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Russia's hybrid attacks began after the annexation of Crimea and are becoming increasingly brazen, security experts say. The West has started to acknowledge the danger but still does not treat individual incidents as parts of the same anti-Western hybrid war.

In Västerås, Sweden, about a hundred kilometers from Stockholm, stands a Russian Orthodox Church. The Swedish Security Service has reported that the church has ties to Russian intelligence in Sweden and that Russia uses the Russian Orthodox Church as a cover for intelligence activities. Nearby are an airfield, a water treatment plant and energy companies.

"Sensors can be installed there – cameras or some sort of listening devices – to monitor communications. Additionally, it could be used for accommodation, including housing special forces. It was later discovered that the planning process did not follow legal procedures, but the church is there today," said security expert Martin Hurt.

Hurt also pointed out that not all Scandinavian countries have developed the same sense of threat awareness as those bordering Russia.

"Unfortunately, in some Scandinavian countries that have enjoyed long periods of peace, some people continue to live in that mindset," he noted.

[...]

"There have been attacks on railway systems. Trains have been halted in Germany and Sweden. In France, for example, on the opening day of the Olympic Games, there was a strange attack in three locations simultaneously on railway lines leading to Paris," [security expert Eerik-Niiles] Kross noted.

[...]

"There has been a reluctance to acknowledge that this is a systematic, centrally directed sabotage campaign targeting not just one country or another, but the Western world as a whole," he said.

Kross highlighted the so-called "triple A model," introduced in NATO and the European Union in recent years, derived from the English terms: acknowledge the event, assess it and attribute it to the perpetrator. According to Kross, a fourth "A" – act – is missing.

"Every time something like this happens, €100 million in frozen Russian assets should be taken and handed over to Ukraine," he suggested as an example.

[Edit typo.]

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/5103670

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China: Coverage in China this month of the rape of a 13-year-old girl, a case involving local officials, has drawn the focus to shortcomings in sexual assault protections as well as government corruption

The disturbing case of a 13-year-old in China who was raped and forced into prostitution — which first came to light in May this year — was back in the news this month, grabbing headlines also in Taiwan and Hong Kong. According to recent news on the case, the girl, identified in reports by the pseudonym “Li Xiaoxia” (李晓霞), was abused by 14 individuals, including three public officials. One of the latter is the deputy chairman of the local people’s congress in Hunan’s Xinhua County (新化縣), where the abuse occurred between April and July 2023.

[...]

Reports from official media in China, including Shanghai’s The Paper (澎湃), openly named the public officials implicated in the abuse, while others involved were identified only by their surnames — suggesting an interest in highlighting official malfeasance. Among the officials was Gong Haodong (龚昊东), who only a half year ago was selected as vice-chairman of the People’s Congress in Youxi Township (油溪乡). Back in May, the primary offender in the case — a 17-year-old who had previously forced Li into prostitution — was handed a sentence of more than nine years in prison. The penalties for the other adult defendants ranged from three to four and a half years.

[...]

As Chinese media seem keen to highlight odious official conduct at the lowest levels, it bears remembering on the issue of sexual harassment that international Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai (彭帅) was forcibly disappeared in November 2021 after she accused former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli (张高丽) of pressuring her into sex. The phenomenon of going after small-time officials while leaving high-level officials untouched is referred to in Chinese as “swatting at flies and letting the tigers run free.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/5104125

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Two trade unionists in Hong Kong - Carol Ng, Chair of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), and Winnie Yu, President of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (HAEA) - were given prison terms of four years, five months, and six years, nine months, respectively.

The trade unionists are among 47 pro-democracy defenders who were arrested for participating in elections in 2020 to select candidates for the Legislative Council elections. Sixteen of them who had pleaded not guilty, including Winnie Yu, were convicted in May.

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said: “Firstly, we must never forget that trade unionists are not criminals. Secondly, the United Nations as part of its human rights mandate protects trade unions and their right to freedom of association, including defending and fighting for democracy.

“We denounce the criminalisation of trade unionists for standing for democracy. These severe prison sentences given to Carol Ng and Winnie Yu for taking part in elections as part of their trade union work are inexcusable.

“Their persecution through the courts under the guise of national security is a gross violation of international labour standards.”

“We urge the Chinese and Hong Kong government to repeal the National Security Law in compliance with the findings of the ILO supervisory bodies and the UN Human Rights Committee, and release all imprisoned trade unionists.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/5103670

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China: Coverage in China this month of the rape of a 13-year-old girl, a case involving local officials, has drawn the focus to shortcomings in sexual assault protections as well as government corruption

The disturbing case of a 13-year-old in China who was raped and forced into prostitution — which first came to light in May this year — was back in the news this month, grabbing headlines also in Taiwan and Hong Kong. According to recent news on the case, the girl, identified in reports by the pseudonym “Li Xiaoxia” (李晓霞), was abused by 14 individuals, including three public officials. One of the latter is the deputy chairman of the local people’s congress in Hunan’s Xinhua County (新化縣), where the abuse occurred between April and July 2023.

