“Media freedom is often a casualty of war, and Israel’s recent war with Iran is no exception. We have seen Israeli authorities use security fears to increase censorship, while extremist right-wing politicians have demonized the media, legitimizing attacks on journalists,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Despite hopes that we will see a ceasefire in Gaza this week, Israel’s government appears relentless in its determination to silence those who report critically on its military actions.”

After Haaretz newspaper published an interview with Israeli soldiers who said they were ordered to shoot at unarmed Gazans waiting for food aid, a mayor in southern Israel threatened to shut shops selling the popular liberal paper. This follows the government’s decision last year to stop advertising with Haaretz, accusing it of “incitement.”

Authorities are also pushing ahead with a bill to dismantle the public broadcaster, Kan, and shutter its news division, the country’s third-largest news channel. Meanwhile, government support has seen the right-wing Channel 14 grow in popularity.

The hostile climate fueled by Israel’s right-wing government has emboldened settler violence against journalists. On July 5, two Deutsche Welle (DW) reporters wearing press vests were attacked by Israeli settlers in Sinjil, West Bank — an incident condemned by Germany’s ambassador and the German Journalists’ Association, which called it “unacceptable that radical settlers are hunting down media professionals with impunity.” Reporters from AFP, The New York Times, and The Washington Post were also present. Palestinian journalists had to flee.

“War is a dangerous time for civil rights – rights that Netanyahu’s government is actively undermining as it moves toward dismantling democracy,” Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn told CPJ.

‘Broadcasts that serve the enemy’

During the Israel-Iran war of June 13 to 24, anti-press government actions included:

• A June 18 military order requiring army approval before broadcasting the aftermath of Iranian attacks on Israeli military sites. Haaretz reported that this order was illegal as it was not made public in the official government gazette or authorized by a parliamentary committee.

• On June 19, security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Israelis who see people watching “Al Jazeera broadcasts or reporters” to report their sightings to authorities. Israel shut down the Qatari-based outlet in May 2024, and six of its journalists have been killed while reporting on Israel’s war in Gaza. Many Arabs in Israel still watch Al Jazeera broadcasts, and former Israeli officials have appeared on the network since the shutdown. 

“These are broadcasts that serve the enemy,” Ben-Gvir said. 

• On June 20, Ben-Gvir and communications minister Shlomo Karhi issued a directive that broadcasting from impact sites without written permission would be a criminal offense.

When Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara demanded that the ministers explain the legal basis for their announcement, the ministers said she was “trying to thwart” their efforts to ensure that foreign media “don’t help the enemy target us.”

• On June 23, Haaretz reported that the police’s legal adviser issued an order giving officers sweeping powers to censor journalists reporting from the impact sites.

“This directive, which primarily targets foreign media and joins a wave of police and ministerial efforts to obstruct news coverage, is unlawful and infringes on basic rights,” Tal Hassin, an attorney with Israel’s biggest human rights group, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), told CPJ.

ACRI petitioned the Attorney General, arguing that the police adviser did not have the legal authority to issue such an order. It has not received a response.

Journalists censored, detained, and abused

CPJ subsequently documented at least four incidents involving journalists who were abused and blocked from reporting.

• On June 20, police stopped a live broadcast from Tel Aviv by Turkish state-owned broadcaster TRT’s correspondent Mücahit Aydemir, although he told the officers he had the required permits, including authorization from the military censor. For several days afterwards, Aydemir received “unsettling phone calls” from unknown Hebrew-speakers, he told CPJ.

• On June 21, privately owned Channel 13’s journalist Ali Mughrabi and a camera operator, who declined to be named, citing fear of reprisals, were expelled from a drone crash site in Beit She’an, northern Israel, despite showing their press accreditation. During a live broadcast, Deputy Mayor Oshrat Barel questioned their credentials, shoved the cameraperson, and ordered them to leave. She later apologized.

“What we’re experiencing isn’t just about the media — it’s about citizenship,” Mughrab, an Israeli citizen of Palestinian origin, told CPJ.

• On June 22, a civilian police volunteer squad, led by far-right activist and rapper Yoav Eliasi, known as “The Shadow,” detained three Jerusalem-based, Arab Israeli journalists and one international journalist, after separating them from their non-Arab colleagues outside a building in Tel Aviv that had been damaged by an Iranian strike.

