Sepia

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43624826

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Their names are Yelizaveta and Mykhailo. She was born 16 years ago in Simferopol (Crimea); he, 12 years ago in Makiivka (Donetsk). Both were born in a free Ukraine, but have lived for more than a decade in territory occupied by the Russian army. Last week, Ukrainian lawyer and international law expert Katerina Rashevska showed their photos before the United States Senate. She denounced that the organization she works for in Kyiv, the Regional Center for Human Rights (RCHR), has documented 165 camps where Ukrainian children are subjected to a process of Russification. The case of Yelizaveta and Mykhailo is particularly noteworthy. Moscow temporarily sent the two children to the Songdowon camp in North Korea. They are the first identified Ukrainian minors to travel to the Kremlin’s major Asian ally as part of its campaign of child indoctrination.

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She [Yelizaveta] resided at the Songdowon camp, on the Sea of Japan, during July and August of 2024. She did so through the Russian youth organization Movement of the First, successor to the Soviet Young Pioneers. Yelizaveta traveled to Kim Jong-Un’s iron-fisted dictatorship as a participant in this nationalist movement. “Although she was born in Crimea, Ukraine, at first glance it appears that her identity has been completely erased and replaced with a Russian one,” the RCHR maintains.

Mykhailo visited the Songdowon facility from July 21 to August 1 last summer as part of a program between Moscow and Pyongyang. The boy is also a member of Movement of the First. Mykhailo was just a baby when the Russian army took over his hometown in the Donbas region. “He didn’t even have time to form his Ukrainian identity,” the RCHR stated.

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With due caution, the RCHR, which originated in Crimea but moved its offices to Kyiv after Russia’s conquest of the peninsula, acknowledges that in neither case would we be dealing with an “illegal deportation because the coercion consisted of 11 years of propaganda within the occupied education system.” We would, however, be at the final stage of a long process of “indoctrination and militarization” that could constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity. Last Thursday, a day after Rashevska’s testimony before the U.S. Senate, Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets accused Russia of sending “abducted” Ukrainian children to North Korea.

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The RCHR has located 165 Russian indoctrination camps across occupied territory in Ukraine, Russia itself, its ally Belarus, and now North Korea, which in the last year has sent soldiers and weapons to Moscow to support the major offensive against Kyiv ... Behind this network allegedly is Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. She and Vladimir Putin are subject to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes.

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Yelizaveta and Mykhailo learned at the Songdowon camp, among other things, how to “destroy Japanese soldiers.” They also met North Korean veterans who, in 1968, attacked and captured the U.S. spy ship Pueblo in the Sea of Japan. “The militarization and Russification cause severe trauma and violate the dignity of children,” [human rights lawyer] Rashevska stated ... “The ultimate goal,” the lawyer continued emotionally, “is for Ukrainians to kill each other.”

Yelizaveta and Mykhailo were sent to the camp as a reward for their “proactive” attitude, according to the RCHR. The investigation names other Ukrainian children, including some from the occupied Luhansk province, but it is unknown whether they were ultimately selected to participate in the program in North Korea. There is no evidence that the children who did travel were unable to return home after their stay in Songdowon ended.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43508884

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A high-profile Hong Kong pro-democracy activist living in the UK has been the target of a harassment campaign involving letters containing fake, sexually explicit images of her sent to her neighbours.

Carmen Lau, 30, told the BBC she was "shocked" as the letters, delivered to addresses in Maidenhead from China, included her name and images made to look like she was either naked or in underwear and offering sexual services.

"The letters had a couple of very unpleasant images, AI-generated or photo-shopped... portraying me as a sex worker," she said.

Ms Lau is among thousands of Hong Kong residents to seek sanctuary in the UK following the imposition of a controversial new national security law.

The city had been a British colony until 1997, when it was handed to China on the proviso it retained its democratic autonomy for the following 50 years.

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Ms Lau moved to the UK in 2021 and has continued her advocacy work, frequently criticising China's Communist leadership and speaking out about China's controversial plans to build a "mega embassy" in London, warning that it could become a base for trans-national repression of China's critics abroad.

