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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Asia Pacific Report
The Green Party has called on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to rule out Aotearoa New Zealand joining the AUKUS military technical pact in any capacity following the row over Ukraine in the White House over the weekend.
President Donald Trump’s “appalling treatment” of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a “clear warning that we must avoid AUKUS at all costs”, said Green Party foreign affairs and Pacific issues spokesperson Teanau Tuiono.
“Aotearoa must stand on an independent and principled approach to foreign affairs and use that as a platform to promote peace.”
US President Donald Trump has paused all military aid for Ukraine after the “disastrous” Oval Office meeting with President Zelenskyy in another unpopular foreign affairs move that has been widely condemned by European leaders.
Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine’s Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, declared that Trump appeared to be trying to push Kyiv to capitulate on Russia’s terms.
He was quoted as saying that the aid pause was worse than the 1938 Munich Agreement that allowed Nazi Germany to annex part of Czechoslovakia.
‘Danger of Trump leadership’
Tuiono, who is the Green Party’s first tagata moana MP, said: “What we saw in the White House at the weekend laid bare the volatility and danger of the Trump leadership — nothing good can come from deepening our links to this administration.“Christopher Luxon should read the room and rule out joining any part of the AUKUS framework.”
Tuiono said New Zealand should steer clear of AUKUS regardless of who was in the White House “but Trump’s transactional and hyper-aggressive foreign policy makes the case to stay out stronger than ever”.
“Our country must not join a campaign that is escalating tensions in the Pacific and talking up the prospects of a war which the people of our region firmly oppose.
“Advocating for, and working towards, peaceful solutions to the world’s conflicts must be an absolute priority for our country,” Tuiono said.
Five Eyes network ‘out of control’
Meanwhile, in the 1News weekly television current affairs programme Q&A, former Prime Minister Helen Clark challenged New Zealand’s continued involvement in the Five Eyes intelligence network, describing it as “out of control”.Her comments reflected growing concern by traditional allies and partners of the US over President Trump’s handling of long-standing relationships.
Clark said the Five Eyes had strayed beyond its original brief of being merely a coordinating group for intelligence agencies in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
“There’s been some talk in the media that Trump might want to evict Canada from it . . . Please could we follow?” she said.
“I mean, really, the problem with Five Eyes now has become a basis for policy positioning on all sorts of things.
“And to see it now as the basis for joint statements, finance minister meetings, this has got a bit out of control.”
Check out my interview with @GuyonEspiner on @NZQandA today on the implications of the disruptive reorientation of US foreign policy & its implications for Europe & #NZ; Chinese
in the Tasman Sea, & the #CookIslands debacle: https://t.co/QD2N9NaBD1 via @YouTube— Helen Clark (@HelenClarkNZ) March 2, 2025
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has warned of “many difficulties and challenges” for China’s economy ahead of the annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing this week.
In an article published in the ideological party journal Qiushi on Monday — two days before the congress opens — Xi warned of the “many risks and hidden dangers” facing China’s economy, before alluding to the threats of further U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
“At present, the adverse effects of changes in the external environment have deepened, and our country’s economy still faces many difficulties and challenges,” Xi wrote in the piece.
U.S. President Donald Trump last month imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports in retaliation for what he said was Beijing’s refusal to stop the outflow of precursors for the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Beijing then introduced a 15% retaliatory tariff on certain U.S. energy exports to China. Last week, Trump warned he would ramp that rate up a further 10% on March 4. As a presidential candidate last year, Trump vowed tariffs of “more than” 60% on Chinese imports.
China’s exports (Reuters)Beijing is now “studying and formulating countermeasures” in the event that those tariffs go ahead, the party-backed Global Times newspaper cited an anonymous source as saying on Monday.
“The countermeasures will likely include both tariffs and a series of non-tariff measures, and U.S. agricultural and food products will most likely be listed,” the paper quoted the source as saying.
China’s economic troubles
While they mull countermeasures, though, officials in Beijing have maintained they would prefer to forget about tariffs altogether.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing on Monday that there are “no winners” in a tariff war.
“The U.S. attempt to politicize and weaponize trade and economic issues, levy tariff hikes on Chinese imports under the pretext of fentanyl and create blocks to its normal trade, investment and economic cooperation with China will only harm its own economic interests and international credibility,” Lin said.
China is ready to engage in “dialogue and consultation on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” Lin added.
“In the meanwhile, we will take all measures necessary to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests,” he said.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 25, 2025. (Jim Waton/AFP)The pending trade war comes at a time of economic stress in China.
Since the start of the U.S.-China trade war under the first Trump administration, Xi has appealed for restructuring to replace exports with domestic consumption as the main driver of growth.
But three years of zero-COVID restrictions and a slew of U.S. tariffs and restrictions has prompted many manufacturers to relocate away from China and spooked foreign investors.
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Meanwhile, widespread unemployment and a burst real estate bubble has made life much harder for ordinary Chinese.
Those concerns were reiterated in Xi’s article, which pulled heavily from China’s Central Economic Work Conference in December.
“We must face up to difficulties, strengthen our confidence and strive to transform positive factors from all aspects into development results,” Xi wrote, adding that expanded domestic demand isn’t just a quick fix but “a strategic move.”
Growth figures questioned
Struggling Chinese exporters told RFA Mandarin that the new tariffs proposed by Trump will further harm their businesses.
The head of an electronics factory in Shenzhen who gave only the surname Ge for fear of reprisals said that the value of her company’s exports to the United States has been slashed in half since last October, and that tariffs will make things worse.
“Some taxes are paid by U.S. importers, which pushes up prices,” she said. “U.S. importers usually pass on the costs of tariffs to consumers, making our goods more expensive.”
Ge has cut the number of employees from 17 to just seven, while the sales team has been slashed from 10 to four.
“Chinese exports may lose market share to competitors in Vietnam, Indonesia and other countries as U.S. importers look for other suppliers,” she said.
Gantry cranes stand near a cargo ship at Yangshan Port outside of Shanghai, China, Feb. 7, 2025. (Go Nakamura/Reuters)Political commentator Willy Lam told RFA Mandarin there is still hope that Trump won’t carry out his threat to impose tariffs above 60%.
“The 10% increase in tariffs … is still lower than the rates Trump mentioned in 2024 of 60% or more,” Lam said. “In general, Trump’s attitude towards Xi Jinping is milder than expected.”
Analysts expect growth to be set around the 5% mark during this week’s congress, and there has also been speculation about the possibility of renewed economic stimulus packages.
“The general public in China is short of money,” Lam said. “Most importantly, they lack confidence in the government right now.”
U.S.-based economic commentator Qin Weiping cited falling marriage rates and birth rates as an indicator of low economic confidence, as young people increasingly struggle to make ends meet.
“People have no confidence in the economy, or in the future,” he said. “So demand for residential property is naturally weaker…. It will be hard to fix the real estate problem because this is a vicious cycle.”
The government should consider hiring more graduates as civil servants, Qin suggested, citing the 12.22 million who graduated in 2025 alone, swelling the ranks of the young unemployed.
Campaigners for “The Lost Voices of Fentanyl” protest outside the White House in Washington, Sept. 23, 2023. (Elizabeth Frants/Reuters)Xie Tian, a professor at the Aiken School of Business at the University of South Carolina, said China’s growth figures were questionable in any case, alleging the numbers were fudged for political reasons.
“No-one believes it — whether they say it’s 5% or 15% — because that’s basically impossible,” Xie said. “If the economic growth rate was 5%, their unemployment rate wouldn’t be that high.”
But others noted a growing conundrum in China’s recent efforts to stimulate domestic growth without relying on traditional exports.
Qin, the economic commentator, noted Chinese officials appeared increasingly focussed in their official documents on achieving growth through artificial intelligence, which necessitates fewer workers.
Only further investment in labor-intensive industries would solve China’s problem of dampened domestic demand, he said, by putting more spending money into the pockets of China’s consumers.
“Give them a level playing field and allow the economy to get on the right track … which will gradually solve the problem of unemployment,” he said. “People need to feel that business is good, money is easy to make, and that life is getting better and better.”
“It’s that simple.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Alex Willemyns.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Xi Zian, Qian Lang and Lucie Lo for RFA Mandarin.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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“The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity,” said fictional Captain Picard of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Humanity is standing on the cusp. Climate change is presenting the U.S. with the same choice nature has gifted all its species: evolve or die; change is the only constant.
As the cost of basic goods and, more importantly, energy continues to rise across the capitalist economies of Japan, Western Europe and North America, others have decided to utilize their economy to actually innovate. Instead of phallic vanity projects of the impotent super-wealthy, presented by SpaceX and Blue Origin, the “Chinese Academy of Space Technology” (CAST) has shown humanity a different way forward into the stars.
The post Socialism Leads Humanity Out Of Artificial Scarcity appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
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ANALYSIS: By Ali Mirin
Last week, on 26 February 2025, President Prabowo Subianto officially launched Indonesia’s first bullion banks, marking a significant shift in the country’s approach to gold and precious metal management.
This initiative aims to strengthen Indonesia’s control over its gold reserves, improve financial stability, and reduce reliance on foreign institutions for gold transactions.
Bullion banks specialise in buying, selling, storing, and trading gold and other precious metals. They allow both the government and private sector to manage gold-related financial transactions, including hedging, lending, and investment in the global gold market.
- READ MORE: Indonesia joins BRICS: What now for West Papuan goal of independence?
- West Papua mining reports
- Other West Papua reports
Although bullion banks focus on gold, this move signals a broader trend of Indonesia tightening control over its natural resources. This could have a significant impact on West Papua’s coal industry.
With the government already enforcing benchmark coal prices (HBA) starting this month, the success of bullion banks could pave the way for a similar centralised system for coal and other minerals.
Indonesia also may apply similar regulations to other strategic resources, including coal, nickel, and copper. This could mean tighter government control over mining in West Papua.
