Negara's Experience With a Security Agent in Xinjiang

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Negara got a friend request on WeChat, which is the messaging app that all Chinese people use. It turned out to be a security official from back home who said he was going to help her find her family. He would send her 10 second voice notes of her mother's voice that she hadn't heard in years. And then he would ask her for things like money or revealing pictures of herself. Eventually Negara had a mental breakdown, and she decided to cut that security agent off - even though it meant losing touch with her family.

After months of waiting, probing attacks have begun. A destroyed dam in Kherson suggests that Russia is upping the ante in response. But what else is in store? Uyghurs are still suffering in Xinjiang, and those who managed to escape China are being gagged. And, our columnist has some advice on keeping it together when the office is driving you mad.

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