Ilham Tohti, My Brother

lham was the recipient of the Sakharov Prize in 2019. By then, the world had known that China had placed several millions of Uyghurs in concentration camps and prisons, subjecting them to torture, indoctrination, forced labor, and long prison sentences.

Simmering Tensions: China Sanctions 5 US Defense Firms Over Arms Sales to Taiwan

The situation also underscores the delicate balance of power in the Taiwan Strait — a 160-kilometer-wide (about 90 miles) waterway that separates Taiwan from mainland China. But the timing of Beijing’s sanctions — coming just days before Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections slated for Jan. 13 — is seen as a strategic move to influence the island’s political landscape.