Hotznplotzn

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52068533

Archived

Zambia's Ministry of Labour and Social Security has announced that it will recommend the immediate cancellation of work permits for two Chinese supervisors at Zamfresh company following allegations that they assaulted a female employee at the workplace.

[...]

The two Chinese nationals have been filmed in a scuffle with a female employee, whom they pinned to the floor, another report says.

[...]

The Ministry stated that Zambia’s commitment to ending violence and harassment at work is strengthened by its ratification of the International Labour Organization Convention 190. The Convention requires governments to ensure that workplaces are free from abuse, violence and harassment. The Ministry emphasized that all foreign workers in Zambia must follow the country’s labour laws.

Employers have been advised to follow proper grievance and disciplinary procedures when handling workplace misconduct, warning that taking the law into their own hands is a serious offence that may lead to legal and administrative action.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52068533

Archived

Zambia's Ministry of Labour and Social Security has announced that it will recommend the immediate cancellation of work permits for two Chinese supervisors at Zamfresh company following allegations that they assaulted a female employee at the workplace.

[...]

The two Chinese nationals have been filmed in a scuffle with a female employee, whom they pinned to the floor, another report says.

[...]

The Ministry stated that Zambia’s commitment to ending violence and harassment at work is strengthened by its ratification of the International Labour Organization Convention 190. The Convention requires governments to ensure that workplaces are free from abuse, violence and harassment. The Ministry emphasized that all foreign workers in Zambia must follow the country’s labour laws.

Employers have been advised to follow proper grievance and disciplinary procedures when handling workplace misconduct, warning that taking the law into their own hands is a serious offence that may lead to legal and administrative action.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52067784

Archived

Palden Yeshi, a Tibetan monk and teacher from eastern Tibet, has reportedly been sentenced to six years in prison by Chinese authorities for teaching the Tibetan language to local children during school holidays, according to a report by the Dharamshala-based independent radio station Voice of Tibet (VoT).

He was a teacher at Karze Monastery in Tehor, Karze County, and was arrested on May 17, 2021, while serving at the monastery. According to sources cited by VoT, Chinese police suddenly arrived at the monastery and detained him without prior notice, forcibly taking him away.

Following his detention, authorities did not provide his family with clear information regarding the reasons for his arrest or the legal basis for the charges against him.

Sources indicate that the primary reason for his detention was his efforts to teach the Tibetan language to more than 300 local children during school holidays. The classes were reportedly organized for young students from nearby communities who wished to learn Tibetan reading and writing. Chinese authorities are believed to have deemed these voluntary language lessons illegal.

[...]

In related news, China bars Tibetan government employees from religious rites and family funerals.

Tibetans employed in government positions have been strictly forbidden from engaging in religious practices. While they are technically allowed to visit major religious sites such as the Jokhang Temple (Tsuglakhang) and the Potala Palace during Losar, their presence is limited to sightseeing purposes only.

They are expressly prohibited from offering prayers, making ritual offerings, performing prostrations, or displaying any other forms of religious devotion. Authorities reportedly warned that such acts would constitute violations of Communist Party discipline.

The restrictions extend into private family life. Government employees are said to be barred not only from participating in public religious ceremonies but also from attending last rites, weekly memorial prayer services, and cremation rituals for their own deceased relatives. A Lhasa resident told TT that even the traditional seventh-day prayers for the departed cannot be attended by those in state employment.

[...]

Archived

Zambia's Ministry of Labour and Social Security has announced that it will recommend the immediate cancellation of work permits for two Chinese supervisors at Zamfresh company following allegations that they assaulted a female employee at the workplace.

[...]

The two Chinese nationals have been filmed in a scuffle with a female employee, whom they pinned to the floor, another report says.

[...]

The Ministry stated that Zambia’s commitment to ending violence and harassment at work is strengthened by its ratification of the International Labour Organization Convention 190. The Convention requires governments to ensure that workplaces are free from abuse, violence and harassment. The Ministry emphasized that all foreign workers in Zambia must follow the country’s labour laws.

Employers have been advised to follow proper grievance and disciplinary procedures when handling workplace misconduct, warning that taking the law into their own hands is a serious offence that may lead to legal and administrative action.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52067784

Archived

Palden Yeshi, a Tibetan monk and teacher from eastern Tibet, has reportedly been sentenced to six years in prison by Chinese authorities for teaching the Tibetan language to local children during school holidays, according to a report by the Dharamshala-based independent radio station Voice of Tibet (VoT).

