Hong Kong Watch: 3 public pension funds in Canada involved in investment and human rights violations by Chinese companies  
 
Hong Kong Watch, the organisation which concern about Hong Kong human rights, published a report on Thursday. It discovered that there are 3 public pension funds in Canada invest in the Chinese companies which involve in Chinese military and human rights violations. The investigation discovered, two of the funds have been invested into the Chinese companies such as China Communications Construction, which have been blacklisted by United States. The investment involved amounts to $373 million Canadian dollars (approximately $2.39 billion HKD) 
  
Hong Kong Watch suggested the Canada Members of the Parliament of Canada urge the government, ban pension funds from investing in companies that involve persecuting Uyghurs and Tibetans and suppressing Hong Kong. Furthermore, it also encourages the government to include companies involved in human rights violations on the “Entity List” and requires the Financial Consumer Council of Canada to pass legislation to restrict investment in companies involved in human rights violations.  
 
Source: Stand News #Jun11

https://bit.ly/3wMg2ln

#HongKongWatch #Canada #China #HumanRights #Uyghurs #Xinjiang #Tibetans #HongKong #Suppression #EntityList #Legislation  

#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

#InternationalRelations #Regime
#China Pressures #Ukraine by blocking #COVID19 #vaccine shipment

//China pressured Ukraine into withdrawing its support for a call for more scrutiny of human rights in China’s western region of Xinjiang by threatening to withhold Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines destined for Ukraine unless it did so, diplomats told The Associated Press on Friday, June 15, 2021.

Ukraine briefly joined a statement by over 40 countries, presented by Canada at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, urging China to allow immediate access for independent observers to Xinjiang. Some human rights groups have alleged Chinese mistreatment of Muslim Uyghurs and others in the region.

On Thursday, Ukraine pulled its name off the list of supporting states after Chinese authorities warned Kyiv that they would block a planned shipment of at least 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine unless it did so, said diplomats from two Western countries. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Ukraine has agreed to purchase 1.9 million doses of CoronaVac vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech. As of early May, Ukraine had received 1.2 million doses, according to Health Minister Maxim Stepanov.

In the past, China’s government has been no stranger to pressuring other countries in Geneva diplomatic circles or in national capitals either to line up behind its statements or avoid backing statements that criticize, question or seek scrutiny of human rights in the country...//

Read full article:
https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-china-europe-ukraine-health-a0a5ae8f735b92e39c623e453529cbb9

Source: Associated Press #Jun25

#Uyghurs #CCP #WolfWarrior #Diplomacy #MadeinChina #Sinovac

Image: Stand News

https://bit.ly/3ykp09J

#Uyghurs
France probes fashion retailers for concealing 'crimes against humanity' in #Xinjiang

//French prosecutors have opened an investigation into four fashion retailers suspected of concealing "crimes against humanity" in China's Xinjiang region, a judicial source said on Thursday.

The procedure is linked to accusations against China over its treatment of minority Muslim Uyghurs in the region, including the use of forced labour, the source said.

The source told Reuters #Uniqlo France, a unit of Japan's Fast Retailing (9983.T), #Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC), France's #SMCP (SMCP.PA) and #Skechers (SKX.N) were the subject of the investigation, confirming a report by French media website Mediapart.//

Read more:
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/france-investigate-fashion-retailers-concealing-crimes-against-humanity-xinjiang-2021-07-01/

Source: Reuters #Jul2

#XinjiangCotton #ConcentrationCamp #HumanitarianCrisis #Genocide

The UN Human Rights Council meeting will be held next Monday, 60 members of Congress around the world jointly signed the urge Xinjiang genocide 
 
The 47th UN Human Rights Council meeting will be held next Monday, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance in China indicated on Friday, there are over 60 members of Congress from 17 countries or regions wrote to Nazhat Shameem Khan, the President of the UN Human Rights Council (18June). As well as Foreign Ministers of Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, they urged to the UN for establishing a commission of inquiry and investigating the allegations of Xinjiang China genocide and crimes against humanity.  
 