If Indonesia expands national control over mining, it could lead to increased exploitation in resource-rich regions like West Papua, raising concerns about land rights, deforestation, and indigenous displacement.
Indonesia joined BRICS earlier this year and is now focusing on strengthening economic ties with other BRICS countries.
In the mining sector, Indonesia is using its membership to increase exports, particularly to key markets such as China and India. These countries are large consumers of coal and mineral resources, providing an opportunity for Indonesia to expand its export market and attract foreign direct investment in resource extraction.
India eyes coal in West Papua
India has shown interest in tapping into the coal reserves of the West Papua region, aiming to diversify its energy sources and secure coal supplies for its growing energy needs.This initiative involves potential collaboration between the Indian government and Indonesian authorities to explore and develop previously unexploited coal deposits in West Papuan Indigenous lands.
However, the details of such projects are still under negotiation, with discussions focusing on the terms of investment and operational control.
Notably, India has sought special privileges, including no-bid contracts, in exchange for financing geological surveys — a proposition that raises concerns about compliance with Indonesia’s anti-corruption laws.
The prospect of coal mining in West Papua has drawn mixed reactions. While the Indonesian government is keen to attract foreign investment to boost economic development in its easternmost provinces, local communities and environmental groups express apprehension.
The primary concerns revolve around potential environmental degradation, disruption of local ecosystems, and the displacement of indigenous populations.
Moreover, there is scepticism about whether the economic benefits from such projects would trickle down to local communities or primarily serve external interests.
Navigating ethical, legal issues
As India seeks to secure energy resources to meet its domestic demands, it must navigate the ethical and legal implications of its investments abroad. Simultaneously, Indonesia faces the challenge of balancing economic development with environmental preservation and the rights of its indigenous populations.While foreign investment in Indonesia’s mining sector is welcome, there are strict regulations in place to protect national interests.
In particular, foreign mining companies must sell at least 51 percent of their shares to Indonesian stakeholders within 10 years of starting production. This policy is designed to ensure that Indonesia retains greater control over its natural resources, while still allowing international investors to participate in the growth of the industry.
India is reportedly interested in mining coal in West Papua to diversify its fuel sources.
Indonesia’s energy ministry is hoping for economic benefits and a potential boost to the local steel industry. But environmentalists and social activists are sounding the alarm about the potential negative impacts of new mining operations.
During project discussions, India has shown an interest in securing special privileges, such as no-bid contracts, which could conflict with Indonesia’s anti-corruption laws.
Implications for West Papua
Indonesia, a country with a population of nearly 300 million, aims to industrialise. By joining BRICS (primarily Brasil, Russia, India, and China), it hopes to unlock new growth opportunities.However, this path to industrialisation comes at a significant cost. It will continue to profoundly affect people’s lives and lead to environmental degradation, destroying wildlife and natural habitats.
These challenges echo the changes that began with the Industrial Revolution in England, where coal-powered advances drastically reshaped human life and the natural world.
West Papua has experienced a significant decline in its indigenous population due to Indonesia’s transmigration policy. This policy involves relocating large numbers of Muslim Indonesians to areas where Christian Papuans are the majority.
These newcomers settle on vast tracts of indigenous Papuan land. Military operations also continue.
One of the major problems resulting from these developments is the spread of torture, abuse, disease, and death, which, if not addressed soon, will reduce the Papuans to numbers too small to fight and reclaim their land.
Mining of any kind in West Papua is closely linked to, and in fact, is the main cause of, the dire situation in West Papua.
Large-scale exploitation
Since the late 1900s, the area’s rich coal and mineral resources have attracted both foreign and local investors. Large international companies, particularly from Western countries, have partnered with the Indonesian government in large-scale mining operations.While the exploitation of West Papua’s resources has boosted Indonesia’s economy, it has also caused significant environmental damage and disruption to indigenous Papuan communities.
Mining has damaged local ecosystems, polluted water sources and reduced biodiversity. Indigenous Papuans have been displaced from their ancestral lands, leading to economic hardship and cultural erosion.
Although the government has tried to promote sustainable mining practices, the benefits have largely bypassed local communities. Most of the revenue from mining goes to Jakarta and large corporations, with minimal reinvestment in local infrastructure, health and education.
For more than 63 years, West Papua has faced exploitation and abuse similar to that which occurred when British law considered Australia to be terra nullius — “land that belongs to no one.” This legal fiction allowed the British to disregard the existence of indigenous people as the rightful owners and custodians of the land.
Similarly, West Papua has been treated as if it were empty, with indigenous communities portrayed in degrading ways to justify taking their land and clearing it for settlers.
Indonesia’s collective view of West Papua as a wild, uninhabited frontier has allowed settlers and colonial authorities to freely exploit the region’s rich resources.
Plundering with impunity
This is why almost anyone hungry for West Papua’s riches goes there and plunders with impunity. They cut down millions of trees, mine minerals, hunt rare animals and collect precious resources such as gold.These activities are carried out under the control of the military or by bribing and intimidating local landowners.
The Indonesian government’s decision to grant mining licences to universities and religious groups will add more headaches for Papuans. It simply means that more entities have been given licences to exploit its resources — driving West Papuans toward extinction and destroying their ancestral homeland.
An example is the PT Megapura Prima Industri, an Indonesian coal mining company operating in Sorong on the western tip of West Papua. According to the local news media Jubi, the company has already violated rules and regulations designed to protect local Papuans and the environment.
Allowing India to enter West Papua, will have unprecedented and disastrous consequences for West Papua, including environmental degradation, displacement of indigenous communities, and human rights abuses.
As the BRICS nations continue to expand their economic footprint, Indonesia’s evolving mining landscape is likely to become a focal point of international investment discourse in the coming years.
Natural resources ultimate target
This means that West Papua’s vast natural resources will be the ultimate target and will continue to be a geopolitical pawn between superpowers, while indigenous Papuans remain marginalised and excluded from decision-making processes in their own land.Regardless of policy changes on resource extraction, human rights, education, health, or any other facet, “Indonesia cannot and will not save West Papua” because “Indonesia’s presence in the sovereign territory of West Papua is the primary cause of the genocide of Papuans and the destruction of their homeland”.
As long as West Papua remains Indonesia’s frontier settler colony, backed by an intensive military presence, the entire Indonesian enterprise in West Papua effectively condemns both the Papuan people and their fragile ecosystem to a catastrophic fate, one that can only be avoided through a process of decolonisation and self-determination.
Restoring West Papua’s sovereignty, arbitrarily taken by Indonesia, is the best solution so that indigenous Papuans can engage with their world on their own terms, using the rich resources they have, and determining their own future and development pathway.
Ali Mirin is a West Papuan academic and writer from the Kimyal tribe of the highlands bordering the Star mountain region of Papua New Guinea. He lives in Australia and contributes articles to Asia Pacific Report.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
-
ANALYSIS: By Ali Mirin
Last week, on 26 February 2025, President Prabowo Subianto officially launched Indonesia’s first bullion banks, marking a significant shift in the country’s approach to gold and precious metal management.
This initiative aims to strengthen Indonesia’s control over its gold reserves, improve financial stability, and reduce reliance on foreign institutions for gold transactions.
Bullion banks specialise in buying, selling, storing, and trading gold and other precious metals. They allow both the government and private sector to manage gold-related financial transactions, including hedging, lending, and investment in the global gold market.
- READ MORE: Indonesia joins BRICS: What now for West Papuan goal of independence?
- West Papua mining reports
- Other West Papua reports
Although bullion banks focus on gold, this move signals a broader trend of Indonesia tightening control over its natural resources. This could have a significant impact on West Papua’s coal industry.
With the government already enforcing benchmark coal prices (HBA) starting this month, the success of bullion banks could pave the way for a similar centralised system for coal and other minerals.
Indonesia also may apply similar regulations to other strategic resources, including coal, nickel, and copper. This could mean tighter government control over mining in West Papua.
If Indonesia expands national control over mining, it could lead to increased exploitation in resource-rich regions like West Papua, raising concerns about land rights, deforestation, and indigenous displacement.
Indonesia joined BRICS earlier this year and is now focusing on strengthening economic ties with other BRICS countries.
In the mining sector, Indonesia is using its membership to increase exports, particularly to key markets such as China and India. These countries are large consumers of coal and mineral resources, providing an opportunity for Indonesia to expand its export market and attract foreign direct investment in resource extraction.
India eyes coal in West Papua
India has shown interest in tapping into the coal reserves of the West Papua region, aiming to diversify its energy sources and secure coal supplies for its growing energy needs.This initiative involves potential collaboration between the Indian government and Indonesian authorities to explore and develop previously unexploited coal deposits in West Papuan Indigenous lands.
However, the details of such projects are still under negotiation, with discussions focusing on the terms of investment and operational control.
Notably, India has sought special privileges, including no-bid contracts, in exchange for financing geological surveys — a proposition that raises concerns about compliance with Indonesia’s anti-corruption laws.
The prospect of coal mining in West Papua has drawn mixed reactions. While the Indonesian government is keen to attract foreign investment to boost economic development in its easternmost provinces, local communities and environmental groups express apprehension.
The primary concerns revolve around potential environmental degradation, disruption of local ecosystems, and the displacement of indigenous populations.
Moreover, there is scepticism about whether the economic benefits from such projects would trickle down to local communities or primarily serve external interests.
Navigating ethical, legal issues
As India seeks to secure energy resources to meet its domestic demands, it must navigate the ethical and legal implications of its investments abroad. Simultaneously, Indonesia faces the challenge of balancing economic development with environmental preservation and the rights of its indigenous populations.While foreign investment in Indonesia’s mining sector is welcome, there are strict regulations in place to protect national interests.
