cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2050298

> Archived > > Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has called on European governments to make Russian assets and “elite interests” pay for the war in Ukraine, as his charity made another multimillion-dollar donation to the war-torn country. > > Following the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Minderoo Foundation announced another $5 million funding package to de-mine agricultural areas, launch peace-building activities and financially support households. > > [...] > > “While philanthropy can play a crucial role, governments across Europe should redouble their efforts to make Russian assets and elite interests pay for the war of aggression they have waged on Ukraine. > > “Looking forward, Ukraine has the capability to draw on her deep pools of talent, vast natural resources and remarkable resilience to drive a powerful economic recovery. I look forward to working with president Zelensky and his team to recover Ukraine’s peaceful growth.” > > [...] > > The comments come as the US and Ukraine are reportedly on the cusp of inking a critical minerals deal Zelensky hopes will secure the support of Washington and bring an end to the war. > > [...]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2050298

> Archived > > Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has called on European governments to make Russian assets and “elite interests” pay for the war in Ukraine, as his charity made another multimillion-dollar donation to the war-torn country. > > Following the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Minderoo Foundation announced another $5 million funding package to de-mine agricultural areas, launch peace-building activities and financially support households. > > [...] > > “While philanthropy can play a crucial role, governments across Europe should redouble their efforts to make Russian assets and elite interests pay for the war of aggression they have waged on Ukraine. > > “Looking forward, Ukraine has the capability to draw on her deep pools of talent, vast natural resources and remarkable resilience to drive a powerful economic recovery. I look forward to working with president Zelensky and his team to recover Ukraine’s peaceful growth.” > > [...] > > The comments come as the US and Ukraine are reportedly on the cusp of inking a critical minerals deal Zelensky hopes will secure the support of Washington and bring an end to the war. > > [...]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2050069

> Here is the article as pdf. > > Drawing on the author’s own experience, this paper explores the rarely researched experience of sibling abortion under China’s One-Child Policy [1979 and 2015] through a psychodynamic lens. > > The author uses writing as a method of inquiry to delve into the emotional impact of losing a younger brother to abortion due to the One-Child Policy and to dialogue with relevant psychodynamic literature on loss and grief. > > The main body of this paper consists of three separate yet interrelated sections. > > - In the first section, drawing on the concept of The Dead Mother, the author explores the possible impact of her mother’s bereavement of a second child on the author’s emotional life in her formative years. > > - The second section draws on psychodynamic literature on melancholia to understand how the lost life of an aborted brother is kept alive in the author’s psyche and the ambivalence this brings to the author’s psychical world. > > - The third section is an analysis of the first two sections, constructing an understanding of the missing psychosocial elements in the first two sections. > > This paper gives voice to the longing and mourning brought by sibling abortion under China's One-Child Policy, presenting the author’s process of trying to understand such experiences and attempt to understand the personal and the psychical under the influence of the political.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2050004

> At least 40 Uyghurs have been deported to China, the Thai authorities have confirmed, despite warnings from rights groups that they face possible torture and even death. > > The group is thought to have been flown back to China's Xinjiang region on Thursday, after being held for 10 years in a Bangkok detention centre. > > China has been accused of committing crimes against humanity and possibly genocide against the Uyghur population and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies all of the allegations. > > It is the first time Thailand has deported Uyghurs since 2015. > > The deportation has been shrouded in secrecy after serious concerns were raised by the United States and United Nations. > > Thai media reported that several trucks, some with windows blocked with sheets of black plastic, left Bangkok's main immigration detention centre in the early hours of Thursday morning. > > [...]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2049607

