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One Man Uyghur Protest: LaunchGood

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Free the Panchen Lama

Hong Kong

Background for the 2019-2020 Protests

  • One Country, Two Systems: Despite operating as a part of China, Hong Kong keeps democratic aspects such as freedom of speech, the right to vote, and right of assembly (created during Britain's return of Hong Kong to China in 1997)

  • February 2018: Couple Chan Tong-Kai and Poon Hiu-Wang travel to Taiwan for nine days

  • Chan returns alone and confesses to murdering Poon, but he is unable to be charged by Hong Kong authorities (he would need to go to Taiwan for trial, but Hong Kong and Taiwan do not have an extradition agreement)

  • 2019: Hong Kong government proposes an extradition agreement permitting criminals to attend trial in Taiwan, but the same bill permits extradition to mainland China

  • Extradition in Mainland China poses threats to Hong Kong and its citizens, as the two governments operate differently

  • October 23rd, 2019: Extradition bill is formally withdrawn and Chan Tong-Kai is released from prison

Why Hong Kong is Protesting

More Information

  • 1997: After the British return Hong Kong to China, the authoritarian Chinese government begins increasing its power in Hong Kong

  • The Chinese government interferes in Hong Kong elections against pro-democracy candidates

  • Authorities arrest peaceful protesters, detain suspected contrarians of the P.R.C. government, and use extreme brutality against Hong Kong citizens

The Five Demands of Hong Kong Protesters

  • Resigning of Chief Executive Carrie Lam

  • Withdrawing the extradition bill (accomplished)

  • Releasing wrongfully-detained prisoners

  • Thoroughly investigating police brutality

  • Retracting the description of peaceful protests as "riots"

Government Influence in Elections

  • Hong Kong's Chief Executive is not voted upon by the people, but instead chosen by a committee and approved by China

  • Laws are created by the Legislative Council, a seventy-seat unicameral legislature with representatives voted upon by the public

  • The Legislative Council holds members from various political parties, but they are generally either pro-democracy or pro-China

  • Hong Kong citizens only vote for forty of the seats in the Council, and the remaining thirty are selected by various business representatives

  • China has strong ties with these industries, so these seats are normally filled by pro-Chinese members

  • July 2020: The government disqualifies several pro-democracy candidates for the Legislative Council

National Security Law

  • June 30, 2020: The Hong Kong National Security Law is passed after being unrevealed to the public and swiftly bypassing legislature

  • Permits the Chinese government to take further action in Hong Kong, mostly punishment for free speech

  • Permits legal punishment for those who "collude with foreign forces," including participating in peaceful protests or disagreeing with the government

  • Officials call for banning the slogan "Liberate Hong Kong - The Revolution of Our Times" due to promoting independence

  • The Hong Kong government has been denying journalists' visas since August 2020

  • The government is legally able to obtain online user data and filter content from any social networking website

  • Chapter III, Part 6, Article 38: "This Law shall apply to offences under this Law committed against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from outside the Region by a person who is not a permanent resident of the Region," in other words punishing anyone that criticizes the government

  • July 2020: The United Kingdom creates the Hong Kong BN(O) visa, allowing Hong Kong citizens and immediate family members to "move to the UK to work and study" and offering British citizenship

Protests

Demosistō

  • April 10, 2016: Demosistō, a pro-democracy activist group, is founded

  • Leaders: Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Nathan Law

  • Law is elected to the Legislative Council in 2016, but disqualified after oath controversy and actions in the Umbrella Revolution

  • June 30, 2020: Demosistō disbands after the National Security Law passes

Scholarism

  • May 29, 2011: Joshua Wong founds Scholarism, a pro-democracy student group involved in education and politics

  • 2012: Fights against proposal for Moral and National Education; if passed, education material would be biased towards the Chinese Communist Party

  • 2012: Scholarism members protest at Civic Square in front of government headquarters

  • March 20, 2016: Scholarism dissolves

Police Brutality

  • The Yuen Long Attack: (July 21-22, 2019) Rougly seven-hundred gang members, wearing white shirts while carrying sticks and metal rods, indiscrimately attacked civilians in a Yuen Long subway station. Police arrived thirty-nine minutes later, one minute after the attackers exited the station.

  • Hong Kong police are accused of brutality during protests, using equipment such as tear gas, water cannons, and laser pointers against protesters, journalists, and medical officials

  • Protesters use equipment such as hard hats, goggles, and umbrellas in the streets to protect themselves. The yellow umbrella has become a symbol of these protests.