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"When I was in Hong Kong, pro-Beijing agents were trained to use gender-based harassment targeting pro-democracy activists," she said.

"But AI technology has enhanced this sort of intimidation. It is beyond just transnational repression - as a woman, it is very worrying."

Last year, up to a dozen of the same neighbours in Berkshire had received letters sent from Hong Kong, purporting to come from the police, offering a bounty payment of £95,000 to anyone who would hand Ms Lau over to the Chinese embassy in London.

The new letters - the existence of which was first reported by the Guardian - were sent last month from the Chinese territory of Macau, close to Hong Kong.

Another activist, Ted Hui, and his wife, who now live in Australia, have also been targeted with similar letters, the newspaper reports.

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Reynolds told the BBC that the government needed "to be very clear that this is not acceptable, we cannot have these letters sent to UK residents".

"We need to find out who sent these letters," he said, adding: "Officials in Beijing need to be held accountable."

Reynolds said he had raised the issue with both the Home Office and the Foreign Office.

A government spokesperson said: "The safety and security of Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom is of the utmost importance."

Thames Valley Police, meanwhile, said it was investigating reports of a malicious communications offence involving digitally altered images.

"We are engaging with the victim and, at this time, no arrests have been made," a spokesperson said.

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The UK government has previously insisted that any attempt by a foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities would not be tolerated.

It has said the UK continues to raise concerns about transnational repression directly with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, and has publicly condemned the issuing of arrest warrants and bounties by the Hong Kong Police Force.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43508565

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The scale of the imbalances with the European Union was thrown into stark relief days ago when Beijing disclosed its trade surplus with the bloc had widened to a record approaching $300 billion in 2025. The value of China’s exports to the EU is now more than double its imports, as Chinese sellers divert goods facing levies in the US.

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“The China shock in Europe is really starting to hit,” said Andrew Small, director of the Asia program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “What you’ve now had in recent months has been much greater levels of urgency, not all of it playing out in public, but serious crisis meetings taking place.”

The result could be the biggest rethink of EU policy toward Beijing in at least a decade, according to Small, who previously advised von der Leyen on China. Sidetracked for years by the war in Ukraine and, more recently, by Donald Trump’s tariffs, the EU is finally focusing on China, preparing what Small describes as a “pent-up” mix of measures.

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The bloc unveiled a plan earlier this month to ensure its industries aren’t overtaken by global rivals, as competition intensifies with the US and China. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has also proposed setting up an economic security hub to better navigate trade tensions and counter the threat of cheap products flooding the bloc’s single market.

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Time is short for Europe. Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc estimate competition from Chinese exports will cut gains in German, Spanish and Italian gross domestic product by 0.2 percentage point or more from next year through 2029.

The fallout from China’s exports might extend to almost a third of euro-area employment, according to economists at the European Central Bank, meaning it could possibly affect more than 50 million jobs.

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“External hostility toward goods exported by China will escalate, particularly in Europe,” said Stephen Jen, chief executive of London-based hedge fund Eurizon SLJ Capital. “This configuration of explosive trade and a cheap renminbi cannot be sustained.”

For China, there is little alternative. The EU’s $20 trillion economy is among the few markets big enough to absorb the goods it used to ship to the US.

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Propelling its exports is a currency undervalued in the view of many economists, making exports cheaper and imports more expensive. The yuan hit a decade low against the euro earlier this year.

“One of the real reasons that Chinese exports are going so fast is that the renminbi is very significantly undervalued relative to the euro,” said EU Chamber of Commerce in China President Jens Eskelund, using an alternative name for the currency. This acts as a “subsidy” for exports and suppresses Chinese consumers’ purchasing power, he said.

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China is now taking 7% of EU exports but supplying almost a quarter of all imports from outside the bloc. China’s deficit with the EU and the UK now accounts for nearly a third of its total trade differential with the world, which exceeded $1 trillion for the first time.

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In 2019, China ran a $25 billion deficit with Europe’s biggest economy. In the first 11 months of this year, that’s flipped to a $23 billion surplus due to the collapse in imports.

