Wednesday, March 02, 2005

March 3, 2005


Top news of the day

Children – child labour
Hebei textile factory owner covers up child labour death with the help of police
河北老板将童工活着送去火葬闷死，警察庇护凶嫌
Boxun.com, March 3, 2005
Human rights group reported that an owner of a textile factory in a rural village in Hebei covered-up the death of 5 female child labour aged from 14 to 17 who inhaled charcoal fumes in the factory.
http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/yuanqing/2005/03/2005
03031134.shtml



Death penalty
Death penalty review to return to Supreme Court next year
最高人民法院有望明年收回死刑复核权
EastDay.com, March 3, 2005
Sources close to the People’s Supreme Court revealed that death penalty review would likely to return to the Supreme Court next year, marking a crucial move in the death penalty reform.
http://china.eastday.com/eastday/news/node37955/node37957/
node37979/node51950/userobject1ai905641.html

Disaster / Labour - industrial accidents
20 children killed in China blast
Reuters via YahooNews.com, March 3, 2005
A cache of explosives at the home of a coal mine manager blew up in a town in Shanxi, killing him and at least 20 children at a nearby grade school.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/2005
0303/wl_nm/china_explosion_dc



News

Bilaterals - US/China
China fires back at U.S. rights criticisms, accuses Washington of violations
AP, Thursday March 3, 2005
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050303/ap/d88jcr8o0.html

Gender
Gender equality hits mainstream
China Daily, March 3, 2005
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-03/03/content
_421158.htm

Gender – marriage
Marriage Law most familiar among women
Xinhuanet.com, March 3, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/03/content_26417
97.htm

Hukou
New law to guarantee free migration
Xinhuanet.com, March 3, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/03/content_26427
93.htm

June 4th – EU arms ban
EU may be penalised over plan to lift arms sales ban
SCMP, March 3, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZSHMJ985E.html

Labour – industrial accidents
Guangdong senior officials required to resign for industrial accidents killing more than 50 people, according new regulation
广东规定事故一次死亡50人以上地市领导须辞职
EastDay.com, March 3, 2005
http://china.eastday.com/eastday/news/node37955/node37957/
node37979/node51950/userobject1ai906053.html

Resources rolled out to prevent mining disasters
SCMP, March 3, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZU45A585E.html

Owners forced to fund mine safety upgrading
Xinhuanet.com, March 3, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/03/content_264
1565.htm

Law – legal reform / re-education through labour
NPC set to discard re-education through labour (RTL)
中国人大今年将立法废除劳教
Dajiyuan.com, March 3, 2005
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/5/3/3/n834008.htm

Migrant workers
China offers more jobs to migrant millions
Xinhuanet.com, March 3, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/03/content_2642
200.htm

South China Feels Acute Labor Shortage
Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2005
Thousands of local enterprises in Guangdong report a combined need for at least 2 million workers if they want to operate at full capacity, according to an official with the provincial government.
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/121578.htm

Politics – NPC
NPC progress in processing bills
Xinhuanet.com, March 3, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/03/content_2642
537.htm

Politics - Political reforms / NPC
Hopes for political reform dashed as party cements power
SCMP, March 3, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZIA7A585E.html

Population – one-child policy / Law
Criminalized illegal sex-identification to revive sex-ratio
我国男女性别比例失衡 非法鉴定胎儿性别应负刑责
Legal Daily, March 3, 2005
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/bm/2005-03/03/content_191
922.htm

Protests and petitions
Thousands of Petitioners Converge on Beijing Ahead of NPC, Hundreds Detained
Radio Free Asia, March 2, 2005
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/politics/2005/03/02/china_
NPC_petitioners/

Resettlement – forceful eviction
Displaced villagers to miss out on profits from land auction
SCMP, March 3, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZ1IMJ985E.html

Religion
Rights group announces UN judgment on China’s arbitrary detention of church leader Zhang Yinan (張義南)
对华援助协会公布联合国就张义南被任意拘禁作出的裁定
Boxun.com, March 2, 2005
http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/religion/2005/03/20050
3020722.shtml

Rural issues / NPC
Problems lurk behind contented farmers
SCMP, March 3, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZOJUK985E.html

China to Subsidize Farmers with 5.5b Yuan
Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2005
http://china.org.cn/english/China/121660.htm#

Hong Kong – Basic Law
HK deputies may revive move to review Basic Law
SCMP, March 3, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZXHMJ985E.html

Taiwan
China Plans to Pass Anti-Secession Law
AP, Mar 3, 2005
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050303/ap_on_re_as/china_tough_on_taiwan

Tibet
"White Paper of distorted facts and figures"
TYC, March 03, 2005
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?article=%22White+Paper+of+distorted+facts+and+figures%22+TYC&id=9150

