November 07-09, 2009

Top News of the Day
Human Rights Defenders
Petitioner, 70, Jailed over 'State Secret' Downloaded from Net
South China Morning Post, November 08, 2009
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=9bc294e5b8fc4210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD

70-year-old Zhejiang-based petitioner Lin Dagang (林大刚) was sentenced in a closed trial Friday to two years' imprisonment on charges of "illegally possessing state secrets." The "secret" was a notice from the former Ministry of Construction available for online. Lin has been a frequent petitioner and is an organizer of a nation-wide group seeking the return of ancestral houses of which the government took possession in 1956.

Related information:
Two-Year Sentence for Property Rights Advocate, 70, Accused of Possessing State Secrets
Human Rights in China, November 6, 2009
http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/172304

News
Bilateral Ties
China Inks Environmental Deals with Japan
Xinhua News Agency, November 08, 2009
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-11/08/content_8929406.htm

Hong Kong
Tsang Offers Olive Branch on 2012
South China Morning Post, November 07, 2009
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=20a3602eb99c4210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD

Human Rights Defenders
奥巴马访华在即 中国加强管控维权人士 (China Increases Control over Rights Defenders on Eve of Obama Visit)
Voice of America, November 08, 2009
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/china/OBAMA-VISITS-CHINA-11082009-69509027.html

Related news:
四百多人联名呼吁奥巴马关注中国人权 (400+ Rights Activists Make Joint Call to Obama to Pay Attention to Human Rights in China)
Voice of America, November 08, 2009
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/china/HUMAN-RIGHTS-CHINA-11082009-69510552.html

Human Rights Defenders – Huang Qi (黄琦), Tan Zuoren (谭作人)
US House Backs China Quake Activists
Agence France-Presse, November 08, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hoKaJLJvCO6Bi6FGhcj5aE5ee0PA

Related information:
H.RES.877: Expressing support for Chinese human rights activists Huang Qi and Tan Zuoren for engaging in peaceful expression as they seek answers and justice for the parents whose children were killed in the Sichuan earthquake of May 12, 2008.
Introduced October 29, 2009
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.res.00877:

Media
记者，挑战高风险的职业 (Being a Journalist Has Become a Risky Occupation; Accident Insurance Rates Higher than for Other Jobs)
Guangzhou Daily, November 08, 2009
http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2009-11/08/content_757844.htm

Related news:
內地記者節獄中悲歌 (A Sad Song for China's Reporters on Journalists Day)
Apple Daily, November 09, 2009
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20091109&sec_id=15335&subsec_id=15336&art_id=13399656

維權律師﹕記者頻受打壓 (Rights Defense Lawyer: Journalists under Increased Pressure)
Ming Pao, November 09, 2009
http://news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/94/1/1/1321245/1.html

新修订《新闻记者证管理办法》：任何组织不得阻挠记者合法采访活动 (Newly Revised Measures on the Administration of Press Credentials: No Organization Can Prevent a Journalist from Reporting)
Xinhua News Agency, November 08, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/08/content_12412408.htm

Multilateral
China Pledges $10 Billion in Low-cost Loans to Africa
The Washington Post, November 09, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/08/AR2009110818002.html

Politics
Rubble Rousing
Daily News & Analysis, November 09, 2009
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_rubble-rousing_1309035

地震灾区逾千干部被提拔 (Sichuan Quake Area a Shortcut for Promotion for Local Cadres)
Guangzhou Daily, November 09, 2009
http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2009-11/09/content_758780.htm

Protests and Petitions
不满征地补偿欲集体上访三农民被拘留 (Three Hebei Farmers Detained after Making Joint Petition against Insufficient Land Compensation)
Radio Free Asia, November 08, 2009
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/bu-11082009151727.html

Tibet
Defying China, Dalai Lama Visits Indian Town near Border
The Los Angeles Times, November 09, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-dalai9-2009nov09,0,6596321.story

XUAR
Uyghur Activist Seeks Talks with Beijing
Asia Times Online, November 06, 2009
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KK06Ad02.html