Myanmar insurgents launched mortar bombs at the junta’s top leader during his visit to a military base in eastern Myanmar’s Kayah state, an official from the anti-junta group told Radio Free Asia on Thursday.
RFA could not independently verify the report of an attack on Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday as he visited Loikaw’s Regional Command Headquarters in the state capital, Loikaw.
The junta has not released any information on an attack but its media reported on Thursday that Min Aung Hlaing had discussed the security situation and an upcoming census during his visit.
RFA telephoned Kayah state’s junta spokesperson Zarni Maung for confirmation but he did not answer calls.
A spokesman for the ethnic minority Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, or KNDF, said its fighters launched two 120 mm mortar bombs at the military base when the junta chief was believed to have been visiting.
“We received the information that he was coming to Loikaw, so we ordered our heavy weapons team to get ready and fire,” said the spokesman, who declined to be identified for security reasons.
“We heard that personnel in the Regional Command Headquarters were injured but we don’t know exactly how many yet.”
Karenni guerrillas and junta forces have been confronting each other in a divided Loikaw for months this year, with the military regaining ground there since June.
Juna forces responded to the attack with sustained attacks, including airstrikes, on KNDF positions on Thursday, the rebel spokesman said.
A building destroyed in a junta bombing in Nan Mei Khon village, Demoso township, Kayah state on Sept. 5, 2024. (Citizen photo)
The junta leader also delivered provisions to nearby junta militias in Shan state’s Hsihseng township, 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Loikaw, where they frequently clash with anti-junta forces, media reported.
The KNDF says it has captured 65 junta camps, including 12 military bases near Loikaw, and eight towns since it launched an offensive late last year.
The junta also launched airstrikes in other parts of Kayah state on Thursday, including Nan Mei Khon village in Demoso township where one person was killed and buildings were damaged, said the deputy secretary of the state’s anti-junta Interim Executive Council, Banya Khun Aung.
“The military bombed two places at around 10 a.m. killing one person and injuring seven,” he said.
A Demoso resident who declined to be identified for safety reasons said the victims were policemen working for a rebel-backed department. Their police station was damaged.
More than 500 civilians have died in junta custody or been killed in shelling and airstrikes in Kayah state since the military seized power in a coup in 2021, rights group the Progressive Karenni People Force said in a statement on Sunday.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.
Insurgents in Myanmar’s Rakhine state are closing in on an important junta naval base, a spokesman for the group said on Thursday, as military authorities in neighboring regions rounded up people into civil defense teams in preparation for rebel advances.
The Arkan Army ethnic minority force has made stunning gains in Myanmar’s westernmost state, capturing townships, military bases and an airport at Thandwe town, since going on the offensive late last year.
Now AA fighters are attacking the last remaining junta positions protecting its Maung Shwe Lay naval base in Thandwe, AA spokesman Khaing Thu Kha told Radio Free Asia.
He said eight naval vessels were supporting junta ground troops and the fighting was fierce.
Junta spokesmen have not commented on the latest fighting.
Myanmar’s military has been battling insurgencies since soon after independence from Britain in 1948 but the pressure its forces are under this year is unprecedented.
Pro-democracy activists, outraged by the ouster of an elected government in 2021 and a bloody crackdown on protests that followed, have taken up arms, linking up in many parts of the country with ethnic minority rebels fighting long wars for self-determination.
Junta forces have lost ground in Rakhine and Chin states in the west, Kachin state in the north, Shan state in the northeast and eastern areas along the border with Thailand.
In addition, central heartland areas that have been peaceful for decades have been rocked by clashes as anti-junta People’s Defense Forces go on the attack.
Junta officials told administrators on Aug. 16 it would begin setting up militias, or public security committees, to arm people to defend their communities, according to information leaked on social media.
Residents in the Ayeyarwady region, near a conflict zone in southern Rakhine state, said on Thursday that authorities there had begun recruiting people into the militias, drawing names through a lottery system in five townships.
“They’re recruiting us for their militia,” said one resident of a township that borders Rakhine state.
“Local administrators are recruiting people between the ages of 35 and 65 under the pretext of serving public security in the neighborhoods and villages,” said the resident, who declined to be identified.
“They even tried to recruit some disabled people and when they refused, they had to pay a fine.”
RFA tried to telephone Ayeyarwady region’s junta spokesperson, Khin Maung Kyi, for information but he did not answer.
Political parties in the area have also been told to help fill the ranks, said one party member.
“Political parties have been called up for recruitment in some towns,” said the party worker who declined to be identified. “The junta asked us to contribute 50 people.”
Recruits would be asked to carry weapons and do some short military training, he said.
Translated by RFA Burmese Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.
