Thread: In a tense exchange, the three EU leaders at the summit drew Xi’s attention to China’s human rights issues one by one – from Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, bookseller Gui Minhai and Canadians Kovrig and Spavor sc.mp/gw0ft
Xi hit back, saying “every country should first and foremost care about their own business”, according to Xinhua. “We believe the EU can properly resolve its own human rights problems. China does not accept ‘lectures’ on human rights and is opposed to double standards.”
Reportedly, Xi, at this point, began pointing out human rights issues in Europe, including anti-Semitism. EU leaders reportedly pushed back, saying China’s issues were “systemic”.
Michel then asked Xi to arrange a “field visit” to Tibet for EU officials attending a Human Rights Dialogue in China later this year, while calling for access for independent observers to Xinjiang.
@noahbarkin observers that this marks a new focus on human rights, as these types of sensitive issues would have been only discussed behind closed doors in the past.
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Breaking: Xinjiang gets new party secretary as Ma Xingrui is replaced by Chen Xiaojiang, deputy United Front Work Department minister and the first ethnic Han appointed director of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission.
Chen affirms primacy of stability in Xinjiang:👇
Globally, this could foreshadow an emphasis on coordinated influence operations to improve Xinjiang's global image, further repressing dissenting voices abroad. Domestically, it reflects an emphasis on coerced ethnic unity and securitization under total party control.
It confirms that economic development is not the CCP's primary concern in Xinjiang. While Ma was a technocrat experienced in promoting economic development, Chen's experience is in party discipline (CCDI), ideological control and ethnic "unity" (in an assimilatory sense).
Major media investigation finds thousands of Uyghurs forced to work in 75 factories across 11 Chinese regions, with links to major western companies. I supported this joint investigation into state-imposed forced labor transfers by @nytimes @derspiegel @TBIJ. THREAD: 👇
The investigation reviewed thousands of social media videos and visited two dozen factories. The findings point to the massive scale of Uyghurs being sent to work in factories around the country.
Implicated western companies include @BMW , @VW , Mercedes-Benz AG, Stellantis, LG Electronics, Tesla, Midea Group, KFC, McDonald's, @SKECHERSUSA , and Manchester City football club.
The past two months I analyzed Clive Greenwood, the most senior member of the Liangma audit team that visited @VW's Xinjiang factory.
@clivegreenwood’s enigmatic background is characterized by twists, turns, contradictions, and obfuscation. 🧵
Mr. Greenwood did not respond to detailed questions about his professional background, his role in the audit, and his apparent lack of expertise in conducting social audits.
After he was contacted, he deleted his LinkedIn biography and removed "Liangma" from his profile.
Between 2004 and 2016, @clivegreenwood ran a British sports pub in Suzhou called The Drunken Chef, where he advertised his offerings with images of scantily-clad women.
A leaked full copy of the confidential audit of Volkswagen's Xinjiang factory shows that key statements made by @VW about the audit were false or misleading.
The audit suffers from severe methodological shortcomings & failed to protect interviewed Uyghur staff. Full report:🧵
I contacted @VW and they said they did not want to respond to my set of detailed questions about the report. Liangma did not respond.
The audit was conducted by Liangma Law, a Chinese law firm with significant ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Liangma possesses no discernible experience in conducting social audits and does not advertise related services. It is not accredited to conduct SA8000 audits.
On Saturday, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs casually announced new standardized Chinese names for 30 locations in "South Tibet" (藏南), together with an updated map (below).
"South Tibet" is India's state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Thread:🧵
India promptly responded, affirming that the state is an "integral" part of India.
This was the PRC MCA's 4th announcement, resulting in a total of 62 Chinese place names. Links in next post.
@SophieDRich Related op-ed by @benedictrogers, arguing that member states must be clear and specific in pointing out Beijing's egregious human rights violations. He suggests 10 points that could be raised. ucanews.com/news/chinas-ri…