#UN rights chief falls under wheels of China's propaganda machine
Beijing's propaganda machine has outwitted the UN human rights chief on her visit to China, campaigners say, leaving the envoy accused of playing a role in whitewashing abuses against minorities in Xinjiang.
"She must have the political courage and integrity to speak out when her words and her visit are being distorted," said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute. "If she is not prepared and able to do so, she should not visit."
Michelle Bachelet's long-planned trip in late May has taken her to the far-western region where Beijing is accused of imprisoning over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, forcibly sterlising women and running labour camps that fuel global supply chains.
The United States and multiple western lawmakers have labelled the actions a "genocide", allegations vehemently denied by China which says it has only conducted necessary security operations to squash extremism and beef up development.
Bachelet has come under fire from rights groups and Uyghurs overseas, who say she has been suckered into a slickly choreographed Communist Party tour including a conversation with President Xi Jinping later portrayed in state media as a mutual endorsement of China's high ideals on rights.
It is "as clear as day" that China has so far used the visit "to promote its own narrative and defend its poor human rights record", said Alkan Akad, a China researcher at Amnesty.
The goal is "to show the world that it can bend a top UN human rights official -- and thus the very concept of human rights -- to its will," said Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch.
London-based Uyghur activist Rahima Mahmut slammed the visit as "window dressing".
"This is not the neutral, independent, unfettered investigation that we were promised," she told AFP.
Instead, Beijing was seeking "a free pass to continue carrying out repression, surveillance, torture and genocide against communities like mine", she added.
The hard details of what Bachelet saw and who she met during the visit have been largely withheld on a trip carried out in a "closed loop" by order of Beijing, ostensibly due to Covid risks.
China has filled the information vacuum, with state media running gleeful readouts of meetings between her and Xi as well as foreign minster Wang Yi.
They reported that Bachelet said she "admired China's efforts and achievements in ... protecting human rights" during the virtual call with Xi.
A spokesperson for Bachelet did not confirm whether the reports were accurate when contacted by AFP, instead saying the UN would not publish readouts of bilateral meetings.
A later, hurried "clarification" by the UN stopped short of denying that she had praised China's rights record. But neither side mentioned Xinjiang in their readouts.
Norway-based Uyghur activist Abduweli Ayup said he was "disappointed" that Bachelet had appeared to allow Beijing to "misinterpret" her words.
"They have already used (her) for propaganda," he told AFP.
Read the full article:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220527-un-rights-chief-falls-under-wheels-of-china-s-propaganda-machine
Source: France 24 #May27
#Uyghur #Genocide #UN #HumanRights #CCPPropaganda
Beijing's propaganda machine has outwitted the UN human rights chief on her visit to China, campaigners say, leaving the envoy accused of playing a role in whitewashing abuses against minorities in Xinjiang.
"She must have the political courage and integrity to speak out when her words and her visit are being distorted," said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute. "If she is not prepared and able to do so, she should not visit."
Michelle Bachelet's long-planned trip in late May has taken her to the far-western region where Beijing is accused of imprisoning over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, forcibly sterlising women and running labour camps that fuel global supply chains.
The United States and multiple western lawmakers have labelled the actions a "genocide", allegations vehemently denied by China which says it has only conducted necessary security operations to squash extremism and beef up development.
Bachelet has come under fire from rights groups and Uyghurs overseas, who say she has been suckered into a slickly choreographed Communist Party tour including a conversation with President Xi Jinping later portrayed in state media as a mutual endorsement of China's high ideals on rights.
It is "as clear as day" that China has so far used the visit "to promote its own narrative and defend its poor human rights record", said Alkan Akad, a China researcher at Amnesty.
The goal is "to show the world that it can bend a top UN human rights official -- and thus the very concept of human rights -- to its will," said Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch.
London-based Uyghur activist Rahima Mahmut slammed the visit as "window dressing".
"This is not the neutral, independent, unfettered investigation that we were promised," she told AFP.
Instead, Beijing was seeking "a free pass to continue carrying out repression, surveillance, torture and genocide against communities like mine", she added.
The hard details of what Bachelet saw and who she met during the visit have been largely withheld on a trip carried out in a "closed loop" by order of Beijing, ostensibly due to Covid risks.
China has filled the information vacuum, with state media running gleeful readouts of meetings between her and Xi as well as foreign minster Wang Yi.
They reported that Bachelet said she "admired China's efforts and achievements in ... protecting human rights" during the virtual call with Xi.
A spokesperson for Bachelet did not confirm whether the reports were accurate when contacted by AFP, instead saying the UN would not publish readouts of bilateral meetings.