Several Right-wing X (formerly Twitter) handles have shared a 2.15-minute video claiming that it shows the harassment and physical assault of a Hindu teacher in Bangladesh.
Numerous incidents of targeted attacks on Hindus have been reported from the neighbouring country in the wake of the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5. The video is being circulated in that context.
The video shows several men heckling an older man. They first staple what appears to be cigarette packets to his shirt collar, then force him to drink from a glass and finally pour something from a bottle on him. A commentator then appears in the video and states that the man being heckled is Gautam Pal, a popular teacher of mathematics from Azimpur Girls’ College, who was forced to resign. The video ends abruptly with the commentator claiming Hindu teachers were being targeted.
Vice-president of ISKCON Kolkata Radharaman Das, who shares communal misinformation on a regular basis, amplified the video with the same claim.
Another Hindu teacher in Bangladesh has been insulted by Muslim students he once taught and was forced to resign. Every day, thousands of Hindus in Bangladesh are being pressured to sign resignation letters. Their aim is to remove all 2.5 million Hindus working in Bangladesh.… pic.twitter.com/g4NyjnHfpp
The clip was also shared along with the Hindu-teacher-being-targeted claim by users such as Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt), Baba Banaras (@RealBababanaras), Bloody Media (@bloody_media), Ajeet Bharti (@ajeetbharti) and others.
Author and economist Sanjeev Sanyal quote-tweeted Radharaman Das and wrote, “Of course channels like
@dwnews and @BBCWorld think that that this perfectly reasonable behaviour from “students” in Bangladesh. How is this different from Nazi Germany?? Or perhaps this treatment of Hindus is thought justified in the same way that the ancestors of @dwnews journalists treated the Jews.”
Fact Check
We notice the words ‘Chapai Express’ written on the frame of the viral video. Chapai Nawabganj is a district in northwestern Bangladesh under Rajsahi division. We performed a relevant keyword search in Bengali and found several reports on an incident that transpired at the office of Chapai Nawabganj civiv body. These reports carried images which showed the same incident of harassment.
According to a report by bdnews24.com, a group of youths forced a government official at Chapainawabganj municipality to resign after finding two packs of cigarettes in his office drawer on Monday, August 19, 2024. The official was identified as Taufiq Islam, an executive engineer with the civic body. The action against him was spearheaded by Ismail Hossain Sirazi, a local leader of the students’ movement.
Quoting municipal executive officer Mamun Aur Rashid, the bdnews24.com report adds that Islam fell ‘unconscious’ after the incident and was taken him to a hospital. The student activists had also forced two other municipal officials to wirte resignation letters on white papers, the report says.
Another report, by banglatribune.com narrated the same events and added that the executive engineer, Taufiq Islam, had stopped going to office after returning home from hospital.
We also found a video report on the incident by media outlet Swadesh Pratidin, where the man leading the youth, Ismail Hossain Sirazi, claims that civic body officials had voluntarily resigned. Below is a screenshot from the video report which captures the incident.
Hence, it is clear that the incident is being falsely given a communal colour by Indian social media users. It is not a case of an attack on a Hindu in Bangladesh. The video shows a municipal engineer named Taufiq Islam being heckled by student protesters in Chapai Nawabganj of Rajsahi division in Bangladesh.
Up to 200 Rohingya Muslims were killed in drone strikes last week in Burma as they attempted to flee to Bangladesh. This comes amid intensifying conflict between the military junta and the Arakan Army, a rebel armed group. Human Rights Watch says the military and the Arakan Army have both committed extrajudicial killings, unlawful recruitment for combat, and widespread arson against Rohingya civilians. “They are the enemy of each other, but when it comes to the Rohingya issue, they have the same intention,” says Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition. Only about 600,000 Rohingya remain in Burma, down from about 1.4 million before a campaign of ethnic cleansing began in 2016, though Nay San Lwin says the Rohingya genocide goes back even further to 1978.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
A distressing video of what appears to be a woman being carried by four men into a car is viral on social media with the claim that it shows a Hindu woman from Bangladesh being abducted by Muslims.
There have been several reports of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh since August 5 when the country was plunged into a state of crisis following former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. On August 8, a new interim government took over with Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus as its chief advisor. The newly formed government assured on August 11 that they were working to stop incidents of attacks on minorities.
Premium subscribed X user Deepak Sharma (@SonOfBharat7) shared the above-mentioned clip on August 9 with a caption in Hindi that can be translated as: “Should I call them Islamic Jihadis or animals… In Noakhali, Bangladesh, monsters abducted a young Hindu girl and raped her at a crossroads. After they got tired of raping her, they left her there and fled. Keep sleeping, Hindus ” The tweet has received over 32,000 views and has been retweeted more than 1,400 times. (Archive)
Readers should note that the above user has been found amplifying misinformation several times in the past.
