Events
» Roundtable: "China's Far West: Conditions in Xinjiang One Year After Demonstrations and Riots"
Published 07/9/2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 628At this CECC roundtable, panelists will provide an analysis of conditions in the far western region of Xinjiang one year since demonstrations and rioting in Xinjiang's capital in July 2009. The 2009 events drew an international spotlight to longstanding tensions in the region and to Uyghurs' grievances toward government policies that have undermined their rights. Has the government since taken steps to address these grievances? Authorities pledged in 2010 to improve economic conditions in Xinjiang and appointed a new Party secretary for the region. How will these new developments shape Xinjiang's future? Have authorities adhered to international standards for due process in carrying out trials connected to alleged crimes committed in July 2009? How have government controls over the free flow of information affected our understanding of events in the region?
Panelists:
Kathleen E. McLaughlin, China correspondent for BNA, Inc., and freelance journalist
Sophie Richardson, Asia Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch
Stanley W. Toops, Associate Professor, Department of Geography and International Studies Program, Miami University CECC Roundtables are open to the public. No RSVP is necessary.
» CAN ANYONE HEAR US? VOICES FROM THE 2009 UNREST IN URUMCHI
Published 06/23/2010
and the National Endowment for Democracy cordially invite you to the launch of a new report from the Uyghur Human Rights Project, CAN ANYONE HEAR US? VOICES FROM THE 2009 UNREST IN URUMCHI and a roundtable discussion on UYGHUR-HAN TENSIONS: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES Thursday, July 1, 2010 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
1025 F Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004 RSVP with name and affiliation by Tuesday, June 29 On July 5, 2009, thousands of young Uyghur protestors, holding the red flags of the People's Republic of China, peacefully took to the streets of Urumchi to protest against the beating and killing of several Uyghur migrant workers a week earlier at a toy factory in Guangdong province and to demand respect for the human rights of the Uyghur people. Two days later, according to Chinese government media, the death toll from street riots stood at 197 (of whom the vast majority were reported to be Han Chinese), with 1,700 injured. Chinese President Hu Jintao left the G8 Summit in Rome early and returned to Beijing to manage the unrest, one of the worst cases of inter-ethnic violence in the history of the People's Republic of China. In the aftermath of the violence, independent observers voiced concerns about a large number of deaths of Uyghurs as well as Han Chinese, as well as sweeping detentions of young men in Urumchi and other cities, with 26 death sentences and nine executions officially reported to date. In advance of the one-year anniversary of the Urumchi unrest, analysts will assess the causes of the transformation of peaceful demonstrations into deadly inter-ethnic violence, government policy responses to the unrest, the effect of those policies on Uyghur and Han populations in Xinjiang, and the likely outcomes of the May 2010 Xinjiang Work Conference hosted by Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Agenda
2:00 Report Launch: Can Anyone Hear Us? Voices from the 2009 Unrest in Urumchi. What Happened? From July 5 through the September "syringe attacks." Amy Reger, Researcher, Uyghur Human Rights Project, and Henryk Szadziewski, Project Manager, Uyghur Human Rights Project **Special Feature: Testimony of two eyewitnesses With comments by: Dr. Sophie Richardson, Advocacy Director for Asia, Human Rights Watch Clothilde Le Coz, Washington Director, Reporters Without Borders Moderator: Brian Joseph, Senior Director for Asia and Global Programs, NED 3:15 Coffee Break 3:30 Keynote Remarks: Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, President, World Uyghur Congress Mr. Carl Gershman, President, National Endowment for Democracy 4:00 Roundtable Discussion: Chinese government policy, developments on the ground, international perspectives. Are the problems in Xinjiang and Tibet unique to ethnic minorities, or are there under-explored commonalities with other marginalized communities in China? Dr. Dru Gladney, President, Pacific Basin Institute Bhuchung Tsering, Vice President, International Campaign for Tibet Dr. Yang Jianli, President, Initiatives for China Hans Hogrefe, Democratic Staff Director, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Kara Abramson, Advocacy Director, Congressional-Executive Commission on China Moderator: Louisa Greve, Vice President for Asia, MENA, and Global Programs, NED 5:30 Close
Selected resources: "The expert urged measures to weaken the identity of ethnic groups in policy-making, such as closing ethnic schools to promote more communication between different ethnic groups." (China Daily, June 4, 2010). Society for Threatened Peoples,After the disturbances in Urumqi: Persecution of Uyghurs in China continues, May 2010. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 198 People in Xinjiang Reportedly Sentenced in Trials Marked By Lack of Transparency, March 26, 2010
Amnesty International, Hasty executions highlight unfair Xinjiang trials, November 10, 2009 Human Rights Watch, We Are Afraid to Even Look for Them, October 20, 2009 Uyghur Human Rights Project, Separate and Unequal: The Status of Development in East Turkestan, September 28, 2009 The Roberts Report, The Information War over the Urumqi Riots and the "Netizens" of China: Are we witnessing the dawn of a new era in Han Chinese nationalism?, July 10, 2009 Human Rights in China, Religious Repression of Uighur Muslims -- Architecture of Xinjiang Suppression Detailed, 2005
» NED In Cooperation with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Presents "The 10 Conditions of Love"
Published 05/25/2010
THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY
In Cooperation with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Presents
The 10 Conditions of Love
A documentary about the Uyghur people and Rebiya Kadeer
Film introduction by Rebiya Kadeer
Remarks by Rep. Jim McGovern(D-MA)
Chairman, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 4-6pm
The Pickford Theater
The Library of Congress James Madison Building
RSVP to
kellyd@ned.org
10 conditionsThe 10 Conditions of Love tells the story of the Uyghurs' struggle for basic human rights in China through the remarkable life of Rebiya Kadeer, a Uyghur woman working for the rights of her people at great personal cost. The documentary explores Ms. Kadeer's experience as an entrepreneur in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region/East Turkestan and a member of the National People's Political Consultative Committee, her subsequent imprisonment as a political dissident, and her forced exile in the United States since 2005. Ms. Kadeer works to inform the world about the treatment of her people by the Chinese government while her family remaining in China suffers the consequences of her human rights activism.
