6 Harvey Weinstein Accusers Object to New York鈥檚 $18.9 Million Settlement

Chinese Officials Sanctioned by US for Xinjiang Abuses Have History of Human Rights Crimes

Persecuting Uyghur Muslims in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang is but one of a slew of human rights abuses by the four Chinese officials who were recently sanctioned by the U.S. administration. The sanctions, imposed under the Global Magnitsky Act on July 9, barred four Chinese officials, as well as their immediate family, from entering the United States. The sanctions will also block U.S. properties that are under the individuals’ names and prohibit U.S. transactions with them, the U.S. treasury department said. In Xinjiang, home to roughly 11 million Uyghurs, at least 1 million Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslim minorities have been detained within internment camps and subject to torture and political indoctrination in an effort to coerce them into giving up their faith. But such persecution is not confined…

NEW YORK鈥擲ix women who claim they were sexually abused by Harvey Weinstein urged a U.S. judge on Monday to reject an $18.9 million settlement with the disgraced movie producer, the board of his former studio and other accusers.

The settlement announced on June 30 would end litigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James and separate class-action litigation, and permit accusers to claim $7,500 to $750,000 each.

But in a Manhattan federal court filing, the six women said accusers would receive just $11.2 million after deducting legal fees and costs, with typical awards of just $10,000 to $20,000, while shielding the defendants’ insurers from big payouts.

They also complained that the accord “absolved” Weinstein, his brother Bob Weinstein and the board of liability, while setting aside another $15.2 million to help cover their defense costs.

The settlement is “a cruel hoax” and among “the most one-sided and unfair class settlements in history,” the filing said. “The main winners … are Harvey Weinstein, Robert Weinstein, and the ultra-wealthy former directors of The Weinstein Co.”

James’ office and a lawyer for Weinstein did not respond to requests for comment. Gerald Maatman, a lawyer for the Weinstein Cos, declined to comment.

The settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.

In 2010, he initially rejected a settlement for workers suffering from health problems after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, saying he would not approve it “based on fear or ignorance.”

Weinstein, 68, is serving a 23-year prison term following his Feb. 24 conviction for sexually assaulting a former production assistant and raping a onetime aspiring actress.

He is appealing, and still faces rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles.

The guilty verdict was a milestone for the #MeToo movement, which starting in late 2017 inspired women to accuse hundreds of powerful men in business, entertainment, media, politics and other fields of sexual misconduct.

By Jonathan Stempel

Focus News: 6 Harvey Weinstein Accusers Object to New York鈥檚 $18.9 Million Settlement

Chinese Regime ‘Lashing Out’ at the World: China Analyst Gordon Chang

“What we’re seeing right now is a China which is lashing out at everybody,” said China analyst Gordon Chang. In addition to its encroachments on Hong Kong and the first fatal border clash with India in 45 years, “you’ve got the boat bumping and other incidents in the South China Sea, East China Sea; the increased tempo of dangerous intercepts of the U.S. Navy in the global commons; the repeated threats to invade Taiwan; all of these hostile words, these disinformation campaigns directed against the United States and others,” Chang said. The Chinese communist regime has become increasingly belligerent globally, and it “believes it can do what it wants,” Chang said, in an interview with The Epoch Times for the “American Thought Leaders” program. “We have to teach China for…