इस्लामिक जिहादी कहूं या जानवर..
बांग्लादेश के नोआखाली में दरिंदे एक छोटी हिन्दू बच्ची को उठा ले गए, और चौराहे पे उसके साथ रेप किया
जब रेप करके थक गए तो उसे यूँही पड़ा छोड़कर भाग गए..
Another premium subscribed X user Salwan Momika (@Salwan_Momika1) also shared the same video with the following caption: “Where are the eyes of the world? In Bangladesh, Muslims killed a Hindu family and kidnapped their daughter.” The tweet has received over 10.5 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 23,000 times. (Archive)
After breaking down the video into several keyframes, we ran a reverse image search on some of them. This led us to a news report by a Bangladeshi news outlet called bdnews24. The report carried a screengrab of the viral video. The headline in Bengali can be translated as: “Husband who faced legal action attempts to abduct wife from her parental home”.
The report mentioned that the incident happened on August 8 in the Senbagh area of the Noakhali district of Bangladesh where a man attempted to abduct his estranged wife. As per the report, the man’s name was Prasenjit, and he arrived with nearly 17-18 people and two small buses to abduct the woman. However, the villagers were alerted by the woman’s screams and stopped the vehicles and caught Prasenjit and two others and handed them over to the Army.
The report further mentioned that the two got married four years ago but the woman was subjected to physical and mental abuse and eventually filed for separation. During one of the hearings at the court about a month and a half ago, Prosenjit along with a few others tried to abduct the woman from the court premises but were not successful.
Since this story did not contain the name of the woman, we looked for more detailed reports. An article by media outlet Sonali News identified the woman as Subarna Rani Pal, daughter of Dulal Chandra Pal. It also said that Prasenjit hailed from Cumilla.
On running a relevant keyword search in Bengali on Facebook we found several posts related on the incident.
Therefore, from the above findings, it is clear that the incident captured in the viral video is unrelated to the current unrest in Bangladesh. It is a case of marital dispute in a Hindu family.
A 37-second clip depicting smoke billowing out of some makeshift shops engulfed in flames is viral on social media. In the video, some individuals are seen trying to salvage some articles and rushing to take them out of the reach of the fire. Social media users claim that the clip is from Bangladesh’s Laximpur and shows a shop owned by a Hindu named Rajan Chandra set afire in an act of arson by ‘Islamists’.
Bangladesh was plunged into an unprecedented crisis with erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ousted on August 5 after a month-long nationwide student protest. An interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus is expected to be sworn in on August 8.
Propaganda outlet Sudarshan News, which often shares and amplifies misinformation, posted the above-mentioned video on August 7 with a caption in Hindi that can be translated as: “Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh… In Laxmipur, the shop of a Hindu shopkeeper, Rajan Chandra, has been burnt to ashes… Rajan Chandra and his family are in agony and wailing as their shop, their only source of livelihood, burns to ashes…” The tweet has received more than 50,000 views and has been retweeted over 1,200 times. (Archive)
बांग्लादेश में हिंदुओं पर हमले…
लक्ष्मीपुर में हिंदू दुकानदार राजन चंद्रा की दुकान को जलाकर राख कर दिया गया है…
Another X page called Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus (@VoiceofHindu71) also shared the same video with the claim that the shop on fire belonged to a Bangladeshi Hindu named Rajan Chandra. The tweet has received over 1.63 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 4,600 times. (Archive)
News outlet ETV Bharat also carried the viral video in their report with the same claim.
Fact Check
To verify this claim we ran a relevant keyword search in Bengali which led us to several news reports from July that covered a fire in Lakshmipur that had burnt down around 15 shops. We came across a news report by Bangladesh Bulletin from July 11, 2024, titled: “15 shops were gutted by fire at Majuchaudhuri market in Lakshmipur” which carried an image with visuals similar to those in the viral video. Lakhsmipur is a district in Chittagong division of Bangladesh.
Below is a comparison:
This proves that the incident had taken place before the anti-government protests in Bangladesh turned violent on July 16.
As per the news report, locals noticed the fire in the Moju Chowdhury Hat after the Fajr prayers (Islamic prayers offered in the early morning) were over. The report also quoted Abdul Mannan, the assistant deputy director of Lakshmipur fire service, saying that they had received a call about the fire at 6:20 am. Since the area had several garment shops the flames spread quickly. The report did not mention anything about the cause of the fire.
