Focing Asia >> Tibet

From: http://www.phayul.com
[Tuesday, January 22, 2008 12:38]
By Phurbu Thinley

Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy’s 2007 annual report finds cases of arbitrary arrests and detentions inside Tibet increased almost threefold compared to 2006 indicating a worsening of human rights situation in Tibet ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

TCHRD’s Executive Director Mr Urgen Tenzin and Assistant Director Mr Jampa Monlam

during the press conference for the release of the Centre’s 2007 Annual Report
on Human Rights Situation in Tibet.

Dharamsala, January 21: Year 2007 saw repression worsen in Tibet signaling a hardening attitude of China despite holding sixth round of talks between the envoys of the Dalai Lama envoys and Beijing, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy [ http://www.tchrd.org ] stated in its 2007 annual report released here today.
The report titled Human Rights Situation in Tibet: Annual Report 2007 notes “Through out the year, the Chinese authorities in occupied Tibet unleashed spate after spate of policy campaigns, regulations and decrees to subject Tibetans to intensified state controls over their human rights and fundamental freedoms,”
The year round assessment of the human rights situation in Tibet finds Communist Chinese Authorities committing severe violations of human rights in Tibet as a result of placing heightened security measures and cracking down heavily on incidences of peaceful protests by Tibetan people. Not surprisingly, the report finds “cases of arbitrary arrest and detentions” increased almost threefold compared to previous year (2006), “suggesting a clear indication of the human rights situation worsening in Tibet”.
The report documents 65 known cases of arbitrary arrests in 2007 alone out of the total 119 known Tibetan political prisoners, of which 43 are serving terms of more than ten years.
“The actual number could be even much higher,” TCHRD’s Director Mr Urgen Tenzin speculates, pointing at the lack of freedom as the key factor hindering more accurate monitoring of the situation inside Tibet.
According to the report, “Chinese authorities routinely resorted to arbitrary arrests, imprisonment and torture in dealing with peaceful protests by Tibetans, which normally included displaying Tibetan flags, staging non-violent demonstrations, possessing pictures of the Dalai Lama, and posters calling for freedom of Tibet.”
Although the so called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) is considered politically more sensitive region, interestingly TCHRD finds Kardze region outside of the TAR as “the most volatile Tibetan area in terms of political developments, for several successive years now”. The report shows that half of the total 65 known cases of arbitrary arrests during 2007 were recorded from the Kardze region alone.
The centre’s report puts peculiar note of the intensified repression placed upon the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, which have long been identified by Chinese authorities as the “hot bed of dissents” in Tibet.
Accordingly, the report finds that 70% (80 out of the 119) of the known political prisoners are monks and nuns.
The report says that “during 2007, religious freedom in Tibet took a major set back” after the Chinese authorities introduced two new religious regulations. “Tibet Autonomous Region Implementing Measures for the Regulation of Religious Affairs” and “Measures on the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism”, the report says, were primarily aimed at subjecting “Tibetan Buddhism and its spiritual masters under intensified state control through legal conundrums”.
Further the report alleges that the Communist authorities regularly conducted ‘patriotic re-education’ and ‘love your country, love your religion’ political campaigns in the monastic institutions” and reinvigorated the ‘Patriotic education’ in various Tibetan areas during the year as a measure toward bringing the monastic communities under a tight official grip”.
One of the major concerns raised in the report remains to be continuing arrival of new Tibet refugees after fleeing across the harsh Himalayan terrains, very often putting their lives into extreme risks. In 2007, some 2338 Tibetans managed to safely reach the Tibetan Reception Centre in Dharamsala, the seat of the Dalai Lama and the base of the Tibetan Government-in Exile. Of the total number of refugees, the report shows, around half of them were below the age of 18 seeking educational opportunities as a result of poor educational facilities in the rural areas of Tibet where about 75% of the Tibetan population reside. And where schools do exist, they have “biased (Chinese) curriculum”, the repot exposes.
Persecution of several Tibetans in the eastern Tibet region following an open pro-independence and pro-Dalai Lama outcry in Lithang by a Tibetan nomad, Rongye Adrak that escalated into a mass Tibetan protests against Chinese authorities; closing down of Tibetans sites, online blogs and restrictions on internet and other media; destruction of statues of religious significance, especially those of Guru Rinpoche by Communist authorities; heightened security measures restricting Tibetans from taking part in religious activities and public celebrations; detaining and torturing school students by authorities in Amchok Bora Village in Labrang County; another shooting incident on the Nangpa La Pass; mass relocation of Tibetan herders affecting their traditional livelihood and further marginalization of Tibetans as a result of the new railway accelerating the Chinese population transfer into Tibet are some of the major cases extensively highlighted in the report categorised into Civil and Political Liberties, Religion, Education in Tibet and Development chapters.
With the Beijing Olympic Games only a few months away in August 2008, TCHRD’s report seeks to “build up pressure and expose China’s human rights farce to the world”.

Focing Asia >> China

AFP, Beijing — A former Chinese lawmaker has been sentenced to death for raping over 20 middle-school girls [aged between 12 and 16] as part of a superstitious practice to prolong his virility, state press said Wednesday.