Mustafa Kharouf and Amir Abed Rabbo from the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, Ahmad Gharabli, with Agence France-Presse news agency, and another journalist who declined to be named, citing fear of reprisal, were held for three hours.  

Kharouf told CPJ, the unit asked them who was “Israeli” and allowed the non-Arab journalists to leave. 

“One officer accused us of working for Al Jazeera, even though we showed official press credentials,” said Kharouf.

“When I showed my ID, they told me I wasn’t allowed to film because I’m not Israeli – even though they treat us like Israelis when it comes to taxes,” Gharabli told CPJ.

Armed volunteer squads have rapidly grown from four before the October 2023 Hamas attack to around 900 new units, an expansion that “had negative effects on Arab-Jewish relations,” Dr. Ark Rudnitzky of Tel Aviv University told CPJ in an email. Squad members “tend to suspect an Arab solely because they are Arab,” he said.

“It was clear they targeted the journalists because they were Arab,” said Israeli journalist and witness Oren Ziv, who wrote about the incident.

The Central District Police told CPJ via email that the journalists were “evacuated from the building for security reasons related to their safety and were directed to alternative reporting locations.”

• On June 24,  Channel 13 correspondent Paz Robinson and a camera operator who declined to be named were reporting on a missile strike in southern Israel’s Be’er Sheva when a woman shouted that he was a “Nazi” and “Al Jazeera” and blocked him from filming, screaming, “You came to celebrate over dead bodies.”

“After I saw the woman wasn’t backing down, I decided to leave. I’m not here to fight with my own people. I’m not a politician. I came to cover events,” Robinson told CPJ.

Earlier in the war with Iran, CPJ documented eight incidents in which 14 journalists faced harassment, obstruction, equipment confiscation, incitement, or forced removal by the police.

The Israel Police Spokesperson’s Unit told CPJ via email that police “made significant efforts to facilitate safe, meaningful access for journalists” during the war with Iran.  “While isolated misunderstandings may occur…case was addressed promptly and professionally.”

CPJ’s emails to the Attorney General, Israel Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk, Ben-Gvir, and Shlomo requesting comment did not receive any replies. 

Kholod Massalha is a CPJ consultant on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and a researcher with years of experience in press freedom and freedom of expression issues.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Mohamed Mandour.

Junta restrictions on aid activities following central Myanmar’s devastating 7.7 earthquake have driven some to postpone aid efforts, despite many communities being in critical need of support, volunteers told Radio Free Asia.

Junta authorities have been accused of blocking search and rescue teams and aid groups from entering affected areas in Sagaing and Mandalay regions, as well as Shan state, by using security checkpoints and strict registration requirements.

“They [aid groups] can’t do anything. We’re very upset that those who could help are being treated like this. Now, it’s just the public looking out for each other,” said an official from a volunteer group in Mandalay assisting in earthquake recovery, declining to be named for fear of reprisals.

“This isn’t working for us, so we want to say that we have stopped.”

Myanmar’s March 28 earthquake killed more than 3,600 people and injured another 5,000, with 148 people still missing, the junta said in a statement published on Tuesday evening.

The earthquake coincided with violent clashes between insurgent groups and junta battalions that escalated in the years following the 2021 coup, causing the military to implement stricter policies around growing insurgent hotspots nationwide.

Another Mandalay-based group said they were being blocked from working by regional authorities after the junta’s Deputy Chairperson Maj. Gen. Soe Win announced that aid organizations needed to submit requests for prior approval.

Charity organizations are also required to deliver basic supplies through regional junta authorities, the junta’s Ministry of Public Health said in a statement published on Sunday, to the criticism of volunteers.

“If they want us to give it under them like they said, we can’t give anything at all. We’ll only donate if we can do it ourselves,” said an official from another volunteer organization, declining to be named for fear of reprisals.

More than 10 aid groups across Sagaing and Mandalay regions and Shan state told RFA that they would be forced to temporarily stop their relief efforts.

One Mandalay resident raised his concern that junta actions may undermine aid groups and cause international organizations to rescind their support for earthquake victims if supplies can’t make it to affected areas.