Another news report by Shomoy Sangbad said that the fire department initially believed the cause of the fire was an electrical short-circuit. The report also mentioned the names and nature of the shops damaged in the fire — Abdul Mannan Motor Parts, Rakib Tyres, Sourav Store, Gas Cylinders, Electronics, etc.
Further, we ran a relevant keyword search (both in English and Bangla) with the name ‘Rajan Chandra’ to check if there were any news reports about the individual’s shop being burnt but we could not find anything.
Therefore, from the above findings, it is clear that the viral video is not related to the ongoing protests in Bangladesh. Nor does it show one particular Hindu-owned shop set afire.
Abuja, August 6, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to investigate reports that dozens of journalists were assaulted, harassed, and detained while covering cost-of-living protests, which began on August 1.
CPJ is investigating multiple incidents including one in the capital Abuja on August 3, where masked security forces fired bullets and teargas at several journalists wearing “Press” vests and their media-branded cars at the national stadium.
Attacks on the press have been reported across the country since July 31, including by unidentified assailants who smashed the windows of a Channels Television-branded bus carrying 11 journalists and a car carrying two journalists in the northern city of Kano and others who assaulted journalists while they were reporting in southern Delta State, as well as police arrests of reporters in Maiduguri in northeastern Borno State.
“Nigerian authorities must identify and hold accountable all those responsible for shooting at, attacking, harassing, and arresting numerous journalists while covering the #EndBadGovernance protests,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “The Nigerian public and the world deserve to be informed about the nationwide protests, but too often, journalists covering demonstrations are met with violence. Nigerian security forces must prioritize the safety of the press.”
Abuja police spokesperson Josephine Adeh told CPJ via messaging app that police did not carry out any attacks on the media. Delta State police spokesperson Bright Edafe told CPJ by phone that police in the state had not received any official complaints about attacks on the press.
CPJ is working to confirm whether the journalists that it interviewed filed police complaints.
CPJ’s calls to Borno State Commissioner for Information Usman Tar and Kano State police spokesperson Abubakar Zayyanu Ambursa requesting comment went unanswered.
Israel has vowed to retaliate against Hezbollah after blaming the Lebanese group for a rocket attack Sunday in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria that killed 12 children at a soccer field. Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack in the village of Majdal Shams, home to members of the Druze community, an Arab-speaking minority group. Israel claimed the victims were Israeli citizens, though many Druze in the area do not have Israeli citizenship and are in fact Syrian citizens. The deadly attack has further stoked fear of a wider regional war. Palestinian American journalist Rami Khouri says that while the rocket attack looks as though it could have been an accident, there is still risk of more violence. “The danger is always there that an accident could spark a bigger confrontation,” he says. “Militarism isn’t a solution. Militarism is part of the problem.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Myanmar military authorities have arrested 17 people in connection with a rocket attack on an air base in the capital, Naypyidaw, junta media reported on Monday, the latest attack on a sensitive target at the heart of the military’s administration.
Three rockets were fired into the Aye Lar air force base in Lewe, one of the capital’s eight townships, on Tuesday last week, officials told the junta-backed Myanmar Alin newspaper.
It did not say what type of rockets or how many were fired but the junta said there were no casualties or damage.
A pro-democracy militia force known as the Mountain Knights Civilian Defense Force said it, in cooperation with another group called the Mercury Revolution Force, had carried out the attack but it said those detained by junta forces had nothing to do with it.
“We … attacked the Naypyidaw air force base and successfully fired five out of seven 107 mm rockets. All involved are safe,” said a militia spokesperson who declined to be identified.
Brave Warriors for Myanmar, another rebel group involved in planning the attack, said 34 junta officials of various ranks were killed and three military aircraft including an A-5 bomber and a Y-12 utility aircraft, were damaged. Radio Free Asia was not able to independently verify the claims.
Anti-junta insurgent forces sprang up after the military ousted an elected government in early 2021, ending a decade of tentative reform and plunging the country into turmoil.
The pro-democracy militias, known as People’s Defense Forces, have teamed up with ethnic minority guerrillas battling for self-determination, making advances against junta forces in several parts of the country.
In response, the military has been increasingly using its air power to launch attacks, inflicting a growing toll on the civilian population, rights groups say.
The rocket attack last Tuesday came weeks after military authorities said they had broken up a plot to kill the junta chief in the main city of Yangon by urban guerrillas armed with three 107 mm rockets.
The civilian shadow National Unity Government announced an attack on the Aye Lar air base on April 4, while Mountain Knights Civilians Defense Force claimed to have also attacked the same base a week later.
Junta forces raided Thit Sin village near the capital after the latest attack and arrested the 17 suspects, said a resident of the area who declined to be identified for security reasons. He identified two of those detained as Pyae Pyoe Aung and Thet Khaing Tun.
