#including committing ongoing genocide against the Uyghur people

[tam--lin]

I'm not gonna reblog it but the Sarah Gailey post that's like "interesting Hugo stats!" then gives you Palestinian death statistics bothers me deeply because the Hugos ~~drama~~ is literally about self-censorship of an organization attempting (badly) to avoid censure by a different government that's actively committing genocide against a different people.

I don't actually want all eyes on Palestine, I want many eyes on Palestine and many other eyes on other genocides happening, and mayhaps the coverage around the Hugos drama could be used to highlight a genocide that's been going on for years with little coverage.

[hassibah]

https://commons.com.ua/en/ukrayinskij-list-solidarnosti/

Ukrainian Letter of Solidarity with Palestinian people

"Our solidarity comes from a place of anger at the injustice, and a place of deep pain of knowing the devastating impacts of occupation, shelling of civil infrastructure, and humanitarian blockade from experiences in our homeland. Parts of Ukraine have been occupied since 2014, and the international community failed to stop Russian aggression then, ignoring the imperial and colonial nature of the armed violence, which consequently escalated on the 24th of February 2022. Civilians in Ukraine are shelled daily, in their homes, in hospitals, on bus stops, in queues for bread. As a result of the Russian occupation, thousands of people in Ukraine live without access to water, electricity or heating, and it is the most vulnerable groups that are mostly affected by the destruction of critical infrastructure. In the months of the siege and heavy bombardment of Mariupol there was no humanitarian corridor. Watching the Israeli targeting the civilian infrastructure in Gaza, the Israeli humanitarian blockade and occupation of land resonates especially painfully with us. From this place of pain of experience and solidarity, we call on our fellow Ukrainians globally and all the people to raise their voices in support of the Palestinian people and condemn the ongoing  Israeli mass ethnic cleansing.

We reject the Ukrainian government statements that express unconditional support for Israel's military actions, and we consider the calls to avoid civilian casualties by Ukraine's MFA belated and insufficient. This position is a retreat from the support of Palestinian rights and condemnation of the Israeli occupation, which Ukraine has followed for decades, including voting in the UN.  Aware of the pragmatic geopolitical reasoning behind Ukraine’s decision to echo Western allies, on whom we are dependent for our survival, we see the current support of Israel and dismissing Palestinian right to self-determination as contradictory to Ukraine’s own commitment to human rights and fight for our land and freedom. We as Ukrainians should stand in solidarity not with the oppressors, but with those who experience and resist the oppression.

We strongly object to equating of Western military aid to Ukraine and Israel by some politicians. Ukraine doesn't occupy the territories of other people, instead, it fights against the Russian occupation, and therefore international assistance serves a just cause and the protection of international law. Israel has occupied and annexed Palestinian and Syrian territories, and Western aid to it confirms an unjust order and demonstrates double standards in relation to international law.

We oppose the new wave of Islamophobia, such as the brutal murder of a Palestinian American 6-year old and assault on his family in Illinois, USA, and the equating of any criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. At the same time, we also oppose holding all Jewish people all over the world accountable for the politics of the state of Israel and we condemn anti-Semitic violence, such as the mob attack on the airplane in Daghestan, Russia. We also reject the revival of the “war on terror” rhetoric used by the US and EU to justify war crimes and violations of international law that have undermined the international security system, caused countless deaths, and has been borrowed by other states, including Russia for the war in Chechnya and China for the Uyghur genocide. Now Israel is using it to carry out ethnic cleansing."

[influencermagazineuk]

Human Rights Group Calls on UK Financial Regulator to Block Shein’s LSE Flotation

DMCGN, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons A UK-based human rights organization, Stop Uyghur Genocide, has urged the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to block the Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein's planned listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The group alleges that Uyghur people are being used as forced labor at some of Shein's cotton suppliers in the Xinjiang region of China. Represented by the law firm Leigh Day, the campaign group has formally written to the FCA to argue against Shein's LSE listing. The company, valued at $66 billion in a recent fundraising round, initially planned to list in New York but faced opposition from US politicians, leading it to explore a listing on the LSE instead. On Tuesday, Amnesty International UK labeled Shein's potential London listing as a "badge of shame" due to the firm's "questionable" labor and human rights standards. Shein responded, stating, "Shein has a zero-tolerance policy for forced labor and we are committed to respecting human rights. We take visibility across our entire supply chain seriously and require our contract manufacturers to source cotton only from approved regions." Stop Uyghur Genocide highlighted that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had previously declined to recommend Shein's listing due to concerns about labor practices. The group emphasized that the UK's commitment to International Labour Organization conventions, which set minimum standards for worker engagement, should prevent Shein's listing. "The FCA has a statutory duty of integrity and to protect its investors," the group stated. Ricardo Gama, a solicitor from Leigh Day representing Stop Uyghur Genocide, added, "Stop Uyghur Genocide expects UK financial institutions to uphold the high ethical standards that they pay lip service to and to ensure that London isn't the place for a 'no questions asked' approach to capital." The campaign group is preparing a detailed submission to support its letter to the FCA. Meanwhile, their lawyers have requested that the FCA obtain more information from Shein regarding the accuracy of its published modern slavery statement. Under the Modern Slavery Act, large businesses must publish an annual statement detailing measures taken to prevent slavery and trafficking in their operations and supply chains. Rahima Mahmut, executive director of Stop Uyghur Genocide, expressed deep concerns about Shein's potential listing, citing connections to human rights abuses, including modern slavery. "Our investment community must not support companies like Shein that are reportedly linked to the Chinese state and may enable ongoing genocidal policies against Uyghurs," Mahmut said. The FCA has declined to comment on Shein's potential listing, noting it lacks investigation or enforcement powers concerning alleged breaches of legislation outside its remit, such as the Modern Slavery Act. Before a company's shares can be admitted to the LSE, the firm must apply to the FCA for admission to listing and approval of its prospectus. The FCA emphasized that it is the company's responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the information in its prospectus. Michael Polak, barrister and chair of Lawyers for Uyghur Rights, stated, "A firm alleged to have involvement in goods produced by slave labor in the Uyghur region creates a risk that those vital principles will be violated. We will ask the FCA to consider the expert evidence we provide before deciding on a public listing in the UK." Read the full article

[allthecanadianpolitics]

China is violating the UN genocide convention with a program of imprisonment and forced sterilization of the Uyghur people, says a new report from a leading human rights group.

The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy details the ongoing genocide in the Xinjiang region of China in the report released Tuesday. The report specifically compares the Chinese government’s actions to the United Nations definition of genocide laid out in the 1948 convention and concludes China is clearly committing a genocide.

“We demonstrate conclusively that the policies, the law, the practices, and the campaigns in the region amounts to genocide exactly as laid out in the Genocide Convention,” said Yonah Diamond, the Wallenberg Centre’s legal counsel.

The UN convention was created in 1948 in response to the horrors of the Holocaust and specifically defines genocide, while also making it clear that countries have a responsibility to act if it is happening in another nation. The treaty has been signed by 152 countries, including both Canada and China.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

In China’s biggest display of cognitive dissonance and chilling irony, President Xi Jinping urges Chinese officials to curate a ‘lovable’ image of the country from now on. 