“My house collapsed. If I go to the community center for basic items I need, I can’t get them like normal because the officers stole them,” he said.

“The government hasn’t been supporting us at all, and I don’t know if any more charity will continue to come from them.”

The junta has not released any additional information on the restrictions.

It said on Saturday that it would prevent groups from entering the country for “negative purposes by exploiting the earthquake.”

International groups have urged the junta to loosen restrictions on entering earthquake-stricken areas to allow greater distribution of aid.

RFA called junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for more information on the restrictions, but he did not answer by the time of publication.

Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Taejun Kang.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

Sepik villagers hit by Papua New Guinea’s earthquake flooding are desperate for clean water, says local volunteer Charles Marlow

“Since the flood, the main Sepik River we have been drinking from is not safe anymore, evidence of faeces is seen floating on the water,” Marlow told the PNG Post-Courier.

“When the earthquake struck on Monday, most tanks of most houses in the Sepik River area burst.

• READ MORE: Disaster minister Joseph briefs PNG on quake and crises hitting nation
• Other PNG disaster reports

“Right now, I can say people are going hungry, food has become scarce and we no longer have access to safer water source to drink from,” Marlow said in an interview.

“I live in Pagwi area. Today I went by boat to three nearby villages and returned. I spoke to the people and did my own assessment on the situation as a volunteer.

“People are in desperate need of food and drinking water.

“They cannot harvest sago or food from the gardens, everything has been destroyed by the high tide from the main Sepik River which has covered the nearby inlands where sago and other garden produce are harvested from.

Houses collapsed
“From Pagwi, I went to Savanaut then to Yenjimangua and Naurange villages.

“In Yenjimangua seven houses collapsed and in Niaurange eight houses altogether sank into the water.

“No casualty from the earthquake was reported from those three villages but there are deaths I heard in other villages I did not visit,” he said.

East Sepik Provincial Administrator Samson Torovi said the 28 local level governments in areas affected by flood have been allocated relief funding as of yesterday.

“The LLG presidents of our 28 local level governments have resolved to use the K200,000 (about NZ$88,000) provincial support to immediately supply food stuff, canvas and relief supplies to our people,” Torovi said.

“The East Sepik Provincial Disaster Management team will draw down on its internal revenue allocation of K200,000 in this year’s budget to commence mobilisation of relief work at the provincial level.”

Phoebe Gwangilo is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

There are more than 7,600 volunteer teachers across the country, but due to budgetary constraints the Lao government can only hire less than 1,000 each fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Education and Sport.

In Laos’ centrally-planned economy, workers in schools and hospitals are generally government employees, and those who want jobs in their chosen fields are dependent on government quotas, as well as passing an examination. 

Many young people therefore work as volunteers in classrooms and clinics until there is an opening for salaried staff.

Xiengkhouang province, in the northeast, has 124 volunteer teachers compared to 165 volunteer teachers last year, an official at the province’s Department of Education and Sport told Radio Free Asia on Monday.

“After the exam results were posted [in April and May], many of them decided to resign,” the official said. “This will affect the quality of education. Some teachers will have to teach in classes where students in different grades study together. Some will have to teach for more hours.”

‘Living in a hard time’

One volunteer teacher who resigned this year told RFA she taught at a school in the province’s Kham district for nine years but finally gave up hope that she would be added to the government payroll.

“My patience reached its limit,” she said. “I miss my students, but I cannot wait any further. I got married and have a child to take care of, and my husband doesn’t want me to teach anymore.”

The long commute to the school, staying in a teacher’s dormitory on weekdays and the realization that she would probably have to wait several more years before she would be hired all contributed to her decision, she said.

Across the country, administrators are merging schools and closing others because of a teacher shortage, which is largely driven by the government’s lack of funds.

“Volunteer teachers are the true devotees, as they use their own resources and time to teach students,” said the father of a student in Xiengkhouang’s Paek district. 

But the poor economy has brought hardship to everyone – even those civil servants who make a salary – so it’s understandable that volunteer teachers would want to look elsewhere for work, he said.

“Everything now is three times as expensive,” he said.

The mother of a volunteer teacher who recently resigned from a school in Xiengkhouang’s Phoukout district said her daughter has since left Laos for a job in South Korea, where several thousand Laoatians work in factories and on farms.