> Archived > > International Labour Organization (ILO) flags 'full extent of forced labour' in China's Xinjiang and Tibet > > The ILO report 2025 states that forced labour extends beyond internment camps to include long-term imprisonment and large-scale labour transfers into industries such as solar panel production, agriculture, and textiles. > > [...] > > Information relating to forced labour of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China [...] were raised as observations predominantly by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and UN bodies such as the UN Human Rights Council (OHCHR). The report specifically highlights that forced labour is not confined to internment camps but includes long-term imprisonment and large-scale labour transfers. It has been rejected by a spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy in Washington. > > Summary: > > Two major systems of coercive work placement coexist in Xinjiang. > > - Firstly, a system of arbitrary detention for Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities suspected of endangering social stability and national security (the “Vocational Skills Training and Education Centers” or VSTEC system) which since 2020 has been replaced with institutionalized long-term detention in regular prisons following a formal legal process, notably of prominent intellectuals and continued forced placement of “released” detainees in labour-intensive industries such as textiles and electronics. > - Secondly, a system of transferring “surplus” rural workers from low-income traditional livelihoods pursuits into industries such as the processing of raw materials for the production of solar panels, batteries and other vehicle parts; seasonal agricultural work; and seafood processing. In recent years, based on an intensified campaign of investigating and monitoring the poverty status of millions of rural households, the authorities had raised targets leading to increased cross-provincial labour transfers. > > At the same time, Chinese local authorities had “actively guided” ethnic smallholder farmers to transfer their agricultural plots to large state-led cooperatives, thus “liberating” “surplus” rural workers for transfer into manufacturing or the service sector. > > > [...] In the last decade, similar policies have been pursued in the Tibet Autonomous Region (Tibet). These policies would apply coercive methods such as military-style vocational training methods and the involvement of political cadres to have Tibetan nomads and farmers swap their traditional livelihoods for jobs providing measurable cash income in industries such as road construction, mining or food-processing, thereby diluting “the negative influence of religion.” Placement incentives to local labour brokers and companies had facilitated a gradual increase in the labour transfer of rural workers to reach 630,000 workers in 2024. > > [...]

Archived

Here is the study (pdf)

>Most recently, the imposition of Chinese sanctions against individuals and institutions from the EU and the United Kingdom – including independent researchers that are members of the ETNC network [European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC)] – in retaliation for Western sanctions against Chinese individuals accused of grave human rights violations in Xinjiang have paved the way to an escalation in tensions between Europe and China. Even before these developments, however, it had become clear that Beijing’s efforts to developing soft power across the continent were increasingly ineffective.

Summary:

• Developing soft power has been a pillar of Chinese foreign policy since 2007 and remains a stated goal of China’s long-term policy orientation to 2035.
• We identify three prominent Chinese approaches to developing soft power in Europe: promoting Chinese language and culture; shaping China’s image through the media; and using the secondary soft-power effects of economic prowess.
• Recently, and over the last year in particular, China has become more assertive in attempting to shape its image by expanding its toolkit, particularly to enhance its political messaging. This includes the systematic use of social media.
• On the importance of China’s economy, the lines can often be blurred between the attractiveness of economic cooperation and the pressures of economic coercion. Withholding market access for European firms and products has long been an observed practice of reactive Chinese diplomacy, but an increasingly formalized development of sanctioning mechanisms, including “unreliable entity lists” and export control legislation, is a cause for growing concern.
• In other words, market access, trade and investment opportunities are perhaps the single largest factor determining China’s appeal in Europe, but also a major source of its coercive power.

Different patterns of Chinese soft power projections can be seen across four groups of countries analysed in this report:

>- In the first group (Austria, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia), China does not appear compelled to actively project its soft power, mostly because of the lack of public interest in these countries. >- In Italy and Greece, China’s soft power approach aims to arrest the trend of a deteriorating image and is geared towards damage containment. > - In Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and the UK, perceptions of China are clearly becoming less favourable, and Beijing is struggling with growing vigilance. >- Finally, in Czechia, Denmark, France, and Sweden, China’s soft power is clearly in a state of free fall.

In turn, EU institutions appear to follow the trend described in the third group, of growing vigilance, as the risks posed by China’s geopolitical ambitions increasingly underlined.

A number of factors have driven these trends, from the fallout of COVID-19 to Chinese domestic developments (including in Xinjiang and Hong Kong) and the impact of growing US-China rivalry. These factors ultimately appear to be more substantive drivers of European perceptions and attitudes towards China today than the traditional sources of soft power.

In response, the Chinese government’s public messaging in Europe has become increasingly proactive, even aggressive, including through the imposition of sanctions.