The co-signed letter was coordinated by the “Traditional Parliamentary Union on China Policy”, the co-signers are included 60 congressmen from Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, and Europe. The letter stated, as members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, countries request foreign ministers to support the establishment of independent investigation committees and investigate Xinjiang’s violations of human rights of Uyghurs and other minorities, including allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity. Besides, the investigation commission also has the responsibility to identify the persons involved and hold them accountable. In addition, the committee should make recommendations to end the Chinese government’s violation of human rights in Xinjiang, and report to the UN Human Rights Council on a regular basis.  
 
Source: Stand News #Jun19
 
 https://bit.ly/2V2Ob2d
 
#UnitedNations #HumanRights #Genocide #Uyghurs #Xinjiang #China #Australia #UnitedStates #UnitedKingdom #Humanity  

China's repression of overseas Uyghurs has spread to nearly 30 countries: Report

China's persecution of Uyghurs overseas has spread to nearly 30 countries around the world, largely because the governments of these host countries fear Beijing's power and influence, claims a new report.

At least 28 countries across the world complicit in China's harassment and intimidation of Uyghurs, with countries in the Middle East and North Africa as worst offenders, reported Voice of America (VOA), says the report compiled jointly by rights group Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and the Uyghur Human Rights Project.

Titled 'No Space Left to Run, China's Transnational Repression of Uyghurs', it argues that Beijing uses a number of methods to intimidate Uyghurs living in other countries, including everything from the use of spyware and hacking, to releasing red notices against targeted individuals through Interpol.

Source: ANI #Jul02

https://bit.ly/3eCAspG

#China #Uyghurs #Beijing

#BigBrother
British Minister Resigned Over Affair Scandal; Surveillance Camera Comes from Chinese enterprises monitoring Xinjiang 
 
British Secretary of Health Matt Hancock, who was married, was revealed to have kissed a colleague, who was also married, in his office. Matt has resigned on 26 June, 2021.

What alarmed the British government the most is the leakage of the surveillance camera footage of Matt's office.

According to the media, the camera was menufactured by the Chinese company Hikvision, which provides CCP with equipment to monitor Xinjiang. The company has been blacklisted by the United States for violating human rights in Uyghur.
 
Although British security officers claimed that there was a low chance that the incident involved countries that are hostile to the UK, British politicians called on the government to pay attention to China-made monitoring devices.

British Labour Party member Conor McGinn indicated that "the problem is not just about the scandal of Matt Hancock being exposed, but the security crisis within the British government“.

McGinn demanded the goverment to respond to how "a private company that has a connection with China can reach the depth of Whitehall”.
 
Source: Stand News #Jun29

https://bit.ly/3wUcHQs

#UnitedKingdom #Xinjiang #Uyghurs #Monitoring #MattHancock #Privacy #Blacklist #China #Politics  

Kodak Removes Instagram photos of Uyghurs' Mass Imprisonment in Xinjiang and Apologizes After Being Snipped by Chinese Netizens

Kodak, a camera equipment company, published photos of Xinjiang taken by a French photographer on Instagram. The post mentioned Xinjiang Uyghur human rights issues, causing dissatisfaction among Chinese netizens and left many messages under their Instagram account. Kodak then deleted the photos and published a statement at midnight, emphasizing that the post was not written by the company but by the photographer. They pointed out that their Instagram “is designed to promote creativity, not a platform of commencing politics" and apologized for the misunderstanding and offence caused by the post.

Chinese netizens forwarded the post to Weibo and launched a crazy flood to Kodak and Wack's accounts. Many Chinese netizens left messages on Wack’s posts “talentless and catch the eyeballs ideology” and “regardless how beautiful the picture is, if bias comes in place, the photographer will put a layer of filter on it”. Some Chinese media criticized, “Under Wack’s lens, the magnificent of Xinjiang is attractive but also carrying hidden messages”. Somebody supports him and praises his shots under his posts.

