Freedom’s Herald

When two Uyghurs were being considered for asylum in Switzerland, the Chinese official assigned there put up a big stink as mentioned in this blog posting. Swiss authorities stood up to the criticism and ignored their threats and have decided to grant asylum to these two young men as announced by the Uyghur American Association.
Other postings have highlighted the plight of Uyghur communities that have been infiltrated by Chinese spies.

Now word comes from Toronto that a Mongolian man was sent to into the Inner Mongolian community to spy on them for the Chinese government. I may have even met the guy while attending a meeting in the US.

In so much as the Chinese government whines about other countries and people ‘meddling in their affairs’ – for instance, the threats that President Obama faces for meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama – one might expect that the sanctity of another countries borders or the human rights of individuals in other countries might be respected by the Chinese government. The truth is very different – the Communist Chinese Party controlled government of the People’s Republic of China routinely violates the laws of other countries and has no respect for the human rights of their citizens, much less the rights of citizens of other countries.

The PRC government is not your friend. The PRC government is not your ally. The PRC government would kill its own citizens to make sure there is no threat to their firm grip on power – and they have shown that.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

Tags: Human rights, Southern Mongolia, human dignity // Comments Off

The reaction on the street to Google’s withdrawal from the PRC (or is it the PRC withdrawing from the world?) was covered in in a blog on the New Yorker website entitled, “China and Google: “Illegal Flower Tribute”“.
When folks started to lay flowers on the steps of Google’s Beijing office, they were promptly removed.

A security guard from the neighborhood informed them that they would need to “apply for permits at the relevant department; otherwise they were conducting an ‘illegal flower tribute.’ ”

The lines have been drawn and Google made the correct choice, finally.

Again, desperate acts (like removing flower tributes to control public opinion) is an indication that there is hope, hope that the master plan of the Chinese Communist Party will fail and the Chinese people can be free.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

Tags: Uncategorized // 1 Comment »

Switzerland is considering taking two brothers being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba that have been absolved of all guilt with regards to terrorist activities. However, the Chinese embassy in Bern has written letters to Swiss officials in which they discuss the ‘significant danger’ the pair posed. Also reported in the article, “China leans on Switzerland not to accept Uighurs from Guantanamo” is the implied threat that accepting these two young men (and thereby prevent the Chinese authorities from capturing them) will cause a breakdown in Sino-Swiss relations.
The same tactics were probably used to bring back the 22 Uyghurs that had reached safety in Cambodia (they had hoped to escape not justice, but injustice and intolerance of their birthright.) I wonder if the Swiss put forth any diplomatic objections when they were spirited away.
The article continues on and attempts to balance the importance of human rights issues and Sino-Swiss relations, however I think author missed asking the right questions. For instance, why does the Chinese government place such importance on the continued fate of two of her citizens that have been convicted of no crime? Why are the Chinese authorities taking such a hard line across the world with regards to the fate of people that obviously don’t want to ever return to the control of Chinese authorities, or have not been convicted of a crime that any western government (i.e., Switzerland) would recognize?
The answer from the Amnesty International spokesperson was:

“They are Uighurs. That’s enough.”

But that doesn’t cover it.
To put it into a single sentence:

The Uyghur people under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controlled government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are facing cultural genocide, ethnic discrimination, and draconian measures to control almost every aspect of Uyghur life in an effort by the PRC to erase the Uyghur identity and replace it with something more like the Han Chinese.

The Chinese authorities need the other Uyghurs to see that there is no escape from Chinese power. Each of these men, if returned, will be very publicly executed not because they were criminal masterminds or stole from the government, but because the PRC government needs to show what happens to dissenters. The same is true for those that escaped to Cambodia.

Now, a word about numbers. The Uyghur people are a minority population within the PRC, however they were the majority in their own lands when the People’s Liberation Army ‘liberated’ them until quite recently. Their population is not insignificant, they are not a mere hundreds of thousands of people that will fade away into the sands of the Taklamakan as though they never existed. According to wikipedia, there are 7.8 million Swiss citizens and according to some estimates, over ten million Uyghur people in ‘Xinjiang.’

Since the Chinese authorities have such a daunting task ahead (since they have to do this with Tibetans, Mongols and the other ‘minorities’ also) the desperation of their actions should be noticed. It is apparent that the Chinese authorities believe that they absolutely have to annihilate dissent to maintain control.

Their desperation signals hope. Hope for millions of ‘minorities peoples’ that the efforts of the Chinese government to grind their culture, language, and heritage into the sands of time will fail. Hope for hundreds of millions of Chinese people that the ‘dictatorship of the people’ will eventually fail as well allowing their rich culture to flourish without the cement shoes cast by the CCP.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

Tags: Eastern Turkestan, Human rights, human dignity // Comments Off

This blog has noted and documented the People’s Republic of China’s effort to silence dissent in Central Asia and Asia with heavy-handed tactics.
Nepal was a state where Tibetan refugees could once safely transit to a safe haven in India – now, after a Maoist uprising that has changed.
Cambodia received Uyghur refugees fleeing from persecution and despite the objections of many other states, returned the refugees to the PRC for certain jailing, torture, and perhaps even execution for the ‘crime’ of escaping.
Bangladesh tried to hold a photo exhibit on Tibet and the Chinese government exerted pressure on the authorities to close the exhibit and deny a free people the right to see pictures.
These countries are not alone – Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and even Afghanistan have returned dissidents without any proof of their ‘crimes’.

