This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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LONDON — Hong Kong rights groups, Tibetans, Uyghurs and local residents gathered at the historic former Royal Mint Court on Saturday to rally against China’s proposed ‘mega-embassy’, voicing fears that Beijing would use the building to harass and monitor dissidents living abroad.
It’s the second mass protest in in five weeks at the site near the Tower of London. Organizers estimated that 6,000 people participated.
The protesters dispersed peacefully after the rally and no one was arrested.
The Chinese government purchased the historic building in 2018 with plans to build what would become Beijing’s largest diplomatic facility globally.
An architect working on the project revealed some of the details of the project, including a tunnel connecting two of the former Royal Mint buildings, basement rooms and accommodation for hundreds of staff.
Police watch as protesters gather near the proposed site of the Chinese “mega-embassy” in London, March 15, 2025. (Matthew Leung/RFA Cantonese)
Signs depicting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese President Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh are wait for protesters at the proposed site of the Chinese “mega-embassy” in London, March 15, 2025. (Ka Kit Chan/RFA Cantonese)
Police watch as protesters gather near the proposed site of the Chinese “mega-embassy” in London, March 15, 2025. (Matthew Leung/RFA Cantonese)
Protesters gather near the proposed site of the Chinese “mega-embassy” in London, March 15, 2025. (Ka Kit Chan/RFA Cantonese)
Police stand watch as protesters gather in front of the historic former Royal Mint Court — the proposed site of the Chinese “mega-embassy” — in London, March 15, 2025. (Matthew Leung/RFA Cantonese)
Protesters gather near the proposed site of the Chinese “mega-embassy” in London, March 15, 2025. (Ka Kit Chan/RFA Cantonese)
A protester holds a sign depicting British Prime MInister Keir Starmer and Winnie the Pooh which represents Chinese President Xi Jinping at the proposed site of the Chinese “mega-embassy” in London, March 15, 2025. (Ka Kit Chan/RFA Cantonese)
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Matthew Leung, Ka Kit Chan and Jasmine Man for RFA Cantonese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The federal grants that fund Radio Free Asia and partner networks were terminated Saturday morning, according to a grant termination notice received by RFA.
An executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump late Friday calls for the reduction of non-statutory components of the United States Agency for Global Media, or USAGM, the federal agency that funds RFA and several other independent global news organizations.
The U.S. Congress appropriates funds to USAGM, which disburses the monies to the grantee news outlets.
The brief order calls for the elimination “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” of USAGM and six other unrelated government entities that work on museums, homelessness, minority business development and more. While the order addresses “non-statutory components” of USAGM, RFA is statutorily established, meaning it was congressionally established by a statute in the International Broadcasting Act .
But a letter sent to the president of RFA Saturday and signed by USAGM special adviser Kari Lake, whose title is listed as “Senior Advisor to the Acting CEO with Authorities Delegated by Acting CEO,” notes that the agency’s federal grant has been terminated and that RFA is obliged to “promptly refund any unobligated funds.” It says that an appeal can be made within 30 days.
It was not immediately clear how and when operations would cease, but RFA is solely funded through federal grants.
In a statement issued Saturday, RFA President Bay Fang said the outlet planned to challenge the order.
“The termination of RFA’s grant is a reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked in the information space,” the statement says. “Today’s notice not only disenfranchises the nearly 60 million people who turn to RFA’s reporting on a weekly basis to learn the truth, but it also benefits America’s adversaries at our own expense.”
An editorially independent news outlet funded through an act of Congress, RFA began its first Mandarin language broadcasts in 1996, expanding in subsequent years to a total of nine language services: Cantonese, Uyghur, Tibetan, Korean, Khmer, Vietnamese, Burmese and Lao.
RFA news programming is disseminated through radio, television, social media and the web in countries that have little to no free press, often providing the only source of uncensored, non-propaganda news. Because RFA covers closed-off countries and regions like North Korea, Tibet and Xinjiang, its English-language translations remain the primary source of information from many of these areas.
Its parent agency, USAGM, oversees broadcasters that work in more than 60 languages and reach an audience of hundreds of millions. These include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which reported Saturday that its grants had also been terminated. Voice of America and the Office for Cuba Broadcasting, which are directly run by USAGM, put all staff on paid administrative leave Saturday.
In a post on Facebook, VOA Director Michael Abramowitz wrote: “I learned this morning that virtually the entire staff of Voice of America—more than 1300 journalists, producers and support staff—has been placed on administrative leave today. So have I.”
Committee to Protect Journalists Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna urged Congress to restore funding to USAGM, “which provides uncensored news in countries where the press is restricted.”
“It is outrageous that the White House is seeking to gut the Congress-funded agency supporting independent journalism that challenges narratives of authoritarian regimes around the world,” he said in a statement.
China watchers cautioned that cuts to RFA in particular could impact Washington’s ability to counter Beijing.
“Radio Free Asia plays a vital role in countering China’s influence by providing accurate and uncensored news to audiences facing relentless propaganda from the People’s Republic of China,” Rep. Ami Bera, a California Democrat, wrote in a post on X. “RFA helps advance American values amidst our ongoing Great Power Competition with China and exposes egregious human rights abuses like the Uyghur genocide and Beijing’s covert activities abroad.”
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul called the dismantling of RFA and its sister publications “giant gifts to China,” while Human Rights Watch’s Maya Wang posted that in places like Xinjiang and Tibet: “Radio Free Asia has been one of the few which can get info out. Its demise would mean that these places will become info black holes, just as the CCP wants them.”
In a statement issued by USAGM Saturday evening and posted to X by Lake, the agency deemed itself “not salvageable” due to a range of alleged findings of security violations and self-dealing, though few details were provided.
“From top-to-bottom this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer — a national security risk for this nation — and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule,” the statement read.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.
Undocumented Myanmar migrant workers in southern China are living in fear amid an increase in raids by Chinese authorities on farms and factories near the border, workers and labor activists say.
The arrests increased after 500 workers at a factory in Yunnan province protested against poor labor conditions in early March, migrant workers told Radio Free Asia.
Ever since, Chinese police have made daily arrests of at least 30 Myanmar migrant workers in the border towns of Ruili and Jiegao who are undocumented or carry expired border passes, which people use to cross the border without a passport, the workers told RFA Burmese.
Win Naing, who landed a job at a toy factory Ruili in early January, was issued a border pass so that he could commute to work, but it was short-term and has since expired.
But now he’s too afraid to go outside, and isn’t sure when he’ll next see his his wife and three children, who are just across the border in Myanmar.
“Since we stay inside the factory, we don’t have to worry as much about being arrested, but we can’t leave at all,” said Win Naing, who earns around 1,500 Chinese yuan (US$210) per month, considered a decent salary. “Without passports, we have to work and live very cautiously.”
Most of those detained are being held in prisons in Ruili and nearby Yinjing village, they said, although some have been deported and banned from re-entering China “for several years.”
