13 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Two Tibetan students studying at the Northwest National Minorities’ University in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, were arrested by Chinese authorities last week. Police raided the rooms of Tashi Rabten (pen name Te’urang) and Druklo (pen name Shokjang), searching their personal possessions and confiscating their mobile phones, laptops and books. Tashi Rabten, editor of the banned literary magazine Shar Dungri (Eastern Snow Mountain), had previously been arrested in June 2009 for editing a collection of political essays called Written in Blood.
12 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia, has been denied medical parole by Chinese officials. His wife, Zeng Jinyan appealed for his release to Beijing authorities last week citing concerns for his husband’s health, he may have liver cancer. According to Zeng’s blog, the authorities telephoned Hu’s mother this morning rejecting the plea. The caller claimed Hu, who was believed to be in hospital, has since been moved back to prison, and that his liver problem was the result of a “blood tumour”—not meeting the conditions of medical parole. Despite authorities have also refused Zeng’s request for a written report of Hu’s health. Hu Jia, winner of the Sakharov Prize, has been imprisoned since 2008 for testifying via video link to the European Parliament about China’s human rights record, and his sentence is due to end June 2011.
9 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Two of China’s most important state television networks, China Central Television (CCTV) and Beijing Television (BTV) confirmed on Tuesday that the government have issued new guidelines to stop journalists using English acronyms during broadcasts. Terms such as GDP and WTO are to be substituted for their Chinese equivalents in an attempt to maintain the purity of the Chinese language.
8 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
The prominent Chinese human rights lawyer and activist Gao Zhisheng, who had been missing for over a year, gave his first interview to the Associated Press yesterday.
During the interview, Gao refused to discuss the suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance and reappearance, or comment on his treatment by Chinese authorities. Gao has previously written an open letter detailing graphic accounts of torture whilst under arrest in China, as well the treatment of his wife and children whom he claims had been starved whilst under captivity. The abandoning of his political activism now, says Gao, is due to concern for his family, currently residing in the US, whom he hopes to be reunited with one day.