In particular, foreign mining companies must sell at least 51 percent of their shares to Indonesian stakeholders within 10 years of starting production. This policy is designed to ensure that Indonesia retains greater control over its natural resources, while still allowing international investors to participate in the growth of the industry.
India is reportedly interested in mining coal in West Papua to diversify its fuel sources.
Indonesia’s energy ministry is hoping for economic benefits and a potential boost to the local steel industry. But environmentalists and social activists are sounding the alarm about the potential negative impacts of new mining operations.
During project discussions, India has shown an interest in securing special privileges, such as no-bid contracts, which could conflict with Indonesia’s anti-corruption laws.
Implications for West Papua
Indonesia, a country with a population of nearly 300 million, aims to industrialise. By joining BRICS (primarily Brasil, Russia, India, and China), it hopes to unlock new growth opportunities.However, this path to industrialisation comes at a significant cost. It will continue to profoundly affect people’s lives and lead to environmental degradation, destroying wildlife and natural habitats.
These challenges echo the changes that began with the Industrial Revolution in England, where coal-powered advances drastically reshaped human life and the natural world.
West Papua has experienced a significant decline in its indigenous population due to Indonesia’s transmigration policy. This policy involves relocating large numbers of Muslim Indonesians to areas where Christian Papuans are the majority.
These newcomers settle on vast tracts of indigenous Papuan land. Military operations also continue.
One of the major problems resulting from these developments is the spread of torture, abuse, disease, and death, which, if not addressed soon, will reduce the Papuans to numbers too small to fight and reclaim their land.
Mining of any kind in West Papua is closely linked to, and in fact, is the main cause of, the dire situation in West Papua.
Large-scale exploitation
Since the late 1900s, the area’s rich coal and mineral resources have attracted both foreign and local investors. Large international companies, particularly from Western countries, have partnered with the Indonesian government in large-scale mining operations.While the exploitation of West Papua’s resources has boosted Indonesia’s economy, it has also caused significant environmental damage and disruption to indigenous Papuan communities.
Mining has damaged local ecosystems, polluted water sources and reduced biodiversity. Indigenous Papuans have been displaced from their ancestral lands, leading to economic hardship and cultural erosion.
Although the government has tried to promote sustainable mining practices, the benefits have largely bypassed local communities. Most of the revenue from mining goes to Jakarta and large corporations, with minimal reinvestment in local infrastructure, health and education.
For more than 63 years, West Papua has faced exploitation and abuse similar to that which occurred when British law considered Australia to be terra nullius — “land that belongs to no one.” This legal fiction allowed the British to disregard the existence of indigenous people as the rightful owners and custodians of the land.
Similarly, West Papua has been treated as if it were empty, with indigenous communities portrayed in degrading ways to justify taking their land and clearing it for settlers.
Indonesia’s collective view of West Papua as a wild, uninhabited frontier has allowed settlers and colonial authorities to freely exploit the region’s rich resources.
Plundering with impunity
This is why almost anyone hungry for West Papua’s riches goes there and plunders with impunity. They cut down millions of trees, mine minerals, hunt rare animals and collect precious resources such as gold.These activities are carried out under the control of the military or by bribing and intimidating local landowners.
The Indonesian government’s decision to grant mining licences to universities and religious groups will add more headaches for Papuans. It simply means that more entities have been given licences to exploit its resources — driving West Papuans toward extinction and destroying their ancestral homeland.
An example is the PT Megapura Prima Industri, an Indonesian coal mining company operating in Sorong on the western tip of West Papua. According to the local news media Jubi, the company has already violated rules and regulations designed to protect local Papuans and the environment.
Allowing India to enter West Papua, will have unprecedented and disastrous consequences for West Papua, including environmental degradation, displacement of indigenous communities, and human rights abuses.
As the BRICS nations continue to expand their economic footprint, Indonesia’s evolving mining landscape is likely to become a focal point of international investment discourse in the coming years.
Natural resources ultimate target
This means that West Papua’s vast natural resources will be the ultimate target and will continue to be a geopolitical pawn between superpowers, while indigenous Papuans remain marginalised and excluded from decision-making processes in their own land.Regardless of policy changes on resource extraction, human rights, education, health, or any other facet, “Indonesia cannot and will not save West Papua” because “Indonesia’s presence in the sovereign territory of West Papua is the primary cause of the genocide of Papuans and the destruction of their homeland”.
As long as West Papua remains Indonesia’s frontier settler colony, backed by an intensive military presence, the entire Indonesian enterprise in West Papua effectively condemns both the Papuan people and their fragile ecosystem to a catastrophic fate, one that can only be avoided through a process of decolonisation and self-determination.
Restoring West Papua’s sovereignty, arbitrarily taken by Indonesia, is the best solution so that indigenous Papuans can engage with their world on their own terms, using the rich resources they have, and determining their own future and development pathway.
Ali Mirin is a West Papuan academic and writer from the Kimyal tribe of the highlands bordering the Star mountain region of Papua New Guinea. He lives in Australia and contributes articles to Asia Pacific Report.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The conduct of live-fire exercises by the People’s Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (the Chinese “communists”, as they are called by the analytically strained) has recently caused much murmur and consternation in Australia. It’s the season for federal elections, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, thinks he’s in with more than a fighting chance. Whether that chance is deserved or not is another matter.
The exercise, conducted in international waters by a cruiser, frigate and replenishment ship, involved what is said to have been poor notice given to Australian authorities on February 21. But the matter has rapidly burgeoned into something else: that what the Chinese task fleet did was mischievously remarkable, exceptional and snooty to convention and protocols. It is on that score that incontinent demagogy has taken hold.
Media outlets have done little to soften the barbs. A report by ABC News, for instance, notes that Airservices Australia was “only aware of the exercises 40 minutes after China’s navy opened a ‘window’ for live-fire exercises from 9.30am.” The first pickup of the exercises came from a Virgin Australia pilot, who had flown within 250 nautical miles of the operation zone and warned of the drills. Airservices Australia was immediately contacted, with the deputy CEO of the agency, Peter Curran, bemused about whether “it was a potential hoax or real.”
Defence Chief Admiral David Johnston told Senate estimates that he would have preferred more notice for the exercises – 24-48 hours was desirable – but it was clear that Coalition Senator and shadow home affairs minister James Paterson wanted more. Paterson had thought it “remarkable that Australia was relying on civilian aircraft for early warning about military exercises by a formidable foreign task group in our region.” To a certain extent, the needlessly irate minister got what he wanted, with the badgered Admiral conceding that the Chinese navy’s conduct had been “irresponsible” and “disruptive”.
Wu Qian, spokesperson for the China National Ministry for Defence, offered a different reading: “During the period, China organised live-fire training of naval guns toward the sea on the basis of repeatedly issuing prior safety notices”. Its actions were “in full compliance with international law and international practice, with no impact on aviation flight safety”. That said, 49 flights were diverted on February 21.
Much was also made about what were the constituent elements of the fleet. As if it mattered one jot, the Defence Force chief was pressed on whether a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine had made up the task force. “I don’t know whether there is a submarine with them, it is possible, task groups occasionally do deploy with submarines but not always,” came the reply. “I can’t be definitive whether that’s the case.”
The carnival of fear was very much in town, with opposition politicians keen to blow air into the balloon of the China threat across the press circuit. The shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie warned listeners on Sydney radio station 2GB of “the biggest peacetime military buildup since 1945”, Beijing’s projection of power with its blue-water navy, the conduct of two live-fire exercises and the Chinese taskforce operating within Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone off Tasmania. Apparently, all of this showed the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, to be “weak” for daring to accept that the conduct complained of was legal under international law. “Now that may be technically right, but that misses the deeper subtext, and that is China is now in our backyard, and they’ve demonstrated that we don’t have the will to insist on our national interest and mutual respect.”
There are few voices of sensible restraint in Australia’s arid landscape of strategic thinking, but one could be found. Former principal warfare officer of the Royal Australian Navy, Jennifer Parker, commendably remarked that this hardly warranted the title of “a crisis”. To regard it as such “with over-the-top indignation diminishes our capacity to tackle real crises as the region deteriorates.” Australia might, at the very least, consider modernising a surface fleet that was “the smallest and oldest we’ve had since 1950.”
Allegations that Beijing should not be operating in Australia’s exclusive economic zone, let alone conduct live-fire exercises in international waters, served to give it “a propaganda win to challenge our necessary deployments to North-East Asia and the South China Sea – routes that carry two-thirds of our maritime trade.”
The cockeyed priorities of the Australian defence establishment lie elsewhere: fantasy, second hand US nuclear-powered submarines that may, or may never make their way to Australia; mushy hopes of a jointly designed nuclear powered submarine specific to the AUKUS pact that risks sinking off the design sheet; and the subordination of Australian land, naval and spatial assets to the United States imperium.
Such is the standard of political debate that something as unremarkable as this latest sea incident has become a throbbing issue that supposedly shows the Albanese government as insufficiently belligerent. Yet there was no issue arising, other than a statement of presence by China’s growing navy, something it was perfectly entitled to do.
The post Ho Hum at Sea: Anti-China Hysteria Down Under first appeared on Dissident Voice.This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
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In his first month back in the White House, US President Donald Trump indicated his interest in annexing Greenland and brokering a peace deal for Ukraine that would include access to Ukrainian minerals and metals. It is important to note that Greenland has already been a point of contention around its vast holdings of rare earth minerals with such remarkable names as dysprosium, neodymium, scandium, and yttrium (there are seventeen rare earth minerals that are central to any advanced technology). Given that Greenland is part of Denmark, it is therefore beholden to European Union (EU) rules.
The post China Is Already The Leader In Advanced Critical Technologies appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
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A court in Hong Kong has handed down a three-year, one-month jail term to a former pro-democracy lawmaker for “rioting,” after he livestreamed unrest at the height of 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Lam Cheuk-ting’s footage, which appeared on Facebook, showed attacks by white-clad pro-China thugs on passengers at the Yuen Long Mass Transit Railway station on July 21 of that year.
