Refugees – Page 19

May 16, 2006

Korea Diary, 17 May 06

If you need an even better illustration of the idiocy of the Tokdo distraction, read this moving story about the families of two hostages, one Japanese and one South Korean, who married during their captivity in North Korea. Yokota expressed gratitude that his son-in-law was a South Korean. “I am so lucky to have a South Korean son-in-law, not a North Korean. I am so happy that I can hope that our families may meet one another again. He said...

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May 16, 2006

Choi Yung Hun Still Sits in a Chinese Prison

Congratulations, to those of you whose letters, calls, and other hard work led to the admission of the first six North Korean refugees into the United States. I hereby declare an end to the congratulation period (I can do that, right?). Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (which we must have forogotten to blogroll) gives us fresh reasons to write your local ChiCom Embassy (chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn; or go here) and tell them why you won’t be attending the 2008 Olympics.

"United" Nations/Activism/China/China & Korea/Human Rights/Japan & Korea/Refugees

May 14, 2006

Links of Interest

Richardson has already linked it, but I want to add is that this one could be very, very important to what happens in North Korea. The United States is considering economic sanctions on Chinese banks which have business transactions with North Korean companies allegedly implicated in the development or proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), a news report said Sunday. ================= Rep. Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, has a message for President Junichiro Koizumi. Hyde,...

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May 12, 2006

MUST READ: WSJ Interview with Newly Arrived North Korean Refugees

“Before we begin this interview, I want to thank God for bringing us to this land of dreams. We sincerely thank President George Bush and the American government for letting us enter as refugees.” She bows slightly, closes her notebook, and prepares to relive her ordeal. Just go read it. Now. A big hat tip to a reader for fowarding this one.

China & Korea/Defectors/Human Rights/Human Trafficking/Refugees/U.S. & Korea/Uncategorized/Washington Views

May 9, 2006

Sen. Brownback to Hold Press Conference on NK Refugees Tomorrow

The people of North Korea don’t have a better friend than Senator Sam Brownback. Unfortunately, you will need a press pass to get past the imperious bitch person at the front desk. Let’s just hope that that the organizations that hold this monopoly will give us reasonably complete reports (reporters and editors). Might this be a time to suggest giving more press passes to bloggers, who are much more likely to publish fairly complete reports of the politicians’ statements, the...

Defectors/Human Rights/Human Trafficking/Refugees/Uncategorized/Washington Views

May 8, 2006

We Are (Not) One, Part 2

According to this unscientific-looking survey, half of the North Koreans living in South Korea would prefer to live in the United States, despite differences of language and culture and a lifetime of anti-American brainwashing. Why? A survey conducted by the Chosun Ilbo on Monday among 100 North Korean refugees who settled in South Korea found that 50 would go to the U.S. given a choice and 46 South Korea. The others were not sure. Of those who chose the U.S.,...

Defectors/Human Rights/Korean Politics/Refugees/U.S. & Korea/Uncategorized

May 8, 2006

Refugees Reax, Part 2

We have learned, via the Donga Ilbo that the arrival airport was Los Angles. The Donga also speculates about the meaning of the U.S. decision to comply with its own law and concludes that the admission of “common” refugees means that the U.S. is also preparing to clamp down hard on North Korea diplomatically and economically. While I hope that’s indeed the case, the conclusion ignores the fact that plenty of those in Congress (Leach and Lantos, to name two)...

"United" Nations/China & Korea/Defectors/Human Rights/Human Trafficking/Refugees/U.S. & Korea/Uncategorized

May 7, 2006

Reaction to the Arrival of North Korean Refugees

The arrival of the first six North Korean refugees — including survivors of concentration camps and sexual slavery — could mark a tipping point in the politics of North Korean human rights. The timing of the arrival is either a fortunate coincidence or the height of shrewdness. Local elections are coming up in South Korea on May 31st, and with the human rights issue having created a clear schism (see here, here, and here) between the United States and South...

An Alliance?/Defectors/Human Rights/Korean Politics/Refugees/Six-Party Talks/U.S. & Korea/Uncategorized/Washington Views

May 4, 2006

Source: First N. Korean Refugees to Arrive in U.S. Within Days

Via a trusted source, the first group of North Korean refugees will arrive at an undisclosed U.S. airport, escorted by personnel from an American embassy in Southeast Asia, within the next few days. There will be six refugees in the initial groups. Larger numbers are expected to follow in the next few weeks. All are currently under the protection of a U.S. consular facility in Southeast Asia. Among those expected to arrive later are concentration camp survivors. The refugees all...

Refugees/Southeast Asia/Uncategorized/Washington Views

May 4, 2006

Refugees Update

[Update: Richardson picks up several other reports to the same effect. Things seem to be moving, and you have to wonder what could happen next now that the word has started to spread.] The Chosun Ilbo reports fresh signs of progress that the State Department is finally aboard the love train on North Korean refugees. A group of North Korean defectors in Southeast Asia is reportedly seeking asylum in the United States. In an interview with Korea’s Yonhap News, a...