“Our family is living in a hard time,” she said. “My daughter is now a legal migrant worker in South Korea and she is the only income earner for the family.”

The provincial official told RFA that, even with a tight budget, administrators are looking for ways to pay the remaining volunteer teachers.

“We had a meeting with relevant offices, and there is now a process to draft a policy for paying volunteer teachers,” he said.

Translated by Phouvong. Edited by Matt Reed.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Lao.

In a speech before government officials, teachers and students, Hun Manet encouraged the students to take a day off from school once or twice a week to volunteer.

“[We should] train people and children to know how to help social work,” he said. “We can assign people to help improve sanitation, to help the elderly and to help plant trees.”

Hun Manet, who recently took over the prime ministership after his father Hun Sen ruled the country for nearly four decades, said that it was important to foster a volunteer mindset.

“[This is] a way we can encourage [students,]” he said. “Their grades [should] not just come from in-class examinations, but also come from their discipline and behavior.”

The request seemed disingenuous to Phuong Keo Raksmey, a member of the Mother Nature Movement environmentalist group. 

While she appreciated the encouragement to volunteer, she told RFA Khmer that students in 7th grade and up are regularly recruited into the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia – an organization led by the prime minister’s brother Hun Many – which, in her opinion, does not engage in activities that better the community, but serves the interests of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. 

“First, the definition of ‘social work’ should be defined,” she said. “It should not be limited to work that [directly] supports the government or the policies of any political party.”

She urged the government to allow people freedom to choose how they volunteer.

Keut Saray, the president of the Khmer Intellectual Students Association, said that the government should make amends for past crackdowns on volunteers, including himself.

“When young students became active in social work [in the past], they were restricted and charged under the penal code and then imprisoned,” he said. “So we’re seeing that they ‘talk the talk,’ but it doesn’t mean anything if it isn’t translated into action.”

The crackdown on social activists occurred under the rule of Hun Sen, not Hun Manet, but since taking over, the son’s administration has yet to take concrete steps to guarantee the rights of young people involved in activism.

For example, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court denied a request by three youth members of the Mother Nature Movement for permission to leave Cambodia so that they could travel to Sweden to receive an award this November in recognition for their environmental activism.

Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Eugene Whong.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Khmer.

In a speech before government officials, teachers and students, Hun Manet encouraged the students to take a day off from school once or twice a week to volunteer.

“[We should] train people and children to know how to help social work,” he said. “We can assign people to help improve sanitation, to help the elderly and to help plant trees.”

Hun Manet, who recently took over the prime ministership after his father Hun Sen ruled the country for nearly four decades, said that it was important to foster a volunteer mindset.

“[This is] a way we can encourage [students,]” he said. “Their grades [should] not just come from in-class examinations, but also come from their discipline and behavior.”

The request seemed disingenuous to Phuong Keo Raksmey, a member of the Mother Nature Movement environmentalist group. 

While she appreciated the encouragement to volunteer, she told RFA Khmer that students in 7th grade and up are regularly recruited into the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia – an organization led by the prime minister’s brother Hun Many – which, in her opinion, does not engage in activities that better the community, but serves the interests of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. 

“First, the definition of ‘social work’ should be defined,” she said. “It should not be limited to work that [directly] supports the government or the policies of any political party.”

She urged the government to allow people freedom to choose how they volunteer.

Keut Saray, the president of the Khmer Intellectual Students Association, said that the government should make amends for past crackdowns on volunteers, including himself.

“When young students became active in social work [in the past], they were restricted and charged under the penal code and then imprisoned,” he said. “So we’re seeing that they ‘talk the talk,’ but it doesn’t mean anything if it isn’t translated into action.”

The crackdown on social activists occurred under the rule of Hun Sen, not Hun Manet, but since taking over, the son’s administration has yet to take concrete steps to guarantee the rights of young people involved in activism.

For example, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court denied a request by three youth members of the Mother Nature Movement for permission to leave Cambodia so that they could travel to Sweden to receive an award this November in recognition for their environmental activism.

Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Eugene Whong.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Khmer.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Yao Kuan-chun volunteered to go fight.