Source: Stand News #Jul20

https://bit.ly/3xoFpJr

#China #Xinjiang #Uyghurs #Kodak #Wack #HumanRights #Instagram #Weibo

Broadcasters urged to cancel plans to cover #Beijing #WinterOlympics

//Some of the world’s largest broadcasters including American network #NBC are being asked by human rights groups to cancel plans to cover next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Winter Games are scheduled to open on Feb. 4, 2022.

The request comes in an open letter from rights groups representing minorities in China, including #Uyghurs, #Tibetans, #HongKong residents and others.

The letter, obtained by the Associated Press, was sent Tuesday to NBC Universal chief executive officer Jeff Shell and other international broadcast executives. NBC is paying $7.75 billion for the rights to the next six Olympics and works closely as a partner with the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee.

Those payments are estimated to account for up to 40% of the IOC’s total income. The letter says the broadcasters risk “being complicit” in the “worsening human rights abuses” in China.
The letter comes just days after the delayed Summer Olympics and Paralympics wrapped up in Tokyo, putting the focus on the IOC and its choice of Beijing.//

Source: Washington Times #Sept7

Read full article:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/sep/7/broadcasters-urged-to-cancel-plans-to-cover-beijin/

#HumanRights #GlobalSolidarity #Broadcast

#Genocide
'Some are just #psychopaths': Chinese detective in exile reveals extent of torture against #Uyghurs

Source: CNN #Oct4

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️

#Genocide
'Some are just #psychopaths': Chinese detective in exile reveals extent of torture against #Uyghurs

//The ex-detective turned #whistleblower asked to be identified only as Jiang, to protect his family members who remain in China.

In a three-hour interview with CNN, conducted in Europe where he is now in exile, Jiang revealed rare details on what he described as a systematic campaign of torture against ethnic Uyghurs in the region's detention camp system, claims China has denied for years.

"Kick them, beat them (until they're) bruised and swollen," Jiang said, recalling how he and his colleagues used to interrogate detainees in police detention centers. "Until they kneel on the floor crying."

The methods included shackling people to a metal or wooden "tiger chair" -- chairs designed to immobilize suspects -- hanging people from the ceiling, sexual violence, electrocutions, and waterboarding. Inmates were often forced to stay awake for days, and denied food and water, he said.

"Everyone uses different methods. Some even use a wrecking bar, or iron chains with locks," Jiang said. "Police would step on the suspect's face and tell him to confess."

The suspects were accused of terror offenses, said Jiang, but he believes that "none" of the hundreds of prisoners he was involved in arresting had committed a crime. "They are ordinary people," he said.//

//...During the routine overnight operations, Jiang said they would be given lists of names of people to round up, as part of orders to meet official quotas on the numbers of Uyghurs to detain.

"It's all planned, and it has a system," Jiang said. "Everyone needs to hit a target."

If anyone resisted arrest, the police officers would "hold the gun against his head and say do not move. If you move, you will be killed."

He said teams of police officers would also search people's houses and download the data from their computers and phones.

Another tactic was to use the area's neighborhood committee to call the local population together for a meeting with the village chief, before detaining them en masse.

Describing the time as a "combat period," Jiang said officials treated Xinjiang like a war zone, and police officers were told that Uyghurs were enemies of the state.

He said it was common knowledge among police officers that 900,000 Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities were detained in the region in a single year.

Jiang said if he had resisted the process, he would have been arrested, too.

Inside the police detention centers, the main goal was to extract a confession from detainees, with sexual torture being one of the tactics, Jiang said.

"If you want people to confess, you use the electric baton with two sharp tips on top," Jiang said. "We would tie two electrical wires on the tips and set the wires on their genitals while the person is tied up."

He admitted he often had to play "bad cop" during interrogations but said he avoided the worst of the violence, unlike some of his colleagues.

"Some people see this as a job, some are just psychopaths," he said.