It depicted panicked passengers and bystanders calling for police help that took nearly 40 minutes to arrive.
Lam, 47, who was himself attacked for his pains, was sent to the hospital with head and arm injuries that required about 18 stitches.
Yet he was arrested for “rioting” on Aug. 26, 2020, sparking a public outcry, as part of an ongoing crackdown on public dissent in Hong Kong.
Lam is currently serving a prison sentence of nearly seven years for “subversion” as one of the 47 pro-democracy activists prosecuted for organizing a democratic primary in the summer of 2020.
He can expect to serve 34 months of his rioting sentence after that term finishes.
Courts have skewed toward Beijing
Since the imposition of the 2020 National Security Law, Hong Kong’s once-independent courts have tended to issue rulings along pro-Beijing lines, particularly in politically sensitive cases, according to a 2024 report by law experts at Georgetown University.
Lam, a former Legislative Council member, was sentenced on Thursday alongside six other people convicted of the same charge, despite not being among the white-clad mob.
District Judge Stanley Chan said the defendants had taken part in “another riot” inside the station that was triggered by the attacks from the men wielding sticks and clubs.
He handed down sentences ranging between two years, one month to three years, one month.
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EXPLAINED: Who are the Hong Kong 47?
Referring to 2019 as “the year when the Pearl of the Orient lost its luster,” Chan said that the defendants had “responded to provocation” from around 100 men in white, about a dozen of whom have since been jailed for “rioting” and “conspiring to wound with intent.”
Chan said Lam hadn’t tried to calm people down, but had rather added “fuel to the flames” by providing a gathering point for people trying to resist the attacks.
6 others sentenced
The six other defendants — Yu Ka Ho, Jason Chan, Yip Kam Sing, Kwong Ho Lam, Wan Chung Ming and Marco Yeung — were sentenced to between 25-31 months.
They had tried to form a defensive line against the attackers, using fire extinguishers and water bottles, and pleaded self-defense during their trial.
But Chan said their actions were “unlawful assembly” and “breach of the peace,” saying that some of them had yelled at the attackers in white to come and fight them, as well as throwing objects at them.
“It is clear that at the time in question … the defendants became the rioters,” he told the sentencing hearing.
During the attack–carried out by dozens of unidentified thugs in white T-shirts carrying wooden and metal poles–police were inundated with emergency calls, but didn’t move in until 39 minutes after it began.
Pro-democracy lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting gestures outside of Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Magistrates Court on Aug. 27, 2020. (Anthony Wallace/AFP)In a recent book about the protests, former Washington Post Hong Kong correspondent Shibani Mahtani and The Atlantic writer Timothy McLaughlin wrote that the Hong Kong authorities knew about the attacks in advance.
Members of Hong Kong’s criminal underworld “triad” organizations had been discussing the planned attack for days on a WhatsApp group that was being monitored by a detective sergeant from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, the book said.
The weeks and months after the incident saw a massive wave of public anger at the police, who were later seen as legitimate targets for doxxing and even violent attacks.
But instead of investigating, then Chief Executive Carrie Lam rejected any allegations of collusion, and later quashed a full report from the city’s police supervisory body on the handling of the protests.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party insists that the 2019 protests were an attempt by “hostile foreign forces” to foment an uprising against the government in Hong Kong.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Eugene Whong.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Cantonese.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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BANGKOK – Thailand’s decision to deport 40 Uyghurs to China indicates that it sees the benefits of strengthening relations with China as worth the risk of incurring the anger of old ally the United States, analysts said on Friday.
The U.S. condemned Thailand for deporting the 40 ethnic Uyghurs to China on Thursday, warning that the men risked torture when they returned to the northeastern region of Xinjiang, which they fled more than 10 years ago.
But Thailand defended the decision, saying it had received an “official request” from China and only sent the men back after assurances from the “highest level” of the Chinese government on their safety.
The United States had earlier made a request that the Uyghurs not be sent back to China. Marco Rubio had called directly on Thailand not to deport them at his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing to become secretary of state.
Thai political analyst and former government adviser Panitan Wattanayagorn said Thailand’s decision to send the Uyghurs back after Rubio’s request carried risks.
“It now looks like Thailand has turned its back on them,” Panitan told Radio Free Asia affiliate BenarNews, referring to the United States.
“So we must be prepared for the consequences.”
Thailand is the only U.S. treaty partner in mainland Southeast Asia and their relationship stretches back 200 years. The kingdom was a stalwart U.S. ally throughout the Cold War but Thailand has also developed strong ties with China, the region’s dominant economic player.
China is among the top trading partners and foreign investors in Thailand, and its main source of foreign tourists. Panitan said the decision to send the Uyghurs back signaled a drive by Thailand for closer ties with China at the expense of relations with the U.S.
“This government seems to have reduced the space with China while significantly widening it with America. It’s dangerous,” said Panitan.
Dulyapak Preecharush, assistant professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Bangkok’s Thammasat University, said the deportation should be seen in the context of cooperation between the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and China on the suppression of online scam centers in eastern Myanmar.
Chinese President Xi Jinping thanked the prime minister for helping with the crackdown when she visited Beijing on Feb. 6, while Liu Zhongyi, assistant minister at China’s Ministry of Public Security, visited Thailand to help coordinate it.
“The deportation may indicate that Thailand is leaning more toward China than the United States, especially since the prime minister’s visit to China and the Chinese minister’s trip to Thailand to direct the suppression of scam centers, reflecting deepening cooperation,” Dulyapak said.
The Thai foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on relations with China and the United States by time of publication.
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Rubio’s ‘strongest’ condemnation
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who is also minister of defense, said Thailand had discussed the decision with the U.S.
“The government has explained to several Western countries, including the United States, which had discussions with me, confirming that Thailand would act according to its sovereignty and laws while also considering international principles and international law to avoid making mistakes,” he told reporters.
But Rubio’s condemnation, “in the strongest possible terms”, was unusually forthright and Panitan said it indicated Thailand should beware.
“The government might think they can negotiate with the United States, and it won’t make this a condition, but the fact that the U.S. government has strongly condemned it is a dangerous signal,” he said.
“It could become a factor for imposing trade sanctions against us, or the secretary of state might downgrade our ranking in the TIP report,” he said, referring to the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report.
Thailand was kept on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third year in 2024, reflecting progress in combating human trafficking.
Dulyapak said Thailand had to explain its decision, not only to the United States but to Muslim countries too, to try to maintain its relations.
“What needs to be done is to clearly explain the reasons for this, especially since the current U.S. secretary of state has been closely following the Uyghur issue for so long … to help them understand the reasons and necessity behind it,” he said.
“Thailand can’t just let this issue quietly fade away.”
Edited by Mike Firn
Pimuk Rakkanam and Jon Preechawong in Bangkok contributed to this report.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Kunnawut Boonreak and Nontarat Phaicharoen for BenarNews.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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BANGKOK – Thailand’s decision to deport 40 Uyghurs to China indicates that it sees the benefits of strengthening relations with China as worth the risk of incurring the anger of old ally the United States, analysts said on Friday.
The U.S. condemned Thailand for deporting the 40 ethnic Uyghurs to China on Thursday, warning that the men risked torture when they returned to the northeastern region of Xinjiang, which they fled more than 10 years ago.
But Thailand defended the decision, saying it had received an “official request” from China and only sent the men back after assurances from the “highest level” of the Chinese government on their safety.
The United States had earlier made a request that the Uyghurs not be sent back to China. Marco Rubio had called directly on Thailand not to deport them at his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing to become secretary of state.
Thai political analyst and former government adviser Panitan Wattanayagorn said Thailand’s decision to send the Uyghurs back after Rubio’s request carried risks.
“It now looks like Thailand has turned its back on them,” Panitan told Radio Free Asia affiliate BenarNews, referring to the United States.
“So we must be prepared for the consequences.”
Thailand is the only U.S. treaty partner in mainland Southeast Asia and their relationship stretches back 200 years. The kingdom was a stalwart U.S. ally throughout the Cold War but Thailand has also developed strong ties with China, the region’s dominant economic player.
China is among the top trading partners and foreign investors in Thailand, and its main source of foreign tourists. Panitan said the decision to send the Uyghurs back signaled a drive by Thailand for closer ties with China at the expense of relations with the U.S.
“This government seems to have reduced the space with China while significantly widening it with America. It’s dangerous,” said Panitan.
Dulyapak Preecharush, assistant professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Bangkok’s Thammasat University, said the deportation should be seen in the context of cooperation between the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and China on the suppression of online scam centers in eastern Myanmar.
Chinese President Xi Jinping thanked the prime minister for helping with the crackdown when she visited Beijing on Feb. 6, while Liu Zhongyi, assistant minister at China’s Ministry of Public Security, visited Thailand to help coordinate it.
“The deportation may indicate that Thailand is leaning more toward China than the United States, especially since the prime minister’s visit to China and the Chinese minister’s trip to Thailand to direct the suppression of scam centers, reflecting deepening cooperation,” Dulyapak said.
The Thai foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on relations with China and the United States by time of publication.
RELATED STORIES
EXPLAINED: Thailand’s repatriation of 40 Uyghur refugees to China
Prominent Uyghur historian sentenced to 17 years in prison
Report: China has half a million Uyghurs in prison or detention
Rubio’s ‘strongest’ condemnation
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who is also minister of defense, said Thailand had discussed the decision with the U.S.
“The government has explained to several Western countries, including the United States, which had discussions with me, confirming that Thailand would act according to its sovereignty and laws while also considering international principles and international law to avoid making mistakes,” he told reporters.
But Rubio’s condemnation, “in the strongest possible terms”, was unusually forthright and Panitan said it indicated Thailand should beware.