He has been on the ground in Ukraine the past three months, one of a handful of Taiwanese soldiers who have joined other international fighters in the war that started in February 2022.

Yao, 30, knows the threat of invasion from a bigger authoritarian neighbor – China – and is fighting for the larger causes of democracy and freedom. 

But he’s also getting first-hand combat experience in case China decides to invade his island.

"Tensions have escalated (across the Taiwan Strait), so we need to pick up the pace if we're to be ready. Whether or not they dare to invade depends on our preparedness,” Yao said. “Who's going to come to your rescue if you don't defend your own country?"

"There's a saying that goes, 'Today, Hong Kong, tomorrow, Taiwan'," he said, referring to fears that the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms could be repeated in Taiwan should it come under Chinese rule.

"Or you could say, ‘Today, Ukraine, tomorrow, Taiwan,’" he said.

Yao was given just two weeks of training before being sent to the front lines. He described his experience of fighting as "very scary."

"Even if you know what you're doing, it's still scary," he said. "There's not enough training."

The recruitment team appeared to be on the lookout for Chinese infiltrators.

"I got more political questions than about my military background," he said. "This surprised me."

"They cut to the chase and asked me if I supported the Chinese Communist Party, and whether I knew about China's [close] relationship with Putin."

‘Freedom and democracy aren’t free’

Lu Tzu-hao, 35, said he made his decision to volunteer "without thinking about it too much."

"It's really amazing that [the Ukrainians] have been able to hold down the fort for a year now," said Lu.

"We helped out with defense or supply logistics," he said. "I've been bombed even in my sleep."

"If a bomb fell in front of us and didn't go off, me and the guys would feel like we'd been given another chance at life," said Lu, who grew up helping his parents with their meat stall at a local wet market. 

Why did he do it?

"Freedom and democracy aren't free," said Lu, adding that other volunteers would sometimes ask him about tensions between Taiwan and China.

"I told them yeah, Taiwan has been suppressed for a long time," he said. "Less than a month after I got back to Taiwan, [Beijing] launched missiles at us."

"That same day, seven or eight soldiers from different countries asked me if we needed them to come over," Lu said. "They'd be happy to come to Taiwan's aid [because] they support our freedom and democracy."

Witnessing war

Lee Cheng-ling, 36, had served in the Marines in Taiwan, firing howitzers. After he volunteered, he was stationed in the Kharkiv area of eastern Ukraine for nine months.

"I just wanted to help," Lee said, adding that the firsthand experience fighting was "very valuable."

Ukrainians are aware of China’s threats against Taiwan, he said.

"Last August, when China launched missiles, it was quite big news in Ukraine," he said. "Yep, Ukrainians know that Taiwan is in a similar situation."

The cruelties of war have made an impression on all the Taiwanese volunteers who spoke to Radio Free Asia.

"We went through Bucha to survey the town after it was liberated," Yao said. "There were at least 14 [civilians] dead, the youngest in their teens, and the oldest nearly 70."

"They were locked up in a basement – can you imagine what they must have suffered?"

Lee recalled Russian troops opening fire on a fleeing middle-aged civilian and killing him.

"He was scared and tried to run," he said. "The Russian forces saw him, opened fire and killed him, spraying his car with bullet holes."

"There was a pool of blood on the ground."

The United Nations has estimated that 8,490 civilians have been killed by Russian forces in Ukraine, but the true number is likely far higher.

‘That could be you’

At least one Taiwanese soldier paid the ultimate price.

Tseng Sheng-kuang, 26, was in Ukraine for five months before dying of injuries sustained in battle in November 2022.

In an interview recorded before his death and used with his family's permission, he too drew a close parallel with his volunteering in Ukraine and Taiwan's own situation.

"China wants to invade Taiwan [and] I want to defend my country, but I need to help this country first," Zeng said. 

His mother Su Yu-jou said she had been less than convinced.

"He showed me some stuff on his phone saying 'look Mom, these are innocent civilians ... if the Chinese Communist Party attacks Taiwan ... that could be you," Su said.

"I asked him, 'Couldn't they just manage without you?'."

"When he would call, there would always be noises like air-raid sirens in the background, or shelling," Su said. "We would also hear the sound of machine-gun fire."

