Archive for ‘scrutiny’

  |  
12/04/2020

African ambassadors in China complain to government over ‘discrimination’

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – African ambassadors in China have written to the country’s foreign minister over what they call discrimination against Africans as the country seeks to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Several African countries have separately also demanded that China address their concerns that Africans, in particular in the southern city of Guangzhou, are being mistreated and harassed.

Having brought under control the original outbreak centred on the city of Wuhan, China is now concerned about imported cases and is stepping up scrutiny of foreigners coming into the country and tightening border controls. It has denied any discrimination.

In recent days Africans in Guangzhou have reported being ejected from their apartments by their landlords, being tested for coronavirus several times without being given results and being shunned and discriminated against in public. Such complaints have been made in local media, and on social media.

The ambassadors’ note said such “stigmatisation and discrimination” created the false impression that the virus was being spread by Africans.

“The Group of African Ambassadors in Beijing immediately demands the cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans,” it said.

The note was sent to China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, copying the chair of the African Union, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and all African foreign ministers.

The Chinese foreign ministry’s International Press Centre did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the note, sent outside of business hours.

The Chinese embassy in South Africa also did not respond.

Foreign affairs official Liu Baochun told a news conference on Sunday that Guangzhou is enforcing anti-virus measures on anyone who enters the city from across the national border, regardless of nationality, race or gender.

The Chinese embassy in Zimbabwe on Saturday dismissed the accusation that Africans were being deliberately targeted.

“It is harmful to sensationalize isolated incidents,” it said in a tweeted statement. “China treats all individuals in the country, Chinese and foreign alike, as equals.”

DISAPPOINTMENT

The ambassadors’ note highlighted a number of reported incidents, including that Africans were being ejected from hotels in the middle of the night, the seizure of passports, and threats of visa revocation, arrest or deportation.

On Saturday, Ghana’s foreign minister of affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said she had summoned the Chinese ambassador to express her disappointment and demand action.

Kenya’s foreign ministry has also “officially expressed concern”, adding the government is working with Chinese authorities to address the matter.

On Friday, Nigerian legislator Akinola Alabi tweeted a video of a meeting between the leader of Nigeria’s lower house of parliament, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian. In it, Gbajabiamila demanded an explanation from the diplomat after showing Zhou a video of a Nigerian complaining about mistreatment in China.

The ambassador said in response to the questions from the house leader that he took the complaints “very seriously” and promised to convey them to the authorities back home.

Source: Reuters

Posted in African, African Ambassadors, African Union, ambassadors, anti-virus measures, apartments, Arrest, “stigmatisation and discrimination”, Beijing, border controls, cessation, chair, China, China’s top diplomat, Chinese embassy, complain, copying, coronavirus, Country, country's, deportation, DISAPPOINTMENT, Discrimination, ejected, enforcing, equals, false, forceful testing, Foreign affairs, foreign minister, foreign ministers, foreign ministry's, Foreigners, gender, Ghana’s, Government, group, Guangzhou, harassed, harmful, hotels, immediately, imported cases, impression, incidents, individuals, inhuman, International Press Centre, isolated, Johannesburg, landlords, local media, meted out, middle, mistreated, national borders, nationality, News conference, Nigerian, night, Official, outbreak, passports, President, quarantine, race, regardless, respond, resurgence, revocation, Saturday, scrutiny, seizure, sensationalize, social media, South Africa, South African, southern city, spread, statement, Sunday, threats, treatments, tweeted, Uncategorized, Virus, Visa, Wang Yi, Wuhan, Zimbabwe | Leave a Comment »

11/04/2020

Mainland China reports 46 new coronavirus cases, up from 42 a day earlier

BEIJING (Reuters) – China reported on Saturday a rise in new coronavirus cases, as authorities try to head off a second wave of infections, particularly from imported and asymptomatic cases, as curbs on cities and travel are lifted.

The National Health Commission said 46 new cases were reported on Friday, including 42 involving travellers from abroad, up from 42 cases a day earlier.