A later, hurried "clarification" by the UN stopped short of denying that she had praised China's rights record. But neither side mentioned Xinjiang in their readouts.
Norway-based Uyghur activist Abduweli Ayup said he was "disappointed" that Bachelet had appeared to allow Beijing to "misinterpret" her words.
"They have already used (her) for propaganda," he told AFP.
Read the full article:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220527-un-rights-chief-falls-under-wheels-of-china-s-propaganda-machine
Source: France 24 #May27
#Uyghur #Genocide #UN #HumanRights #CCPPropaganda
France 24
UN rights chief falls under wheels of China's propaganda machine
Beijing's propaganda machine has outwitted the UN human rights chief on her visit to China, campaigners say, leaving the envoy accused of playing a role in whitewashing abuses against minorities in Xinjiang.
#UN rights committee seeks assurances hearing participants from Hong Kong won’t be targeted under security law
//The #UnitedNations #HumanRightsCommittee on Thursday began reviewing Hong Kong’s rights record for the first time since Beijing imposed its #nationalsecuritylaw, amid questions about whether groups making submissions to the meeting could fall foul of the legislation.
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs #ErickTsang and several other top officials attended the meeting in Geneva via video link. In his opening speech, which lasted just under 20 minutes, Tsang said the government had done much to protect #humanrights in Hong Kong.
He also cited Chinese leader #XiJinping as saying the One Country, Two Systems policy has been working well, adding it was recognised by 1.4 billion Chinese people and the international community...
The UN Committee members, however, were not convinced the security law offered sufficient protections for people’s rights and freedoms.
“I note, honourable secretary, your comment about the events that precipitated this law, but I must observe that it was done overnight, without consultation, and bypassing the local legislature,” the committee’s vice chair Christopher Arif Bulkan said.
Another vice chair, Shuichi Furuya from Japan, expressed concern at the overarching nature and broad scope of the legislation. He said the committee had received reports about organisations overseas being requested by Hong Kong authorities to remove content that may be in violation of it....
The meeting of the committee of 18 international experts will continue on Friday and next Tuesday, while a closing session will take place on July 22, 2022.//
Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/07/07/un-committee-starts-first-review-of-hong-kong-human-rights-since-security-law/
Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Jul7
#NSL #FailedState #UnitedNations
//The #UnitedNations #HumanRightsCommittee on Thursday began reviewing Hong Kong’s rights record for the first time since Beijing imposed its #nationalsecuritylaw, amid questions about whether groups making submissions to the meeting could fall foul of the legislation.
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs #ErickTsang and several other top officials attended the meeting in Geneva via video link. In his opening speech, which lasted just under 20 minutes, Tsang said the government had done much to protect #humanrights in Hong Kong.
He also cited Chinese leader #XiJinping as saying the One Country, Two Systems policy has been working well, adding it was recognised by 1.4 billion Chinese people and the international community...
The UN Committee members, however, were not convinced the security law offered sufficient protections for people’s rights and freedoms.
“I note, honourable secretary, your comment about the events that precipitated this law, but I must observe that it was done overnight, without consultation, and bypassing the local legislature,” the committee’s vice chair Christopher Arif Bulkan said.
Another vice chair, Shuichi Furuya from Japan, expressed concern at the overarching nature and broad scope of the legislation. He said the committee had received reports about organisations overseas being requested by Hong Kong authorities to remove content that may be in violation of it....
The meeting of the committee of 18 international experts will continue on Friday and next Tuesday, while a closing session will take place on July 22, 2022.//
Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/07/07/un-committee-starts-first-review-of-hong-kong-human-rights-since-security-law/
Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Jul7
#NSL #FailedState #UnitedNations
Hong Kong Free Press HKFP
UN rights committee seeks assurances hearing participants from Hong Kong won’t be targeted under security law
The United Nations Human Rights Committee on Thursday began reviewing Hong Kong’s rights record for the first time since Beijing imposed its national security law, amid questions about whether groups making submissions to the meeting could fall foul of the…
Missile funding?: #NorthKorea seen smuggling coal to #China
//North Korea is likely shipping coal directly to Chinese ports, activity that is banned from international trade under United Nations Security Council sanctions, a Nikkei investigation found.
Nikkei obtained satellite images of a North Korean-registered ship carrying coal, and confirmed that the ship directly went to China by examining data from the vessel's automatic identification system (AIS).
It is likely that China -- one of five permanent members of the Security Council -- is involved in smuggling activities and shows that current U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang to prevent it acquiring funds for missile development are not being fully implemented...
Nikkei obtained data on about 180 vessels -- including North Korean-flagged ships and vessels that had been cited for sanctions violations in the past -- from ship information companies MarineTraffic and Refinitiv, and traced their movements for about 18 months from January 2021.
