Journalist Recounts China Escape: ‘All Under Watch’

In a chilling revelation, an ABC journalist narrated his experience in China and how he and his family escaped after being intimidated by Chinese authorities.

In an article for the ABC, Matthew Carney, who served as the ABC’s China bureau chief from 2016 to 2018, revealed how he received a telephone call from the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission in August 2018 and how that call marked the beginning of something else, “more than three months of intimidation until my family and I were effectively forced to leave China”.

The man from the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission told him that his reporting had “violated China’s laws and regulations, spread rumours and illegal, harmful information which endangered state security and damage national pride”.

“The fact is that every foreign journalist in China is under surveillance. But tracking my activities picked up significantly after that Friday night phone call,” he writes.

“There is the kind of surveillance the Chinese government wants you to know about. When I was reporting on the mass detentions of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, for example, the ABC team was surrounded by about 20 security officials, followed by midnight knocks on our hotel room doors and questioning about our daily activities,” he says.

Giving the grim and horrifying details of intimidation by the Chinese government, Carney said that he has seen the hidden cyber-surveillance.

“One night in the early hours of the morning, I woke to see someone remotely controlling my phone and accessing my email account. They searched and found an email from activists in New York that I was CC’d into requesting to have the famous ABC ‘tank man’ footage from the Tiananmen Square massacre given a UNESCO heritage listing,” he writes.

“The email was left open so I could see it, which I believe was a deliberate attempt to let me know they were watching,” he says.

Carney said that he did not share his story fearing the safety of ABC people working in China. But now he is sharing as Bill Birtles, the ABC’s correspondent based in Beijing, and Mike Smith, the AFR’s correspondent based in Shanghai, boarded a flight to Sydney after the pair were questioned separately by China’s Ministry of State Security.

Following the call, the journalist was threatened for months.

He said that one way the Chinese authorities try to force foreign journalists to self-censor their work is by threatening not to renew the 12-month residency visas. “I anticipated trouble, so submitted my renewal application six weeks before it was due to expire. If things were okay, you could expect approval in about 10 days. I did not get a response,” he writes.

Instead, he was ordered to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for “a cup of tea”, a phrase that every “foreign journalist knows is a euphemism for a dressing down”.

He was questioned during the call by the Chinese Foreign Ministry official.

“It was now a week before my visa was due to expire and with it the supporting visas for my wife and three children,” he says.

“We booked flights back to Sydney for the following Friday night. The plan was to shield the kids from the drama and if worst came to worst, pick them up from school and leave straight for the airport,” the journalist continues.

But one morning, he was told the visa had been approved. He and his wife went to the immigration police to have visa extensions stamped into our passports.

The official at the desk began entering details into the system, but suddenly the mood changed. Something was wrong. “We were told to immediately report to Public Security,” the journalist says.

“Once in the hands of Public Security, we entered into territory where interrogations and detentions are the norms. As I mulled the possibilities, fear sank into my gut. If this is where our investigation had ended up, then we were in serious trouble,” he adds.

In the coming days, they were interrogated and were told they will be put into detention.

After a round of calls to embassy staff, Chinese colleagues and the ABC, the journalist and his family decided the best approach was to confess guilt and apologise for the “visa crime”, with the condition that his daughter Yasmine stayed with them. She was mostly unaware of the severity of the situation.

“When the lead interrogator returned she told us she would consider our confessions, write a report on our case and send it to “the higher authority” for judgement. To heighten the tension once again, she said a result could take weeks. Our visas were running out in four days and by now we knew the consequences,” Carney writes.

However, another problem arises, a programme Carney made on China’s social credit system which uses digital technology to keep control of the population, was getting tens of millions of views around the world.

The Chinese woman that he featured in the story as a “model citizen” threatened legal action against me in the civil courts for defamation. “Her husband was an active and ambitious Communist Party member. Was this another way to intimidate me and the ABC?” he asks.