He was a teacher at Karze Monastery in Tehor, Karze County, and was arrested on May 17, 2021, while serving at the monastery. According to sources cited by VoT, Chinese police suddenly arrived at the monastery and detained him without prior notice, forcibly taking him away.

Following his detention, authorities did not provide his family with clear information regarding the reasons for his arrest or the legal basis for the charges against him.

Sources indicate that the primary reason for his detention was his efforts to teach the Tibetan language to more than 300 local children during school holidays. The classes were reportedly organized for young students from nearby communities who wished to learn Tibetan reading and writing. Chinese authorities are believed to have deemed these voluntary language lessons illegal.

[...]

In related news, China bars Tibetan government employees from religious rites and family funerals.

Tibetans employed in government positions have been strictly forbidden from engaging in religious practices. While they are technically allowed to visit major religious sites such as the Jokhang Temple (Tsuglakhang) and the Potala Palace during Losar, their presence is limited to sightseeing purposes only.

They are expressly prohibited from offering prayers, making ritual offerings, performing prostrations, or displaying any other forms of religious devotion. Authorities reportedly warned that such acts would constitute violations of Communist Party discipline.

The restrictions extend into private family life. Government employees are said to be barred not only from participating in public religious ceremonies but also from attending last rites, weekly memorial prayer services, and cremation rituals for their own deceased relatives. A Lhasa resident told TT that even the traditional seventh-day prayers for the departed cannot be attended by those in state employment.

[...]

Archived

Palden Yeshi, a Tibetan monk and teacher from eastern Tibet, has reportedly been sentenced to six years in prison by Chinese authorities for teaching the Tibetan language to local children during school holidays, according to a report by the Dharamshala-based independent radio station Voice of Tibet (VoT).

He was a teacher at Karze Monastery in Tehor, Karze County, and was arrested on May 17, 2021, while serving at the monastery. According to sources cited by VoT, Chinese police suddenly arrived at the monastery and detained him without prior notice, forcibly taking him away.

Following his detention, authorities did not provide his family with clear information regarding the reasons for his arrest or the legal basis for the charges against him.

Sources indicate that the primary reason for his detention was his efforts to teach the Tibetan language to more than 300 local children during school holidays. The classes were reportedly organized for young students from nearby communities who wished to learn Tibetan reading and writing. Chinese authorities are believed to have deemed these voluntary language lessons illegal.

[...]

In related news, China bars Tibetan government employees from religious rites and family funerals.

Tibetans employed in government positions have been strictly forbidden from engaging in religious practices. While they are technically allowed to visit major religious sites such as the Jokhang Temple (Tsuglakhang) and the Potala Palace during Losar, their presence is limited to sightseeing purposes only.

They are expressly prohibited from offering prayers, making ritual offerings, performing prostrations, or displaying any other forms of religious devotion. Authorities reportedly warned that such acts would constitute violations of Communist Party discipline.

The restrictions extend into private family life. Government employees are said to be barred not only from participating in public religious ceremonies but also from attending last rites, weekly memorial prayer services, and cremation rituals for their own deceased relatives. A Lhasa resident told TT that even the traditional seventh-day prayers for the departed cannot be attended by those in state employment.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52030758

Archived

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Wednesday that the city government will reduce the size of its workforce by 15% after budget revenues in recent months fell short of projections.

“Based on the results of the first two months [of 2026], revenue growth amounted to 2%, which is below the 6.5% projected when this year’s budget was drafted,” Sobyanin was quoted as saying by the Moskva news agency.

Sobyanin said the layoffs would take place by June 1, but he did not specify which departments or employees would be impacted. He stressed that the move would not affect the number of employees “providing social services to citizens.”

In addition, he said the city will cut its 2026 investment program by 10%, which includes canceling or postponing urban beautification projects and public cultural events.

[...]

Moscow ran the largest budget deficit among Russia’s regions last year, posting an annual shortfall of 229 billion rubles ($2.97 billion).

Archived

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Wednesday that the city government will reduce the size of its workforce by 15% after budget revenues in recent months fell short of projections.

“Based on the results of the first two months [of 2026], revenue growth amounted to 2%, which is below the 6.5% projected when this year’s budget was drafted,” Sobyanin was quoted as saying by the Moskva news agency.

Sobyanin said the layoffs would take place by June 1, but he did not specify which departments or employees would be impacted. He stressed that the move would not affect the number of employees “providing social services to citizens.”

