Redefining the Meaning of ‘Chinese’:
Mainland China is seen as the source of Taiwan's economic future, but on the question of culture, it could be the reverse, with Taiwan showing Beijing how Chineseness can be defined more broadly.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Do you think you know Australia? Take the quiz
Do you think you know Australia? Take the quiz:
Are you an armchair crocodile hunter or a dinky-di Aussie? Speak any Strine? How much do you know about the Land Down Under?
Are you an armchair crocodile hunter or a dinky-di Aussie? Speak any Strine? How much do you know about the Land Down Under?
Work With China, Don’t Contain It
Work With China, Don’t Contain It: 
Asia’s internal balance of power should be the key to our strategy.
Asia’s internal balance of power should be the key to our strategy.
Japan's Economic Plan May Be Bad News For Everyone Else
Japan's Economic Plan May Be Bad News For Everyone Else:
New measures designed to flood the country's economy with money are raising concerns of a "currency war." As Japan devalues the yen, will other nations have to follow suit?
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New measures designed to flood the country's economy with money are raising concerns of a "currency war." As Japan devalues the yen, will other nations have to follow suit?
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China and Japan attempt to ease tensions
China and Japan attempt to ease tensions:
China’s incoming president meets Japanese envoy in first high-profile discussion between the two countries since start of bitter territorial dispute
China’s incoming president meets Japanese envoy in first high-profile discussion between the two countries since start of bitter territorial dispute
Japan launches new satellites to boost surveillance
Japan launches new satellites to boost surveillance:
One of them was a radar-equipped unit to complete a system of surveillance satellites that will allow Tokyo to monitor any place in the world at least once a day.
Leader’s Visit Lifts a Village, Yet Lays Bare China’s Woes
Leader’s Visit Lifts a Village, Yet Lays Bare China’s Woes: 
Xi Jinping’s visit to a particularly poverty-stricken village in north China brought it attention and help, but also threw into relief the vast scale of the challenge.
Xi Jinping’s visit to a particularly poverty-stricken village in north China brought it attention and help, but also threw into relief the vast scale of the challenge.
Hundreds march against CY Leung's policy speech
Hundreds march against CY Leung's policy speech:
About 1,000 people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to protest against the city leader’s policy speech, which they said offered nothing new on tackling a housing crisis and poverty.
Sri Lankans urged to intercept boats
Sri Lankans urged to intercept boats:
SOME Coalition frontbenchers has arrived in Sri Lanka to negotiate a possible agreement to intercept return all asylum boats.
SOME Coalition frontbenchers has arrived in Sri Lanka to negotiate a possible agreement to intercept return all asylum boats.
10,000 N Koreans starve
10,000 N Koreans starve:
A FATHER in North Korea is reported to have been executed for cannibalism during a "hidden famine" that may have killed more than 10,000 people.
A FATHER in North Korea is reported to have been executed for cannibalism during a "hidden famine" that may have killed more than 10,000 people.
Australian Open: Djokovic trounces Murray, makes history
Australian Open: Djokovic trounces Murray, makes history:
Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, won his match against friend and rival, Britain's Andy Murray Sunday night, to take his third consecutive Australian Open title.
Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, won his match against friend and rival, Britain's Andy Murray Sunday night, to take his third consecutive Australian Open title.
North Korean leader orders 'substantial' action: Is it a nuclear test?
North Korean leader orders 'substantial' action: Is it a nuclear test?:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has taken a defiant stance in response to a recent UN Security Council condemnation.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has taken a defiant stance in response to a recent UN Security Council condemnation.
Election loss forces Singapore into delicate balancing act
Election loss forces Singapore into delicate balancing act:
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - It was just one seat in parliament but the loss of a by-election this weekend will force Singapore's long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to take a hard look at how it balances investor and voter needs in one of the world's biggest financial centers.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - It was just one seat in parliament but the loss of a by-election this weekend will force Singapore's long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to take a hard look at how it balances investor and voter needs in one of the world's biggest financial centers.
Japan to boost military headcount amid china island row
Japan to boost military headcount amid china island row:
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is set to boost the number of military personnel, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Sunday, as the new government led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) tackles a territorial spat with China over East China Sea islets.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is set to boost the number of military personnel, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Sunday, as the new government led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) tackles a territorial spat with China over East China Sea islets.
China keeps mum on Bo trial despite talk it could start on Monday
China keeps mum on Bo trial despite talk it could start on Monday:
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's government is giving no details on the trial of shamed senior leader Bo Xilai, the final chapter in its worst political scandal in decades, as speculation mounted the case could be heard as early as Monday.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's government is giving no details on the trial of shamed senior leader Bo Xilai, the final chapter in its worst political scandal in decades, as speculation mounted the case could be heard as early as Monday.
Vietnam: Is Thanh the man?
Vietnam: Is Thanh the man?:
A scandal-ridden party lashes out at dissent and tries to tackle corruption
EARLIER this month Vietnam’s courts handed out long jail sentences to 14 young democracy activists and bloggers accused, on the flimsiest of evidence, of subverting the state. Even by the sorry standards of the country’s Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) rulers this marked a new low of pitiless, disproportionate repression. Their main transgression seems to have been nothing more belligerent than to attend a training session in Bangkok run by a banned political party.
The CPV might have meant the show trial as a sign of political strength, to intimidate any opposition, but most Vietnamese read the event more cynically—as an act of desperation by an increasingly paranoid party. Despite the economic progress brought by a quarter-century of reform and relative openness, the CPV risks losing the moral authority it needs to ...