Wu Tianxi, 61, a member of the national parliament between 1998 and 2003, was sentenced to death by a court in central China's Henan province on Tuesday, the People's Daily reported on its website.
"Police investigators found that from spring 2005, Wu Tianxi began searching for virgin girls with the help of a young woman surnamed Liu," the report said.
"For the following two years, Wu Tianxi laid his black hands on over 20 young middle school girls."
He was arrested in April last year, it said.
Liu was also sentenced to 20 years for her part in the crimes. According to previous news articles, she was also reported as a former victim of Wu.
"As Wu Tianxi was getting old he believed that he could reinvigorate himself and enjoy a long life if he could capture the female essence and reinvigorate his masculinity," the report said, citing an old Chinese superstition.
"His goal was to bed 100 virgins."
Prior to his arrest Wu had an illustrious career. In 2002 he was named one of Henan's top entrepreneurs and appointed to a county-level advisory body run by the ruling Communist Party.
His death sentence was at least the third such penalty handed down by a Chinese court on Tuesday.
-----
From BBC: […] Wu, who served in the Chinese parliament from 1998 to 2003, had denied the charges saying he had engaged only in prostitution.
But the court in Nanyang city convicted him and handed down the death sentence for the rapes, which took place between early 2005 and April 2007.
Xinhua news agency reported earlier that the authorities in Henan [the poor central province of China] admitted they faced high pressure in tackling the case because of Wu's political status.
Wu, the boss of a food company in Zhenping, was also fined 500,000 yuan ($69,000) by the court.
-----
From Reuters: […] Local police told Chinese media in November that they had sufficient evidence to prosecute Wu for raping 36 girls.
Wu was a delegate to the National People's Congress, the rubber-stamp parliament, for five years from 1998 for his success at running a series of rural businesses which made him a model farmer lauded in state media.
-----
From Xinhua: […] Wu Tianxi, 61, former vice chairman of Zhenping County's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was handed a death sentence along with a fine of 500,000 yuan (US$68,966) for raping more than 20 girls between the ages of 12 and 16. He was also found guilty of organizing and running a crime syndicate, Nanyang Intermediate People's Court ruled, the local Oriental Today reported Wednesday.
In previous reports, Wu, the richest person in Zhenping, was said to have raped 36 virgin girls.
In the spring of 2005, Wu asked a woman named Liu Pei to look for virgins for him as he hoped to save his deteriorating health and wealth by having sex with virgins, the report said.
Wu, the general manager of a food company in Zhenping, was detained on April 17.
Wu denied all the rape accusations in previous trials, stating he only engaged in prostitution.
Sexual intercourse with a girl under 14 is considered statutory rape in China and a criminal offense. Prostitution is a misdemeanor.
Police and prosecutors admitted they faced high pressure in tackling the case because of Wu's political status, according to a previous Xinhua news agency report.
-----
From china.org.cn: […] Wu became a delegate to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, in 1998 for successfully running a series of rural businesses that turned him into a model farmer. He also served as vice chairman of the Zhenping County Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body.

Focing Asia >> China

It was Communist Party of China'

Mr. Li Lianyu (李连玉) - the Party Secretary of Pizhou (邳州) , Xuzhou city, Jiangsu Province.

He was also one of 2200 delegates who attended the 17th Party Congress in Beijing.

Photos above show the grand ceremony organized by the Pizhou government to "Welcome Secretary Li's Glorious Return From the 17th Party Congress." Pizhou's population is 1,620,000. Photos are from a Chinese blogger calling himself "A Floor Sweeping Monk".
Courtesy of John Kennedy, see http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/author/feng37/page/2/

Of the CPC 17th congress

Focing Eurasia >> Irkutsk

Фёдор Бражников / Feodor Brazhnikov, Фёдор Видмер / Theodor Wiedmer
Остров Юность в ожидании лета / The Yunost Island Waiting for Summer
Taken: 20.04.2003 Now is: 17.01.2008 What is now ?

Focing Eurasia >> Tibet via Germany

IRNA via http://www.phayul.com
[Tuesday, January 15, 2008 22:04]

German chancellor reiterates no change on Dalai Lama stance

Angela Merkel with the Dalai Lama in Berlin on Sunday, September 23, 2007
[photo by Markus Schreiber / International Herald Tribune]

Berlin, January 15: German Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed that there has been no change on her position on the Dalai Lama following Beijing's strong criticism over last September's between Merkel and the Tibetan spiritual leader at the chancellery.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, "Everything has been said on this issue. Friendships have to endure differences." Merkel's remarks on China followed recent comments by her Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier who openly acknowledged that Berlin-Beijing ties were in "deep turmoil" in the wake of the official Dalai Lama meeting.
The chancellor and her foreign minister were involved in a major feud over the China policy in recent weeks. Merkel has strongly defended her decision to meet with the Dalai Lama.
"As chancellor, I decide whom I meet and where I meet them. I wish everyone in the government would keep to this position because otherwise China's respect for us will not increase," she was quoted saying.
Her remarks were clearly aimed at Steinmeier who has criticized Merkel for trying to "showcase" the human rights issue as part of her wider public relations strategy in the field of German foreign policy.
The Merkel-Steinmeier dispute comes at time where both coalition partners are getting ready for the 2009 election campaign with the Social Democrats (SPD) trailing by a wide margin in all opinion polls over the past weeks.
Although SPD chairman Kurt Beck is still a front-runner for the chancellor's job, Merkel sees also in Steinmeier a likely serious contender for the top post in Germany.
While Merkel has pressed ahead with the US rapprochement process and tried to distance herself from China and Russia, Steinmeier who was the former bureau chief of ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder -- had played an instrumental role in fostering closer ties with Beijing and Moscow since the late 1990s.
Beijing has called off a series high-level political meetings in recent weeks, voicing its protest over the provocative talks between Merkel and the Dalai Lama at the chancellery in late September.
Meanwhile, the German government is openly provoking China by planning to meet again with the Dalai Lama, according to recent news reports.
The human rights coordinator of the German government, Guenter Nooke is reportedly expected to meet the Dalai Lama in Berlin on May 19. It is still unclear whether Nooke will receive the Dalai Lama in his office in the German Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama has also requested to hold talks with Steinmeier, however he has yet to receive an answer. The German Foreign Ministry said it was still "reviewing" the request.