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As pressure builds to mount a response, countries could “not only use existing trade tools, like anti-dumping duties, but also develop new tools and approaches for addressing what is turning into a serious and unsustainable situation,” said Wendy Cutler, a former senior US trade negotiator now at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“We could see the EU and others take further measures to limit Chinese imports during the coming year,” she said.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43442390

[Op-ed by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former prime minister of Denmark and former secretary general of Nato.]

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The war in Ukraine, North Korea’s missile tests, and China’s growing assertiveness reveal a stark truth: the great divide of our age is not as geographic as it once was, but political and ideological. It is the fault line between open societies and autocratic ones.

For Europe, the imperative is clear: deepen partnerships with other democracies that share our values, our economic models, and our strategic outlook.

And few countries embody this alignment more than Japan.

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Japan is not just a major economy in the Indo-Pacific — it is a democracy of principle, a strategic actor with advanced capabilities, and a steady partner in global security.

Over recent years, Tokyo has grown its defence cooperation, expanded its space and cyber capabilities, and strengthened its regional engagement.

Meanwhile, the nature of threat is shifting.

Autocratic states — Russia, North Korea, China — are cooperating increasingly.

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I have long advocated for a 'Democratic 7' (D7): the EU, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Together, these nations account for roughly a quarter of global GDP and more than a third of global trade.

Yet what they share is deeper: a network of trust, rule-of-law, and open economy.

Within that framework, Japan stands out. Its contributions in space, defence and high-tech industries are world-class.

Europe should not view Tokyo as adjunct — it should view Japan as central to our strategy. From satellite systems to missile defence, from industrial innovation to standard-setting in critical technologies, Japan can be both partner and template.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43437607

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Czech developers have unveiled a new Narwhal cruise missile intended for transfer to Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia. The developer, LPP, is already testing the weapon, with combat validation planned as the final stage. Initial use is expected in January–February 2026, with industrial production slated to begin in March, the outlet Aktualne reports.

Experts say Narwhal is designed for a range of up to 680 km, enough to hit targets deep behind the front lines, including Moscow or the Engels strategic air base. The missile can fly up to 750 km/h and carry a 120 kg warhead. That’s more than the Iran-Russia “Shahed” (50–90 kg), making Narwhal more effective against a broader set of targets.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43435445

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Russia’s lower-house State Duma passed a bill on Tuesday granting the state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring access to detailed information about Russians’ financial transactions.

The move is intended to improve Russia’s ability to track suspicious financial activity more quickly, making it easier to identify potential money laundering or terrorism financing activities.

Critics argued that it could expand financial surveillance and restrict citizens' financial freedom, while others warned that it might increase the risk of unjustified account freezes.

The legislation will allow Rosfinmonitoring to directly access transaction data from the National Payment Card System (NPCS), which manages operations involving Russia’s Mir cards, and the Fast Payment System (FPS).

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43381608

EU warns of 'cultural erasure' in China as human rights situation in the country shows 'no substantive sign of improvement'

The EU criticizes China's "systemic and severe restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms and on the right of minorities" to enjoy their own culture, and to use their own language, in private and public, including in the field of education, a statement by the EU Delegation in China reads.

"These restrictions risk leading to cultural erasure."

In spite of many engagements, "unfortunately, the overall human rights situation in China showed no substantive sign of improvement," the EU statement reads.

The situation in Xinjiang remains serious. Numerous credible reports, including the assessment issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), indicate serious human rights violations that “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”. The EU remains deeply troubled by continuing reports of forced labour and state‑imposed labour transfer schemes involving Uyghurs both within Xinjiang and to other provinces.

The human rights situation in Tibet remains equally alarming. This applies both to the Tibet Autonomous Region and to Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces, where similar patterns of restrictions have been reported. Reports continue to document far-reaching state control over religious life, intensified surveillance of monasteries, and the imposition of mandatory boarding schools, where Tibetan children are separated from their families and educated primarily in Mandarin. The closure of Tibetan-language schools, and the marginalisation of Tibetan-language instruction are deeply troubling.