People are desperate for jobs
Every day, nearly 10,000 people wait at the border in Muse, in Myanmar, for a chance to cross into China and authorities only issue passes to about 700 of them.
Short-term border passes are good for one week of entry into China, and when they expire, holders must reapply for one in Muse. But those who make it across often overstay their pass, said a resident of Shan state’s Kutkai township named De Dee, who is working in Ruili.
That puts them at risk of arrest during frequent police inspections in places such as the Htike Li and Hwa Fong markets, where Myanmar migrants are known to live and work.
“Chinese officials conduct checks on the streets and even inside homes,” she said. “Around 30 or 40 migrant workers are arrested each day.”
The situation is similar in Jiegao, a migrant working there said on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. He said there are frequently “police cars circling the markets,” while authorities regularly “stop motorbikes and arrest people.”
A migrant working in Muse told RFA that the amount of time undocumented workers are detained in the Ruili and Yinjing prisons varies, as does the lengths of bans on their re-entry to China.
“Some undocumented migrants … are detained for a week, 10 days, or a month,” he said. “Those arrested in early March — mostly women— following the protest were banned from reentering China for about five or six years.”
Those banned from re-entry who need to return to China are forced to pay more than 2 million kyats (US$953) — an incredibly steep cost for the average Myanmar citizen — to do so via illegal routes, the migrant added.
Aid workers were unable to definitively say how many Myanmar migrants have been arrested in China since the protest earlier this month, and RFA was unable to independently confirm the number.
‘There are so many of them’
Attempts by RFA to contact the Chinese Embassy in Yangon about the arrests of undocumented Myanmar nationals in Ruili and Jiegao went unanswered by the time of publishing, as did calls to the Myanmar Consulate in Yunnan.
RFA Mandarin spoke with a Chinese resident of Ruili surnamed Sun who said that police in the town had been targeting illegal Myanmar migrants for at least six months, although the arrests had intensified beginning in March.
“Most of them are men who enter the country and go to the industrial park to find work, including jobs making parts for domestic cell phones and daily-use hardware, with salaries of 1,000-3,000 yuan (US$140-420) per month,” he said.
Sun said that illegal migrants who are arrested “are usually repatriated, but not fined.”
A merchant surnamed Zhang from Yunnan’s Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, where Ruili and Jiegao are located, told RFA that Myanmar migrants also find work in area restaurants and massage parlors.
He said that “because there are so many of them, the Chinese police are not in a position to carry out mass expulsions” and choose to repatriate small numbers of them back to Myanmar at a time.
Translated by Aung Naing and RFA Mandarin. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese and RFA Mandarin.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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China, Russia, and Iran released a joint statement on 14 March demanding an end to “unlawful” US sanctions against the Islamic Republic after meetings in Beijing between the three countries, which were aimed at jumpstarting stalled nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.
The three countries “emphasized the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions” after talks hosted by Beijing on Friday morning, according to the joint statement read out by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaxou.
“The three countries reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on the principle of mutual respect remains the only viable and practical option in this regard,” read the joint statement.
The post Iran, Russia, China Reject ‘Unlawful’ US Sanctions After Tripartite Meeting appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced visa sanctions against Thai government officials involved in last month’s deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China, where they likely face torture as part of what American officials call an ongoing “genocide.”
The men had been held in immigration detention in Thailand since escaping China’s persecution in 2014. The Thai government’s decision to return them to China on Feb. 27 was criticized by the United States, European Union, United Nations and global human rights groups.
Rubio said the U.S. visa bans will apply to Thai officials “responsible for, or complicit in, the forced return of Uyghurs” to China, where he said “they are subject to torture and enforced disappearances.”
“In light of China’s longstanding acts of genocide and crimes against humanity committed against Uyghurs, we call on governments around the world not to forcibly return Uyghurs and other groups to China,” Rubio said in a statement issued by the U.S. State Department.
The statement also said some family members of the officials may be banned from traveling to the United States under the blacklisting.
The State Department did not respond to an inquiry from Radio Free Asia about how many officials would be subjected to the ban. Officials at the department routinely decline to identify the names of those hit with visa bans, citing U.S. immigration laws around privacy.
The United States has since 2021 described China’s persecution of the mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghurs as a “genocide,” leveling accusations of torture, forced sterilization and slavery against Chinese officials.
Beijing rejects the claims and says it only promotes development and vocational training in far-western Xinjiang, where most Uyghurs live.
Close alliance
The deportation of the Uyghurs and the visa sanctions is a rare case of acrimony between longtime allies in the United States and Thailand.
In the days after the Feb. 27 deportation, a State Department official confirmed to RFA that U.S. diplomats offered to resettle the Uyghurs either in the United States or a third country, while a Thai opposition lawmaker said Australia and Sweden also made similar offers.
Thai Vice Foreign Minister Russ Jalichandra eventually acknowledged that such offers had been made but said that Bangkok had finally agreed to return the Uyghurs to China to avoid inevitable “retaliation from China that would impact the livelihoods of many Thais.”
Rubio had said during his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 15 that he believed he could use America’s close historical relationship with Thailand to ensure the Uyghurs were not returned to Thailand.
“The good news is that Thailand is actually a very strong U.S. partner, a strong historical ally as well, and so that is an area where I think diplomacy could really achieve results, because of how important that relationship is and how close it is,” Rubio said at that time.
World Uyghur Congress executive committee chair Rushan Abbas welcomed Friday’s visa bans, saying the move sent a clear warning to other governments that “they will face consequences” for working with China to return escaped Uyghurs.
“This announcement is a critical step in holding those complicit in these egregious forced deportations accountable,” Abbas told RFA.
“For Uyghurs, forced return to China is tantamount to a death sentence, exposing them to torture, forced labor and enforced disappearances,” she said. “This policy delivers a strong message that aiding China’s crimes will not go unpunished.”
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alex Willemyns.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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China is putting scales in hotel rooms and promoting healthy recipes tailored to different culinary regions on social media in a bid to stem the nationwide obesity problem, according to health officials and state media.
China’s National Health Commission is hoping the recipes and other advice will “popularize” a healthy lifestyle in a country where more than half the adult population is overweight or obese, experts said.
“The main risk factors for the health of the Chinese people at present come from chronic non-communicable diseases,” National Health Commission Director Lei Haichao told a March 9 news conference in Beijing.
“While our living conditions have improved, we have also seen problems such as higher energy intake and relative lack of exercise,” leading to obesity and overweight, Lei said.
The Commission has hired Olympic athletes and released WeChat emoticons to promote weight management, while hotels have installed scales in their rooms to encourage a weight-conscious attitude among traveling businessmen, he said, calling on more hotels to follow suit.
He said officials will also encourage the setting up of weight clinics in hospitals to help people live healthier lives.
The Commission’s weight-loss manual for 2024 includes recipes tailored to different culinary regions of China, taking into account local tastes, the Global Times reported.