“The government might think they can negotiate with the United States, and it won’t make this a condition, but the fact that the U.S. government has strongly condemned it is a dangerous signal,” he said.
“It could become a factor for imposing trade sanctions against us, or the secretary of state might downgrade our ranking in the TIP report,” he said, referring to the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report.
Thailand was kept on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third year in 2024, reflecting progress in combating human trafficking.
Dulyapak said Thailand had to explain its decision, not only to the United States but to Muslim countries too, to try to maintain its relations.
“What needs to be done is to clearly explain the reasons for this, especially since the current U.S. secretary of state has been closely following the Uyghur issue for so long … to help them understand the reasons and necessity behind it,” he said.
“Thailand can’t just let this issue quietly fade away.”
Edited by Mike Firn
Pimuk Rakkanam and Jon Preechawong in Bangkok contributed to this report.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Kunnawut Boonreak and Nontarat Phaicharoen for BenarNews.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The Chinese military held a new combat readiness exercise around a flashpoint with the Philippines in the South China Sea, its Southern Theater Command said, adding to a number of such exercises that Beijing has been conducting in the region.
The command on Thursday “organized naval and air forces to carry out combat readiness patrols in the territorial waters and airspace of China’s Huangyan Island and surrounding areas,” it said in a statement, referring to the disputed Scarborough Shoal by its Chinese name.
Scarborough Shoal, known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc, has served as a traditional fishing ground for generations of local fishermen. It lies well inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone, just 125 nautical miles (232 kilometers) from the main island of Luzon.
China, however, claims historical rights over the shoal as it is inside the so-called nine-dash line it displays on its maps. Vessels from both countries have been confronting each other here.
Since the beginning of the month, Southern Command’s troops have been holding drills around the shoal in order to “further strengthen the control of relevant sea and air areas, resolutely defend national sovereignty, and security and resolutely maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea,” it added.
The Chinese military also released a video clip depicting Thursday’s combat patrol, in which at least two warships and several aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers, were seen operating in the Scarborough area.
The Philippine military has yet to react to the Chinese patrols.
Chinese military aircraft during the combat patrol over Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Feb. 27, 2025. (PLA Southern Theater Command)Last week, Manila accused a Chinese military helicopter of flying dangerously within 3 meters (10 feet) of a Philippine aircraft over the shoal, saying the “reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety” of the Filipino pilots and passengers.
China ramping up military operations
Also on Thursday, the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA,- completed a four-day live-fire exercise in the Gulf of Tonkin, territory shared with Vietnam. The exercise was announced just as Hanoi released a map of territorial borders in the gulf.
On Wednesday, Beijing unilaterally and unexpectedly designated an area for live-fire shooting just 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) from the Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung, prompting the island’s military to immediately dispatch naval, air and land forces while condemning the move.
Taiwan’s ministry of defense on Friday said Beijing “has been escalating its military threats,” and has become “the biggest troublemaker” in the Indo-Pacific.
The live-fire shooting has yet to take place, but analysts warned against the dangerous practice of conducting military exercises without giving notice. A similar incident happened last weekend in the waters between Australia and New Zealand.
China’s frigate Sanya (574) during the combat patrol at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Feb. 27, 2025. (PLA Southern Theater Command)Several commercial flights had to divert last Friday because of a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea that China conducted at a very short notice.
“The live-fire exercises were a display to show that China’s military forces could cut off the air and sea links between Australia and New Zealand at any time, with no warning,” wrote Anne-Marie Brady, a professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.
They were “a demonstration of China’s growing sea power in the Southwest Pacific and meant to normalize the PLA presence there,” Brady wrote in The Diplomat.
RELATED STORIES
China sets up live-fire exercise zone near Taiwan ‘without warning’
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Manila: Chinese helicopter came within 3 meters of Philippine aircraft
The past week’s exercises around the region are a clear example of saber-rattling, according to regional specialist Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at Australia’s University of New South Wales.
“Given China’s continued bullying of the Philippines, Beijing is sending a message to regional states as well as the Trump administration that it will defend its sovereign rights and interests whenever they are challenged,” he told Radio Free Asia.
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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The Chinese military held a new combat readiness exercise around a flashpoint with the Philippines in the South China Sea, its Southern Theater Command said, adding to a number of such exercises that Beijing has been conducting in the region.
The command on Thursday “organized naval and air forces to carry out combat readiness patrols in the territorial waters and airspace of China’s Huangyan Island and surrounding areas,” it said in a statement, referring to the disputed Scarborough Shoal by its Chinese name.
Scarborough Shoal, known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc, has served as a traditional fishing ground for generations of local fishermen. It lies well inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone, just 125 nautical miles (232 kilometers) from the main island of Luzon.
China, however, claims historical rights over the shoal as it is inside the so-called nine-dash line it displays on its maps. Vessels from both countries have been confronting each other here.
Since the beginning of the month, Southern Command’s troops have been holding drills around the shoal in order to “further strengthen the control of relevant sea and air areas, resolutely defend national sovereignty, and security and resolutely maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea,” it added.
The Chinese military also released a video clip depicting Thursday’s combat patrol, in which at least two warships and several aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers, were seen operating in the Scarborough area.
The Philippine military has yet to react to the Chinese patrols.
Chinese military aircraft during the combat patrol over Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Feb. 27, 2025. (PLA Southern Theater Command)Last week, Manila accused a Chinese military helicopter of flying dangerously within 3 meters (10 feet) of a Philippine aircraft over the shoal, saying the “reckless action posed a serious risk to the safety” of the Filipino pilots and passengers.
China ramping up military operations
Also on Thursday, the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA,- completed a four-day live-fire exercise in the Gulf of Tonkin, territory shared with Vietnam. The exercise was announced just as Hanoi released a map of territorial borders in the gulf.
On Wednesday, Beijing unilaterally and unexpectedly designated an area for live-fire shooting just 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) from the Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung, prompting the island’s military to immediately dispatch naval, air and land forces while condemning the move.
Taiwan’s ministry of defense on Friday said Beijing “has been escalating its military threats,” and has become “the biggest troublemaker” in the Indo-Pacific.
The live-fire shooting has yet to take place, but analysts warned against the dangerous practice of conducting military exercises without giving notice. A similar incident happened last weekend in the waters between Australia and New Zealand.
China’s frigate Sanya (574) during the combat patrol at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Feb. 27, 2025. (PLA Southern Theater Command)Several commercial flights had to divert last Friday because of a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea that China conducted at a very short notice.
“The live-fire exercises were a display to show that China’s military forces could cut off the air and sea links between Australia and New Zealand at any time, with no warning,” wrote Anne-Marie Brady, a professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.
They were “a demonstration of China’s growing sea power in the Southwest Pacific and meant to normalize the PLA presence there,” Brady wrote in The Diplomat.
RELATED STORIES
China sets up live-fire exercise zone near Taiwan ‘without warning’
China conducts live fire drills in Tonkin Gulf as Vietnam draws sea border
Manila: Chinese helicopter came within 3 meters of Philippine aircraft
The past week’s exercises around the region are a clear example of saber-rattling, according to regional specialist Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at Australia’s University of New South Wales.
“Given China’s continued bullying of the Philippines, Beijing is sending a message to regional states as well as the Trump administration that it will defend its sovereign rights and interests whenever they are challenged,” he told Radio Free Asia.
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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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 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 still has more than half a million Uyghurs in prisons or detention centers and has expanded its repression of the ethnic group, a new report says, despite Beijing’s assurances that the northwestern region of Xinjiang has returned to normalcy.
Another 3 million Uyghurs were subjected to forced labor in 2023, according to the 30-page report by the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
Using Chinese state documents, satellite imagery, survivor testimony and findings from recent academic publications, researchers concluded that between 2022 and 2024, China continued all its main repressive policies, including those that led the United States to conclude that China was imposing a genocide on the Uyghur people.
“In some cases, such as mass detention, the institutional forms of the policy have changed without substantially changing their effects, while in others, such as forced labor and the transfer of Turkic minority children to Han care in residential schools, the repressive actions have expanded,” the report says.
The report outlines nine key findings, including an estimate that the current number of Turkic minority individuals in prisons or extrajudicial internment likely exceeds half a million, though it could be higher.
New type of internment
Additionally, as China closed its so-called vocational training centers, it increased the use of another type of internment facility known as kanshousuo — nominally jails for temporary, pretrial detention and interrogation.
A Uyghur detention facility in Artux, capital of Kizilsu Prefecture in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, July 19, 2023. (Pedro Pardo/AFP)Many of those who had been interned in the camps have been moved into forced labor or into the formal prison system, said Rian Thum, the report’s author.
“The other element of significance is that the Chinese state has continued to produce evidence and share online evidence for what they’re doing,” Thum told RFA. “So, we have now very recent evidence that these activities are ongoing.”
The report’s other findings are:
- The annual rate of new formal imprisonments has surpassed levels seen before the initiation of the Strike Hard campaign in 2014, which is still ongoing. However, despite somewhat unreliable government data, it appears these rates have significantly decreased, nearing those of other provinces.
- The number of assimilationist boarding schools for Uyghur and other Turkic children continues to grow, with the aim of enrolling 100% of the middle-school population. New facilities are either under construction or in the bidding process.
- Population growth in the region has continued to decline, dropping to nearly zero growth in 2021 and 2022, according to recent government statistics, amid strict birth control policies targeting minority groups.
- Forced labor programs for Turkic minorities have expanded further, with close to 3 million individuals placed in forced labor assignments in 2023.
- The government is rapidly increasing the number of state-run nursing homes, aiming to triple the number of facilities available to care for elderly people separated from their families on account of the forced labor program.
- State-led land appropriation has risen as part of efforts to push farmers into industrial labor camps.
- Visible surveillance and police checkpoints have decreased.