"I would be so worried, and ask him what the sounds were – he told me it was shells going off," she said.

Her son’s death was a "life-ending blow." She keeps his old uniform close, and has an image of him tattooed on her arm, for fear that his memory will fade over time.

"When Sheng-kuang died, I realized that war is a terrible, terrible thing, and so very cruel," she said. "I never want to see another war."

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Mai Xiaotian for RFA Mandarin.

First came the devastating flash floods in Auckland on Friday night. Then came the huge effort to help families evacuate to community shelters. And finally the ongoing clean-up operation.

We’re saddened by this unprecedented extreme weather that has impacted on some of our communities in Aotearoa. It was great to see the community come out to support and help evacuate flooded-out people to the community shelters. We were going door-to-door to help families as the flood waters were rising.

Special thanks to the volunteers who came out yesterday to help clean up at the NZ Ethnic Women’s Trust in Mt Roskill which was impacted by the flooding. Volunteers at the Wesley Primary School helped families with food, clothes and hot meals.

• READ MORE: Other Auckland flood reports

Thanks to the school leaders who opened the space to give shelter to families.

A massive thanks to the volunteers that worked alongside me to distribute food today in Albert-Eden and Puketāpapa. We distributed food and needed information door to door on O’Donnell Avenue in Mt Roskill to families and the church affected by the flood.

We also reached out to affected families in Fowlds Avenue, Kitchener Street and Lambeth Avenue.

About 80 meals delivered to 30 families — thanks to Humanity First International for the meals and to the Whānau Community Centre and Hub’s Nik Naidu.

All over Auckland, volunteers were doing a great job.

• Need help, please contact these numbers:
  Accommodation support: 0800 222 200
  Clothes, bed, and blankets etc: 0800 400 100

Auckland's flash floods

1 of 12

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Chinese human rights lawyers have been scrambling to assist the friends and families of people arrested during a wave of anti-lockdown protests at the end of November, many of whom have little experience being treated as dissidents by Chinese authorities.

Lawyer Wang Shengsheng, who compiled and published a list of dozens of attorneys offering to volunteer to help people detained for protesting China’s “zero-COVID” restrictions or mourning the victims of a Nov. 24 lockdown fire in Xinjiang's regional capital, Urumqi, said state security police had starting investigating her after she started helping detained protesters.

Wang, who hails from the central city of Zhengzhou but works for a law firm based in the southern city of Guangzhou, said the city's justice bureau had turned up at her law firm and taken away all of the files linked to previous cases she has represented.

"They sent people from the judicial bureau's [Communist Party] committee," she told RFA on Tuesday. "They were checking whether my records were in order, for example, we need to sign a contract when taking a new case, and issue a receipt when we receive our fees."

"They're trying to find some [error] they can pick up on, also whether or not I have taken any politically sensitive cases," Wang said. "They are deliberately trying to catch me making a mistake.”

"The reason behind it was the fact that I offered pro bono legal advice ... I don't know why they think that was such a bad thing to do that they need to put pressure on me via my law firm," she said, adding that the state security police had also contacted her.

"The Zhengzhou state security police came looking for me, because I'm in Zhengzhou right now," Wang said.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party, faced with the biggest challenge to its rule in decades, is saying that the "white paper" protests were the work of "foreign forces" infiltrating China, a notion that has been met with widespread derision among protesters and social media users.

Wang told RFA in November that some lawyers had declined to take part in the volunteer network, believing they would risk losing their license to practice law by participating, as happened to many attorneys who spoke up in favor of human rights, or helped political dissidents and other marginalized groups considered a stability risk by authorities. 

She said that since then, several other attorneys who offered their services have been contacted by state security police or justice bureau officials where they live.

"The justice bureau officials and the state police have been contacting them," Wang said. "For example, Lin Baocheng was contacted by the state security police in Xiamen and Lu Siwei had the state security police come to find him in Chengdu."

"I don't understand what our actions have to do with the police," she said.

Wang said she has now been prevented from logging onto the volunteer lawyers' group on the social media and messaging platform WeChat.

"My WeChat account has been restricted, so I can't send messages in the group, or make any changes to the list [of volunteer lawyers]," she said. "No one can post messages in the WeChat circle."

