cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59535651

Archived

early one in three people in Myanmar now needs humanitarian aid, five years after the military’s 2021 coup plunged the country into civil war, exposing more than 90% of the population to violence within five kilometres of their homes. More than 8,200 people have been killed and over 31,500 arrested by the military since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Myanmar rights group.

[...]

Su Mon Thant, Asia-Pacific senior analyst at ACLED - Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, an independent, impartial global monitor that collects, analyses, and maps data on conflict and protest - has spent years tracking the war’s toll on civilians. In this ZMINA interview, she explains the pattern behind the military’s near-total impunity, how China and Russia help shield it from accountability, and what the international community could still do.

[...]

Deadly conflict has been raging across Myanmar ever since the military coup in 2021. But fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups isn’t new – the military has been clashing with one group or another since independence in 1948 ...

Support from the governments of China and Russia has helped the junta continue its operations. The military has managed selective bilateral ceasefires with a few ethnic armed organisations, but those deals haven’t turned into any kind of real peace process. Right now, there’s still no credible or inclusive political path forward that can tackle the root causes of the conflict and finally bring the fighting to an end ...

Resistance to the coup – the Spring Revolution [in 2021] – started as nationwide peaceful protests with people from all walks of life [...] calling for a return to democracy – asking that the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi [but] the military responded with brutal force.

[...]

The military improved its ability to counter drones used by resistance groups and strengthened its air-defence capabilities, with military support from Russia and China contributing to this adaptation.

[...]

There is a clear pattern of the air strikes [by the military] targeting gatherings of civilian [at] places where displaced people seek shelter, children go to school, and ordinary civilians gather. They may also be places where people injured in fighting receive medical treatment.

[...]

The military has also targeted social and cultural events, including festivals, donation ceremonies, New Year celebrations, which take place on different dates among Myanmar’s ethnic communities, and weddings.

[...]

The international community should [...] be careful not to interpret the regime’s decades-long strategy of regular symbolic releases of limited numbers of political prisoners as evidence of a genuine political opening or an end to repression.

[...]

China and Russia have been crucial in keeping Myanmar’s military regime afloat by backing them with diplomacy, weapons, tech and funding. That support makes a huge difference: it lowers the regime’s costs of repression and helps it withstand relentless armed resistance.

[...]

On the global stage, China and Russia shield the military at the United Nations, blocking attempts to apply stronger international pressure or coordinated action against them.

[...]

Chinese software and digital technologies have reportedly enhanced the military’s surveillance capabilities

[...]

Through regional cooperation mechanisms such as the Lancang–Mekong Cooperation framework, China has helped maintain the junta’s international connections and reduce its diplomatic isolation. These relationships may also facilitate regime access to essential resources, including oil and gas, through connections with countries such as Iran.

[...]

China’s and Russia’s support should be understood not as isolated acts of assistance but as part of a broader system that enables the junta to maintain military capacity, suppress opposition, and resist international efforts to weaken its rule.

[...]

Archived

early one in three people in Myanmar now needs humanitarian aid, five years after the military’s 2021 coup plunged the country into civil war, exposing more than 90% of the population to violence within five kilometres of their homes. More than 8,200 people have been killed and over 31,500 arrested by the military since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Myanmar rights group.

[...]

Su Mon Thant, Asia-Pacific senior analyst at ACLED - Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, an independent, impartial global monitor that collects, analyses, and maps data on conflict and protest - has spent years tracking the war’s toll on civilians. In this ZMINA interview, she explains the pattern behind the military’s near-total impunity, how China and Russia help shield it from accountability, and what the international community could still do.

[...]

Deadly conflict has been raging across Myanmar ever since the military coup in 2021. But fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups isn’t new – the military has been clashing with one group or another since independence in 1948 ...

Support from the governments of China and Russia has helped the junta continue its operations. The military has managed selective bilateral ceasefires with a few ethnic armed organisations, but those deals haven’t turned into any kind of real peace process. Right now, there’s still no credible or inclusive political path forward that can tackle the root causes of the conflict and finally bring the fighting to an end ...

Resistance to the coup – the Spring Revolution [in 2021] – started as nationwide peaceful protests with people from all walks of life [...] calling for a return to democracy – asking that the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi [but] the military responded with brutal force.

[...]

The military improved its ability to counter drones used by resistance groups and strengthened its air-defence capabilities, with military support from Russia and China contributing to this adaptation.

[...]

There is a clear pattern of the air strikes [by the military] targeting gatherings of civilian [at] places where displaced people seek shelter, children go to school, and ordinary civilians gather. They may also be places where people injured in fighting receive medical treatment.

