‘We don’t do ideological confrontation’
...and Uyghurs in Afghanistan fear Taliban buying Huawei surveillance tech | October 20, 2023
Dear reader:
We have a report today on Uyghurs in Afghanistan who are anxiously watching as the Chinese government pulls the ruling Taliban ever tighter into a Belt and Road embrace. An agreement between telecom and surveillance giant Huawei and the Taliban to build out infrastructure is of particular concern, as Huawei technology has been used in China to ethnically profile Uyghurs. Scroll down for a summary or click through for the full report in the last Uyghur Bulletin, based on extensive interviews with Uyghurs in Kabul and around the world. The Uyghur crisis is the topic of one of the discussions I’ll be hosting at our NEXTChina conference in New York on November 1 and 2. Click here to see the program, and here to buy tickets. Breaking: The U.S. Department of Defense has just released its annual report on “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” (PDF here). From the executive summary:
Our Word of the Day is from the speech given by Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 at the Belt and Road Forum (my translation, which differs slightly from the official English transcript):
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Jeremy Goldkorn
Editor-in-Chief
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CURRENT AFFAIRS
Surprise attendees, notable absences, and Vladimir Putin at the Belt and Road Forum |
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and his wife, Péng Lìyuàn 彭丽媛 (center), with foreign leaders at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the Great Hall of the People. Photo by Feng Yongbin, China Daily |
The third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) concluded on Wednesday. It wasn’t nearly as well attended as years past: 2019 saw 36 heads of state and government attend, while 29 attended in 2017. This year, only 22 leaders showed up.
Xi framed the Belt and Road as part of a greater struggle against colonialism and developmental injustice during the two-day conference.
There were a lot of notable absences though. Click through for a full list.
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NEWS BRIEFING
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Here’s what else you need to know about China today:
China condemned an attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip which caused “massive casualties,” while reiterating calls for “an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday. The horrific explosion reportedly killed hundreds at the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, sparking fierce protests across the region. The perpetrators of the attack and the number of fatalities remain unclear, though the U.S. released its own assessment of the attack, stating that “Israel is not responsible for the deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza City,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on X on October 16. China has not condemned the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people. Afghanistan’s Taliban wants to formally join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and will send a technical team to China for further talks, the regime’s acting commerce minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi said today per Reuters. The U.S. state of Arkansas has ordered Syngenta, the agritech company owned by Chinese state-owned firm ChemChina, to sell off 160 acres (65 hectares) of land in the state within two years, citing national security threats posed by the Chinese government. Syngenta spokesperson Saswato Das criticized the decision: “Our people in Arkansas are Americans led by Americans who care deeply about serving Arkansas farmers,” he said. “This action hurts Arkansas farmers more than anyone else.” China formally arrested a Japanese employee of drugmaker Astellas Pharma who had been detained on suspicion of “engaging in espionage activities and violating anti-espionage law.” The unidentified man, who worked for Astellas’s office in Beijing, was detained by Chinese authorities in March just before his scheduled return to Japan, a move that stunned the Japanese business community and sparked repeated calls for his release from the Japanese government. He was placed in criminal detention last month, under which Chinese law stipulates that a person can be officially arrested within 37 days. Taiwan detected 13 Chinese aircraft in its air defense zone this morning, including fighter jets and drones that carried out “joint combat patrols” with Chinese warships, Taiwan’s defense ministry reported today. Chinese state media: World leaders all want to meet Xí Jìnpíng 习近平: That’s the main message in state media today, as it has been in much of the official reporting and propaganda about the Belt and Road Forum that concluded yesterday. Xinhua News agency’s top item is: Xi Jinping meets with Prime Minister Maleiane of Mozambique. The People’s Daily’s print front page has these stories:
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UYGHUR BULLETIN
Uyghurs in Afghanistan fear Taliban buying Huawei surveillance tech |
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 on the sidelines of the third China Xizang Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation in Nyingchi, Tibet, on October 5. Image via Taliban Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesperson. |
Uyghurs living in Kabul told The China Project that they are worried about an August 2023 agreement between the Taliban and Huawei, China’s giant telecommunications company, which could see the rollout of cameras equipped with facial-recognition capabilities in every province of Afghanistan.
The Taliban hopes to use the cameras to quell violent opposition from groups such as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) and the National Resistance Front.
Ruth Ingram spoke to Uyghurs in Afghanistan and around the world for the latest Uyghur Bulletin.
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ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
China urges nationals in Israel to book commercial flights back home |
A damaged home is seen after it was hit by a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip into Sderot, southern Israel October 17, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen |
The Chinese government has told its citizens to exit Israel as quickly as possible amid the escalating conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The delay in evacuation efforts still sparked a heated debate on the Chinese internet about the central government’s responsibility toward citizens stranded abroad, with some saying they were confused by Beijing’s attitude and others urging the ones in danger to be responsible for their own safety.
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MORE FROM THE CHINA PROJECT
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FROM THE NEWSBASE
Below are links from our NewsBase to other noteworthy reports published in the last 24 hours from and about China.BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:Economic gloom or boom Country Garden State-owned businesses Local government debt and the banks holding it Automobiles Semiconductors Phillips Tencent SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:Infectious diseases Agriculture Mental health Renewable energy POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:Military BRI U.S.-China competition and tensions Israel-Hamas conflict Singapore Japan Middle East Thailand SOCIETY AND CULTURE:Pet safety Fast-food
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