At the end of 2019, Chinese authorities announced the closure of Uyghur camps, or "vocational training centers," and The Washington Post reporters visited Uyghur last year and wrote that they did not find any "training centers." In the course of our reporter's investigations last week, the location of a camp that still exists in Maralbeshi County, that is, the "Education Center", became clear.
Recently, one of the people familiar with the situation in Maralbeshi reported that a week before Eid, the bodies of a group of inmates including Abdurghani Kadir were released from the Tumshuq prison in Maralbeshi, and another group of inmates were returned to their families in serious condition. In the course of our investigations, although this information has not yet been verified, it was revealed that a person named Kub Noor in Maralbeshi has just left the camp, that is, the "training center".
It turns out that Khun Noor was released on bail in the first week of last month. A few days after he left the camp, he was treated in a hospital for a week. According to the statements of the hospital staff, the victim was from the village of Syorbuya Bazaar in Maralbeishi, and was released after two years in the camp.
Shohret Zakir, the former president of the Uyghur Autonomous Region, announced that at the end of 2019, the "cadets" of the "vocational training centers" in the region had almost "graduated", that is, the camps had been closed. Last year, the reporters of the "Washington Post" newspaper, which conducted an investigation in Uyghur, reported that they did not find "training centers" in the area. In order to clarify which camp Noor lives in, we asked the security director of the village where he belongs to.
The director confirmed that Kubunur was taken to the camp in February 2021 and released a month earlier, on April 9 this year.
It turns out that the director of security is the person who handed over Noor to the camp. When we asked him how many people were in the training center, he said that he did not know the number of people coming in and out of the center all the time. Through these statements, he confirmed that the camps still exist in Maralbeshi and that the kidnappings are still going on. He said that Noor served 2 years and 2 months in a "training center" adjacent to Maralbeshi County Sheriff's Office.
Mr. Ilshat Hasan and Ms. Zubeira Shamshidin, one of the Uyghur observers abroad, in our previous interviews, argued that under the pressure of international public opinion, China turned the vast majority of camps into prisons by defeating them, but kept a number of camps for newly arrested and detained people.
The Chinese minister said that he stood by the military council
Chinese Foreign Minister Mr. Qin Gang arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on May 2 and met with the coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing.
The foreign minister's arrival came after Peng Xiubin, director of international relations of the Chinese Communist Party, recently visited Myanmar.
Chinese Foreign Minister Ching Kang, who arrived in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday on May 2, met with the leader of the Military Council, General Min Aung Hlaing.
After the meeting, the Chinese Foreign Minister expressed that his visit not only showed the friendship between the two countries of Myanmar and China, but also showed the Chinese government's support for the military council on the international front.
Military Council Television announced that the Chinese minister and the Myanmar military leader discussed the political situation in Myanmar, as well as issues to be done for the stability and development of Myanmar.
NUG Foreign Minister Daw Zin Ma Aung told RFA last night that her National Unity Government is monitoring the visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister.
"Regarding the Chinese foreign minister's visit, we have been cautiously monitoring the situation since before the trip began."
It is known that the Chinese Foreign Minister will visit Bagan-Nyang Oo on May 3. Before arriving in Nay Pyi Taw, Chinese Minister Chin Kang met with the UN Special Representative for Myanmar Mrs. Nolin Heza in Beijing on May 1 and discussed the resolution of Myanmar's problems, he said.
Dr. Hla Kyaw Zao, a political analyst, said that the constant visits of top Chinese officials to Myanmar are not only political issues but also economic issues.
"There is geopolitics, there is also economy. Regarding Burma, in terms of geopolitics, when Myanmar and China are in conflict, the issue of Burma is offset by China. He wants to try not to become a flame when the relationship is bad. Number two is the economy. China is working with 10 Asian countries and 5 major Asian countries (Regional Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement) RCEP. Burma is also important in order to restore the supply chain. It seems that there are also issues to reopen trade. In addition to political issues, there will also be economic issues."
NUG spokesperson U Ne Boorn Lat also said that China needs to properly analyze the situation in Myanmar. He told RFA early last night that the Myanmar issue could only be resolved if the situation on the ground was taken into account.
"China needs to properly analyze the situation in Myanmar. The current situation in Myanmar is not that the NUG is celebrating a revolution alone. The revolutionary forces and the NUG are all working towards a real common goal. It would be wrong to think that the terrorist military group is ruling Myanmar well. Some places they cannot dominate or control. We have also announced. We have also announced that the NUG and ethnic forces control more than fifty percent of the country. These are the actual conditions on the ground. Only if these actual conditions are taken into consideration will the Myanmar issue be resolved."
China - In order for the country to compete economically with the United States and the West, Myanmar, which is located on the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia, is geopolitically important, so it is possible that Myanmar is being treated more, a Chinese affairs analyst who did not wish to be named, opined.