“I took advice from an American lawyer based in Beijing who urged me to leave China immediately. As soon as legal proceedings were lodged against me, an exit ban would be activated,” he says.

“But boarding the plane for a night flight back to Sydney with my family on a cold December night had never felt so good,” Carney notes. (ANI)

DRDO Working On Growing Veggies Under Intense Winter

By Sahil Pandey

As the troops are set to spend harsh winters at the China border, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on cultivating vegetables in the tough conditions here, for the Indian Army, with the technologies like passive greenhouse technology, zero energy-based technique storage, and microgreens.

The research for the same is being done by DRDO’s Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR).

While speaking to ANI, DIHAR’s Director, Dr Om Prakash Chaurasia said that the focus is now on to augment the availability of fresh vegetables in winters like summers.

“With DRDO technology and hill council, all vegetables can be grown in summer but now our focus is on winters that how to augment the availability of fresh items in winters. There are two approaches, one is to standardise the greenhouse technology. This (Leh) place has high intercity of solar even during peak winter period so we are working on a passive greenhouse. We will be able to grow cabbage, cauliflower, and even tomato even in the month of January where the temperature drops till -25 degrees. We have an underground greenhouse as well. Another approach is to develop the storage of vegetables grown in summers. It is zero energy-based storage technology. Potato, cabbage, cauliflower, Raddish, carrot can be stored for 4-5 months,” said Chaurasia.

Chaurasia also highlighted that DISAR is also cultivating superfoods like Quinoa, chia seed, seabuckthorn, and Goji Berries which are exclusively grown in Leh.

“Oxygen level is low and under stress condition in this area. So, we require foods which are enriched with nutrition. We are cultivating a superfood which is a food which you consume less and it is more effective. We are cultivating foods like Quinoa, chia seed, seabuckthorn, and Goji Berries,” he added.

In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned a special plant named ‘solo’ which is also known as the Sanjeevani herb that is found in Ladakh.

Describing the utilities of solo herb which is known as Sanjeevani, Dr Chaurasia said, “Himalaya is a treasure of herbs. Sanjeevani is one of the herbs found in the Himalayas. Its scientific name is Rhodiola. It cures fatigue, mountain sickness, and works on memory boosting. The roots of Sanjeevani have the fragrance of a rose. DRDO is working with UT administration for mass cultivation of it.”

DIHAR has worked on the microgreen plant which will help jawans grow plants in harsh conditions and can be grown in 10-15 days. The product can be used as a seasoning for farmers.

Talking about microgreens, Dr Dorjee, a scientist in DIHAR said, “In the far area, Army is deployed in harsh conditions and there is no availability of substrate or soil to grow vegetables. Through technology, we will be able to provide these microgreen plants to army jawan when he is having lunch or breakfast in those areas.”

“To grow these plants, we have to ensure that ingredients need to remain minimum like cocopeat, and after 10-15 days, these plants are ready for consumption. It can be used for seasoning too,” he added.

Dorjee further said that around 20 vegetables can be grown in this medium and it is rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. (ANI)

China Admits Dip In Xinjiang Birth Rate, Denies Forced Sterilisation

China has finally acknowledged a drop in birth rates in Xinjiang but has denied reports of forced sterilization and genocide in its far western region.

In its response to CNN, the Xinjiang government acknowledged the number of births in the region decreased drastically between 2017 and 2018. However, it claimed said that such procedures were not forced but voluntary and the Uyghur population has been “growing continuously.”

The Xinjiang government was quoted as saying by CNN that “the birth rate in the region had dropped from 15.88 per 1,000 people in 2017 to 10.69 per 1,000 people in 2018.” The local government attributed the decline to “the comprehensive implementation of the family planning policy.”

“In 2018, the number of newborns decreased by approximately 120,000 compared with 2017, of which about 80,000 were because of better implementation of family planning policy in accordance with law, according to estimates by the health and statistics department,” the response to Chinese officials read.