These new methods, though deployed differently across the continent and aimed in part at a Chinese political audience, point to Beijing’s objective to increase its sway over Europe by influencing related discourse. They are presumably designed to prevent negative publicity and criticism, rather than achieve likeability.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2044105

> Archived > > Resistance to the £225m project from ministers, councillors and police has gradually been extinguished by big pressure and small gifts. > > The Chinese government’s long campaign to create a new embassy by the Tower of London has involved the politics of international diplomacy and the politics of the town hall. > > On the sidelines of the G20 summit last year, President Xi lobbied Sir Keir Starmer about the proposed renovation of the Royal Mint Court, a £225 million property that for more than a century served as the site for manufacturing the nation’s coins. His warning was clear: a reset in relations and future investment depended on the project being approved. > > A year earlier, official records now reveal, the People’s Republic adopted a softer approach towards the council in whose gift the application lay. It bestowed a gift of a single box of biscuits upon Lutfur Rahman, the Tower Hamlets mayor, who had been removed from office for electoral fraud a decade earlier, only to come back as an independent. Its declared value: £25. Late last year China gave a bottle of wine, in this instance worth £20, to one of Rahman’s allies: a councillor, Iqbal Hossain, who was vice-chairman of the committee reviewing the application. One local powerbroker, speaking on condition of anonymity, recalled being sent a box of mooncakes (a delicacy), a bottle of Chinese white wine, a desk diary, a book on tea and a bottle of red wine. > > It now appears China is within touching distance of victory after Starmer asked Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, to “call in” the scheme. This means she will have the final say, as opposed to the council or the London mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, following an unusually speedy inquiry that finished hearing evidence on Thursday. She must act as a quasi-judge, acting neutrally and taking into account the apparent merits of the scheme. Any evidence of bias, or procedural errors, could be used to challenge the decision. Yet China critics fear the die is cast. > > If she approves it, Beijing will have the largest embassy in all of Europe: a sign of diplomatic and economic strength eclipsing even the £1 billion US embassy a short ride down the Thames. > > [...] > > Fear of spying hub > > Most bullish of all is China itself. Last week Christopher Katkowski KC, the country’s barrister, filed a document in which he lashed out at those who had criticised the Met’s sudden U-turn, saying allegations of government influence were “ludicrous”, “absolute nonsense” and “reflect very badly on those who made them”. As for the proposed barrier, he said that, while China wished to have “the best of relations” with the Foreign Office, it rejected the idea outright. > > He said that the People’s Republic had asked him to state on the record that Lammy’s “concern can be addressed through measures based on further discussion between the relevant parties”, including the ambassador granting the British government permanent access to the paved forecourt. > > As Rayner weighs up whether to approve the scheme, those offering outright opposition are a coalition of Chinese dissidents, critics of the Chinese Communist Party and MPs belonging to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, such as Duncan Smith. They are also joined by residents who do not want a Chinese “spy-hub” overshadowing their area. Earlier this month, all groups were out in force outside Royal Mint Court to stage a protest, numbering some 3,000, to remind ministers of the depth of opposition to the project and to challenge the Met’s belated insistence that the site can easily accommodate such numbers. > > One person present was Chloe Cheung, a 19-year-old pro-democracy activist living in the UK who is the subject of a £100,000 bounty issued by the Hong Kong government. She says the stakes could not be higher, describing the embassy as an “expansion of the CCP on British soil”. > > She said: “”It will be a huge surveillance hub in the future if it is built. For us who have a bounty on our head, from Hong Kong or from China, from Tibet, from Uighur, from Taiwan, we worry this will give them the space to do more surveillance.” Pointing to the previous use of unofficial Chinese “police stations” in the UK and violent tactics against dissidents, she said: “Having a larger embassy means more people have diplomatic protection to do whatever they want.” Asked about the government’s evolving stance, Cheung added: “”It’s mainly because of the £600 million [investment] deal by [Rachel] Reeves with China, but for me it’s too naive to just sign a deal and say, ‘Oh, the UK can give whatever the Chinese want’ and say yes to whatever terms and conditions …it’s not worth betraying those who believe the plan will threaten their safety.” > > [...]