The volunteer legal team has received more than 30 inquiries so far, she said.

"The authorities should understand how helpless the protesters felt ... and their frustration, and treat them with compassion," Wang said. "Why do those in power not trust their own people?"

Meanwhile, veteran rights lawyer Yu Wensheng said he didn't take part in the volunteer legal team for fear of political reprisals, although he was cheered to see the lawyers standing up for protesters.

Jiangsu's Xuzhou Intermediate People's Court handed a four-year jail term to Yu on subversion charges in June 2020 after nearly three years in pretrial detention, finding him guilty of "incitement to subvert state power" in a secret trial.

The sentence was widely seen by fellow lawyers as a form of political retaliation for Yu's outspokenness following a nationwide operation targeting rights lawyers and law firms that began on July 9, 2015, and his call for fully democratic presidential elections in China.

"After I got out of jail, I found that human rights lawyers had been decimated, almost wiped out by the government," Yu told RFA on Monday. "Now, some lawyers are finally standing up [to the authorities]. This is a good thing."

"But we should also be wary of another July 2015 [nationwide operation targeting rights lawyers], which would be very bad, and is entirely possible," he warned.

Yu, whose license to practice law was revoked in January 2018, still has traumatic memories of his time in incommunicado detention under "Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location," describing much of his incarceration as "unbearable to look back on."

He said he would like to leave the country, but fears it may not be possible.

"My desire to leave China is particularly great now, because I really can’t bear the current situation, and I am very pessimistic about its future direction,” Yu said.

"A lot of very capable and professional human rights lawyers have basically had their licenses revoked, and the ones who remain are too afraid to stand up to the government when it comes to representing cases," he said.

"It sometimes feels as if there's not a lot of difference between life in prison and life outside," Yu told RFA. 

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Gao Feng and Amelia Loi for RFA Mandarin.

Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo will not allow the massive, volunteer-led movement she inspired in the 2022 presidential elections to just fade away following her loss to the late dictator’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Facing tens of thousands of her supporters during her thanksgiving event at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Friday, Robredo announced the creation of the Angat Buhay nongovernmental organisation, harnessing the so-called “pink revolution” her campaign inspired for the bigger battle ahead.

This NGO, set to be launched on July 1 or a day after Robredo steps down as vice president, will be named after the highly praised anti-poverty and pandemic response programme she has been running for the past six years.

• READ MORE: Other reports on the Philippine elections

“Hinding-hindi dapat pumanaw ang diwa ng ating kampanya. Ang pinakalayunin ng gobyernong tapat ay ang pag-angat ng buhay ng lahat. Kaya inaanunsyo ko ngayon ang target natin: Sa unang araw ng Hulyo, ilulunsad natin ang Angat Buhay NGO,” said Robredo, sending her “kakampink” supporters into a frenzy.

(The spirit of our campaign should never die out. The primary aim of an honest government is to uplift the lives of all. That’s why we are announcing our target: On the first day of July, we will launch the Angat Buhay NGO.)

The Vice-President plans to tap into the Robredo People’s Councils that her campaign team had strategically put up across provinces to help organise the hundreds of volunteer groups that were created for her presidential bid.

‘All is not lost’ pledge
Robredo may have lost the 2022 presidential race to her bitter rival Marcos, but she assured her supporters that all hope is not lost.

“Bubuin natin ang pinakamalawak na volunteer network sa kasaysayan ng ating bansa. Tuloy tayo sa pagtungo sa mga nasa laylayan at sa pag-ambagan para umangat sila,” said Robredo.

(We are going to build the biggest volunteer network in the history of our country. We will continue going to those on the fringes of society and working together to alleviate their lives.)

And once the Angat Buhay NGO had been been set up, it would serve all Filipinos in need, she said.

“Pero hindi tayo mamimili ng tutulungan…. Ipapakita natin ang buong puwersa ng radikal na pagmamahal,” said Robredo.

(But we will not choose who to help…. We will show them the full force of radical love.)

One of Robredo’s first campaign messages was a call for “radical love” — for her supporters to exercise sobriety and openness as they aim to convert those who were voting for another presidential contender.

It was only around mid-January of 2022 — about two weeks before the official campaign period started – that Robredo’s campaign slogan “Gobyernong Tapat, Angat Buhay Lahat (Honest Government, a Better Life for All)” was coined.