The spring menu for Northeast China includes dishes like iron pot stewed fish and vegetable wraps, complete with detailed energy content, it said.
The government will likely be enlisting the help of neighborhood officials and their “grid” surveillance system, the paper said.
High obesity among children, too
Jennifer Bouey, senior researcher and epidemiologist at the RAND Corporation, said China’s obesity epidemic is a serious one, with more than half of Chinese adults either overweight or obese.
“Data from 2020 shows that the adult overweight rate in China is 34.3%, and the obesity rate is 16.4%, which taken together exceeds 50%,” Bouey said. “The obesity rate among children is also very high.”
Lu Zhihao, 4, eats a roast chicken wing at a market in Foshan, Guangdong province March 29, 2011. (Joe Tan/Reuters)That compares with just 5-7% of adults being overweight and only 1% obese during the 1980s, she said.
By 2030, more than 65% of Chinese adults are expected to be overweight or obese, bringing a burden of disease that will likely cost 418 billion yuan (US$57.7 billion) in medical expenses, according to government predictions.
China officially defines overweight as a Body Mass Index, or BMI, of 24-28 obese as higher than that.
This means a very high increase in the rate of tumors, heart disease, and metabolic diseases including diabetes, Bouey said, adding that type 2 diabetes is already a major problem in China.
“These are all very expensive diseases that have a very big impact on public health,” she said.
Economic development has allowed over-consumption
Randall S. Stafford, professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and project director of the Center for Preventive Medicine, said East and South Asian people are more likely to have metabolic problems at lower obesity levels, so have a higher risk of chronic disease.
And it’s largely a problem for countries as they emerge from widespread poverty and food insecurity, he said.
“Economic development has made possible the over-consumption of calories and other lifestyle changes that promote the development of chronic disease, particularly heart disease and diabetes,” Stafford said.
“Obesity is particularly problematic in East and South Asia due to genetic differences compared to people of European and African ancestry that induce metabolic problems at lower levels of obesity.”
A woman runs on a treadmill as part of her training during a six-week program at a weight loss campus in Beijing , August 26, 2011. (Soo Hoo Zheyang/Reuters)He said the United States doesn’t appear to have a “unified strategy” to tackle the problem, with the use of weight-loss drugs now becoming widespread.
“A healthier strategy must emphasize increased physical activity, a predominantly plant-based diet, attention to stress reduction and sleep, and weight maintenance prior to weight loss,” Stafford said. “Combining these strategies with drugs for people most prone to chronic disease development may be the best option.”
Bouey said there is an urgent need to increase public awareness of the problem in China.
“Obesity in China also comes against a specific cultural background where people have a fairly old-fashioned view of food, especially the older generation,” she said, adding that 30 years of the “one-child policy” had led to high levels of obesity, especially among boys.
“Women pay a lot of attention to their weight, but men don’t have such requirements,” she said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Jenny Tang for RFA Mandarin.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This week, RFA Insider takes a closer look at cases of illegally exported artifacts and international arrests.
Off Beat
This March, the Manhattan district attorney’s anti-trafficking unit handed over 41 “illegally exported” cultural artifacts to China. However, the handover was not a happy occasion for Tibetan scholars – they’re concerned that the artifacts, which include Tibetan Buddhist relics, will be used by China to promote its historical claims to Tibet.
This isn’t the first time the cataloguing of Tibetan artifacts has stirred controversy. Over the past year, Tibetan diaspora communities have called out the British Museum, the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac and the Musée Guimet for labeling artifacts and exhibitions in a way they say prioritizes Beijing’s wishes over Tibetan history.
This 18th-century Tibetan Buddhist bronze statue of Guru Padmasambhava was among the 38 artifacts handed over by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Anti-Trafficking Unit to China in April 2024. (Xinhua)Tibetan Service director Tenzin Pema returns to RFA Insider to offer more insight into how these relics ended up in the U.S., why Tibetan advocates are concerned about their handover to China and where the Tibetan diaspora community would rather these artifacts be sent to.
Double Off Beat
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila Airport on Tuesday, a development that surprised his staunch supporters as well as families impacted by his drug crackdown who never expected justice. Anthony Esguerra from BenarNews, RFA’s sister organization reporting on security, politics and human rights in South and Southeast Asia, explains how Duterte’s war on illegal drugs enabled the murders of thousands – while the Philippine government reports that 6,252 suspects were killed during Duterte’s presidency, rights groups estimate the number to be as high as 20,000.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while testifying at a Senate hearing on his administration’s drug war, in Manila, Oct. 28, 2024. (Gerard Carreon/BenarNews)Despite this bloodshed, how has Duterte amassed so many supporters in the Philippines? How has the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., handled the International Criminal Court’s investigation and arrest of Duterte? And what’s next for Duterte, who awaits arraignment in The Netherlands? Tune in to hear the answers from Anthony on this episode of RFA Insider.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Amy Lee for RFA Insider.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan – China appears to be conducting amphibious landing exercises with specially built vessels at a beach on the South China Sea, the sort of practice it would conduct if it was considering an island invasion as tensions over self-ruled Taiwan grow.
Open source investigators analyzing Chinese social media this week detected the presence of a fleet of large ships, which they called “invasion barges” as they can be used to land heavy military vehicles and troops quickly onto beaches.
An analyst who used synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, satellite imaging technology, pinpointed the location of the three barges as Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, home of the Chinese South Sea Fleet.
An SAR sensor uses radar signals to capture images on the surface of the Earth, unlike optical sensors that can be blocked by obstacles such as clouds and vegetation.
Damien Symon, a geo-intelligence researcher at The Intel Lab, told Radio Free Asia that he could confirm that the exercises were held at Zhanjiang between March 4 and March 11.
It is unclear whether they are still going on.
Zhanjiang is 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) west of Taiwan and 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) northwest of the Philippines, territories whose governments have both traded barbs with Beijing as regional tensions rise.
SAR image of Chinese barges taking part in an amphibious landing exercise in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, March 4-11, 2025 (X/@detresfa)China’s special-purpose barges could overrun Taiwan shores: experts
Taiwan president slams China as ‘foreign hostile force’ in toughest rhetoric yet
China announces 7.2% defense budget hike, reaffirms opposition to Taiwan independence
What are ‘invasion barges’?
In an image captured by Symon, three barges were seen in a long formation next to a beach.
Photos, apparently taken at the location and circulated on Chinese social media, show them lining up, forming a long “bridge” to the beach, over which tanks and other vehicles can land.
RFA was not able to independently verify the images available on WeChat and Weibo.
“By my math, they combine to about 850 meters in length,” said defense analyst Thomas Shugart from the Center for a New American Security.
“Instead of three different-size mobile causeways, they are combined into one long causeway, allowing a much longer reach, and access to deeper water,” Shugart said.