Such officials know full well that several countries blame China for concealing its outbreak of coronavirus, leading to the disease spreading beyond its borders. As I wrote yesterday, several American states have filed class-action lawsuits against the CCP, and prior, Australia formally accused China of orchestrating a coverup.  

As of today, China commits genocide against the Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang. Contrary to smooth denials by these same Chinese officials, the Uyghurs have accused the Chinese government of a range of sickening crimes. These include, but are not limited to: arbitrary arrest, torture, organ harvesting, trafficking, gang rape, forced abortions, forced sterilisation, reeducation, denial of religious rights, and official denial of genocide. 

In addition to this, China strangles Hong Kong’s democracy through its national security law, leading to the arrest and persecution of many in that region. China has also continued its intimidation of Taiwan, its repression of Tibet’s right to independence, and its recent attack on the Mongolian people by preventing those in Inner Mongolia from learning their own national language in school.  

Instead of providing the international community with any explanation for these lawless acts alone-- I could include China’s military build-up in the South China Sea, intrusion into family life leading to a catastrophic decline in birth rates, online censorship and persecution of independent media-- China believes instead that a charm offensive will cause foreign nations to abandon their concerns. 

Western politicians in particular should stand firm against China’s human rights abuses and reject China’s false belief that it has a superior form of government and society to the West. Anyone who reads Chinese history in the 20th century, as well as current politics can see that a rejection of Western democratic values goes hand in hand with repression, persecution, and egregious criminality. China and other nations like Russia and Iran have demonstrated this time and time again. 

Reject this whitewashing. Hold China accountable for its ongoing human rights abuses. 

[expatimes]

Trump administration says China committed Uighur ‘genocide’ | Crimes Against Humanity News

The determination, issued on the last day of Trump’s term, has no immediate effect but is likely to further strain US-China ties.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the Trump administration has determined China has committed “genocide and crimes against humanity” in its repression of Uighur Muslims in the far western region of Xinjiang.

“After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that the , has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” Pompeo said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement says “exhaustive documentation” of the events “confirms that since at least March 2017, local authorities dramatically escalated their decades-long campaign of repression against Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups, including ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Kyrgyz”.

The determination comes a day before US President-elect Joe Biden is to take office. Biden’s campaign declared genocide was occurring in Xinjiang before the president-elect’s victory.

“I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uighurs by the Chinese party-state,” Pompeo added.

I have determined that the People’s Republic of China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, China, targeting Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 19, 2021

The Reuters news agency reported that US officials briefing reporters on the move said that “an exhaustive documentation of own policies, practices and abuse in Xinjiang” viewed by Pompeo led him to make the determination that such acts had been committed since at least March 2017.

“This is a very serious and tragic set of actions that are taking place there in the western part of China,” Pompeo said in an interview on Tuesday on US TV station Fox News.

“This is forced sterilisation, forced abortions – the kind of things that we haven’t seen in an awfully long time in this world,” Pompeo said.

He said the designation is something they have been working on “for an awfully long time”.

The move is likely to place further strain on the deteriorating ties between the world’s leading economies.

Washington has ramped up sanctions on Beijing over alleged abuses not only in Xinjiang, but also in Tibet, and Hong Kong as well as its increasingly assertive claims in the disputed South China Sea.

The Trump administration has also taken action against Huawei, one of China’s leading telecommunications companies, as it plans to expand throughout Europe and North America.

‘Threat is real’

Pompeo’s announcement came after an attempt to insert a ‘genocide clause’ into a trade bill to prevent the United Kingdom from doing business with countries the courts determine to be committing genocide – a move largely targeted at China – ended in failure despite support from senior members of the ruling Conservative party.

MPs voted 319 to 308 against the amendment. The bill will now return to the upper house and those in favour of the amendment signalled that they would continue to pursue the changes.

“Today’s rebellion shows the Govt can’t ignore calls to bring genocide cases before UK courts,” Iain Duncan Smith, a former party leader and minister, wrote on Twitter.

Today’s rebellion shows the Govt can’t ignore calls to bring genocide cases before UK courts. We’ll continue to work on this amendment, considering all points MPs made today. I hope the @UKHouseofLords will ensure an improved amendment returns to the @HouseofCommons https://t.co/20wYfpfZqy

— Iain Duncan Smith MP (@MPIainDS) January 19, 2021

The US determination followed new legislation that was passed in Congress on December 27 requiring the administration to determine within 90 days whether forced labour or other alleged crimes against the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities were crimes against humanity or genocide.

China has been widely criticised for complexes in Xinjiang that it describes as “vocational training centres” to stamp out “extremism” and give people new skills, but which others have called detention camps.

Beijing denies accusations of genocide.

Pompeo’s determination does not have immediate effects, though it places a spotlight on Xinjiang, one of the world’s leading regions for producing cotton.

Last week, the United States imposed a ban on all cotton and tomato products from the region.

Pompeo said on Tuesday “the threat from the Chinese Communist Party is real. It is existential to the United States”, and that he is “counting on the next administration continuing our work”.

#humanrights Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=17046&feed_id=29672 #asiapacific #china #crimesagainsthumanity #europe #genocide #humanrights #news #uighur #unitedkingdom #unitedstates #uscanada

[keenywong]

hhsk • 23h 要特別注意嘅係冇特別名單，可能係整體 https://www.state.gov/promoting-accountability-for-transnational-repression-committed-by-peoples-republic-of-china-prc-officials/ Promoting Accountability for Transnational Repression Committed by People’s Republic of China (PRC) Officials The Department of State is taking action against PRC officials for their involvement in repressive acts against members of ethnic and religious minority groups and religious and spiritual practitioners inside and outside of China’s borders, including within the United States. The United States rejects efforts by PRC officials to harass, intimidate, surveil, and abduct members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including those who seek safety abroad, and U.S. citizens, who speak out on behalf of these vulnerable populations. We are committed to defending human rights around the world and will continue to use all diplomatic and economic measures to promote accountability. Today’s action imposes visa restrictions on PRC officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, policies or actions aimed at repressing religious and spiritual practitioners, members of ethnic minority groups, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, labor organizers, civil society organizers, and peaceful protestors in China and beyond. We again call on the PRC government to cease its acts of transnational repression, including attempting to silence Uyghur American activists and other Uyghur individuals serving the American people by denying exit permission to their family members in China. The United States reaffirms its support for those who bravely speak out despite the threat of retaliation. We call on the PRC government to end its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, repressive policies in Tibet, crackdown on fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, and human rights violations and abuses, including violations of religious freedom, elsewhere in the country. We will continue to work with the international community to promote accountability for PRC officials responsible for atrocities and human rights violations and abuses wherever they occur, including within China, the Un https://www.instagram.com/p/CbbPaUYvTD6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[bryanevansduff]

All Your Questions About the 2022 Winter Olympics, Answered! (Except for Whether the Host Country Is Currently Committing Genocide)

The Olympics are back! And while hardcore sports fans are probably well-versed in the details already, we at the International Olympic Committee recognize that many of us may need a little refresher before diving right into the 2022 Winter Games. So for those folks, here are the definite answers to all your questions, except for whether the host country is currently committing genocide.

What are the Olympics?

The Olympics are an international sports festival. Different countries send representatives who compete in a variety of sports.

Where are the Olympics?

They rotate every round, but this time they are back in Beijing, China.

Is the Chinese government committing a genocide against the Turkic ethnic group of Uyghurs native to the Xinjiang province of western China?