Focing Eurasia >> Tibet via Germany

Phayul [ http://www.phayul.com ] [Monday, January 14, 2008 17:57]

Tibet protest forces China to threaten with disruption of live TV coverage

Munich, Germany: During the home leg of the inaugural Allianz Cup of FC Bayern against the Olympic Team China on Saturday, some 60 Tibetans and Tibet supporters led by the Tibet Support Group Munich (TIM) used the opportunity to show Tibetan flag.

Interestingly, winning the sympathy of the fans in the stadium, the match was accompanied by vociferous slogans like "Free Tibet!" and “Olli (Kahn) for Tibet!”
Tibetan flags were handed over through the tiers and, were shown and waved right behind the goal post. According to information of the TIM, the Organizer strengthened the contingent of securities and policemen in the second part of the game, and with the advice that the Chinese national television threatened with the interruption of the live TV coverage to China, the demonstrators were later forced to pack away their flags and banners.
The game ended with a 7-2 victory for FC Bayern Munich.

For more information, contact: Tibet Support Group Munich
Anja (eng.) 0172-3737666 / Dorjee (eng./tib.) 0152-03634679

Focing Asia >> China / Hu Jia [ 3 ]

The Boston Globe via http://www.phayul.com
[Saturday, January 12, 2008 16:12]
By Robert Ménard

The Olympic Games have their anthem, their rings, their heroes, and their sponsors. Now, with the Beijing 2008 games, they have their prisoners. The Chinese government is not just building fine stadiums, it is also arresting those who dare to condemn human rights violations in China. The political police are getting ready for the Olympics in their own way, bringing charges of subversion against those who remind people of the promises the government made in 2001 to improve respect for basic freedoms.

Late last month, police arrested leading human rights activist Hu Jia at his Beijing home. Before arriving, they cut his phone lines and Internet connection so that he would be unable to alert his friends in China and abroad.
Before leaving, they threatened his wife, Zeng Jinyan, with reprisals. A well-known blogger who was named by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2007, Zeng is now alone with their 2-month-old daughter, cut off from the world. The couple had been under house arrest since May.
Hu is the "prisoner of the Olympic Games." On his website, he had been keeping a countdown of the days left to the inauguration of the games on Aug. 8, as well as a count of the days he had spent under house arrest.
Hu is opposed to a boycott of the Olympics. He was enthusiastic about the idea of thousands of foreign journalists coming to China because he thought they would talk about its destitute and its oppressed dissidents.
He is also opposed to a boycott because he is a patriot. He proved this by taking part in the demonstrations against Japanese nationalism in the early 2000s and by defending China's endangered flora and fauna.
Only 34, Hu has been campaigning for 10 years for the environment, those with HIV/AIDS, and political prisoners. It was his support for Friends of Nature that drew him into activism. He founded one of the first organizations offering care and comfort to those with HIV and AIDS who, despite their large numbers, are neglected by officials in China.
Recently nominated for the European parliament's Sakharov prize, Hu and Zeng embody the courageous and tenacious defense of free expression in China. They are so well known by foreign diplomats and the international media that it was assumed their high profile rendered them untouchable.

Hu is not the only prisoner of the Olympic Games. Wang Dejia, a writer who posts his comments online, was arrested on Dec. 13 in the southern province of Guangxi and charged with "subverting state authority" because of a blog entry entitled, "The Olympic Games in handcuffs will just bring misfortune on the population."

One would expect an outcry in response to such a level of repression. All those looking forward to the 2008 Beijing games should speak out, as it is impossible to imagine that this great sports event will not be marred by the detention of people such as Hu and Wang. But the International Olympic Committee is saying nothing and is rejecting all appeals for help. The Olympic sponsors are not saying anything either. And foreign diplomats rarely speak out in defense of China's political prisoners because they are too scared of upsetting Beijing.
Like many others, we had long thought that the government would ease the pressure and allow human rights activists a chance, albeit a limited one, of expressing themselves before and during the games. But the political police have been given their orders - to arrest dissidents, keep files on foreign journalists, and compile a blacklist of foreign human rights activists. Such repression will only radicalize the protesters.
The Tibetans, defenders of religious freedom, and all those who feel betrayed are planning to demonstrate during the games. They may spoil the party. And who is to blame? The Chinese government and only the Chinese government.

Robert Ménard is executive director of Reporters Without Borders.

Focing Asia >> Hong Kong

Taipei Times via AP, HONG KONG

Monday, Jan 14, 2008, Page 1

Thousands marched through Hong Kong yesterday, calling for the right to elect their government by 2012 – a date leaders in Beijing have ruled out.