An Alliance?/Appeasement/China/China & Korea/Defectors/Diplomacy/Human Rights/North Korea/Refugees/Southeast Asia/U.S. & Korea/Uncategorized/Washington Views

May 1, 2006

Has a U.S. Embassy Accepted NK Defectors?

[Update: link fixed, thanks!] Via the Chosun Ilbo: Some five or six North Korean defectors are reportedly preparing to enter the U.S. under the protection of its embassy in a Southeast Asian country as Washington prepares to make good on a pledge to grant asylum to more refugees from the Stalinist country. Sources in the U.S. government and Congress said Thursday as soon as procedural matters with the Asian country are resolved, the North Koreans will make their way to...

Activism/Defectors/Human Rights/Refugees/Southeast Asia/U.S. & Korea/Uncategorized/Washington Views

April 29, 2006

First N. Korean Gets U.S. Asylum, But What Does This Really Mean for NKHRA Compliance?

Updated 4/30; scroll down “We can and will do more to protect North Korean refugees. . . . We hope that very, very soon, we can welcome North Korean refugees here in the United States.” — Amb. Jay Lefkowitz, April 28, 2006 WASHINGTON, April 28 (Yonhap) — The Los Angeles Immigration Court has granted asylum to a North Korean defector after he awaited a decision in the U.S. for the past 20 months, his lawyer said Friday. The final ruling...

Defectors/Human Rights/Refugees/U.S. & Korea

April 29, 2006

Ma Young Ae Update

The Daily NK is offering up some investigative reporting to back up its skepticism about Ms. Ma’s asylum claims. Ms. Ma, a former North Korean counterintel agent who worked in China until her defection in 2000, is petitioning for political asylum in the United States because of alleged South Korean persecution. Read and decide for yourself, but one point in the Daily NK’s favor: threatening people to silence them is persection; offering them fat bribes to keep quiet (even if...

Censorship/Defectors/Korean Law/Refugees/Uncategorized

April 28, 2006

Time Asia on the Underground Railroad

My biggest regret of my recent trip to Korea was that I wasn’t able to sit down and talk with the Rev. Tim Peters at length. Tim is one of the kindest, most selfless, most sincere people I’ve met in my life. He told me to watch for this piece in Time, which begins with this refugee woman’s description of the guard who killed her unborn baby: Hwang, Kim says, referred repeatedly to the baby as “the Chink,” because the...

Activism/Asia/China & Korea/Defectors/Human Rights/Human Trafficking/Refugees

April 28, 2006

N. Korea Freedom Week Updates

First, please join us on the West side of the U.S. Capitol today, starting at 11:30. The rally will last well into the afternoon, with plenty of opportunities to frighten powerful and cynical people throughout the day. Some of us may even make a special appearance at the South Korean Embassy later this afternoon. At 6 PM, Suzanne Scholte of the North Korean Freedom Coalition will lead a rally at the Chinese Embassy that will become an all-night prayer vigil....

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April 21, 2006

Hu Jintao Visit: A Diplomatic Fiasco; Bush Raises Refugee Issue

The meeting, the first at the White House between the men since Mr. Hu became China’s top leader in 2002, was plagued by gaffes that upended months of painstaking diplomacy over protocol and staging. For millions of Americans, and for unknown numbers of Chinese able to penetrate the Great Firewall, the enduring image of Hu Jintao’s visit will not be the 21-gun salute he got, or the full state dinner he did not get, but the face of this Falun...

China/Diplomacy/Human Rights/NK Economics/Refugees

April 7, 2006

Daily NK on Ma Young-Ae

The Daily NK is clearly skeptical about Ms. Ma’s claim for asylum from South Korea: We do know that the South Korean government does not consider the North Korean democratization movement as good, and tries interrupting the movement by taking every opportunity. However, the South Korean government does not imprison and torture activators like the past administrations. We understand Ma Young Ae could be afraid of the government, yet many activators who got even more severe threats and interruptions are...

Defectors/Korean Law/Refugees/U.S. & Korea/Uncategorized

April 5, 2006

Who Is Ma Young-Ae, and What Does She Know?

[Updated 6 Apr 06; scroll down] Via The Flying Yangban, it looks like the U.S. may be on the verge of accepting its first North Korean refugee. Like the Yangban, I’m happy about it. Unlike the Yangban, I don’t see this as necessarily precedent-setting for the broader issue of accepting refugees fleeing persecution in North Korea. Reason: this refugee is also fleeing persecution in South Korea. No, that wasn’t a typo: Ma came to South Korea in 2000. In April...

Abductions/An Alliance?/Appeasement/Censorship/Counterfeiting/Defectors/Human Rights/Japan/Japan & Korea/Korean Law/North Korea/Refugees/U.S. & Korea/Uncategorized/Washington Views

Category: Refugees