Um. That’s a good question. To answer that…well, first off, it’s important that you’re asking that question, you know? We think it’s important that we all stop to ask questions. That’s big of you!

What sports are in the Olympics?

There are different sports in each Olympics. The Summer Olympics have all the main sports that people actually care about, plus gymnastics and swimming. The Winter Olympics have the sports that the weirdest kids from private high schools participate in so that they’ll have something to include on a college application.

Seriously, though, is there a genocide happening?

Well, yeah, I mean, it depends on who you ask.

What do you mean?

So…39 nations at the U.N. have condemned China’s treatment of the Uyghurs, and the United States as well as several other countries have formally sanctioned China for actions they have characterized as genocidal. But China says everything is fine, so.

What is China accused of doing, exactly?

You know, nothing has been confirmed for sure, but some of the allegations include the arbitrary detention of Uyghurs in state-sponsored internment camps with forced labor, forced sterilization, forced contraception, forced abortion - actually, wait, don’t you want to know about Simone Biles and stuff?

Uh. Sure what about Simone Biles?

Good question, but, no, Simone Biles is a gymnast, which means she only competes in the summer Olympics. I guess Simone will be watching from home like the rest of us! Hope she has her popcorn ready!

OK. Going back to the forced abortions and everything, what is the Olympic Committee doing about all this?

We know that “nothing” sounds bad as an answer, but the answer is “nothing.” See, the Committee prides itself on being apolitical. We feel that is the only way to protect the spirit of the Olympic Games and the world agrees with us, apparently. We are proud that the Olympics demonstrate that despite its disagreements, the world can still come together and possibly ignore an ongoing genocide.

Knowing these allegations, how can anyone watch these Olympics?

On NBC, its sister networks, and streaming on Peacock.

You know that’s not what I meant, right?

Right.

So can you answer my original question?

We would just say that nothing’s for certain yet. It’s not like we have a bunch of people coming forward and claiming to be victims or anything.

Wait, wouldn’t that just be because the victims were all too busy…being in a genocide?

Sure, maybe. But don’t you think it’s a little convenient this Xinjiang thing only became a story just as China’s economy was on the precipice of finally overtaking the United States once and for all? And don’t you think it’s a little weird that the American government would suddenly care about the  mistreatment of people in another country, especially people who happen to be Muslims? And even so, couldn’t you say that the possible forced detention of Uyghurs in Western China during its expansion of the Belt Road Initiative – which, by the way, wouldn’t even have to be a thing if the United States wasn’t so tyrannical in controlling the Pacific Ocean - is no different than the U.S.’s own “war on terror,” which sought to identify and destroy Islamic extremists? You do see all that, don’t you?

That sounds like a lot of wishful equivalencies, if not downright conspiracies. How can you be so sure any of that is true?

Snowboarding legend Shaun White will start his 2022 Olympic journey in the qualification round of the men's halfpipe on February 8th at 11:30 p.m. ET. If he finishes in the top 12 and advances, the three final rounds will take place on February 10th beginning at 8:30 p.m.

In no way did I ask about Shaun White.

Team USA curling will participate in the men's, women's and mixed doubles curling tournaments. The women’s curling team competes on February 9th at 8:05 pm on CNBC.

I don’t care about curling! I don’t care about any of these sports! I care about the genocide! How are more people not upset about -

LOOK, do you want to enjoy things? Like, seriously? Do you want to enjoy literally anything? Take the device you’re reading this on: it was probably made by questionable, if not forced, labor practices, right? And it’s crammed full of rare earth metals that are being stripped from our planet at alarming speeds, being powered by means that are heating our climate in possibly irreversible ways, right? So, what’s it going to be, do you want to keep asking questions, or do you want to enjoy things?

...I want to enjoy things?

Then the 2022 Olympics began with the opening ceremony on Friday, February 4th, and will run until the closing ceremony on Sunday, February 20th.

[xtruss]

Empire’s County of Lithuania Provokes Beijing With Plans to Quietly Declare Taiwan and China Seperate! The Braindead Miniature Neocon Outpost Tries to Be More Uncle Sam than Uncle Sam

— Field Empty | Anti-Empire

When you’re a provincial neocon and you have nothing better to do than insert yourself into Chinese culture/identity wars (between Taiwan separatists, Taiwanese Chinese nationalists, and the Mainland communist nationalists)

Editor’s note: The issue is that other governments have outposts on the island that are called “Representative Office in Taipei” but Lithuania wants to call its planned mission “Representative Office in Taiwan”. The state there still formally professes continuity with the pre-Communist, Nationalist China and calls itself the “Republic of China” (ROC), but the Taiwanese separatist faction wants to change that to “Republic of Taiwan” and expunge Chinese identity and ties. Thus the Lithuanian-proposed name is a provocation against Beijing and a favor to the separatists (who currently run the government).

You have to know some internal Taiwanese context to appreciate why this is problematic for Beijing, and even for the anti-PCR but pro-China faction on the island that opposes the Taiwanification of the ROC in the national sense. It’s a struggle between the two that is not yet resolved yet Lithuania is acting as if the separatists had already won out against the nationalists and had proclaimed a “Taiwan”. If there wasn’t a domestic and international movement pushing for a “Republic of Taiwan” and this was just a purely geographic designation rather than part of intra-Chinese culture wars (in which the mainlanders and the old school anti-Communist nationalists are actually aligned) then Beijing would not mind a “Representative Office in Taiwan”.

China said Tuesday it’s recalling its ambassador to Lithuania in an ongoing diplomatic spat over the planned opening of a de facto Taiwanese embassy in Vilnius.

Taiwan has 23 representative offices in Europe, where the island nation’s only formal diplomatic relationship is with the Holy See. All its missions carry the deliberately ambiguous language of “Taipei” instead of Taiwan or its formal title, the Republic of China.

China, which claims the democratically ruled island as a province, appeared to take issue more with the naming of the de facto embassy rather than its planned opening. A statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the Lithuanian government disregarded “repeated representations and articulation of potential consequences.”

The decision “severely undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it continued. “The Chinese Government expresses its categorical opposition to this move.”

Shen Zhifei, the Chinese envoy to Lithuania, would be recalled as a result, said the Foreign Ministry, adding that China had demanded Vilnius do the same. However, it remains unclear whether Lithuania will be obliged to withdraw its top diplomat in Beijing, Diana Mickeviciene.

Newsweek contacted the Lithuanian Embassy in Beijing for comment but didn’t receive a response before publication.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement online that it is “determined to pursue mutually beneficial ties with Taiwan like many other countries in the European Union and the rest of the world do.”

Plans to establish a Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius were announced on July 20 by Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who said Lithuania also would open a de facto embassy in Taipei later this year.

“Lithuania is a good partner for Taiwan who shares the same values for freedom and democracy,” he told a virtual briefing at the time. It will be Taiwan’s first European office in nearly two decades, following the 2003 opening of the Taipei Representative Office in Bratislava.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office described the decision as a “farce.”

One China Policy

Ambassador Mickeviciene, who was appointed to the role last December, told AFP at the time: “The new Taiwanese office in Vilnius does not violate our One China policy, as it has been demonstrated by the fact that Taiwan has offices in 74 countries in the world, including in most EU members and some of Lithuania’s neighbors.”