Archived

Resistance to the £225m project from ministers, councillors and police has gradually been extinguished by big pressure and small gifts.

The Chinese government’s long campaign to create a new embassy by the Tower of London has involved the politics of international diplomacy and the politics of the town hall.

On the sidelines of the G20 summit last year, President Xi lobbied Sir Keir Starmer about the proposed renovation of the Royal Mint Court, a £225 million property that for more than a century served as the site for manufacturing the nation’s coins. His warning was clear: a reset in relations and future investment depended on the project being approved.

A year earlier, official records now reveal, the People’s Republic adopted a softer approach towards the council in whose gift the application lay. It bestowed a gift of a single box of biscuits upon Lutfur Rahman, the Tower Hamlets mayor, who had been removed from office for electoral fraud a decade earlier, only to come back as an independent. Its declared value: £25. Late last year China gave a bottle of wine, in this instance worth £20, to one of Rahman’s allies: a councillor, Iqbal Hossain, who was vice-chairman of the committee reviewing the application. One local powerbroker, speaking on condition of anonymity, recalled being sent a box of mooncakes (a delicacy), a bottle of Chinese white wine, a desk diary, a book on tea and a bottle of red wine.

It now appears China is within touching distance of victory after Starmer asked Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, to “call in” the scheme. This means she will have the final say, as opposed to the council or the London mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, following an unusually speedy inquiry that finished hearing evidence on Thursday. She must act as a quasi-judge, acting neutrally and taking into account the apparent merits of the scheme. Any evidence of bias, or procedural errors, could be used to challenge the decision. Yet China critics fear the die is cast.

If she approves it, Beijing will have the largest embassy in all of Europe: a sign of diplomatic and economic strength eclipsing even the £1 billion US embassy a short ride down the Thames.

[...]

Fear of spying hub

Most bullish of all is China itself. Last week Christopher Katkowski KC, the country’s barrister, filed a document in which he lashed out at those who had criticised the Met’s sudden U-turn, saying allegations of government influence were “ludicrous”, “absolute nonsense” and “reflect very badly on those who made them”. As for the proposed barrier, he said that, while China wished to have “the best of relations” with the Foreign Office, it rejected the idea outright.

He said that the People’s Republic had asked him to state on the record that Lammy’s “concern can be addressed through measures based on further discussion between the relevant parties”, including the ambassador granting the British government permanent access to the paved forecourt.

As Rayner weighs up whether to approve the scheme, those offering outright opposition are a coalition of Chinese dissidents, critics of the Chinese Communist Party and MPs belonging to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, such as Duncan Smith. They are also joined by residents who do not want a Chinese “spy-hub” overshadowing their area. Earlier this month, all groups were out in force outside Royal Mint Court to stage a protest, numbering some 3,000, to remind ministers of the depth of opposition to the project and to challenge the Met’s belated insistence that the site can easily accommodate such numbers.

One person present was Chloe Cheung, a 19-year-old pro-democracy activist living in the UK who is the subject of a £100,000 bounty issued by the Hong Kong government. She says the stakes could not be higher, describing the embassy as an “expansion of the CCP on British soil”.

She said: “”It will be a huge surveillance hub in the future if it is built. For us who have a bounty on our head, from Hong Kong or from China, from Tibet, from Uighur, from Taiwan, we worry this will give them the space to do more surveillance.” Pointing to the previous use of unofficial Chinese “police stations” in the UK and violent tactics against dissidents, she said: “Having a larger embassy means more people have diplomatic protection to do whatever they want.” Asked about the government’s evolving stance, Cheung added: “”It’s mainly because of the £600 million [investment] deal by [Rachel] Reeves with China, but for me it’s too naive to just sign a deal and say, ‘Oh, the UK can give whatever the Chinese want’ and say yes to whatever terms and conditions …it’s not worth betraying those who believe the plan will threaten their safety.”

