Rian Thum
@rianthum.bsky.social
Historian of Uyghurs, Hui, and Muslims in China at the U of Manchester.
Reposted by Rian Thum
Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years, six senior journalists and news executives sentenced between 6yrs 9mths and 10yrs. All bad enough. And then there are the little details tucked away (but still being reported) in local media that hit really hard like the story of one woman ... 1/
February 9, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years, six senior journalists and news executives sentenced between 6yrs 9mths and 10yrs. All bad enough. And then there are the little details tucked away (but still being reported) in local media that hit really hard like the story of one woman ... 1/
Reposted by Rian Thum
China urged Kazakhstan to take "appropriate measures" against 19 citizens who protested last November against the detention of their family members in Xinjiang. They now face up to 10 years in prison for "inciting discord."
eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-a...
eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-a...
Kazakhstan: Anti-China demonstrators face long prison terms after fiery protest
Astana brings criminal charges only after Beijing complains.
eurasianet.org
January 28, 2026 at 6:24 PM
China urged Kazakhstan to take "appropriate measures" against 19 citizens who protested last November against the detention of their family members in Xinjiang. They now face up to 10 years in prison for "inciting discord."
eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-a...
eurasianet.org/kazakhstan-a...
Reposted by Rian Thum
Excited to recieve my copy of my friend and colleague, @rianthum.bsky.social’s new book “Islamic China.” It looks like a great read! We’ll be talking about it on Feb. 10 at the Manchester Museum (see Eventbrite link below). If you’re in town, come join us!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/islamic-ch...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/islamic-ch...
January 28, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Excited to recieve my copy of my friend and colleague, @rianthum.bsky.social’s new book “Islamic China.” It looks like a great read! We’ll be talking about it on Feb. 10 at the Manchester Museum (see Eventbrite link below). If you’re in town, come join us!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/islamic-ch...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/islamic-ch...
Reposted by Rian Thum
Reminder: All it would take to end the murder of American citizens by an untrained government goon squad is 16 Republicans in Congress voting with Dems to defund ICE (or 23 to impeach and remove Trump — 3 in House & 20 in Senate). That’s it. 23 Americans can vote for the public and end all of this.
January 24, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Reminder: All it would take to end the murder of American citizens by an untrained government goon squad is 16 Republicans in Congress voting with Dems to defund ICE (or 23 to impeach and remove Trump — 3 in House & 20 in Senate). That’s it. 23 Americans can vote for the public and end all of this.
Reposted by Rian Thum
Solidarity to MN, let's get out there on Friday
ICE Out for Good
On January 23, people across the country are taking action in solidarity with Minnesota to demand ICE out of our communities. Join the day of action.
iceoutforgood.org
January 22, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Solidarity to MN, let's get out there on Friday
Reposted by Rian Thum
Let’s be clear about the central political problem in the US:
Republican and conservative elites hold on to Trump, who is clearly mentally damaged and driving American society and culture and economy into oblivion, because they believe they can benefit politically and economically from the chaos.
Republican and conservative elites hold on to Trump, who is clearly mentally damaged and driving American society and culture and economy into oblivion, because they believe they can benefit politically and economically from the chaos.
January 21, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Let’s be clear about the central political problem in the US:
Republican and conservative elites hold on to Trump, who is clearly mentally damaged and driving American society and culture and economy into oblivion, because they believe they can benefit politically and economically from the chaos.
Republican and conservative elites hold on to Trump, who is clearly mentally damaged and driving American society and culture and economy into oblivion, because they believe they can benefit politically and economically from the chaos.
Reposted by Rian Thum
It's not debatable that a mentally disturbed person has the nuclear codes. The Republicans know they're endangering us all by leaving him in office. This is a betrayal of every person on Earth. It is a crime against humanity.
January 20, 2026 at 9:13 PM
It's not debatable that a mentally disturbed person has the nuclear codes. The Republicans know they're endangering us all by leaving him in office. This is a betrayal of every person on Earth. It is a crime against humanity.