Photo: AP

The march, joined by religious, political and civil leaders, was the latest in a series of protests by residents angry that they will have to wait at least another decade before they can choose their own leader and legislators.
"We are ready now," shouted hundreds of people at Victoria Park, where they gathered waving flags, singing songs and chanting prayers before setting off on the march. Police put the number of people leaving the park at 6,800.
Organizers said about 20,000 people joined the march.
Li Luk-yan, 45, and his wife, Irene Siu, were in the crowd with their two young sons.
"At some point, we'll have to pass the baton to them. They need to understand what democracy means and why we need to keep fighting," Li, a publishing executive, said.
Beijing announced last month that its semiautonomous region could elect its own leader in 2017 and all of its legislators sometime after that, possibly 2020 at the earliest.
The announcement came as a bitter blow to the territory, where most had hoped for 2012. Many are also doubtful that Beijing will deliver on that pledge.
Hong Kong has a vast amount of financial and personal liberties, including the right to hold protests and criticize the government – freedoms not allowed elsewhere in China.
Still, residents are unhappy that they cannot have a greater say in who runs their government.
Hong Kong's leader is currently chosen by an 800-member committee dominated by Beijing loyalists, including many of the city's influential tycoons. Only half of the territory's 60 lawmakers are elected, with the rest are picked by special interest groups. "If Hong Kong's leader is elected by the people, he has to be accountable to the people, not to the business community as he is now," Li said.
Beijing has consistently ruled out allowing the booming financial center of 6.9 million people to directly elect its representatives, arguing that the territory is not yet politically mature enough to do so.
Many of Hong Kong's activists and lawmakers have been outspoken critics of human rights violations in China. Some, like the founder of the main opposition Democratic Party, Martin Lee (李柱銘), are banned from traveling to mainland China.
A barrister-turned-lawmaker, Lee told reporters that the rally sent a strong message to Beijing that Hong Kong people wanted "real, genuine democracy."
The democrats have dismissed Beijing's announcement as an empty gesture. They say not only are there no guarantees that direct elections for the chief executive will take place in 2017, but that candidates will still need to be put forward by a nomination committee, the makeup of which has not yet been agreed.
"There are so many blanks in this proposal," Lee said. "We still don't know if we will have genuine elections for all of the legislature in 2020 or what the screening procedure will be like for the chief executive. We demand to know all the details."

Once upon a time

I introduced my Gambler on his way. It was colorful. Now, I created new shape. It had flipped P, it’s me ? Brown like pre-ancient colossus, not in color but having shape. New shape of face, first of founded in destroyed factory. Once upon a time ? No.

Why do we need a mythology ?

This is not Tolstoy-and-Delan’ photo, of course. I’m sure, taken today. In my mind, as I know.
Some happens. But maybe not. Mythology is needed to be patient. Because as it is an image as the image is not true. However, it is faithful.

Let support Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan [ 2 ]

Hu Jia's blog, translated by Google Translate – rough but mostly understandable:
http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fhujiachina.spaces.live.com%2F&langpair=zh%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8
About Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu_Jia_(activist)

Support them, asking:

Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China
WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China
WU Aiying Buzhang
Sifabu
10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65292345
Email: minister@legalinfo.gov.cn or pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn

Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China
MENG Jianzhu Buzhang
Gong’anbu
14 Dongchang’anjie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 63099216

Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau
MA Zhenchuan Juzhang
Beijingshi Gong'anju
9 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100740
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 85222320
Email: wbjc@sohu.com

Why do we need a mythology ?

This is not Tolstoy-and-Delan’ photo. I’m sure, not taken at 40’s. And not in Tibet, as I know.
January, 10, 2008. I have not any new focing. Maybe, it is: nothing happens. Why not?
Humility is needed for any reading of mythology.

Focing Asia >> Tibet

via http://www.signonsandiego.com

By Ashok Sharma
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3:43 a.m. January 4, 2008

New Delhi: Hundreds of Tibetan exiles will attempt to march from India across the border into Tibet to protest China's hosting of this year's Olympic Games, an exile group said Friday.

The march will be one of a series of protests in India before the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games, which the exiles say are being prepared amid China's continued attempts to subvert Tibetan Buddhist culture and strengthen Beijing's hold on the Himalayan region.
“The Chinese have said in the past that Tibetans are welcome to return home, so we are going to test that,” said Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, which is organizing the march.
Rigzin said hundreds of members of his organization would depart from Dharmsala in northern India on March 10 – the day Tibetans commemorate a failed uprising against the Chinese in 1959.
Dharmsala has been a center for exiles since the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled there after the uprising and set up a government in exile.
Rigsin said the marchers intend to try to cross the border and walk all the way to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. He would not give details on the route of the march, and it remains unclear what sort of reception the marchers would receive from the Chinese authorities.
The Tibetan Youth Congress, which takes a more radical line in its protests against China than the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government in exile, said it had not consulted the Dalai Lama over the protests.
The group called on all Tibetans to use peaceful means to protest the Games and Chinese plans to have the Olympic torch carried through Tibet.
Beijing insists that Tibet is historically part of China, but many Tibetans argue that the Himalayan region was more or less independent for centuries.
Exiles have recently expressed concern about rising numbers of Han Chinese migrating into Tibet, especially since a railroad route opened up in 2006.

