Ten years since the arrest of Ilham Tohti, the symbolic face of the repression against the Uyghur cultural identity, a report slams 18 European tour operators for offering travel packages in Xinjiang. Their “destinations are linked to genocide and crimes against humanity.”
Amid a crackdown against underground religious movements, Kan Xiaoyong, a former businessman who started his own Evangelical movement outside the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement, was given a harsh sentence. The Supreme People's Court openly tells lower courts to “adhere to the Party's position” and accept that “The judicial organ is first and foremost a political organ”.
William Lai's victory, the electorate's clear stance for maintaining the "status quo," Beijing's increasingly insistent threats in Oceania today cashing in on Nauru's "rupture" of diplomatic relations with Taipei. Fears of escalating tensions with a leader willing to do anything for "reunification."
Outgoing vice-president William Lai is credited with over 40% of the vote. This is a clear advantage over the 33.4% and 26.5% of rivals Hou Yu-ih and Ko Wen-je (and 65% of the ballots counted). Weighing on the vote, however, is the unknown of the results in parliament, where there is more balance and the TPP votes will be decisive. High turnout at over 70%,
Some 19.5 million voters are called to choose Tsai Ing-wen’s successor in a three-way race that will also test relations between the island, Washington, and Beijing. The first results will be available already tomorrow evening. The race is much more uncertain than four years ago, when the Democratic Progressive Party achieved a clear victory. Voters will also cast their ballots for Taiwan’s parliament, the Legislative Yuan.
The local government formally granted university status to the Caritas Institute of Higher Education, which has 2,500 students, a goal sought by the local diocese. It has been accredited for social sciences, business administration, and communications. The name is a reference to Saint Francis Xavier as well as Saint Francis of Assisi.
Located in a neighbourhood near the border, the new church of St Joseph parish was consecrated on the Solemnity of the Epiphany. The old church was too small in a fast-growing area with housing projects changing its nature as mainland students and government workers settle in. For Fr Pietro Paolo Dossi, a PIME missionary and the local parish priest, this represents an opportunity for the community to “renew itself”.
A team of international lawyers has filed a complaint with the UN in connection with the trial of the Apple Daily publisher. The prosecution wants Andy Li – a pro-democracy activist arrested trying to reach Taiwan on a boat – to testify against the former media mogul. Convicted in mainland China for illegal expatriation, Li has been held in a psychiatric hospital since he was returned to Hong Kong. He is expected to testify against Lai before going on trial himself under the National Security Law.
Security forces took the prelate into custody last night, telling him to bring clothes for every season. Ordained coadjutor bishop with papal mandate in 2011, he is not recognised by the authorities for refusing to join the Patriotic Association. Since the death of his predecessor in 2016, he has been prevented from carrying out his ministry in one of China’s oldest and foremost Catholic communities. Now “the faithful are praying for him” and his release, a source told AsiaNews.
China has updated its regulations against illegal organ transplants. However, members of the political and financial elite still manage to circumvent them in military hospitals that now perform half of the country's transplants.
China’s top communist leaders paid tribute to Mao. Celebrations included a large gathering in the Great Helmsman’s birthplace. An editorial in a magazine centred on reforms and openness is removed. Chinese authorities continue to be wary of Mao’s cult of the personality, which could lead to criticism of current leaders.
The Atažurt association is establishing itself as a de facto opposition (and pro-rights) political force in the Asian country. And it is trying to transform itself into a party despite the opposition in Astana. The battle against Chinese government persecution in the Muslim-majority region. The search for economic support and the goal of defending all ethnic groups in the name of 'good nationalism'.
In a province where historically there is a strong presence of Catholics, authorities deployed massive "security" measures on Christmas night to discourage participation by the faithful. Objects with Christmas references banned in university dormitories. The Party's "official" wish to Christians for Dec. 25: "Continue to adhere to Xi Jinping's path and sinization."
Six months in prison also for the sister of the trade unionist arrested in March, wife of Lee Cheuk-yan also in prison. Bail still denied to lawyer Chow Hang-tung, who will not go to trial until the second half of 2024. Meanwhile (as expected) the court moved the calendar back to reject Jimmy Lai's defence objections to the sedition charge.
The official death toll in the earthquake that struck the two northwestern provinces of the People's Republic of China has risen to 131. The extremely cold weather is making rescue operations difficult. The Chinese Catholic community is also mobilising.