In its statement the commission added that 34 new asymptomatic cases were reported, down from 47 the previous day.

Mainland China’s tally of infections now stands at 81,953. The death toll rose by three to 3,339.

Tough curbs imposed since January helped rein in infections sharply from the height of the pandemic in February. But policymakers fear a second wave triggered by arrivals from overseas or asymptomatic patients.

Northeastern Heilongjiang recently reported a spike in new cases because of Chinese nationals entering the province from Russia, which has seen a surge of cases.

Provincial health officials said it had 22 new imported cases on Friday, all Chinese nationals coming from Russia, and one new local case, in its capital of Harbin.

Inner Mongolia had a daily tally of 27 new imported cases by Saturday morning, all from Russia, the region’s health authority said.

The central province of Hubei, where the virus emerged late last year, reported no new cases for a seventh successive day.

A rise in virus infections has prompted authorities in Guangzhou to step up scrutiny of foreigners, ordering bars and restaurants not to serve clients who appear to be of African origin, the U.S. consulate in the southern city said.

Anyone with “African contacts” faces mandatory virus tests followed by quarantine, regardless of recent travel history or previous isolation, it said in a statement.

It advised African-Americans or those who feel they might be suspected of contact with nationals of African origin to avoid the city.

Since the epidemic broke out in the provincial capital of Wuhan, it has spread around the world, infecting 1.6 million people and killing more than 100,000.

Source: Reuters

Posted in 100,000, 42, 46, abroad, advised, African, African Americans, Anyone, around the world, Arrivals, asymptomatic, authorities, “African contacts”, bars, capital, cases, central province, China, China’s, Chinese nationals, cities, clients, commission, coronavirus cases, curbs, day, death toll, earlier, emerged, entering, epidemic, February, followed by, Foreigners, Friday, from, Guangzhou, Harbin, head off, Health officials, Heilongjiang, History, Hubei, imported, infecting, infections, Inner Mongolia, isolation, January, killing, late last year, lifted, Mainland China, mandatory, million, morning, National Health Commission, new, Northeastern, ordering, origin, overseas, pandemic, particularly, People, policymakers, previous, province, Provincial, provincial capital, quarantine, recent, regardless, reported, reports, restaurants, rise, Russia, said, Saturday, scrutiny, second wave, seventh, southern city, spike, spread, statement, successive, surge, tally, travel, travellers, triggered, try, U.S. consulate, Uncategorized, up from, Virus, virus tests, Wuhan | Leave a Comment »

13/11/2019

Xinjiang cotton sparks concern over ‘forced labour’ claims

Farmers pick cotton during the harvest on October 21, 2019 in Shaya County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.Image copyright GETTY IMAGES

Global retailers are facing scrutiny over cotton supplies sourced from Xinjiang, a Chinese region plagued by allegations of human rights abuses.

China is one of the world’s top cotton producers and most of its crop is grown in Xinjiang.

Rights groups say Xinjiang’s Uighur minority are being persecuted and recruited for forced labour.

Many brands are thought to indirectly source cotton products from the Xinjiang region in China’s far west.

Japanese retailers Muji and Uniqlo attracted attention recently after a report highlighted the brands used the Xinjiang-origin of their cotton as a selling point in advertisements.

H&M, Esprit and Adidas are among the firms said to be at the end of supply chains involving cotton products from Xinjiang, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.

“You can’t be sure that you don’t have coerced labour in your supply chain if you do cotton business in China,” said Nathan Ruser, researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“Xinjiang labour and what is almost certainly coerced labour is very deeply entrenched into the supply chain that exists in Xinjiang.”

What is happening in Xinjiang?

UN experts and human rights groups say China is holding more than a million Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in vast detention camps.

Rights groups also say people in camps are made to learn Mandarin Chinese, swear loyalty to President Xi Jinping, and criticise or renounce their faith.

China says those people are attending “vocational training centres” which are giving them jobs and helping them integrate into Chinese society, in the name of preventing terrorism.

What is produced in Xinjiang?

The Xinjiang region is a key hub of Chinese cotton production.