Focing Asia >> Tibet

Warning !! This article includes the propaganda matters !! Some of them are marked by RED !!

via http://news.xinhuanet.com
Editor: Yao Siyan

Lhasa, Jan. 5 (Xinhua): Tibetan authorities are beginning restoration work on former residences and office buildings of some of the first Communist Party members to be sent to Tibet in the early 1950s, which have been turned into "revolutionary" tourist attractions.

"The government has worked out a list of the revolutionary sites which need restoring and the second list is soon to be submitted," said an official with the Tibetan Regional CPC Committee.
The sites on the first list include the "General's Building", the temporary residence of Zhang Guohua, the army commander of theNo.18 Troop of the People's Liberation Army. It was built in Bomi County, in Nyingchi Prefecture, as the military marched on Lhasa in 1951.
It is joined on the list by the headquarters of the No. 18 Troop, the first PLA regiment to enter Tibet.
Also set for repairs is the former office building of Zhang Jingwu, the only deputy to the central government in Tibet from the liberation in 1951 to 1965 when the Tibet Autonomous Region was established. The building is located in Lhasa and was opened to the public in September 2006.
The first village party branch, opened in Kesong village, Nedong county in December 1959, and put on show to tourists in May last year, is another site to be restored.
"Those buildings have been poorly maintained in recent years and some of them were damaged to some extent," said the official.
"By visiting the buildings, people can experience the hard times that their forefathers had to pull through and the sacrifices they made so that we can be inspired to treasure the peace and prosperity we have today."
"Red tourism" attractions have grown in popularity in recent years as more people seek to experience life in revolutionary times.
The main red tourism attractions include the Jinggang Mountain in eastern Jiangxi Province, known as the cradle of the Chinese revolution, and Shaoshan village, Chairman Mao's birthplace, in central Hunan Province.

Focing Eurasia >> Poland

Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather and Brother

Prof Dr hab. Mieczysław Jerzy Künstler
Sinologist, Linguist
died on December 27, 2007

Unusually industrious man, prominent scientist, author of numerous publications about the languages, history and culture of China, long-standing member of Institute of Oriental Studies of University of Warsaw.
Funeral worship was serviced on January 9, 2008 at 11.15 AM at St. Jozafat Church, Powązkowska Street 90.
The Internment was took place at Wojskowy Cemetery, Powązkowska Street, after Mass.
Overwhelmed with sorrow: Wife, Sons, Daughters-in-law, Grandchildren and Brother with the family

[Kraków – Obituaries, Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper – local edition, Saturday-Sunady, January 5-6, 2008]

Focing Asia >> Vietnam

From: http://www.news.com.au
By correspondent in Hanoi
January 05, 2008 07:32pm

Vietnames police have arrested a man who allegedly trafficked 23 females to China after authorities received a tip-off from one teenager who escaped back into Vietnam, a news report said today.

The Hanoi man, identified as Nguyen Anh Tuan, allegedly befriended the women through internet chatrooms, then enticed them to travel to northern border areas from where they were sent to China, the Than Nien daily said.
Since 2005, Tuan and his accomplices had trafficked 23 females, including seven teenagers, to China, before one of them, a 17-year-old girl from northern Ha Nam province, escaped and alerted police back home, the report said.
Vietnamese and Chinese police were working to bring home the other females.
The Nhan Dan daily, citing police and border guard figures, meanwhile reported that 323 human trafficking cases were discovered in Vietnam in 2007, an increase of more than 40 per cent on the previous year.
Most Vietnamese women and children who fall victim to trafficking are sent to neighbouring China or Cambodia for arranged marriages or prostitution.

Focing Asia >> Taiwan

From: Taipei Times
By Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Jan 05, 2008, Page 1

The Malawian foreign minister assured Huang by phone that the country's ties with Taiwan were unchanged and he would be invited to visit later.

Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) was forced to cancel a trip to Malawi, sparking speculation that the country is considering severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China.
Huang was already on a plane to the African ally when he was told the visit had been canceled.
"This is not a normal situation," ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said yesterday when asked for comment.
Arrangements for the visit had been made before Huang departed Taiwan on Wednesday night.
A Central News Agency report late on Thursday quoted James Chuang (莊訓鎧), Taiwan's ambassador to Malawi, as saying that Huang's visit had been called off and that he did not know where Huang's plane was at the time.
Huang, accompanied by Chang Yun-ping (張雲屏), director of the Department of African Affairs, was scheduled to arrive in Malawi on Thursday night.
The ministry yesterday issued a press release saying that Malawi, which had initially welcomed the visit, had informed the Taiwanese embassy after Huang's plane had taken off that it was not a convenient time to receive Huang.
"Malawi told our embassy that President Bingu wa Mutharika was still on holiday and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joyce Banda had left the capital because of an unforeseen incident," the ministry said.
The statement said Huang had spoken to Banda on the phone during a flight stopover.
Banda told Huang she hoped he would be understanding about the situation, the statement said. Banda also reassured Huang during their telephone conversation that ties between Taiwan and Malawi "remain unchanged" and that Malawi would invite Huang to visit once government operations are back at full speed after the holiday season, Yeh said.
Huang had been planning to visit Malawi since last month, when the ministry learned that China had offered its ally a US$6 billion financial package in exchange for diplomatic recognition and that Mutharika had sent a delegation to China.
Local media in Malawi reported at the time that the delegation was to pave the way for the establishment of diplomatic ties with China.
The purpose of Huang's canceled visit to Malawi was to learn more about what the Malawian delegation discussed with Beijing and whether it would impact the African country's ties with Taiwan.
After the cancelation, Huang traveled to Swaziland, where he signed a 10-year cooperation pact after meeting Prime Minister Themba Dlamini and Foreign Minister Moses Mathendele Dlamini.
Huang is expected to leave Swaziland today.