The authorities heavily guarded the courthouse to back the sedition argument. Lai’s defence raised a procedural point, noting that more than six months lapsed between Apple Daily’s closure and Lai’s indictment. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron calls on Jong Kong to “release Jimmy Lai”, noting that he is a British citizen, jailed for more than a thousand days “in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights”.
The local diocesan weekly reports that experts from all over the world will gather next June to reflect on the Church in China 100 years after the event promoted by Pius XI and the then apostolic delegate, later Archbishop Celso Costantini. The event was a milestone in the development of evangelisation of the Chinese people.
This is the GDP target set for 2024 at the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party's economic conference. At the centre of the proceedings are fears over the real estate sector and obstacles to recovery. The propaganda is functional to the recovery attempt after the post-Covid clouds. Over 8.5 million people on the 'blacklist' for not having repaid bank loans, another 19 million without medical assistance.
The testimonies of Agnes Chow and Chow Hang-tung that AsiaNews published in recent days explain the courageous resilience against Beijing’s oppressive system of power, values that too many of China’s "admirers" see as useless today.
Despite an intense government campaign, just over a quarter of the electorate turned out to vote, a huge drop compared to four years ago when pro-democracy candidates won a landslide. With almost three eligible voters in four staying away, the outcome was unrepresentative. Six people were arrested for peacefully expressing dissent on election day.
In the local press of Kyrgyzstan, but also on social networks, materials supporting Beijing and criticizing democratic values are multiplying. China imposes itself with a global rhetoric of "union of Eurasia" which must "free all the new energies of the East", always in harmony with Moscow.
Lawyer and pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung writes a “J’accuse” from her cell in a Hong Kong prison. “It is indisputable that the current international order is heavily dominated by the West, and thus still quite far from the ideal of law-as-values. But the way to improve it is not by giving more voice to the non-western dictators, which could only deepen the silence of the hitherto voiceless.”
Former government spokesman Bilal Karimi arrives in Beijing. For China’s Foreign Ministry, further steps are needed for full diplomatic relations. The move comes just weeks after Afghanistan took part in the Belt and Road Initiative Forum.
From Canada the words of the Catholic activist - already imprisoned for the 2019 protests - recounting her suffering from continued police pressure even after her release from prison in 2021. She only regained her passport to attend a master's programme in Toronto after a 'patriotic education' trip to Shenzhen and 'letters of repentance'. The troubled choice of exile. "For such a powerful country to send people who fight for democracy to prison is not proof of vulnerability?".
The troubles of a Henan couple have been trending on Chinese social media. After paying a hefty down payment for an unfinished apartment, they were roughed up when they complained while their social media videos were censored. They eventually decided to return to their hometown. The “most diligent, law-abiding, and optimistic citizens do not deserve the Chinese dream” reads one, bitter online comment, echoing a political slogan proposed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The agreement between the Kuomintang and the new party of former mayor Ko Wen-je announced just a few days ago has evaporated. This outcome will favour current vice-president Lai Ching-te in the crucial 13 January vote. Foxconn tycoon Terry Gou, trailing in the polls and targeted by Beijing that wanted a united opposition front, dropped out of the race.
Argentina’s upcoming administration is already questioning whether to join the forum of emerging economies on 1 January, backed by Xi Jinping. During the election campaign, Milei had highlighted the gap with China. Beijing's reaction has been cautious so far, which may affect bilateral relations. Last year 92 per cent of Argentina’s soya beans and 57 per cent of its meat went the way of China.
A few hours before the deadline to register candidates for the January election, the pro-China Kuomintang and the party of former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je reached an agreement that appeared highly unlikely for a long time that could have a major impact on the election. During the ongoing campaign, Vice President Lai Ching-te has been in the lead for the pro-autonomy Democratic Progressive Party. Both Beijing and Washington are following the election with apprehension.
Renewed military-to-military talks was the main outcome of the summit between the US and Chinese presidents in San Francisco. Both want to avoid conflict by resuming communications. No joint statement was made after their four-hour meeting. Xi's supporters and people protesting for human rights in China clashed in the California city.
For poet Aziz Isa Elkun - an exile in London - 'it is important to talk about Xinjiang, and the problem is not the Muslim faith, it is human rights'. The Uyghurs want to live as free as their Kazakh or Uzbek 'cousins', and do not recognise China's right to ownership of their soul and identity.