In addition, he said the city will cut its 2026 investment program by 10%, which includes canceling or postponing urban beautification projects and public cultural events.

[...]

Moscow ran the largest budget deficit among Russia’s regions last year, posting an annual shortfall of 229 billion rubles ($2.97 billion).

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52029941

Archived

America’s February 28 missile strikes that leveled the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters ended more than a decade of nuclear stalemate.

[...]

As Washington navigates the aftermath, it is discovering that the "Resistance Economy" Khamenei spent years building was not merely an oil play. It was a calculated integration into a resource axis designed to withstand Western pressure.

And China is the silent partner in this axis.

Beijing’s interest in Iran is anchored by a $400 billion, 25-year strategic cooperation agreement.

That deal ensures 80% of Iran’s oil exports flow to Chinese "teapot" refiners. More importantly, it secures access to a mineral base developed with Chinese technical help.

[...]

The timing of the February 28 strikes is particularly difficult for Beijing because it threatens to derail a decade of "quiet" industrial colonization just as it was reaching maturity. Iran sits on the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt, a tectonic collision zone that created conditions for extreme mineralization.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Iran shared the second rank globally in the production of direct reduced iron and strontium in 2022. It remains a top-ten producer of barite, feldspar, and molybdenum.

The rare earth potential in Central Iran and Yazd Province changes the strategic stakes.

[...]

Then there is the Hamadan discovery.

In 2023, Tehran claimed the discovery of 8.5 million tons of lithium-rich hectorite clay in Hamadan province. If the numbers are accurate, the deposit would rival the "Lithium Triangle" in South America. Western geologists have expressed skepticism regarding the economic viability of the clay, but the geopolitical value was immediate. By positioning itself as a future hub for the battery supply chain, Iran gave Beijing a reason to view the country as more than a sanctioned gas station.

The U.S. move against the regime is a direct threat to this resource axis.

China has established its dominance in critical materials through a long-term approach rather than military force. Between 2013 and 2022, China invested $679 billion in infrastructure across 150 countries to support its mining interests. Iran was the central piece of that strategy in West Asia.

But to extract these riches, Beijing needs more than just mines…it needs the logistical immunity that Tehran’s clandestine networks provide.

This is where the struggle for minerals meets the struggle for the sea.

[...]

Rare earth elements are the quiet necessity of modern warfare.

They are required for the guidance systems of the Tomahawk missiles used on February 28…

They are in the F-35 fighter jets patrolling the Gulf…

They are in the Predator drones and the Aegis missile defense systems…

China controls over 90% of global refined rare earth output and almost 90% of permanent magnet production.

If Beijing decides the U.S. strikes on Iran have crossed a line, they can stop the export of refined rare earth metals and alloys. This is the non-kinetic response option. If China stops the flow, the defense industry faces a crisis within months. This has triggered a race to rebuild a domestic supply chain that the U.S. abandoned three decades ago.

There is a misunderstanding in Washington about how this works. Politicians focus on mining more rock. They point to mines in California or Nevada as the solution.

They are wrong.

[...]

Mining is only a small part of the problem.

The real conflict is in metallization and alloying. This is the chemical process of turning rare earth oxides into high-performance metals. The Center for Strategic and International Studies identifies rare-earth metallization as the most difficult capability to rebuild outside China.

[...]

The U.S. can extract the material, but it currently lacks the capacity to turn it into something a defense contractor can use.

[...]

The front line of this arms race is not in the Gulf of Oman. It is in Euclid, Ohio, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

A "China-free" processing pathway is finally operational.

It is a functional bridge between raw material and finished magnets, designed to bypass the metallurgy that has kept the West dependent on Beijing.

In Saskatoon, the Saskatchewan Research Council has spent five years building a technological wall against Chinese influence. The facility is North America’s first integrated minerals-to-metals plant. Its primary tool is an industrial AI system designed to manage the complexity of rare earth separation, a process involving thousands of operations that were once the property of Chinese laboratories.

[...]

"We had to design most of our own technology because it was not available outside of China," says SRC CEO Mike Crabtree.

“If we just look at the solvent extraction, which is the central piece of the plant that separates of the 17 alloys, the AI takes in probably about 5000 data points on a millisecond basis.”

By removing human error, the SRC is producing metal ingots that meet defense specifications.

[...]

The partnership with REAlloys creates the final link.