There were 37 vessels that stayed in the port of Longkou for several days while transmitting AIS data. Similarly, at least 20 vessels called at ports in Liaoning and Hebei provinces, which handle large volumes of coal.
Regarding the movements of North Korean vessels, there have been previous reports that they would cut their AIS transmissions, making them impossible to follow, and trade at night.
Observers have often noted ship-to-ship transfers North Korea has used to circumvent conventional distribution channels, but it appears the country does not try to hide sanction-violating shipments anymore.//
Source: Asia Nikkei #Jun29
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at-crossroads/Missile-funding-North-Korea-seen-smuggling-coal-to-China
#UN #CCP
//North Korea is likely shipping coal directly to Chinese ports, activity that is banned from international trade under United Nations Security Council sanctions, a Nikkei investigation found.
Nikkei obtained satellite images of a North Korean-registered ship carrying coal, and confirmed that the ship directly went to China by examining data from the vessel's automatic identification system (AIS).
It is likely that China -- one of five permanent members of the Security Council -- is involved in smuggling activities and shows that current U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang to prevent it acquiring funds for missile development are not being fully implemented...
Nikkei obtained data on about 180 vessels -- including North Korean-flagged ships and vessels that had been cited for sanctions violations in the past -- from ship information companies MarineTraffic and Refinitiv, and traced their movements for about 18 months from January 2021.
There were 37 vessels that stayed in the port of Longkou for several days while transmitting AIS data. Similarly, at least 20 vessels called at ports in Liaoning and Hebei provinces, which handle large volumes of coal.
Regarding the movements of North Korean vessels, there have been previous reports that they would cut their AIS transmissions, making them impossible to follow, and trade at night.
Observers have often noted ship-to-ship transfers North Korea has used to circumvent conventional distribution channels, but it appears the country does not try to hide sanction-violating shipments anymore.//
Source: Asia Nikkei #Jun29
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at-crossroads/Missile-funding-North-Korea-seen-smuggling-coal-to-China
#UN #CCP
Nikkei Asia
Missile funding?: North Korea seen smuggling coal to China
Nikkei probe of satellite imagery finds both nations may be violating UN sanctions
#MyanmarJunta executes leading democracy activists
//Myanmar's military junta executed two prominent pro-democracy activists and two other men accused of terrorism, state media reported Monday, following a trial condemned by the #UN and rights groups.
Veteran democracy activist #KyawMinYu, better known as #KoJimmy, and former #NationalLeagueforDemocracy lawmaker #PhyoZayarThaw were executed, along with #HlaMyoAung and #AungThuraZaw, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported, without giving a date.
Their deaths mark the first judicial executions in the country in decades, andhuman rights groups fear more will follow. According to #HumanRightsWatch, 114 people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.//
Read the full article:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/24/asia/myanmar-executions-pro-democracy-figures-intl-hnk/index.html
Source: CNN #Jul24
#DeathSentence #Authoritarianism #Tyranny #PoliticalProsecution #StandWithMyanmar
//Myanmar's military junta executed two prominent pro-democracy activists and two other men accused of terrorism, state media reported Monday, following a trial condemned by the #UN and rights groups.
Veteran democracy activist #KyawMinYu, better known as #KoJimmy, and former #NationalLeagueforDemocracy lawmaker #PhyoZayarThaw were executed, along with #HlaMyoAung and #AungThuraZaw, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported, without giving a date.
Their deaths mark the first judicial executions in the country in decades, andhuman rights groups fear more will follow. According to #HumanRightsWatch, 114 people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.//
Read the full article:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/24/asia/myanmar-executions-pro-democracy-figures-intl-hnk/index.html
Source: CNN #Jul24
#DeathSentence #Authoritarianism #Tyranny #PoliticalProsecution #StandWithMyanmar
#China Intervenes #UN Human Rights Report on Xinjiang
According to #Reuters report on July 22, 2022, China, through a letter written by the Chinese mission, has asked the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to halt the release of the report on the human rights situation in #Xinjiang. This has been confirmed by three diplomats who received the letter.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet was widely criticized for her tepid performance during her visit to China in May 2022. Bachelet has since announced that she will not be seeking a second term as High Commissioner, citing personal reasons. However, she has promised to release a human rights report on Xinjiang before her tenure ends at the end of August.
Source: SBS #Jul22
https://www.sbs.com.au/chinese/cantonese/zh-hant/china-wants-to-stop-a-report-on-human-rights-in-xinjiang-why-is-it-piling-pressure-on-the-un
#Beijing #Threat #InternationalSecurity
According to #Reuters report on July 22, 2022, China, through a letter written by the Chinese mission, has asked the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to halt the release of the report on the human rights situation in #Xinjiang. This has been confirmed by three diplomats who received the letter.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet was widely criticized for her tepid performance during her visit to China in May 2022. Bachelet has since announced that she will not be seeking a second term as High Commissioner, citing personal reasons. However, she has promised to release a human rights report on Xinjiang before her tenure ends at the end of August.