“Lithuania is interested in expanding cooperation with Taiwan in many areas of common interest with a particular focus on promoting economic ties and cultural exchanges,” she said.

Despite having missions on every continent, including a dozen in the United States, Taiwan has only 15 formal diplomatic allies. The recent goodwill cultivated between Taiwan and a number of Central and Eastern European countries comes at a time when China is courting the region through its “17+1” investment forum.

Lithuania quit the dialogue on May 22, shortly after its parliament declared China was committing “genocide” against Uyghurs and other minority ethnic residents in its northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Lithuania established formal diplomatic ties with China in 1992, two years after it regained independence from half a century of Soviet occupation. Its office in Beijing opened in 1995.

There was no indication that plans to establish reciprocal offices in Vilnius and Taipei had been jeopardized by the ongoing disagreement with Beijing.

Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou described Lithuania’s determination to safeguard its dignity and freedom as “admirable.” “Taiwan and Lithuania plan to establish reciprocal representative offices with the main aim of developing mutual interests and cooperation in trade, technology, education and culture,” she told Newsweek.

“Taiwan currently has 110 offices in 72 countries, the majority (57) of which do not have formal diplomatic ties [with Taiwan]. These offices strengthen bilateral trade, education and culture; they benefit our two peoples cooperating in various fields and deepen their exchanges and friendships,” Ou said.

Taiwan’s future office in Vilnius would serve the same purpose, she added.

— Source: Newsweek

Lithuania plans to open a representative office in Taiwan by the end of the year, Lithuanian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mantas Adomenas said, reflecting a desire for the two countries to forge closer ties.

A vice minister-level official from the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Ministry of Economy and Innovation would attend the opening ceremony, Adomenas said in an online interview earlier this week.

“Opening an office [in Taiwan] is an important event,” he said.

Although no decision has been finalized on which official would attend, Adomenas, who has visited Taiwan several times, said he would like to visit the “lovely” nation again, describing Taiwan as “a very mature and very vibrant, dynamic democracy.”

The representative office could be named the “Lithuanian Representative Office” or the “Lithuanian Trade Representative Office,” but the title was still being discussed within the government, he said.

— Source: Taipei Times

[opedguy]

U.S. Sends Taiwan Mixed Message

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), July 27, 2021.--When China flew a squadron of fighter jets over the Taiwan Strait in the Air Defense Zone April 13, China sent a loud message to the Pentagon that it’s in control of Taiwan as a part of China.  Even today at the Tokyo Olympics when Taiwan power lifter Kuo Hsing-Chun won the gold medal, no Taiwan national anthem was played, only an acknowledgment that the gold medallist hailed from Chinese Taipei.  Under the April 10, 1979 Taiwan Relations Act the U.S. agreed to recognize only one China, the one in Beijing, leaving Taiwan out in the cold.  Since the 1949 Maoist Revolution, a group of Chinese nationalists opposed to communism led by Chan Kai-shek fled to the Island of Formosa and enjoyed at least the illusion of U.S. protection ever since.  Speaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Singapore today, 68-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tried to clarify the U.S. position.   

          Austin told delegates that the United States “will not flinch when our interest are threatened,” referring to relations with Taiwan.  Austin straddles a sharp fence when it comes to placating Beijing’s need to assert control over Taiwan, while, at the same time, recognizing the long history of protecting the Island with at least arms sales and rhetoric.  Austin was quick to say the U.S. wanted no “confrontation” with Beijing, respecting China’s one-China policy when it comes to Hong Kong and Taiwan.  U.S. officials expressed their dissatisfaction with Beijing March 18 at an Anchorage summit, accusing China of genocide in Xinjiang province against Mulsim Uygurs and a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.  Beijing wants the U.S. to stop meddling it its internal affairs especially when it comes to Muslim Uygurs, pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and sovereignty over Taiwan.        

       Austin struck a more conciliatory tone straddling the fence on recognizing the long U.S. history with Taiwan while accepting China’s sovereignty.  “Unfortunately, Beijing’s unwillingness to resolve disputes peacefully and respect the rule of law isn’t just occurring on the water,” Austin said.  Austin knows he has limited options when it comes to China’s militarization of the South China Sea, where Beijing has been building out military installations on shallow atolls near the Spratly Islands.  Pacific rim countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, all voiced complaints but have little say over China’s bullying.  “We have also seen aggression against India . . .  destabilizing military activity and other forms of coercion against the people of Taiwan . . . and genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang,” Austin said.      

       Austin’s statements are bound to antagonize Chinese President Xi Jinping who has already called the U.S. bluff, doing as he pleases in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Western China.  Austin walks a fine line insisting the U.S. would defend Taiwan against a Mainland invasion, despite know the U.S. wants no military confrontation with Beijing.  Austin said the U.S. will “stay focused on helping Taiwan to defend itself or having the capabilities to defend itself going forward,” suggesting the U.S. will continue supply advanced weapons to the democratic Taiwan.  For practical purposes, Austin is well aware the U.S. navy has not plans of going to war to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.  China has stayed clear of a confrontation with the U.S. since Mao seized China in 1949.  Since then, the U.S. has been a loyal ally and trading partner to Taipei.    

         Austin’s subtle message to Beijing is one of acquiescence, realizing the U.S. can only go so far under the Taiwan Relations Act. When former President Jimmy Carter signed the agreement, he knew he was selling Taiwan down the river, ending the pretense that Taiwan was a satellite of the United States. No matter how much the U.S. despises China’s bullying in the Pacific Rim, the U.S. has other pressing global issues than picking a fight with Beijing.  “The way you manage [disputes] counts,” Austin said, hoping that tensions in the Pacific Rim can be mitigated.  With the U.S. pulling our of Afghanistan Aug. 21 and ending combat operations in Iraq Dec. 31, the U.S. can ill-afford to ratchet up tensions with China or Russia. Austin said the U.S. is “committed to pursuing a constructive stable relationship with China,” noting that the U.S. isn’t “asking countries in the region to chose between the U.S. and China.”    

         Austin tried to set the right tone in Singapore, despite knowing he’s limited in how far he can push things when it comes to Taiwan.  Nearly 73 years since the Maoist Revolution, the landscape has changed in China, gaining more wealth and military power for advancing a global strategy in all hemispheres.  All third world countries seek the humanitarian and economic assistance from Beijing, challenging the U.S. to its post WW II global supremacy.  Beijing followed the old Soviet Union in offering developing countries more cash-and-assistance, winning more friends in the third world than the U.S.  China’s ambitions to supplant the United States,” said former U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. Phil Davidson, present an ongoing “threat” to Taiwan in the coming years.  Austin’s message to the Singapore conference is that Taiwan can’t count on the U.S. in the event of a Chinese invasion.

 About the Author 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma. 