This blog has also outed the Chinese government controlled bases on both sides of the Panama Canal, the listening stations in Cuba taken over from the CCCP, and the new deep-water harbor in the Bahamas. These may have a ‘civilian owner’ on paper, but the truth is that these outposts in the American hemisphere are controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. At any time (if not already), a container ship could drop all the fixins for medium and long range nuclear tipped weapons at any of these locations, easily within reach of Miami, Atlanta, Washington, or New York City. If this seems far-fetched, then the reader is directed to this previous posting where radioactive powder was being shipped into Israeli waters so that an explosive detonation could spread death. The ship was loaded in and sailing from the PRC and if Somali pirates had not intercepted the ship, tens of thousands would have suffered.

Now, if the Chinese Communist Party controlled People’s Republic of China was really friendly and only wanted to defend themselves, why would they need over 3,000 miles of tunnels to hide their nuclear program? Or why would the Chinese military plan and execute exercises to sink US aircraft carriers ?

So, evidence indicates that:
a. the Chinese government is developing a blue-water navy and amassing an enormous offensive capability, and
b. the Chinese government is capable of bullying other nations into compliance with Chinese interests if they have the upper hand, and
c. the Chinese government has the ability to position nuclear tipped missiles within an hour’s flight from our nation’s capital.

Given the news reported under the title, “China in the Caribbean: The New Big Brother“, the Chinese government now has even more clout with our southern neighbors.

Can we expect to see routine patrols of Chinese warships in the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico?
Can we expect to see more Chinese military bases in the Caribbean?

If there is a good reason to put a missile shield in Poland against Iranian missiles, isn’t there a good reason to place a shield in south Florida to protect against Chinese missiles?
Or how about a SOSUS net closely monitoring the Gulf of Mexico in case ballistic missile submarines start to patrol those waters?

Ignore the threat at your peril.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

Tags: Human rights, PRC, human dignity // Comments Off

According to a report released by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the People’s Republic of China actively targets dissidents inside the US.

Some of the espionage carried out on behalf of China is conducted by nonprofessional collectors. These nonprofessional collectors may be motivated by profit, patriotism, feelings of ethnic kinship, or coercion. Even in many cases where there is no obvious direct state involvement in the theft or illegal export of controlled technology, the Chinese government encourages such efforts and has benefited from them.

Recent cases of espionage involving China show evidence of more focused efforts at information collection employing sources outside of the Chinese-American community.

Chinese operatives and consular officials are actively engaged in the surveillance and harassment of Chinese dissident groups on U.S. soil.

Do you have a problem in being told what you can believe by a foreign government?

If so, I encourage everyone to be a dissident so that the Chinese Communist Party can have more people to watch and spend more money on watching them.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

Tags: Chinese Human Rights Activists, Chinese dissidents, Eastern Turkestan, Falun Gong, Human rights, PRC, Southern Mongolia, Tibet, human dignity // Comments Off

As discussed in earlier postings (here and here), the Chinese government has been exerting pressure on the Nepalese authorities to curtail ‘anti-China’ rhetoric or activities (or demonstrations of free speech in support of Tibet.)

It used to be that people who escaped over the mountains could expect to be granted sanctuary or at least clear passage to India, but no more. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) achieved its goals in a neighboring state. First came a Maoist uprising, then the end to the Nepalese monarchy, and finally a new government that cracked down on Tibet supporters.

The final straw is that now the CCP-friendly authorities in Nepal agree that “Tibet is a part of China” and that the same nonsense being foisted on the people of Bangladesh and Cambodia is being used in Nepal.

Remember how the government of the People’s Republic of China always remarks about the ‘meddling in China’s affairs’, yet they feel free to turn the screws on anyone that opposes them, no matter the country in which they reside.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

Tags: Human rights, Tibet, human dignity // Comments Off

Just before the visit of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on a four-nation tour, Cambodian officials have placed twenty (20) Uighur refugees on a plane bound for the PRC and according to Amnesty International, “this group will be particularly vulnerable to torture,” as reported by RFA. The article says that the Chinese V.P sign some 14 agreements and spend billions of dollars on Cambodian infrastructure.

Not only was the United Nations unable to save them (they were recognized as refugees and under joint UN-Cambodian control), but pleas by Human Rights groups and even the United States government was unable to prevent their return.

There are agreements that prevent the return of persons to countries where there is an expectation of torture and Cambodia is a signatory to this agreement, however it appears that we need to add another country to the long list of those unwilling to stand up to the bullying from the People’s Republic of China.