[...]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2043982

> [...] > > Many people might wonder why a person living in a largely stable economy where the GDP per capita is roughly in line with the global average [such as in China] might choose to take so many risks to start a new life in a foreign country. > > [...] > > Ling [a Chinese migrant who fled to Germany] started thinking about leaving China more than 20 years ago. But it wasn’t until the government’s harsh Covid-19 lockdown restrictions that he seriously considered taking action. During the pandemic he lost his job and saw his salary halve to 3,000 yuan (£326) a month as he picked up replacement work as a delivery driver. He grew increasingly uncomfortable with [his daughter] Feifei’s education, such as her being required to wear the red neckerchief of the Young Pioneers, the Chinese Communist party’s organisation for children aged six to 14. He was appalled when a teacher showed Feifei’s class videos portraying the US and western countries as “bullying China”. > > “Education should be about teaching children how to love people around them and society, rather than promoting hatred and distorting the minds of children from an early age,” he says, adding that he felt discriminated against as a Christian. > > [...] > > Crossing rivers and mountains for a new life in the west is known on Chinese social media as zouxian, or “walking the line”. > > Wealthier Chinese are also abandoning their homeland for a new start in Europe. In February this year, Mou* and his family landed in Frankfurt for a transfer to Serbia. In the transfer hall, Mou called an emergency family meeting. We’re not going to Serbia, he told his three children, and we’re not going back to China either. Mou, his wife, their children and Mou’s parents approached Frankfurt airport staff and said they wanted to claim asylum. The plane tickets for the family of seven had cost more than 45,500 yuan. > > [...] > > Pre-Covid, the 42-year-old businessman [Mou] enjoyed his life in China. He ran several food export companies, including a rougamo company that exported the popular Xi’an street food snack to the US. He owned several properties. > > But the pandemic battered his business, and also his faith in the government. In 2022 he got into a fight with security officers because he refused to obey a lockdown order. He was detained for three days at the police station. Later, the police asked him to come back and “record some videos”. Mou refused to cooperate and was warned that his children’s future education would become “problematic”. > > “My body was shaking when I got the call, full of fear and desperation … I immediately talked to my wife and said let’s leave,” Mou [said]. > > [...] > > Most of all, the new migrants hope that anti-immigration sentiment doesn’t take aim at them. “Germany has taken care of me when I have no job and am making no contribution,” says Ling, who is living on a government handout of 700 euros (£581) a month as he awaits the outcome of his asylum application. “I hope to become a legal citizen, to work and to pay taxes. If the country needs me one day, I would contribute without hesitation”. > > *All names in the article have been changed.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Rotterdam (Netherlands) is leading an investigation into suspected large-scale customs fraud and money laundering related to the import of e-bikes from China.

Yesterday, as part of this investigation, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) carried out searches at a private residence and business premises of the suspects in the province of North Brabant. The two suspects allegedly facilitated the fraudulent import of e-bikes by submitting false customs declarations and engaging in money laundering.

E-bikes from China are sold at very low prices on the European market and are subject to anti-dumping duties and anti-subsidy measures to protect EU manufacturers. These duties can amount to up to 80% of the purchase price.

According to the investigation, at least 25 containers were allegedly smuggled into the EU via Poland, with customs declarations falsely describing the goods as something other than e-bikes. The EU budget is estimated to have suffered a loss of at least €1.8 million in unpaid anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures.

All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the competent Dutch courts of law.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.

[...]

Many people might wonder why a person living in a largely stable economy where the GDP per capita is roughly in line with the global average [such as in China] might choose to take so many risks to start a new life in a foreign country.

[...]

Ling [a Chinese migrant who fled to Germany] started thinking about leaving China more than 20 years ago. But it wasn’t until the government’s harsh Covid-19 lockdown restrictions that he seriously considered taking action. During the pandemic he lost his job and saw his salary halve to 3,000 yuan (£326) a month as he picked up replacement work as a delivery driver. He grew increasingly uncomfortable with [his daughter] Feifei’s education, such as her being required to wear the red neckerchief of the Young Pioneers, the Chinese Communist party’s organisation for children aged six to 14. He was appalled when a teacher showed Feifei’s class videos portraying the US and western countries as “bullying China”.

“Education should be about teaching children how to love people around them and society, rather than promoting hatred and distorting the minds of children from an early age,” he says, adding that he felt discriminated against as a Christian.