[orbemnews]

US and allies announce sanctions against Chinese officials for 'serious human rights abuses' against Uyghurs The announcement was part of a broader show of unity by the US and its international allies, all voicing condemnation for Beijing’s repression of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang province. In a carefully orchestrated series of statements, the US and allies in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific created a unified show of force, announcing sanctions and issuing condemnations seemingly meant to isolate and pressure Beijing. The EU announced its own sanctions, followed by the US designations and then a joint statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence alliance made up of the US, the UK, Australian, Canada and New Zealand. “The evidence, including from the Chinese Government’s own documents, satellite imagery, and eyewitness testimony is overwhelming. China’s extensive program of repression includes severe restrictions on religious freedoms, the use of forced labor, mass detention in internment camps, forced sterilizations, and the concerted destruction of Uyghur heritage,” the joint statement said. All five countries had taken action alongside the EU, the statement said. The US designated Wang Junzheng, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Chen Mingguo, Director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. “These individuals are designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption,” the Treasury Department said. “Chinese authorities will continue to face consequences as long as atrocities occur in Xinjiang,” said the Treasury Department’s Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki. “Treasury is committed to promoting accountability for the Chinese government’s human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention and torture, against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.” Blinken described the Chinese campaign against Uyghurs as genocide. “Amid growing international condemnation, the PRC continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” Blinken said in a statement, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China. “The United States reiterates its calls on the PRC to bring an end to the repression of Uyghurs, who are predominantly Muslim, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang, including by releasing all those arbitrarily held in internment camps and detention facilities.” The coordinated sanctions announcement comes days after a heated clash between Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese officials prompted by US objections to Beijing’s human rights abuses, its territorial aggression and coercive economic practices. ‘Solidarity’ Blinken emphasized last week that the US was also expressing the concerns of allies, and indicated that going forward, Washington would act in concert with them as well, an approach that US officials say is more effective than targeting China one-on-one. On Monday, he said that the US had “taken this action today in solidarity with our partners in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union … These actions demonstrate our ongoing commitment to working multilaterally to advance respect for human rights and shining a light on those in the PRC government and CCP responsible for these atrocities.” The Treasury Department said in a statement that, “complementary actions using these global human rights sanctions regimes enable likeminded partners to form a unified front to identify, promote accountability for, and disrupt access to the international financial system by those who abuse human rights.” Also Monday, The US announced a second set of coordinated sanctions with the European Union, designating to sanction Myanmar military officials and two military units for its violent repression of democratic protests there. And in a dramatic display of international solidarity against repressive Chinese practices, diplomats from more than two dozen countries gathered Monday to try to gain access to a Chinese court Monday as detained Canadian Michael Kovrig went on trial in Beijing on espionage charges. They were denied. Politico was first to report the US was set to unveil sanctions. The European Union announced its sanctions Monday, naming Zhu Hailun, former head of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and three other top officials, for overseeing the detention and indoctrination program targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, they said, according to the Official Journal of the European Union. Tit-for-tat for response China responded almost immediately with tit-for-tat penalties, announcing sanctions on Monday against 10 EU politicians and four entities for “maliciously spreading lies and disinformation.” They will be banned from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, while their related companies and institutions are restricted from doing business with China, it said. David Sassoli, president of the European Parliament, said Monday that China’s sanctions on MEPs, the Human Rights Subcommittee and EU bodies are “unacceptable and will have consequences.” The European Commission Vice President for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell said Monday that China’s retaliatory sanctions against EU officials are “regrettable and unacceptable.” “Rather than change its policies and address our legitimate concerns, China has again turned a blind eye, and these measures are regrettable and unacceptable,” he said during a news conference in Brussels on Monday. Borrell pointed to China’s sanctions against “members of the European Parliament, scholars, and entities with a political and security committee, the Subcommittee on human rights, as well as to national foundations” and said, “This is something that we consider unacceptable, it doesn’t answer our legitimate concerns.” Borrell went on to reiterate that China’s action will not change “the European Union’s determination to defend human rights and to respond to serious violations and abuses,” calling on Beijing to engage in dialogue on Human Right’s issues, instead of continuing to be “confrontational.” “Human rights are inalienable rights,” Sassoli said. The EU said that Zhu Hailun had been described as the “architect” of this Uyghur indoctrination program, and “is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular large-scale arbitrary detentions inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities.” The sanctions marked the first time the EU has targeted China with its Human Rights sanctioning regime, which came into force in December 2020 and was first used over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. ‘Grossly interfering’ In a statement posted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China accused the EU of “disregarding and distorting the facts” and “grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs” by imposing sanctions against its officials. The Chinese individuals listed by the EU are now subject to an asset freeze and will be banned from travelling to the EU. The sanctions also bar any EU persons and entities from making funds available, either directly or indirectly, to those listed. The EU said Zhu Hailun was “responsible for maintaining internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR. As such, he held a key political position in charge of overseeing and implementing a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination program targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities.” Zhu is the former secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), former Deputy Secretary of the XUAR Party Committee, and former Deputy Head of the regional legislative body, according to the Official Journal of the European Union. Three other Xinjiang officials were sanctioned: Wang; Deputy Secretary of the XUAR Party Committee, Wang Mingshan; and Chen Mingguo, Director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. Apart from the European 10 politicians, China also sanctioned four entities included the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union, Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, the Mercator Institute for China Studies, and the Alliance of Democracies Foundation. “The Chinese government is firmly determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests,” the statement added. “The Chinese side urges the EU side to reflect on itself, face squarely the severity of its mistake and redress it. It must stop lecturing others on human rights and interfering in their internal affairs.” Source link Orbem News #abuses #Allies #announce #Chinasanctions:USandalliesannouncesanctionsagainstChineseofficialsfor'serioushumanrightsabuses'againstUyghurs-CNNPolitics #Chinese #human #Officials #Politics #Rights #Sanctions #Uyghurs

[aion-rsa]

Mulan: Disney Faces Congressional Scrutiny Over Chinese Production

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is asking Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Executive Chairman Robert Iger to explain the studio’s cooperation with the authorities in the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang during the production of the Mulan live-action remake, according to NBC News. The Congressional letter is in response to allegations accusing Chinese authorities of detaining an estimated 1 million to 2 million Uighur Muslims, detained in mass internment camps in the Xinjiang region.

The legislative interest comes after Disney thanked eight government bodies in Xinjiang, a Western province, in the film’s credits. “The closing credits of Mulan extend thanks to the ‘Turpan Municipal Bureau of Public Security’ and the ‘Publicity Department of CPC Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Committee,’ as well as other local level XUAR propaganda elements,” according to the website of Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.

And as the aforementioned Congressional letter pointed out, the House of Representatives passed Senate-approved legislation to sanction China over alleged human rights violations against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the country earlier this year.

“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is committing genocide in Xinjiang—and not just cultural genocide either,” Sen. Josh Hawley, (R-Missouri), wrote in a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek on Sept. 9. “There was a time when Beijing might have been satisfied with enslaving Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities, even as it tortured them into abandoning their beliefs and swearing loyalty to the Party. But that is no longer the case. Now Beijing appears intent on destroying the Uighur people. And it has rolled out a sophisticated campaign to do just that, including by systematically sterilizing Uighur women and aborting their children.”

He continued, “Disney’s whitewashing of the ongoing Uighur genocide is contrary to all of your company’s supposed principles. Just a few weeks ago, for instance, you wrote about the need to ‘confront the inscrutable idea that the lives of some are deemed less valuable—and less worthy of dignity, care and protection—than the lives of others.’”

The congressional letter lists a series of questions about what Disney executives knew and when they knew it. They lawmakers state they want to know what sort of local labor was used in production and what human rights policies Disney has. Earlier this week, the Trump administration said it has prepared orders to block imports of cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang over the accusations of forced labor. The letter also asks whether any contracts were signed with any of the CCP-run agencies, whether anything was received in exchange for receiving a special thanks in the credits, and whether the CCP asked for any editorial content control.

