GUANGXI DISTRIBUTES XI'S "LITTLE RED BOOKS"
As part of the propaganda campaign supporting Xi Jinping's third term in the lead up to the 20th Party Congress, Guangxi is distributing a pocket-sized collection of Xi Jinping speeches and instructions called the "Modern Red Booklet" at schools, businesses, hospitals, and hotels. The new "Little Red Book" appeared following Xi's appointment as Guangxi's delegate to the impending Party Congress this fall. It has been widely distributed, with local official media publishing photos of people reading Xi's quotes everywhere, even farmers in the fields. The official Nanning Daily described the book as "a treasure in the palm of your hand." Since February, numerous ceremonies have been held to publicize the text. (PIME Asia News, April 28, 2022)
MUSLIM COUNTRIES HELP CHINA HUNT DOWN UIGHURS AROUND THE WORLD
With help from countries in the Middle East and North Africa (including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE), China's Ministry of State Security is hunting down Muslim Uighurs abroad to clamp down on criticism of Beijing's repression. The scale of Beijing's harassment, detention and extradition of Uighurs from around the world – and the cooperation it is getting from governments abroad – is unprecedented. So far, Beijing has targeted more than 5,500 Uighurs overseas, with more than 1,364 detained and/or forcefully repatriated from at least 18 countries since 2014. (NBC News, April 25, 2022)
CHINA ALLOWS SOME ASIAN STUDENTS TO RETURN
After a two-year hiatus, China has given the green light for small groups of students from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Korea to return to the country to resume their studies. The Sri Lanka Embassy in China said in a statement that Beijing had "finalized two groups of students to return to China." The statement said that "additional students are being processed to return to China," while Colombo would continue efforts "to enable all students to return to their studies." (The Hindu, April 21, 2022)
INDIA SUSPENDS TOURIST VISAS FOR PRC NATIONALS
India has suspended tourist visas for PRC nationals to punish Beijing for not allowing about 22,000 Indian students enrolled in Chinese universities to return to classes. The students returned from China to India when COVID-19 began in 2020. India has urged China to adopt a "congenial stance" on the matter, which has jeopardized the careers of thousands of Indian students, said Indian spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. "The Chinese side has not given any categorical response about the return of Indian students. We will continue to urge the Chinese side to adopt a congenial stance in the interest of our students and that they facilitate an early return to China so that our students can pursue their studies," Bagchi said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has raised the matter with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (PTI, Apr 24, 2022)
BALOCH REBELS CLAIM MURDERS OF CONFUCIUS INST. LEADERS, TEACHERS
The Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at Karachi University in Pakistan that killed four people, including three PRC nationals. Footage showed a person dressed in a burqa walking up to a van inside the campus, followed by an explosion that killed the director and two teachers from the Confucius Institute there. The militant BLA has previously targeted Chinese citizens and interests, but the attack marks "a new chapter in the history of Baloch resistance," read a BLA statement. This is the first major attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan since the bombing of a bus at Dasu in 2021 that killed nine. Thousands of Chinese workers work in Pakistan. (Hindustan Times, April 26, 2022)
Want these sent to your inbox?
Subscribe