[...]

The military has also targeted social and cultural events, including festivals, donation ceremonies, New Year celebrations, which take place on different dates among Myanmar’s ethnic communities, and weddings.

[...]

The international community should [...] be careful not to interpret the regime’s decades-long strategy of regular symbolic releases of limited numbers of political prisoners as evidence of a genuine political opening or an end to repression.

[...]

China and Russia have been crucial in keeping Myanmar’s military regime afloat by backing them with diplomacy, weapons, tech and funding. That support makes a huge difference: it lowers the regime’s costs of repression and helps it withstand relentless armed resistance.

[...]

On the global stage, China and Russia shield the military at the United Nations, blocking attempts to apply stronger international pressure or coordinated action against them.

[...]

Chinese software and digital technologies have reportedly enhanced the military’s surveillance capabilities

[...]

Through regional cooperation mechanisms such as the Lancang–Mekong Cooperation framework, China has helped maintain the junta’s international connections and reduce its diplomatic isolation. These relationships may also facilitate regime access to essential resources, including oil and gas, through connections with countries such as Iran.

[...]

China’s and Russia’s support should be understood not as isolated acts of assistance but as part of a broader system that enables the junta to maintain military capacity, suppress opposition, and resist international efforts to weaken its rule.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59533236

Archived

A hearing held by the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on September 16, explored China's coercion beyond its borders and the continued human rights crisis in North Korea, while lawmakers raised concerns about Trump administration cuts to programs intended to advance human rights interests. The hearing, titled "Lives, Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea's Repression," put a personal face on the stakes: Sylvia Zin, whose husband remains wrongfully detained in China, made a direct plea to President Trump to secure his release during the [...] Xi Jinping summit.

[...]

The hearing examined two intersecting issues, China's coercive tactics targeting dissidents and diaspora communities outside its borders and North Korea's human rights abuses.

[...]

Myanmar-born U.S. citizen and UC Berkeley doctoral student Min Zin was detained in Yunnan on June 3 after traveling to China for an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government. Chinese authorities have said he is suspected of espionage and activities endangering national security. Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently designated Min Zin as wrongfully detained, making his release a priority for the U.S. government. China disputes the U.S. characterization and says its judicial authorities are handling the case according to Chinese law.

[...]

Deborah Choi, a human rights activist who escaped North Korea in 2004, recounted being trafficked and sexually abused after fleeing to China. Peter Mattis, president of the Jamestown Foundation, called for targeted measures including sanctions against state-owned enterprises and disclosure of CCP leaders' foreign assets. Victor Cha, president and Korea Chair of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, testified about China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees and cooperation between China and North Korea that facilitates repression.

[...]

But the hearing's most personal moment came when Sylvia Zin, wife of the detained scholar, testified directly. She cited Trump's record of securing the release of wrongfully detained Americans and urged him to raise her husband's case with Xi. Zin described concerns about her husband enduring repeated interrogations, isolation and harsh detention conditions since his detention in June.

[...]

The hearing came as lawmakers and human rights advocates questioned the Trump administration's approach to human rights in Asia ... For [U.S.] lawmakers including Bera and Kim, who have worked on legislation addressing Uyghur human rights and Chinese harassment of diaspora communities, the hearing represented an effort to keep human rights and wrongful detention on the agenda before Xi's visit.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59533236

Archived

A hearing held by the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on September 16, explored China's coercion beyond its borders and the continued human rights crisis in North Korea, while lawmakers raised concerns about Trump administration cuts to programs intended to advance human rights interests. The hearing, titled "Lives, Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea's Repression," put a personal face on the stakes: Sylvia Zin, whose husband remains wrongfully detained in China, made a direct plea to President Trump to secure his release during the [...] Xi Jinping summit.

[...]

The hearing examined two intersecting issues, China's coercive tactics targeting dissidents and diaspora communities outside its borders and North Korea's human rights abuses.

[...]

Myanmar-born U.S. citizen and UC Berkeley doctoral student Min Zin was detained in Yunnan on June 3 after traveling to China for an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government. Chinese authorities have said he is suspected of espionage and activities endangering national security. Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently designated Min Zin as wrongfully detained, making his release a priority for the U.S. government. China disputes the U.S. characterization and says its judicial authorities are handling the case according to Chinese law.

[...]

Deborah Choi, a human rights activist who escaped North Korea in 2004, recounted being trafficked and sexually abused after fleeing to China. Peter Mattis, president of the Jamestown Foundation, called for targeted measures including sanctions against state-owned enterprises and disclosure of CCP leaders' foreign assets. Victor Cha, president and Korea Chair of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, testified about China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees and cooperation between China and North Korea that facilitates repression.

