that show support for the seven-month-old protest movement have gained a certain cache as the city celebrates the Year of the Rat.
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"Does the Hong Kong government believe that the violence meted out to the people of Hong Kong was insufficient?" Alvin Yeung said. "They are getting more weapons?". "The biggest winners in this budget are the police," he said.
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Hong Kong netizens launch a campaign to save free speech. Participants hold copies of the Apple Daily, a newspaper suppressed by the Hong Kong government. Many in Hong Kong fear a new national security law imposed by Beijing will curb freedoms in the once freewheeling city.
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The UK says Beijing's plans to impose a draconian national security law on Hong Kong are in breach of the bilateral treaty governing the city's return to China.
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The HKBA said: "It is entirely unclear how the proposed agencies set up in [Hong Kong] will operate," citing an article in the Basic Law which bans Chinese government departments from operating in Hong Kong.
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"Xia Baolong wields huge influence, because after Zhejiang demolished crosses, other provinces like Hebei and Henan did the same," Chang told RFA. "Can the government take such a hard line in Hong Kong and Macau?".
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"It is almost certain there will be an attempt to remove me from the UQ Senate on May 13th," UQ student Drew Pavlou said. "I was elected by a majority of students on a platform supporting Hong Kong and opposing the Confucius Institute.".
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"These things show us that the Chinese government hasn't found the root of popular malaise, and also that the things we were fighting for in the 1989 protest movement were the right things," Chen said.
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"Net satisfaction with the freedom of the press in Hong Kong has dropped dramatically by 39 percentage points to negative 21, registering an all-time low since record began in 1997," the Public Opinion Research Institute said.
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'"We stuck to the facts; we just presented them in a certain way," Wong told RFA. "If it's now a crime to tell a story based on the facts, then it's not just the people at 'Headliner" who need to worry.".
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Thirty years after Chinese troops crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing, Tiananmen mothers have banded together to keep alive memories of their lost children and the spirit of their struggle.
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The letter came after a group of Hong Kong Catholics dropped a planned fundraising campaign to buy advertising space to print a prayer for democracy in a local newspaper, after pressure from church leaders.
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The stars of "The White Lotus" season 3 including, Blackpink's Lisa, hit the green carpet in Bangkok for the premiere of the series. #blackpink #lisa
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The NDI called on Beijing to refrain from further undermining the "high degree of autonomy" promised to Hong Kong, and on the Hong Kong government to "resist Beijing’s interference into Hong Kong’s autonomy and rule of law.".
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Beijing has put pressure on Hong Kong officials in recent years to ensure that no one advocating greater independence or autonomy for the city can take part in public life.
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Content Warning: Violence/Death/Torture. “I had to cut off the head, bro”. 🧵 Images obtained by RFA from the phone of a junta soldier appear to show evidence of military atrocities in Myanmar’s #Sagaing region.
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"This is the outcome of our local resistance [to China] and highlights the importance of our international connections," said Wong, who has already been publicly denounced by Chinese officials for being a "black hand" corrupting the youth of Hong Kong.
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"Hong Kong is losing its entrepreneurs; its most capable people, the mainstay of society, its specialists; the business people are all leaving. But why won't Shanghai be able to fill its role? Because there's no rule of law there.".
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Police in #HongKong have arrested an Australian-Chinese impersonator of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un for "possession of a firearm," sparking concerns that he could have been targeted at the behest of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
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"Given that the specifics of [special cases] are unknown, this is effectively going to bring the Chinese criminal system to Hong Kong," Johannes Chan said. "This is worrying.".
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On Hong Kong, "We want the principle of 'one country, two systems' to be fully applied, Maas told Wang. "You know that our concerns about the effects of the security law have not been allayed.".
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"Frontline reporters have been facing obstruction and interference by the police in their reporting work," Yeung wrote. "The use of force, violence, verbal abuses and humiliation by police turned from bad to worse.".
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Cambodia sends three young environmental activists to Prey Sar Prison to wait for their trial on charges of conspiracy for filming the drainage of waste into a river near the Royal Palace.
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"China should abandon this effort to impose a national security law on Hong Kong immediately," HRW China director Sophie Richardson said in a statement. "No government should invoke national security as a justification for repression.".
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Hong Kong Journalists Hit Back Over Police Violence Against Colleagues
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The former student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was granted refugee status for three years, said a support group. She had endured "great hardship" while awaiting processing, including sexual assault and hospitalization for psychiatric trauma.
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Mainland Chinese News Anchor Urges Taiwan (‘Wan Wan’) to Come Home. China is cracking down on anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, restricting religious practice in Tibet, and jailing hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang.
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"Under the proposed national security law . what is proposed . confers a power upon the chief executive. which is currently exercised by the judiciary," said the Hong Kong Bar Association.
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“[Parliament] urges the Chinese Government to put an immediate end to the practice of arbitrary detention . to close all camps and detention centers, and to immediately and unconditionally release those detained,” the resolution said.
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A city in western Myanmar’s Chin state burns after reports that junta forces fired weapons. More than 110 buildings, including two churches, were set ablaze. Many of the residents have fled the city.
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Clashes erupt between government forces and local militia in eastern Myanmar’s Kayah state. Local militia members told RFA that more than a dozen truckloads of government troops entered Daw Ngan Khar village on Friday and opened fire.
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Schoolchildren protest the sacking of a teacher who let students sing the protest anthem 'Glory to Hong Kong' in school.