Free Speech Suppression and Arrest Warrants

  • The Chinese Communist Party currently has arrest warrants out for several protesters accused of disobeying the National Security Law

  • Wanted activists include Nathan Law, Simon Cheng, Wayne Chan, Ray Wong, Samuel Chu and Honcques Laus

  • Many activists have reported being followed or recorded by suspicious figures

Notable Activists (Left to right, from top row):
Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Agnes Chow,
Simon Cheng, Wayne Chan, Ray Wong, and Samuel Chu

Tibet

What's Happening

  • Tibet has been under Chinese rule since 1951 and is now considered a "special administrative region [of China]" by the Chinese government

  • Freedom of religion is suppressed, and Tibetans must receive government permission for Buddhist gatherings

  • 1959: The Dalai Lama began exile in India after Chinese authorities took control of Tibet

  • May 1995: The Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was kidnapped by Chinese authorities three days after he was named. He was six years old.

  • December 1995: Gyaincain Norbu was appointed by the Chinese Communist Party to serve as the (disputed) eleventh Panchen Lama. Norbu is currently a representative for the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

  • 2009: Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi, argues that the Dalai Lama is a political figure, and that the Buddhist Association of China condemns the Dalai Lama for seeking Tibetan separatism

  • 2018: Chinese authorities release an "Urgent Notice Concerning Stopping Illegal Study Classes in Monasteries"

  • Alleged human rights abuses in Tibet include torture, freedom of religion, and sterilization

  • Chinese officials disapprove of the Dalai Lama and these classes, which are taught by monks on weekends.

  • Students are prohibited from participating in religious activities, wearing prayer beads, and attending monasteries

  • All media is controlled by Chinese authorities

East Turkestan

What's Happening

  • East Turkestan (also "Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region") is considered a Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) by the Chinese government

  • 2017 (Approx.)-Present: The Chinese Communist Party operates re-education camps in the region; they are often called "Vocational Education and Training Centers"

  • The government argues that they exist primarily to reduce radical Islam and terrorism

  • Many prisoners are interned without trial, physically and verbally abused, and forced to denounce Islam

  • China's actions against Uyghurs fit with the Human Rights Watch's definition of genocide

Re-Education

  • According to East Turkestan's education department, Mandarin Chinese must be used by both students and instructors from elementary to middle school

  • The Uyghur language is prohibited from "collective activities, public activities and management work of the education system"

  • This violates China's constitution regarding regional ethnic autonomy laws

  • First chapter, Article Four declares that "the people of all nationalities have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages."

Forced Labor

  • According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), eighty-three companies, both foreign and domestic, have ties with forced labor from Uyghurs. These include major brands, such as Apple, Amazon, Nike, and Samsung

  • According to anthropologist Adrian Zenz, this labor is a part of the re-education camps

  • Most products made through Uyghur forced labor are exported, including PPE face masks

  • The International Labor Organization defines factory conditions as aligning with forced labor

Uyghur Personal Life

  • The PBS documentary China Undercover reveals footage in which Uyghur residents are required to post a Q.R. code on the front of their homes

  • Once scanned, authorities access residential information, which is provided by a Han Chinese citizen appointed to reside with Uyghurs under the government's "Becoming Family" program

  • Uyghur families are required to provide personal information, including personal life, political views, and religious practices, to Chinese authorities

Sterilization and Organ Harvesting

  • Both Uyghur men and women are forced to undergo sterilization and forced surgeries

  • Women are often required to abort their child through unsafe methods, and many are forced to wear an intrauterine device

  • The government appoints Han Chinese men to sleep with Uyghur women, sometimes while their husbands work in labor camps

  • Twenty-eight Western companies benefit from Chinese organ transplants either directly or indirectly

International Awareness

  • Despite aerial photographs of Uyghur prisons, leaked government documents, and testimonies by former prisoners, the Chinese government denies wrongdoings to Xinjiang ethnic minorities

  • Chinese officials excuse the prisons as re-education centers to "prevent terrorist attacks," and argue that their actions are necessary for "the well-being of the Chinese people"

Merdan Ghappar's Video
Watch the video here. Footage may be disturbing to some viewers.

  • On August 4, 2020, BBC published a video taken by Merdan Ghappar, an Uyghur model who disappeared in March after returning to Xinjiang for a "routine registration procedure"

  • Footage shows him wearing dirty black clothes, handcuffed to a bed while Chinese political messages play from outside loudspeakers

  • In released WeChat messages, Ghappar describes how he was shackled in a room with about fifty other people, who were also wearing black clothing and shackles

  • The messages also contain graphic descriptions of police brutality against teenagers

How to Help: Organizations, Protests, and Petitions

Organizations and Individuals

Hong Kong

Tibet

East Turkestan

Protests

Hong Kong

Tibet

Unable to find protests now; please check again for updates.

East Turkestan

Unable to find protests now; please check again for updates.

Petitions

When signing petitions on Change.org, please do not donate, as donations are allegedly used for their profit.

Hong Kong

Tibet

East Turkestan

Sources

Hong Kong

Tibet

East Turkestan