[...]

But the hearing's most personal moment came when Sylvia Zin, wife of the detained scholar, testified directly. She cited Trump's record of securing the release of wrongfully detained Americans and urged him to raise her husband's case with Xi. Zin described concerns about her husband enduring repeated interrogations, isolation and harsh detention conditions since his detention in June.

[...]

The hearing came as lawmakers and human rights advocates questioned the Trump administration's approach to human rights in Asia ... For [U.S.] lawmakers including Bera and Kim, who have worked on legislation addressing Uyghur human rights and Chinese harassment of diaspora communities, the hearing represented an effort to keep human rights and wrongful detention on the agenda before Xi's visit.

[...]

Archived

A hearing held by the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on September 16, explored China's coercion beyond its borders and the continued human rights crisis in North Korea, while lawmakers raised concerns about Trump administration cuts to programs intended to advance human rights interests. The hearing, titled "Lives, Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea's Repression," put a personal face on the stakes: Sylvia Zin, whose husband remains wrongfully detained in China, made a direct plea to President Trump to secure his release during the [...] Xi Jinping summit.

[...]

The hearing examined two intersecting issues, China's coercive tactics targeting dissidents and diaspora communities outside its borders and North Korea's human rights abuses.

[...]

Myanmar-born U.S. citizen and UC Berkeley doctoral student Min Zin was detained in Yunnan on June 3 after traveling to China for an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government. Chinese authorities have said he is suspected of espionage and activities endangering national security. Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently designated Min Zin as wrongfully detained, making his release a priority for the U.S. government. China disputes the U.S. characterization and says its judicial authorities are handling the case according to Chinese law.

[...]

Deborah Choi, a human rights activist who escaped North Korea in 2004, recounted being trafficked and sexually abused after fleeing to China. Peter Mattis, president of the Jamestown Foundation, called for targeted measures including sanctions against state-owned enterprises and disclosure of CCP leaders' foreign assets. Victor Cha, president and Korea Chair of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, testified about China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees and cooperation between China and North Korea that facilitates repression.

[...]

But the hearing's most personal moment came when Sylvia Zin, wife of the detained scholar, testified directly. She cited Trump's record of securing the release of wrongfully detained Americans and urged him to raise her husband's case with Xi. Zin described concerns about her husband enduring repeated interrogations, isolation and harsh detention conditions since his detention in June.

[...]

The hearing came as lawmakers and human rights advocates questioned the Trump administration's approach to human rights in Asia ... For [U.S.] lawmakers including Bera and Kim, who have worked on legislation addressing Uyghur human rights and Chinese harassment of diaspora communities, the hearing represented an effort to keep human rights and wrongful detention on the agenda before Xi's visit.

[...]

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the Select Committee on China (SCC) and SCC member Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) led a resolution marking the eighth anniversary of the forcible disappearance of Dr. Gulshan Abbas by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Dr. Abbas, a Uyghur medical doctor who was sentenced in 2019 during a secret trial to a 20-year prison term because her Uyghur American sister, criticized the CCP at a public event in the United States. The resolution calls on the Trump administration to prioritize Dr. Abbas’s immediate and unconditional release.

"Gulshan Abbas should be immediately released by the CCP and reunited with her family. Her story symbolizes the CCP's callous practice of using family members to intimidate and harass dissidents around the world who speak out against CCP oppression,” said Moolenaar and Suozzi. “We and our colleagues on the Select Committee call on the Trump Administration to continue its work for Dr. Abbas' release in its meetings with Chinese officials. As always, we stand with the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and champion their fight for freedom and human dignity."

[...]

Archived

Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers, and Chinese dissidents gathered in Washington DC, on Wednesday and Thursday in a sustained mobilisation against Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit, bringing their concerns over Tibet and other rights issues to the streets as Xi arrived in the US capital on September 23.

The mobilisation intensified on Thursday, September 24, when demonstrators assembled outside the Chinese Embassy carrying Tibetan national flags, placards, and banners and chanting slogans directed at Xi and the Chinese Communist Party. The protesters later marched towards the White House, where US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, during a state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn.

The demonstrations unfolded amid heightened security and a series of confrontations between protesters and pro-China counter-demonstrators.

[...]

For Tibetan protesters, the mobilisation has centred on opposition to Beijing’s assimilation policies in occupied Tibet and calls for greater international attention to Tibetan political, cultural, and religious rights. Uyghur and Hong Kong activists have likewise used the demonstrations to highlight their own concerns over policies they say have restricted political and civil freedoms.