A resident of Thit Sin told RFA junta forces picked up known supporters of the party of ousted government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who he said had nothing to do with the rocket attack.
“Members of the National League for Democracy were among those who were taken for interrogation,” said the Thit Sin resident, who also declined to be identified.
“They are ordinary villagers. They don’t have rockets, they don’t even have ordinary guns,” he said.
The National League for Democracy swept elections in 2015 and 2020 but it was ousted in the 2021 coup.
The junta said in its statement that after “necessary investigations,” officials would take action against those arrested.
The member of the militia group that claimed responsibility for the rocket attack also said those detained had nothing to do with the attack.
“These people being arrested and interrogated by the junta are ordinary villagers, not our team members.”
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and RFA staff.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.
New York, July 5, 2024—Indonesian authorities must conduct an independent and credible investigation into the house fire that killed journalist Sempurna Pasaribu, determine if the blaze was sparked in retaliation for his news reporting, and bring any perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday.
Pasaribu, a contributor to the local Tribrata TV, died with three members of his family in a June 27 house fire in Kabanjahe, Karo Regency, North Sumatra, according to multiplenewsreports.
The fire occurred days after Pasaribu published a report on Tribrata TV and made personal Facebook posts alleging high-level military involvement in an illegal gambling operation in the area, the newsreports said.
“Indonesian authorities must leave no stone unturned in investigating the suspicious death of Tribrata TV journalist Sempurna Pasaribu,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “If senior military officials were involved in his death in retaliation for his investigative reporting, they must be tried and fully prosecuted.”
Pasaribu expressed concerns about his safety and had avoided staying at home as a precautionary measure before the fatal fire, the new reports said. He had returned home briefly to provide his family financial support on the night of the killer blaze, the reports said.
Military officials had called on Tribrata TV to take down the news report but the news group refused, according to the reports. Tribrata TV did not immediately reply to CPJ’s multiple emailed requests for comment.
In a statement, the local Journalists Safety Committee said the fire may have been related to Pasaribu’s reporting of local gambling allegedly organized by a member of the military.
North Sumatra police spokesman Hadi Wahyudi told Agence France Presse that police are “paying special attention to this case” and were investigating “based on facts on the ground, not based on opinions and assumption.”
Major-General Nugraha Gumilar, head of the Indonesian National Armed Forces information center, told the local Indonesian News Agency that he could not confirm military personnel involvement in the case and that the information center was “awaiting findings” from agencies involved in investigating.
Neither the Indonesian police nor the military replied to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.
Chinese-language posts have circulated a claim that the United States issued a level 4 travel alert, the highest level, to its citizens traveling to China after four Americans were attacked there in June.
But the claim is false. The U.S. travel alert for China has remained at level 3, the second highest level, since April.
The claim was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on June 12.
“The United States issued a Level 4 travel warning for the assassination of four citizens in the Chinese Communist Party,” the claim reads in part.
The claim was shared alongside a screenshot of what appears to be a travel warning issued by the U.S. Department of State.
Users on X and Telegram recently claimed that the U.S. issued a level four travel alert to China following an attack on U.S. citizens in Jilin. (Screenshots/X and Telegram)
The claim began to circulate online after four American teachers were assaulted by a man wielding a knife at a park in the Chinese city of Jilin on June 10.
All of the teachers survived the incident and Chinese authorities took the assailant into custody.
U.S. officials expressed concern over the incident, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry commented that the attack “will not affect the normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the US.”
The same screenshot with a similar claim was also shared on X and Telegram.
But the claim is false.
U.S. travel advisory on China
The U.S. Department of State issues four levels of travel alerts to citizens, based on the varying levels of risk in different countries. These alerts range from level 1, advising to “exercise normal precautions,” to level 4, warning “do not travel.”
In April 2024, the U.S. travel advisory for China was updated to level 3, advising citizens to “reconsider travel.” This rating remains in effect.
The most recent revision of the U.S. travel advisory for China was on April 12, 2024, following the passage of new national security legislation in Hong Kong. Several English- and Chinese-language media outlets reported on this change at the time.
The advisory urges U.S. citizens to “reconsider travel” due to the potential for “arbitrary enforcement of local laws” and the “risk of wrongful detentions.”
Old alert
Keyword searches found a screenshot of the U.S. travel advisory shared in social media posts in fact taken from the old alert issued on Jan. 25, 2020.
The purported screenshot of a recent advisory was actually an archived image of an unrelated travel alert to China issued following the outbreak of COVID in January 2020. (Screenshots /Google and U.S. State Department Archives)
The Chinese text seen in the screenshot shows that the alert was issued following the breakout of COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan and advised travelers not to enter Hubei province, of which Wuhan is capital.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Zhuang Jing for Asia Fact Check Lab.