Some electronic surveillance technologies, such as widespread cameras, AI-driven data processing, GPS tracking, gait and voice recognition, mobile phone scanning, facial recognition checkpoints, and DNA collection, may have become obsolete or replaced by newer methods in recent years, the report says.
A view of a Uyghur cemetery in Yengisar county of Kashgar Prefecture in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, July 19, 2023. (Pedro Pardo/AFP)“That does not include surveillance that people cannot immediately see or experience, for example, some kinds of digital surveillance,” Ryan Thum, the report’s author, told RFA. “But in terms of controls on everyday movement checkpoints, these kinds of highly visible, highly disruptive surveillance seem to have seemed to have decreased.”
Accusations of whitewashing
Human rights organizations and Uyghur advocacy groups have criticized China for attempting to whitewash the ongoing atrocities in Xinjiang by organizing scripted tours for diplomats and select individuals, showcasing Uyghurs living seemingly happy lives.
“We know from history that perpetrators will go to great lengths to try to hide the evidence of their crimes,” said Naomi Kikoler, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center.
“We also know that they will evolve their techniques to enable them to continue to perpetrate mass atrocities without the international attention,” she said. “This is what the Chinese government has, and continues to do.”
An August 2022 report by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights determined that China’s policies in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity.
The report came after a decision by a nonbinding Uyghur Tribunal in December 2021 that China had committed genocide against the Uyghurs via birth control and forced sterilization measures, as well as found evidence of crimes against humanity, torture and sexual abuse of Uyghurs in re-education camps.
Additionally, several Western governments and parliaments, including the United States, declared that the atrocities amounted to crimes against humanity or genocide.
Armed Chinese paramilitary police patrol a street in Urumqi, capital of northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, May 23, 2014. (GOH CHAI HIN/AFP)China has denied the abuses and said it closed down the internment facilities, which it called vocational education and training centers where Uyghurs and others learned skills.
“In their totality, the policies described in this report threaten to erase Turkic minority cultures and lifeways, interrupt cultural transmission across generations, dispossess indigenous populations, reduce the proportion of minority populations in the region, break apart families, and subordinate survivors to Han Chinese colonial goals,” the report concludes.
“Evidence from the last two years suggests that the state’s progress toward these ends continues, at the cost of immense suffering for millions of members of the targeted groups.”
To address the repressive measures, the U.S. Congress must maintain its broad bipartisan backing for Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Kikoler told Radio Free Asia.
“Policymakers can’t take their eye off of the grave threats facing the Uyghur and other Turkic communities,” she said. “Congress needs to sustain its strong bipartisan support for the Uyghurs.”
“China’s efforts to deceive can’t be allowed to succeed,” she said. “The existence of the Uyghur community is at risk.”
Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Uyghar and Alim Seytoff for RFA Uyghur.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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BANGKOK – Thailand deported at least 40 Uyghurs to China on Thursday, ignoring calls from the U.S., the U.N. and rights groups not to send back the men, who had been detained in Thailand for more than a decade, because of the risk of torture.
The deportation was shrouded in secrecy and Thai officials declined to comment on it.
China’s state run CCTV confirmed it hours later.
“Today, 40 Chinese illegal immigrants were repatriated from Thailand. The repatriation was carried out in accordance with the laws of China and Thailand, international law and international practice,” CCTV reported.
It did not identify those deported as Uyghurs and it was not clear why the broadcaster reported 40 people were deported when Thailand has been holding 48 Uyghurs, most of them in a Bangkok immigration center.
China’s Ministry of Public Security did not give a number for how many people had been returned.
“The Chinese citizens repatriated this time were deceived by criminal organizations and illegally left the country and then stranded in Thailand,” the ministry said, adding that their legal rights were “fully protected.”
Earlier, human rights activists and a Thai media outlet reported that several trucks, some with windows blocked with sheets of black plastic, left Bangkok’s main immigration detention center after 2 a.m. and headed north towards the city’s Don Mueang airport.
An elevated highway to the airport was blocked off to other traffic as the trucks passed, said a human right activist.
Media later cited a flight tracker app as showing a chartered China Southern Airlines flight left Don Mueang at 4.48 a.m. The app did not give the flight’s destination but it later showed it had landed in the Xinjiang region.
“I think they are gone,” Chalida Tajaroensuk, director at People’s Empowerment Foundation, who had been assisting the Uyghurs, told Radio Free Asia.
The men from the mostly Muslim minority from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China have been held at Thailand’s Immigration Detention Center since 2014, after attempting to escape Beijing’s persecution through Thailand.
A rights group said in early January that reports from the detained men indicated that Thai authorities were preparing to deport them but Thailand dismissed the concerns and said there was no plan to send them to China.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday that the U.S. was deeply concerned about reports the 48 were about to be deported and it called on Thailand to respect the principle of non-refoulement – or not deporting people to places where they risk torture and other abuse – and to uphold its international obligations.
Opposition lawmaker Kannavee Suebsang said the government had questions to answer.
“What is the Thai government doing? The prime minister must answer to the people urgently,” Kannavee said in a post on Facebook after the rights activists reported the trucks leaving the Bangkok detention center.
“There must not be Uyghur deportation to face persecution. They were jailed for 11 years. We violated their human rights for too long. There must be a better way out.”
Government spokesman Jirayu Huangsap said the police had not informed the government of any deportation.
“I don’t know about this matter and cannot confirm it,” Jirayu told BenarNews. “The Royal Thai Police will have to report to the government. So far, there has been no report, so I don’t know if it is true or false.”
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was equally guarded when asked at parliament to confirm the repatriation.
“I haven’t talked about this in detail yet,” she said, adding, “Any countries’ actions have to be consistent with rule of law, international protocol and human rights.”
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‘No answers’
Human Rights Watch said the situation was “very concerning”.
“It has been 48 hours since we’ve been able to contact the Uyghurs in detention,” Sunai Phasuk, senior Thailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, told BenarNews.
“There are no answers from the Immigration Bureau to the government. The silence from the operational level officers all the way to the prime minister is unusually surprising.”
A Thai court has been considering a petition filed by a Thai lawyer for the men to be freed. It said last week it saw merit in the petition and had asked for more information from authorities and scheduled the next hearing for March 27.
“Thailand has laws preventing people from being sent back to face danger,” Sunai said, referring to a 2022 law on the prevention of torture that contained a provision on non-refoulment
“If they really send the Uyghurs back to China, it means the government is not only violating international law but also its own domestic laws,” he said.
Thai immigration department trucks, with windows covered, leave the main immigration detention center in Bangkok on Feb. 27. 2025. (Natthaphon Meksophon/BenarNews)The 48 were part of a cohort of more than 350 Uyghur men, women and children, who left China in the hope of finding resettlement abroad and were stopped in Thailand.
Uyghurs in China’s vast Xinjiang region have been subjected to widespread human rights abuses, including detention in massive concentration camps. Beijing denies that.
Turkey did accept 172 of them while Thailand sent 109 of them back to China in 2015, triggering a storm of international criticism for the decision.
Thailand had in recent weeks brushed off the concern of rights groups that the Uyghurs being held would also be deported. U.N. experts on Jan. 21 urged the kingdom not to repatriate them saying they would likely face torture in China.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.
Nontarat Phaicharoen and Jon Preechawong in Bangkok contributed to this report.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Kunnawut Boonreak for BenarNews and Pimuk Rakkanam for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Prime Minister Mark Brown has survived a motion in the Cook Islands Parliament aimed at ousting his government, the second Pacific Island leader to face a no-confidence vote this week.
In a vote yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, Cook Islands time), the man who has been at the centre of controversy in the past few weeks, defeated the motion by 13 votes to 9. Two government ministers were absent for the vote.
The motion was put forward by the opposition MP Teariki Heather, the leader of the Cook Islands United Party.
Ahead of the vote, Heather acknowledged that Brown had majority support in Parliament.
However, he said he was moving the motion on principle after recent decisions by Brown, including a proposal to create a Cook Islands passport and shunning New Zealand from deals it made with China, which has divided Cook Islanders.
“These are the merits that I am presenting before this House. We have the support of our people and those living outside the country, and so it is my challenge. Where do you stand in this House?” Heather said.
Brown said his country has been so successful in its development in recent years that it graduated to first world status in 2020.
‘Engage on equal footing’
“We need to stand on our own two feet, and we need to engage with our partners on an equal footing,” he said.“Economic and financial independence must come first before political independence, and that was what I discussed and made clear when I met with the New Zealand prime minister and deputy prime minister in Wellington in November.”
Brown said the issues Cook Islanders faced today were not just about passports and agreements but about Cook Islands expressing its self-determination.
“This is not about consultation. This is about control.”
“We cannot compete with New Zealand. When their one-sided messaging is so compelling that even our opposition members will be swayed.
“We never once talked to the New Zealand government about cutting our ties with New Zealand but the message our people received was that we were cutting our ties with New Zealand.
“We have been discussing the comprehensive partnership with New Zealand for months. But the messaging that got out is that we have not consulted.
Cook Islands PM accuses NZ media, experts of thinking ‘we are too dumb’ https://t.co/ADrWN4Yjp9
— RNZ Pacific (@RNZPacific) February 25, 2025
‘We are not a child’
“We are a partner in the relationship with New Zealand. We are not a child.”He said the motion of no confidence had been built on misinformation to the extent that the mover of the motion has stated publicly that he was moving this motion in support of New Zealand.
“The influence of New Zealand in this motion of no confidence should be of concern to all Cook Islands who value . . . who value our country.
“My job is not to fly the New Zealand flag. My job is to fly my own country’s flag.”
Last week, hundreds of Cook Islanders opposing Brown’s political decisions rallied in Avarua, demanding that he step down for damaging the relationship between Aotearoa and Cook Islands.
The Cook Islands is a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. It is part of the Realm of New Zealand, sharing the same Head of State.
