Hong Kong police arrest six over ‘seditious’ publications at Lunar New Year fair

Hong Kong’s national security police have arrested six people in connection with a raid on a stall at a Lunar New Year market they said had been selling “seditious publications” inciting people to overthrow the government.

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Uyghur nutritionist confirmed detained in China’s Xinjiang

The siblings said they lost contact with their brother in 2017, when Chinese authorities began apprehending the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and interning them in “re-education” camps to purportedly prevent religious extremism and terrorism.

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Tibetan monk sentenced to 3 years by Chinese authorities

Monlam Gyatso, a Tibetan monk, writer, and teacher from Raktam village, Serta county in Qinghai province’s Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, had been held for more than a year in an undisclosed location before his sentencing in October earlier this year, sources added.

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US-based Uyghur man calls on China to release his 19-year-old sister

A Uyghur man working as an engineer in the United States has called on Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang to release his 19-year-old sister, who was detained in December after posting a video relating to November’s “white paper” protests across China.

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Mute Protest: Chinese crowds hold up blank sheets to hit out at lockdowns, censorship

Compared with the Post-it notes that formed the “Lennon Walls” of Hong Kong’s 2019 protest movement, which showcased huge mosaics of diverse messages and creative personal expression, the blank sheets of paper are a more ironic reference to government controls and censorship, analysts said.

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New U.S. bill would appoint expert to monitor rights abuses in Xinjiang

Legislation introduced in Congress this week would provide new tools to hold Beijing accountable for its persecution of ethnic Uyghurs, including through the appointment of an expert on human rights violations in northwest China’s Xinjiang region.

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China’s zero-COVID restrictions ease in some places, not in others: residents

The top ruling Communist Party official in charge of the zero-COVID policy, Sun Chunlan, told local, regional and municipal governments to “optimize” their attempts to contain the virus on Thursday, saying the response to the coronavirus is now “facing a new situation.”

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COVID disinfectant poisoning kills at least 13 Uyghurs in village in Xinjiang

The Uyghurs who died were all residents of Guma county (in Chinese, Pishan), Hotan (Hetian) prefecture. They are said to be among thousands of people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) reported to have been poisoned by disinfectants used to fight the COVID-19 virus, according to online comments on social media. 

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Uyghur groups back US call for debate on rights violations in Xinjiang at UN

The U.S. on Monday filed a proposal known as a “draft decision,” demanding that the Geneva-based council organize the discussion at next week’s session in response to a damning report issued on Aug. 31 by former U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet warning of possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.

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UN human rights chief issues damning report on Chinese abuses in Xinjiang

China’s repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in its western Xinjiang province “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity,” the U.N.’s human rights chief said Wednesday in a long-awaited report issued on her last day on the job.

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UN human rights chief says overdue report on abuses in Xinjiang still not ready

The United Nations human rights chief said a long overdue report on rights abuses in western China’s Xinjiang region may not be issued by the time she leaves her post on Aug. 31, prompting dismay among Uyghur advocacy groups and a U.S. call to release the document.

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Uyghur prisoners forced to speak in Chinese during virtual visits with relatives

A Uyghur now living in Europe told RFA that her siblings in Sanji Prison in the town of Sanji (in Chinese, Changji) were recently allowed to meet online with other relatives in Aksu (Akesu). Though neither the jailed Uyghurs nor their family members could speak Chinese well, authorities made them communicate in Mandarin for the entire meeting.

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