March 2, 2005

Top news of the day

Law - Legal profession
Guo Guoting demands public hearing over unreasonable treatments of the authority
郭国汀律师要求举行听证会
Dajiyuan.com, March 2, 2005
Guo Guoting (郭國汀), a renowned lawyer for defending cases of political dissidents, demanded a public hearing over maltreatment by the Shanghai authority, who took away his computer and lawyer license and threatened of giving him administrative punishment.
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/5/3/2/n832952.htm


Politics - NPC
Petitioners taken away as Beijing tightens security for NPC meetings
北京加强戒备 大客车带走上访者
Radio Free Asia, March 1, 2005
Witnesses reported that at least 100 petitioners in Beijing, most of whom women, were taken away by police early this week as the government tightened security for the NPC and CPPCC meetings.
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/xinwen/2005/03/01/shangfangzhe/




News

Corruption
Communist Party Leaders Struggle to Contain Rising Corruption in China
Voice of America, March 1, 2005
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-03-01-voa7.cfm

Education - compulsory
Education Ministry Reports Progress in 2004
Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2005
By the end of 2004, 93.6 percent of children were enrolled in the nation's nine-year compulsory education program, said the Ministry of Education's Han Jin at a press conference on Tuesday.
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/121511.htm

Human rights – bilateral ties
US attacks China's record on civil rights
SCMP, March 2, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZP6RK985E.html

Asian Nations Respond Angrily to Annual US Human Rights Report
VOA, 01 March 2005
Leading the criticism was China, which accused the United States of implementing a double standard on human rights, and interfering in its internal affairs.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-03-01-voa9.cfm

China to issue human rights record of the United States
People's Daily, March 2, 2005
The Information Office of the State Council will issue on March 3 the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2004.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200503/02/eng20050302_175
185.html

June 4th – prisoners – Zhao Ziyang
Rehabilitate Zhao, urge Tiananmen relatives
SCMP, March 2, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZALJJ985E.html

June 4th – EU arms ban
Rights group urges EU not to lift arms ban
人权组织吁欧盟勿解除军售禁令
Voice of America, March 1, 2005
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/W2005-03-01-voa75.cfm

Taiwan raps EU over plans to lift China arms ban
SCMP, March 2, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZC0SK985E.html

China's Tiananmen families seek parliament redress
Reuters, March 1, 2005
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&new
scode=94358

Law – legal profession
Lawyers take high risk in defending social justice
中国律师维护社会正义风险大
Voice of America, March 1, 2005
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/2005-03-01-voa62.cfm

Media - internet
Internet curbs tightened
SCMP, March 2, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitech/ZZZGG0A585E.html

Featured article: commercialization and freedom of speech of internet media in China
萧强：中国网络媒体高度商业化与言论自由
Chinesenewsnet.com, March 2, 2005
http://www1.chinesenewsnet.com/gb/MainNews/Opinion/2005_
3_1_20_10_35_7.html

Police – crime
China Confronts Rising Crime in a Fast-track Economy
Voice of America, February 28, 2005
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-02-28-voa9.cfm

Politics
Small reforms could change whole society
Xinhuanet.com, March 1, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/02/content_263
6918.htm

Politics – NPC
Walking the nationalist tightrope
SCMP, March 2, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZ842A585E.html

China tightens Internet security during imminent plenary NPC meeting
People’s Daily, March 2, 2005
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200503/01/eng20050301_
175140.html

Protests and petitions
China to reshuffle petition system to meet new regulation
Xinhuanet.com, March 1, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/01/content_263
5625.htm

Public health
Over 65% Chinese people not covered by medical insurance and a quarter do not take medical treatment when they are sick
中国65.7%居民无医疗保险 1/4的人有病不去就医
EastDay.com, March 2, 2005
http://china.eastday.com/eastday/news/node37955/node37957/
node37979/node51862/userobject1ai904456.html

Public health - HIV/AIDS
China detects 539 HIV positive cases in border check-up in 2004:
World News, March 1, 2005
http://story.chinanationalnews.com/p.x/ct/9/id/3cf018ff74df23
a7/cid/9366300fc9319e9b/

Chinese HIV sufferers must tell spouses
Big News Network, 1st March, 2005 (UPI)
Anyone from Southwest China's Yunnan Province who tests positive for HIV must inform their spouse, the official China Daily said Monday.
http://story.chinanationalnews.com/p.x/ct/9/id/48abfcd4046f89
e1/cid/9366300fc9319e9b/

Society - divorce
China tries to stem soaring divorce rate
The Guardian, March 2, 2005
Chinese authorities are sending "think again" letters to couples applying for divorce after the number of people ending their marriages surged by 21% last year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,7369,1428224,00.html
?gusrc=rss

Hong Kong
Reports: Hong Kong's Leader Plans to Quit
AP via YahooNews.com, March 2, 2005
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&a
mp;amp;ncid= 731&e=10&u=/ap/20050302/ap_on_re_as/hong
_kong_politics

Democracy death-knell: Martin Lee
The Standard, March 2, 2005
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Front_Page/GC02
Aa02.html