"As China promotes its own narrative and global attention fades, some may begin to believe that things in Xinjiang are returning to 'normal'. This is simply wrong." @yalkun.bsky.social www.abc.net.au/religion/yal...

As global attention to the Xi Jinping regime's crimes against humanity in Xinjiang fades, some may begin to believe that things are returning to “normal”. This is simply wrong. @yalkun.bsky.social is often asked what real normality would look like. Read his answer here ⤵️

The Chinese government has intensified ideological control, surveillance, restrictions on religious activities, and foreign ties of Catholic in China. The 2018 agreement with the Holy See has helped Beijing to escalate pressure on underground communities. www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...

Kazakh authorities have blatantly sentenced citizens of Kazakhstan, Atajurt activists, for peacefully protesting Chinese government's crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. The following quote can be attributed to me. You can read more about the case here: www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Human Rights Watch is #hiring a senior China researcher. Come and join the dream team to work on human rights in China. Multiple locations are considered. Apply by May 2, 2026! job-boards.greenhouse.io/humanrightsw...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s unwillingness to condemn forced labor in China risks reducing pressure on the Chinese government to end its repression of Uyghurs. Latest with Jim Wormington, @hrw.org on Ottawa’s failure to tackle #UyghurForcedLabor. www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...

European policies' focus on China's subsidies & industrial policy is missing a deeper point: that China's political economy is built on "a scaffolding of abuses that enable authorities to reshape economic sectors and to strong-arm communities with minimal resistance." www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...

"J’ai choisi de plaider la cause de mon père et d’autres et ce choix m’a coûté une séparation, peut-être définitive, avec ceux que j’aime" Cela fait dix ans que @yalkun.bsky.social s’est rendu pour la dernière fois danss sa ville natale dans la région autonome ouïghoure du Xinjiang.

"I chose to speak out for my father and others and that choice cost me a disconnection, maybe forever, from those I love back home." It’s been a decade since HRW's @yalkun.bsky.social last visited Kumul, his hometown in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

"This Ramadan, as I sit down with a hot bowl of lentil soup and freshly made Uyghur noodles to break my day-long fast, I try very hard not to think about my father, thousands of miles away, in a prison, and what he does not get to eat, and if he even knows it is his favorite time of the year."

“The draft cybercrime law reflects President Xi Jinping’s broad efforts to restrict digital and physical spaces by allowing state security to expand and tighten social controls, including beyond borders." - @yalkun.bsky.social, China researcher @hrw.org Read more⤵️

This #Eid marks a decade since my last visit to my homeland where Beijing has committed atrocity crimes against Uyghurs. I chose to speak out for my father and others and that choice cost me a disconnection, maybe forever, from those I love back home. www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...

La repression transnationale des Ouighours en France par la Chine : l’analyse de #hrw et @yalkun.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2026/02...

Beijing now stages a “Disneyland-like” Xinjiang through curated tours and rebuilt “heritage,” then “borrows mouths to speak” by boosting influencers and select visitors as validators while blocking real scrutiny. www.uyghurrightsmonitor.org/2026/02/02/d...

Prioritizing economic engagement over human rights concerns leaves the UK vulnerable to pressure that undermines its own interests; Starmer should reject this failed paradigm and promote human rights in his China visit. @hrw.org commentary w/ @yasmineahmed.bsky.social www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

The national security trial against the Hong Kong Alliance is yet another attempt by Beijing to rewrite the truth about the #TiananmenMassacre. Chinese officials responsible for the killing of unarmed protesters should be put on trial — not those seeking accountability for these crimes.

Kazakh activists face 10 year sentence, prosecuted in Kazakhstan, at Chinese government’s request, for their peaceful protest against crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. Kazakh government should drop charges. Beijing should halt targeting critics abroad. www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

Chinese govt has detained the leader + key members of underground Protestant church, the Early Rain Covenant Church. There's been a string of arrests of members of prominent “house churches” in China in past year. They should be freed, faith isn't a crime: www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

In 2022, Chinese authorities released most White Paper protesters but sentenced Kamile to 3 years over a video she posted online, because she is Uyghur. She has now been released. She shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place, like all the other unjustly imprisoned Uyghurs.

"Buitenlandse overheden moeten reageren door te pleiten voor het seponeren van de zaak en zijn onmiddellijke vrijlating. De overheden van China en Hongkong moeten een prijs betalen voor hun onverminderde acties die de pers in Hongkong muilkorven." - @elainepearson.bsky.social / @hrw.org

“Foreign governments should respond to the travesty of Jimmy Lai’s trial by pressing the Hong Kong authorities to quash the case and release him immediately." - @elainepearson.bsky.social / @hrw.org Read more ⤵️ www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Turkey provided safety for Uyghurs like me since Beijing carried out its crimes against humanity in our homeland. That safety is now, unfortunately, threatened. Ankara should ensure protection for Uyghurs escaping repression. My op-ed for @theglobeandmail.com. theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

The baseless charges against a prominent journalist like Du Bin highlight the growing intolerance for dissent under Xi Jinping’s leadership. The authorities should free Du Bin immediately and unconditionally and drop all charges. www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Hoe is de situatie voor de Oeigoeren nu? Terugluistertip ⤵️

There's hope for China, as ''a series of protests... has sparked a political awakening among Chinese youth, with many questioning Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s authoritarian policies and practices and notably confronting the government’s abuses against Tibetans and Uyghurs." - @yalkun.bsky.social

Volgens Maya Wang, directeur China van Human Rights Watch, laat China zijn invloed steeds meer gelden in het buitenland en exporteert het land daarmee ook zijn minachting voor de mensenrechten.