The lawmakers said they would like the briefing to include answers on whether “the Walt Disney Company agree the treatment of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang constitutes genocide,” whether it condones “the treatment of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang,” and whether other filming locations were discussed in advance of the movie being shot. They also question whether there is anywhere in the world Disney would refuse to work because of human rights abuses.

Earlier this year, Rubio, along with 74 other Senate and House members, urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin to issue a formal determination of “the atrocity crimes, including crimes against humanity and genocide against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the region.”

Beijing has denied the existence of these camps several times. The Chinese government further claims the nation is fully in compliance with the UN’s International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

“The real facts are that Mulan was primarily shot—almost in entirety—in New Zealand,” Disney CFO Christine McCarthy told the Bank of America Virtual 2020 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference on Sept. 10, according to Deadline. “In an effort to accurately depict some of the unique landscape and geography of the country of China for this period drama, we filmed scenery in 20 different locations in China. It’s common knowledge that in order to film in China, you have to be granted permission. That permission comes from the central government.” McCarthy added it is standard industry practice “to acknowledge in a film’s credits the national and local governments that allowed you to film there.”

This isn’t the first time the Niki Caro-directed Mulan generated political controversy. Production opened with fears the Chinese legend it is based on would be whitewashed. In 2019, the film was hit with a #BoycottMulan movement after star Liu Yifei defended Hong Kong police in spite of their brutal treatment of pro-democracy protesters. Mulan was also one of the first theatrical releases impacted by COVID-19.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Mulan premiered on Disney+ on Sept. 4. The film was released in China on Friday, Sept. 11 and earned over $23 million during its opening weekend there.

The post Mulan: Disney Faces Congressional Scrutiny Over Chinese Production appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2ZD0h1H

[expatimes]

China committing genocide against Uighurs, says report

China committing genocide against Uighurs, says report

A US think-tank has accused the Chinese government of committing genocide against Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang, saying it has found “clear and convincing proof” that Beijing violated “each and every act” banned by the United Nations convention against genocide.

In its Tuesday report, the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy said Chinese President Xi Jinping set in motion the effort to destroy Uighurs as a group when he launched the “People’s War on Terror” in Xinjiang in 2014.

Chinese officials followed up with a campaign of mass internment, killings of Uighur leaders, forcible sterilisations, separating children from their families, and destroying the Turkic Muslim group’s identity, including by demolishing mosques and other sacred sites.

The United States government, the Canadian and Dutch parliaments have already labelled China’s treatment of the Uighurs genocide, while Washington has also imposed sanctions on several Chinese officials over the rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Beijing, however, rejects the genocide charge, claiming the internment camps are vocational training centres aimed at fighting “extremism”.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the UN Human Rights Council in February that “there has never been so-called genocide, forced labour or religious oppression in Xinjiang”. He invited the UN human rights commissioner to visit the closed-off region, but did not give a time frame.

Newlines said its report was the first independent analysis of China’s treatment of the Uighurs under the 1948 Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It involved the contributions of more than 30 experts, who examined all available evidence that could be collected and verified, including Chinese government communications, witness testimony and analysis of satellite imagery.

The experts found “clear and convincing proof that China is responsible” for committing all five acts that constitute genocide, the report said.

These acts are: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Mass deaths, forcible sterilisations

The report said there were credible reports of mass deaths under the mass internment drive, while Uighur leaders were selectively sentenced to death or sentenced to long-term imprisonment.

“Uyghurs are suffering from systematic torture and cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, including rape, sexual abuse, and public humiliation, both inside and outside the camps,” it said.

Chinese authorities have also systematically imprisoned Uighurs in unliveable conditions, particularly men of childbearing years, while also transferring members of the ethnic group into forced physical labour and forcibly imposed birth prevention measures on Uighur women.

In 2019 alone, the Chinese “government planned to subject at least 80 percent of women of childbearing age in to sterilizations or IUD placements” it said, adding that the mass-birth prevention strategy meant that the population growth rates in the two largest Uighur prefectures decreased by 84 percent between 2015 and 2018.

Finally, with Uighur parents increasingly detained in internment and forced labour facilities, Uighur children are being sent to state-run orphanages and raised in Chinese-language environments, the report said.

One county in the city of Kashgar built 18 new orphanages in 2017 alone, the report said, while a Ministry of Education document revealed that between 2017 and 2019, the number of children separated from their families and placed into state-run boarding schools in the region increased by 76.9 percent.

The report said these policies are directly orchestrated by the highest levels of state, including Xi and the top officials of the Chinese Communist Party in Xinjiang. Government orders on Xinjiang used language such as “eradicate tumours” “wipe them out completely … destroy them root and branch,” “round up everyone,” and “show absolutely no mercy”, according to the report.

It said Xi also praised the “success” of the Xinjiang policies during a September 2020 speech, deeming them “completely correct” and promising to continue the same strategies for years to come.

“Simply put, China’s long-established, publicly and repeatedly declared, specifically targeted, systematically implemented, and fully resourced policy and practice toward the Uyghur group is inseparable from “the intent to destroy or whole or in part” the Uyghur group as such,” it said, using an alternative spelling for the Uighurs.

“Therefore, China bears State responsibility for an ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs, in breach of the Genocide Convention,” it added.

Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=18947&feed_id=36998

[opedguy]

Blinken Asks Netahyahu About Iran Nuke Deal

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), May 30, 2021.--U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 58, consulted with 71-year-old Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran’s role in the latest skirmish between Hamas and the Israel.  U.S. officials find themselves flummoxed over what to do with Hamas, a recognized terrorist group and part of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, with whom Eyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisis negotiated May 20 an end to the 10-day rocket war with Israel.  Everyone knew it would end badly for Hamas with mass casualties and infrastructure damage to the dilapidated Gaza Strip.  U.S. and European Union [EU] officials do not have diplomatic relations or enter into peace negotiations with Hamas, largely because its 1987 charter calls for the destruction of Israel.  Yet it’s beyond ironic that El-Sisi, who views the Muslim Brotherhood as a mortal enemy, negotiated with Hamas.      

       Since seizing Gaza in 2007, Hamas has been the new normal in the Palestinian territories.  While the U.S. and EU officially recognized 85-year-old Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as the official representative of the Palestinian people, Gaza’s 56-year-old leader Ismail Haniyeh represents one half of the Palestinian people.  Haniyeh ignores Abbas because he believes Abbas is too old and too out-of-touch to lead the Palestinian people.  Whatever the misery Haniyeh brought to Gaza with its rocket war with Israel, Hamas also refreshed the global dialogue about Palestinian rights.  Whatever the actual costs in the billions to Gaza, Haniyeh managed, after four-long years with former President Donald Trump, to refocus world attention back on Palestine.  Blinken met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

             Meeting with Netanyahu over the fragile ceasefire, Blinken knows that the prime minister’s tenure may be over soon with conservative Yamina Party leader Naftali Bennett announcing he would join with opposition leader Yair Lapid to form a new coalition government as early as Sunday, May 30.  Joining forces Bennett and Lapid could effectively end the12-year rule of Natanyahu, who received high marks for prosecuting the latest skirmish with Hamas.  With Hamas firing largely Iranian rockets at Israel, Blinken wanted to ask Netanyahu about what should be done with Iran.  Blinken’s well aware of upcoming Iraninan presidential elections June 18, Blinken wants to know how any new Iranian Nuke Deal would affect Israel’s national security.  Iran uses Hamas in its ongoing proxy war against Israel much like it supplies missiles-and-cash to Yemen’s Houthi rebels to battle Saudi Arabia.    