An undated image circulated on China’s social media showing a line-up of special barges at a beach. (WeChat/@观诲长郎)The barges appear to have some pillars that analysts say could be lowered to make contact with the sea floor to support the vessels, making a stable platform in poor weather.
The rear of the barges is open, allowing other ships to dock and unload onto them.
When combined with roll-on/roll-off ferries that carry military vehicles from bases to target locations, the barges serve as a solution to the challenge of landing tanks and troops at many sites, even those previously considered unsuitable such as soft sandy or rocky beaches, as they can reach further to deliver the assets.
Shugart, who examined the “invasion barges,” said that China was building more of them.
There is no consensus among military strategists about if and when China would invade Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province that needs to be ‘reunified’ with the mainland.
Taipei has rejected China’s overtures and threats, saying Taiwan has never been part of China.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan – Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh sparked an online uproar with a reference in an Instagram post to the capital of self-ruled Taiwan suggesting it was part of China.
Taiwan, or the Republic of China, has been at odds with the mainland since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 and the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan, while Mao Zedong’s communist forces established the People’s Republic of China.
The island is not diplomatically recognized by most countries despite being a self-ruled democracy of 23 million people with its own borders, currency and government.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be brought into the fold, sentiment that the Malaysian actress appeared to endorse with her online comment.
“Thank you Tiffany for inviting us to Taipei China,” Yeoh said in the Instagram post, referring to the jeweler Tiffany & Co after attending the opening of one of its stores in a Taipei mall.
The post was “liked” nearly 33,000 times as of Friday morning but it also got nearly 7,000 comments, many of them critical of her choice of words.
“Never heard of a city called Taipei in China, only in Taiwan,” said an Instagram user called “amidsummernightdrean.” “I’m surprised Michelle.”
“You can just say ‘Taipei’, no need to mention China,” said another user “You messed it up.”
“If you want to be Chinese you can do it yourself. Why drag others down with you?” Instagram user “sychcc” posted to the ethnic Chinese actress. “What is your purpose in saying Taipei China?’
“Michelle, don’t do this. Taipei is in Taiwan, not China,” said user “wangtw.”
But not all comments were negative.
“Applause to you for being brave and using the most appropriate way to address Taipei, part of China,” said user “lordjingjing”
Even though the island operates as a de facto independent country with its own political and economic systems and military, it is excluded from the U.N. and major global organizations due to China’s insistence that it not be recognized as a country.
Taiwan’s athletes are usually represented at major sporting events as being from “Chinese Taipei.”
Taiwan president slams China as ‘foreign hostile force’ in toughest rhetoric yet
China condemns US for tweak to Taiwan reference; Washington calls it ‘routine’ update
Books banned in Hong Kong crackdown find new home in democratic Taiwan
Yeoh is not the first celebrity to find themselves in hot water over comments related to China and Taiwan.
Hollywood actor and former WWE star John Cena faced a backlash in 2021 for calling Taiwan a “country” during an interview promoting the ninth installment of the “Fast and Furious” series of movies. He apologized in Mandarin to appease Chinese audiences.
Former NBA player Dwight Howard also stirred controversy in 2023 after referring to Taiwan as a “country” in a promotional video. He too apologized after criticism from China.
Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan sparked outrage in Taiwan in 2004 when he called the island’s presidential election “the biggest joke in the world,” leading to protests during a visit to Taipei.
China has dialed up diplomatic and economic pressure on the island since former president Tsai Ing-wen’s administration came to power in 2016, as Tsai and her party refused to acknowledge that Taiwan and the mainland belonged to “One China.”
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who came to power after winning a January 2024 election despite Beijing’s fierce opposition to his bid, ran on a platform of promoting peace in the Taiwan Strait while not compromising on claims of Taiwanese sovereignty.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan – Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh sparked an online uproar with a reference in an Instagram post to the capital of self-ruled Taiwan suggesting it was part of China.
Taiwan, or the Republic of China, has been at odds with the mainland since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 and the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan, while Mao Zedong’s communist forces established the People’s Republic of China.
The island is not diplomatically recognized by most countries despite being a self-ruled democracy of 23 million people with its own borders, currency and government.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be brought into the fold, sentiment that the Malaysian actress appeared to endorse with her online comment.
“Thank you Tiffany for inviting us to Taipei China,” Yeoh said in the Instagram post, referring to the jeweler Tiffany & Co after attending the opening of one of its stores in a Taipei mall.
The post was “liked” nearly 33,000 times as of Friday morning but it also got nearly 7,000 comments, many of them critical of her choice of words.
“Never heard of a city called Taipei in China, only in Taiwan,” said an Instagram user called “amidsummernightdrean.” “I’m surprised Michelle.”
“You can just say ‘Taipei’, no need to mention China,” said another user “You messed it up.”
“If you want to be Chinese you can do it yourself. Why drag others down with you?” Instagram user “sychcc” posted to the ethnic Chinese actress. “What is your purpose in saying Taipei China?’
“Michelle, don’t do this. Taipei is in Taiwan, not China,” said user “wangtw.”
But not all comments were negative.
“Applause to you for being brave and using the most appropriate way to address Taipei, part of China,” said user “lordjingjing”
Even though the island operates as a de facto independent country with its own political and economic systems and military, it is excluded from the U.N. and major global organizations due to China’s insistence that it not be recognized as a country.
Taiwan’s athletes are usually represented at major sporting events as being from “Chinese Taipei.”
Taiwan president slams China as ‘foreign hostile force’ in toughest rhetoric yet
China condemns US for tweak to Taiwan reference; Washington calls it ‘routine’ update
Books banned in Hong Kong crackdown find new home in democratic Taiwan
Yeoh is not the first celebrity to find themselves in hot water over comments related to China and Taiwan.
Hollywood actor and former WWE star John Cena faced a backlash in 2021 for calling Taiwan a “country” during an interview promoting the ninth installment of the “Fast and Furious” series of movies. He apologized in Mandarin to appease Chinese audiences.
Former NBA player Dwight Howard also stirred controversy in 2023 after referring to Taiwan as a “country” in a promotional video. He too apologized after criticism from China.
Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan sparked outrage in Taiwan in 2004 when he called the island’s presidential election “the biggest joke in the world,” leading to protests during a visit to Taipei.
China has dialed up diplomatic and economic pressure on the island since former president Tsai Ing-wen’s administration came to power in 2016, as Tsai and her party refused to acknowledge that Taiwan and the mainland belonged to “One China.”
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who came to power after winning a January 2024 election despite Beijing’s fierce opposition to his bid, ran on a platform of promoting peace in the Taiwan Strait while not compromising on claims of Taiwanese sovereignty.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Read a version of this story in Vietnamese
Vietnam has ordered officials to confiscate a Chinese-made doll with an image printed on its cheek resembling a map used by Beijing to demarcate its claims over disputed areas of the South China Sea, state media reported.
State media photos circulating on Vietnamese social media show an image resembling the “nine-dash line” – also referred to as the “cow-tongue line” – on the stuffed doll called “Baby Three.”
