25 Feb 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
China’s education ministry has ordered colleges to cut ties with Oxfam and prevent it from recruiting on campuses, accusing its Hong Kong branch of a hidden political agenda. A notice attributed to the education ministry said the Hong Kong branch of Oxfam, which oversees operations on the mainland, was a “non-governmental organisation seeking to infiltrate” the mainland. According to the South China Morning Post, the notice appeared on a website run by Minzu University in Beijing, it described the group as “ill-intentioned”. The notice, dated 4 February, also said: “All education departments and institutions of higher education must raise their guard and together recognise and take precautions against the unfriendly intentions of Oxfam Hong Kong’s recruitment of college volunteers.” The notice has since been removed.
22 Feb 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Geng He, the wife of Gao Zhisheng, a prominent Chinese dissident who disappeared in February 2009, said late Wednesday that she had not heard from her husband even though Chinese officials had told a human rights group recently that Gao had been in touch with her. Mrs Geng made her comments in a written statement after the Dui Hua Foundation said last weekend that the Chinese Embassy in Washington had told the group that Gao was working in the Xinjiang region and that he had been in touch with her.
15 Feb 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Chinese authorities have told the US human rights group, the Dui Hua Foundation, that Gao Zhisheng – a human rights lawyer who has been missing for more than a year – is in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Zhisheng’s case has drawn international attention due to the unusual length of his disappearance. John Kamm, the foundation’s executive director, said the news was a “tentative step in the right direction toward accountability”, but many questions still needed to be answered such as “What is he doing there? How long has he been there?”
12 Feb 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo’s‘s appeal against a 11-year prison sentence rejected by a court in Beijing. Liu was convicted six weeks ago on charges of subversion, to widespread international condemnation. Roseann Rife, the deputy director for Asia and the Pacific at Amnesty International said, “His harsh sentence is a stark reminder to the Chinese people and the world that there is still no freedom of expression or independent judiciary in China.” Read Liu’s final statement to the court.
The denial of Liu’s appeal is another signal that China’s leaders are unwilling to tolerate greater pluralism.
Yesterday, a 20-year-old factory worker who joined a banned political party because he was unhappy with one-party rule was sentenced to jail for 18 months. A court in Shenzhen found Xue Mingkai guilty of subversion of state power because he joined the US-based China Democracy party last April.