Reposted by Rian Thum
This is a remarkable case of Chinese authorities threatening a UK university into halting research on human rights violations, and the university acquiescing.
China intimidated UK university to ditch human rights research, documents show
Sheffield Hallam University apologises to Professor Laura Murphy for restricting her academic freedom.
www.bbc.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:44 AM
This is a remarkable case of Chinese authorities threatening a UK university into halting research on human rights violations, and the university acquiescing.
The book is out! www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
November 2, 2025 at 5:21 PM
The book is out! www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
No Kings protest about to start in Paris. Wish I could be in the US today. There’s still plenty of time to grab your jacket and head to a protest in towns across the US!
October 18, 2025 at 12:56 PM
No Kings protest about to start in Paris. Wish I could be in the US today. There’s still plenty of time to grab your jacket and head to a protest in towns across the US!
Reposted by Rian Thum
history teacher in 50 years: So in September, that’s when the president signed an executive order criminalizing anti-fascism and saying all resistance would be crushed
student: oh so that’s when the whole country realized they were living under fascism
teacher: haha what? oh no lol not at all. no.
student: oh so that’s when the whole country realized they were living under fascism
teacher: haha what? oh no lol not at all. no.
October 4, 2025 at 11:14 PM
history teacher in 50 years: So in September, that’s when the president signed an executive order criminalizing anti-fascism and saying all resistance would be crushed
student: oh so that’s when the whole country realized they were living under fascism
teacher: haha what? oh no lol not at all. no.
student: oh so that’s when the whole country realized they were living under fascism
teacher: haha what? oh no lol not at all. no.
Reposted by Rian Thum
/6 If you are stuck in the McArdlian view "we can't think of the other side of evil" -- which I view as sociopathic -- I have to ask, is there ANYTHING they can do that will make you call it evil? Is there ANYTHING they can do that won't make you say "I should focus on finding common ground?"
October 2, 2025 at 7:29 PM
/6 If you are stuck in the McArdlian view "we can't think of the other side of evil" -- which I view as sociopathic -- I have to ask, is there ANYTHING they can do that will make you call it evil? Is there ANYTHING they can do that won't make you say "I should focus on finding common ground?"
Reposted by Rian Thum
My tribute to Paul Cohen as historian & mentor to many www.asianstudies.org/in-memoriam-... cc @lmansley.bsky.social
In Memoriam: Paul A. Cohen (1934-2025) - Association for Asian Studies
Paul A. Cohen, who died on September 15, 2025 at the age of 91, made significant contributions to both the interdisciplinary field of Chinese studies and the discipline of history. The most obvious wa...
www.asianstudies.org
September 23, 2025 at 2:56 PM
My tribute to Paul Cohen as historian & mentor to many www.asianstudies.org/in-memoriam-... cc @lmansley.bsky.social
Reposted by Rian Thum
IDF sniper from Chicago who says he killed Gazan teenager just for trying to retrieve his brother's corpse: “They’re thinking, ‘Oh I don’t think [I’ll get shot] because I’m wearing civilian clothes and I am not carrying a weapon' and all that, but they were wrong. That’s what you have snipers for.”
The Gaza family torn apart by IDF snipers from Chicago and Munich
Five-month investigation reveals how four members of one family were shot and killed in a single day and highlights a pattern in which Israeli troops target unarmed civilians
www.theguardian.com
September 9, 2025 at 7:15 PM
IDF sniper from Chicago who says he killed Gazan teenager just for trying to retrieve his brother's corpse: “They’re thinking, ‘Oh I don’t think [I’ll get shot] because I’m wearing civilian clothes and I am not carrying a weapon' and all that, but they were wrong. That’s what you have snipers for.”
Reposted by Rian Thum
What’s the ideal age for the state to impose assimilation on minorities? In Tibet, it’s 4.