The admission assumes significance as the international community has repeatedly criticized China over its treatment of its people in the country, especially in Xinjiang and Tibet.

It has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination.

Beijing, on the other hand, has vehemently denied that it is engaged in human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang while reports from journalists, NGOs and former detainees have surfaced, highlighting the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal crackdown on the ethnic community, according to report.

Genocide is a serious crime under international law and the US government has adopted the term on rare occasions only after extensive documentation. Some experts said reports of mass surveillance, torture, arbitrary detentions and forced detentions employed by China against Uyghurs amounts to “demographic genocide”.

Recently, a bill was proposed by leading US lawmakers seeking to impose various restrictions related to China’s Xinjiang region including prohibiting certain imports. The US and China have sparred over the issue with the former imposing range of sanctions on CCP officials and entities involved in the human rights violations in the region. (ANI)

Arjun Kapoor To Donate Plasma To Help Covid Patients

Actor Arjun Kapoor who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, is currently at home recuperating. The actor has decided to donate his plasma to help save the lives of people who are in critical need of it.

A medical personnel who prefers to remain anonymous has confirmed the same and said, “Yes, this is true. Arjun will be donating his plasma on the 45th day since he tested positive.”

The source also welcomed the ‘2 States’ actor’s brave gesture and added, “Arjun will have to go to a city hospital to donate his plasma. We want more and more Indians who have battled and won over coronavirus to also do the same. We need to beat this virus and the support of all Indians is key to us winning.”

Earlier in this month, the ‘Ki and Ka’ actor took to social media to share the news of him getting tested positive for coronavirus. He remains asymptomatic and has self quarantined himself. (ANI)

Rhea Chakraborty, Brother Move HC For Bail In Drugs Case

Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik on Tuesday moved bail applications in the Bombay High Court in connection with a drug case related to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

According to Rhea’s lawyer Satish Manshinde, the matter will come up for hearing on September 23 and the details of the application will be shared after the hearing.

Meanwhile, a special (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) court here today extended till October 6 the judicial custody on Rhea Chakraborty.

A special court in Mumbai had on September 11 rejected the bail plea of Rhea, her brother, and others observing that if she is released on bail she may alert other accused persons and they may destroy evidence in the matter.

The special NDPS court had also rejected the bail plea of alleged drug peddler Abdul Basit Parihar, Zaid Vilatra, Rajput’s personal staff, Dipesh Uttam Sawant and Rhea’s associate Samuel Marshal Miranda, who were also arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the case.

Three other accused persons — Dipesh Uttam Sawant, Samuel Marshal Miranda and Abdul Basit Parihar — have already filed their bail pleas before the High Court. The Bombay High Court had last week adjourned the hearings on the bail pleas of three accused to September 29.

The NCB had launched an investigation after it received official communication from Enforcement Directorate (ED), in which there were various chats related to drug consumption, procurement, usage and transportation in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

The ED had on July 31 registered an Enforcement Case Information Report in the late actor’s death case after a First Information Report was filed by Rajput’s father KK Singh against Rhea Chakraborty in Bihar on July 28.

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14. (ANI)

Delhi Riots: Over ₹1Cr Received By Tahir Hussain, 4 Others

By Amiya Kumar Kushwaha & Sushil Batra

To substantiate its allegation of a larger conspiracy involved in the North-East Delhi violence, special cell of the Delhi Police has mentioned transactions of over Rs 1 crore received by accused persons Tahir Hussain, Ishrat Jahan, Khalid Saifi, Shafa-ur-Rahman and Meeran Haider through bank account or cash from December 2019 to February 2020.

Delhi Police in its fresh chargesheet filed under the charges of stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, said that during the investigation, it was disclosed that during the period December 1, 2019 to February 26, 2020, a total Rs 1, 61, 33, 703 was received by accused persons Ishrat Jahan, Khalid Saifi, Tahir Hussain, Rehman and Meeran Haider through bank account or cash.

