Chinese Intimidation and Control

Reuters has an interesting article on how the Chinese manage to intimidate people who don't live in China, but have relatives there [Special Report: China uses intimidation tactics at U.N. to silence critics at http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/07/us-china-softpower-rights-specialreport-idUSKCN0S01O420151007 ] .  It starts with a 43-year-old Buddhist monk, Golog Jigme, who escaped both a Chinese detention center in 2012, and China.  He was about to testify at a U.N. Human Rights Council.  Sitting in a cafe prior to the engagement he is approached by a senior Chinese diplomat, Zhang Yaojun, who produces a cell phone camera and takes his picture.  The monk makes a joke of it;  the Chinese diplomat denies he did any such thing.  Golog doesn't live in China anymore, and won't be going back, but it is the brazenness of the intimidation that gets the attention of the reporters.  Rightfully so.  

You can bet the picture was an open form of intimidation, but behind the scenes, the Chinese would have hacked his computers and monitored his cell phone.  It certainly wasn't a coincidence that both of them showed up at the same time in that cafe.  They know his itinerary, his plans, and who he associates with.  They make sure his meetings are attended by government representatives who quickly spread the official word that he is an escaped criminal whose message is not believable.  They stuff the U.N. Commissions with witnesses and audience participants who represent the official Party line.  They are trying, successfully by the way, to manage news that pertains to China.  They do it by manipulation, intimidation, and threats, if needed.  

I have never been one to read very many U.N. reports, because you only have to read one or two to get the idea that they are written for somebody other than the general public.  The idea that the Chinese would go after a witness who wasn't writing the report, and do worse things to others mentioned in this article, speaks volumes about the level of effort to stifle even the least important of places from making these unfavorable remarks about them.  Anytime a country goes to such great lengths, they must have something to hide that justifies the effort.