Maya Wang 王松蓮
@wang_maya
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associate China director @hrw; also distinguished fellow @asu_ldns, board @hkdc_us. Email: wangm(at)hrw(dot)org. Mostly China tweets, a bit of tech.
Joined September 2009
China's political environment at a glance, by brilliant (and in exile) #HongKong illustrator Ah To (阿塗):
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Breaking: Tony Chung, convenor of pro-independent Studentlocalism, is reportedly arrested for "inciting separatism" after national security officers searched his home (source: Facebook). Chung disbanded Studentlocalism prior to the implementation of the National Security Law.
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China is a country which could have been but didn't. Remember #TiananmenSquareMassacre on June 4.
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Folks in the west, it's scary to see the epidemic coming & your politicians aren't prepared, but pls refrain from concluding that govts like China are doing a better job because they are authoritarian. 1/5.
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#HongKong is in crackdown mode. Pressing public broadcaster to drop political satire program, arresting elected pro-democratic official for the incredible crime of "seditious intent" (for a Facebook post!). It's betting nobody pays attention during #COVID2019.
Public broadcaster RTHK has faced increasing pressure from pro-Beijing politicians. Its director, Leung Ka-wing, was summoned by several CPPCC National Committee members, forcing him to cancel two shows, HK Connection and Headliner. #HongKongProtests.
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Imagine the Chinese Communist Party takes over New York, kicks out your fav senators/representatives, cancels Saturday Nightlive, imposes "national security" legislation to make speech a crime & then tells you this is rule of law. That's pretty much what's happening in #HongKong.
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Urgent: A Uyghur religious scholar Hemdullah Abduweli , who’s been legally residing in Turkey but travelling in Saudi Arabia, was arrested by the Saudis yesterday (21/11), reportedly at the behest of the Chinese government & fearing deportation. 1/4.
When Hemdulla arrested Nurmemet Rozi is with him.Saudi State Security also got arrested him. Call 0122389914, this is the phone number of the detention center. Nur called his wife after arrested. We can't save Uyghurs in China, let's save two Uyghurs in Saudi from deportation.
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These might look like normal metal detectors, but they’re “data doors,” covertly gathering the identifying info of your phones, including IMEI no. & MAC addresses. New @hrw report is packed full of new discoveries on Xinjiang’s mass surveillance systems:
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Apple Daily is reporting that Prof Robert Chung, former Director of the HKU Public Opinion Programme, is also arrested for, essentially, *doing a public opinion poll*
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Policemen from China went to Mongolia--an independent country-- and snatched a Southern Mongolian writer and took him to China Another case of cross-border abduction by the Chinese authorities.
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Messages of Beijing bridge protester appear in public toilets--the least surveilled places in China. The New Toilet Revolution, the trend is called.
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35 years. The Chinese govt took 35 years to extinguish the flames of Hong Kong, with two national security laws, the threat of life imprisonment, & overwhelming police presence. And yet, the people will remember.
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THREAD: How did we find the policing app at the heart of Xinjiang's mass surveillance? It was an accident. Let me tell you. See also:
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Saudi Arabia is sending Uyghur woman Hadiche and her 13-year old daughter to Riyadh, where they’d be deported to China, and where they face torture and arbitrary detention. They’re in a police car now. They’re the wife and daughter of Nurmemet, see:
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Watching the fate of Hong Kong people being decided in Beijing tonight was like watching the Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing in 1989--that same feeling of powerlessness, the sadness, about the rights of people being trampled upon.
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Chinese actress Chun Xia--who publicly supported the "White Paper" protests in Dec 2022--is reportedly being punished, her name disappeared from film credits, govt shows
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Just in: The Chinese government is significantly reducing the no. of mosques in two provinces in China under its “mosque consolidation” policy, Human Rights Watch @hrw reveals in new research released today:
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Twitter appears to have shadow-banned Teacher Li, a Chinese language influencer, a one-man news agency getting info out from China that the Chinese govt doesn't want people to see. If you search for his name, Twitter gives you accounts that imitates him:
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Outrageous, hypocritical and disappointing: @WSJ Wall Street Journal fires Hong Kong reporter Selina Cheng for being chair of Hong Kong Journalist Association, bending to pressure & threats from HK and Chinese governments.
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The horrific killing of a Japanese student in Shenzhen is indicative of growing xenophobia in China following years of state-encouraged nationalism, particularly vis-a-vis the US and Japan.
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The heartbreaking scenes at #HongKong's airport as people have to leave behind family--especially elderly parents--to escape Chinese govt repression.
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We can beat the epidemic while respecting rights. Some Asian countries, esp. Taiwan, are shinning examples in this difficult time which tests our values: .Human rights = maximized overall well-being in society. END.
