NEWS

Tibetan and Uyghur Activists Take Stand in Athens against Beijing 2022
On October 19th, just hours before the Olympic Torch handover at the Acropolis, rights groups – International Tibet Network, World Uyghur Congress, and Students for a Free Tibet – held an in-person and live-streamed press conference in Athens, Greece. 

Activists Pema Doma (Students for a Free Tibet), Zumretay Arkin (World Uyghur Congress), and Mandie McKeown (International Tibet Network) briefed at least 20 international media outlets. Following the briefing, two Tibetans present at the conference were detained by Greek police. A day earlier, three other protesters had been arrested without cause, in the context of the Torch Ceremony in Olympia. During the press conference, Zumretay Arkin and Pema Doma both urged governments and the international community to take a stand against China’s widespread repression across East Turkestan, Tibet, Hong Kong and all countries and regions under Chinese Communist Party rule, and to boycott Beijing 2022 or risk being complicit in the “Genocide Games.”

Apple Takes Down Quran App in China
On the 15th of October, BBC reported that upon request of Chinese authorities, Apple has taken down Quran Majeed, one of the world’s most popular Quran apps, in the country. Such policies are in line with Beijing’s widespread campaign against Islam, in particular against the Uyghur people in East Turkistan. In its crackdown on Islam in the Uyghur Region, Chinese authorities have detained millions of Uyghurs under the guise of “anti-terrorism” measures, which equate everyday, lawful religious behaviour with extremism and terrorism. In the internment camp system, Uyghurs are forced to renounce their religion, which is inherent to the Uyghur ethnic identity. The Chinese government, which officially recognises Islam as a religion in the country, did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment. 

ASPI Report: “The architecture of Repression: Unpacking Xinjiang’s Governance”
On the 19th of October, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) published a new report, titled “The Architecture of Repression: Unpacking Xinjiang’s Governance”. The report explores the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to governance in East Turkistan. Consisting of 2 parts, the project includes an interactive organisational chart and an 82-page research report that draws on previously unpublished material from Chinese language sources.The chart profiles over 170 offices that have participated in governing East Turkistan in the last 7 years, showing their involvement in key repressive policies. The report also exposes how IJOP – the predictive policing system that has prompted millions of investigations – is operated by the Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC) through a powerful new organ called the Counterterrorism and Stability Maintenance Command. The report’s findings are significant in the global fight for recognition of the Uyghur genocide, as it identifies the governance structure of CCP and local officials in China’s genocidal policies.

Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour Urges G20 Members to Enact Import Bans
On the 18th of October, ahead of the G20 Heads of State and Government Summit on October 30th and 31st in Rome, the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region has called on world leaders to ban the import of products tainted with Uyghur forced labour, including cotton and yarn, polysilicon (used to produce solar panels), and electronics. As G20 leaders meet to discuss taking care of people and our planet, while ensuring a strong, inclusive and sustainable economic recovery, the Coalition is sounding the alarm that ending state-sponsored forced labour must be central to policies to advance the global transition to clean energy and promote climate justice. The Coalition is also calling on countries to follow through on G7 commitments on forced labour made in the Cornwall Communiqué. G7 Trade Ministers were tasked to “identify areas for strengthened cooperation and collective efforts towards eradicating the use of all forms of forced labour in global supply chains.” Since the meeting in June, however, world leaders have yet to detail how they will achieve these goals. 

Interpol and China’s Transnational Repression, Idris Hassan’s Case
On October 17th, The Guardian reported how Interpol agency’s most-wanted ‘Red Notice’ list includes political refugees and dissidents, as part of authoritarian states’ transnational repression. That Red Notice requests by countries such as China are arbitrary and in violation of international legal standards, has once again been highlighted by Safeguard Defenders, who reported that China’s requested Red notice for Uyghur Idris Hasan was canceled due to it being in violation of Interpol charter articles. In particular, China’s request was in violation of Article 2(1): to be in “the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”; and Article 3: found to be in violation of rule forbidding use of INTERPOL “to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character”. While this information has been made public by the Moroccan authorities, Interpol has failed to respond to requests for this information, hampering Idris Hasan’s legal defense.

Wang Junzheng Appointed as Party Secretary of Tibet
On October 21st, Bitter Winter reported that Wang Junzheng, who has become known as the “Butcher of Xinjiang”, has been appointed as Party Secretary of Tibet. In East Turkistan, Wang was the boss of the “Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps” (XPCC), which the U.S. have described as a “paramilitary structure” of the CCP. In this role, he played a leading role in overseeing the internment camps and Uyghur forced labour. The legitimate concern of many Tibetans is that he will now apply his repressive methods in Tibet.

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Bike Demonstration in Berlin “SAY NO TO GENOCIDE GAMES!”
On October 24th, the WUC, Honkonger in Deutschland, Tibet Initiative Deutschland, JSUD and the Never again.Right now movement, are organizing a bike demonstration at 1:00 pm starting at Pariser Platz in Berlin, from Brandenburger Tor to Alex.