Ms. Kadeer is Director of the International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation, which has received NED support since 2005. In addition, she serves on the Boards of Directors of the Uyghur American Association and the World Uyghur Congress, which also receive NED support for their work to advocate for the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of Uyghurs in China. Ms. Kadeer's autobiography, Dragon Fighter, One Woman's Epic Struggle for Peace with China, was published in May 2009.
This 53-minute documentary was written and directed by Jeff Daniels and produced by John Lewis. NED and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission are grateful to the filmmakers for their kind permission to screen the film.
» Hearing: Release of the 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Published 03/11/2010
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC)
Hearing:
Release of the 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Tuesday, March 16
10 – 11:30 a.m.
B-318 Rayburn HOB
Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on the State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the reporting year 2009. The hearing is open to the media and the public.
The Country Reports were mandated by the U.S. Congress and are submitted annually by the U.S. State Department in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act and section 504 of the Trade Act. Originally, the reports were mandated to only give a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation in those countries which receive U.S. assistance, but have since been broadened to include all members of the United Nations.
Interested members of Congress will have the opportunity to discuss the report’s findings and the status of human rights around the world with Assistant Secretary Michael Posner, of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the State Department office responsible for producing the reports.
We will welcome as expert witness:
· Assistant Secretary Michael Posner, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL)
If you have any questions, please contact Hans Hogrefe (Rep. McGovern) or Elizabeth Hoffman (Rep. Wolf) at 202-225-3599.
s/James P. McGovern, M.C. /s/Frank R. Wolf, M.C.
Co-Chair, TLHRC Co-Chair, TLHRC
» The Outlook for China
Published 03/11/2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010, 9:00 am — 11:00 am The Brookings Institution, Saul/Zilkha Rooms, 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC After two years weathering several major internal and external events, The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has come through in remarkably strong condition. Since early 2008, China has dealt with challenges including the Wenchuan earthquake, the 2008 Olympic Games, unrest in Tibet and Xinjiang, and the global economic and financial crises. The Chinese government has also coped with a series of sensitive anniversaries, including the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. During this same period, China’s global role and stature have grown significantly, expanding the standing of the PRC beyond that of a regional player. This has created new expectations of China’s diplomacy in areas as diverse as climate change, nuclear proliferation and the restructuring of global financial institutions. As the 2010 National People’s Congress meeting concludes, the John L. Thornton China Center will host a March 18 panel to take stock of the major issues that lie ahead. What are the major items on the sociopolitical, economic, energy, and U.S.-China agendas? How are the key issues likely to play out? Senior Fellow Cheng Li, the China Center’s director of research, will provide introductory remarks and moderate this discussion.
After the program, panelists will take audience questions.
Introduction and Moderator Cheng Li
Senior Fellow and Director of Research
John L. Thornton China Center
The Brookings Institution
Panelists Barry P. Bosworth
Senior Fellow
The Brookings Institution Kenneth Lieberthal
Senior Fellow and Director
John L. Thornton China Center
The Brookings Institution Joanna Lewis
Assistant Professor
Georgetown University Anthony Saich
Daewoo Professor of International Affairs
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
» REMEMBERING UYGHUR WOMEN DURING “BEIJING + 15” AND BEYOND
Published 03/8/2010
RALLY for Uyghur women’s rights during the 15-year review and appraisal being conducted at the
United Nations in NY in March 2010 of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (adopted at the Fourth Women’s Conference, Beijing, 1995).