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Just in: Joshua Wong .@joshuawongcf. has been subjected to solitary confinement for a "strange object" found in his stomach during X-ray, says friend. Joshua will be held in solitary confinement for 3-4 days until authorities complete evaluation:
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Today, @hrw published new research based on a leaked list of over 2,000 detainees from Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang. The "Aksu List" shows how Xinjiang's big data system, Integrated Joint Operations Platform, selected people for detention.
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Bad news: Remember these two Uyghurs held by Saudi authorities on behest of Beijing? After being held for >1 year, the men have just been informed that the Saudis are going to forcibly send them to China "in a few days," according to their families.
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The Chinese Communist Party promised people in China human rights and democracy before it took power. 100 years later, we are still waiting. How it started vs How it's going #ccp100
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Chinese govt’s been denying that there are severe abuses in Xinjiang. Well, we’ve reverse engineered an official policing app that shows otherwise. Take a look at new @hrw report:
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For a leader of the Muslim world to arrest a Uyghur religious scholar—while on pilgrimage to Mecca—and possibly deporting him to Xinjiang, where the authorities are persecuting Uyghur for being Muslims, is really shocking.
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Very rare footage as Chinese govt seldom lets footages or photos of detainees leak out. This is important evidence showing ongoing abuses of Uyghurs on the basis of their identity, of their ideas
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You're lucky you can criticize your govt w/o fear. In #China people are trying so hard to tell the truth. I don't have to mention how the govt covered up the epidemic; Chinese people are still trying to speak up, going as far as using *Morse code*: 3/5.
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Respected #HongKong pol scientist, Prof Brian Fong (方志恒), has been forced to leave the Education University of Hong Kong after Beijing-controlled Takungpao attacked him as "pro-independence" in recent days Fong's profile on Ed U's been taken down 1/2
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TikTok Shows Less ‘Anti-China’ Content Than Rivals, Study Finds
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A year after #HongKong's pro-democracy's landslide win at local "district council" elections, 54 out of 388 district councilors (about 14%) have been arrested.
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Breaking: Another Studentlocalism member who lives in Sha Tou Kok has also been arrested at the same time (source: 612 Reminder Telegram channel).
This is the moment Tony Chung was taken away, into a black 7-seat Honda. Is he being taken to the Causeway Bay national security HQ?
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Chinese govt has been systematically changing hundreds of village names with religious, historical, or cultural meaning for Uyghurs into names reflecting recent Chinese Communist Party ideology, @hrw + Uyghur Hjelp's analysis of Chinese govt data shows
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“Has the Lockdown Ended? No!. Why are you making stuff up?” An angry Shanghai resident confronts government workers staging a celebration as the government said it's ending the lockdown.
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Mingpao estimates that a whopping 40% of political books have been taken down from #HongKong libraries. Gone are books by pro-democracy leaders; in are books by the Chinese govt or pro-Beijing voices. Beijing's trying to rewrite history:
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A Uyghur student--who's been living in South Korea in past years--disappeared when entering #HongKong.
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No, the title should be: Chinese govt finally admits to detaining celebrated Uyghur musician under unknown crime in undisclosed location, his true well-being unclear
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While Chinese govt's use of political education camps has led to outrage, the imprisonment of Xinjiang’s Muslims has attracted far less attention. Why? Because processing people thru the "criminal justice system" appears legit. 1/8
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On why she bought 16 copies of @appledaily_hk after lining up in the middle of the night: "Hong Kong used to have press freedom, and now they're persecuting press freedom. I'm very angry."
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Shocking: UNHCR doesn't want to help Uyghurs stuck in Thai immigration detention for > 10 years--even as Thailand now seems willing to let them go-- because they fear upsetting China which pays the agency $7.7 million in operating costs
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Like many people from Hong Kong, I mourn the demolition of the city's once thriving press. It was the heart of our identity--the ability to argue peacefully, to criticize, to mock each other, including the city's leaders.
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Whenever I argue that China's mass surveillance is unprecedented in modern history, many would say, "but it's just as bad in the US/UK." . But China's mass surveillance system is fundamentally different in its intention: its stated goal is social control.
Automating Racism: Police in China are using A.I. to mark/track ethnic minority Uighurs across the country. It’s the first known example of facial recognition being used intentionally by a government to racially profile and a massive ethical leap for A.I.
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Look at these smiling faces 3 years ago, now behind bars awaiting their "verdicts" today. All they--and Hong Kong people-- wanted was a chance to decide their own fate. Democracy is not a crime, regardless of Beijing--and its controlled courts--may say.
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!!! Chinese govt has hacked #HongKong people's Apple devices *en masse* using "watering hole" attacks--any devices that visited a Hong Kong–based media and pro-democracy websites are affected. The last such broad-based attack happened to Uyghurs in 2019:
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Across China, police are removing satellite TV dishes--popular in rural homes--in a campaign to tighten ideological control. See also:
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This is the first pandemic on social media. In democracies you're seeing people venting their frustrations, voicing diverse opinions (flu vs not flu), you're seeing politicians fail and fumble in real time. It's messy, but that's how democracy works. 2/5.