REAlloys operates North America’s only facility, currently converting heavy rare earths into the metals required for defense systems.

The company has a strategic partnership to receive 80% of the SRC's heavy rare earth production, specifically dysprosium and terbium, starting in 2027. These elements are the thermal stabilizers for high-performance magnets. Without them, the motors in electric vehicles or guidance systems in missiles fail when temperatures rise during high-velocity maneuvers.

[...]

The U.S. move againsArchivedt Iran has forced the world into two distinct resource blocs.

On one side is the Chinese-led axis, controlling 95% of the processing and a network of shadow tankers.

On the other is the emerging Resilience Axis anchored by North America’s new processing facilities in Ohio and Saskatchewan.

"Success means being specified into defense and industrial platforms designed to operate for decades," says the REAlloys team. "Once you’re qualified, you’re no longer a discretionary supplier. You’re embedded."

Sovereignty in 2026 is not found in a capital city. It is found in the middle of the supply chain, the point where a rock becomes a metal and a metal becomes a weapon.

The U.S. may have won the battle for Tehran on February 28, but the war for the materials that allowed those missiles to fly is just beginning.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52029941

Archived

America’s February 28 missile strikes that leveled the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters ended more than a decade of nuclear stalemate.

[...]

As Washington navigates the aftermath, it is discovering that the "Resistance Economy" Khamenei spent years building was not merely an oil play. It was a calculated integration into a resource axis designed to withstand Western pressure.

And China is the silent partner in this axis.

Beijing’s interest in Iran is anchored by a $400 billion, 25-year strategic cooperation agreement.

That deal ensures 80% of Iran’s oil exports flow to Chinese "teapot" refiners. More importantly, it secures access to a mineral base developed with Chinese technical help.

[...]

The timing of the February 28 strikes is particularly difficult for Beijing because it threatens to derail a decade of "quiet" industrial colonization just as it was reaching maturity. Iran sits on the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt, a tectonic collision zone that created conditions for extreme mineralization.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Iran shared the second rank globally in the production of direct reduced iron and strontium in 2022. It remains a top-ten producer of barite, feldspar, and molybdenum.

The rare earth potential in Central Iran and Yazd Province changes the strategic stakes.

[...]

Then there is the Hamadan discovery.

In 2023, Tehran claimed the discovery of 8.5 million tons of lithium-rich hectorite clay in Hamadan province. If the numbers are accurate, the deposit would rival the "Lithium Triangle" in South America. Western geologists have expressed skepticism regarding the economic viability of the clay, but the geopolitical value was immediate. By positioning itself as a future hub for the battery supply chain, Iran gave Beijing a reason to view the country as more than a sanctioned gas station.

The U.S. move against the regime is a direct threat to this resource axis.

China has established its dominance in critical materials through a long-term approach rather than military force. Between 2013 and 2022, China invested $679 billion in infrastructure across 150 countries to support its mining interests. Iran was the central piece of that strategy in West Asia.

But to extract these riches, Beijing needs more than just mines…it needs the logistical immunity that Tehran’s clandestine networks provide.

This is where the struggle for minerals meets the struggle for the sea.

[...]

Rare earth elements are the quiet necessity of modern warfare.

They are required for the guidance systems of the Tomahawk missiles used on February 28…

They are in the F-35 fighter jets patrolling the Gulf…

They are in the Predator drones and the Aegis missile defense systems…

China controls over 90% of global refined rare earth output and almost 90% of permanent magnet production.

If Beijing decides the U.S. strikes on Iran have crossed a line, they can stop the export of refined rare earth metals and alloys. This is the non-kinetic response option. If China stops the flow, the defense industry faces a crisis within months. This has triggered a race to rebuild a domestic supply chain that the U.S. abandoned three decades ago.

There is a misunderstanding in Washington about how this works. Politicians focus on mining more rock. They point to mines in California or Nevada as the solution.

They are wrong.

[...]

Mining is only a small part of the problem.

The real conflict is in metallization and alloying. This is the chemical process of turning rare earth oxides into high-performance metals. The Center for Strategic and International Studies identifies rare-earth metallization as the most difficult capability to rebuild outside China.

[...]

The U.S. can extract the material, but it currently lacks the capacity to turn it into something a defense contractor can use.

[...]

The front line of this arms race is not in the Gulf of Oman. It is in Euclid, Ohio, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

A "China-free" processing pathway is finally operational.

It is a functional bridge between raw material and finished magnets, designed to bypass the metallurgy that has kept the West dependent on Beijing.