One "very common measure" of torture and dehumanization was for guards to order prisoners to rape and abuse the new male inmates, Jiang said.//

Read the full article:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/04/china/xinjiang-detective-torture-intl-hnk-dst/index.html

Source: CNN #Oct4

#Torture #Rape #GangRape #HumanitarianCrisis #Chinazi #ConcentrationCamp #Xinjiang
#Astrocity

Hongkongers protest outside Chinese embassies in Washington and San Francisco, burning China flags and photos of Xi Jinping

Yesterday, 1 October, China's National Day, was marked by demonstrations by Hong Kong people in exile or abroad in the UK and the US. In Washington, a few dozen people, including Hong Kong Liberation Coalition (HKLC) founder Sixtus Leung Chung-Hang and Director of China Affairs at the World Uighur Congress Ilshat H. Kokbore, joining the demonstration at the Chinese Embassy in the US on Thursday (30th September), local time. In an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA), Leung said that their demands were threefold: to call on the US and the international community to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics; to strengthen sanctions against China; and to lobby the US Congress to push an ethics investigation bill against US companies, that forbidden them to invest in Chinese companies that undermine human rights.

In San Francisco, overseas Hongkongers demonstrated outside the Chinese Consulate General on Friday (1st October), raising flags such as "Hong Kong Independence" and "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of Our Times", while some reiterated the "Five Demands" of the 2019 Anti-Extradition movement. Demonstrators also burned a China National Flag and a photo of President Xi Jinping outside the consulate.

Source: Stand News #Oct20

https://bit.ly/2ZMyQFE

#ChinaNationalDay #OverseasHongkongers #HongKongLiberationCoalition #HKLC #USA #Washington #SanFrancisco #ChinaNationalFlag #Uyghurs #WorldUyghurCongress #XiJinping #LiberateHK #RevolutionofOurTimes #FiveDemandsNotOneLess #FDNOL #Boycott2022BeijingWinterOlympics

Britain’s diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics will not send officials to attend

Following the United States and Australia, Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, indicated in Parliament on Wednesday (Dec 8) that they will not send ministers or officials to attend the Winter Olympics in February next year. He described this as an “actual” diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Former Chairman of the Conservative Party, said, “The authoritarian and brutal Chinese regime is persecuting religious minorities and threatening Muslim Uyghurs”, and ask the UK to diplomatically boycott Beijing Winter Olympics.

Johnson responded that he did not believe boycotting sports activities was a wise approach. But he indicated, “No ministers or officials are expected to attend, which will actually be a diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympic”.

Source: Stand News #Dec09

https://thestandnews.page.link/oCxHShMVEKzDyhQG8

#UnitedKingdom #BeijingWinterOlympic #Uyghurs #Muslim #BorisJohnson

Another organisation asks the International Tribunal in The Hague to investigate China: Chinese personnel coerce overseas to arrest Uyghurs

Another organisation filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hauge, accusing Chinese officials of conducting operations in foreign countries to force Uyghurs to return to China. Methods include creating visa problems and forcing Uyghurs to become informants.

This was the third complaint to ICC from Uyghur representatives for investigating China. The charges include crimes against humanity, genocide, and the use of force to coerce Uyghurs to return to China. In the past, ICC refused to handle as China is not a member of ICC, which is not within the jurisdiction.

However, according to the cases of Rohingya being targeted and mutilated in Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2018 and 2019, ICC still has jurisdiction since part of the criminal acts occurred in member states. Myanmar is not a member, but Bangladesh is. Although ICC did not accept China’s allegations of genocide against Uyghurs in 2020, they indicated that the case was not a closed file but required more evidence.

The indictment is from the government-in-exile of the Republic of East Turkistan and the East Turkic Awakening Movement. The Guardian quoted relevant court documents that the “internal witness testimony” from Uyghurs has matched the threshold of ICC. It said that the case involved the deportation of Uyghurs from Tajikistan, which is a member of ICC.