Gift link to new long read from me and Niharika Mandhana Beijing's building of government-run preschools across Tibetan areas to reverse generations of opposition to party rule:
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
Gift link to new long read from me and Niharika Mandhana Beijing's building of government-run preschools across Tibetan areas to reverse generations of opposition to party rule:
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
China Steals Language and Home Life From Tibetan Kids as Young as 4
Beijing is building a broad network of preschools across Tibetan areas, seeking to inculcate loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party early in life.
www.wsj.com
June 29, 2025 at 10:53 AM
What’s the ideal age for the state to impose assimilation on minorities? In Tibet, it’s 4.
Gift link to new long read from me and Niharika Mandhana Beijing's building of government-run preschools across Tibetan areas to reverse generations of opposition to party rule:
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
Gift link to new long read from me and Niharika Mandhana Beijing's building of government-run preschools across Tibetan areas to reverse generations of opposition to party rule:
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
Reposted by Rian Thum
Same racist authoritarian data collection they've been doing in Xinjiang for years. Fight it everywhere
NEW: The US government has collected DNA samples from 133,000+ migrant children and teenagers and uploaded them into CODIS, a national criminal database originally built for convicted sex offenders and violent criminals, according to documents reviewed by WIRED.
The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database
Customs and Border Protection has swabbed the DNA of migrant children as young as 4, whose genetic data is uploaded to an FBI-run database that can track them if they commit crimes in the future.
www.wired.com
June 10, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Same racist authoritarian data collection they've been doing in Xinjiang for years. Fight it everywhere
Reposted by Rian Thum
This is an official plan for ethnic cleansing. If you supported Israel for the past 18 months or so under the assumption that this was about the hostages you were taken for a ride.
If you still support Israel's assault on Gaza, you support ethnic cleansing. It's that simple.
If you still support Israel's assault on Gaza, you support ethnic cleansing. It's that simple.
Israel plans to occupy and flatten all of Gaza if no deal by Trump's trip
Trump has effectively given Netanyahu a green light to do as he sees fit, Israeli officials say.
www.axios.com
May 5, 2025 at 9:33 PM
This is an official plan for ethnic cleansing. If you supported Israel for the past 18 months or so under the assumption that this was about the hostages you were taken for a ride.
If you still support Israel's assault on Gaza, you support ethnic cleansing. It's that simple.
If you still support Israel's assault on Gaza, you support ethnic cleansing. It's that simple.
Reposted by Rian Thum
This summer, June 7-August 7, I'll be running an online course in "Introduction to Chaghatay!" 12 meetings. $280 for the whole thing. Open access textbook + videos to walk you through grammar and readings. Fees will support GW's Uyghur Studies Initiative. Apply here!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Introduction to Chaghatay, Summer 2025
This is an application form for the not-for-credit summer course in introductory Chaghatay language to be held through the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the George Washington University in Summer ...
docs.google.com
April 22, 2025 at 8:56 PM
This summer, June 7-August 7, I'll be running an online course in "Introduction to Chaghatay!" 12 meetings. $280 for the whole thing. Open access textbook + videos to walk you through grammar and readings. Fees will support GW's Uyghur Studies Initiative. Apply here!
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Rian Thum
Radio Free Asia was the 1st to reveal China's mass detention of Uyghurs & kept the world informed about the crimes against humanity there. 🇨🇳 tried silencing RFA by imprisoning families of Uyghur RFA journos; now 🇺🇸 poised to help 🇨🇳 finish that job. www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
Radio Free Asia set to furlough most US-based staff due to government funding freeze
Financial support suspension pushes government-funded broadcaster toward “skeleton staff” operations.
www.politico.com
March 17, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Radio Free Asia was the 1st to reveal China's mass detention of Uyghurs & kept the world informed about the crimes against humanity there. 🇨🇳 tried silencing RFA by imprisoning families of Uyghur RFA journos; now 🇺🇸 poised to help 🇨🇳 finish that job. www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
Reposted by Rian Thum
This is a test for Columbia and the universities in general. They must oppose this with collective loud voices and legal aid to Khalil, who is targeted for specific speech while a student.