The doll has been sold in Vietnam at sidewalk stores and online shops like TikTok Shop, Shopee and Facebook since May 2024, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
But the Ministry of Industry and Trade only recently received reports that the doll and several other children’s toys included images of the nine-dash line, the agency said.
The ministry’s Domestic Markets Department recently sent a letter to agencies in provinces and cities requesting an increase in inspections of toys containing the images, according to the state-run Tuoi Tre news site.
Vietnam, China and the Philippines all have overlapping claims on waters in the South China Sea. Chinese maps often show a set of nine or 11 dashes encircling up to 90% of the sea — but such claims have infuriated Hanoi.
The sale and distribution of any products featuring the nine-dash line in Vietnam is illegal, and anyone selling the toys could face penalties, the department’s director general, Tran Huu Linh, told the site.
Because it affects Vietnam’s national security and territorial sovereignty, officials should confiscate any toys that have the image, he said.
‘Another wake-up call’
“This is the latest evidence showing China’s unwavering ambition to dominate the South China Sea entirely – a scheme it has been quietly and persistently pursuing for decades,” former political prisoner Le Anh Hung told Radio Free Asia.
“This is another wake-up call for our country regarding the danger of China’s expansionism in the South China Sea, which seriously threatens the vital space of the Vietnamese people in the 21st century,” he said.
There have been several other incidents of foreign-made goods and cultural products entering Vietnam that contain images of the nine-dash line, particularly in films.
Last year, the movie “Barbie” was banned in Vietnam because authorities said it included a cartoonish map showing China’s territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.
An international arbitration tribunal in a case brought by the Philippines in 2016 ruled that China’s claim to “historic rights” is unlawful, but Beijing declared the ruling “null and void” and refused to recognize it.
China has continued with efforts to reinforce the nine-dash line, especially with the presence of its large coast guard and maritime militia fleets.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on reports of the Baby Three doll.
Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Vietnamese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Read a version of part of this report in Uyghur
The European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Thailand for repatriating 40 Uyghurs to China, saying the move violated international law.
Wednesday’s resolution said the Uyghurs, who were deported at night on Feb. 27, are at risk of “arbitrary detention, torture and serious human rights violations,” and noted that other countries had offered to resettle the refugees.
The 40 Uyghurs had been in the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok for over a decade. They had entered Thailand in 2014 as part of a larger group of Uyghurs escaping China.
Thai immigration department trucks, with windows covered, leave the main immigration detention center in Bangkok on Feb. 27. 2025. (Natthaphon Meksophon via BenarNews)Over the past few weeks, Chinese and Thai authorities have been publishing videos of the deported Uyghurs, purportedly showing that they were happily reunited with their families and were not being punished.
There is virtually no way to confirm their state given the lack of access to these men from outside the country. Based accounts from Uyghurs who have attempted to escape China in the past, it is highly likely that the deportees were punished.
Radio Free Asia recently confirmed with police that two Uyghurs who had plans to flee China in 2014 — but then later abandoned those plans and returned to Xinjiang — were arrested and sentenced to nine years in prison.
The two men, Memet Awut and Turdi Abla, from Aksu in the western part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, had traveled to China’s southern province of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos, with plans to flee the country. But they returned after realizing that doing so would have put their lives in danger.
Three of the four members of the “Hijrat” organization arrested by the Taiwan Railway Police identified themselves as Uyghurs, November 2015, Shaanxi, China. (RFA)According to Aksu police, the two were among eight Uyghurs arrested at that time for trying to escape.
Six others were actually caught trying to cross the border, but Awut and Abla had no connection to this group, had never crossed the border, and returned to Xinjiang on their own. They were arrested around eight months after their return, police said.
“They were in the detention center for 22 days and later transferred to Urumqi,” a police officer in Aksu told RFA Uyghur over the phone. “It’s written in their verdict that it was because they went to Yunnan. They came back from Yunnan themselves.”
The officer was not sure how long they stayed in Yunnan.
“The verdict mentions that they couldn’t find a viable way out after moving to Yunnan and came back,” the officer said. “Their crime is attempting to escape.”
A member of the neighborhood committee in their hometown said that Awut and Abla’s sentences should have ended last year, but they are still being held in a prison in Urumqi. Their fate suggests that the treatment currently faced by the 40 deportees may not be as rosy as depicted in Chinese media.
A spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok said that after being reunited with their families, the 40 Uyghur deportees would undergo a period of “vocational skills training.”
The Chinese government has detained nearly 2 million Uyghurs in conscentration camps in Xinjiang, where they were subjected to forced labor. Beijing has claimed the camps are vocational centers where “students” voluntarily learn new skills.
Though the EU resolution condemning the return did not mention the camps directly, it did call on China to respect the rights of those returned and to “ensure transparency about their whereabouts.”
It also acknowledged that Thailand was an important partner of the EU, and encouraged Bangkok to “strengthen its institutions in line with democratic principles and international human rights standards.”
Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Eugene Whong for RFA and Shöhrét Hoshür for RFA Uyghur.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The Chinese Foreign Ministry revealed on 12 March that Beijing will host high-level talks with Russia and Iran this week for negotiations on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu will chair the tripartite summit scheduled for Friday. Joining him will be Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi to “exchange views on Iran’s nuclear activities and regional security issues,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated on Wednesday.
A spokesman from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the talks in Beijing would focus on “developments related to the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.”
The post China To Host Russia, Iran For Nuclear Talks; Iran Answers Trump’s Letter appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
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Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te on Thursday called for a tougher response to Beijing, describing China as an “foreign hostile force” intent on “absorbing” the democratic island — the toughest rhetoric yet toward Beijing from a Taiwanese leader.
“[China is] carrying out activities such as division, destruction, and subversion from within us,” Lai said in remarks that were broadcast live from the presidential office following a press briefing with senior security officials.
“China’s acts are the definition of a foreign hostile force under our Anti-Infiltration Act. We have no choice but to take more active measures,” he said.
Lai’s comments mark the first time a Taiwanese leader has characterized China as a “foreign adversary.”
When asked whether his statement could escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Lai responded by pointing to Beijing’s ongoing pressure campaign against Taiwan, Channel News Asia said in a report.
“The political and military intimidation, United Front tactics, and infiltration operations launched by China against Taiwan” had already met the definition of a foreign adversary, the report quoted Lai as saying.
Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, says China is deepening its influence campaign and infiltration against Taiwan. “Taiwan is never the one that escalates tensions,” he claimed, adding that the island remains committed to the security and stability of the Asian region.
Military helicopters fly over with Taiwan national flag during the inauguration celebration of Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te in Taipei, Taiwan, May 20, 2024. (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning dismissed Lai’s comments during a regular press briefing, reiterating Beijing’s stance that “Taiwan is part of China” and that “there is no so-called president in Taiwan.”