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They are best friends. Then one fled to Norway while the other stayed in Xinjiang. The one who stayed, Merhaba Musa, is sentenced to 10 years in prison. Her crime? For talking with her Norwegian friend on the phone. Great reporting by @ronneberg
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Chinese University of Hong Kong--a globally top ranked university--took away two students for holding placards that ask others what they thought should be the core values of the university. How's a university "top ranked" if it doesn't allow students to. ask questions??
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Terrible: Niece of prominent Uyghur activist @AbduwelA reportedly died in detention as authorities punish those linked to Abduweli. She was a young & promising researcher with Japan's Nara Institute of Science and Technology prior to her being pressured to return to Xinjiang.
RFA confirmed that My niece Mihriay died at the detention center where i detained in Kashgar, she got arrested during the cleaning Abduweli's influence campaign started in Kashgar 2020, i hate myself couldn't save any one but lost my niece there.
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Today I published a piece on US-China tech competition. I describe the emergence of a China technosphere, where the values of Beijing’s brand of authoritarianism permeate, a kind of techno-authoritarianism that combines social control & efficiency. 1/12.
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Harvard student who manhandled protester and fellow student--who interrupted Chinese ambassador Xie Feng's speech at Harvard--is reportedly the son of a top Chinese Communist Party official in Sanya City, Hainan Province, according to Chinese netizens. Hello @Harvard?.
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Xi Jinping has "heightened repression throughout the country" and that "there is no independent civil society, no freedom of expression, association, assembly or religion" in China, @hrw says in its 2025 World Report released today:
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After a restaurant replaced pro-democracy posters with vintage pro-revolution Mao posters, police stops harassing the establishment. What a lovely piece showcasing the resilience of #HongKongprotests by @SheridanAsia:
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Such grace, such courage. We are so proud of you, @zouxingtong!.
Lawyer and activist Chow Hang Tung is fighting to keep the memory of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown alive in Hong Kong, despite facing possible imprisonment for publicly commemorating the event
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That's why all govts--including democratic ones--should write strict data laws to protect personal data, if only to mitigate a hostile/authoritarian take-over in the future. What a cautionary tale, and it won't be the last: by @eileenguo.
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Several influential accounts critical of the Chinese govt have been suspended in recent days. Why's this happening, @Twitter? h/t @ZhouFengSuo
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An outrageous and unacceptable sentence for two young people who have done nothing wrong but fight for justice and equality for women and workers
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California Governor @GavinNewsom's heading to China + Hong Kong on Mon. His office says he will focus on climate change, but “steer clear” of human rights. Why? Why is there trade-off between climate & human rights? 1/6
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The US government should investigate: who are those behind these seemingly well-organized attacks on Hong Kong, Tibet protesters?.
Today’s protest was a bad throwback to the 2019 Hong Kong protests: violence from pro-CCP thugs, phones with evidence were snatched and destroyed, activists were tailed by national-police-look-alike. Except they happened on American soil. A thread of what happened outside SFO:
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Given Xinjiang denialism, here's a compilation of my original research at @hrw. They contain 1st-hand info; allegations triangulated w multiple sources (witnesses+official docs):.Nov 2016: XJ recalled passports, effectively bars Muslims from escape 1/9.
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Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan risked her life to inform the world during the early days of COVID, what's the world doing for her? “She might actually die in prison,” said Wang Jianhong of Humanitarian China
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Finally! The US imposes Global Magnitsky sanctions on Xinjiang top leaders for rights abuses: Party Sec Chen Quanguo, Deputy Party Sec Zhu Hailun, Xinjiang Police Party chief Huo Liujun, vice chair of Xinjiang government Wang Mingshan:
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After 4 months of research & writing, this @hrw report is finally out: There's been so much good Xinjiang reporting, it's hard to keep up. A big shout out to @RadioFreeAsia's fearless reporting 1/3.
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What's significant about this Halloween crackdown is the quiet revolution among young people in some of China's cities: that they want to live life with joy, inclusiveness and freedom. In other words: diametrically opposed to the heaviness of the CCP.
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Biden needs to tell Xi that threatening dissidents’ families back home so they don’t protest against Xi’s visit *in the US* is transnational repression, and can’t be tolerated:.
前天我女儿被国保叫去喝茶，并托她给我捎话，不要去旧金山参加活动，在这里我想告诉安徽国保，习近平给中国、世界带来了深重的灾难，不反习天理难容，中国人民包括体制内的大多数人也是受害者，这一点你们心里很清楚，我去抗议习近平也是为你们在发声，你们的前总理说杀就杀，在一党专制和习近平的独载.