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The EU continues to criticize the enforced disappearance since 1995 of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama. No credible information is provided on his whereabouts or well-being. We continue to call on China to respect and protect the rights of persons belonging to religious groups to exercise their religious freedoms without interference. The selection of religious leaders should happen without government interference and in accordance with religious norms, including for the succession of the Dalai Lama.

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The EU also remains concerned about the situation in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where policy shifts have resulted in a marked reduction in the use of Mongolian as a language of instruction and a narrowing of space for cultural and linguistic expression. The move from Mongolian as a vehicle of instruction to its relegation as a stand‑alone subject stands in contrast with official commitments to ethnic harmony and cultural diversity, and risks accelerating the erosion of the Mongolian community’s cultural and linguistic identity.

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The EU ... calls for the immediate and unconditional release of, among others, Gulshan Abbas, Anya Sengdra, Ekpar Asat, Chadrel Rinpoche, Rahile Dawut, Ding Jiaxi, Ding Yuande, Dong Yuyu, Pastor Mingri (Ezra) Jin, Gao Zhen, Gao Zhisheng, Go Sherab Gyatso, Golog Palden, He Fangmei, Huang Qi, Huang Xueqin, Hushtar Isa, Yalkun Isa, Ji Xiaolong, Li Yanhe, Peng Lifa, Qin Yongming, Ruan Xiaohuan, Tashi Dorje, Tashpolat Tiyip, Sakharov Prize winner Ilham Tohti, Wang Bingzhang, Pastor Wang Yi, Kamile Wayit, Xie Yang, Xu Na, Xu Zhiyong, Yang Hengjung, Yang Maodong, Yu Wensheng, Pastor Zhang Chunlei, Tara Zhang Yadi and Zhang Zhan, as well as EU citizen Gui Minhai whose right to consular access must be respected.

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The EU underscores the essential role of freedom of expression, media independence and access to information in ensuring accountable and effective governance. In China, these freedoms remain severely constrained ... The EU strongly promotes global gender equality and women and girls full enjoyment of human rights [and] reaffirms its commitment to LGBTI persons’ full enjoyment of human rights.

"We are concerned about the rising challenges faced by China's LGBTI community, including the restriction on the freedom of association, online censorship, and intimidation of activists," the EU says.

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In Hong Kong, fundamental rights and freedoms have further eroded.

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China must also respect the principle of non-refoulement, and refrain from any extraterritorial activity, including transnational repression, that is not in line with international law.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43380797

European firms are accelerating efforts to diversify away from Chinese supply chains as Beijing's self-reliance drive and export controls deepen global trade uncertainty, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Wednesday.

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The EU's trade imbalance with China widened to 1:4 in container terms, compared with 1:2.7 in 2019, the lobby group said in a report. Persistent deflation and the ongoing depreciation of the yuan against the euro have exacerbated European firms' trade woes.

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As a result, more than 70% of European firms in China have reviewed their supply chain strategies over the past two years, the report said ... Sectoral disparities are stark: 80% of pharmaceutical firms and 46% of machinery makers are increasing localisation, while 33% of IT and telecom firms and 25% of retailers are diversifying away from China, according to the report.

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The report said China's willingness to use its supply chain dominance to exert pressure on trade partners is being met with increasing pushback from affected countries, such as a more "offensive" China policy from the EU.

The European Commission will make proposals next month to bolster EU industry, with requirements to prioritise locally manufactured goods that would reduce its reliance on imports from China.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43319573

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Over 1,000 documented TNR [Transnational Repression] cases have occurred since 2014, affecting individuals across 100 countries and involving at least 44 perpetrator states. Europe has emerged as a critical venue for TNR, with a growing number of targeted journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, and whistleblowers seeking safety and protection on European soil.

Despite the scope of the problem, there is currently no binding European or international legal instrument specifically addressing TNR. Existing human rights instruments, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), while applicable in principle, do not offer comprehensive safeguards tailored to the realities of TNR.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43304972

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[Igor] Rogov, 29, was arrested in July 2024 after, prosecutors say, an explosives-filled parcel that had been addressed to him was found in a warehouse in central Poland. In their indictment, the prosecutors say that during their investigation into the package they established that Mr. Rogov had cooperated with the [Russian spy agency] F.S.B.