Chinese-language posts have circulated a claim that the United States issued a level 4 travel alert, the highest level, to its citizens traveling to China after four Americans were attacked there in June.
But the claim is false. The U.S. travel alert for China has remained at level 3, the second highest level, since April.
The claim was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on June 12.
“The United States issued a Level 4 travel warning for the assassination of four citizens in the Chinese Communist Party,” the claim reads in part.
The claim was shared alongside a screenshot of what appears to be a travel warning issued by the U.S. Department of State.
Users on X and Telegram recently claimed that the U.S. issued a level four travel alert to China following an attack on U.S. citizens in Jilin. (Screenshots/X and Telegram)
The claim began to circulate online after four American teachers were assaulted by a man wielding a knife at a park in the Chinese city of Jilin on June 10.
All of the teachers survived the incident and Chinese authorities took the assailant into custody.
U.S. officials expressed concern over the incident, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry commented that the attack “will not affect the normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the US.”
The same screenshot with a similar claim was also shared on X and Telegram.
But the claim is false.
U.S. travel advisory on China
The U.S. Department of State issues four levels of travel alerts to citizens, based on the varying levels of risk in different countries. These alerts range from level 1, advising to “exercise normal precautions,” to level 4, warning “do not travel.”
In April 2024, the U.S. travel advisory for China was updated to level 3, advising citizens to “reconsider travel.” This rating remains in effect.
The most recent revision of the U.S. travel advisory for China was on April 12, 2024, following the passage of new national security legislation in Hong Kong. Several English- and Chinese-language media outlets reported on this change at the time.
The advisory urges U.S. citizens to “reconsider travel” due to the potential for “arbitrary enforcement of local laws” and the “risk of wrongful detentions.”
Old alert
Keyword searches found a screenshot of the U.S. travel advisory shared in social media posts in fact taken from the old alert issued on Jan. 25, 2020.
The purported screenshot of a recent advisory was actually an archived image of an unrelated travel alert to China issued following the outbreak of COVID in January 2020. (Screenshots /Google and U.S. State Department Archives)
The Chinese text seen in the screenshot shows that the alert was issued following the breakout of COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan and advised travelers not to enter Hubei province, of which Wuhan is capital.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Zhuang Jing for Asia Fact Check Lab.
China and Japan on Friday paid tribute to a school bus attendant in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou who died from stab wounds after defending a Japanese mother and child in a June 24 knife attack, while government censors deleted hundreds of anti-Japanese posts from social media platforms.
“Hu Youping, a resident of the Chinese city of Suzhou who lost her life after attempting to stop a knife attack that injured two Japanese nationals, will be honored for her heroic deeds,” state news agency Xinhua cited local authorities as saying.
The focus on Hu’s heroic actions came as the authorities sought to defuse anti-Japanese sentiment on Chinese social media platforms, and as Japan warned its citizens living in China to take additional precautions to guard against similar attacks.
Hu was “seriously injured” in the attack that occurred at around 4 p.m. on Monday at a bus stop in the Suzhou New District in Jiangsu Province, and died in hospital on Wednesday, the Xinhua report said.
Hu was stabbed as she tried to restrain the attacker, allowing the Japanese woman’s son to escape. The attacker then turned to Hu, stabbing her before being subdued by passers-by and police, according to the agency.
“If she hadn’t tried to hold back the assailant, there could have been more victims,” it quoted an eyewitness as saying.
The Japanese Embassy in China released a short video clip of its flag lowering to half-mast in Hu’s honor on its official Weibo account at about 10:00 a.m. on Friday, with the hashtagging the post “The woman who bravely rescued the Japanese mother and child dies.”
“We are deeply saddened to hear that Ms. Hu Youping passed away after attempts to resuscitate her failed,” the post said. “Ms. Hu single-handedly protected an innocent woman and child from a criminal.”
“We believe that her courage and kindness are representative of the vast majority of Chinese people. May she rest in peace.”
Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa speaks during a press conference, May 4, 2024 in Colombo. Kamikawa expressed her condolences during a press conference Friday, June 28, 2024 stating, “Ms. Hu Youping stepped forward regardless of her own safety and prevented the Japanese students on the school bus from being harmed. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and respect for this heroic act and express my deep condolences.” (Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP)
Shizuoka University professor Yang Haiying said the gesture showed how seriously Japan took the attack, and Hu’s actions.
“It shows that Japan is very concerned about this,” Yang said. “Lowering the flag to half-mast is a huge deal, and the Japanese Embassy did a good job by talking about this from a humanitarian perspective.”
