UCA News
Contribute
Asian governments suppress peaceful protests

The right to dissent is under attack across the Asia-Pacific region as ruling regimes use repressive laws and brute force to silence protesters

Published: December 09, 2022 11:19 AM GMT

Updated: December 09, 2022 11:25 AM GMT

The governments in the Asia-Pacific region have carried out ruthless attacks against dissenters in the past year by resorting to illegal detention, criminalization, and the killing of protesters, says a new report from rights watchdog CIVICUS Monitor.

The report titled, “Global Assessment on Protest Rights 2022,” released on Wednesday, says protesters demanding economic, political, and governance changes were brutally targeted in the region.

Governments used law, policy, and practice to suppress peaceful and non-violent gatherings in the backdrop of rules and regulations, said the report released days before Human Rights Day observed by the international community every year on December 10. The report stated that freedom of peaceful assembly faced restrictions in at least 100 of the 197 countries across the globe.

Some 20 nations in the Asia-Pacific including India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Iran, and others exploited laws and brute force to suppress protesters. Globally, the government crackdown left protesters killed in 24 countries.

Kurdish and Lebanese women take part in a rally in the downtown district of Lebanon's capital Beirut on Sept. 21 days after the Iranian authorities announced the death of Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested in Tehran for allegedly wearing a hijab headscarf in an 'improper' way

Kurdish and Lebanese women take part in a rally in the downtown district of Lebanon's capital Beirut on Sept. 21 days after the Iranian authorities announced the death of Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested in Tehran for allegedly wearing a hijab headscarf in an 'improper' way. (Photo: AFP)

The Pontificate: Contribute to help UCA News

A 140-day protest of Indian fishermen led by Trivandrum Archdiocese in southern Kerala state against an upcoming seaport has been temporarily called off after a consensus was reached with the provincial government. The decision was made after a meeting with Chief Minister of the state.

The government promised to meet most demands of the protesters including a monthly rent of about 67 US dollars to families of fishermen who have lost their homes due to port construction activities, compensate them for the loss of livelihood, grant fuel subsidies for their fishing boats, and expedite the ongoing rehabilitation work.

Catholic priests sit on a boat atop a truck as part of a protest in Kerala’s state capital Thiruvananthapuram on Aug. 10 against a multi-billion-dollar port project which they say endangers the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen. (Photo: supplied) 

The government, however, refused to accept the original demands of the protesters which included halting the port’s construction for three months and inviting fishermen’s representatives to be a part of an official panel of experts to study the environmental and human impact.

The fishermen have concerns over the erosion of the fragile shoreline, which could adversely impact their lives and livelihood. The construction activities started in 2015 have already rendered 500 fisher families homeless.


Myanmar military junta briefly detained a prominent Kachin Baptist leader as he attempted to leave for Thailand for a medical examination.

Reverend Hkalam Samson, former head of the KBC or Kachin Baptist Convention, was detained for questioning at Mandalay International Airport on Sunday and released the next day. Local media reported he is banned from leaving the country. The reason behind his arrest remains unknown. The KBC deplored the arrest and restrictions on his movement.

Reverend Hkalam Samson was arrested on Dec. 5. (Photo: YouTube screenshot)

In August 2019, he was sued by the military for alleging at a July meeting with the then-US president, Donald Trump, that Myanmar’s military oppresses minority Christians. He was among 27 people from 17 countries who were alleged to be victims of religious persecution invited to meet Trump.

The detained Baptist leader had reportedly supervised the funerals of at least 63 people killed in an airstrike by the junta in Kachin state.

Police in the Philippines warned people to remain vigilant against cyber criminals who use fake solicitation letters to dupe Christians into making donations for bogus Christmas projects.

The law enforcers issued a warning on Sunday about a spike in fraud cases with so-called Catholic foundations seeking to raise funds to provide Christmas gifts for the poor. The police cited verified cases involving three fake foundations named after Catholic saints allegedly run by syndicates in the capital Manila and nearby provinces like Bulacan and Cavite.

A woman prepares traditional Christmas lanterns in a rural part of the Philippines. (UCA News file photo)

The groups duped Catholics to send donations through Gcash, an electronic and mobile wallet application. One group received about 1,818 US dollars from a parish in Manila.

At least three businessmen reported the scam after transferring hundreds of thousands for financing the purported construction of a school for orphans in the Mindanao region which was later found to be fake. Police and church officials urged people to verify the background of groups and individuals before making a Christmas donation.


