The HRIC Daily Brief is a daily selection of news stories and commentary related to human rights in China, drawn from Chinese- and English-language news and online media sources that we monitor daily. In addition to headlines and source links, HRIC also provides English translation of Chinese headlines.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

March 24, 2005


Top News

Detention – Jiang Yanyong (蔣彥永)
Sars whistle-blower wins freedom
SCMP, March 24, 2005
Jiang Yanyong, the surgeon who was put under house arrest by the authorities for revealing SARS outbreak, was set free on Tuesday after eight month detention.
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZD1AZ1M6E.html



Freed China Prisoner Details 1999 Arrest
Associated Press, March 24, 2005
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61999-2005
Mar24.html?nav=rss_world/asia/eastasia/china


June 4th – EU arms ban
Op-ed by Wang Dan: History tells us to keep the arms ban on China
Financial Times, March 23, 2005
Wang Dan, rights activist exiled to US due to his participation in Tiananmen student movement in 1989, urged EU leaders not to lift arms ban on China as the leadership refused to reveal the truth of and to take responsibility for the June 4th massacre.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/7538d2fe-9b41-11d9-af0f-00000e
2511c8.html



News

Children
More attention to roving children issue is needed
解决流浪儿童问题
Legal Daily, March 24, 2005
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/bm/2005-03/24/content_198
702.htm

Children – child labour / industrial accident
Lack of treatment did not kill teens, probe finds
SCMP, March 24, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZGS6EAM6E.html

Gender – law
Regulations on the protection of women workers to be revised
女职工劳动保护规定亟待修订
Legal Daily, March 24, 2005
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/bm/2005-03/24/content_1987
24.htm

June 4th – EU arms ban
Lifting of arms ban expected by July, says Chirac
SCMP, March 24, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZF96EAM6E.html

British lawmakers warn against lifting EU arms embargo on China
AFP via YahooNews.com, March 24, 2005
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1530&amp
;amp;ncid=731&e=6&u=/afp/20050324/wl_asia_afp/euchinaar
msbritain

EU's position on lifting China arms ban remains unchanged: official
People’s Daily, March 24, 2005
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200503/24/eng20050324_
177991.html

China's Law On Taiwan Backfires
Washington Post, March 24, 2005
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61389-2005
Mar23.html?nav=rss_world/asia/eastasia/china

Britain lands in middle of U.S.-EU China spat
International Herald Tribune, March 24, 2005
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/23/news/embargo.html

Labor - disasters
Death Toll Rises to 70 in Shanxi Coal Mine Blast
Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2005
http://china.org.cn/english/China/123696.htm

China investigates suffocations of 5 teenage girls
Japan Today, March 24, 2005
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=331732

Media
Different laws to target printed media and internet media
法律对纸质媒体和网络言论应区别对待
China Youth Daily, March 24, 2005
http://zqb.cyol.com/gb/zqb/2005-03/24/content_10551
34.htm

Media – internet
Chinese Crack Down On Student Web Sites
Washington Post.com, March 24, 2005
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61334-
2005Mar23.html?nav=rss_world/asia/eastasia/china

Natural resources / energy – Water
Clean water should be a top priority, officials say
SCMP, March 24, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZN3AZ1M6E.html

Project to Provide Clean Water for 20 Million Farmers
Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2005
China will provide another 20 million people in its rural areas with safe drinking water by the end of 2006, according to an annual plan for building emergency water supply projects.
http://china.org.cn/english/China/123728.htm

Natural resources - other
Too much for Mother Earth
Inter Press Service, March 24, 2005
Even if per capita income in China grows at only 8% per year - lower than the red-hot pace of 9.5% at which it has grown since 1978 - it will still overtake the current per capita US income in just over 25 years, according to the latest analysis by the Earth Policy Institute (EPI).
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GC25Ad08.html

NGO / Public health – HIV Aids
Aids group told to change name or close
SCMP, March 24, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZYYIE1M6E.html

Olympics - security
Beijing Unveils Security Plan for 2008 Olympics
China Daily March 24, 2005
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/123733.htm

Public Health-HIV/Aids
Disparity, AIDS top China's agenda for child development
Xinhuanet.com, March 23, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/23/content_2737
525.htm

Public Health - other
Half a Million TB Patients Get Free Treatment in 2004
Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2005
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/123643.htm

Rural Issues- Taxation
How do township governments survive without the revenue from agricultural taxation?
免征农业税　乡镇怎么办
People’s Daily, March 24, 2005
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/30178/3266290.html

Rural Issues - Poverty
CHINA: China can ensure food security says US campaigner
just-food.com, 24 Mar 2005
Earth Policy Institute president Lester Brown is confident China's can ensure food supplies in the face of the new global food security challenge, reports the People’s Daily newspaper.
http://www.just-food.com/news_detail.asp?art=60274

Hong Kong
NPC interpretation not a done deal
SCMP, March 24, 2005
http://www.scmp.com/topnews/ZZZHLIE1M6E.html

Constitutional affairs chief vows to step-down if the rule of law is damaged
林瑞麟﹕若法治受損 不再做局長
Ming Pao, March 24, 2005
http://full.mingpaonews.com/20050324/t_gdj1.htm