[...]

Crossing rivers and mountains for a new life in the west is known on Chinese social media as zouxian, or “walking the line”.

Wealthier Chinese are also abandoning their homeland for a new start in Europe. In February this year, Mou* and his family landed in Frankfurt for a transfer to Serbia. In the transfer hall, Mou called an emergency family meeting. We’re not going to Serbia, he told his three children, and we’re not going back to China either. Mou, his wife, their children and Mou’s parents approached Frankfurt airport staff and said they wanted to claim asylum. The plane tickets for the family of seven had cost more than 45,500 yuan.

[...]

Pre-Covid, the 42-year-old businessman [Mou] enjoyed his life in China. He ran several food export companies, including a rougamo company that exported the popular Xi’an street food snack to the US. He owned several properties.

But the pandemic battered his business, and also his faith in the government. In 2022 he got into a fight with security officers because he refused to obey a lockdown order. He was detained for three days at the police station. Later, the police asked him to come back and “record some videos”. Mou refused to cooperate and was warned that his children’s future education would become “problematic”.

“My body was shaking when I got the call, full of fear and desperation … I immediately talked to my wife and said let’s leave,” Mou [said].

[...]

Most of all, the new migrants hope that anti-immigration sentiment doesn’t take aim at them. “Germany has taken care of me when I have no job and am making no contribution,” says Ling, who is living on a government handout of 700 euros (£581) a month as he awaits the outcome of his asylum application. “I hope to become a legal citizen, to work and to pay taxes. If the country needs me one day, I would contribute without hesitation”.

*All names in the article have been changed.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2035557

> Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called on the European Union to confiscate the assets of the Russian Central Bank, which are frozen due to sanctions, to finance future financial support for Ukraine. > > So far, the bloc has only used the extraordinary revenues of the assets held in its territory, estimated to be worth €210 billion, to deliver financial and military assistance to the war-torn nation. The option of asset confiscation remains a slippery slope, however, because the money is considered Russia's sovereign property and is therefore protected by international law. > > "Enough talking, it's time to act" Donald Tusk posted on X on Thursday. "Let's finance our aid for Ukraine from the Russian frozen assets." > > Tusk's bold idea comes amid heightened fears that US President Donald Trump, who is currently immersed in a bitter feud with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, might soon cut all assistance for Kyiv, leaving it vulnerable to Russia's aggression. > > Trump shocked allies when he put the blame for the invasion on Ukraine and described Zelenskyy as a "dictator without elections," echoing Kremlin propaganda. > > [...]

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called on the European Union to confiscate the assets of the Russian Central Bank, which are frozen due to sanctions, to finance future financial support for Ukraine.

So far, the bloc has only used the extraordinary revenues of the assets held in its territory, estimated to be worth €210 billion, to deliver financial and military assistance to the war-torn nation. The option of asset confiscation remains a slippery slope, however, because the money is considered Russia's sovereign property and is therefore protected by international law.

"Enough talking, it's time to act" Donald Tusk posted on X on Thursday. "Let's finance our aid for Ukraine from the Russian frozen assets."

Tusk's bold idea comes amid heightened fears that US President Donald Trump, who is currently immersed in a bitter feud with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, might soon cut all assistance for Kyiv, leaving it vulnerable to Russia's aggression.

Trump shocked allies when he put the blame for the invasion on Ukraine and described Zelenskyy as a "dictator without elections," echoing Kremlin propaganda.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2035432

> Archived > > In the three years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 20,000 people in Russia have been detained for their anti-war stance, according to figures released by the independent human rights organization OVD-Info. > > In 2022 alone, over 18,900 people were detained during public anti-war protests against military actions and mobilization — the mass conscription of men into Russia’s armed forces announced by Vladimir Putin in September that year. > > In 2023, Russian security forces detained an additional 274 individuals, followed by 41 more in 2024. Over the same period, there were 856 instances of detentions linked to the public display of anti-war symbols. > > Some Russians have been detained multiple times. These include 79-year-old St. Petersburg artist Elena Osipova, who has repeatedly staged solo protests against the war in her hometown. > > In certain cases, activists have faced additional pressure from the state following their detention. For example, at the end of 2023, officers from the Center for Combating Extremism (also known as Center “E”) detained activist Dmitry Kuzmin, who had already been expelled twice from university for his anti-war stance. After his arrest, police attempted to serve him a military draft notice while he was in custody at the police station. > > [...]

