Author: Chin@Strategy

Rushan Abbas is one of the most prominent international advocates for the rights of ethnic Uyghurs. Her memoir, “Unbroken: One Uyghur’s Fight for Freedom,” will be published on June 10. The book explores her personal journey from her pro-democracy activism as a student in China in the 1980s, to her move to the United States in 1989, and her efforts to draw attention to the plight of Uyghurs in the face of mass internments and other grave abuses that the U.S. government says constitute genocide. uyghur-rushan-abbas-book-interview Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.,…

The British government says a new state-owned renewable energy company will not be allowed to source solar panels made with Chinese slave labor. The government announced Wednesday that it will introduce an amendment to ensure that the planned company, Great British Energy, will not have slavery in its supply chains. China is the dominant global player in the renewable energy market including solar energy. The BBC cited customs data that Britain imports more than 40% of its solar photovoltaics from China. A key component is polysilicon sourced from the Xinjiang…

German chemical giant BASF said Tuesday it has divested shares of its joint ventures in China’s Xinjiang region, a move welcomed by Uyghur activists concerned over used of forced labor there. Since late 2023, BASF announced its intention to divest its shares in BASF Markor Chemical Manufacturing and Markor Meiou Chemical in Xinjiang’s Korla region. German media had alleged its local partner was involved in human rights abuses in Xinjiang. BASF said Tuesday in a statement that the buyer was Verde Chemical Singapore Pte. Ltd. which is majority controlled by…

When I was a Uyghur child living in communist China in the 1970s, we had no way of knowing what was happening around the world, within China, or even to our own Uyghur people in our homeland of East Turkistan (also known as Xinjiang, China). For colonized people like us, living under a total information blackout and bombarded by communist propaganda 24/7, discovering the truth was not a luxury – it was a yearning, something we sometimes risked our lives for. I remember those days vividly. My father would gather…

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee this week approved bipartisan legislation to support Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities subject to human rights abuses by China. The Uyghur Policy Act is the latest legislative effort to protect the rights of persecuted Muslim minority. The U.S. government has determined that China’s treatment of Uyghurs amounts to genocide. The bill is co-sponsored by nine Republicans and Democrats led by Rep. Young Kim and Rep. Ami Bera, who are the chair and ranking member respectively of the House sub-committee for East Asia and the…

The World Uyghur Congress says a man detained in Sweden on suspicion of spying on fellow Uyghurs there for China served as a spokesman for the exiled group for two decades. The WUC said in a statement Wednesday that Dilshat Reshit, has been its Chinese-language spokesman since 2004. The WUC said its presidency had decided at an emergency meeting to remove Reshit from his position “in line with our commitment to integrity, transparency, and the safety of our community.” Reports citing the Swedish prosecution authority said an unnamed Uyghur resident…

The European Parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a new law that prevents the import and distribution of goods made with forced labor, a move that Uyghur advocates said would help clamp down on China’s use of forced labor in far western Xinjiang. The Forced Labour Regulation, which places the burden of proof on the EU rather than on companies, was approved in a 555-6 vote, with 45 abstentions. The law will allow authorities in EU member states and the European Commission to investigate suspicious goods, supply chains and manufacturers. Products…

A Uyghur butcher serving a seven-year prison sentence in southern Xinjiang for advising friends not to drink alcohol or smoke at a gathering has been released alive and returned to his family, sources with knowledge of the situation said. It marks the first time that one of the roughly 100 jailed Uyghur residents from Xaneriq village had been released alive, said an Uyghur from the area who now lives abroad, but who did not give his name for fear of retribution. Authorities freed Mahmudjan Muqeddem, 46, who hails from the…

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party last week released a report detailing investments by two American financial institutions for Chinese companies “red-flagged or blacklisted” by the United States for advancing China’s military or for rights abuses. The report says two fund providers, in particular, are responsible for funneling billions of dollars invested by regular Americans in their index and retirement funds into the companies – even if it’s all legal. The first, MSCI, which it calls “the world’s foremost index fund provider,” has $3.7 billion invested in…

The hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs subjected by China to detention, forced labor and cultural erasure underscores the urgency for global action, panelists said at a two-day interfaith conference on disrupting Uyghur genocide organized by The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity that wrapped up Thursday. Survivors, experts, religious leaders and activists participated in panels to discuss the situation of the Uyghurs and called on governments to promote pro-Uyghur policies and to pressure businesses that profit from Uyghur forced labor, said a notice about the conference on the foundation’s website. An…