[...]

Reports from official media in China, including Shanghai’s The Paper (澎湃), openly named the public officials implicated in the abuse, while others involved were identified only by their surnames — suggesting an interest in highlighting official malfeasance. Among the officials was Gong Haodong (龚昊东), who only a half year ago was selected as vice-chairman of the People’s Congress in Youxi Township (油溪乡). Back in May, the primary offender in the case — a 17-year-old who had previously forced Li into prostitution — was handed a sentence of more than nine years in prison. The penalties for the other adult defendants ranged from three to four and a half years.

[...]

As Chinese media seem keen to highlight odious official conduct at the lowest levels, it bears remembering on the issue of sexual harassment that international Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai (彭帅) was forcibly disappeared in November 2021 after she accused former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli (张高丽) of pressuring her into sex. The phenomenon of going after small-time officials while leaving high-level officials untouched is referred to in Chinese as “swatting at flies and letting the tigers run free.”

Archived link

Two trade unionists in Hong Kong - Carol Ng, Chair of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), and Winnie Yu, President of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (HAEA) - were given prison terms of four years, five months, and six years, nine months, respectively.

The trade unionists are among 47 pro-democracy defenders who were arrested for participating in elections in 2020 to select candidates for the Legislative Council elections. Sixteen of them who had pleaded not guilty, including Winnie Yu, were convicted in May.

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said: “Firstly, we must never forget that trade unionists are not criminals. Secondly, the United Nations as part of its human rights mandate protects trade unions and their right to freedom of association, including defending and fighting for democracy.

“We denounce the criminalisation of trade unionists for standing for democracy. These severe prison sentences given to Carol Ng and Winnie Yu for taking part in elections as part of their trade union work are inexcusable.

“Their persecution through the courts under the guise of national security is a gross violation of international labour standards.”

“We urge the Chinese and Hong Kong government to repeal the National Security Law in compliance with the findings of the ILO supervisory bodies and the UN Human Rights Committee, and release all imprisoned trade unionists.”

Archived link

China: Coverage in China this month of the rape of a 13-year-old girl, a case involving local officials, has drawn the focus to shortcomings in sexual assault protections as well as government corruption

The disturbing case of a 13-year-old in China who was raped and forced into prostitution — which first came to light in May this year — was back in the news this month, grabbing headlines also in Taiwan and Hong Kong. According to recent news on the case, the girl, identified in reports by the pseudonym “Li Xiaoxia” (李晓霞), was abused by 14 individuals, including three public officials. One of the latter is the deputy chairman of the local people’s congress in Hunan’s Xinhua County (新化縣), where the abuse occurred between April and July 2023.

[...]

Reports from official media in China, including Shanghai’s The Paper (澎湃), openly named the public officials implicated in the abuse, while others involved were identified only by their surnames — suggesting an interest in highlighting official malfeasance. Among the officials was Gong Haodong (龚昊东), who only a half year ago was selected as vice-chairman of the People’s Congress in Youxi Township (油溪乡). Back in May, the primary offender in the case — a 17-year-old who had previously forced Li into prostitution — was handed a sentence of more than nine years in prison. The penalties for the other adult defendants ranged from three to four and a half years.

[...]

As Chinese media seem keen to highlight odious official conduct at the lowest levels, it bears remembering on the issue of sexual harassment that international Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai (彭帅) was forcibly disappeared in November 2021 after she accused former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli (张高丽) of pressuring her into sex. The phenomenon of going after small-time officials while leaving high-level officials untouched is referred to in Chinese as “swatting at flies and letting the tigers run free.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/5103351

The European Union is proposing to sanction several Chinese firms it claims helped Russian companies develop attack drones that were deployed against Ukraine.

The European Commission is also looking to impose restrictions on additional Russian oil tankers to curb Russia’s ability to circumvent existing restrictions, the report said, as per Bloomberg.

The European Union is proposing to sanction several Chinese firms it claims helped Russian companies develop attack drones that were deployed against Ukraine.

The European Commission is also looking to impose restrictions on additional Russian oil tankers to curb Russia’s ability to circumvent existing restrictions, the report said, as per Bloomberg.

Auf die Frage, ob nach den USA auch die EU-Staaten den Einsatz weitreichender Raketen auch gegen Ziele in Russland erlauben sollten und Deutschland das Waffensystem "Taurus" liefern müsste, antwortete Roberta Metsola den Zeitungen der Funke Mediengruppe: "Ja, das ist auch die Position des EU-Parlaments. Es gibt breite Unterstützung für diese Forderung."