Come to a RALLY to raise international awareness of the plight of the Uyghur people of East Turkestan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China), with a spotlight on the human rights violations to which the Chinese government specifically subjects Uyghur women and girls. These include: the widespread use of threats, intimidation, and deception to conscript primarily young Uyghur women and girls to participate in a labor transfer program to eastern China, where they face abusive and poor working and living conditions; and the subjection of Uyghur women to particularly intense religious repression, forced abortions and sterilizations, and blatant employment discrimination on the basis of both ethnicity and gender.
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Location: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza/Park, E. 47th Street and 1st Avenue, New York, NY (across the street from the United Nations)
Directions: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza/Park is walking distance from the Grand Central Terminal/subway station. Take the 4, 5, 6, or 7 trains to Grand Central or the Shuttle (S) to Grand Central from Times Square.
Organized by: The Uyghur American Association (www.uyghuramerican.org) and the International Uyghur Human Rights & Democracy Foundation (www.iuhrdf.org)
Background
From March 1-12, 2010, the UN Commission on the Status of Women will conduct a 15-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in September 1995. Fifteen years on, the host of that historic conference continues to blatantly violate the basic human rights of the Uyghur women of East Turkestan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), as well as of women all over China. China continues to show utter disregard for the principles espoused in the treatise that bears the name of its capital city – the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
In addition to being subjected to the intense and often brutal political, religious, and cultural repression to which Uyghurs in general are subjected at the hands of the Chinese government, Uyghur women are victimized by the Chinese government in ways that include the following. While the Chinese government recruits Han Chinese from other parts of the PRC to take jobs in East Turkestan, the authorities use intimidation, threats, and deception to recruit primarily young, marriage-age Uyghur women, as well as Uyghur girls, from predominantly Uyghur areas of East Turkestan, to participate in a labor transfer program to eastern China, where the participants are subjected to abusive and poor working and living conditions. Thousands of young Uyghur women and girls have been uprooted from their communities and families under this program and transferred to eastern China. Uyghur women in East Turkestan are subjected to intense and blatant discrimination in employment, both because they are Uyghur and because they are women.
Uyghur women are also the victims of the Chinese government’s coercive family planning policies,
including forced abortions and sterilizations.
Furthermore, against the backdrop of the authorities’ intense repression of all Uyghurs’ religious practice and independent expressions of ethnicity, the authorities have targeted specific repressive measures towards women, including the imposition of limits on women’s access to mosques and efforts by local governments in East Turkestan to prevent Uyghur women from wearing head scarves and to politically train or regulate the activities of Uyghur female religious figures (known as bu¨ wi in Uyghur).
For more information about the rally, please contact: Kathy Polias, United Nations Liaison for the
Uyghur American Association, Tel.: 347-285-6546, E-mail: kpolias@uyghuramerican.org.
» An Evaluation of 30-Years of the One-Child Policy in China
Published 11/6/2009
TLHRC Hearing Announcement An Evaluation of 30-Years of the One-Child Policy in China Wednesday, November 10 1 p.m.-4 p.m. 2318 Rayburn HOB This year marks the 30-year anniversary of China’s one-child-per-couple policy, which in some cases results in forced abortion or sterilization. The State Department’s 2008 Human Rights report states that, “[China’s] population control policy relied on education, propaganda, and economic incentives, as well as on more coercive measures.” The one-child policy has broader societal implications resulting in a disproportionate number of males per female born in China each year due to sex-selective abortions. To discuss these issues, we welcome as our witnesses:*** Toy Reid, Congressional-Executive Commission on China Reggie Littlejohn, Women’s Rights Without Frontiers Annie Jing Zhang, Women’s Rights in China
Nicholas Eberstadt, American Enterprise Institute Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur-American Association Harry Wu, Laogai Research Foundation
Jiang Tianyong, Beijing Global Law Firm A woman forced by Chinese government officials to undergo abortion may testify anonymously. ***Witness list is subject to change. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Hoffman at (202) 225-3599.