Source: Stand News #Nov12

#Uyghurs #Genocide #CCP #ICC

World Muslim Leaders Boycott Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

On December 30, 2021, The Global Imams Council (#GIC) made a decision to boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Council is, according to its website, the "largest transnational non-governmental body of Muslim religious leaders from all Islamic Denominations and Schools of thought."

In a statement, the Council described China as a "tyrannical and oppressive regime that is responsible for the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Uyghurs".

Source: The Global Imams Council #Dec30

#WinterOlympics #Boycott #CCP #Genocide #Uyghurs

Report Says #China Invites #UN Official to #Xinjiang but Bans Investigating #HumanRights Issues

According to South China Morning Post (#SCMP) on #Jan27 2022, China allows the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to visit Xinjiang after the Winter Olympics; however, China does not allow Bachelet to investigate on human rights violation issues, causing United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (#UNHCR) to postpone their Xinjiang report publication date to after the Olympic Games.

China's Foreign Affairs Minister, #ZhaoLijian, claimed that China's stand is "consistent and clear": "The invitation aims to enhance the interactions and collaborations between the 2 parties. We oppose anyone to take advantage of political manipulation."

Human Rights Watch told #Reuter on #Jan28 that the Chinese government tries to distract the world with the winter Olympics from their inhumane crimes on #Uyghurs and other #Turkistan. They also reminded everyone, especially foreign affairs ministers, not to be fooled.

#HumanRightwWatch #MichelleBachelet

Source: RFA #Jan28
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/un-visit-01282022053808.html

Canadian and Taiwanese Artists Uses Music and Drawings to Show their Support on Human Rights

#BeijingWinterOlympics has begun since #Feb04 with boycotts voices circulating the world.

Some artists show their dissatisfaction with #HumanRightsViolation in China with paintbrushes and music notes. A Canadian painter creates "Genocide Games" to mock Beijing Winter Olympic while a Taiwanese band composes "The Times Looking After the Righteous (#時代看顧正義的人)" to criticise dictatorship.

Both works show support to the belief in democracy and freedom.

The Canadian artist, Ricker Choi, is originally from Hong Kong but emigrated to Canada when he was 13. Yet, he is always concerning the situation in Hong Kong. Ricker has created lots of artworks since 2019, supporting Hong Kong democracy movements.

When the winter Olympics was approaching, his heart was filled with emotions. As a result, he picked up his pen and produced a picture "#GenocideGames".

Ricker said, "China claimed to improve the human rights issues in 2008 #OlympicGames, to be free, democratic and open. In fact, the reality is, however, the opposite. They suppress #Uyghurs and #Tibetans, persecuting Hong Kong, threatening Taiwan. Letting them host the Olympic Games again is the greatest sarcasm."

Ricker Choi's Twitter post:
https://twitter.com/RickerChoi/status/1478919590520438785

Source: RFA #Jan17

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/lf-01172022161411.html?encoding=traditional

#Genocide

Chanting “Free Tibet” in Taipei Rally on 63rd Anniversary of Tibetan Resistance

“It is a shame that in the 21st century we must also see the persecution of the Uyghurs, that the Hong Kong documentary Revolution of Our Times can only be screened in Taiwan, and that authoritarian countries are invading Ukraine, but alongside all this bad news, we are also seeing an awakening, with many countries beginning to reflect on the whims of other authoritarian regimes and becoming more committed to defending democratic values,” said Wuer Kaixi, Executive Deputy Secretary of Human Rights Promotion Association in the Legislative Yuan and leader of the June Fourth Movement.

Source: RFA #Mar05

#Tibet #Tibetan #Taiwan #Uyghurs #Ukraine #HongKongbannedfilms #RevolutionofOurTimes #WuerKaixi

Leaked list reveals details of over 10,000 #Uyghurs detained in China’s #Xinjiang province

Source: AFP; Hong Kong Fress Press #May14

Read more
⬇️⬇️