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We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
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Hong Kong Peaceful protesters targeted as police start 2020 with renewed attack on dissent

Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong Man-Kei Tam urged for independent investigation as police violently suppressed the New Year Day's Rally.

In response to the arrest of 287 civilians, including 3 human rights monitors and the police crackdown on the peaceful protest, Tam described Hong Kong Police as "disdain[ing] for the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly".

Tam said it was disturbing as the Police targeted independent observers. He called for the SAR government "to carry out a prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigation into the allegations of excessive use of force by law enforcement agents over the last six months of protests".

Editors' note: Among the 287 arrestees on 1 January, 3 were human rights monitors from a local group. Media quoted the police saying the “mass arrest" tactics aimed to "deter" protesters.

#2Jan #NewYearsMarch #AmnestyInternational
Amnesty International Calling to End Violence on Journalists

Belarus has had a series of protests and clashes between civilians and police. Journalists have been arrested, beaten, targeted with rubber bullets while covering police crackdown on protests. Some had their cameras smashed. Amnesty International released a statement on August 12 to call for Belarusian authority to stop attacking journalists.

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office Director, said, “ Journalists in Belarus are doing heroic work to ensure the world knows about the authorities’ brutal repression of protests. It is horrifying to see the lengths to which the government will go to suppress this information - attacking reporters with batons and rubber bullets, destroying their equipment, and throwing dozens in jail.”

Struthers continued, “Journalists are being attacked for exposing the crimes committed by the Belarusian authorities against their own people, in a blatant isolation of the right to freedom of expression. The government has even disabled the internet to prevent people from sharing information. As unprecedented numbers of people continue to take to the streets in Belarus, it is essential that press freedom is protected and that no one is harmed simply for doing their job.”

Amnesty International's statement on August 12: Amnesty International calls on the Belarusian authorities to respect media and to immediately and unconditionally release journalists detained solely for fulfilling their professional duties. They must also release all peaceful activists detained solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. They must end reprisals against peaceful protesters, and investigate acts of unlawful force by police.

Source: Apple News #Aug15, Amnesty International #Aug12

#Belarus #Belarus2020 #AmnestyInternational #HumanRights #FreedomOfExpression
#Canada #ChinaInfluence
China dissuades Canadian MPs from meeting rights activists

According to a report from Amnesty International and Canadian rights group released in May, Chinese government has increasingly resorted to “threats, bullying and harassment” to intimidate and silence activists in Canada, including those raising concerns about democracy and civil rights in Hong Kong and Beijing’s mistreatment of Uyghurs, Tibetans and Falun Gong practitioners.

Canadian MPs visiting Hong Kong in late 2017 were informed that Chinese authorities did not want the MPs meeting with Hong Kong leading pro-democracy figures such as Joshua Wong or Anson Chan.

In early 2019, Ms. Linda Duncan, NDP MP for Edmonton-Strathcona at the time, was contacted by the Chinese embassy in Canada advising her not to meet with the Dalai Lama, the exile spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.

Former Canadian ambassador to China David Mulroney said the call to Ms. Duncan “was an appalling example of interference.”

Besides these revealed incidents, China may have exerted other covert influence over foreign politicians.

Source: The Globe and Mail #Aug22
#AmnestyInternational #LindaDuncan #Uyghurs #Tibet #Falungong

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-mps-say-chinese-officials-have-tried-to-dissuade-them-from-meeting/
China Reportedly Urges UN Members to Boycott Xinjiang-Related Issues and Denounces Botched Anti-China Performance

According to Reuters, the UN representatives, such as Germany, the US and the UK originally planned to have a video meeting for Xinjiang human rights issues. It is reported that the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations criticized the relevant activities for political motives and “anti-China” and sent letters requesting other member states to boycott activities.

Reuters gain a note by the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations, criticizing the European member states such as Germany, United States, England, Australia, and Canada, to hold the activities of using “human rights issues” as a political tool to intervene China Xinjiang’s affairs, and to create division and turmoil in China’s development. China criticized that the related countries got addicted to advocate confrontation with China, stated those activities involved political motivation, and urged other member states not to participate in “anti-China activities”.

The report stated, ambassadors of the US, Germany, and the UK at the United Nations originally planned to speak out in the activity and invited the CEO of Human Rights Watch, Ken Roth, and the Secretary-General of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, for participation. It mainly discussed how the United Nations and civil society support and speak out for human rights issues of Xinjiang Turks and other ethnic minorities.

Source: Stand News #May08

https://bit.ly/3hP3rJh

#China #Beijing #Xinjiang #Uyghurs #Turks #Minorities #HumanRights #SexualAbused #AntiChina #UnitedNations #UN #UnitedStates #US #Germany #England #UK #Australia #Canada #HumanRightsWatch #AmnestyInternational
#HumanitarianCrisis #Genocide
#AmnestyInternational: #China has "created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale" in #Xinjiang

Source: Amnesty International #Jun10

Image by Molly Crabapple

Read more
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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30262
#HumanitarianCrisis #Genocide
#AmnestyInternational: #China has "created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale" in #Xinjiang

//“The Chinese authorities have created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities face crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations that threaten to erase their religious and cultural identities."