But the official China Daily quoted Chen Binhua, the spokesperson for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, denouncing Lai as a “destroyer of cross-Strait peace.”
He added that “if the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces dare to cross the red line, the mainland will have to take resolute measures.‘”
Chen did not elaborate on what would constitute “crossing the red line” or what measures Beijing would take in response.
Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Mandarin.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Chinese exports look set to take a battering from an escalating tariff war with the United States, business executives and economists say.
The United States has imposed tariffs of 20% on Chinese goods since President Donald Trump took office –- 10% last month and a further 10% coming into effect on March 4.
“Export volume has shrunk, and business has been snatched away by competitors from other countries,” according to the head of an electronics trading company in Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong, who gave only the surname Ge for fear of reprisals.
China’s exports grew 2.3% year-on-year in January and February, lower than the expected 5% rate, according to the latest government figures. That’s down from the 5.4% growth rate for all of last year.
Previous tariffs imposed during the first Trump administration from 2017-2021 have already prompted many businesses to move production to other countries such as Vietnam.
‘Workshop of the world’ is quieter
Once the “workshop of the world,” Guangdong province in the south has become quieter and is now home to fewer factories and more trading companies, which handle orders but don’t actually make anything, Ge said.
“There are no factories in Guangdong hiring workers right now, and many factories have moved to Vietnam, Thailand and other places,” she said.
E-commerce platform Shopee at the Guangzhou International E-Commerce Expo, March 22, 2019. (Reuters)“Trading companies mainly receive orders and place them with factories, which then fulfill them, so the operating costs aren’t too high, but the factories are in the most trouble,” she said.
“It’s hard for them to keep going with no orders, because they have so many fixed costs like their premises, equipment, wages and materials.”
The United States is still the biggest market. “There are orders from Europe, but demand isn’t as high as from the United States,” Ge said.
Zhu Zhiqiang, an exporter based in the eastern city of Jiangsu, said China’s manufacturing industry relies on exports, particularly from the United States, he said. “If we don’t resolve this problem, we are doomed.”
Guizhou-based economist Wang Ting said manufacturers are still reeling from the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods during the first Trump administration.
“The increase in tariffs in his second term has made things worse, accelerating the relocation of manufacturing outside of China,” Wang said.
“China’s economy is now in recession, the unemployment rate remains high, and all sectors are in a state of internal competition,” he said.
Meanwhile, business confidence remains at a low ebb.
“Most Chinese people are waiting and watching,” Wang said.
The impact of tariffs is two-fold, according to Wang, with manufacturers of furniture, electronics and clothing likely to raise prices to cover the cost of tariffs, reducing their appeal for consumers in the United States.
E-commerce companies could also seek to reduce their reliance on the American market and expand into Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America via platforms like Lazada and Shopee.
“This trend could accelerate in future,” Wang said.
A container truck near Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung Container Terminal, March 6, 2025. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)Even in e-commerce, former business owners are staying on the sidelines in the hope that things improve.
“This year, a friend of mine stopped doing [e-commerce] and is now just staying home,” Zhu said. “Some e-commerce operators can no longer sell their products overseas because of the increase in tariffs.”
He said part of the problems is that Chinese exporters have typically competed on price rather than quality.
“Increasing tariffs eliminates that advantage, making us unable to compete,” he said.
Financial commentator Cai Shenkun said the tariffs come amid a boom in cross-border e-commerce from China.
“Once a trade war breaks out, including the cancellation of the tax-free quota for small packages in the future, this will have a huge impact, and mid- and low-end manufacturing will be affected,” Cai said.
He said e-commerce businesses typically run on profit margins of less than 10%.
“If tariffs rise to 25%, e-commerce will no longer be profitable,” he said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Qian Lang for RFA Mandarin.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The lack of transparency over the death of a teenage student from a prestigious Hong Kong secondary school while on a study trip to mainland China has sparked concerns among parents.
Such trips to the mainland are increasing seen as compulsory by the city government, but the standards regarding access to information in mainland China are far lower than in Hong Kong.
St. Paul’s College, a HK$44,000 (US$5,700)-a-year Christian secondary school, was informed on Feb. 28 that one of its Form 5 students had “passed away,” the school said in a press release dated March 1.
“Our teachers and students are very much saddened by the news,” the statement said, adding that the incident is “currently under investigation and it is inappropriate to speculate.”
The school has deployed a School Crisis Management Team, with educational psychologists, school social workers and guidance personnel offering emotional support to students and teachers, it said.
Students at St. Paul’s College, Hong Kong, undated photo. (St. Paul’s College/Facebook via Facebook)The Hong Kong government’s Education Bureau said the boy’s death was an “unfortunate accident,” but denied it was linked to the study trip activities, which had gone smoothly.
An online petition calling for more information about the incident was deleted after a day, a former education official told RFA Cantonese.
No photos of the trip had been uploaded to the school’s Facebook page as of March 11.
Shift to patriotic education
Mainland study trips are increasingly seen as compulsory by Hong Kong’s Education Bureau as part of the shift from the former Liberal Studies civic education program to the patriotic Moral, Civic and National Education program in primary and secondary schools favored by Beijing, a former government examinations official told RFA Cantonese.
The Liberal Studies critical thinking program, rolled out in Hong Kong schools in 2009, was blamed by Chinese officials and media for several mass protests in recent years against national security legislation, patriotic education and extradition to mainland China.
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While the government has sent a delegation to Hangzhou following the incident, it hasn’t commented publicly on how the boy died, prompting concerns among parents.
“As for the unfortunate accident in Hangzhou earlier, we are very sad and extend our deepest condolences to the family,” Secretary for Education Christine Choi told reporters on March 7.
“At present, the investigation has come to an end, and we clearly understand that the incident has nothing to do with the exchange activities or the inspection trip,” she said. “We respect the family’s wishes … and will not disclose the details of the case.”
‘Everything is compulsory’
The lack of transparency around the boy’s death has prompted widespread speculation on social media over the reason for it, including unconfirmed reports that he died in a “schoolyard bullying” incident.
But the government and school have declined to comment.
Hans Yeung, a former government examinations official who runs the Edulancet Instagram account, said the boy’s death comes as the government is urging Hong Kong schools to send students on more and more study trips to mainland China as part of its “sister schools” initiative.
St. Paul’s has sister schools in Xi’an and Shenzhen, with another possible connection to a school in Wuhan, according to its Facebook page.
Under the new approach, a Beijing-backed subject titled “Citizenship and Social Development” has been made a compulsory part of the high school diploma.
Yeung said Hong Kong — once a target for the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s United Front outreach and influence program — is now expected to engage in compulsory patriotic education.
“When it’s United Front, they show you the fun stuff, give you some nice food to make you feel good [about China], but now they are under its rule, so everything is compulsory,” he said.
“Now, the food they get will be very ordinary, and everything will be rushed,” Yeung said, adding that the Education Bureau has made attendance on a mainland China study trip a prerequisite for applicants to take the social studies paper in the high school diploma.
