"China's Double Game: Israel/Palestine and the Uyghur Paradox" w/William Nee

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email usWill@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com ()

In today's episode, we're diving headfirst into the geopolitical labyrinth of China's role in the Israel/Palestine conflict with William Nee, the research and advocacy coordinator for the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders.  As China positions itself as a neutral peacemaker while aligning with Palestine and Arab States, we explore the implications of this stance. We'll dissect China's media narratives that blame the U.S. for hostilities in the Middle East and contrast this with China's own human rights record, particularly concerning the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

In our second segment, we'll delve deeper into China's global ambitions. We'll discuss their new global initiatives like the GSI, GDI, GCI, and BRI, and what these mean for the international order. We'll also touch on the psychological mechanisms that make people susceptible to narratives that may not align with reality. How does public sentiment develop, and how do governments and media play into this? We'll explore these questions and more, providing you with a nuanced understanding of the situation.

China Resources Mentioned by William Nee

• Great podcast on Chinese issues, Sinica

• The best Chinafocused newsletter, Sinocism (requires subscription)()

• The China-Global South Project's X feed: @ChinaGSProject

• The Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders X feed: @CHRDnet

Uyghur region:

• Human Rights Watch report“Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots”China’s Crimes against Humanity Targeting Uyghurs and Other Turkic Muslims,  ()

William Nee recent op-ed:

• A UN Body Sheds Light on the Fate of Disappeared UyghursThe Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has provided more evidence of China’s use of enforced disappearances in Xinjiang. ()

• OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China ()

Guest Bio:

William Nee is the Research and Advocacy Coordinator at Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), where he carries out research regarding a wide array of human rights concerns impacting human rights defenders in China. Previously, Nee worked as a Business and Human Rights Analyst and China Researcher at Amnesty International, where he researched human rights abuses caused by multinational companies and focused on freedom of expression, censorship, criminal justice developments, and the death penalty in China. Before that, he was Development Director at China Labour Bulletin. Nee’s commentary has appeared in The Diplomat, Hong Kong Free Press, and Open Democracy.

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She DoesWhy Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org

Support the show ()

Keep the conversation going.

Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?

Visit our website:

faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

Browse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:

faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

Support the show and help us keep these conversations going:

patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics

Subscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:

faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Contact the hosts:

Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpolitics.com

Will Wright, Political Host: Will@faithfulpolitics.com

Follow Faithful Politics:

Instagram: faithful_politics

Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast