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.

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

March 10, 2005

News

Corruption

11 high-ranking officials investigated for criminal charges in 2004
Xinhuanet.com, March 9, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/09/content_267
2178.htm


Death penalty
China hints at death penalty reform
Xinhuanet.com, March 10, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/10/content_267
6138.htm


Death penalty / gender – domestic violence
Abused woman sentenced to death for killing husband
不 堪 毒 打 虐 待   婦 斬 夫 頭 分 屍 判 死
AppleDaily, March 10, 2005
http://appledaily.atnext.com/template/apple/art_main.cfm
sec_id=15335&showdate=20050310&art_id=4724720


Gender – law / sexual harassment
Sexual harassment legislation to protect working women, but not limited to man to womnn sexual harassment violations
性骚扰立法重在保护职场妇女 不只是男性对女性
People’s Daily, March 9, 2005
http://society.people.com.cn/GB/41158/3229592.html

Government – governance and accountability
Top leaders should set example and reveal their bank balances
SCMP, March 10, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chitoday/ZZZARNA585E.html

NGOs to Gain Greater Influence
Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2005
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) member Wang Ming, who is also director of the Nongovernmental Organizations Research Institute of Tsinghua University, said on Thursday that China's NGOs can play a vital role in soothing the country's growing conflicts and discontent and in facilitating communications and understanding among people of various social strata.
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/122378.htm

Human rights – bilateral ties
Human rights top on agenda of Rice’s China visit
賴斯將出訪中國重點討論人權問題
Chinesenewsnet.com, March 10, 2005
http://www2.chinesenewsnet.com/MainNews/NorthAmerica/2005
_3_9_20_14_31_257.html


Labour – industrial accidents
Gas blast traps 29 Chinese miners
AFP via YahooNews.com, March 10, 2005
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&c
id=1530&ncid=731&e=4&u=/afp/20050310/wl_asia_afp/chinam
ineblast


Premier Pushes Shanxi on Coal Supply, Safety
Xinhua News Agency, March 10, 2005
Premier Wen Jiabao urged China's leading coal producer, the northern province of Shanxi, to increase production capacity to ensure a steady coal supply for the country while "resolutely preventing" the occurrence of any major accidents such as gas explosions.
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/122402.htm

Labour
Tianjin Center Benefits Laid-offs
Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2005
Li Yingguo, a 52-year-old woman in Tianjin, has an ambitious plan -- selling self-made frozen candied haws to neighboring Beijing and Hebei Province, even to faraway Shanghai.
http://china.org.cn/english/China/122379.htm

China's boom requires perspective
Newsday, 10 March 2005
Not so long ago, the big news about China was overpopulation. Times change. Now the news is overproduction. Everywhere one goes here, one sees cranes and construction.
http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-oppin104170226m
ar10,0,4100063.column?coll=ny-news-columnists


Foreign concern over China labour practices
Financial Times, 10 March 2005
China's increasing clout as a manufacturing hub is prompting some big foreign companies to take a closer look at its labour practices. Concerns about reputational risk have prompted some companies to increase their audits of Chinese ...
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f0b1a0fe-910b-11d9-8bff-00000e251
1c8.html


Law – legal rights
Right of appeal emphasized
Xinhuanet.com, March 10, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/10/content_267
6673.htm


Media – internet
China tightens control on internet
中国互联网被管越来越严
Dajiyuan.com, March 10, 2005
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/5/3/10/n843632.htm

China's tight rein on online growth
BBC.com, March 9, 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4327067.stm

Media – press freedom
China bans BBC political program “Question Time”
中国停播BBC的政治讨论节目
Radio Free Asia, March 9, 2005
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/xinwen/2005/03/09/BBC/

Population – aging population
“421” population pyramid has big impacts on the future of China’s elderly
“421”家庭养得起老人吗?
Nanfang City News, March 10, 2005
http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/southnews/dd/dsb/A07/20050
3100456.asp


Protests and petitions
China Continues Petitioner Round-up as Leaders Vow to Beat Graft
Radio Free Asia, March 9, 2005
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/2005/03/09/china_NPC/

Society
Government urged to play greater roles to curb housing price
Xinhua News Agency, 10 March 2005
Government departments at various levels should resort to their regulative power for curbing the on- going rising housing prices from hiking further, said people attending the sessions of the top advisory body ...
http://english.people.com.cn/200503/10/eng20050310_176319
.html


Taiwan
Top advisor calls for "successful completion" of legislation against Taiwan's secession
Xinhua News Agency, 10 March 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/10/content_268
0339.htm

March 9, 2005

Top news of the day

Detention – Li Baiquang (李栢光)
Rights activist Li Baiquang released from detention but not ‘free’
中国释放维权人士李柏光,但仍限制其行动
Radio Free Asia, March 8, 2005
Rights activist Li Baiquang was freed on January 21, 2005 since he was detained by the police last December on allegation of fraud. Yet, Li has been warned not to provide legal aid to workers and farmers and not to leave Beijing without notification the police.
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/xinwen/2005/03/08/libeguang/



News

Corruption
Fujian corruption fighter to face charges
SCMP, March 9, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZ3I2K985E.html

Officials targeted in revived crackdown
SCMP, March 9, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZXAKA585E.html

Death penalty
Death penalty to undergo stricter review
Xinhuanet.com, March 9, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/09/content_2671
706.htm


Detention Cases
China arrests 800,000 people in 2004
Agence France Presse, 9 March 2005
China arrested over 800,000 people last year for a variety of crimes including endangering state security and being involved in separatist and terrorist activities, a top official said Wednesday.
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=2731

Environment
NPC Deputy Seeks Rural Environment Legislation
China Daily, March 9, 2005
Lawmaker Jiang Deming wants to make sure that rural areas are not left behind when the country takes action to ensure people have clean water, fresh air and a better environment in which to live.
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/122251.htm

Gender
Ten Years After Beijing, Asian Women Have Far To Go
Radio Free Asia, March 7, 2005
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/social/2005/03/07/asia_
women/


Gender – law / sexual harassment
Sexual harassment should be clearly defined in law and punished, says Congressman
人大代表:必须从法律上界定和惩治“性骚扰”
People’s Daily, March 8, 2005
http://legal.people.com.cn/GB/42734/43193/3227231.html

Women representatives urge legislation on domestic violence
我国三成妇女遭受过家庭暴力 代表呼吁立法
People’s Daily, March 8, 2005
http://legal.people.com.cn/GB/42734/43193/3227192.html

Government – governance and accountability
Stricter official accountability system promised
Xinhuanet.com, March 9, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/09/content_2670
916.htm


Human rights
Crackdown intensifying, says rights watchdog
SCMP, March 9, 2005
http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZ4Y9L985E.html

Bao Tong (Former secretary of CPPCC) petitions to NPC for condemning the government’s violation of human rights
鲍彤致信人大要求制裁党政侵权
Radio Free Asia, March 8, 2005
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/xinwen/2005/03/08/baotong/

Labour
Chinese Vendors Lose a Market They Built; Beijing's Silk Alley Is Gone; Sellers Cry Foul at Land Deal
The Washington Post, 9 March 2005
On a chilly morning last December, Zhu Dingya huddled with other merchants outside the Silk Alley market, one of the city's most prominent attractions, and inspected a notice tacked to the entrance.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18479-2005
Mar8.html


Law
NPC to debate draft law on emergency
Xinhuanet.com, March 9, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/09/content_2671
573.htm


Law – legal professions
Lawyer-judge relations under fire at legislature annual session
People’s Daily.com, March 8, 2005
http://english1.peopledaily.com.cn/200503/08/eng20050308_
176082.html


Politics
China's Other Political Parties Powerless
AP via YahooNews.com, March 8, 2005
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&am
p;amp;amp;ncid=731&e=10&u=/ap/20050308/ap_on_re_as/chin
a_the_other_ parties


Politics – NPC & CPPCC
NPC adopts new voting method to ensure "full democracy"
People’s Daily, March 8, 2005
http://english1.peopledaily.com.cn/200503/08/eng20050308
_176080.html


China's legislature to strengthen law-enforcement inspection on major issues
Xinhua News Agency, 9 March 2005
China's top legislature would strengthen law-enforcement inspection on major issues having a bearing on the country's reform, opening up and stability this year, top legislator Wu Bangguo said here Wednesday.
http://english.people.com.cn/200503/09/eng20050309_17617
4.html


Ethnic Minority CPPCC Members Panel
China Daily, March 9, 2005
About 100 ethnic minority members of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top advisory body, held a joint panel discussion meeting on March 7 about the 2004 work report of the State Council, China's cabinet.
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/122294.htm

Poverty
Beijing to Renovate 'Villages Within Cities'
China Daily March 9, 2005
Beijing plans to renovate nearly 100 "villages within cities" -- former suburban areas that have been swallowed up by urban sprawl -- by the end of the year. It is the most intense effort yet to tackle the city's chronic enclaves of poverty.
http://china.org.cn/english/2005/Mar/122254.htm

Protests and petitions
Increasing number of petitions reported in 2004
Xinhuanet.com, March 9, 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-03/09/content_26
71719.htm


Migrant workers – children
Rising concerns over migrant children education, congressmen say government should take charge to ensure equal education opportunities
外来工子弟就学引关注 代表建议由中央埋单
EastDay.com, March 9, 2005
http://china.eastday.com/eastday/news/node37955/node37957/
node37979/node52490/userobject1ai921381.html


Hong Kong
Hong Kong courts have no power to consider successor's tenure, says scholar
SCMP, March 9, 2005
http://hongkong.scmp.com/hknews/ZZZYMMA585E.html

Beijing may interpret Basic Law again when necessary
北京称如有必要人大将再次释法
Voice of America, March 8, 2005
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2005-03-08-voa68.cfm