Authorities in Suzhou will confer the title of “Role Model of Righteousness and Courage” upon Hu Youping posthumously, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news conference in Beijing on Friday.
“We extend deep condolences over her passing and our thoughts are with her family,” Mao said, calling Hu a “shining example of the kindheartedness, bravery and everyday heroism in Chinese people, who would not hesitate to stand in harm’s way to help others.”
Suzhou’s police department and the city’s Bravery Foundation jointly nominated Hu for the award, in recognition of her heroism in tackling the assailant.
“She was really brave, because there were a lot of other people around, and it was around the time when school was getting out, and those people could have been in danger,” a woman who answered the phone at a number given on the joint announcement told RFA Mandarin on Friday.
The woman, who gave only the surname Chen, said Hu’s family would likely be in line for “rewards or a pension” in honor of her actions, but that the details would need to be hammered out by a review committee.
Offsetting applause for attack
Veteran U.S.-based political commentator Hu Ping said the honoring of Hu was likely an attempt to stem the tide of anti-Japanese sentiment on Chinese social media platforms.
“The government thought it necessary to honor her in order to offset the effects of the applause for the stabbing attack on Japanese people,” Hu said. “That is the intention behind it.”
While some social media users praised Hu as an “upstanding Chinese citizen” and “a hero of the common people,” government censors were also scrambling to remove anti-Japanese comments from social media platforms in the wake of Monday’s attack, state media reported.
Sina Weibo punished 36 accounts and removed 759 posts that “spread extreme speech that incites nationalistic sentiment, promoted group hatred, and even applauded criminal acts in the name of patriotism,” the Global Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The company called on users “not to overly interpret isolated incidents, nor to promote violence and glorify crime in the name of patriotism,” the report said.
Chinese police have detained a 52-year-old man surnamed Zhou in connection with the attack.
Two Japanese nationals were also injured in the attack. One is receiving hospital treatment but is not in a life-threatening condition, and the other was discharged following treatment on the day of the attack, according to the Global Times.
The Global Times said in an op-ed article published Friday that China “is undoubtedly still one of the safest countries in the world,” citing low reported homicide rates and one of the lowest incidences of firearm-related crime anywhere in the world.
“The country is continuously moving toward social stability and the safety of its people, and foreign nationals in China will also enjoy a more legal and secure living environment,” it said.
Mao also told reporters in Beijing that China will continue to “take effective measures” to protect foreign nationals in China.
Monday’s attack was the latest in a string of knife attacks in China.
Earlier this month, four American teachers were stabbed in a park in the northeastern city of Jilin. Last month, a knife attack at a hospital in Yunnan province left two people dead and 21 people injured.
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing warned Japanese nationals living in China to take precautions against stabbing incidents while in public places including schools and parks, the Associated Press reported.
Japanese schools in China had also requested extra security in the wake of Monday’s stabbings, Japanese media outlet NHK said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Hsia Hsiao-hwa for RFA Mandarin.
A claim emerged in social media posts that U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated at a June 6 press conference that Israel “has a right” to target civilians, citing a short clip as evidence.
But the claim is misleading. Miller did mention such words, but it was later corrected by the State Department. The full context of the response makes it clear that Miller was referring to Hamas fighters when he mentioned civilians.
The claim was shared on the Weibo account of the Russian state-owned video news agency Ruptly on June 7.
“#US State Department said Israel has a right to attack civilians#,” the claim reads in part.
The post was shared alongside a 21-second clip that shows what appears to be Miller at a press briefing.
In the video, Miller can be heard saying: “Israel has a right to try and target those civilians but they also have the obligation to minimize civilian harm and take every step possible to minimize civilian harm.”
Several Weibo accounts reposted claims that a State Department spokesperson said Israel had the right to target civilians. (Screenshot/Weibo)
But the claim is misleading.
A keyword search found a full transcript of Miller’s statement published on the website of the State Department on June 6.
“Israel has a right to try and target those civilians[1] but they also have the obligation to minimize civilian harm and take every step possible to minimize civilian harm,” the transcript reads in part.
Miller’s statement was made as part of a longer response to a question about a recent Israeli strike against a school purportedly housing Hamas fighters in Gaza that reportedly resulted in the deaths of 14 children.
A review of the full context of the response shows that Miller meant to refer to Hamas fighters when he said “target those civilians”.
The State Department noted in an annotation, indicated by the number 1 in the quote above, that Miller’s phrase “target those civilians” was specifically referring to “Hamas fighters”.
The State Department annotated the transcript of its June 6 press conference to indicate that Miller was referring to Hamas militant fighters and not civilians. (Screenshot/U.S. Department State Department website)
A State Department spokesperson told AFCL: “Our State Department spokesperson clearly meant to say “Hamas”, and it was officially noted in the briefing transcript.”
