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China: A global threat to human rights? Ken Roth and Emily Feng

China: A global threat to human rights? Ken Roth and Emily Feng

Al Jazeera15-06-2025
Emily Feng is an award-winning Chinese American journalist who spent a decade reporting from China and Taiwan. In 2022, Feng was barred from returning to the Chinese mainland and labelled a 'race traitor' for her journalism.
Her recent book, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping's China, tells the human stories of resistance and rebellion against the Chinese state's vision of a unified national identity.
In this episode, Ken Roth and Emily Feng examine Xi Jinping's past, exploring what distinguishes his style of authoritarianism and how this affects human rights both within China and globally.
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Thailand, Cambodia hold ceasefire talks in Malaysia after deadly clashes
Thailand, Cambodia hold ceasefire talks in Malaysia after deadly clashes

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Thailand, Cambodia hold ceasefire talks in Malaysia after deadly clashes

Ceasefire talks have started between Thai and Cambodian leaders in Malaysia in an urgent effort to resolve deadly border clashes that entered a fifth day despite mounting international calls for peace. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet are holding ceasefire talks on Monday in Malaysia's administrative capital of Putrajaya at the official residence of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the regional bloc ASEAN. The talks between the two warring Southeast Asian countries hosted by Anwar are aimed at halting fighting that has killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 270,000 from both sides of the Thailand-Cambodia border. The ambassadors of the United States and China were also present at the meeting, the Malaysian official said on Monday, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. In a post on X earlier on Monday, Hun said the purpose of the talks is to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the conflict with Thailand. However, Phumtham, before departing Bangkok on Monday, told reporters: 'We do not believe Cambodia is acting in good faith, based on their actions in addressing the issue. They need to demonstrate genuine intent, and we will assess that during the meeting.' Meanwhile, clashes broke out in several areas along Thailand's disputed border with Cambodia for a fifth day just hours ahead of the ceasefire talks. Thai army spokesperson Colonel Richa Suksuwanon told reporters earlier on Monday that fighting erupted along the border, as gunfire could be heard at dawn in Samrong in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, The Associated Press news agency reported. On Sunday, Thailand said one person was killed and another injured after Cambodia fired a rocket in Sisaket province. Thailand's military also reported that Cambodian snipers were camping in one of the contested temples, and accused Phnom Penh of surging troops along the border and hammering Thai territory with rockets. Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata on Monday accused Thailand of deploying 'a lot of troops' and firing 'heavy weapons' into the Cambodian territory. Socheata claimed that before dawn on Monday, the Thai military targeted areas near the ancient Ta Muen Thom and the Ta Kwai temples, which Cambodia claims are its territory but are being disputed by Thailand. She also accused the Thai military of firing smoke bombs from aircraft over Cambodian territory and heavy weapons at its soldiers, adding that Cambodian troops 'were able to successfully repel the attacks'. Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng, reporting from Thailand's border province of Surin, said the mediators have been 'very reluctant' to acknowledge the holding of talks in the Malaysian capital. 'The Malaysian Foreign Ministry was incredibly nervous. Last week, they had said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had brokered a peace deal only to be shot down very quickly by the Thai Foreign Ministry,' Cheng said. Still, Cheng said a mounting death toll and the number of displaced people could give the two leaders the 'motivation' to resolve the crisis peacefully. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said US officials 'are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts', while Anwar told domestic media he would focus on securing an 'immediate ceasefire'. China also welcomed efforts to end fighting and expressed hope that a ceasefire will be reached soon. 'We hope that both sides will start from the shared interests of their peoples, uphold the spirit of valuing peace and promoting good neighbourliness, remain calm and exercise restraint, cease fire and end the conflict as soon as possible,' foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue before Malaysia ceasefire talks
Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue before Malaysia ceasefire talks

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Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue before Malaysia ceasefire talks

Clashes have continued in several areas along Thailand's disputed border with Cambodia, as fighting between the two sides entered its fifth day just hours before scheduled ceasefire talks. Leaders of the two warring Southeast Asian countries are scheduled to hold ceasefire talks in Malaysia starting at 07:00 GMT on Monday, in a bid to halt fighting that has killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 270,000 from both sides of the border. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet are due to meet in Kuala Lumpur for talks. China is also expected to send a delegation to the talks brokered by Malaysia and being pushed by the United States. In a post on X on Monday, Hun said the purpose of the talks is to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the conflict with Thailand. However, Phumtham, before departing Bangkok on Monday, told reporters: 'We do not believe Cambodia is acting in good faith, based on their actions in addressing the issue. They need to demonstrate genuine intent, and we will assess that during the meeting.' Meanwhile, Thai army spokesperson Colonel Richa Suksuwanon told reporters on Monday that fighting continues along the border, as gunfire could be heard at dawn in Samrong in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, The Associated Press news agency reported. On Sunday, Thailand said one person was killed and another injured after Cambodia fired a rocket in Sisaket province. Thailand's military also reported that Cambodian snipers were camping in one of the contested temples, and accused Phnom Penh of surging troops along the border and hammering Thai territory with rockets. Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata on Monday accused Thailand of deploying 'a lot of troops' and firing 'heavy weapons' into the Cambodian territory. Socheata claimed that before dawn on Monday, the Thai military targeted areas near the ancient Ta Muen Thom and the Ta Kwai temples, which Cambodia claims are its territory but are being disputed by Thailand. She also accused the Thai military of firing smoke bombs from aircraft over Cambodian territory and heavy weapons at its soldiers, adding that Cambodian troops 'were able to successfully repel the attacks'. Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng, reporting from Thailand's border province of Surin, said the mediators have been 'very reluctant' to acknowledge the holding of talks in the Malaysian capital. 'The Malaysian Foreign Ministry was incredibly nervous. Last week, they had said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had brokered a peace deal only to be shot down very quickly by the Thai Foreign Ministry,' Cheng said. Still, Cheng said a mounting death toll and the number of displaced people could give the two leaders the 'motivation' to resolve the crisis peacefully. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said US officials 'are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts', while Anwar told domestic media he would focus on securing an 'immediate ceasefire'.

North Korea says it has ‘no interest' in dialogue with South Korea
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister has rejected the possibility of dialogue with South Korea amid Seoul's outreach efforts under its new left-leaning president. In a statement issued by state-run media on Monday, Kim Yo Jong dismissed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's efforts to mend ties with Pyongyang, including the cessation of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the tense inter-Korean border. Kim, who oversees propaganda operations within the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, called Lee's decision to halt the broadcasts a 'reversible turning back of what they should not have done in the first place.' If South Korea 'expected that it could reverse all the results it had made with a few sentimental words', nothing could be a 'more serious miscalculation', Kim said in the comments carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim also accused the Lee administration of 'spinning a daydream' after its unification minister, Chung Dong-young, earlier this month expressed support for Kim Jong Un being invited to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea in October. The Lee administration's 'blind trust' in South Korea's security alliance with the United States and 'attempt to stand in confrontation' with Pyongyang are little different from the policies of the previous conservative administration of Yoon Suk-yeol, Kim said. 'We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither the reason to meet nor the issue to be discussed with the ROK,' Kim said, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. Lee, who took office last month following Yoon's removal over a short-lived declaration of martial law, has expressed his desire to improve relations between the divided Koreas, which have been technically at war since the 1950-1953 Korean War. Lee's left-leaning Democratic Party and its predecessors have traditionally favoured closer ties with North Korea, in comparison with Yoon's conservative People Power Party and its precursors. Earlier this month, South Korea announced that it repatriated six North Koreans who had been rescued at sea earlier this year after their vessels drifted across the de facto maritime border.

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