The protests have consequently brought together several diaspora communities with distinct political grievances but a shared opposition to aspects of Beijing’s policies. Their presence in Washington has created a parallel narrative around Xi’s state visit—one focused on human rights, cultural and political freedoms, and the right to dissent.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59493937

Archived

Human rights and Taiwan are “red lines” for China that cannot be crossed, the country’s ambassador to the U.S. warned on Wednesday, ahead of President Xi Jinping’s arrival in Washington for a three-day summit.

Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng, writing in the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said managing differences hinges on good faith, and the U.S. should stop “fabricating pretexts” such as national security, economic imbalances and forced labor to try to constrain China.

[...]

This is an interview with Rebiya Kadeer of the Washington-based International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation (IUHRDF) for her reaction to China’s “red lines” statement ahead of Xi’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

[...]

Question: Why do you think Beijing issued this warning at this particular moment?

Rebiya Kadeer: The Uyghur genocide and human rights issue is China’s greatest vulnerability. It is also a crime that China has spent enormous financial resources attempting to conceal from the international community. At this important moment, when the world is paying close attention, China does not want this vulnerability to be exposed.

[...]

Ahead of Xi Jinping’s visit, several members of Congress called on President Trump to raise the cases of political prisoners—including Gulshan Abbas, Ilham Tohti, Rahile Dawut and Ekpar Asat—and demand their release. China knows that, in a democratic country such as the United States, the views of members of Congress carry weight and receive serious attention. Therefore, through this statement, China is attempting to pressure President Trump.

[...]

This is certainly not the kind of statement made by a strong country. China’s economic development is not healthy development; it has been built upon unfair competition and coercion. The stability China has established within the country, particularly in East Turkistan (Xinjiang in Chinese), is not natural stability—it is artificially imposed stability.

[...]

Although the Chinese government may appear strong, it is fundamentally weak. A government that fears its own people and is unable to embrace democratic elections is a fearful government. It is especially afraid of criticism.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59493937

Archived

Human rights and Taiwan are “red lines” for China that cannot be crossed, the country’s ambassador to the U.S. warned on Wednesday, ahead of President Xi Jinping’s arrival in Washington for a three-day summit.

Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng, writing in the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said managing differences hinges on good faith, and the U.S. should stop “fabricating pretexts” such as national security, economic imbalances and forced labor to try to constrain China.

[...]

This is an interview with Rebiya Kadeer of the Washington-based International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation (IUHRDF) for her reaction to China’s “red lines” statement ahead of Xi’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

[...]

Question: Why do you think Beijing issued this warning at this particular moment?

Rebiya Kadeer: The Uyghur genocide and human rights issue is China’s greatest vulnerability. It is also a crime that China has spent enormous financial resources attempting to conceal from the international community. At this important moment, when the world is paying close attention, China does not want this vulnerability to be exposed.

[...]

Ahead of Xi Jinping’s visit, several members of Congress called on President Trump to raise the cases of political prisoners—including Gulshan Abbas, Ilham Tohti, Rahile Dawut and Ekpar Asat—and demand their release. China knows that, in a democratic country such as the United States, the views of members of Congress carry weight and receive serious attention. Therefore, through this statement, China is attempting to pressure President Trump.

[...]

This is certainly not the kind of statement made by a strong country. China’s economic development is not healthy development; it has been built upon unfair competition and coercion. The stability China has established within the country, particularly in East Turkistan (Xinjiang in Chinese), is not natural stability—it is artificially imposed stability.

[...]

Although the Chinese government may appear strong, it is fundamentally weak. A government that fears its own people and is unable to embrace democratic elections is a fearful government. It is especially afraid of criticism.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59493169

Archived

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[China's growth in exports] contrasts sharply with a still struggling domestic economy, where retail sales do not take off. Fixed investment is in a rare decline, and the property crisis is worsening.

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Beyond the gloomy real estate sector, other structural factors, such as high youth unemployment (around 19% in August), rising automation, a moderate social security system and stubbornly low consumer confidence, largely explain the continued domestic economic weakness.

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This domestic weakness is further exacerbated by external headwinds, from the impact of the Middle East conflict, reflected in rising fuel prices – which are contributing to pause the deflationary spiral and have been contained so far by China’s sharp cuts in fuel imports and use of strategic oil reserves – to geopolitical tensions. A protracted Middle East energy shock and China’s increasing fuel imports could put upward pressures on fuel prices in the coming months.