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Forget the balloon! A member of the Chinese Communist Party's advisory body will be speaking to millions of Americans shortly, and directly, at the Oscars:
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Today is the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 🎉! Did you know that Peng-Chun Chang, Chinese philosopher and diplomat, was instrumental in drafting this pivotal document in 1948? (Chang represented the Republic of China before the CCP seized power)
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A hashtag meant as a warning to the world: #Chinazism threatens not only #Hongkong’s freedom, but yours too. Taken in Wanchai.
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Indonesia media report rips apart China's "guided tour" to Xinjiang for Indonesia's Muslim groups, showing how each facility they visited were altered using sat. imagery. The tour was China's "big fat lie." @adrianzenz @andreasharsono @ConnellyAL.
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Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been inhumanely detained since August 2020. At 76, he's been held under solitary confinement for 3 years & 9 months, which may constitute torture. His crime? For printing a popular pro-democracy newspaper
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Wow: Anti-mask law ruled unconstitutional by High Court, which also says Chief Executive can’t make laws using the emergency ordinance on any occasion of public danger. See @hrw October statement on the ban:
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So you can pay $2000 to wine and dine with Xi Jinping, architect of "crimes against humanity" against the Uyghurs, the destruction of Hong Kong's free society, the deepening repression across China. Yup, the 1% in the US and China share a lot in common:
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US should “investigate the personal wealth of the Communist Party leaders who are destroying Hong Kong as well as the places those assets are kept for safekeeping.”
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.@xu_xiuzhong is publicly & brutally shamed as an example for all, especially those researchers with families in China, in an attempt to marginalize and silence us. This kind of personal attacks are deplorable & I stand in solidarity with Vicky.
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Incredible reporting! The most detailed analysis of Xinjiang's "suffocating" crackdown and surveillance on Muslims based on actual police data: by @yaelwrites & .@ryantate at @theintercept 1/5.
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How to control 13 million Turkic Muslims? . "Political education camps" + AI-powered "sensory" systems + checkpoints + big data system .= total control . See new @hrw report:
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#Hongkong police taking away a 68-year-old for peacefully protesting the unfair trial of a 76-year-old. This is what #HongKong has come to:.
#HongKong Jimmy Lai's trial: The only protest occurred outside the court so far. Grandma Wong was chanting 'Free #JimmyLai, support #AppleDaily' when she was taken to the other side of the road by policemen. Over a thousand officers are reportedly deployed to guard here today.
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Chinese government is conducting a mass, systematic campaign of human rights violations against the 13 million Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang; scale of repression unseen in the country in decades. New @hrw report:
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What's amazing about today was that the million+ crowd essentially self-policed; few officers were present & it was all peaceful & orderly.
Crowd of tens of thousands cleared in a matter of seconds for ambulance coming through. Cheers and applause as it successfully makes its way through. #antiELAB #HongKong #extraditionbill
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In trial of automated subtitles in German, Tiktok was found to have censored Xinjiang-related words. "Re-education camps," "labor camps" were replaced by with asterisks. by @SebMeineck h/t @F_Kaltheuner.
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Saudi state security police arrested Hemdullah Abduweli near al-Kaaba in Mecca together with one helper, Nurmemet Rozi, also a Uyghur. The duo are held in Buraiman Prison inside Jeddah City. Activists say 5 other Uyghurs had previously been deported to China from Saudi 2/4.
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Article 23 sucks but HongKongers showed the world what it means to have a backbone. HongKongers, subjects of not 1 but 2 colonial powers, fought for a seat at the table, to determine their own fate. Freedom is not just an end goal but a direction, & HongKongers have embodied it.
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No, you can’t arrest freedom when it’s in all our hearts:.
Hong Kong people chanting “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” in a concert despite the national security law
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Heartbreaking and a reminder that the Chinese government continues its crimes against humanity with impunity:
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5 days after Chinese lawyer exposed a shocking illegal trade of human remains in China, authorities moved swiftly to punish him, reportedly removed him as director of a law firm, erasing his social media posts
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Interviewees said QR codes like this are installed on the walls of their homes in Xinjiang, which allows officials to get instant access to the residents’ personal information. See new @hrw report:
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This is how surveillance capitalism looks like: .Street cleaners forced to wear "smart" watches tracking their movement,.If they stay in one place for >20 mins, the watches alert management.
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I still remember the panic in the voices of those who called @hrw as they were hiding from the Egyptian authorities rounding up Uyghurs on Chinese govt's behalf. Some were put on a plane to Xinjiang & disappeared:
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Myanmar rolled out 335 surveillance cameras equipped w facial recognition + number plate recognition in the capital, Naypyidaw. The company behind it? Huawei.
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