Archived

In the three years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 20,000 people in Russia have been detained for their anti-war stance, according to figures released by the independent human rights organization OVD-Info.

In 2022 alone, over 18,900 people were detained during public anti-war protests against military actions and mobilization — the mass conscription of men into Russia’s armed forces announced by Vladimir Putin in September that year.

In 2023, Russian security forces detained an additional 274 individuals, followed by 41 more in 2024. Over the same period, there were 856 instances of detentions linked to the public display of anti-war symbols.

Some Russians have been detained multiple times. These include 79-year-old St. Petersburg artist Elena Osipova, who has repeatedly staged solo protests against the war in her hometown.

In certain cases, activists have faced additional pressure from the state following their detention. For example, at the end of 2023, officers from the Center for Combating Extremism (also known as Center “E”) detained activist Dmitry Kuzmin, who had already been expelled twice from university for his anti-war stance. After his arrest, police attempted to serve him a military draft notice while he was in custody at the police station.

[...]

Archived

[Ukrainian] President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference on Feb. 23 that it was "dangerous" that members of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's team are spreading disinformation about the rationale for the start of the war to members of U.S. President Donald Trump's orbit.

"I know that there are people from this Hungarian leader who have contact with people in President Trump's orbit, and are constantly raising questions... in regards to not expanding NATO into eastern Europe," Zelensky said, criticizing Kremlin talking points that NATO was at fault for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Orban, known for his close ties with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, has openly criticized EU aid for Ukraine and obstructed sanctions against Moscow.

Hungarian government insiders revealed that Trump sought Orban’s opinion on strategies to end the Ukraine war multiple times after Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election.

In February 2024, Orban said that Ukraine should be left as a "buffer zone" between Russia and the West, with allies giving the country security guarantees but not accepting it into the EU or NATO.

Trump has himself previously criticized former President Joe Biden for provoking Russia’s invasion, claiming Ukraine’s potential NATO membership had long been a significant concern for Moscow. "I could understand their feelings," he said, referring to the country that launched the deadliest war in Europe since World War II.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2035145

> Safeguard Defenders [a NGO focused on human rights in China] is releasing its new handbook ‘Missing in China’ today in response to the growing number of foreign citizens arbitrarily detained in the authoritarian country. > > The handbook is a combination of the organization’s extensive research in China’s repressive judicial system and the first-hand experiences of former detainees and their families. It offers readers with crucial insights and practical advice to deal with the detention of a loved one in China and aims to help them become the best possible advocates for their family member. > > ‘Missing in China’ is available to download here in English, Chinese and Japanese. > > It includes information on what to expect from China’s law enforcement and judicial processes, how to retain a lawyer, how your country and consular services can assist, ways to engage with media and other possible allies, as well as other practical information. > > >While the majority of detentions of foreigners in China go unreported, some of the names that have made the news since 2018 include American Jeff Harper (2020); Australians Yang Hengjun (2019 to present) and Cheng Lei (2020 to 2023); Briton Ian Stones (likely 2018 to 2024); Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor (2018 to 2021); and Japanese Iwatani Nobu (2019). > > >In recent years, China has amended its counter-espionage and state secrets laws, markedly expanding both the scope of activities considered illegal and the ambiguity surrounding their interpretation. China has used these laws to target more than a dozen Japanese nationals and, for the first time last year, a South Korean worker in the country. > > >The authoritarian practice of using foreign citizens as bargaining chips in international relations became of such concern that Canada launched the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations on 15 February 2021. As of February 2025, 80 countries have signed on to the Declaration. > > >Yet, at the same time, those same nations often fail to provide adequate warnings to their citizens. While China was clearly on their minds when the Declaration against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations was drafted, most of the signatory country’s travel advisories do not reflect such a risk assessment. >

