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China Rounds up Dissidents as President Obama Touches Down in Beijing

China's President Hu Jintao (R) talks to U.S. President Barack Obama at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing November 16, 2009. Obama said he was not seeking to contain China's rise and called for more balanced trade between the two powers, which have sparred over currency and economic policy ahead of a summit. (REUTERS/Alfred Cheng Jin)

Chinese officials have rounded up dozens of Beijings's tiny coterie of activists and petitioners in case any dissident tries to approach President Obama, who arrived in the city today.

The arrests continued to gather momentum even as Mr Obama told an unprecedented question-and-answer session with Shanghai students that freedom of information and expression were vital for a stronger, more creative society.

Posted in foreign policy, Politics, China

Can Doing What Seems to Be the Right Thing Turn Out to Be the Wrong Thing?

Leo Gerard of the United Steelworkers union is one of America's most progressive and outspoken labor leaders. I met him at a Cornell University conference that brought environmental organizations and labor unions together to fuse a forward looking consensus on the need for green jobs as key to the transformation of our declining industrial base. 

Posted in financial crisis, China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2009
10:34 AM

CONTACT: Amnesty International
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7413 5566
After hours: +44 7778 472 126
Email: press@amnesty.org

Authorities Widen Crackdown After Xinjiang Riots in China, Says Amnesty International

WASHINGTON - July 10 - Chinese president Hu Jintao's threats of severe punishment for those who took part in the recent unrest in Xinjiang failed to address the serious human rights violations at the root of Uighur grievances, Amnesty International said.

At a meeting last night, President Hu and other state leaders called for stability and unity in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and blamed the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism for masterminding and organizing the riots.

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Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Our supporters are outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world - so we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity. We have more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions and we coordinate this support to act for justice on a wide range of issues.
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Posted in Human Rights, China

China Says 140 Dead in Xinjiang Riot, Blames Separatists

A photograph published on the social networking service Twitter on July 6, 2009 purportedly shows a dead body following a riot in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on July 5, 2009. China said a riot that shook the capital of the western Xinjiang region on Sunday killed 140 people and the government called the ethnic unrest a plot against its power, signalling a security crackdown. Picture taken July 5, 2009. (REUTERS)

URUMQI, China - At least 140 people have been killed in rioting in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, with the government blaming exiled separatists for the Muslim area's worst case of unrest in years.

Hundreds of rioters have been arrested, the official Xinhua news agency reported, after rock-throwing Uighur people took to the streets of the regional capital on Sunday, some burning and smashing vehicles and confronting ranks of anti-riot police.

Posted in protest, China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2009
4:48 PM

CONTACT: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Tel: +1-212-216-1832
Email: hrwpress@hrw.org

China: Leading Civil Rights Lawyers Face Threats to Licenses

Government Should Guarantee Independence of the Legal Profession

NEW YORK - May 26 - More than 20 of China's most prominent civil rights lawyers face the possible loss of their right to practice law as an apparent official reprisal for their rights advocacy efforts, Human Rights Watch said today.

Under Chinese law, lawyers and law firms must get their licenses to practice renewed annually, a process sometimes marred by political considerations. These civil rights lawyers say that in recent weeks the Beijing judicial authorities have been trying to pressure their firms not to endorse their re-licensing applications.

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Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.

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Posted in Human Rights, China

China Marks Anniversary of Quake

Women grieve in the earthquake-devastated town of Beichuan in China's Sichuan province on May 10. Chinese President Hu Jintao has led the nation in a minute's silence at the epicentre of the powerful Sichuan earthquake that flattened homes and communities one year ago. (AFP/File/Peter Parks)

BEIJING - One year after a massive earthquake devastated parts of Sichuan Province, China paused Tuesday to remember the nearly 90,000 people left dead or missing by the disaster and to thank international donors for their help with the recovery effort.

But the anniversary was dogged by continuing questions about the deaths of thousands of Sichuan children crushed in the rubble of school buildings that the Chinese government says were solidly built, but many parents insist were substandard.

Posted in China

China Breaks Silence on Student Quake Toll

A Sichuan earthquake survivor looks out from a window at a temporary Earthquake Relief Hope School in Yongxing town of Mianyang, Sichuan Province, May 8, 2009. China on Thursday said 5,335 schoolchildren died or remained missing from the earthquake, a much lower number than estimates compiled from news reports at the time and projected by some experts and critics. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) BEIJING - Chinese officials said more than 5000 students were killed in the Sichuan earthquake, breaking an official silence that has lasted almost one year.

The official student death toll from the earthquake on May 12 last year had been kept under wraps as authorities battled to contain a public backlash about shoddy school buildings.

Posted in China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2009
10:05 AM

CONTACT: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Tel: +1-212-216-1832
Email: hrwpress@hrw.org

China: End Quake Zone Abuses

Officials Still Harassing Relatives, Arresting Activists, Obstructing Media

NEW YORK - May 6 - The Chinese government should mark the first anniversary of the devastating May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake by offering legal redress to surviving relatives, making public all information about quake-related deaths and damages, and dropping onerous requirements for media who want to report from the area, Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch urges the Chinese government to allow relatives who lost family in the quake to freely bring lawsuits against those they believe are responsible for allegedly shoddy school construction linked to the deaths of thousands of children in the

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Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Links:
Posted in Human Rights, China

China: Defying the Economic Odds

In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, a new world order is emerging -- with its center gravitating towards China. The statistics speak for themselves. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the world's gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink by an alarming 1.3% this year. Yet, defying this global trend, China expects an annual economic growth rate of 6.5% to 8.5%. During the first quarter of 2009, the world's leading stock markets combined fell by 4.5%. In contrast, the Shanghai stock exchange index leapt by a whopping 38%.

Posted in China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2009
1:46 PM

CONTACT: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Tel: +1-212-216-1832
Email: hrwpress@hrw.org

China: Court Should Reject Charges Against Phurbu Tsering

Prosecution of Tibetan Religious Leader Flawed, Politically Motivated

NEW YORK - April 30 - A Chinese court should reject criminal charges against a Tibetan religious leader because his rights as a criminal defendant suffered repeated infringements and raised the possibility that the charges against him were unsubstantiated and politically motivated, Human Rights Watch said today.

The trial itself was unusual in that two Beijing-based lawyers chosen by the defendant's family were permitted to represent Phurbu Tsering, a positive development that distinguished it from summary proceedings that characterize the detention of many Tibetans since the protests of 2008.

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Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Links:
Posted in Human Rights, China
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