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Zhuang Jing for Asia Fact Check Lab.
All roads have been blocked out of the key city of Maungdaw in western Myanmar, where the ethnic insurgent Arakan Army has warned the remaining 20,000 civilians of an imminent battle with military junta troops, residents told Radio Free Asia.
The Arakan Army, or AA, told residents on Sunday that they should evacuate their homes by 9 p.m.
But many residents were unable to leave the city near the Bangladesh border because junta troops had already set up barricades, a Rohingya man who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals told RFA.
“The junta has taken its positions near and inside the city. People have no way out,” he said. “The death toll may increase due to the battle.”
People stand by a destroyed building following fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army ethnic minority armed group, May 21, 2024, in a village in Minbya township in western Rakhine state. (AFP)
The Arakan Army has recently seized control of all junta camps in surrounding Maungdaw township, including several key border posts.
Attacking the city of Maungdaw – the township’s administrative center and an important base for junta forces in Rakhine state – is the next target, the AA said in a statement.
Junta troops have “prepared extensively for urban warfare” and residents “are urged to avoid staying in areas such as roads and houses from which the SAC forces have fortified positions,” the AA said, using the initials for the State Administrative Council, the formal name for the military junta.
Maungdaw is a key trade hub for goods flowing in and out of Myanmar via Bangladesh.
Rohingya in military uniforms
The junta has been training Rohingya men in recent months, and some of those new recruits may be used in the upcoming battle. Residents told RFA that Rohingya in junta uniforms and weapons have been seen at military camps inside the city.
The junta has been desperate to recruit new soldiers as its ranks are depleted by battlefield losses and mass surrenders to rebel forces.
Arakan Army soldiers pose for a photo in June 2024 in Myanmar. (AA Info Desk via Telegram)
Rohingyas have been persecuted for decades in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Both sides have pressed Rohingyas into their ranks and at the same time have accused Rohingyas of helping their rivals. Reports suggest that both the AA and junta forces have subjected members of the Muslim minority to violence.
Ethnic group trapped
Also trapped are about 600 Mro ethnic people who have been taking shelter at a Buddhist monastery after fleeing from two nearby villages, residents said.
They’re facing shortages of food and medical supplies, an aid worker told RFA on condition of anonymity because of security reasons.
“We need to ask permission to rescue them,” the aid worker said. “Both the AA and the junta are there, and we don’t know who will be responsible for the permission.”
Arakan Army soldiers pose for a photo in June 2024 in Myanmar. (AA Info Desk via Telegram)
Junta forces arrested 13 members of an urban guerrilla group on suspicion of planning an attack on the leader of Myanmar’s military regime, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, state-run media reported.
A state-controlled newspaper reported the plot on Monday, confirming that in all 13 people had been arrested in connection with the plot to attack the army chief, who led a 2021 coup, at a Yangon bridge opening in early June.
Members of anti-junta forces, speaking to Radio Free Asia on Monday, confirmed the arrests but a member of the Yangon UG People’s Army group denied that the people arrested had been attempting to attack political officials.
Since the coup ended a decade of tentative reform, guerrilla groups in Yangon, Myanmar’s former capital and main city, have proliferated, bombing junta-occupied buildings and killing administrators who support a junta conscription drive.
The Myanmar Alin newspaper reported that soldiers arrested seven people between the ages of 18 and 26 on June 10 for being in possession of two 107-mm rockets and equipment to launch them near the opening of Thanlyin Bridge 3 on June 8.
Min Aung Hlaing was one of several high-ranking officials attending the event.
A woman and man were arrested June 9, and four other suspects were arrested several days later after being accused of carrying out bomb attacks in Yangon region’s Hlaingthaya and Mingala Taungnyunt townships, the newspaper reported.
The member of the Yangon UG People’s Army, who declined to be identified for security reasons, said the military fabricated the attack plot to justify its arrests.
“People know that the military council’s statements are lies. If they want to arrest people, they drag whoever they see under whatever charges they like,” he said.
“All underground guerrilla members need to take special care for security as they move among the dogs,” he said, referring to junta forces
One of the arrested men, Ye Zaw Tun, could be seen with bruises on his face following the arrest, according to photos released by the military.
Min Aung Hlaing, speaking at a meeting on stability and development in Yangon after the plot was broken up, said security must be a priority given the possibility of plans by anti-regime forces to launch attacks, state-owned media said.
According to data released by the Assistance Association for the Political Prisoners on Friday, a total of 20,597 political prisoners arrested after the coup are still in detention across the country.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Taejun Kang.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.
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