The Bishop of Hong Kong has likened the existence of the Church in the former British colony to plants growing in pavement cracks. Bishop Stephen Chow commented in the Sunday Examiner that these plants “are proofs of the amazing power of life that comes from the Creator. How can they grow up in such a Read more
In late April, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, two ethnic Uyghur women sat behind a tiny mesh grate, underneath a surveillance camera, inside the compound of what had long been the city’s largest place of worship. Reuters could not establish if the place was currently functioning as a mosque. Within minutes of reporters Read more
The Greater Wellington Regional Council is investigating whether the 98 electric buses it is on the verge of leasing were made by forced Uyghur labour in China. The potential links highlight the challenges in buying goods made in China, where the supply chains are often opaque, and come amid a broader effort to ensure New Read more
Australia and New Zealand have raised deep concerns about human rights abuses against Muslim minorities in China. Citing “the growing number of credible reports” of severe violations, both countries’ foreign ministers say the abuses are occurring in the Xinjiang region. The violations include “restrictions on freedom of religion, mass surveillance, large-scale extra-judicial detentions, as well Read more
Uighurs and other Muslim minorities would be given the right to petition a UK high court judge to declare that genocide is taking place in China, requiring the UK government to curtail trade ties with Beijing, under proposals brought by MPs and peers. The cross-party parliamentary revolt is causing deep concern in government, where there Read more
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has hit out at Pope Francis following the news that diplomats from the Holy See are meeting later this month with members of the Chinese Communist Party to renew a two-year-old agreement between China and the Vatican. Though the Middle Kingdom nominally adheres to the principle of religious freedom, it Read more
For almost a decade, Laos has been warned that its extravagant spending spree on infrastructure carried enormous financial risks that threatened to undermine its sovereignty and efforts to raise living standards among the poor. Those warnings fell on deaf ears as Vientiane — hell-bent on becoming the “Battery of Asia” — borrowed heavily and built Read more
A Uyghur woman who worked as a doctor in China has told a British news network that she participated in forced abortions and sterilizations at the behest of the Chinese government. The woman, who was not identified but was seen from behind on camera, told ITV that she was sharing her story in an effort Read more
Forced abortion and infanticide are being used to carry out China’s family planning policies, according to a former hospital worker in China’s Xinjiang province. Hospitals regularly force late-term abortions on Uyghur women and kill newborn Uyghur babies, says Hasiyet Abdulla, who presently lives in Turkey. Abdulla is one of many Uyghurs who have fled to Read more
There was some excitement in Hong Kong’s under-pressure independent media on Aug. 7 when it came to light that Catholic education authorities had urged schools to follow nationalistic new practices introduced on the back of tough new national security legislation. But this seemed to have buried the real story — the short and medium-term future Read more