An Indonesian Catholic priest joined rights activists in criticizing the country’s new criminal code that among other things bans sex outside of marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail. Indonesian parliament approved sweeping changes to the Dutch colonial-era penal code on Tuesday despite strong opposition from civil society.

Divine Word Father Otto Gusti Madung, a lecturer at the Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara province, called the parliament’s decision “a setback to protecting the liberal rights of citizens which includes the guarantee of human dignity.”

Divine Word Father Otto Gusti Madung. (Photo supplied)

He said the move was part of an effort to incorporate religious morality into the law, which can be resolved by religions or individual personal moral considerations.

Usman Hamid of Amnesty International Indonesia called the legislation “a significant blow to Indonesia’s hard-won progress in protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms over more than two decades.”


Bishops in Vietnamese dioceses have appealed Catholics to regularly attend services and provide emotional and material support for people in need as they begin the Advent Season.

Mission In Asia: Contribute to help UCA News

Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang of Ho Chi Minh City, the head of the bishops’ conference, said that Catholics should continue to tend to people with disabilities, patients and domestic migrant workers, and couples who have marriage problems, elderly people, orphans and the abandoned.

Catholics attend a special Mass to mark the construction of a new church in Tea Hna parish in Kontum diocese on Nov. 23. (Photo: giaophankontum.com)

Bishop Louis Nguyen Anh Tuan, apostolic administrator of Ha Tinh diocese, urged people to pray to expect the coming of God by avoiding physical pleasures, lavish lifestyles, and drinking.

Bishop Aloisisus Nguyen Hung Vi of Kontum in the Central highlands said affluent Catholics in the ethnic minority-dominated diocese should come forward to help people who live in poverty, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic saw a drop in assistance coming from local Catholics.  


The Cambodian government has launched its third social security payment system to assist thousands of poor people facing hardships due to a weak global economy, inflation, the Covid-19 pandemic and devastating floods.

Prime Minister Hun Sen signed a directive asking the Planning Ministry to determine who will qualify for cash assistance. The authorities said families considered “vulnerable to floods” have been identified in the capital Phnom Penh and in 15 provinces of central and southern Cambodia.

A homeless man lays on the floor as a couple wearing face masks walk past in Phnom Penh on June 23, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

Each family will receive a monthly allowance of 20 US dollars for the next three months. Individual family members will receive an additional monthly allowance of 4 US dollars, including the elderly and the disabled.

Families identified as “vulnerable to inflation” will receive between 20-25 US dollars, and each family member will receive an extra allowance ranging from 5-7 US dollars. Cambodia set up the first social safety fund last year with 200 million US dollars as World Bank reported an economic meltdown and the pandemic pushed 460,000 people into poverty.


Japan’s controversial Unification Church has allegedly siphoned millions from its followers through so-called “spiritual sales” over the years.

During a press conference last week, the Tokyo-based Japan Federation of Bar Associations said that about 50 percent of complaints over “spiritual sales” are related to the Unification Church. These sales are ones by which religious organizations sell goods or services at exorbitant prices promising supernatural benefits such as preventing bad luck or soothing the souls of deceased loved ones.

Hideyuki Teshigawara, general manager of reform promotion headquarters of the Japan branch of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), widely known as the Unification Church, answers questions during a press conference at the FFWPU Tokyo headquarters on Sept. 22, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

Until October, the church has been complicit in 309 of a total of 624 spiritual sales cases, and the complainants have lost more than 10 million yen or about 72,000 US dollars to the Unification Church. The church came under intense scrutiny following the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July.

The suspected assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, reportedly admitted to having a grudge against Abe for his alleged support for the church that is accused of ruining the suspect’s family after his mother donated about 1 million US dollars to the church.


The unprecedented protests in major cities of China over anti-Covid measures should serve as a wake-up call for the Communist regime and President Xi Jinping, says PIME priest and China expert, Father Gianni Criveller.

The priest noted that rare protests in late November in major cities were caused by institutional harassment and corruption, which are common in China. The protest was the first of its kind since Xi Jinping took office in 2012.

A Chinese policeman stands outside a residential compound under lockdown in the Jing'an district of Shanghai on Dec. 2. (Photo: AFP)

One remarkable feature was the protests started in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province where Uyghur Muslims are subjected to a genocidal crackdown. The protests in Urumqi started after a fire killed 10 people confined in a high-rise apartment building and lockdown measures were blamed for the tragedy.

Father Criveller says though the authorities suppressed the protests effectively, they do warn about a growing dissatisfaction among citizens in an increasingly closed and autocratic regime, making them yearn for the freedom to determine their destiny.  

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News

Explore UCA News

UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia