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Kind and cherished FOSS and computing freedom advocate @sleepyowl (Joyce Ng) has gone missing (discuss.tchncs.de)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/opensource@lemmy.ml
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Her blog post: https://bitowl.online/about Link to the post in the screenshot: https://social.coop/@cwebber/116249815879392312

Kind and cherished FOSS and computing freedom advocate @sleepyowl (Joyce Ng) has gone missing and there is reason to fear she may have been apprehended by authorities, possibly likely even for being framed. Nobody has been able to reach her and many of us are worried for her safety.Joyce does work on verifiable open source hardware. She also has been an activist pushing against the rise of far-right Christian nationalism globally but especially in Singapore. Because of this and her identity, she has people who would like to see bad things happen to her.Probably for this reason, she may have been misidentified by Five Eyes as being a threat actor. Joyce wrote about this concern in November, posting a threatening screenshot where she was tipped off. https://bitowl.online/aboutPlease spread this wide. Hopefully this is a false alarm but Joyce is a kind-hearted person who fights for human rights and computing freedom; many of us are worried for her safety.
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[–] 80 points 7 months ago (12 children)

Unfortunately not the first time either. Reminded me of Naomi Wu.

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  • [–] 78 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (10 children)

    Who, for anyone unaware, is mostly safe at this time.

    She was visited by government goons and basically had her entire activism and tech business confiscated, and she said that anyone who wants to support her should purchase the tourist tech-buying guide she's produced over the years. She also said that any further content on her YouTube should be considered suspect, as she's not going to be making more videos for the foreseeable future.

    ETA: she has also said that she has the ability to leave China, but because her partner can't, she's opted to stay, because she's also a cool human being.

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  • [–] 34 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    While I hope that is true, the only thing we know is she hasn't been active online since July 2023, and that was a text post to Twitter. It's terrifying to think that we will never really know if she is safe or not. I recall several people in the 3d printing space that had previously regularly spoken to her that also mentioned she went radio silent in private as well.

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  • [–] 9 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    I wish I had saved those comments' sources, but it took some digging to find them. Apologies to anyone who wants or expects those, but I'm not going to spend time looking again.

    Nevertheless, they are out there, and anyone with the drive should be able to find them. I don't imagine she's made much other public commentary, since that would put both her and her partner in danger, so I'm not surprised she's been radio silent since then.

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  • [–] 15 points 7 months ago*

    Most everything in your comment is from her "last" tweet, which oddly doesn't show up if you look at her profile on twitter.

    https://x.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1677480809450835969

    Ok for those of you that haven't figured it out I got my wings clipped and they weren't gentle about it- so there's not going to be much posting on social media anymore and only on very specific subjects. I can leave but Kaidi can't so we're just going to follow the new rules and that's that. Nothing personal if I don't like and reply like I used to. I'll be focusing on the store and the occasional video. Thanks for understanding, it was fun while it lasted. 7:52 PM · Jul 7, 2023

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  • [–] 10 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    purchase the tourist tech-buying guide she’s produced over the years

    do you have a link for that?

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago

    I don't, and I didn't think to save it, because it wasn't a book I was planning to buy (even though I'd like to). What I can tell you is that its a guide to help English speakers know what to look for when buying directly in China (and what to avoid). It's kind of like a specialized translation guidebook. She was a co-author.

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  • [–] 16 points 7 months ago

    She was a great ambassador in the tech space. Her last couple of videos were some of the most personal ones she did. And her criticisms were very mild. But the government can't acknowledge their failures or tolerate any criticism. Considering the vulnerable situations of her and her partner. Both being members of minority groups groups the CCP oppresses and targets. Her stepping back was necessary for their safety. Though fortunately there have been a few that have visited the region and spoken to her since the government threats. She's getting by with her maker skills etc. But considering the active cultural genocide. I don't look to see her making content for sometime if ever again. Unless there's a massive change in government.

    She could have been a wonderful representative for her country and done a lot to dismiss a lot of the criticisms they receive. Instead, their treatment of her confirmed many of the criticism they receive.

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