On Sunday, people in #Myanmar criticized the agreement reached between the country's military leader and Southeast Asian leaders to end the months-long violence that has pushed the country into a crisis. usnews.com/news/world/art…
They said the agreement fell short of restoring democracy and holding the army accountable for hundreds of civilian deaths. There were no immediate protests in Myanmar's big cities a day after the meeting of @ASEAN with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
"ASEAN's statement is a slap on the face of the people who have been abused, killed and terrorised by the military," said a Facebook user called Mawchi Tun. "We do not need your help with that mindset and approach." #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
According to a statement from group chair Brunei, a consensus was reached on five points - ending violence, a constructive dialogue among all parties, a special ASEAN envoy to facilitate the dialogue, acceptance of aid and a visit by the envoy to Myanmar.
"Statement doesn't reflect any of people's desires," wrote Nang Thit Lwin in a comment on a news story in domestic Myanmar media. "To release prisoners and detainees, to take responsibility for dead lives, to respect election results and restore democratic civilian government."
Myanmar's parallel National Unity Government (NUG), comprised of pro-democracy figures, remnants of Suu Kyi's ousted administration and representatives of armed ethnic groups, said it welcomed the consensus reached but said the junta had to be held to its promises.
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Latest long read for @dw_chinese: Over the last four years, @Mehray_T remained silent about her husband's detention in the re-education camps in #Xinjiang. But after he was sentenced to 25 years in jail under separatism, she decided to break the silence. williamyang-35700.medium.com/beijing-forced…
"April has been a very emotionally complicated month for Mehray Mezensof over the last four years, because she met her husband Mirzat Taher in April 2016.
Over the last four years, her husband has been arrested and detained by police in Xinjiang three times and on April 1 2021, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison under the charge of separatism by a local court in Xinjiang’s Hami City."
Last week, Australian academic Jane Golley claimed that an anonymous academic paper "debunked" the estimated number of #Uyghurs detained in #Xinjiang as well as the evidence of forced labor in the region. She reflected on that incident: smh.com.au/world/asia/anu…
"The anonymous 18-page document took aim at work by Australia’s Strategic Policy Institute but primarily focused on the work by German academic Dr Adrian Zenz, a senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation who was recently sanctioned by China."
"Several of Zenz’s key works have been peer-reviewed by Xinjiang scholars. By contrast, the report attempting to discredit his work has not been peer-reviewed."
Lawyers, diplomats and rights groups say that an immigration bill on #HongKong's legislative agenda would give authorities virtually unlimited powers to prevent residents and others entering or leaving the city. usnews.com/news/world/art…
The government says the bill merely aims to screen illegal immigrants at source amid a backlog of asylum applications, and does not affect movement rights.
But lawyers say it empowers authorities to bar anyone, without a court order, from entering or leaving Hong Kong and fails to prevent indefinite detention for refugees.
The speech triggered angry response from #China's Taiwan Affairs office, accusing Lai and #Taiwan President @iingwen of making provocative speeches and claiming to turn Taiwan into a "normalized state."
The spokesperson accused #Taiwan's ruling party @DPPonline of manipulating the issue of independence, which further exposed their "fake goodwill" and tore off the mask of "calming the cross-Strait relations."
While the world is celebrating Chloe Zhao winning the Best Director Award at the Oscar, #China is busy censoring relevant content and cracking down on those using the VPN to watch the award ceremony, which was not aired this year. finance.yahoo.com/news/cut-vpn-o…
"A livestream of the Academy Awards in Shanghai hosted by the alumni of Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao's alma mater ran into China's Great Firewall, with the organiser's access to his virtual private network (VPN) service blocked for nearly two hours."
"About 30 people had gathered at a small bar on The Bund, a historic district in central Shanghai, to support Zhao as early as 8:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) and watch the awards live on YouTube."
On Monday, #Taiwan's defense officials said that the island's existing defense systems on two of its islands in the disputed South China Sea are capable of deterring any attempted invasion by Chinese forces. focustaiwan.tw/politics/20210…
Chou Mei-wu, director-general of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) that is currently responsible for safeguarding the two islands, said the CGA is equipped with defensive weapon systems and will ask for Taiwan's military assistance if necessary.
Meanwhile, Lee Shih-Chiang, head of the Ministry of National Defense's (MND's) Department of Strategic Planning, said that Taiwan's military has weapons to counter a Chinese invasion, but he declined to provide any details, citing confidentiality.