Heartbreaking loss for only woman
It was a heartbreaking loss for the lone female presidential contender, who was riding on a volunteer-spurred momentum in the crucial homestretch of the 90-day campaign. It made her critics step up their attacks, with three of her male rivals even ganging up on her in a now-infamous joint press conference on Easter Sunday.

Robredo’s presidential bid has sparked what has since been called a “pink revolution” never before seen in Philippine elections, where even Filipinos who do not usually engage in political activities saw themselves spending their own money and dedicating time just to campaign for her.

She hit the ground running when the official campaign period started. Robredo was indefatigable on the campaign trail, visiting multiple provinces in a span of a week.

She would start her day early in the morning and her grand rallies could last until midnight.

This was complemented by the massive volunteer base that Robredo attracted in the 2022 campaign. Her “kakampink” supporters organised soup kitchens, marches, motorcades, concerts, house-to-house campaigns, and grand rallies that were attended by tens of thousands – sometimes even in hundreds of thousands – across provinces.

Observers and Robredo herself likened the pink movement to the “People Power” collective effort of Filipinos in February 1986 to oust Marcos Jr’s father and namesake, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, through a bloodless revolution.

But all of these were not enough to make Robredo the 17th president of the Philippines. This upset her supporters, many of whom continued to grieve and grapple with the election results.

But Robredo had already told them to accept the results. She then said that they should channel all their emotions into doing the necessary work needed to bring about a more meaningful change in the Philippines in the next six years.

Sociologist Jayeel Cornelio said Robredo’s post-elections call for her movement aims to counter what some political pundits believe to be a creeping authoritarianism under Marcos.

“Leni gets it. A disengaged citizenry will only embolden authoritarianism. Transforming the movement into the biggest volunteer network this country has ever seen is not only a social intervention. It is a political statement,” Cornelio tweeted.

Crusade vs disinformation
Robredo also made it clear on Friday that she would lead efforts to break the massive disinformation network on social media, rallying her “kakampinks” to join her in this crusade.

“Alam kong marami pa tayong lakas na ibubuhos. Nakikita natin ‘yan ngayong gabi. Itutuon ko ang enerhiya ko sa paglaban ng kasinungalingan at hinihiling kong samahan ninyo ako dito. Kailangan nating maging isang kilusang magtatanggol ng katotohanan,” said Robredo, sending her supporters into a frenzy.

(I know you still have a lot of strength left. We can see that tonight. I will channel my energy to fighting lies and I am asking you to join me in this fight. We need to become a movement that would defend the truth.)

Without directly mentioning any name, the Vice-President acknowledged that the Marcoses had spent years fortifying their disinformation network that sought to sanitise the Marcos regime and rid Filipinos’ memories of the atrocities committed during the Marcos dictatorship.

Studies have also showed that Robredo was the top target of these lies, which in turn benefitted Marcos’ presidential run.

Robredo believes she would need the help of the more than 14 million “kakampinks” who voted for her in the May polls to counter the well-entrenched disinformation network.

“Ang pinakamalaki nating…kalaban, namamayagpag na bago pa ng panahon ng kampanya, dahil dekadang prinoyekto. Matindi at malawak ang makinaryang kayang magpalaganap ng galit at kasinungalingan. Ninakaw nito ang katotohanan, kaya ninakaw din ang kasaysayan, pati na ang kinabukasan,” said Robredo.

(Our biggest…enemy was already dominant even before the campaign period because decades had been spent working on this. The machinery capable of spreading hate and lies is formidable. It stole the truth, so it also stole our history and our future.)

“Disimpormasyon ang isa sa pinakamalaki nating kalaban. Pero sa ngayon, maaring naghari ang makinarya ng kasinungalingan. Pero tayo lang ang makakasagot kung hanggang kailan ito maghahari. Nasa atin kung tapos na ang laban o kung nagsisimula pa lamang ito,” she said.

(Disinformation is one of our biggest enemies. For now, perhaps the machinery of lies rules. But it is up to us how long it would prevail. It is up to us to say the fight is over or if it is only just beginning.)

Mara Cepeda is a Rappler reporter. Republished with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.