Source: SBS #Jul22
https://www.sbs.com.au/chinese/cantonese/zh-hant/china-wants-to-stop-a-report-on-human-rights-in-xinjiang-why-is-it-piling-pressure-on-the-un
#Beijing #Threat #InternationalSecurity
UK-Based HongKonger's Groups Criticised pro-Beijing Organisations Cleansing the National Security Law with Human-sea Tactics
The 73rd Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Conference will be held within 2 weeks. UK-based HongKongers organisations found that many pro-Beijing organisations submit reports to this conference, strongly promoting the National Security Law (#NSL). They intended to rationalise the fact of Beijing’s corrosion to the rights in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Scots, a UK-based HongKongers’ organisation, indicated that Beijing utilised Human-sea tactic after being criticised in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights last year to promote the suppression of Hong Kong people in the United Nations. As the submitted content from various groups of people is similar, it is suspected to interfere with the trial of Hong Kong Human Rights in the United Nations, demonstrating “head count takes over the truth with limited evidence”.
#UnitedNation #UN #NationalSecurityLaw #HumanRights #HongKongScots
Source: The Chaser News #Feb01
https://www.patreon.com/posts/78007112
The 73rd Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Conference will be held within 2 weeks. UK-based HongKongers organisations found that many pro-Beijing organisations submit reports to this conference, strongly promoting the National Security Law (#NSL). They intended to rationalise the fact of Beijing’s corrosion to the rights in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Scots, a UK-based HongKongers’ organisation, indicated that Beijing utilised Human-sea tactic after being criticised in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights last year to promote the suppression of Hong Kong people in the United Nations. As the submitted content from various groups of people is similar, it is suspected to interfere with the trial of Hong Kong Human Rights in the United Nations, demonstrating “head count takes over the truth with limited evidence”.
#UnitedNation #UN #NationalSecurityLaw #HumanRights #HongKongScots
Source: The Chaser News #Feb01
https://www.patreon.com/posts/78007112
Human Rights Organisation's Report Shows Hong Kong Ranked 4th Last
Source: The Chaser News #Jun22
#HumanRightsMeasurementInitiative #CivilRights #PoliticalRights #YangXiaoguang #ForeignAffairsMinistry #UnitedNations #UN #HumanRights
Read more
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Source: The Chaser News #Jun22
#HumanRightsMeasurementInitiative #CivilRights #PoliticalRights #YangXiaoguang #ForeignAffairsMinistry #UnitedNations #UN #HumanRights
Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
Human Rights Organisation's Report Shows Hong Kong Ranked 4th Last
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (#HRMI), an international organisation based in #NewZealand, published the 2022 Human Rights Report on June 21, assessing the civil and political rights in 30 districts.
The overall score of Hong Kong's "Empowerment" (which relates to general freedoms for citizens) slightly increased from 2021. Yet, it is still fourth last, while mainland China remains at the bottom of the ranking.
Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Human Rights Department under China's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Yang Xiaoguang, attended the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday (Jun 21), strongly criticising the UK, Australia and other countries and "anti-China organisations" for slandering China and repeating lies on the issues in #HongKong, #Xinjiang and #Tibet. He even claimed the development of human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet is "in the best period in history".
Source: The Chaser News #Jun22
https://bit.ly/43j1GrS
#HumanRightsMeasurementInitiative #CivilRights #PoliticalRights #YangXiaoguang #ForeignAffairsMinistry #UnitedNations #UN #HumanRights
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (#HRMI), an international organisation based in #NewZealand, published the 2022 Human Rights Report on June 21, assessing the civil and political rights in 30 districts.
The overall score of Hong Kong's "Empowerment" (which relates to general freedoms for citizens) slightly increased from 2021. Yet, it is still fourth last, while mainland China remains at the bottom of the ranking.
Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Human Rights Department under China's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Yang Xiaoguang, attended the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday (Jun 21), strongly criticising the UK, Australia and other countries and "anti-China organisations" for slandering China and repeating lies on the issues in #HongKong, #Xinjiang and #Tibet. He even claimed the development of human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet is "in the best period in history".
Source: The Chaser News #Jun22
https://bit.ly/43j1GrS
#HumanRightsMeasurementInitiative #CivilRights #PoliticalRights #YangXiaoguang #ForeignAffairsMinistry #UnitedNations #UN #HumanRights
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