» "The Future of Uyghur-Han Relations in China: A Dialogue"
Published 11/6/2009
In conjunction with a special exhibition at the Laogai Museum "The Uyghur Experience: 60 Years under Communist Rule," NED, the Uyghur American Association, and Laogai Research Foundation are co-sponsoring a panel discussion examining the profound effects of the July 2009 violence in Urumchi on ethnic relations in China, and exploring potential ways forward for Uyghur-Han relations. Panelists: Nury Turkel is an attorney at a Washington law firm where he represents both U.S. and international aviation clients on matters involving federal administrative law, antitrust, government and congressional relations, as well as on commercial and aviation litigation matters. He has worked with a group of lawyers since 2005 to free Uyghur detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He has traveled to Guantanamo several times to meet with Uyghur detainees. He is the immediate past president of the Uyghur American Association where he co-founded and directed the Uyghur Human Rights Project. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and given presentations at various academic and government institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania and the United States Military Academy. He has written policy-oriented editorials for The Wall Street Journal Asia and The National Review Online, and appeared in both domestic and international media including CNN, BBC, Fox News, NPR, and The Washington Post. He holds a JD and a MA in International Affairs from American University. He speaks Uyghur, Turkish, and Chinese. Dr. Sean R. Roberts is the Director of the International Development Studies program and an Associate Professor in the Practice of International Affairs at the George Washington University's Elliott School for International Affairs. He is an expert on the region of Central Asia with a particular focus on the Uyghur people. He has spent several years conducting research in Uyghur communities in both Central Asia and China and is the author of numerous articles and a documentary film on the Uyghurs of the Kazakhstan-China borderland. Dr. Roberts earned his Masters degree in Visual Anthropology and his Doctorate in Social Anthropology at the University of Southern California. He also frequently writes about Uyghurs on his blog (The Roberts Report on Central Asia and Kazakhstan, www.roberts-report.com) and is in the process of updating his dissertation about the Uyghurs of Kazakhstan for publication as a manuscript. Dr. David Dahai Yu is Editor of Beijing Spring. Dr. Yu grew up in Tianjin and graduated from Beijing University. As a college student, he took part in the competitive local elections of 1980. He co-founded the Chinese Economists Society (USA) and served as its first president (1985-86). He earned a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University and has taught at several U.S. colleges. He has been affiliated with Beijing Spring and its predecessor China Spring since 1989. The program will be moderated by Amy Reger, Researcher at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and Louisa Greve, Vice President for Programs - Asia, Middle East/North Africa, Multiregional, at the National Endowment for Democracy. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to laogai@laogai.org by November 13. Please arrive 15 minutes early for registration. For questions or press inquiries, please contact Lindsey Purdy at 202-408-8300 or by email at
Lindsey@laogai.org. Laogai Research Foundation
National Endowment for Democracy
Uyghur American Association
» The Uyghur Experience: Sixty Years under Chinese Communist Rule
Published 11/3/2009
The Laogai Museum & Uyghur American Association are pleased to invite you to a reception to mark the opening of a new special exhibition
The Uyghur Experience: Sixty Years under Chinese Communist Rule Hosted by Rebiya Kadeer, President of the World Uyghur Congress and Harry Wu, Founder and Executive Director of the Laogai Research Foundation On Thursday, November 12, 2009
from 5:00-6:30pm
at the Laogai Museum,
1109 M St NW, Washington DC, 20005 Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP by November 10 to Lindsey Purdy at 202-408-8300 or laogai@laogai.org. For more information on the Laogai Research Foundation visit www.laogai.org. For more information on the Uyghur American Association visit www.uyghuramerican.org.
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» Resolving Religious and Ethnic Tension in the PRC: Time For A New Paradigm?
Published 10/5/2009
 | Cordially Invites You Resolving Religious and Ethnic Tension
in the PRC: Time For A New Paradigm?
Featuring
Rebiya KadeerExiled leader of the Uyghur People, and President, World Uyghur Congress Dr. Lee EdwardsAdjunct Professor of Politics, Catholic University of America,
and Chairman, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Thupten ThokmeyPresident, Chinese Tibetan Friendship Society, New York
Bob Fu
Christian Minister and President of China Aid
Dr. Yang Jianli
Fellow, Harvard University, and President, Initiatives for China
Hosted by
Walter Lohman
Director, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation
From Xinjiang to Tibet, ethnic and religious tensions continue to cloud the Chinese government's vision of a harmonious and stable society. Many see the CCP's policies toward religious freedom and ethnic diversity as more divisive than harmonizing. The Chinese government, on the other hand, blames external agitators in the West for the social unrest in China. The lack of progress toward resolving these tensions raises the question for all sides: Is it time for a new paradigm? On the eve of the 60th Anniversary of the PRC, the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Washington, DC, and coinciding with the opening of the Fifth Interethnic/Interfaith Leadership Conference, The Heritage Foundation presents a unique forum of intellectuals from Mainland China and representatives from the rainbow of ethnic and religious groups that comprise contemporary China who will give a "frontline" perspective on this question. Thursday, October 8, 2009 - 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The Heritage Foundation's Allison Auditorium
Refreshments Provided
RSVP online at http://www.Heritage.org/Press/Events/ or call (202) 675-1752. Terms and Conditions of Attendance are posted online at www.Heritage.org/Press/Events/Terms.cfm. All events can be viewed live at www.Heritage.org. News media inquiries, please call (202) 675-1761.
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Washington, DC 20002 | (202) 546-4400 |
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