World News

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/375169

> Containers of tomato paste exported from Xinjiang to Italy are the subject of domestic criminal and international complaints filed by rights lawyers on behalf of Uyghur advocacy groups who allege that the goods were produced using Uyghur forced labor. > > The shipment was among 82 containers of agricultural products from China’s state-owned Xinjiang Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Investment (Group) Co., Ltd. shipped by rail and sea from Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, to southern Italy in late April, according to the plaintiffs. > > The shipment also sparked outrage among Italian farmers who protested against the arrival of the cheaper processed tomato products from China in what they said were unfair imports. > > The move comes less than two months after the European Parliament approved a new regulation banning products made with force labor from entering the European Union. The EU’s 27 member countries must approve the Forced Labour Regulation for it to enter into force and will have three years to implement it. “This legal challenge addresses both violations of fundamental principles of human dignity and international law instruments, as well as calling for the seizure of these recently imported goods under national law,” said a statement issued by these groups on June 3.

Taiwan's government raised the travel alert for Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” level and advised people to avoid non-essential travelling. The Council claimed that because the Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau have continued to amend or issue legal documents relating to national security in recent years, there are reported cases in which Taiwanese travelling to mainland China have been subjected to unlawful detention, retention and interrogation, as the Straits Exchange Foundation deputy secretary general Tsai Meng-chun suggested.

One week ago, China published new judicial guidelines to introduce the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving supporters of Taiwanese independence, which included severe punishments for activities deemed as fragmenting the country or inciting secession. According to the Council, this poses a serious threat to the personal safety of Taiwanese travelling to mainland areas. Hence, it strongly recommended that Taiwan people should not enter China mainland, Hong Kong and Macau unless it is necessary, and should avoid discussing sensitive issues, photographing military sites, or carrying books on politics, history and religion.