Just a quick update in case you missed it.
 | Released on 28.04.2023 | |
 | Ex-Fugees rapper Pras Michel found guilty in scheme to help China influence US government The rapper Pras Michel was found guilty in federal court in Washington on Wednesday of 10 criminal counts related to an international conspiracy reaching the highest levels of the US government. The Grammy-winning artist and former member of the Fugees faced multiple counts over the failed conspiracy to help Malaysian businessman Jho Low and the Chinese government gain access to US officials, including former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Read more: edition.cnn.com |
 | Chinese secret police agent charged in U.S. undertook training in B.C. A former student of a contentious international police training program at the Justice Institute of BC has been criminally charged in the United States for allegedly orchestrating an online network of harassment against American residents who express opposition to the Chinese Communist Party. On April 17, the Federal Bureau of Investigation unveiled charges of criminal transnational repression against 34 officers with the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Among them, 26-year-old Chen Zhichen, a former Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) student. Read more: castanet.net |
 | How Young Habil Became the First Uyghur Christian Martyr Uyghur Christians fan the flame of the death of the first of their number ninety years on. Ninety years ago today, the first 20th century Uyghur Christian martyr was slain for his faith in East Turkestan. Executed during a period of turmoil and civil war in Southern Xinjiang, the eighteen year old Habil’s violent death on April 27, 1933, is being remembered by the small but growing community of Uyghur followers of Jesus around the world who have called for this day to be a memorial to his legacy. Read more: bitterwinter.org |
 | ‘Wholly Negligent’: Uyghur Asylum Seekers Keep Dying in Thailand’s Detention Centers A Uyghur refugee who was detained by Thai authorities in 2014 while fleeing persecution in China died last week after spending nine years in detention, Uyghur rights groups say. The refugee, 40-year-old Mattohti Mattursun, died on Friday after being taken to hospital due to liver and respiratory problems, according to a Tuesday statement by the World Uyghur Congress and the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Read more: vice.com |
 | Hong Kong Arrest Encroaches on Free Expression in Japan Japanese Government Should Resist Beijing’s Transnational Repression. Last month, Hong Kong police arrested a 23-year-old Hong Kong woman who had been studying in Japan since 2019 upon her return to the city. Her “crime”? While in Japan she had posted messages online in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, according to media reports. Her arrest for “inciting secession” reflects a dangerous trend by Hong Kong authorities to arrest and prosecute people for exercising their rights to free expression outside of the city. Read more:hrw.org |
 | UK’s Rishi Sunak lines up £1 billion chips strategy Rishi Sunak is preparing to pledge just £1 billion to the U.K.'s fledgling microchip industry as American and European governments shore up their supply chains with massive subsidy packages worth tens of billions of dollars. Four figures with direct knowledge of the process say the total government funding is expected to be worth £1 billion. One person said the deal was done, but two others insisted this figure could yet change in the next few weeks. The prime minister is hoping to unveil the long-awaited semiconductor strategy, which had been due last fall, at next month’s meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders in Japan. Read more: politico.eu |
 | China sends top wolf warrior Lu Shaye to the dog house Less than three weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron returned from a three-day visit to China, where he hailed “common ambitions” with Beijing, China’s top Paris-based wolf warrior lashed out — again. The outrageous diplomatic faux pas from Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, where he questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet states on French television last week, was just the latest in a series of provocations. The Chinese ambassador has built a reputation for an at times flagrant disregard of diplomatic protocol, spreading disinformation and going a bit rogue on Twitter. Read more: politico.eu |