         Blinken reassured Netanyahu that whatever happens with any new Iranian Nuke Deal currently underway in Vienna, the U.S. would strengthen its ties with Israel.  Netanyahu told Blinken that without a firm commitment by Iran to stop its proxy wars in Saudi Arabia and Israel, he would oppose any new deal with Iran.  Blinken knows that Iran’s 82-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seeks to install conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi to replace moderate President Hassan Rouhani.  Rouhani tired-but-failed to get Khamenei to add moderate candidates to Iran’s presidential list.  But the Ayatollah is committed to find a potential successor as he nears the end of his 30-year-rule as Supreme Leader.  Picking Raisi as president would continue Iran’s anti-Israel policies, prompting Blinken to pause about rubber-stamping a new Nuke Deal.  U.S. and EU officials have no real peace partner in Palestine.        

          Abbas is simply too old and out of touch with more radical trends in the Palestinian population.  While Abbas has served as a U.S.-backed peace partner in the past, he’s shown he doesn’t have the backing of the West Bank population.  Abbas called off parliamentary elections April 30 because he knows that Hamas would likely win a majority.  Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006, prompting the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007.  If Abbas holds elections in Ramallah, he’d likely be replaced by a new Hamas leader. U.S. and EU officials pretend that Abbas represents the Palestinian people.  Any new parliamentary election, like in 2006, would consolidate more power for Hamas.  U.S. and EU officials have a difficult time recognizing Hamas because its charter calls for the destruction of Israel.  If Hamas wants legitimacy, it needs to change its charter to recognize Israel.    

    Blinken needs a foreign policy success after botching recent attempts with China and Russia.  U.S.-Russian and U.S.-Chinese relation are worse now that any time since the Cold War.  China didn’t appreciate Blinken accusing Beijing March 18 in Anchorage, Alaska of genocide against its Muslim Uyghur population.  Russia didn’t appreciate Blinken demanding Feb. 1 that Russian President Vladimir Putin release 44-year-old Russian dissident Alexi Navalny from a Russian penal colony. Biden didn’t help U.S.-Russian relations when he called Putin as “soulless killer” March 16.  When Biden meets with Putin in Geneva for a summit June 16, he needs to park the hostile rhetoric at the door and deal with a host of cooperative issues, including dealing with regional conflicts in Ukraine and climate change.  Putin’s more than willing to meet Biden halfway on all issues that affect both superpowers

. About the Author

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma. 

[xtruss]

Pompeo Says China’s Policies On Muslims Amount To ‘GENOCIDE’

By Mattew Lee | January 19, 2021 | Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — On his way out the door, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed out anew at China on Tuesday by declaring that its policies on Muslims and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang region constitute “crimes against humanity” and a “genocide.” The rarely used designation is sure to provoke an angry response from Beijing.

Pompeo made the determination just 24 hours before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. There was no immediate response from the incoming Biden team, although he and members of his national security team have expressed support for such a designation in the past.

Pompeo’s determination does not come with any immediate repercussions although the legal implications mean the U.S. must take it into account in formulating policy toward China. The U.S. has spoken out and taken action, implementing a range of sanctions against senior Chinese Communist Party leaders and state-run enterprises that fund the architecture of repression across Xinjiang.

Many of those accused of having taken part in the repression are already under U.S. sanctions. The genocide designation means new measures will be easier to impose.

“After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that since at least March 2017, the People’s Republic of China, under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party, has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” Pompeo said in a statement.

“In addition, after careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that the PRC, under the direction and control of the CCP, has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state.”

A main reason cited for the declaration of genocide was widespread forced birth control among the Uighurs, which The Associated Press documented last year. Another reason cited, Uighur forced labor, has also been linked by AP reporting to various products imported to the U.S., including clothing and electronic goods such as cameras and computer monitors.

Tuesday’s move is the latest in a series of steps the outgoing Trump administration has taken against China.

Since last year, the administration has steadily ramped up pressure on Beijing, imposing sanctions on numerous officials and companies for their activities in Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.

Those penalties have gotten harsher since the beginning of last year when President Donald Trump and Pompeo began to accuse China of trying to cover up the coronavirus pandemic. Just on Saturday, Pompeo lifted restrictions on U.S. diplomatic contacts with Taiwanese officials, prompting a stern rebuke from China, which regards the island as a renegade province.

Five days ago, the administration announced it would halt imports of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang with Customs and Border Protection officials saying they would block products from there suspected of being produced with forced labor.

Xinjiang is a major global supplier of cotton, so the order could have significant effects on international commerce. The Trump administration has already blocked imports from individual companies linked to forced labor in the region, and the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Communist Party officials with prominent roles in the campaign.

China has imprisoned more than 1 million people, including Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups, in a vast network of concentration camps, according to U.S. officials and human rights groups. People have been subjected to torture, sterilization and political indoctrination in addition to forced labor as part of an assimilation campaign in a region whose inhabitants are ethnically and culturally distinct from the Han Chinese majority.

China has denied all the charges. China says its policies in Xinjiang aim only to promote economic and social development in the region and stamp out radicalism. It also rejects criticism of what it considers its internal affairs.

The genocide designation is a rare step for the U.S. government, which did not apply it to the 1994 mass killings in Rwanda until much later.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell designated the situation in Sudan’s western Darfur region a genocide in 2004. Former Secretary of State John Kerry applied the term to the Islamic State’s repression and massacres of Yazidis and other ethnic and religious minorities in Syria and Iraq in 2016, but he couched it by saying it was a legal determination only that did not mandate action by the U.S. government.

Human rights groups, which have been generally critical of Trump administration policies, welcomed the move, which Pompeo said was taken with an eye toward the U.S. role in prosecuting Nazi war crimes during WWII at the Nuremberg trials.

“We hope to see the U.S. follow these strong words with decisive action,” said Grant Shubin of the Global Justice Center. “Where there is a risk of genocide, there is a duty to act. Moving forward, this designation should inform the entirety of U.S. foreign policy and we hope to hear more from the incoming Biden administration on how it plans to follow through on this historic announcement.”

And, some questioned the decision to apply it to China and Xinjiang and not to the situation in Myanmar, where Rphingya Muslims have been subjected to significant attacks and atrocities.

“The Secretary’s statement underscores the importance of appropriate international investigations and prosecutions of officials for the crime of genocide in Xinjiang,” said Eric Schwartz, the president of Refugees International. “At the same time, I’m baffled and deeply concerned that Secretary Pompeo has declined to make a similar finding of genocide against the state of Myanmar for its vicious mass attacks against the Rohingya population beginning in August 2017.”

— Ben Fox contributed.

[xtruss]

The Ugliest Face of China

ARGUMENT

The World’s Most Technologically Sophisticated Genocide Is Happening in Xinjiang. The United States Needs to Formally Acknowledge the Scale of the Atrocities.

Over a million Turkic Uighurs are detained in concentration camps, prisons, and forced labor factories in China. What makes it uniquely dangerous is its technological sophistication, allowing for concealment from global attention.