In addition to spying, he was accused of participating in a Russian plot to send incendiary packages on flights around Europe. Fires last year at shipping hubs in Britain and Germany were linked to the alleged plot, part of a broader Russian campaign of hybrid attacks against Europe that Western officials say have included drone incursions, cyberwarfare and acts of sabotage.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43260260

Human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who advocates for Ukraine on the international stage, Oleksandra Matviichuk, has called on Germany to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles and to take a more decisive stance against Russia.

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Matviichuk noted that it takes Russian missiles less than a minute to reach, for example, a school in Kharkiv.

“The only way to prevent this is to stop these missiles while they are still at a military airfield in Russia. For that, we need Taurus,” she told the media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) in an interview.

As stated, the human rights defender urged Germany to more thoroughly analyse the mistakes the country had made in its relations with Russia, particularly highlighting cases of bribery of the German elite during the construction of the gas pipeline.

In her view, until 2022, Germany — like the civilised world in general — allowed Moscow to act with impunity for far too long.

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“Russian war crimes in Chechnya, Moldova, Georgia, Mali, Libya, Syria — no one was held accountable,” Matviichuk emphasised, calling on Berlin to act more decisively now by reassessing its overall policy toward Moscow.

“We are living in times that test all of us for genuine leadership, genuine courage, and genuine responsibility,” she stated.

Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not oppose supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine. However, after taking office, he has not made the corresponding decision.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/43244142

A new joint assessment by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) aims to dispel any remaining scepticism among those who still fail to recognise the threat from Russia.

The document [is] not yet public ... The weekly newspaper Spiegel obtained a draft and outlined its main findings [links to article in German]. The 30‑page analysis details cases of disinformation, espionage, sabotage, subversion and political influence operations in Germany.

The study covers the period from July 2024 to June 2025, also examining the consequences of earlier incidents. In just the first six months of 2025, 143 suspected acts of sabotage were recorded – an upward trend.

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“The central conclusion: Germany is at the heart of hybrid threats. They emanate not only from Russia, but above all from Russia,” Spiegel writes. The aim of hybrid operations is to foster a sense of insecurity and destabilise the state. The analysis suggests that various incidents that have shaken Germany form a chain of hybrid attacks either orchestrated or exploited by Russia.

A recent public hearing with all three German intelligence agencies likewise concluded that Russia is the primary actor behind sabotage and subversive activity in the country.

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Another key finding: in planning acts of sabotage, Russia shows no hesitation in taking lives. One example concerns an attack in the logistics sector with links to Lithuania.

In July 2024, incendiary devices were sent by DHL aircraft from Lithuania to the UK and Germany. A major disaster was narrowly avoided: the parcels did not make it onto the intended aircraft because it was delayed. The devices ignited in DHL’s Leipzig warehouse instead.

Investigators believe so‑called single‑use agents – individuals recruited via channels such as Telegram and given limited information – were used in Lithuania and other countries to carry out such operations.

Low‑level agents, often drawn from the criminal underworld, are suspected in other cases too – including a 2024 attempt to cast a shadow over then Vice‑Chancellor Robert Habeck and his Green Party. Hundreds of exhaust pipes were clogged with expanding foam, and cars were plastered with stickers featuring Mr Habeck’s image. These actions are seen as an attempt to influence the Bundestag election campaign.

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The report also identifies tools of political influence, such as the pro‑Russian platform Voice of Europe, through which pro‑Kremlin members of the European Parliament were allegedly financed. AfD MEP Petr Bystron is among those investigated over suspected payments from the portal.

Security agencies also point to the instrumentalisation of violent attacks on German society for propaganda purposes. After the fatal attack at Magdeburg’s Christmas market last December, Russian channels used the incident to discredit the German government and praise the AfD as a “positive alternative”, fuelling social tension and seeking to shift Germany’s political course.

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