Big new report from @hrw.org & @yalkun.bsky.social on how Turkey stopped being a safe haven for Uyghurs: www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

Until recently, Uyghurs who escaped repression at home felt safe in Türkiye, but many are growing fearful. Some say they don’t dare leave their homes for fear of arrests and being sent to deportation centers. See our latest report on how "restriction codes" harm lives: www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

Bei @hrw.org veröffentlichen wir am 13. November einen Bericht, in dem wir dokumentieren wie die #Türkei zunehmend den legalen Aufenthalt von #Uiguren einschränken, die vor der chinesischen Regierung Schutz suchen. Journos - Schreibt mir, wenn ihr den Bericht schon vorab wollt.

The Chinese government reached around the globe to shut down a film festival in New York City. This latest act of transnational repression demonstrates the Chinese government’s aim to control what the world sees and learns about China. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

Schockierend: Deutschland hat möglicherweise eine uigurische Asylbewerberin nach China abgeschoben, wo Peking Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit an der uigurischen Bevölkerung begeht. Die zuständigen deutschen Behörden sollten umgehend ihren Aufenthaltsort mitteilen: uyghurtimes.com/uyghur-woman...

Beijing's blatant intimidations pushed Sheffield Hallam to violate academic freedom of Prof. @lauratmurphy.bsky.social, whose work has been foundational for #UyghurForcedLabor research. The university and relevant authorities should ensure her rights are protected. theguardian.com/education/20...

Wang Yi said ex-UN chief Michelle Bachelet is a “long-time friend of the Chinese people"(!). Why has Beijing dismissed her office's damning report alleging possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang as “null and void,” rather than implementing recommendations? www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202510/14/...

Beijing arrested dozens of pastors, preachers, & members of Zion Church. Xi Jinping’s government appears intent on reshaping religious practice to serve the CCP’s interests, and congregations that fail to do so face harsh persecution. New from @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Victime de harcèlement en France, l’universitaire ouïghoure Dilnur Reyhan condamnée pour dégradation de biens "Ce sont les autorités chinoises qui devraient être condamnées pour leurs crimes contre l’humanité contre les Ouïghours, non pas Dilnur Reyhan" www.liberation.fr/internationa...

The detention of dozens of Zion church affiliates is the latest example of the Chinese government’s blatant attack on religious freedom. Beijing should not punish believers for exercising basic rights. Governments should press for their immediate release. www.reuters.com/world/china/...

A prominent Uyghur scholar, Dr. Dilnur Reyhan, faces charges in France for criticizing Beijing. French authorities should drop the case, focus on Beijing’s human rights abuses, and protect Dilnur’s freedom of expression from Chinese government intimidation. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

« Exprimer sa solidarité avec les Tibétains et les Ouïgours et promouvoir leurs droits n’est pas un crime. Zhang Yadi est la dernière victime en date des arrestations politiques de Pékin » - @yalkun.bsky.social ⤵

Beijing is threatening to imprison student-activist Zhang Yadi for years for speaking out against racial injustice and peacefully exercising her rights. She should be starting graduate school in London, not jail. Governments should press for her freedom. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

It was lovely reuniting with Uyghur HRD Yalkun Uluyol @yalkun.bsky.social for a #HRC60 side event in Geneva, alongside my trusted colleague Orsolya Toth. Yalkun's father, Memet Yaqup, was wrongfully imprisoned for 16 years by the Chinese government for committing no recognizable crime.

人權觀察研究員亞力坤・烏魯堯勒 @yalkun.bsky.social 今天在日內瓦的聯合國周邊會議上發言： 「作為一名 #維吾爾人 ，有一天，我父親緊急打電話給我說，好好照顧你的母親和妹妹。然後他就消失了。15天後，他再次上線。我估計他曾被短暫拘留期。 兩個月後，我的父親再次失蹤，但這次我再也沒有收到他的回覆，也沒有任何告別。我花了約兩年時間才弄清楚他是否還活著。我追蹤到他在我家鄉的一個『政治再教育營』裡。我又花了兩年時間才發現他被判處16年監禁。我不知道他的具體位置，不清楚他的健康狀況⋯⋯

The Chinese governments committed crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and is trying to cover up. My father included, hundreds and thousands of Uyghurs remain unjustly imprisoned. The UN and others should press for accountability. My op-ed @thehill.com thehill.com/opinion/inte...

"Some diplomats asked me if it is still worth making public statements about abuses in Xinjiang...The answer is a resounding yes." Heartbreaking and personal by @yalkun.bsky.social China's committed crimes against humanity and should be held accountable: thehill.com/opinion/inte...

I'll speak at a #HRC60 side event on human rights in China, alongside Mary Lawlor, Rizwangul NurMuhammed, and Sophie Richardson, moderated by Raphael Viana David. We'll discuss the chilling effects of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances in China on human rights and offer recommendations.

Kabwe/ Zambia: Province & district authorities just closed 4 Chinese processing plants for environmental law violations. This is a significant step by the Zambian govt. Processing lead-contaminated waste endangers resident's health. www.hrw.org/news/2025/03...

No accountability for Uyghurs. Three years ago, the UN Human Rights said Beijing's abuses against Uyghurs may amount to #CrimesAgainstHumanity. China rejects the findings and recommendations. The High Commissioner Volker Turk has not provided an update. Robust follow up is needed.

The national security trial in Hong Kong against Jimmy Lai, owner of the shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was again postponed on August 15, 2025, for health reasons. The following statement can be attributed to @elainepearson.bsky.social, Asia director @hrw.org

UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor urged Chinese authorities to provide detailed information on the health conditions and treatment, and access to family members and legal representatives, of 7 human rights defenders serving prison sentences in China. www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

Macao authorities should unconditionally release the former lawmaker and veteran pro-democracy activist Au Kam San, who was arrested on national security charges. This is the first time the Law on Safeguarding National Security has been invoked in Macao. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...