Focing Asia >> Taiwan

From: Taipei Times
By Jimmy Chuang and Wang Pei-hua
STAFF REPORTERS
Saturday, Jan 05, 2008, Page 1

The legislator said that computers of several legislative aides automatically distributed e-mail messages with fraudulent information.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Sandy Yen (莊和子) said yesterday that Chinese hackers had gained access to computers belonging to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the legislature and certain legislative candidates.
"I have received tips and have reported it to the Bureau of Investigation. Their initial investigation showed that computers at these places had been hacked or implanted with viruses by unidentified Chinese hackers," Yen said in a press release.
She said that several legislative aides had discovered that their computers, which are hooked up to the legislature's network, had also been hacked.
Their computers automatically distributed e-mail messages with viruses or fraudulent information to random recipients, she said.
Yen said the bureau had found that Chinese hackers were targeting certain DPP legislative candidates, hacking into their computers and sending e-mail messages to their supporters and the press containing fake information.
The bureau found that at least 20 DPP legislative candidates were affected, she said.
Yen said that the bureau believed Chinese hackers had possibly targeted certain computers to disrupt the elections or affect the campaigns of specific DPP legislative candidates.
The identity of the hackers remains a mystery, Yen said.
Yen said computer technicians were working on computers at the legislature to patch up weak spots in the network, delete viruses and restore files.
In related news, Web log service providers including Pixnet have discovered that domestic blogs are being blocked by Chinese firewalls.
Service providers said the blockade could be related to the upcoming elections and the appearance of political campaign ads on Web sites, or because of this year's Beijing Olympics.
Taiwanese businesses in China say that they are accustomed to Web sites being blocked without explanation.
Pixnet, Taiwan's fifth-largest blogging service provider, noticed two months ago that users in China could not access its content.
After ascertaining that its own systems were functioning normally, Pixnet determined the cause to be Chinese firewalls. While unable to provide an explanation, Pixnet chairman Lee Chun-kuang (李俊廣) said Taiwanese blogs hosted by Wretch, Xuite and Yam were also being blocked.
Taiwanese blogs on Sina, a China-based company, are also blocked, with the exception of blogs that discuss Taiwanese celebrities.
Yam's Taiwanese blogs have been blocked for over a year.
Chinese authorities censor international news concerning China and subjects abroad they deem sensitive, such as the Dalai Lama.
Most Taiwanese media Web sites are blocked in China.
Some search engines and Web services, such as Yahoo, filter their search results in response to pressure from Beijing.

Focing Asia >> Korea

From: http://www.news.com.au
From correspondents in Seoul
January 03, 2008 06:35pm

South Korea's military has been put on alert against overseas hackers who have gained access to some soldiers' personal computers, the defence ministry said. It did not identify the country where the hackers are based but Chosun Ilbo newspaper said it was China.

The Defence Security Command, which handles counter-intelligence, this week warned all military units to be on the alert against hacking, a ministry spokesman said.
"The alert was issued after the counter-intelligence command found 'third-nation' hackers had successfully broken into some soldiers' computers via emails to steal private data," the spokesman said.
"No military information has been leaked."
The South's military runs its own intranet, usually disconnected to the internet, and also has separate servers for processing confidential data, he said.
But the command instructed troops to keep no official data on personal computers and also to update anti-virus programs.
The spokesman said hackers used emails entitled in Korean "Current state of the North Korean army's capabilities" to arouse the curiosity of soldiers. The hacking virus starts working when the emails are opened.
Chosun Ilbo said military investigators had traced the hackers to China but failed to identify whether they are ordinary citizens or military personnel.
It noted that China launched a military unit called NET Force to carry out online warfare against enemy computer networks in 2000, with one million civilian "red hackers" operating in the country.

Focing Asia >> Taiwan

A woman holds her dog at the Pet Carnival in Taipei City yesterday. The dog's fur has been cut and dyed to form a heart and the letters T and W to represent "Love Taiwan".
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

Focing Asia >> Japan

From: BBC

Kyoritsu Seiyaku, the Japanese company, is offering its employees a monthly "pet allowance" to help with the upkeep of their cats and dogs.

Kyoritsu Seiyaku, which makes animal medicines, said pets were a lifelong obligation for their owners. The company is offering its pet-owning employees 1000 yens [i.e. about 9 US dollars] per month, and hopes the system will spread to other Japanese firms.
The company does not, however, offer paid leave when employees' pets die.
"For now, we have introduced only the allowances, but we want to consider the condolence holiday system in future," a spokeswoman for Kyoritsu Seiyaku told Reuters news agency.
Employees may be keen to take advantage of this in the future.
The Japan Pet Food Manufacturers' Association estimates that the country's cat and dog population of nearly 18 million animals is ageing rapidly, after a boom in ownership in the early 1990s.
Analysts say that many Japanese families are deciding to put off having children, and buy pets instead. Many older people are living alone and keep pets as companions.
"Everyone has the right to own a pet, but they also have the obligation to raise the pet for its whole life," Kyoritsu Seiyaku said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

Focing Asia >> Taiwan

The figure of a god is seen on a truck at the scene of a farmers' protest yesterday against the government's policy to cancel the farmers' insurance program and incorporated into the national pension plan.