In Saskatoon, the Saskatchewan Research Council has spent five years building a technological wall against Chinese influence. The facility is North America’s first integrated minerals-to-metals plant. Its primary tool is an industrial AI system designed to manage the complexity of rare earth separation, a process involving thousands of operations that were once the property of Chinese laboratories.

[...]

"We had to design most of our own technology because it was not available outside of China," says SRC CEO Mike Crabtree.

“If we just look at the solvent extraction, which is the central piece of the plant that separates of the 17 alloys, the AI takes in probably about 5000 data points on a millisecond basis.”

By removing human error, the SRC is producing metal ingots that meet defense specifications.

[...]

The partnership with REAlloys creates the final link.

REAlloys operates North America’s only facility, currently converting heavy rare earths into the metals required for defense systems.

The company has a strategic partnership to receive 80% of the SRC's heavy rare earth production, specifically dysprosium and terbium, starting in 2027. These elements are the thermal stabilizers for high-performance magnets. Without them, the motors in electric vehicles or guidance systems in missiles fail when temperatures rise during high-velocity maneuvers.

[...]

The U.S. move againsArchivedt Iran has forced the world into two distinct resource blocs.

On one side is the Chinese-led axis, controlling 95% of the processing and a network of shadow tankers.

On the other is the emerging Resilience Axis anchored by North America’s new processing facilities in Ohio and Saskatchewan.

"Success means being specified into defense and industrial platforms designed to operate for decades," says the REAlloys team. "Once you’re qualified, you’re no longer a discretionary supplier. You’re embedded."

Sovereignty in 2026 is not found in a capital city. It is found in the middle of the supply chain, the point where a rock becomes a metal and a metal becomes a weapon.

The U.S. may have won the battle for Tehran on February 28, but the war for the materials that allowed those missiles to fly is just beginning.

Archived

America’s February 28 missile strikes that leveled the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters ended more than a decade of nuclear stalemate.

[...]

As Washington navigates the aftermath, it is discovering that the "Resistance Economy" Khamenei spent years building was not merely an oil play. It was a calculated integration into a resource axis designed to withstand Western pressure.

And China is the silent partner in this axis.

Beijing’s interest in Iran is anchored by a $400 billion, 25-year strategic cooperation agreement.

That deal ensures 80% of Iran’s oil exports flow to Chinese "teapot" refiners. More importantly, it secures access to a mineral base developed with Chinese technical help.

[...]

The timing of the February 28 strikes is particularly difficult for Beijing because it threatens to derail a decade of "quiet" industrial colonization just as it was reaching maturity. Iran sits on the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt, a tectonic collision zone that created conditions for extreme mineralization.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Iran shared the second rank globally in the production of direct reduced iron and strontium in 2022. It remains a top-ten producer of barite, feldspar, and molybdenum.

The rare earth potential in Central Iran and Yazd Province changes the strategic stakes.

[...]

Then there is the Hamadan discovery.

In 2023, Tehran claimed the discovery of 8.5 million tons of lithium-rich hectorite clay in Hamadan province. If the numbers are accurate, the deposit would rival the "Lithium Triangle" in South America. Western geologists have expressed skepticism regarding the economic viability of the clay, but the geopolitical value was immediate. By positioning itself as a future hub for the battery supply chain, Iran gave Beijing a reason to view the country as more than a sanctioned gas station.

The U.S. move against the regime is a direct threat to this resource axis.

China has established its dominance in critical materials through a long-term approach rather than military force. Between 2013 and 2022, China invested $679 billion in infrastructure across 150 countries to support its mining interests. Iran was the central piece of that strategy in West Asia.

But to extract these riches, Beijing needs more than just mines…it needs the logistical immunity that Tehran’s clandestine networks provide.

This is where the struggle for minerals meets the struggle for the sea.

[...]

Rare earth elements are the quiet necessity of modern warfare.

They are required for the guidance systems of the Tomahawk missiles used on February 28…

They are in the F-35 fighter jets patrolling the Gulf…

They are in the Predator drones and the Aegis missile defense systems…

China controls over 90% of global refined rare earth output and almost 90% of permanent magnet production.

If Beijing decides the U.S. strikes on Iran have crossed a line, they can stop the export of refined rare earth metals and alloys. This is the non-kinetic response option. If China stops the flow, the defense industry faces a crisis within months. This has triggered a race to rebuild a domestic supply chain that the U.S. abandoned three decades ago.

