Locked Up In China: The Plight Of Xinjiang’s Muslims
For this project, Radio Free Radio/Radio Liberty has partnered with its sister organization, Radio Free Asia, to highlight the plight of Muslims living in China's western province of Xinjiang.
Huawei Makes Headway In Russia
While the West suspects Huawei of spying, the company is actively cooperating with post-Soviet countries. Huawei has regional offices in the Russian Federation in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, and other cities, and may open a research center in Kazan. More than 1,500 students, teachers, and heads of scientific laboratories from Russia’s nine largest universities took part in Huawei’s 5G Level Up Russia training program in December.
Chinese, Serbian Police Hold Joint Exercise
Chinese special police units joined Serbian police at a counterterrorism exercise at a Chinese-owned steel factory in November in Smederevo, eastern Serbia. The drills involved 180 people and also included a helicopter unit. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo attended the event.
Plunder And Patronage In The Heart Of Central Asia
Khabibula Abdukadyr is the 55-year-old, Chinese-born leader of an Uyghur family that has managed a $700 million underground empire to move undeclared and falsely labeled goods from China into Kyrgyzstan, and then bring them to market in bazaars across Central Asia and Russia.
Chinese Facial Recognition Tech Rolls Out On Kazakh Buses
The Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, has launched the first trials of an app that allows commuters to pay for bus tickets through facial recognition technology. The system relies on cameras supplied by Hikvision, one of the Chinese companies recently sanctioned by Washington over its alleged role in human rights abuses.
DOCUMENTARY: InterNYET: The Rise And Fall Of The Russian Internet
Acclaimed Russian journalist Andrei Loshak explores the development of the Russian Internet in this 7-part video documentary series, and asks if the Chinese model is its future.
PHOTOGALLERY: Forty Days Of Darkness In Murmansk
Murmansk was founded as Romanov-on-Murman in 1916, when Tsar Nicholas II sought an ice-free port that would allow war supplies to be shipped in from Russia’s allies. In 2018, 64,000 foreign tourists -- most of them from China -- visited Murmansk. That's up from just some 200 Chinese tourists in 2013.
CHINA AND RUSSIA
Russia Steps Up Border Checks To Block Virus Spread
Russia says it is stepping up checks at borders and airports to prevent the spread of a new virus from China that has killed at least six people and reached areas in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, and now has seen the first case reported in the United States.
Russia, China Launch 'Historic' Gas Pipeline
Russia and China have cemented their cooperation in the energy sphere in December with the launch of the first gas pipeline linking the world’s biggest natural-gas exporter and the second-largest economy.
CHINA AND THE BALKANS
Chinese Train Inaugurates New Rail Link To Serbia
The arrival of a Chinese freight train in Belgrade last fall inaugurated a new direct freight railway line between China and Serbia. Rail is one of the central traffic modes of China's Global Belt and Road Initiative, and the high-speed rail line from Belgrade to Budapest, as part of Rail Corridor 10, is a project that sees Serbia joining the initiative.
Serbs Protest Pollution From Chinese-Owned Mining Complex
People in the Serbian city of Bor have protested dangerous levels of pollution linked to a nearby mining and smelting complex. Environmentalists say the problem has worsened dramatically since a Chinese company took over the mining operation last year.
Chinese Company Accused Of Damaging Montenegrin River
Montenegrin residents recently launched a lawsuit against a Chinese construction company, claiming their lands have been devastated by the construction of a new highway. UNESCO also expressed concern over "severe impacts" to the Tara River.
CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA
Kyrgyz Police Embrace Chinese Face-Recognition Technology
Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has opened a new police command center in the capital, Bishkek, which is using Chinese CCTV cameras with facial-recognition technology. China reportedly provided the equipment for free.
COMMENTARY: The Four Big Issues Central Asia Faced In 2019 (And They’re Not Going Away)
2019 was a momentous year of events and change in Central Asia. Here's a look at four of the most important issues reverberating in the region, starting with its relations with China.
CHINA, PAKISTAN, AND AFGHANISTAN
U.S. Senior Official’s Remarks In Pakistan Draw China’s Ire
During a visit to Islamabad on January 22, Acting Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells criticized the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, drawing an angry response from the Chinese embassy. RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal looks at Pakistan- China relations in the context of the U.S.- China trade war.
Belt And Road Initiative Tests China’s Influence In Pakistan
Writing in Foreign Policy, RFE/RL’s Daud Khattak considers how China’s growing presence in Pakistan could strain the countries’ special relationship.
Pakistani Brides Plead For Help From China Amid Trafficking Claims
RFE/RL’s Pashto Service, Radio Mashaal, recently reported on dozens of arrests by Pakistani authorities of Pakistani and Chinese nationals on suspicion of arranging sham marriages to force the targeted women into the sex trade, with some alleged victims claiming they were threatened with having their organs removed.
AFPAK PODCAST: What’s Next For The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor?
RFE/RL PRESSROOM
China Imprisoned 48 Journalists In 2019, The Most Of Any Nation, Watchdog Reports
The Chinese government imprisoned no fewer than 48 journalists in 2019, more than any other country, the Committee to Protect Journalists has reported. Turkey came second with 47 journalists imprisoned in 2019, followed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, both with 26.