This year, the island marks its 60th year of self-governance.
According to Cook Islands 2021 Census, its population is less than 15,000.
New Zealand remains the largest home to the Cook Islands community, with over 80,000 Cook Islands Māori, while about 28,000 live in Australia.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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Authorities in central China have banned doctors working for online clinics from using AI to prescribe medication to patients, according to several media reports.
“Online healthcare providers must be connected to the provincial medical insurance electronic prescription center and circulate electronic prescriptions in accordance with regulations,” health authorities in Hunan province said in a statement dated Feb. 25.
“It is strictly prohibited to use artificial intelligence and other automated methods to generate prescriptions,” it said.
The ban comes as healthcare providers around the country rush to embrace DeepSeek and other homegrown AI tools, potentially eroding trust in an already corrupt healthcare system.
Under current regulations, doctors in China are allowed to use AI tools to aid them in their work, including reading medical images, organizing data and formulating treatment plans, AI Hospital Operation and Management Research Institute director Wei Zining told the Chengdu Business Daily newspaper on Feb. 23.
“It’s hard to say how things will be in 100 years’ time, but [for now], AI is only allowed to assist doctors, not replace them,” Wei said.
Doctors working for online prescribing services must also undergo real-name authentication before seeing patients, to ensure that the medical services are provided by them alone, and are banned from using human or AI substitutes, the paper said.
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State media have published a slew of recent reports about healthcare providers who use China’s newly emerging homegrown generative AI tools, including DeepSeek, in their treatment of patients.
The Fuyang People’s Hospital in the eastern province of Anhui announced on Feb. 21 it would be using DeepSeek to “analyze cases, discover potential patterns of disease, and to assist in optimizing diagnosis and treatment plans,” according to a report published on the Anhui provincial government website.
‘Consultation guidance system’
The model is also being used to carry out medical triage and signposting, the article said.
“The DeepSeek consultation guidance system can understand the symptoms described by patients through natural language processing technology, recommend appropriate departments and doctors, and provide the best appointment options based on doctor schedules and patient time preferences,” it said.
The ban comes as state media outlets including state broadcaster CCTV have been quick to laud the use of AI in medical settings.
“Patients only need to open our hospital’s WeChat official account and ask in voice or text, ‘What should I do if I have stomach pain?’ or ‘Which department should I go to for a headache?,’ and AI can quickly give thoughtful advice and medical guidance,” it quoted Fu Qihua, deputy director of Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital as saying.
“Some automated tasks, like intelligent medical guidance, drug distribution and other repetitive and mechanical nursing tasks, are being replaced by automated systems,” Kang Dan, a nurse at the Huaihua No. 2 People’s Hospital, told the station.
“Be we also need to be particularly vigilant about issues such as nursing ethics, nursing data security and patient privacy protection,” Kang said.
China’s recent advances in AI and big data, including its recently launched DeepSeek AI model, will also likely boost the government’s surveillance capabilities, given its widespread access to personal and private data on its citizens, according to Feb. 11 report from the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy.
Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Cantonese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Updated Feb. 26, 2025, 06:35 a.m. ET
TAIPEI, Taiwan – China has set up a live-fire exercise area 40 nautical miles (75 kilometers) off the coast of the Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung without warning in a provocation to the region’s security that posed a risk to air and sea transport, Taiwan’s ministry of defense said Wednesday.
It said Beijing “blatantly violated international norms by unilaterally designating” the drill zone.
It strongly condemned the zone and said in a statement it had “immediately dispatched naval, air and land forces to monitor and take appropriate measures” after learning of it via “temporary radio broadcast” between the two sides in the area.
As a normal practice, relevant authorities of coastal countries are obliged to issue prior warnings to vessels that may enter the exercise areas in order to avoid accidents.
“This move not only poses a high risk to the navigation safety of international flights and ships at sea, but is also a blatant provocation to regional security and stability,” it said.
Aircraft of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conduct a joint combat training exercises around Taiwan, Aug. 7, 2022. (Li Bingyu/AP)The Taiwan ministry also said that in the 24 hours up to Wednesday morning, it had detected 32 sorties by Chinese aircraft and warships near Taiwan. Twenty-two of them crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait which serves as the de-facto border between the island and the Chinese mainland.
On Tuesday, the Taiwan Coast Guard detained a Chinese crewed civilian vessel it suspected of cutting a communications cable off Taiwan’s coast. The island’s government said it couldn’t rule out that the Togo-registered tanker was engaging in “gray zone” tactics for Beijing.
The Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday declined to comment on the zone for exercises off Taiwan.
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China has been holding live-fire exercises across the region over the past week.
On Monday, it began shooting live ammunition in a four-day drill in the Gulf of Tonkin shared with Vietnam, days after Hanoi released a map defining its territory in the gulf.
A screen shows news footage of military drills conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan, by the Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, in Beijing, China October 14, 2024. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)Last Friday, several commercial flights between Australia and New Zealand had to be diverted as Chinese warships conducted live-fire shooting in the Tasman sea. The same flotilla held another exercise a day after near New Zealand.
Both drills were held in international waters but Canberra complained that Beijing did not provide it with adequate notice.
On Sunday, China’s defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said that Australian complaints were “hyped up” and “inconsistent with the facts”.
The past week’s exercises around the region are a clear example of saber rattling according to regional specialist Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at Australia’s University of New South Wales.
“Given China’s continued bullying of the Philippines, Beijing is sending a message to regional states as well as the Trump Administration that Beijing will defend its sovereign rights and interests whenever they are challenged,” he told Radio Free Asia.
Edited by Mike Firn.
Updated with comment from Carl Thayer.
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 – Hong Kong plans to eliminate 10,000 civil service jobs and freeze public sector salaries as part of an effort to curb a growing fiscal deficit, its top finance official announced on Wednesday, as the city grapples with its third year of budget shortfalls.
Hong Kong’s deficit for the fiscal year ending in March 2025 stands at an estimated HK$87.2 billion (US$11.2 billion), following deficits of HK$122 billion in 2022/23 and HK$101.6 billion the previous year.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan outlined in his 2025 budget speech on Wednesday measures to address the financial challenges, including a 7% reduction in government spending over the next three years.
As part of the initiative, the government will cut 10,000 civil service positions by April 2027, representing a 2% workforce reduction per year over the next two years, said Chan.
“The spending cut will establish a sustainable fiscal foundation for future development,” said Chan. “It provides a clear pathway toward restoring fiscal balance in the operating account in a planned and progressive manner.”
Chan added he had also instructed all government bureaus and departments to reassess resource allocation and work priorities. He emphasized the need for streamlining procedures, consolidating resources and leveraging technology to deliver public services more effectively.
Challenges after National Security Law
Since the introduction of a National Security Law in 2020, in response to sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before, Hong Kong’s economy has faced mounting challenges, including U.S. and Western sanctions, capital outflows, and shifts in investor confidence.
Gross domestic product contracted by 6.1% in 2020 before rebounding to 6.4% in 2021, but growth has since slowed to 3.2% in 2023 and 2.5% in 2024.
The real estate sector has been hit hard, with property prices dropping nearly 30%, significantly reducing government revenue from land sales, which once contributed over 20% but now make up only about 5%.
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The city’s financial sector has remained a cornerstone of its economy, attracting Chinese company listings.
In 2024, funds raised through initial public offerings, or IPOs, in Hong Kong more than doubled in the first three quarters, despite a global downturn in IPO activity. This surge is attributed to market efficiency improvements and enhanced access to mainland financial markets.
However, the landscape has shifted, with multinationals increasingly reconsidering their presence in the city. Western banks play a diminished role in major IPOs, leading to layoffs and a strategic pivot towards wealth management over investment banking – a trend reflecting Hong Kong’s closer alignment with Beijing and a retreat of Western financial players.
The retail and tourism sectors, once vital to the city’s economy, have faced significant challenges due to pandemic restrictions and a decline in mainland Chinese visitors.
In November 2024, retail sales fell by 7.3% year-on-year, marking the ninth consecutive month of decline. Notably, 53% of mainland visitors were day-trippers, spending about HK$1,400 each – 42% less than in 2018.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan’s coastguard detained a cargo ship and its Chinese crew after an undersea cable in the Taiwan Strait was damaged on Tuesday, saying it cannot rule out the possibility it was a deliberate “gray zone” act.
Gray zone activities are covert, ambiguous, and low-intensity tactics used to achieve strategic goals without provoking open warfare, something Taiwan has frequently said China was employing around the self-ruled island.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, or CGA, said that it received a report about the damaged cable from its telecommunication service on Tuesday morning and dispatched personnel to detain the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which dropped anchor near the cable off the southwestern coast of Taiwan around the time it was disconnected.
“The suspected Togo-flagged cargo ship, Hong Tai, was found to be a Chinese-invested convenience-flag vessel with all eight crew members being Chinese nationals,” said CGA.
The Hong Tai remained stationary near the damaged Taiwan-Penghu No.3 submarine cable from Saturday to Tuesday, prompting Taiwan’s coast guard to monitor and attempt radio contact, which went unanswered, according to CGA.
The vessel was later escorted to Anping Port, though initial boarding efforts failed due to rough seas, the coastguard said, adding that the case was being treated as a national security matter.
“Authorities are not ruling out the possibility of a Chinese gray-zone operation,” the agency said.
Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told a briefing on Tuesday that he was not aware of the situation, though adding that it was not a “diplomatic issue.” He did not elaborate.
Taiwan has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, compared with three each in 2024 and 2023.
In 2023, for instance, two undersea cables connecting the Matsu islands were cut, disconnecting the internet.
At that time, Taiwan authorities said that two Chinese vessels caused the disruption, but that there was no evidence Beijing deliberately tampered with the cables.
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Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of employing gray zone tactics to destabilize the region without direct military conflict, citing Chinese military incursions, cyberattacks, economic coercion, election interference and undersea cable damage.
Beijing regards Taiwan as its territory while the democratic island has been self-governing since it effectively separated from mainland China in 1949 after the Chinese Civil War.
Taipei has condemned Beijing’s trade restrictions on the island’s exports and suspected disinformation campaigns ahead of elections, warning of growing threats to regional security.
China, however, denies these accusations, asserting that its military activities are routine operations and that economic measures are based on regulatory concerns. Beijing insists Taiwan is a domestic issue and warns against foreign interference, maintaining that its actions are lawful and necessary to safeguard national sovereignty.
Edited by Taejun Kang.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alan Lu for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan – Chinese fishing vessels used North Korean forced labor, keeping workers at sea for up to a decade, a U.K.-based non-governmental organization said, potentially in breach of U.N. sanctions.
United Nations member states are subject to strict sanctions prohibiting the use of North Korean labor. Enforced by the U.N. Security Council, these measures are intended to curb Pyongyang’s practice of exporting labor and goods to finance its weapons programs.
But the Environmental Justice Foundation, or EJF, said in its report on Monday that at least 12 Chinese deep-water fishing vessels employed North Korean crew between 2019 and 2024 in the Indian Ocean.
The group cited Indonesian and Philippine workers who had worked on Chinese fishing boats as saying some North Korean crew were kept at sea for up to a decade, transferred from vessel to vessel and often temporarily transferred to other ships to avoid being detected at foreign ports, with their salary given to their government.
“This indicates that vessel captains, and likely vessel owners, were aware that the use of this labour was prohibited,” said the rights group.
Mauritian authorities in 2022 reportedly detained six North Korean workers when a Chinese fishing vessel docked at Port Louis, the group said.
Under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2397 adopted in 2017, member states were required to repatriate all North Koreans earning income within their jurisdiction by December 2019.
Another crew member testified to having worked with North Koreans who “had never stepped foot on land for eight years.”
“Concerted efforts were made to hide the presence of North Koreans on these vessels, and that those North Koreans on board were forced to work for as many as 10 years at sea, in some instances without ever stepping foot on land,” the group said, citing testimony from other crewmen.
The North Koreans described in the EJF report were likely sent to work on the boats by their government, which is one of several forms of forced labour which the U.N. office of the human rights high commissioner says has become “deeply institutionalized” in the closed-off authoritarian country.
The group also said that North Korean workers were not allowed to contact their families.
“They never communicated with their wives or others while at sea as they were not allowed to bring a mobile phone,” one interviewee told EJF.
Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday that he was “not familiar with” the report.
“Let me say more broadly that China all along carries out offshore fishing in accordance with laws and regulations. China’s relevant cooperation with the DPRK is conducted within the framework of international law,” Lin told a regular briefing. He did not elaborate.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name.
A Chinese flag flutters on a fishing boat while a China Coast Guard patrols at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, April 5, 2017. (Erik De Castro/Reuters)China operates the world’s largest deep-sea fishing fleet, with thousands of vessels operating in international waters and along the coasts of other nations.
The fleet has faced widespread criticism for exploitative practices, including the use of forced labor, human trafficking, and inhumane working conditions.
Reports from international media and human rights organizations have documented cases of crew members, often from developing countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, being subjected to long working hours, withheld wages, physical abuse, and even fatalities due to harsh conditions at sea.
The fleet has also been accused of engaging in illegal fishing practices, depleting marine resources, and violating the sovereignty of other nations’ waters. Despite mounting scrutiny, regulatory oversight remains weak, and many abuses go unchecked.
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Despite international sanctions prohibiting their employment, China remains one of the primary destinations for North Korean workers
Tens of thousands are reportedly employed in Chinese factories, seafood processing plants, and textile industries, often under exploitative conditions.
These workers, whose wages are largely funneled back to the North Korean regime, are subjected to strict surveillance, poor living conditions, and limited freedom of movement.
Human rights organizations have raised concerns over forced labor, excessive working hours, and wage confiscation, highlighting violations of U.N. sanctions.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Taejun Kang for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The Donald Trump administration is holding talks between the United States and Russia, and he says he wants to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio has even proposed that the US could “partner with the Russians, geopolitically”.
What is happening here? The simple answer is that this is all about China.
Trump is trying to divide Russia from China, in an attempt to isolate Beijing.
The United States sees China as the number one threat to its global dominance. This has been stated clearly by top officials in both the Trump administration and the previous Joe Biden administration.
The post Trump Wants US To ‘Partner’ With Russia To Weaken China appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
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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 – Taiwan barred the island’s universities from collaborating with three mainland Chinese institutions, citing their ties with Beijing’s overseas propaganda arm, in what Taiwan opposition lawmakers said was a blow to cross-strait exchanges that have historically served as a bridge for dialogue despite geopolitical rifts.
China and Taiwan have maintained educational exchanges, despite political and military tensions, allowing students and scholars from both sides to participate in academic collaborations, research projects and university partnerships.
But on Thursday, Taiwan banned its universities from working with China’s Jinan University in the city of Guangzhou, Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, and Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College, citing their ties with the United Front Work Department.
“Chinese universities affiliated with the United Front Work Department serve a political purpose rather than a purely academic one,” said Taiwan’s Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao.
The United Front Work Departmen is a key arm of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, that conducts influence operations, propaganda and political engagement globally. It works to shape narratives, co-opt elites, and extend Beijing’s reach into academia, media, and diaspora communities.
Critics, including Taipei, accuse it of covert interference, disinformation, and suppressing dissent, with several governments warning of its role in election meddling, intellectual property theft, and undermining democratic institutions.
“To prevent political influence operations we must halt cooperation and exchanges,” Cheng added.
The ban drew criticism from Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang, or KMT, which criticized it as “politically motivated” and “detrimental” to cross-strait exchanges.
“Students from over 80 countries attend these universities. It is shortsighted for the DPP to isolate Taiwan academically,” KMT legislative Fu Kun-chi said, referring to the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
KMT chairman Eric Chu Li-luan also said the policy would do more damage to Taiwan’s higher education sector.
“Academic cooperation should be based on international accreditation, not political considerations,” Chu said. “The DPP is using this as part of its broader political strategy for 2025, creating division instead of fostering engagement.”
A DPP legislator, Wu Szu-yao, however, defended the ban, comparing it to the global shutdown of Confucius Institutes due to similar concerns over Chinese influence.
Confucius Institutes are Chinese-funded language and cultural centers, which have drawn suspicion around the world of Chinese propaganda and influence. The U.S., Europe and Australia have closed many of the institutes, citing threats to academic freedom and security.
“Taiwan has never restricted normal academic and cultural exchanges, as long as they are free from official influence. But these schools, being under the United Front Work Department control, inherently serve political purposes and follow political directives,” Wu said.
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Taiwanese students have long pursued degrees in Chinese universities, drawn by lower tuition fees, scholarship opportunities, and career prospects in the mainland.
Chinese students also study in Taiwan, though in smaller numbers due to political restrictions. Universities from both sides have established joint research programs and academic agreements, facilitating faculty collaboration and student mobility.
But exchanges have not been immune to political influence. China has at times limited the number of its students permitted to study in Taiwan, citing political concerns, while Taipei has imposed tighter regulations on Chinese scholars and researchers due to security considerations.
Cross-strait relations under Taiwan’s pro-independence leadership have further strained the programs, leading to a decline in Chinese enrollment in Taiwan. The COVID-19 pandemic also disrupted exchanges, though some academic collaboration has resumed.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually reunite, even by force if necessary. Beijing views the island’s leader, Lai Ching-te, a pro-independence advocate, as a separatist and has increased military drills, economic pressure and diplomatic isolation to counter his leadership.
Edited by Taejun Kang.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Alan Lu for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The Chinese military has announced a live-fire exercise in an area in the Gulf of Tonkin from Monday to Thursday this week, warning ships not to enter the zone.
The warning came as Vietnam issued a formal map defining the baseline to demarcate its territory in the gulf. Though neither side linked their action to that of the other, it was unlikely to be a coincidence, some observers said.
China’s exercise comes amid the latest wrangle between the neighbors over Vietnam’s island building in the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea.
A baseline under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, is the line that runs along the coast of a country, from which the extent of the territorial sea and other maritime zones is measured.
In March 2024 China released its baseline in the northern part of the Gulf of Tonkin, deemed by analysts as “excessive.” Radio Free Asia was the first media outlet to report in April 2024 that Vietnam was considering its own baseline amid concern that China may seek to expand its maritime zones.
(RFA)The Chinese baseline at some points encroaches about 50 nautical miles (93 kilometers) into international waters, according to analysts.
The U.S. military, which promotes freedom of navigation across the world, criticized China’s baseline, saying it may provide a pretext for China to “unlawfully impede navigational rights and freedoms guaranteed to all nations, including transit passage through the Hainan Strait.”
Chinese drills not ‘a pure coincidence’
“The establishment of the baseline in the Gulf of Tonkin aims to uphold Vietnam’s rights and obligations,” the Vietnamese foreign ministry said in a statement, “It provides a robust legal basis for safeguarding and exercising Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
China has yet to comment on its neighbor’s announcement but some Vietnam watchers said China’s live-fire drills appeared to be a response to Vietnam’s baseline.
“Although the exercise area off northwest Hainan island is relatively far from Vietnam’s waters, the timing seems too close to be a pure coincidence,” said Song Phan, a maritime researcher.
The new baseline that runs along Vietnam’s coast “conforms strictly to UNCLOS unlike the Chinese baseline,” he said.
Hanoi and Beijing in 2000 signed a Delimitation Agreement to demarcate their shares of the gulf from the mainland of Vietnam and China in the North to the mouth of the gulf in the South.
The two countries, however, have yet to renegotiate a joint fishery cooperation agreement in the Gulf of Tonkin after the old one expired in 2020.
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.