China produces about 22% of global cotton supplies, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Last year, 84% of Chinese cotton came from Xinjiang, the report said.

That has raised concerns over whether forced labour has been used in the production of cotton from the region.

This photo taken on September 11, 2019 shows people walking past a mosque in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang.Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption The Uighurs are mostly Muslims, and number about 11 million in China’s Xinjiang region

Nury Turkel, chairman of the Uighur Human Rights Project in Washington, said the Uighurs were being “detained and tormented” and “swept into a vast system of forced labor” in Xinjiang.

In testimony to US congress, he said it was becoming “increasingly hard to ignore the fact” that the goods manufactured in the region have “a high likelihood” of being produced with forced labour.

Which brands use Xinjiang cotton?

Amy Lehr, director of CSIS Human Rights Initiative, said in many cases Western companies aren’t buying directly from factories in Xinjiang.

“Rather, the products may go through several stages of transformation after leaving Xinjiang before they are sent to large Western brands,” she said.

Some, like Muji, are very open about sourcing material from Xinjiang.

The Japanese retail chain launched a new Xinjiang Cotton collection earlier this year.

One of its advertisements boasts “soft and breathable” men’s shirts made from organic cotton “delicately and wholly handpicked in Xinjiang”.

Another Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo had also touted the Xinjiang region in an advertisement advertisment for men’s shirts.

In the fine print of the shirt description, the advert said the shirts were made from Xinjiang cotton, “famous for its superb quality”.

That reference was later removed from the advertisement “given the complexity of this issue”, according to a spokesperson for Uniqlo.

“Uniqlo does not have any production partners located in the Xinjiang region. Moreover, Uniqlo production partners must commit to our strict company code of conduct.

“To the best of our knowledge, this means our cotton comes only from ethical sources,” the spokesperson told the BBC.

Pedestrians walk past a Japanese household and consumer goods retailer, Muji store in ShenzhenImage copyright GETTY IMAGES

According to the Wall Street Journal report which focused on workers at a mill operated by Huafu Fashion in Aksu, Xinjiang, yarn made in the region was present in the supply chains of several international retailers including H&M, Esprit and Adidas.

Many of the companies looked into the allegations, including those without clear links to the Huafu mill.

In a statement to the BBC, Adidas said: “While we do not have a contractual relationship with Huafu Fashion Co., or any direct leverage with this business entity or its subsidiary, we are currently investigating these claims.”

“We advised our material suppliers to place no orders with Huafu until we have completed those investigations,” the Adidas spokesperson said.

Esprit, which also does not source cotton directly from Xinjiang, said it had made several inquiries earlier this year.

“We concluded that a very small amount of cotton from a Huafu factory in Xinjiang was used in a limited number of Esprit garments,” the firm said in a statement.

The company has instructed all suppliers to not source Huafu yarn from Aksu, the statement said.

H&M said it does not have “a direct or indirect business relationship” with any garment manufacturer in the Xinjiang region.

“We have an indirect business relationship with Huafu’s spinning unit in Shanyu, which is not located in the Xinjiang region, and according to our data, the vast majority of the yarn used for our garment manufacturing comes from this spinning unit,” a spokesperson for H&M said.

“Since we have an indirect business relationship with the yarn supplier Huafu, we also asked for access to their spinning facilities in Aksu. Our investigations showed no evidence of forced labor.”

Source: The BBC

Posted in 'forced labour', Adidas, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, buying, camps, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Chinese Society, claims, companies, concern, cotton, criticise, CSIS Human Rights Initiative, detention, directly, Esprit, factories, faith, global, H&M, integrate, investigation, Japanese, loyalty, Mandarin Chinese, minority, Muji, Muslims, persecuted, President Xi Jinping, preventing, recruited, renounce, retailers, scrutiny, sparks, swear, terrorism, The Wall Street Journal, Uighur, Uighur Human Rights Project, Uncategorized, Uniqlo, vocational training centres, Washington, Western, Xinjiang, Xinjiang Cotton collection | Leave a Comment »

  |  
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India