The Uyghurs were detained after arriving in Thailand ten years ago on their way to Turkey. They were reportedly forced to sign voluntary deportation papers, ahead of repatriation to China where their co-ethnics suffer harsh repression in Xinjiang. Thailand is not a party to the UN Convention on Refugees.
The National Health Commission announced the measure as part of a plan to cope with an emergency kept hidden for many years for cultural reasons. Mental distress is also pervasive in rural areas, especially among women and young people. Fewer than four psychiatrists are available per 100,000 people in the country.
A Shanghai court convicted Chen Pinlin, born in 1991, even though he had signed a plea bargain for a two-year sentence over “Urumqi Middle Road”, a video he made and posted on YouTube in 2023 with eyewitness accounts from people who had suffered from the government’s strict pandemic measures.
China has long targeted the region for hydroelectric projects to meet its energy needs. Protests have not stopped dam construction, despite a study stressing the risks of an increase in landslides and flash floods. Meanwhile, the death toll from the earthquake has risen to 126, while freezing temperatures make rescue difficult.
Ordained a priest in 1947, the Verbite clergyman passed away at almost 105 after a very long ministry that included 25 years in prison. For Bishop Lu Peisen of Yanzhou, “Fr Guo dedicated his entire life to writing a wonderful story of selflessness and love, using his life as a pen and time as ink.”
China’s official Xinhua news agency released the data while the National Health Commission presents a three-year plan to deal with rising mental disorders. The issue has come to prominence following a string of violent incidents, but it is also the legacy of the government’s zero-COVID policy.
