Social Stability - 79. page

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that the well-known international organization, Human Rights Watch, just released its 2020 report. Its Executive Director Kenneth Roth called for a globally united effort to counter Beijing’s attacks, since the Chinese government has been using its economic and diplomatic power to destroy the system that defends human rights. The new report indicated that the current regime has successfully turned China into a vast monitored nation in which the regime has nearly full control over society. The regime has been establishing censorship within China and is now exporting censorship internationally. Roth was refused entry into Hong Kong recently because he intended to hold a press conference there. China is now using traditional policing mechanisms as well as high-tech methods to enforce its control, not only in Mainland China, but also in places like Hong Kong. The Report said human rights violations continue to spread around globe, including in Sylvia and Yemen, but China is the focal point.

Global Times issued a report on the second day after the Human Rights Watch 2020 report was released. Geng Shuang, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented at a press conference that the Human Rights Watch Report, along with a Freedom House report, were flat-out lies. These two organizations ignored the fact that the Chinese people are the most authoritative ones to judge China’s human rights situation. China is currently in the best period of time in history for human rights. However, Geng admitted he never read any of these reports.

Sources:
(1) DW Chinese, January 15, 2020
https://bit.ly/2Rx7Dyy
(2) Global Times, January 15, 2020
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/9CaKrnKoTPa
(3) Freedom House
https://freedomhouse.org/article/chinese-communist-party-s-media-influence-expands-worldwide

The Chinese Communist Party has forcibly collected DNA data using reasons such as “combating crime.” Beginning in 2016, the authorities in Xinjiang had massive collections of DNA samples from ethnic Muslims to establish databases for the purpose of surveillance and suppression. Now this practice has extended to the whole country. The regime is collecting DNA and other biological information on a large scale. All males, even elementary and middle school boys, are included and have not been spared.

In November, people from multiple cities in Guangxi Province told the Bitter Winter magazine, an Italian based publication focusing China’s religious freedom and human rights, that local police were collecting blood samples from elementary and middle school boys without notifying their parents. When asked for the reason, some teachers explained that it was to prevent children from being trafficked or lost, but they failed to explain why they were collecting only from boys but not from girls.

Bitter Winter obtained a document that the Public Security Bureau of Chongren County in Jiangxi Province issued in November. The document required the local Education and Sports Bureau to cooperate with the police to collect information on all male students in elementary and middle schools. The document stated that this work was carried out nationwide to collect information for the nation’s seventh population census, to issue third-generation digital ID cards, to improve the dissemination of population data, and to facilitate rapid identity verification.

Chinese media also reported that police have collected blood from male adult citizens for a number of reasons such as “free medical examinations” and “checking for drug abuse.”

A “Y-STR DNA Database Construction Work Plan Notice” that a county government in Hubei Province issued in September 2018 called for “the establishment of a male-dominated pedigree information database that comprehensively covered the rural areas,” and “through investigation of the family tree to maintain the social order and strengthen the ability to control the population.”

The Chinese government often uses the collected DNA data to suppress dissidents and religious believers. In July 2019, the police harassed the parents of a believer in the Church of Almighty God and forcibly collected blood samples.

Source: Bitter Winter, January 3, 2020

將建家系信息庫　警方強制採集中小學男生血樣未通知家長

Beijing News recently reported that the Wuhan City Health Committee officially acknowledged the outbreak of an unknown type of pneumonia. As of 8 PM on January 3, the city confirmed 44 patients, of whom 11 were in serious condition. All confirmed patients are currently receiving treatment in isolated hospital zones. The government has traced 121 individuals who had close contact with the patients. The work of tracking down more people is still under way. As of now, no medical workers have been infected. A pathogen identification process is being conducted. Some common respiratory diseases, including flu, avian influenza and the adenovirus infection, have been ruled out. The outbreak is rumored to have started around a week ago. The Chinese central government and the Hubei provincial government have sent expert groups to the City of Wuhan. The disinfection process at the Huanan Seafood Place, where the outbreak originated, has started. Wider investigations of other spots have also started. The symptoms of this new unknown pneumonia are very similar to SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome), which had no cure and caused international panic in 2003.

(Editor’s note: Wuhan is the capital city of Hubei Province and has a population of 11 million. It is the largest transportation hub in central China. As of January 5, 58 patients were officially confirmed. Hong Kong has confirmed 14 patients.)

Source: Beijing News, January 3, 2020
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2020/01/03/669703.html