Out of the total Rs 1.61 crore, Rs 1,48,01,186 was withdrawn as cash and spent in managing the protest sites as well as executing the conspiracy of riots in the national capital.

“Prima facie, it is revealed that Tahir Hussain used dummy name of companies to hide the transactions,” the chargesheet read adding that investigation related to some account is still pending.

Delhi Police in its chargesheet mentioned how the accused persons had executed the fraudulent transactions.

The police said that Imran, brother-in-law of Jahan, disclosed that he took Rs 4 lakh from his sister-in-law for some business. It said that he did not mention in his IT return that he has taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh from Jahan.

Jahan’s brother-in-law did not give any satisfactory answer regarding use of that money, police said.

The charge sheet also stated that on scrutiny of bank accounts of Jahan, it was found that on January 10, 2020, there was a cash deposit of Rs 1,41,000 in her account by herself but she could explain the source of this amount during her custodial interrogation.

“During the investigation, it was found that Jahan had used this money to manage the protest sites and in purchasing the weapons through accused Abdul Khalid. The weapons were used during the riots,” the police said.

A total of 53 people died and 581 were injured in North-East Delhi violence in February this year. (ANI)

Congress To Launch Mass Movement Against Farm Bills

After protesting against the agricultural bills in Parliament, the Congress announced it will take to the streets, launching a mass movement across the country from September 24.

The decision was taken at a meeting of members of the auxiliary committee, the general secretaries and the state in-charges, said former Union Minister AK Antony in a press conference.

He said that the Congress will stage a nationwide demonstration from September 24 to demand withdrawal of the agricultural Bills.

“This movement will conclude on November 14. The party will take the signatures of 2 crore farmers (against the bills) and hand them over to the President,” he said.

Senior party leader Ahmad Patel said the government has destroyed the democratic system. The agricultural bills are neither in the interest of the state government, nor the central government, or the farmers, he said.

“We raised our voice against this in Parliament. We will now take to the streets. The movement has been planned on the instructions of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. We will go to the village level and get farmers’ signatures,” said Patel.

The Congress party has declared these bills as anti-farmer and three Rajya Sabha MPs of the Congress have also been suspended for the current session for creating an uproar in Rajya Sabha when the Agriculture Bill was passed.

Congress organisation general secretary incharge KC Venugopal said the Prime Minister is misleading the country by accusing the opposition of misleading them.

“The Congress party will hold press conferences in every state. The state president and other state leaders will hand over the memorandum to the governor in every state while staging a ‘padyatra’,” said Venugopal.

Kisan-Mazdoor Bachao Day will be organised and a sit-in demonstration will be held in every district on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. A Kisan Sammelan will also be held in every state on October 10.

The party has set a target of collecting signatures of 2 crore farmers and handing them over to the President on November 14, Nehru Jayanti. (ANI)

A Woman Fighter Pilot Selected To Fly Rafale

A woman fighter pilot will be soon flying the Rafale fighter jet of the Indian Air Force as she is training for it.

“The woman fighter pilot is one the first three lady pilots to have been cleared for fighter flying by the Air Force,” IAF officials said.

“The lady officer was previously flying the MiG-21 fighter jet and is soon expected to be operational on the Rafale fighters,” they added.

The Indian Air Force is the first Force to have allowed women officers in combat and has the highest percentage of female officers.

The IAF has 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators. The total strength of women officers serving in the IAF is 1,875.

Last week, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik told Parliament that women fighter pilots are inducted and deployed in IAF as per strategic needs and operational requirements. (ANI)

PM Assures Farmers: Minimum Support Price To Stay

I want to assure every farmer that the system of providing minimum support price (MSP) will continue as earlier, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

The Prime Minister said this after inaugurating nine infrastructure development projects for Bihar, apart from the launch of “Ghar Tak Fibre” project which aims to provide internet connectivity to villages across the country through optical fibres, through video conferencing.