Of course, this week also saw the Danish government finally capitulate to pressure from the Chinese government to no longer meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama or support human rights abuses in “China’s Tibet.” According to the Weekly Standard in “The Copenhagen Kowtow,” and according to the article:

But as one of the last holdouts against China’s blackmail diplomacy, Denmark’s collapse should be cause for concern and soul-searching about the continued viability of the international human rights system. This is particularly true given China’s consistent willingness to hold hostage its cooperation on a range of global public goods and important regional and bilateral issues in order to achieve a virtual blackout of international criticism of its human rights record. The Chinese have long claimed that the West cynically uses human rights as a political tool to contain China’s rise. We prove them right every time a Western country abandons its principles by treating human rights issues as bargaining chips to be given away for marginal improvements to a global climate agreement, a heavily qualified promise of support on Iranian nuclear issues, the illusion of access to the Chinese market, or even just an improvement in the “atmospherics” of the relationship.”

If governments are unable or unwilling to confront the People’s Republic of China’s meddling in the affairs of other nations or stem the tide of appeasement to the Chinese Communist Party, then we need to organize our own resistance against their bullying.

No violence is being advocated, only a firm commitment against their actions and policies that ignore human rights and human dignity.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

Tags: Eastern Turkestan, Human rights, PRC, human dignity // Comments Off

The Chinese government goes off the deep end when it perceives that the loose ends are still loose or something may be out of their control. A few examples were discussed in a previous post entitled, “Chinese Government Meddling, Again“. In that posting, the Swedish government had expelled a Chinese diplomat for operating a spy inside the Swedish Uyghur community. In order to maintain control over the Uyghur people under the watchful eye of the People’s Liberation Army, the Chinese authorities feel they must keep tabs on them, even in foreign countries.

Now, according to an article in Der Spiegel (Germany Suspects China of Spying on Uighur Expatriates) German authorities are investigating four Chinese nationals for spying against the Uyghur community in Munich.

So, the next time you read that the Chinese are offended at someone or some organization ‘meddling in China’s affairs’, just remember how the Chinese government interfered with lawful, non-violent activities in Sweden and Germany or the suppression of a Tibetan photo exhibition in Bangladesh. All these in just the past few months.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald.

Tags: Eastern Turkestan, Human rights, PRC, human dignity // Comments Off

As reported in numerous media outlets, including the Times (UK), nine people were executed for the July 2009 riots in Urumchi a month after being sentenced to death in what some are calling a show trial.
There is no excuse for acts of destruction and violence and those responsible should be punished according to the law, but that is a two-way street.
The Chinese government held trials for 21 men and these nine were singled out for death. Two thousand Uyghurs were rounded up according to official Chinese statistics, but other sources place the figure as high as four thousand (4,000). It is known that at least one of these prisoners died in custody and the village Imam described the body as “badly disfigured.”

“I saw the dead body—it was bruised and dark all over,” Kari said.
“All the family was crying…his mother was slapping herself. The whole neighborhood is in chaos.”
“I don’t know how the body was injured, how it has so many bruises. The authorities are asking the imam, the elders, relatives, and neighbors to persuade the family to bury him. I am a peasant and I don’t know much about the law.”
“I have to do what the government asks me to do…and I have to believe them. We are working hard to persuade the family to bury Shohret Tursun early Sunday morning,” Kari said.

So actually, at least ten men were killed for the riots in Urumchi. Since the thousands of prisoners have been swept up and jailed, how many others have also paid for the riots in Urumchi, but instead of sending the body home, the Chinese government uses the Taklamakan to erase the evidence.

Justice and the law is a two-way street. Citizens have rights according to the Chinese constitution and these are obviously being trampled because the Chinese Communist Party must demonstrate that they are in charge, that they will inflict death and destruction on the people that do not look like them, act like them or sound like them.

So, the unlawful detentions – who will admit responsibility and face the piper?
Who will account for each and every soul that has not been convicted or suffer according to the law if they are not found?
And the accidental death in detention, who will admit responsibility and face that justice?
Who will be the watchdog and ensure that someone answers for these crimes?
The answer is simple, nobody.

If it isn’t against the Uyghur people, then what about the mobs of Han people that set on Uyghurs with sticks and knives? Were there thousands (or even hundreds) of Han people rounded up and jailed for these crimes or is perfectly acceptable for Han violence to be excused? You probably know the answer to that, even if one of the nine men executed was Han.

So, the CCP strategy is “kill the rooster to frighten the monkey.”

Intimidation in it’s most base and brutal form, but not against monkeys – it’s against fellow humans.
Get informed, stay informed and let the world know.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

Tags: Eastern Turkestan, Human rights, human dignity // Comments Off

The Central Tibetan Administration released a report today on the human rights situation in Tibet.

There isn’t any good news in the report, especially with the breakdown in negotiations.

For Freedom,
Freedom’s Herald

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