April 17, 2008

Top News of the Day
Protests and Petitions
Release Our Relatives, China AIDS Victims Say
Reuters, April 16, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSPEK256069
On April 15, families of detained petitioners appealed to authorities to release their relatives. According to their lawyer, Jiang Tianyong, a hospital in Shahe, Hebei spread HIV amongst the petitioners and their families through the use of tainted blood transfusions; the petitioners were detained for attempting to complain about the hospital to Premier Wen Jiabao on April 5. The police have reportedly called the case a matter of "national security" and refuse to state what has happened to the detainees and with what they could be charged. Currently seven or eight of the petitioners remain in detention.

News
Disasters
China Bosses Jailed for Mine Flood that Killed 172
Reuters, April 15, 2008
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKPEK22680420080416

Education
天津一回族女访民指责学校歧视回民 (Hui Petitioner Criticizes Bias against Hui People in Tianjin Schools)
Radio Free Asia, April 16, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/xinwen/2008/04/16/China_Petitioner

Environment
China's Third-Largest Freshwater Lake Faces Algae Threat
Xinhuanet, April 16, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/16/content_7989745.htm

Human Rights Defender - Zhao Yan (赵岩)
Chinese Journalist Zhao Yan Calls for Press Freedom Following Release
Radio Free Asia, April 16, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/2008/04/16/china_journalist/

Land Policy
北京强拆并没有因奥运临近而停止 (Forced Relocations in Beijing Have Not Ceased Despite Approaching Olympics)
Radio Free Asia, April 16, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2008/04/16/qianchai/

中国学者指中央土地调控政策难奏效 (Chinese Scholar Says Land Policy Difficult to Implement)
Radio Free Asia, April 16, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2008/04/16/tudi/

Media
China Summons CNN Beijing Chief over Commentator's Remarks
Associated Press (via Google), April 17, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h_IrYomzu-PAT7GwU0f4pTClYzUAD903D7RO0

New Freedom, and Peril, in Online Criticism of China
Washington Post, April 17, 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/
AR2008041603579.html

Thousands to Rally against 'Media Bias'
South China Morning Post, April 17, 2008
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733
492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=1063cfa081859110VgnVCM100000360a0a
0aRCRD

Olympics
Australia Warns Olympic Torch Guards over Tough Tactics
The Guardian, April 16, 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/16/olympicgames2008.australia

Beijing Police to Raid Bars for Drugs before Olympic
Xinhuanet, April 16, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/16/content_7991532.htm

French Official Alters Stance on Olympic Badges
Associated Press (available at USA Today), April 16, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-04-16-french-badges_N.htm

HK Olympic Relay Leg Cut Short
South China Morning Post, April 17, 2008
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733
492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=c36fcfa081859110VgnVCM100000360a0a0
aRCRD

Olympic Flame to Run Short, Run Curtailed
IBNLive.com (India), April 17, 2008
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/olympic-flame-to-run-short-run-curtailed/
63471-3.html

Students Plan Mass Torch 'Defence'
The Age (Australia), April 16, 2008
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/students-plan-mass-torch-
defence/2008/04/15/1208025189581.html

Police
海口龙华区数千村民与警方发生暴动（视频）(Thousands of Hainan Villagers Clash with Police (with video))
Radio Free Asia, April 16, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2008/04/16/longhua

Protests and Petitions
山东临朐百名拆迁户连续三天请愿示威 (Shandong Villagers Petition and Protest Relocation; Some Detained)
Radio Free Asia, April 16, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2008/04/16/linqu/

Public Health
中国一亿八千万儿童长期受到二手烟的危害 (180 Million Children in China Endangered by Long-term Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke)
Radio Free Asia, April 16, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2008/04/16/yan/

Tibet
Chinese Site in India Is Stormed by Tibetans
New York Times, April 17, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/world/asia/17torch.html

拉萨哲蚌寺近日被武警封锁 (Lhasa's Dreprung Monastery Surrounded by Armed Police)
Radio Free Asia, April 16, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/xinwen/2008/04/16/China_Temple/

Local Police: Weapons Seized in NW China Monasteries
Xinhuanet, April 16, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/16/content_7990674.htm

Overseas Tourists on Rise in Tibetan-inhabited Region
Xinhuanet, April 16, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/16/content_7990554.htm

Tibetan Monks, Women Protest in Nepal
Associated Press (available at YahooNews), April 16, 2008
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080416/ap_on_re_as/nepal_tibetan_
protest_1