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2035145

> Safeguard Defenders [a NGO focused on human rights in China] is releasing its new handbook ‘Missing in China’ today in response to the growing number of foreign citizens arbitrarily detained in the authoritarian country. > > The handbook is a combination of the organization’s extensive research in China’s repressive judicial system and the first-hand experiences of former detainees and their families. It offers readers with crucial insights and practical advice to deal with the detention of a loved one in China and aims to help them become the best possible advocates for their family member. > > ‘Missing in China’ is available to download here in English, Chinese and Japanese. > > It includes information on what to expect from China’s law enforcement and judicial processes, how to retain a lawyer, how your country and consular services can assist, ways to engage with media and other possible allies, as well as other practical information. > > >While the majority of detentions of foreigners in China go unreported, some of the names that have made the news since 2018 include American Jeff Harper (2020); Australians Yang Hengjun (2019 to present) and Cheng Lei (2020 to 2023); Briton Ian Stones (likely 2018 to 2024); Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor (2018 to 2021); and Japanese Iwatani Nobu (2019). > > >In recent years, China has amended its counter-espionage and state secrets laws, markedly expanding both the scope of activities considered illegal and the ambiguity surrounding their interpretation. China has used these laws to target more than a dozen Japanese nationals and, for the first time last year, a South Korean worker in the country. > > >The authoritarian practice of using foreign citizens as bargaining chips in international relations became of such concern that Canada launched the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations on 15 February 2021. As of February 2025, 80 countries have signed on to the Declaration. > > >Yet, at the same time, those same nations often fail to provide adequate warnings to their citizens. While China was clearly on their minds when the Declaration against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations was drafted, most of the signatory country’s travel advisories do not reflect such a risk assessment. >

[...]

In both nations, anger had been building for years until the final drop in the glass caused it to burst. In Serbia, the tragic infrastructure collapse was a stark reminder that corruption will eventually claim people’s lives. In Georgia, it was the government’s declared foreign policy reversal—a shift that, if left unopposed, protesters fear, could be existentially fatal for the country.

On November 1, a canopy in front of the newly rebuilt train station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, collapsed, claiming 15 lives. The tragic event reignited the corruption claims on this Chinese-funded railway infrastructure project, whose details remain classified. The lack of transparency, characteristic of President Aleksandar Vučić’s administration, appears to have reached a breaking point. A few weeks later, on November 22, students and professors holding a vigil outside the faculty of dramatic arts in Belgrade were attacked by individuals affiliated with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). This led students to occupy the faculty. Soon, the government was facing a broad protest movement led by students.

[...]

One routinely sees the EU flags flying alongside the Georgian ones during the protests; sometimes, one can spot the Ukrainian, U.S., and German flags. Not so in Serbia. There, the state flags fly, intermingled and often dominated by the protest symbols – blank canvases with bloody handprints, symbolizing that the government’s hands are in the blood of people who died in Novi Sad.

If the Serbian protesters are focused on domestic affairs, such as corruption and other governance issues, that is because foreign policy aspirations do not unify Serb protesters as much as Georgians.

“Anything related to geopolitics will only bring polarization among people who are united against all the wrongdoings of the Serbian government,” says Milan Vujic, a 27-year-old Serbian lawyer and activist who has actively participated in the movement. If protesters start bringing in EU flags, he adds, “it can only bring internal debates and polarization into the protests, which is not needed at all.”

[...]

The resulting contrast in the EU’s response to the two protests has been striking. In Georgia, where the people want their pro-EU efforts recognized, and the government has effectively broken off any dialogue with Brussels, EU officials have been vocal about their concerns and even imposed limited visa sanctions. Meanwhile, in Serbia, where Vučić maintains his ties with Brussels, the EU response has been much more muted.

Yet, in Georgia, the pro-Western sentiment is not only geopolitical. It can also be seen as a shorthand for the desired governance model. The rallies against the “foreign agents” law dubbed it the “Russian law” because the implementation of such legislation brings the country into the Russian model of governance—despotic, corrupt, arbitrary, and fundamentally unfree.

[...]