BREAKING: DHS Detains Palestinian Student from Columbia Encampment, Advocates Say zeteo.com/p/breaking-d...
BREAKING: DHS Detains Palestinian Student from Columbia Encampment, Advocates Say zeteo.com/p/breaking-d...
BREAKING: DHS Detains Palestinian Student from Columbia Encampment, Advocates Say
Agents told him his student visa was revoked. But he had a green card. Agents then said that was revoked too.
zeteo.com
March 9, 2025 at 3:08 PM
This is a test for Columbia and the universities in general. They must oppose this with collective loud voices and legal aid to Khalil, who is targeted for specific speech while a student.
BREAKING: DHS Detains Palestinian Student from Columbia Encampment, Advocates Say zeteo.com/p/breaking-d...
BREAKING: DHS Detains Palestinian Student from Columbia Encampment, Advocates Say zeteo.com/p/breaking-d...
Reposted by Rian Thum
I gave a campus talk last night on Trump's first 100 days for the WUD Society & Politics group. A student asked me if I thought that, at some point, we might start to describe the US as a competitive authoritarian regime. I said that we were already there, it's just that most folks haven't noticed:
February 26, 2025 at 3:26 AM
I gave a campus talk last night on Trump's first 100 days for the WUD Society & Politics group. A student asked me if I thought that, at some point, we might start to describe the US as a competitive authoritarian regime. I said that we were already there, it's just that most folks haven't noticed:
Reposted by Rian Thum
🆘🆘🆘Govt of #Thailand appears to be on the brink of quadrupling-down on a decade of appalling violations of #Uyghur #refugee rights. Forcing them back to #China = forcing them back to horrific abuses. Demys need to win out over Beijing—urgently. www.jurist.org/news/2025/01...
HRW urges Thailand not to forcibly repatriate 48 detained Uyghur men to China
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Thailand not to forcibly repatriating 48 Uyghur men to China on Friday. The group stated that the detainees have been imprisoned for more than 10 years and may face a hi...
www.jurist.org
January 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
🆘🆘🆘Govt of #Thailand appears to be on the brink of quadrupling-down on a decade of appalling violations of #Uyghur #refugee rights. Forcing them back to #China = forcing them back to horrific abuses. Demys need to win out over Beijing—urgently. www.jurist.org/news/2025/01...
Difficult to write or talk about this monstrous act by the Chinese state, one of countless atrocities against Uyghurs. Absurd cruelty toward a kind, brilliant, and community-oriented anthropologist. duihua.org/life-sentenc...
The Dui Hua Foundation - Life Sentence for Professor Rahile Dawut Confirmed
According to a source in the Chinese government, Professor Rahile Dawut (راھىلە داۋۇت, 热依拉 · 达吾提), an acclaimed Uyghur intellectual and expert on Uyghur folklore and traditions...
duihua.org
September 23, 2023 at 12:15 PM
Difficult to write or talk about this monstrous act by the Chinese state, one of countless atrocities against Uyghurs. Absurd cruelty toward a kind, brilliant, and community-oriented anthropologist. duihua.org/life-sentenc...
Reposted by Rian Thum
Devastating news that scholar Rahile Dawut is serving a life sentence in China. Her crime was culture: she is an ethnographer of Uyghur folklore traditions. This is the petty fear of the supposedly mighty state of China. duihua.org/life-sentenc...
The Dui Hua Foundation - Life Sentence for Professor Rahile Dawut Confirmed
SAN FRANCISCO (SEPTEMBER 21, 2023) — According to a source in the Chinese government, Professor Rahile Dawut (راھىلە داۋۇت, 热依拉 · 达吾提), an acclaimed Uyghur intellectual and e...
duihua.org
September 21, 2023 at 7:29 PM
Devastating news that scholar Rahile Dawut is serving a life sentence in China. Her crime was culture: she is an ethnographer of Uyghur folklore traditions. This is the petty fear of the supposedly mighty state of China. duihua.org/life-sentenc...