That in turn will affect their eligibility to go to college, he said.
“Citizenship and Social Development … is a compulsory subject, and a small thing like a study trip can affect eligibility to sit the exam,” Yeung said. “If they are ineligible for this exam … they can’t apply to university.”
He said there is little parents can do about this.
“Parents will kick up more of a fuss and ask more questions but … there is no room for protest in the education sector any more,” Yeung said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Matthew Leung for RFA Cantonese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Read original story in Tibetan
As Tibetan students return to school for the spring term, they are being subjected to propaganda movies about heroic Chinese soldiers and storytelling contests extolling the greatness of the Communist Party, according to sources inside Tibet and state media reports.
Students and teachers across Tibet are also being told to abandon “superstitious” thinking in a bid to eliminate Tibetan Buddhism, two sources from the region said.
The renewed push for patriotic education is the latest example of Beijing seeking to eradicate Tibetan culture and assimilate all ethnic groups into the majority Han Chinese culture.
State-run media reports say the campaign is aimed at promoting “ethnic unity” and cultivating the “red gene” in Tibetan children — a term that refers to the Communist Party’s revolutionary spirit and history. They include images of teachers showing propaganda movies to children.
According to the two sources, teachers must provide in-depth explanations on “Chinese national spirit and warmth” and guide students about China’s socialist system under something called the “First Lesson of the Year.”
Teachers must also boost students’ understanding of the “four consciousnesses” and achieve the “two safeguards” –- both of which refer to efforts to modernize Chinese society and upholding party rule with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the core, the two sources said on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Students are shown videos of the Dingri earthquake relief work, to combine ideological and political education using examples of quake aid, at a school in Nyingtri county, Tibet, March 8, 2025. (Citizen Photo)“We will certainly see more and more of education being used for propaganda purposes,” said Harsh V. Pant, vice president of studies and foreign policy at New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation and a professor of international relations at King’s College London.
“This will manifest both in terms of official government policy, as well as in terms of how gradually the younger generation will be indoctrinated with certain ideas about China and its role in Tibet,” he told Radio Free Asia.
‘Red stories’
Last month, the County Education Bureau of Pelbar (or Banbar in Chinese) County at Chamdo in the Tibet Autonomous Region launched an online storytelling competition for primary and secondary school children to narrate “red stories” about the greatness of the party.
The competition resulted in 44 video submissions, with more than 100 students and parents taking part in the activity, county level announcements said.
Students across the region have also been shown videos about the recent relief work conducted in Dingri County, where an earthquake struck in January, killing at least 126 people.
Officials in the video said the work has “closely combined ideological and political education with vivid examples” from earthquake relief.
The Public Security Bureau of Suo County carries out publicity activity at the county’s middle school in Nyingtri county, Tibet,on March 8, 2025. (Citizen Photo)The recent push in Tibetan schools stems from the October 2023 Patriotic Education Law, which put central and regional departments in charge of patriotic education efforts.
“The government’s work report specifically highlighted political and ideological education as a priority alongside skills training, so the emphasis on the spread of propaganda in schools is likely to be higher,” said Anushka Saxena, a research analyst at Bengaluru, India-based Takshashila Institution.
Abandon ‘superstitious’ thinking
Authorities are also telling teachers and students to abandon religious and “superstitious” thinking in schools in a bid to eliminate Tibetan Buddhism and language study, the two sources said.
The Chinese government issued directives on Feb. 25 entitled “Two Absolute Prohibitions” and “Five Absolute Restrictions” which includes strict bans on religious propagation in schools, the use of religious elements in the education system and the participation of teachers and students in religious activities.
The directives also prohibit the wearing or carrying of religious symbols or clothing in schools.
“Teachers are instructed to report to authorities every month, confirming that they are not teaching any religious course to their students while many Tibetan teachers are being dismissed citing lack of proficiency in Chinese as the reason,” the second source said.
These policies are designed to strip children of their Tibetan identity and nature, said Tsewang Dorji, a research fellow at the Dharamsala, North India-based Tibet Policy Institute.
“Xi Jinping’s emphasis on making education a priority will intensify these efforts,” he said. “And if such policies about political and ideological education continue to persist in the next 10 to 20 years, Tibetan language, culture, identity and Buddhism is under huge threat.”
Translated by Tenzin Palmo. Edited by Tenzin Pema, Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Tenzin Norzom and Tenzin Tenkyong for RFA Tibetan.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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After weeks of Donald Trump’s threats to “take back” the Panama Canal, the White House has ordered the military to come up with an assortment of plans to make the president’s imperial fantasy a reality. According to NBC News, which first reported on the directive, the plans range from increasing military partnership with Panama to forcefully seizing the canal. This news came just days after…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
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The recent transfer of cultural artifacts, including several Tibetan Buddhist relics, from the U.S. to China may help advance the Chinese government’s efforts to distort Tibet’s history and appropriate its religion and culture, Tibetan scholars and other critics of the transfer told RFA.
On March 3, the Manhattan district attorney’s anti-trafficking unit handed over to officials from China 41 “illegally exported” cultural artifacts, including a bronze money tree, pottery, jade pieces, Buddha statues and Tibetan Buddhist cultural relics, Chinese state-run media reports said.
The transfer was conducted as part of an agreement between the two countries to protect cultural heritage and identity and prevent Chinese cultural relics from illegally entering the U.S. Since the pact was first agreed to on Jan. 14, 2009, the U.S. has sent 594 pieces or sets of cultural relics and artworks to China.
The transfers have come as greater focus is paid to artifacts and other cultural items in Western museums and private collections obtained during colonization or other periods when the countries of origin were too weak to prevent the widespread pilfering of cultural items.
But sending Tibetan artifacts to China has raised concern that Beijing will use them to justify its rule in Tibet, which the country annexed in 1950.
“The Chinese government will certainly misuse these returned artifacts, and will use them to further promote their false historical narrative that Tibet has always been a part of China,” Vijay Kranti, director of the Center for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement, based in New Delhi, told RFA.
The U.S. handed over 38 artifacts to China, including Tibetan Buddhist mural fragments seen here, in New York in April 2024. (Xinhua)In January, Li Qun, the director of China’s National Administration of Cultural Heritage, said the country will work toward advancing “the return of key cultural relics to the motherland” and to use archaeology to “better explain Chinese civilization.”
Critics say China has already misused ancient finds to back territorial claims over both Tibet and Xinjiang, a western region that is home to Uyghurs and other Muslim communities seeking greater autonomy from Beijing.
“It is an outrageous act to return Tibetan objects in the diaspora to the People’s Republic of China, which is deliberately destroying Tibetan cultural heritage,” said Kate Fitz Gibbon, executive director of the Committee for Cultural Policy, a U.S. think tank that was established in 2011 to strengthen the public dialogue on arts policy.
