Year in video: Voices of resilience and protest in 2024

[ad_1] A Myanmar insurgent commander eager for peace. An educational struggles to protect Uyghur heritage. A London YouTuber faces off with pro-Beijing “Little Pinks” together with his piano.

Listed here are their tales in RFA video:

Frances Hui, Hong Kong democracy activist As she stood throughout the road from the Hong Kong Financial and Commerce Workplace in Washington, D.C. in Might, Frances Hui couldn’t fairly suppress a smile, regardless of the bounty on her head.

“Behind this constructing is a regime that's nonetheless actively making an attempt to hunt activists down,” mentioned Hui, who grew up in Hong Kong however now lives within the U.S. capital. “Considered one of them is me.”

Tenzin Yangkyi, Tibetan motorcyclist Driving with the Tibetan flag to unfold consciousness, Tenzin Yangkyi, 23, turned the primary lady to achieve Umling La on a motorbike. Situated in Ladakh, India, it's world’s highest paved street and mountain move.

“As soon as we begin one thing we should always see it by with out giving up,” she instructed RFA Tibetan. “Then you definitely purchase final happiness and interior expertise will come out.”

She hopes to proceed breaking data on different high-altitude roads.

Noticed Kaw, insurgent commander, Myanmar Cobra Column commander Noticed Kaw performs a guitar in a secret camp in Myawaddy township, Kayin state, Myanmar.

As he spoke with RFA Burmese in July, his battalion was making features on the Myanmar junta. However the combating has stored Noticed Kaw away from his spouse and two younger daughters. He hopes the battle shall be over quickly.

“Then, I not want to be a soldier,” he mentioned. “I aspire to enhance underdeveloped areas. I need to see folks dwelling freely and fortunately.”

Magfiret Kemal Yunusoglu, Uyghur educational Magfiret Kemal, whose story is a part of the RFA Uyghur documentary collection “Tales of Survival,” overcame challenges whereas pursuing her schooling in China.

The 1989 Tiananmen Sq. bloodbath disrupted her aspirations for a grasp’s diploma, main her to complete her schooling in Turkey, the place she now lives.

Right this moment, her dedication focuses on empowering the subsequent technology protect Uyghur id by schooling and science.

Environmental activists, Cambodia Ten Cambodian environmental activists face jail sentences of between six and eight years after a court docket in July convicted them on prices criticized by worldwide observers as politically motivated.

5 activists from the Mom Nature group, which had labored to show corruption and dangerous infrastructure initiatives, had been taken into custody in entrance of Phnom Penh Municipal Court docket as crowds of supporters shouted their disapproval.

Among the many convicted had been Ly Chandaravuth, Phuon Keoreaksmey, Thon Ratha and Lengthy Kunthea.

Brendan Kavanagh, pianist and YouTuber YouTuber Brendan Kavanagh lived in a van for 2 days out of concern of violent repercussions following a standoff with a bunch of Chinese language flag-wavers round a public piano he was taking part in in London’s St Pancras railway station, including that he had acquired emails “threatening his life” after the incident went viral.

Kavanagh has garnered many supportive feedback from folks figuring out as Taiwanese, Hong Kongers and even some folks dwelling in mainland China itself for the reason that unique confrontation, which has now been considered greater than 9 million occasions on YouTube.

Vicky Xu, journalist Vicky Xu, a Chinese language-born Australian journalist who was the goal of a widespread marketing campaign of on-line abuse by brokers and supporters of Beijing after she uncovered pressured labor in Xinjiang, is combating again in opposition to Chinese language Communist Social gathering propaganda by dwelling her greatest life in democratic Taiwan, she instructed RFA Mandarin in an interview.

“In terms of folks like me, the Chinese language Communist Social gathering’s secret police, brokers, or state safety can harness the ability of a number of provinces and departments to hunt me down, harass me, or intimidate me, or hurt everybody in my social circle that they will see,” Xu mentioned.