[...]

However, the expanding trade surplus and industrial overcapacity, particularly in sectors such as EVs and renewables, are likely to intensify trade tensions with China’s trade partners – particularly with the EU – which represents a vulnerability. While the US-China bilateral trade relationship is in a fragile but managed mode – threatened by key issues such as AI and Taiwan, but expected to be preserved after the second Trump-Xi summit of 2026 – a trade war with the EU is looking increasingly likely.

[...]

Archived

Human rights and Taiwan are “red lines” for China that cannot be crossed, the country’s ambassador to the U.S. warned on Wednesday, ahead of President Xi Jinping’s arrival in Washington for a three-day summit.

Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng, writing in the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said managing differences hinges on good faith, and the U.S. should stop “fabricating pretexts” such as national security, economic imbalances and forced labor to try to constrain China.

[...]

This is an interview with Rebiya Kadeer of the Washington-based International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation (IUHRDF) for her reaction to China’s “red lines” statement ahead of Xi’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

[...]

Question: Why do you think Beijing issued this warning at this particular moment?

Rebiya Kadeer: The Uyghur genocide and human rights issue is China’s greatest vulnerability. It is also a crime that China has spent enormous financial resources attempting to conceal from the international community. At this important moment, when the world is paying close attention, China does not want this vulnerability to be exposed.

[...]

Ahead of Xi Jinping’s visit, several members of Congress called on President Trump to raise the cases of political prisoners—including Gulshan Abbas, Ilham Tohti, Rahile Dawut and Ekpar Asat—and demand their release. China knows that, in a democratic country such as the United States, the views of members of Congress carry weight and receive serious attention. Therefore, through this statement, China is attempting to pressure President Trump.

[...]

This is certainly not the kind of statement made by a strong country. China’s economic development is not healthy development; it has been built upon unfair competition and coercion. The stability China has established within the country, particularly in East Turkistan (Xinjiang in Chinese), is not natural stability—it is artificially imposed stability.

[...]

Although the Chinese government may appear strong, it is fundamentally weak. A government that fears its own people and is unable to embrace democratic elections is a fearful government. It is especially afraid of criticism.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59445915

This piece is written by Li Qiang, founder and executive director of China Labor Watch, and a human rights advocate with over 30 years of experience investigating global supply chains.

Archived

[As Tim Cook handed over the reigns at Apple's CEO on 1st September], he leaves a second, but related, legacy: workers on Apple lines toiling 60 hours a week or more, often without a rest day and depending on overtime to cover the basic cost of living.

[...]

At China Labor Watch, we just completed a new investigation into Apple’s supply chains in China. Our conclusion is not simply that Apple’s compliance system fails to prevent violations. Many of the labor conditions that the report identified are baked into the production model itself.

[...]

Since 2006 we have investigated Apple’s suppliers in China, publishing 19 reports. I have come to believe blaming Apple alone would be unfair. Apple’s supply chain in China was built on a trade. China needed foreign capital, technology, and jobs. In return, Western firms got cheap labor and speed built on long overtime and extreme scheduling flexibility.

The Chinese government, Apple, and the supplier factories all bear responsibility for the conditions workers face. But Apple has treated allegations of wrongdoing as a compliance problem, rather than the output of its own production model.

[...]

In 2019 we [the NGO China Labour Watch] found withheld wages at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant. At the same plant, more than half the workforce was on dispatch contracts, far above the legal cap of 10 percent. Apple disputed most of our findings but acknowledged excessive use of dispatch workers. In 2022 thousands at the same plant clashed with police over pay promised at recruitment; Foxconn apologized, blaming a computer input error. In 2025 we found dispatch workers still being used above the legal cap.

This August we [the NGO China Labour Watch] found a full-time assembly worker at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant on a base wage of 2,450 yuan a month, about $363, a little above the city’s legal minimum of 2,350 yuan. To reach 4,200 yuan he has to work 60-hour weeks, totaling roughly 87 hours of overtime a month, against a statutory ceiling of 36.

[...]

As an addition, there is a documentary from 2021:

Profiting form Authoritarianism: How Tim Cook Surrendered Apple to the Chinese Government

Apple is making billions of dollars integrating into countries with authoritarian regimes. Even if it means helping to cement the power of the ruling elite or enabling egregious abuse of human rights. And there doesn’t seem to be anything Apple wouldn’t do for the sake of growth and expansion. Apple cites compliance with local laws as the reason for giving human rights abuse a go. But the actions of the most valuable company in the world go far beyond compliance with the law. - [Alternative Invidious link]

[...]