“It should shock the conscience of humanity that massive numbers of people have been subjected to brainwashing, torture and other degrading treatment in internment camps, while millions more live in fear amid a vast surveillance apparatus.”

From the moment they entered the prison-like internment camps, detainees’ lives were extraordinarily regimented. They had no privacy or autonomy, and they faced harsh punishments – sometimes collectively with their cellmates – for trivial disobedience. Internees were forbidden to speak freely to each other, and they were severely punished when they responded to prison guards or other officials in their native tongues instead of Mandarin. Every activity in the detainees’ daily routine was pre-ordained and their behaviour was constantly monitored and evaluated....

Every former detainee Amnesty International interviewed suffered torture or other ill-treatment.

This included the cumulative psychological effect of their daily dehumanization, as well as physical torture in the form of beatings, electric shocks, solitary confinement, deprivation of food, water and sleep, exposure to extreme cold, and the abusive use of restraints, including torture tools like tiger chairs. Some reported being restrained in a tiger chair for 24 hours or more...

The Chinese government has gone to extraordinary lengths to cover up its violations of international human rights law in Xinjiang. Authorities threaten, detain and mistreat anyone who speaks out...//

Read full article:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/06/china-draconian-repression-of-muslims-in-xinjiang-amounts-to-crimes-against-humanity/

Source: Amnesty International #Jun10

Image by Molly Crabapple

#Uyghurs #ConcentrationCamp #CCP #AgainstHumanity #Torture #Rape #MassSurveillance
Amnesty International Report Describes Xinjiang's Situation as a “Dystopian Hell Landscape"

Amnesty International characterized the Chinese government’s actions against the Turkic Muslim population as a “crime against humanity” on Thursday (10 June). They publish a 160-page report, stating Uyghurs and Muslim minorities in Xinjiang are facing systematic abuse, including the torture tool “tiger chair” that a slight move can lead to great pain to the person in the seat.

Recently, many governments and international organizations accuse China of human rights violations. Among them, Amnesty International has been investigating the Xinjiang issue for years. This report describes the Chinese government's intention to remove Muslim cultures and traditions within the territory by different means. The report also states the government regards Turkic Muslim in the region as “extremists”. The report alleges that since most Xinjiang people are afraid of being imprisoned or badly treated, they stop praying nor following any act of Islam observance, including clothing, retouching and speech. Some locals said to Amnesty International, “We cannot say 'let peace be with you (as-salamu-alaykum)'. The government even ban Koran, prayer mats and other religious products.

The report also quotes evidence from Turkic Muslim that they are detained in Chinese government-called “re-education camps", with abuse by the authority. Turkic Muslim women were even forced to accept the system of sterilization or birth control.

Source: Stand News #Jun11

https://bit.ly/3jmJOZQ

#AmnestyInternational #Xinjiang #Uyghurs #Turkic #Islam #Muslim #China #HumanRights #Imprison #Extremist #ReeducationCamp #Genocide
#GlobalSolidarity #UK
Pro-democracy
#Hongkongers Rally in #Manchester: "You Can't Kill Us All"

On December 11, 2021 Hongkongers in Manchester initiated a rally in support of human rights. The rally was titled “YOU CAN’T KILL US ALL,” symbolizing the solidarity of people in pursuit of freedom and democracy despite political oppression.

The assembly was attended by around 100 participants, including the members of #AmnestyInternational, Tibetan activists, former councillors from Hong Kong and prodemocracy activists in exile.

A two-feet-tall replica of the “#PillarOfShame," commemorating the victims of the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing, was exhibited. The original statue made by a Danish sculptor has been displayed in the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) for years. The university management's recent plan to remove the statue has sparked public outcry in Hong Kong and abroad.

Source: Harbour of Freedom #Dec11

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXXMG17I8SZ/
#Swedish winter Olympic champion gives #GoldMedal away to protest China’s human rights abuses

//Swedish athlete Nils van der Poel has given his gold medal from the #BeijingWinterOlympics to to the daughter of jailed bookseller #GuiMinhai, in protest against China’s “oppression” of free speech and human rights.

Gui, a Swedish citizen, was one of five Hong Kong-based booksellers affiliated with #CausewayBayBooks, which sold political gossip titles.

“I am not the voice of all Olympians, but me and my friends dedicated our lives to strive for excellence within sports, and the Chinese government chose to use our dreams as a political weapon to legitimise their regime. To me that was personal, and I felt exploited,” van der Poel told #AmnestyInternational.//

Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/02/28/swedish-winter-olympic-champion-gives-gold-medal-away-to-protest-chinas-human-rights-abuses/

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Feb28

#NilsVanDerPoel #Sport