Day: November 23, 2022

Chinese Refugees in Italy Wary of Beijing Outposts

Chin@Strategy

Rome —  Chinese refugees in Italy, some of whom are dissidents, are increasingly wary of the presence of what appear to be four outposts of Beijing’s security apparatus operating without official diplomatic trappings, according to experts. Beijing acknowledges the presence of the so-called “police stations” in Rome, Milan, Florence and Prato, which were first revealed by Safeguard Defenders, a human rights organization based in Spain, in September. The 110 overseas offices, named after China’s emergency telephone line similar to 911 in the U.S., operate in cities with significant Chinese populations…

Workers in running battles with police in protests at largest iPhone factory in China

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Police in China have dealt out beatings to workers protesting over working conditions and pay at the biggest factory for iPhones, as the country tries to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases. Videos online showed thousands of people in masks facing rows of police in white protective suits with plastic riot shields. Police kicked and hit a protester with clubs after he grabbed a metal pole that had been used to strike him. People who made the footage said it was filmed at the site. The protest in Zhengzhou lasted…

Nearly 140 groups condemn ruling against ‘ADHOC 5,’ demand judicial reforms

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Nearly 140 civil society organizations on Wednesday condemned a decision by Cambodia’s Supreme Court to uphold a five-year jail term for five current and former workers for ADHOC, the country’s oldest human rights group, on bribery charges, calling it politically motivated and an example of the judiciary’s lack of independence. The organizations called the Nov.18 decision to uphold the five-year sentences against the so-called ADHOC 5 “unjust” and a reflection of how the ruling Cambodian People’s Party uses the judicial system to persecute rights defenders.  The court provided no reason…

Indonesia Earthquake Survivor, 5, Is Inconsolable: ‘I Want My Mommy’ 

Chin@Strategy

Nagrak Village, Cianjur, Indonesia —  Azka Maulana Malik, who is 5 years old, still can’t talk. He keeps crying for his mother. He refused food offered by a nurse and several people who tried to comfort him. He covers his mouth and cries. Softly he whimpers, “I want my mommy.” A search-and-rescue team found him Wednesday evening local time, trapped under the rubble of his house in Nagrak Village, Cianjur. His mother and grandmother died there after a shallow 5.6 magnitude earthquake shattered his village. His dad, Muhammad Eka, 38,…

Fighting an exodus, Hong Kong faces a tough task to lure back young people

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Raleigh Chuang’s decision to move to Hong Kong from London in 2021 bemused her friends. She was offered a position at an international bank that required the relocation. “Why would you move to Hong Kong?” her friends asked, well aware of the political and social upheaval that has gripped the city in recent years. Hong Kong has seen an exodus of workers since a national security law was introduced in 2020. The erosion of social and political freedoms, due to the security crackdown and tighter digital surveillance that began during…

Clashes with Chinese police at Foxconn

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Footage has emerged on Chinese social media appearing to show protesters clashing with police in hazmat suits at a factory in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou. Some people appear to be hurt in the videos, which took place outside the world’s biggest iPhone factory. One employee who recently started working at the plant has told the BBC workers were protesting because Foxconn had “changed the contract they promised”. Manufacturer Foxconn said it would work with staff and local government to prevent further violence. In its statement, the firm said some…

China human rights activist Drew Pavlou escorted from Parliament House, but federal police won’t say why

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Liberal senator James Paterson said he was “concerned” that activist Drew Pavlou was escorted from Parliament House by federal police yesterday after the pair had met, but the AFP and the parliament won’t say why he was asked to leave the building. Police officers told Pavlou he was considered an “active protester”, while sitting in a public cafe in Parliament House drinking a coffee, and that “higher ups” had said they wanted him to leave the building. “An Australian federal police team interrupted me while I was quietly having lunch…

Vietnamese political prisoner’s family denounces jail for harsh treatment

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The family of a land rights activist serving an eight-year sentence for “conducting propaganda against the state” has denounced the detention facility in north-central Vietnam where he is being held for harsh treatment following a hunger strike protest, the man’s father said Wednesday. Former prisoner of conscience Trinh Ba Khiem, who is also a land rights activist, said authorities at Detention Center No. 6 in Nghe An province pressured his son, Trinh Ba Tu, to work after he had been shackled for 10 days following a 22-day hunger strike.  “The…