Thread by @AMFChina

"The CCP retaliated by sanctioning five MPs, lawyers and - what I find particularly galling - a British academic and Xinjiang expert, Dr Jo Smith Finley @j_smithfinley. She is a Reader in Chinese Studies at Newcastle University" - Andreas Fulda on @AlJazeera, 26 March 2021 /1

"Both sides now are in a double bind. The CCP will not back down ... but neither can western liberal democracies afford to give ground when it comes to dealing with what is effectively a genocide in Xinjiang. Right now I can't see an off ramp in terms of diplomacy." @AlJazeera /2

"What we've seen is an overreaction. Many commentators have noted that the counter-sanctions were disproportionate. They also not only targeted state actors but also civil society & academia. In Germany a very well respected think tank @merics_eu was put on the sanction list" /3

Let us all do more to protect the rather fragile ecology of knowledge production. We know that political censorship can destroy critical and creative scholarship. A good start is to avoid self-censorship and to speak truth to power, like our courageous colleague @j_smithfinley.

https://twitter.com/amfchina/status/1375366803799613442

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