“I want to assure every farmer that the system of MSP will continue as it used to happen in the past. Likewise, as in every season, a campaign is run for buying produce by the government, that too will continue to run,” he said.

“The biggest proof of it is the figures for purchases made by the government during the past five years and the purchases made prior to five years before 2014. If I only talk about the oilseeds and pulses then the purchases by the government have increased by 24 per cent,” he added.

The Prime Minister further said that even during the coronavirus pandemic phase there was record purchase made by the government.

“For this year’s Rabi produce, including wheat, rice, oilseeds and pulses, the farmers were paid Rs 1 lakh 13 thousand crores in MSP. This figure is thirty per cent more than last year’s,” he pointed out.

The Prime Minister also spoke about how over the years a nexus had formed in the country which was reaping benefits from the hard work of farmers and was now trying to instigate them against the new reforms introduced by the Centre.

He also assured that these policies were not anti-Mandis and stated that his government was committed to their modernisation.

“The new agriculture reforms has given freedom to every farmer in the country to sell their produce anywhere. If he gets more profits in the mandi, he will sell it there. If apart from this he gets more profit anywhere else then he is not obstructed from selling them there too,” Modi said.

“The earlier system of selling the produce, the laws which existed, had kept the farmers’ hands tied. Acting under the garb of these laws such powerful groups had formed in the country which have benefitted from farmers’ misery. How long should have this allowed to go on ?” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated nine infrastructure development projects, worth Rs 14,000 crores for Bihar.

He also inaugurated the Ghar Tak Fibre Project under which all 45,945 villages of Bihar will be connected through optical fibre internet service.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, and Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Raj Kumar Singh, along with other officials also participated in the meeting through video conferencing.

Meanwhile, speaking during the programme, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi had objected to the behaviour of Opposition MPs against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh a day ago.

“Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Ji is respected in Bihar and all over the country. The uncalled for incident which occurred with him in Parliament yesterday has hurt the people of Bihar. The people of Bihar will give a suitable answer to the Opposition,” he said.

The Upper House witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman’s seat to protest against the farm Bills debated and passed by the Upper House through voice vote. (ANI)

Protest Against Abduction, Conversion Of Sikh Girl In Pak

Members of the Sikh community in Delhi staged a protest outside the Pakistan High Commission here on Monday against the abduction of the Panja Sahib head granthi’s daughter in Pakistan and her forcible conversion to Islam.

Pakistan in the past has been guilty of religious persecution in the past, carrying out forcible conversions of Sikhs to Islam. The protestors were seen carrying placards that read “Stop religious persecutions of Sikhs in Pakistan” and messages demanding justice for the abducted girl in Pakistan.

The protesters shouted, “Pakistan, haye, haye!” and “(Prime Minister) Imran Khan, haye, haye”.

“This has been going on for years where the Sikh community has been subjected to violence in Pakistan. Girls have been abducted and are subjected to forcible conversions. The whole country must be involved in this fight,” said MS Sirsa, chief, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Mgmt Committee, Delhi told reporters here.

Sirsa said that in the last three months, close to 55 girls have been abducted and converted forcibly. “The abduction of Panja Sahib’s head granthi’s daughter is repugnant. Even if we have to go to the United Nations or to Pakistan, we will continue this fight till the end,” he added.

He called the abductions “a huge conspiracy” against the Sikh community. “They abducted the daughter of our head granthi and want to convert her to Islam. They abducted a 17-year-old girl and the father is appealing for saving his daughter. This is Aurangzeb-like rule in the country,” he said. He added, “The way Aurangzeb used to force religious conversions, today’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is also working like Aurangzeb which would not be tolerated.”

Sirsa urged the global Sikh community to join hands “in securing the future of our daughters as it is very grim”.

There are several historical Sikh gurudwaras in Pakistan which are either in a dilapidated condition or are occupied by the land mafia and locals. The Sikhs are facing persecution across Pakistan. There are many instances of Sikh girls being kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam and married to Muslims. (ANI)