There is a misunderstanding in Washington about how this works. Politicians focus on mining more rock. They point to mines in California or Nevada as the solution.

They are wrong.

[...]

Mining is only a small part of the problem.

The real conflict is in metallization and alloying. This is the chemical process of turning rare earth oxides into high-performance metals. The Center for Strategic and International Studies identifies rare-earth metallization as the most difficult capability to rebuild outside China.

[...]

The U.S. can extract the material, but it currently lacks the capacity to turn it into something a defense contractor can use.

[...]

The front line of this arms race is not in the Gulf of Oman. It is in Euclid, Ohio, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

A "China-free" processing pathway is finally operational.

It is a functional bridge between raw material and finished magnets, designed to bypass the metallurgy that has kept the West dependent on Beijing.

In Saskatoon, the Saskatchewan Research Council has spent five years building a technological wall against Chinese influence. The facility is North America’s first integrated minerals-to-metals plant. Its primary tool is an industrial AI system designed to manage the complexity of rare earth separation, a process involving thousands of operations that were once the property of Chinese laboratories.

[...]

"We had to design most of our own technology because it was not available outside of China," says SRC CEO Mike Crabtree.

“If we just look at the solvent extraction, which is the central piece of the plant that separates of the 17 alloys, the AI takes in probably about 5000 data points on a millisecond basis.”

By removing human error, the SRC is producing metal ingots that meet defense specifications.

[...]

The partnership with REAlloys creates the final link.

REAlloys operates North America’s only facility, currently converting heavy rare earths into the metals required for defense systems.

The company has a strategic partnership to receive 80% of the SRC's heavy rare earth production, specifically dysprosium and terbium, starting in 2027. These elements are the thermal stabilizers for high-performance magnets. Without them, the motors in electric vehicles or guidance systems in missiles fail when temperatures rise during high-velocity maneuvers.

[...]

The U.S. move againsArchivedt Iran has forced the world into two distinct resource blocs.

On one side is the Chinese-led axis, controlling 95% of the processing and a network of shadow tankers.

On the other is the emerging Resilience Axis anchored by North America’s new processing facilities in Ohio and Saskatchewan.

"Success means being specified into defense and industrial platforms designed to operate for decades," says the REAlloys team. "Once you’re qualified, you’re no longer a discretionary supplier. You’re embedded."

Sovereignty in 2026 is not found in a capital city. It is found in the middle of the supply chain, the point where a rock becomes a metal and a metal becomes a weapon.

The U.S. may have won the battle for Tehran on February 28, but the war for the materials that allowed those missiles to fly is just beginning.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/52014326

Last week, Italian authorities issued expulsion orders for eight Chinese nationals from Schengen territory on national security grounds. According to news reports, three have been deported immediately, while four others had already left the Italian territory. One individual reportedly remains in custody on grounds of a pending asylum application.

Archived

The decision comes after years of investigations into relentless surveillance, harassment and threats against prominent Chinese dissident and influencer Teacher Li.

Safeguard Defenders previously published a partial account of the ongoing transnational repression campaign against him. From online smears, doxxing, surveillance and threats against his parents, to mass questioning of his followers across China: much of the campaign is conducted (from) within China’s borders. But not all...

For over three years, physical efforts to locate, intimidate and pressure Teacher Li into giving up his activities and return to China also took place across the Italian territory.

[...]

In response to the decision, Teacher Li states:

Over the past three years, my team and I have steadfastly upheld press freedom, documenting and disseminating social events within China that are censored domestically.

Simultaneously, we have endured prolonged transnational repression by the Chinese government. Myself, my team, and our families have faced persistent and comprehensive harassment, threats, and violations.

We are heartened to see the Italian government take action against China's overseas repression. This represents not only protection for us, but also the defense of fundamental democratic principles and the rule of law.

We sincerely thank the Italian government for all its efforts, and we also thank Safeguard Defenders for their sustained attention, documentation, and support throughout these incidents."

[...]

The expulsion decision marks the first decisive action against the CCP’s ongoing transnational repression operations on Italian soil. In Fall 2022, our global reports on “Chinese overseas police service centers” showed how Italy was a prime target for the CCP’s [Chinese Communist Party's] transnational repression and foreign interference operations – at least in part due to its cooperation with China’s Ministry of Public Security through joint police patrols, readily execution of INTERPOL warrants requested by China and extraditions.

[...]