January 25, 2005

Top news of the day

Detention – Yang Tianshui (楊天水)
Freelance writer Yang Tianshui releases on bail with the help of lawyer
郭国汀援手 杨天水取保候审获释
Dajiyuan.com, January 25, 2005
Yang Tinshui, a freelance writer and PEN member, has been released on bail after he had been taken away by the police on December 24, 2004 for subversion allegation.
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/5/1/25/n791985.htm

Resettlement – protest
China hands stiff sentences to 27 Farmers over land seizure protest
Voice of America, January 25, 2005
27 farmers from Sanchawan village in Shaanxi were given stiff jailed terms for protesting against the confiscation of their land with meager compensation.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-24-voa22.cfm
(Chinese version of the article also available at:
http://www1.voanews.com/Chinese/article.cfm?ObjectID=72AA96D
5-86CD-4BF1-BDA0C914415C3C10 )


News
Death penalty
Two Chinese overseas studies students sentenced to death and life imprisonment for murder in Japan
留学日本杀人 一死刑一无期
BeijingNews.com, January 25, 2005
Yang Ning (楊寧) and Wang Liang (王亮), Chinese students who had studied in Japan, were convicted of murdering a Japanese family. Yang was given a death penalty and Wang was sentenced for life imprisonment.
http://www.thebeijingnews.com/news/2005-1-25/20051251201
1.html

Education-compulsory
China bans beauty contests in schools
AFP, 25 January 2005
China has ordered education authorities and schools across the country to ban beauty contests in schools, state media reported Tuesday.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1214200,00050004.htm

Gender
Cities set up coordinating institutions for protecting women’s rights
大部分地市建立妇女维权协调机构
Legal Daily, January 25, 2005
Institutions for coordinating initiatives for the protection of women’s rights have been setup in 29 provinces, with 2,603 such institution in place at county level.
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/bm/2005-01/25/content_182116.htm

June 4th – EU arms ban
Britain's Straw, Rice Differ on China Arms
AP via YahooNews.com, January 24, 2005
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw affirmed EU’s intentions to life arms ban on China to the US, despite US’s discontent over the move.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=73
1&e=10&u=/ap/20050124/ap_on_re_as/us_china_europe

China urges EU to end arms ban amid U.S. opposition
Associated Press, 25 January 2005
China criticized Tuesday a 15-year-old European arms embargo as a handicap to normal diplomatic relations, a day after British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Europe plans to lift the ban despite U.S. opposition.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2005/01/25/international0723EST0490.DTL

June 4th – prisoners – Zhao Ziyang
Zhao's funeral still delayed by wrangle
SCMP, January 25, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZ7CK6HJ3E.html

Media curbs reflect fear of dissent
SCMP, January 25, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chifeatures/ZZZW8LCHJ3E.html

Police detain or arrest dissidents to stop them from paying respect to Zhao
警方用拘捕和软禁制止异议人士前往悼念赵紫阳
Radio Free Asia, January 24, 2005
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2005/01/24/yiyi/

Zhao's Family Resists Beijing Over Funeral
Washington Post Foreign Service, January 25, 2005
The family of Zhao Ziyang is resisting government demands that it surrender control of his funeral and insisting on changes in an official obituary drafted by the party, family friends said Monday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32960-2005Jan24?language=printer

Law – legal reform
Information legislation: a response to the quest of harmonious society values
信息立法：回应和谐社会的价值诉求
Legal Daily, January 25, 2005
Legislations on the privacy of personal information and public information disclosure would facilitate a better environment for the protection to individual rights and strengthen government accountability to the citizens.
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/bm/2005-01/25/content_182137.htm

Labor – work safety and conditions
Revision of law to upgrade coal mines
Xinhuanet.com, January 25, 2005
Beijing is prepared to revise a 9-year-old coal mining law, aiming to incorporating more safety standards and efficiency requirements of coal mining in the new legislations.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/25/content_2503475.htm

China to revise coal mining law to improve safety
AFP, 25 January 2005
China is to revise its nine-year-old coal mining law to try to improve safety in its notoriously dangerous pits, state media reported Tuesday.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/January/theworld_January608.xml&section=theworld&col=

Police – abuse / Law
7 police put on trial for torturing innocent suspect for evidence and setup murder charge
涉嫌刑讯逼供制造冤案 唐山7民警受审
Legal Daily, January 25, 2005
7 police from Tangshan in Hebei province have been put on trial for a wrongful murder charge on an innocent suspect, who was later given a death penalty.
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/bm/2005-01/25/content_182086.htm

Politics – CPC
CPC to strengthen multi-party cooperation
Xinhuanet.com, January 25, 2005
The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee discusses policy and initiatives in strengthening multi-party-cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of CPC.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/25/content_250325
7.htm

Protests and petition / Labour – protests
System No Help to China's Laid-Off Workers
WashingtonPost.com, January 24, 2005
An unemployed worker found no ways to air his plight and discontent over government policy but pleaded with the Chinese President. However, the petitioning system does not seem making public grievances to be heard at the top.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31138-2005
Jan23.html

Public health
190,000 died of taking wrong medicine
誤用藥喪命 每年19萬
MingPao, January 25, 2005
A survey reveals that 12-25% of patients were found inappropriate use of medicine and over 190,000 were died after taking wrong medicine.
http://full.mingpaonews.com/20050125/t_ccd1.htm

Public health – HIV aids
Doctors refused to treat a suspected aids patient
內地醫院趕走愛滋病人
MingPao, January 25, 2005
Doctors at a Heilongjiang hospital refused to conduct operation of a patient as they suspected the patient carried HIV aids.
http://full.mingpaonews.com/20050125/t_cca1.htm

Social security
Deputies call on gov't to step up social security
China Daily, January 25, 2005
Beijing Legislators called for a rise of social security payment, demonstrating government’s commitments in improving conditions for poverty-stricken retired workers, farmers and farmer-turned workers.
http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-01/25/content_
411847.htm

Tibet
Tibetan Monk's Followers Hope for his Release
Radio Free Asia, January 24, 2005
Supporters of a jailed Tibetan monk, Tenzin Delek Rimpoche, urge the Chinese government to rescind his death penalty, after one of the monk’s disciples has been freed recently.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/social/2005/01/24/tibetan_monk/

Xinjiang
Xinjiang bus blast blamed on disgruntled coal miner
SCMP, January 25, 2005
Police has confirmed that the bus blast that killed 11 last Thursday had nothing to do with Muslims separatist attacks, but was set off by a man dissatisfied with compensation for a work-related injury.
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZVYIAHJ3E.html