“Since China occupied Tibet, U.S. authorities have accepted that Tibetan artifacts belong to the Tibetan people, not China’s government,” Fitz Gibbon said in an email. “The turnover by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit directly challenges that policy.”
An event that included Chinese and American officials was held March 3 in New York to mark the latest handover.
Chinese state-run media said the items were seized in November 2024. China’s National Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chinese Consulate General in New York verified that the artworks were Chinese in origin.
This 18th-century Tibetan Buddhist bronze statue of Guru Padmasambhava was among the 38 artifacts handed over by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Anti-Trafficking Unit to China in April 2024. (Xinhua)The Manhattan district attorney’s antiquities trafficking unit previously handed over 38 antiquities – the majority of them identified as Buddhist religious objects from Tibet – during a ceremony at the Chinese Consulate General in New York on April 17, 2024.
But there’s little information about the transfers on the antiquities unit’s website, which does publicize materials that have been transferred to other countries.
The antiquities unit did not respond to at least three separate requests from Radio Free Asia for comments. The U.S. State Department and its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Department also did not immediately respond to RFA.
According to China’s National Administration of Cultural Heritage, the latest 41 cultural artifacts include relics and artworks from the Neolithic Age (around 10,000 B.C. – 1,700 B.C.) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).
The U.S. handed over 38 items to China, many of which were Tibetan Buddhist artifacts, in April 2024. Seen here are Tibetan wood carvings, Buddhist statues and a bronze pagoda. (Xinhua)China had signed agreements similar to the one with the U.S. with governments of 25 other countries to promote the return of what it considers to be stolen property.
‘Lost Opportunities’
Tibetans have expressed their disappointment over the U.S.’s handover of Tibetan artifacts and relics to China.
Such handovers take away the chance for Tibetans to tell their own stories, said Dawa Tsering, director of the Tibet Policy Institute in Dharamsala, home to Tibet’s exile government.
“With every Tibetan Buddhism relic that goes to the hands of Communist China in such handovers, we Tibetans lose the opportunity to present the truth of our identity and our country to the world,” Dawa Tsering said.
Additional reporting by Youdon. Edited by Jim Snyder.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Tenzin Pema and Tenzin Norzom for RFA Tibetan.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The Hong Kong Journalists’ Association is appealing to journalists to preserve Facebook live video footage of 2019 protests after Meta said it will start deleting archived videos from its servers.
There are concerns that much of the online footage of those protests, most of which is banned in the city amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent, will no longer be available to the general public.
That will make it easier for the authorities to impose their own narrative on events in the city’s recent history.
Facebook notified users last month that it will be deleting archived live video streams from June 5, while newly streamed live video will be deleted after 30 days from Feb. 19, 2025.
“Since the Hong Kong news media have relied heavily on Facebook Live for reporting in the past, the Journalists Association now calls on the heads of mainstream, independent and citizen media and online editors to back up their videos as soon as possible,” the Hong Kong Journalists Association said.
“If necessary, you can follow the platform’s instructions to apply for an extension to up to six months before deletion,” it said.
Capturing history
In one livestream still available on YouTube from Oct. 1, 2019, an out-of-breath protester collates video feeds from several sources on the ground, commenting on what is unfolding while sounding out of breath from “running” at a protest a minute earlier.
Meta’s webpage outlining their process to update Facebook Live videos. (Meta)In a Facebook Live video from the same day, a professional reporter from government broadcaster RTHK, which has since been forced to toe the ruling Chinese Communist Party line in its reporting, follows protests in Wong Tai Sin, explaining what is going on to live viewers.
While one feed is run by protesters and the other by a professional journalist, both offer a sense of boots-on-the-ground immediacy that would be crucial for anyone seeking to learn what the protests were about many years later.
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A reporter for an online media outlet who gave only the pseudonym Ken for fear of reprisals said a very large proportion of the public record of the 2019 protests was streamed live on Facebook, with more than 100 videos stored there.
While current media organizations have made backups, the footage will no longer be there for anyone to browse, making the record of that year less publicly available, Ken said.
“It’s like we’ve lost an online library,” he said. “Unless someone is willing to back it up and put it all online, there’ll be no way of finding that history any more, should you want to.”
Ken and his colleagues are concerned that online records of the 2019 could disappear entirely in a few years’ time, especially as republishing them from Hong Kong could render the user vulnerable to accusations of “glorifying” the protests, and prosecution under two national security laws.
Photographers document pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, left, as he speaks at the police headquarters in Hong Kong, June 21, 2019. (VIncent Yu/AP)“This is a very serious problem, because certain events or people may be completely forgotten about in a few years, maybe 10 years,” Ken said.
But there are risks attached to republishing video content — especially for residents of Hong Kong.
“You don’t know whether you will be accused of incitement if you post it again,” Ken said. “You never know what your live broadcast captured and whether there was issue … under the two national security laws.”
Permanent loss of historical material
A fellow journalist who gave only the pseudonym Mr. G for fear of reprisals said his media organization still has access to its own live streamed footage of the 2019 protests from both Facebook and YouTube.
But he said the planned deletions could lead to “the permanent loss of some historical material.”
Facebook said that the owners of the videos will receive an email or notification in advance “and can choose to download the videos, transfer them to the cloud, or convert them into reels short videos within 90 days.”
“If users need more time to process old videos, they can apply to postpone the deadline by 6 months,” it said, adding that most live video is viewed in the first few weeks after being uploaded.
Veteran media commentator To Yiu-ming said social media platforms aren’t suited for use as a historical archive.
“There’s no point criticizing them,” To said. “Users may well encounter similar practices even … if they move to another social media platform.”
“If you want to preserve the historical record, you have to use less convenient methods, and spend a bit of time and money,” he said.
The concerns over the deletion of live video come after a report claimed that Meta was willing to go to “extreme lengths” to censor content and shut down political dissent in a failed attempt to win the approval of the Chinese Communist Party and bring Facebook to millions of internet users in China.
Citing a whistleblower complaint by Sarah Wynn-Williams from the company’s China policy team, the Washington Post reported that Meta “so desperately wanted to enter the lucrative China market that it was willing to allow the ruling party to oversee all social media content appearing in the country and quash dissenting opinions.”
The notice in Chinese from Facebook warning users that archived live video will be deleted, Feb. 19, 2025. (Meta)So it developed a censorship system for China in 2015 and planned to install a “chief editor” who would decide what content to remove and could shut down the entire site during times of “social unrest,” according to a copy of the 78-page complaint exclusively seen by The Washington Post.
Meta executives also “stonewalled and provided nonresponsive or misleading information” to investors and American regulators, the complaint said.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone told the paper that it was “no secret” the company was interested in operating in China.
“This was widely reported beginning a decade ago,” Stone was quoted as saying. “We ultimately opted not to go through with the ideas we’d explored, which Mark Zuckerberg announced in 2019.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alice Yam for RFA Cantonese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.