From: Taiwan News Online
Photo by Central News Agency
2008-01-05

Focing Asia >> Tibet

From: Students for a Free Tibet

Today five leading Tibetan organizations launched the "Tibetan People's Uprising Movement", a new, coordinated Tibetan resistance effort in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics. The organizing committee includes: Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women's Association, Gu Chu Sum Movement of Tibet, National Democratic Party of Tibet, and Students for a Free Tibet, India.

At a press conference in New Delhi, the presidents of the five organizations announced a return march of Tibetan exiles to their homeland. The march will start from Dharamsala, India on March 10th, the 49th commemoration of the Tibetan National Uprising in Tibet. They also appealed to Tibetans everywhere to join a global uprising during China's Olympic torch relay and the Games themselves.
The historic launch comes at a critical moment in the Tibetan freedom movement, with the Beijing Olympics fast approaching. After nearly five decades in exile, Tibetans have an unprecedented opportunity to voice their resistance and reinvigorate the Tibetan freedom struggle. Click here to read the full press release from today's launch.

Click here for Voice of America's coverage of the announcement.
To learn more and find out how you can support the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement, visit: www.TibetanUprising.org.

Focing Asia >> China / Hu Jia [ 1 ]

RSF[Thursday, January 03, 2008 18:40] via http://www.phayul.com

The arrest of leading human rights activist Hu Jia yesterday at his Beijing home is condemned "with the utmost firmness" by Reporters Without Borders. Hu is accused of "subverting state authority," a charge often used by the Chinese government against dissidents.

Hu Jia’s arrest warrant

"The political police have taken advantage of the international community’s focus on Pakistan to arrest one of the foremost representatives of the peaceful struggle for free expression in China," the press freedom organisation said. "Together with the Fondation de France, we had just awarded Hu and his wife, Zeng Jinyan, a special prize on 5 December for their courageous stance in defence of human rights in the approach to next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing."
Reporters Without Borders added: "We express our solidarity with Hu and Zeng and their six-week-old daughter and we urge the European Union and the rest of the international community to rally to Hu’s defence so that he does not become another victim of China’s pre-Olympics repression."
Aged 34, Hu was at home with his wife, Zeng, who is also a blogger and activist, Zeng’s grandmother and their six-week-old daughter, Hu Qianci, when 20 policemen burst in at around 3 p.m. yesterday, disconnected their Internet connection and phone lines to prevent them from telling the outside world, and arrested Hu.
According to Chinese Human Rights Defenders, police officers remained in the house after Hu had been taken away in order to prevent Zeng from telling anyone what had happened. They showed her a warrant for his arrest for "subverting state authority". No one knows where he is now being held.
Both Hu and Zeng are human rights and environmental activists and bloggers. They had been under a form of house arrest in Beijing since 18 May.
Using his webcam, Hu participated in a European parliamentary hearing in Brussels on 26 November on the human rights situation in China. He said at one point during the hearing: "It is ironic that one of the people in charge of organising the Olympic Games is the head of the Bureau of Public Security, which is responsible for so many human rights violations. It is very serious that the official promises are not being kept before the games."
Hu also used a webcam to speak to the press during the award ceremony organised by Reporters Without Borders in Paris on 5 December.

Focing Asia >> Taiwan

By Joseph Yeh
Taiwan News, Staff Reporter
Page 2
2008-01-04 01:09 AM

Local scholars yesterday urged legislative candidates across the party lines to respect the multi-ethnic society in Taiwan instead of manipulating ethnic issues in a bid to win the upcoming elections. The scholars also urged the public not to vote for candidates who stir up ethnic conflict for political expediency.

"Politicians should have a sense of social responsibility and encourage harmonious relations between different ethnicities on the island instead of inciting anger and causing antagonism in order to gain votes," said Chien Hsi-chieh Executive Director of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan at a press conference held at the Legislature Yuan yesterday.
Chien said that in Taiwan, where people of different ethnicities reside, differing opinions on certain issues are often expressed because of the varied historical backgrounds. However, a multi-ethnic culture is an integral part of a democratic society and should be valued by the people, he said.
Chien noted that many local politicians tended to stir up antagonism among different ethnic groups, as they see this as a campaign strategy that proved effective in previous elections.
Chien pointed to the recent controversy over the renaming of the National Democracy Hall as a perfect example of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and opposition Kuomintang attempting to make short-term political gains by from ethnic differences.
"The DPP administration impetuously implemented the name change, in disregard of the fact that many people still have a deep attachment to the era when Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) ruled," said Chien.
The KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) then pledged to immediately restore the hall's name to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall if he is elected president in March, Chien noted.
Chien labeled both stances as examples of bad decisions that could trigger even more strife between native Taiwanese and the so-called "mainlanders."
In an effort to promote ethnic harmony in the country ahead of the January 12 legislative elections, Chien's foundation last month invited candidates across party lines to sign a pledge not to stir up ethnic conflict for electioneering purposes.
However, only around 33 to 35 percent of the legislative candidates from the DPP and KMT signed the pledge, said Li Kuang-chun, a professor at National Central University's Graduate Institute of Law and Government.
Li said that all of the legislative candidates from the smaller Taiwan Solidarity Union, the Third Society Party, and the New Party signed the pledge.
"This indicates that the two major parties are focusing mainly on consolidating support in certain localities in a bid to win the elections, and are therefore less concerned with promoting racial harmony," said Li.
The smaller parties, however, paid more attention to the pledge, as they wish to attract wider support, he said.
Li added that it would be interesting to see if the candidates who signed the pledge actually did better in the legislative elections.