Metsola: Jeden Tag sterben Menschen

"Wir werden sehen, ob es nach der Bundestagswahl zu einer entsprechenden Kursänderung kommt", fuhr Metsola fort. "Oder vielleicht schon vorher, es gibt ja auch in der Berliner Koalition unterschiedliche Positionen zur "Taurus"-Lieferung."

Kanzler Scholz beharrt auf seinem Nein

Seit die USA der Regierung in Kiew am vergangenen Wochenende erlaubt hatten, US-Raketen vom Typ ATACMS gegen Ziele in Russland einzusetzen, flammt die Debatte über weitreichende Waffensysteme wieder auf. Die "Taurus"-Marschflugkörper haben mit 500 Kilometern eine noch größere Reichweite als die ATACMS.

Der deutsche Kanzler Olaf Scholz lehnt eine Lieferung seit Langem ab. Er fürchtet, dass Deutschland dadurch direkt in den Krieg zwischen Russland und der Ukraine hineingezogen werden könnte. Auf dem G20-Gipfel in Rio de Janeiro machte er seine Absage erneut deutlich. "Das ist aber etwas, was ich nicht verantworten kann und auch nicht will", sagte der SPD-Politiker am Montag.

[...]

[Tippfehler korrigiert.]

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English summary of the [German] article:

The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola called on the German government to finally decide on the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, as per German weekly Der Spiegel.

Metsola noted that for Ukraine, “time matters”, and Russia is increasing the pressure — there are only more air targets flying over Ukrainian cities.

Ms. Metsola emphasized that Ukraine “cannot wait forever”, and that there is broad support in the European Parliament for such a decision by Germany.

The debate on Taurus flared up again after the United States had lifted long-range restrictions for Ukraine, and in the view of the upcoming early elections in Germany, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been rejecting these claims.

But the upcoming federal election has fuelled the debate: The vice-chancellor and Green leader Robert Habeck had stressed on German TV that he was ready for this, and parts of the opposition saw it as similar. CDU-head Friedrich Merz had already spoken out for Taurus deliveries.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/5082530

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On the two-year anniversary of Chinese authorities’ crackdown on the peaceful “Blank Paper” demonstrations, Chinese Human Rights Defenders calls on Beijing to release all wrongfully detained protesters.

"We urge the international human rights community to press the Chinese government to fulfill its human rights obligations to protect freedom of peaceful assembly, expression, and the right to fair trials," the organization writes on its websites.

In late November 2022, people across China, outraged by a deadly fire in Urumqi and frustrated by strict COVID-19 lockdown measures, took to the streets in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Wuhan. Demonstrators held up blank sheets of paper, symbolizing censorship and their inability to express dissent openly. They chanted various slogans, including “End zero-COVID.” Some even called for “Down with Xi Jinping” and “Down with the Communist Party!”

The protests represented a rare instance of spontaneous demonstrations across multiple Chinese cities since the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests in 1989, with citizens openly expressing dissent in public space. Authorities responded with widespread detentions of students, journalists and other citizens across the country.

Two years ago, Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) tracked the names of more than 30 people who were taken into custody and estimated that at least 100 people had been detained. No official figures of arrests have been released. Some people were released shortly after their arrests. However, others faced harsher punishments, including imprisonment and enforced disappearances

[...]

The ongoing prosecution of participants and supporters of the Blank Paper protests underscores the urgent need to hold the Chinese government accountable and to put an end to its impunity for repeated and ongoing violations of its obligations to protect human rights.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/5082530

Archived link

On the two-year anniversary of Chinese authorities’ crackdown on the peaceful “Blank Paper” demonstrations, Chinese Human Rights Defenders calls on Beijing to release all wrongfully detained protesters.

"We urge the international human rights community to press the Chinese government to fulfill its human rights obligations to protect freedom of peaceful assembly, expression, and the right to fair trials," the organization writes on its websites.

In late November 2022, people across China, outraged by a deadly fire in Urumqi and frustrated by strict COVID-19 lockdown measures, took to the streets in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Wuhan. Demonstrators held up blank sheets of paper, symbolizing censorship and their inability to express dissent openly. They chanted various slogans, including “End zero-COVID.” Some even called for “Down with Xi Jinping” and “Down with the Communist Party!”

The protests represented a rare instance of spontaneous demonstrations across multiple Chinese cities since the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests in 1989, with citizens openly expressing dissent in public space. Authorities responded with widespread detentions of students, journalists and other citizens across the country.

Two years ago, Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) tracked the names of more than 30 people who were taken into custody and estimated that at least 100 people had been detained. No official figures of arrests have been released. Some people were released shortly after their arrests. However, others faced harsher punishments, including imprisonment and enforced disappearances

[...]

The ongoing prosecution of participants and supporters of the Blank Paper protests underscores the urgent need to hold the Chinese government accountable and to put an end to its impunity for repeated and ongoing violations of its obligations to protect human rights.