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35 years ago, in 1989, #Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, witnessed massive pro-democracy demonstrations, primarily led by students. The protests, which began in April following the death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang, called for political and economic reforms. 📷: Reuters
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The Hong Kong Autonomy Act allows the U.S. president to impose sanctions on individuals as soon as they are named, while sanctions on financial institutions may be imposed no longer than a year later.
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Detained Independent Chinese Journalist Moved to Unknown Location
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“As the Chinese government ramps up disinformation efforts in response to reporting on their human rights abuses in East Turkistan, international audiences should ask themselves, ‘What are they trying to hide?’” #WPFD2020.#worldpressfreedomday.
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Since the Feb 1st military coup in Myanmar, the new regime has repeatedly relied on internet shutdowns and telecommunications curbs in order to restrict the flow of information. Explore our timeline of the shutdowns and suppression here: . Photo: @AFP
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"They won't let her speak out, or report the truth about what's happening," he said. "But I wish they would treat her with a bit more humanity.".
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A heavy police presence as protesters mark the one-year anniversary of a mob attack. Police arrested a local politician for violating a newly-imposed security law after he displayed a banner with the words “Free Hong Kong” emblazoned on it.
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From Uyghurs and Tibetans in China to Mongolians and Koreans, a heavy-handed CCP policy to expand Chinese language education at the expense of native languages is meeting resistance from ethnic minorities who see a concerted drive to wipe out local tongues and identities.
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“I expect the Senate will soon look to pass Senator Rubio’s Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act,” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told the Senate.
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Beijing has been effective at silencing critics as it carries out human rights abuses and stifles dissent in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. The NBA is the latest victim.
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Protesters in northern Yangon’s Kamaryut Township took part in an anti-coup “Green Day Strike” over the weekend to honor more than 600 people killed by security forces since Myanmar’s military staged a coup against the democratic government on Feb. 1. Photos: RFA/Myo Min Soe
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Messages of support were quick to appear. "Please stay safe! This is just like what happened in Hong Kong in the past year," user @sajujuandjuju wrote in reply. "Hongkongers will always support our Thai friends. Please let us know how we can help!".
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Actor and wrestling champion John Cena posted a video apologizing in Chinese for his “mistake” in describing Taiwan, the self-governing island over which China claims sovereignty, as a country while promoting the latest “Fast and Furious” film. Illustration by RFA’s @remonwangxt
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CHRF convenor Jimmy Sham has called on Hongkongers to wear black instead to register their protest over the incommunicado detention of 12 Hong Kong activists in a Shenzhen detention center after they tried to flee to Taiwan by speedboat.
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After Friday prayers about 1,000 mostly Muslim protesters gathered in heavy rain outside the Chinese embassy in Jakarta, in the largest demonstration to date in the Southeast Asian country against Beijing’s crackdown on Uyghurs.
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Authorities in Hong Kong have transferred 24-year-old democracy activist Agnes Chow to a top-security prison that places Category A prisoners convicted of violent crime in solitary confinement, according to the city's Apple Daily newspaper.
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"The international community actually wants Hong Kong to keep its freedoms, including the freedom of the press," HKJA chairman Chris Yeung said.
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North Korea has distributed a year’s worth of food supplies upfront to law enforcement and other security agencies to solidify loyalty to the regime at a time of shortages across the country, made worse by a shutdown of trade with China. Illustration by RFA’s @remonwangxt
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We will do everything we can to help Hong Kong, and its protesters. There was a time when we naively believed that there would be such a thing as one country, two systems, but since 1997 we have seen that it has failed.
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Uyghurs are “at risk of coercive population control, forced labor, arbitrary detention in internment camps, torture, physical and sexual abuse, mass surveillance, family separation, and repression of cultural and religious expression around the world.”.
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"Beijing officials have made statements about their role in Hong Kong which are a flagrant breach of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law," Patten wrote to U.K. foreign secretary Dominic Raab.
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In Hong Kong, "anyone who took part in the anti-extradition movement, from the frontline fighters to the peaceful, rational protesters, are likely to be tracked and later prosecuted under the national security law," Hu Jia said.
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Dozens of graduating Chinese University of Hong Kong students display slogans that authorities have declared illegal in a rare act of defiance against a sweeping new national security law imposed on the city by Beijing.
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HK police received over 2,500 calls just one day after launching a hotline for reporting violations of Beijing’s national security law. Police hope the hotline will deter violations, but some observers say the main aim of the hotline may be to sow fear among pro-democracy groups.
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News of Qurban Mamut’s arrest comes amid reports of several Uyghur intellectuals being taken into custody in the XUAR as part of what Uyghurs in exile say is a calculated campaign to destroy the cultural identity of their ethnic group.
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#HongKong journalist Bao Choy was arrested and released by police for allegedly misleading authorities to use a public database and produce a documentary on police inaction as pro-China white shirts attacked protesters in Yuen Long during the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
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"The police are able to track down those who scale the wall with great accuracy," Wang said. "The Chinese Communist Party's high-tech surveillance of its citizens is like an advanced version of that used in Orwell's 1984.".
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Behind the brutal interrogation of a journalist in Myanmar--A new episode of Eyes on Asia podcast is available now: Nathan Maung, the editor-in-chief of Kamayut Media, recounts life inside prison and what the future holds for Myanmar.
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"If a regime has no respect for human life and no desire for the higher values, it will eventually be consigned to the ashes of history. It may seem in a time of darkness that there is no hope, but China will change.".
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