Focing Asia >> Tibet

Nepalnews.com[Wednesday, January 02, 2008 13:55] via http://www.phayul.com/index.aspx

The state-owned Saajha Yatayat on Tuesday sent its passenger bus to Lhasa, the capital of Tibetan Autonomous Region of China, but without any passengers on board!

It was not that the Kathmandu-Lhasa direct deluxe bus service didn't find any passengers willing to make the arduous three day-long journey which takes them through the scenic Tibetan plateau, also considered the roof of the world. In fact many Nepali as well as foreign tourists were said to have bought the bus ticket to Lhasa after knowing that it would resume its operation from January 1, but they couldn't take the trip to Lhasa after the Chinese embassy here refused to grant visas to them without any apparent reasons.
Even though the exchange of road permit between the representatives of Saajha Transport from Nepal and Himalayan Transportation on behalf of China on November last year had revived hopes about the Kathmandu-Lhasa shuttle service which had remained suspended since the year 2006, the Saajha Yatayat was forced to send its bus just with a driver and a helper on board at 9 am Tuesday. Sajha Yatayat officials said they had done this "just to respect the agreement".
Since becoming operational from May 1, 2005 during the royal regime with a view to promote tourism in both the countries, the much-hyped Kathmandu-Lhasa direct deluxe bus service, for which China and Nepal had signed an agreement way back in 1994, has been a victim of Chinese government's draconian visa regime meant to guard entries to Tibet. Beijing issues visas only to tourists travelling in groups, that too after stringent scrutiny.
Currently two buses, one arriving from Lhasa operated by China and another run by Sajha Yatayat from Kathmandu, are operational every week. The one-way fare for the 955-Km-long trip is US $70 per person.
However, the hitch in the Kathmandu-Lhasa bus service is only a minor problem for the floundering state transportation service considering that most its buses have not been running within the country for over a year now after an agitation by employees.

Focing Asia >> Taiwan

TAIPEI TIMES
By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Jan 03, 2008, Page 1

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday confirmed a report that Taiwan would soon have its first Aboriginal ambassador.

The ministry is planning to select an Aborigine to serve as the nation's representative to Fiji, ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said, declining to name any candidates.
Yeh made the remarks in a phone interview with the Taipei Times after being asked for comment on a report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) yesterday.
The Liberty Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said that an Aboriginal ambassador would be named soon, while accompanying ambassadors from various countries to a traditional Puyuma festival in Taitung on Tuesday.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has approved the decision, the report said.
"I believe the minister has someone in mind already, but he would rather not say who at this point," Yeh said yesterday.
"The ideal candidate we're looking for is someone who is an Aborigine and has certain experience in dealing with foreign affairs," Yeh said.
"Although the ability to speak fluent English would be a plus, it's not a requirement," she said, adding that there was no deadline to appoint a new ambassador.
"A lot of communication and negotiations have to be done before the final candidate can be confirmed" and the process may take some time, she said.
The last ambassador to Fiji, Kuo Shih-nan (郭時南), assumed a new post in Singapore in September and the vacancy has not been filled.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩) -- who said she was among the first to propose the idea to President Chen during a meeting earlier this year -- welcomed the move yesterday.
Chen Ying is an Aborigine of the Puyuma tribe.
"I would be happy to see the plan become reality," she told the Taipei Times in a telephone interview.
"After all, Aborigines in Taiwan and peoples of Pacific islands share similar cultural heritage and blood" and thus have a special rapport with the nation's Pacific allies, she said.
She also expressed interest in the position.
"I would be very glad to take the position if they ask me to," she said.

Focing Asia >> Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar (AP)

Myanmar's military junta dramatically raised the annual fee for TV satellite dishes Wednesday, an apparent move to block the foreign news channels that beamed in global criticism of its recent crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The license fee has rocketed from $5 to $800 — an unaffordable sum to most people in Myanmar. It is equivalent to about three times the annual salary of a public school teacher.
The new fee was imposed without warning and discovered by residents who went to renew their licenses Wednesday.
Most middle class homes and shops use satellite dishes to tune into foreign sports events, soap operas and to circumvent the junta's tightly controlled state media.
"The government is trying to shut our ears and eyes," said Thant Zin, a 57-year-old civil servant. "The military regime does not want us to know the truth about our country."
Post offices, which handle the license renewals, informed residents that the deadline to pay the new fee was Jan. 30, after which satellite owners would have to pay a $3 fine to renew licenses.
An official at Myanmar Post and Telecom said he was not authorized to comment on the price rise, but on condition of anonymity said it was meant to discourage people from watching foreign news channels.
Some residents said they would be forced to give up satellite TV, while others said they would risk fines and secretly keep their dishes in place.
A sudden hike in fuel prices last year led to protests that ballooned into anti-government street demonstrations, which were crushed by the military in September.
Foreign news channels and banned programing like the Democratic Voice of Burma — a channel run by dissidents out of Norway — were the main source of information for people in Myanmar during the crackdown.

JANUARY OF TIBET PROJECT