"Shanghai Corporate Group, that group has become a very important group in today's so-called Second Cold War period. It is a real competitor to the US and the West. Russia, China In addition to five Indian countries and five Asian countries in November 2022, Myanmar and Cambodia are strategic partners in Southeast Asia. The role of this group has become very important, and the military economy has become very important. Myanmar's geopolitics is also important because it sits on the Bay of Bengal, which is important in Southeast Asia. Therefore, it can be said that China is treating Myanmar more because Russia and China are paying attention to this in the Shanghai Corporate Group.
Chinese Minister Qin Kang said that it is impossible to solve the Myanmar issue in the fastest way because it is too complicated. China's state-owned CGTN news agency reported yesterday that China is more interested in Myanmar's stability than other countries because it is a neighboring country.
The Chinese Foreign Minister will leave Myanmar for India on May 4 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
World Press Freedom Day
But in Myanmar, after the 2021 military coup, more than 150 journalists were arrested and imprisoned, and four were killed.
During the military coup, there were 13 news stations whose licenses were suspended.
The journalists said that they were not allowed to work freely and were hiding.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced at the end of 2022 that Myanmar is the third worst country in the world for the repression of journalists.
North Koreans barely eat two meals a day
It is news that households are running out of food in each province of North Korea one after another, and many residents are barely eating two meals a day. Reporter Ahn Chang-gyu reports inside North Korean news.
It is known that the recent food situation in North Korea has reached its worst due to the border closure and strengthening of control taken by the North Korean authorities in relation to the spread of the corona infection .
Earlier this year, the campaign to ' dedicate patriotism ' and the amount of food supplied to soldiers was reduced, but the food shortage still persists and the barley hill begins prematurely .
A resident source from Gyeongheung County, North Hamgyong Province told Radio Free Asia on the 1st , “As barley pass approaches, the living conditions of the residents are getting more difficult. There are so many families eating only two meals a day. ”
A source said, “In the past, May and June were called Barley Pass, but recently it feels like April has already begun . ”
The source said, “ According to the central government’s order to celebrate the May 1st , a holiday for workers around the world, there was a sports event and a commemorative event today at the factory.” Almost half of the people who were not able to bring lunch despite the instructions were given . ”
The source said, “In the past, once or twice a year, we would have sports matches on holidays, then we would sit around and eat lunch together to deepen friendship. was organized” .
The source continued, “Nowadays, it is not at all embarrassing to bring rice ( corn ) with a little bit of rice (for lunch) and it is recognized that life is good, but there don’t seem to be many families like that.” “People who couldn’t bring lunch Most of them are those who have run out of food or are living in difficulties,” he added .
In the past, when the husband went to mobilization or mobile work, the family members would eat whole grain corn and wrap the husband's lunch with this rice to save face, but this is not the case now .
The source added, “More and more people are unable to go to work because they don’t have enough to eat at home or because their lives are too difficult .
On the same day, a source in Yanggang Province said, “It is not easy to find a family that eats three meals a day in Baekam County these days . ”
The source said, “Families who are not able to expand their business or do a lot of farming on small plots ( private fields cultivated in the mountains) are suffering from extreme hardships . ” I am living,” he said .
The source explained, “Families without money eat boiled whole corn, which is the most priced ( cheapest ) at around 3,000 won per 1kg , or make a meal with corn porridge boiled with potatoes or vegetables ( vegetables ) in corn noodles.” .
The source added, “I understand that the people’s unit chiefs are reporting the list of households that have run out of food to the town office and are raising ( suggesting ) that countermeasures are needed ,” adding, “However, no measures have been taken yet . ”
Meanwhile, according to China's General Administration of Customs , North Korea imported 46,762 tons of rice from China in March, up about 2.5 times from the previous month . More than half of this rice was cheap South American rice with no nutritional value or taste. Even if 500 grams of this rice were supplied to all North Koreans a day , it would not be enough for four days .
Also, according to the announcement of the Rural Development Administration of South Korea at the end of last year , North Korea's food crop production last year was estimated at 4.51 million tons, which is a decrease of 180,000 tons from the previous year . Even if the North Korean authorities introduce grains at the level of previous years, it is expected that there will be a shortfall of 800,000 tons compared to demand .
The South Korean Ministry of Unification also announced in February that North Korea “ appears to be in a serious food crisis, with deaths from starvation occurring one after another in some areas . ” At the time, Deputy Spokesperson Lee Hyo-jung of the Ministry of Unification met with reporters and said, " According to domestic and foreign research institutes, if North Korea used the cost of missiles launched last year to introduce food, it would be able to purchase more than 1 million tons. " It is estimated to be at a level that is more than adequate, ” he said .
At the recently held expanded meeting of the 7th plenary session of the 8th Labor Party, the agricultural issue was virtually discussed as a single issue, and Kim Jong-un emphasized state control over agriculture, showing how serious the current food shortage situation in North Korea is . The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) designated North Korea as a country in need of external food support for the 7th consecutive year until this year in its ' Prospect for Crop Forecast and Food Situation for the First Quarter of this year ' released last month
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