— BY RAYHAN ASAT, YONAH DIAMOND | JULY 15, 2020 | Foreign Policy

A man walks past a screen showing images of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kashgar in China's northwest Xinjiang region on June 4, 2019. GREG BAKER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Two recent disturbing events may finally awaken the world to the scale and horror of the atrocities being committed against the Uighurs, a mostly secular Muslim ethnic minority, in Xinjiang, China. One is an authoritative report documenting the systematic sterilization of Uighur women. The other was the seizure by U.S. Customs and Border Protection of 13 tons of products made from human hair suspected of being forcibly removed from Uighurs imprisoned in concentration camps. Both events evoke chilling parallels to past atrocities elsewhere, forced sterilization of minorities, disabled, and Indigenous people, and the image of the glass display of mountains of hair preserved at Auschwitz.

The Genocide Convention, to which China is a signatory, defines genocide as specific acts against members of a group with the intent to destroy that group in whole or in part. These acts include (a) killing; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm; (c) deliberately inflicting conditions of life to bring about the group’s physical destruction; (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and (e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Any one of these categories constitutes genocide. The overwhelming evidence of the Chinese government’s deliberate and systematic campaign to destroy the Uighur people clearly meets each of these categories.

Over a million Turkic Uighurs are detained in concentration camps, prisons, and forced labor factories in China. Detainees are subject to military-style discipline, thought transformation, and forced confessions. They are abused, tortured, raped, and even killed. Survivors report being subjected to electrocution, waterboarding, repeated beatings, stress positions, and injections of unknown substances. These mass detention camps are designed to cause serious physical, psychological harm and mentally break the Uighur people. The repeated government orders to “break their lineage, break their roots, break their connections, and break their origins”; “round up everyone who should be rounded up”; and systematically prevent Uighur births demonstrate a clear intent to eradicate the Uighur people as a whole.

Ekpar Asat (brother of one of the present authors) is an emblematic example of how Uighurs are targeted regardless of their recognition as model Chinese citizens by the Communist Party. Asat was praised by the government for his community leadership as a “bridge builder” and “positive force” between ethnic minorities and the Xinjiang local government. But Asat still suffered the same fate as over a million other Uighurs and disappeared into the shadows of the concentration camps in 2016. He is held incommunicado and is reported to be serving a 15-year sentence on the trumped-up charge of “inciting ethnic hatred.” Not a single court document is available about his case.

In 2017, Xinjiang waged a brutal “Special Campaign to Control Birth Control Violations,” along with specific local directives. By 2019, the government planned to subject over 80 percent of women of childbearing age in southern Xinjiang to forced intrauterine devices (IUDs) and sterilization. The goal is to achieve “zero birth control violation incidents.” Government documents reveal a campaign of mass female sterilization supported by state funding to carry out hundreds of thousands of sterilizations in 2019 and 2020. This goes far beyond the scale, per capita, of forced sterilization inflicted on women throughout China under the past one-child policy.

To implement these policies, the Xinjiang government employed “dragnet-style” investigations to hunt down women of childbearing age.To implement these policies, the Xinjiang government employed “dragnet-style” investigations to hunt down women of childbearing age. Once apprehended, these women have no choice but to undergo forced sterilization to avoid being sent to an internment camp. Once detained, women face forced injections, abortions, and unknown drugs.

“To implement these policies, the Xinjiang government employed “dragnet-style” investigations to hunt down women of childbearing age.”

And statistics show that the government is meeting its birth prevention goals.

Between 2015 and 2018, population growth rates in the Uighur heartland plummeted by 84 percent. Conversely, official documents show that sterilization rates skyrocketed in Xinjiang while plunging throughout the rest of China, and the funding for these programs is only increasing. Between 2017 and 2018, in one district, the percentage of women who were infertile or widowed increased by 124 percent and 117 percent, respectively. In 2018, 80 percent of all IUD placements in China were performed in Xinjiang despite accounting for a mere 1.8 percent of China’s population. These IUDs can be removed only by state-approved surgery—or else prison terms will follow. In Kashgar, only about 3 percent of married women of childbearing age gave birth in 2019. The latest annual reports from some of these regions have begun omitting birth rate information altogether to conceal the scale of destruction. The government has shut down its entire online platform after these revelations. The scale and scope of these measures are clearly designed to halt Uighur births.

With Uighur men detained and women sterilized, the government has laid the groundwork for the physical destruction of the Uighur people. At least half a million of the remaining Uighur children have been separated from their families and are being raised by the state at so-called “children shelters.”

What makes this genocide so uniquely dangerous is its technological sophistication, allowing for efficiency in its destruction and concealment from global attention. The Uighurs have been suffering under the most advanced police state, with extensive controls and restrictions on every aspect of life—religious, familial, cultural, and social. To facilitate surveillance, Xinjiang operates under a grid management system. Cities and villages are split into squares of about 500 people. Each square has a police station that closely monitors inhabitants by regularly scanning their identification cards, faces, DNA samples, fingerprints, and cell phones. These methods are supplemented by a machine-operated system known as the Integrated Joint Operations Platform. The system uses machine learning to collect personal data from video surveillance, smartphones, and other private records to generate lists for detention. Over a million Han Chinese watchers have been installed in Uighur households, rendering even intimate spaces subject to the government’s eye.

The Chinese government operates the most intrusive mass surveillance system in the world and repeatedly denies the international community meaningful access to it. It is therefore incumbent on us to appreciate the nature, depth, and speed of the genocide and act now before it’s too late.

Recognizing or refusing to name this a genocide will be a matter of life or death. In 1994, by the time U.S. officials were done debating the applicability of the term to the situation in Rwanda, nearly a million Tutsis had already been slaughtered. A document dated May 1, 1994, at the height of the genocide, by an official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense stated: “Genocide finding could commit [the U.S. government] to actually ‘do something.’” Four years later, President Bill Clinton stood before Rwandan survivors and reflected on his administration’s historic failure and vowed: “Never again must we be shy in the face of the evidence.”

With the passing of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, the U.S. government has begun to take steps in the right direction to avoid another human catastrophe. Seventy-eight members of Congress have followed up with a call for the administration to impose Magnitsky sanctions on the responsible Chinese officials and issue a formal declaration of the atrocity crimes, including genocide. So far, the administration has officially imposed Magnitsky sanctions on four Chinese officials and an entity in charge of the Orwellian surveillance system and responsible for the expansion of the internment camps in Xinjiang. The U.S. government must now make an official determination of genocide. This will not be difficult, as U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus has already asserted that “what has happened to the Uighur people … is potentially the worst crime that we have seen since the Holocaust.”

A formal declaration of genocide is not simply symbolic. It will catalyze other countries to join in a concerted effort to end the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang. It will also prompt consumers to reject the over 80 international brands that profit off genocide. Furthermore, the determination will strengthen legal remedies for sanctioning companies that profit from modern slavery in their supply chains sourced in China and compel business entities to refrain from profiting from genocide and commit to ethical sourcing.

In our interconnected world, we are not only bystanders if we fail to recognize the genocide as we see it. We are complicit.

— Rayhan Asat is a lawyer, the president of the American Turkic International Lawyers Association, and sister of Ekpar Asat. Yonah Diamond is legal counsel at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.