A scandal-ridden party lashes out at dissent and tries to tackle corruption
EARLIER this month Vietnam’s courts handed out long jail sentences to 14 young democracy activists and bloggers accused, on the flimsiest of evidence, of subverting the state. Even by the sorry standards of the country’s Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) rulers this marked a new low of pitiless, disproportionate repression. Their main transgression seems to have been nothing more belligerent than to attend a training session in Bangkok run by a banned political party.
The CPV might have meant the show trial as a sign of political strength, to intimidate any opposition, but most Vietnamese read the event more cynically—as an act of desperation by an increasingly paranoid party. Despite the economic progress brought by a quarter-century of reform and relative openness, the CPV risks losing the moral authority it needs to ...
China carries out anti-missile test
China carries out anti-missile test:
BEIJING (Reuters) - China tested emerging military technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air after an initial test in 2010, state media said on Sunday, in a move that will unnerve its neighbors.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China tested emerging military technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air after an initial test in 2010, state media said on Sunday, in a move that will unnerve its neighbors.
N. Korea says third nuclear test is 'demand of the people'
N. Korea says third nuclear test is 'demand of the people':
North Korea has confirmed its intention to carry out a third nuclear test, saying it is the “demand of the people.” It comes after the UN tightened sanctions against the regime, following its December long-range rocket...
Read Full Article at RT.com
North Korea has confirmed its intention to carry out a third nuclear test, saying it is the “demand of the people.” It comes after the UN tightened sanctions against the regime, following its December long-range rocket...
Read Full Article at RT.com
Friday, January 25, 2013
How far is North Korea from being able to hit the U.S. with a nuke?
How far is North Korea from being able to hit the U.S. with a nuke?:
North Korea is shaking its fist at the world yet again this week.
Pyongyang is angry at the United Nations for toughening sanctions as punishment for the Hermit Kingdom's launching a long-range missile to carry a satellite into orbit in December. And on Friday, North Korea threatened to attack its democratic neighbor, South Korea, if it goes along with the measures approved by the U.N. Security Council. Also this week, North Korea vowed to test a nuclear device and fire more test missiles toward the U.S., which it called the "sworn enemy" of the Korean people. Such saber rattling is nothing new...
More
North Korea is shaking its fist at the world yet again this week.
Pyongyang is angry at the United Nations for toughening sanctions as punishment for the Hermit Kingdom's launching a long-range missile to carry a satellite into orbit in December. And on Friday, North Korea threatened to attack its democratic neighbor, South Korea, if it goes along with the measures approved by the U.N. Security Council. Also this week, North Korea vowed to test a nuclear device and fire more test missiles toward the U.S., which it called the "sworn enemy" of the Korean people. Such saber rattling is nothing new...
More
Labor Standoff at Angkor Temple
Labor Standoff at Angkor Temple:
Cambodian authorities have barred 170 workers involved in restoration work on a temple in the world-renowned Angkor historical site from entering the complex after they threatened to strike over planned job cuts, union members said.
The workers, who were restoring the Ta Phrom temple ruins, one of the country’s tourist treasures, were prevented by police from entering the site when they showed up to work on Thursday morning, workers’ union leader El Saratt said.
They had protested a decision by Indian and Cambodian managers of the preservation project to fire 30 workers and threatened to go on strike unless the jobs were saved.
“We told the project manager that they can’t fire the 30 workers, and if they want to fire them then they will have to fire all the workers,” El Saratt told RFA’s Khmer Service.
“We urge the project to reinstate the workers,” he said, adding that the managers have also refused to pay compensation for the workers upon termination.
On Wednesday, the union filed a complaint to Cambodian Ministry of Labor, which has sent the case to an arbitration council.
'Discriminating against the union'
Ta Phrom, known as the “Tomb Raider” temple for the Hollywood movie filmed among its atmospheric ruin, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is part of the Angkor Archaeological Park that draws millions of global visitors each year.
Archaeological restoration and preservation in the park is run by the domestic Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (Apsara) in cooperation with the Archaeological Survey of India, an Indian government institution.
In December, the union had requested ASI and Apsara to give holiday pay and annual wage increases.
Project managers refused to respond to the request, and seven workers were fired shortly afterward.
Deputy union leader Uy Koy said the restoration managers were unhappy with the workers’ unionizing and threatening to strike.
“The project manager doesn’t like the union and they are discriminating against the union,” he said, warning that all the workers would stop coming to work if the union’s request to keep the jobs isn’t honored.
“We don’t want them to use any workers [if they won’t keep the 30 fired workers] because if we don’t have jobs, we don’t have any income.”
Work winding down
Devendra Singh Sood, ASI archaeological engineer and head of the Ta Phrom project, refused to comment on the case when contacted by RFA, saying that only officials at the Indian Embassy and in the Cambodian government had the authority to resolve the dispute.
Provincial Labor Department Director Chan Sokhomchenda said he had asked officials at the Indian Embassy not to allow the workers to be let go.
He said restoration work at the temple was winding down and fewer workers were needed.
Cambodian rights group ADHOC urged ASI and Apsara’s Ta Phrom project managers to negotiate with the workers.
The group’s Siem Reap provincial coordinator Sous Narin said he had asked the Indian Embassy to organize shifts so that all the workers could keep their jobs.
“I have informed the embassy about the labor law,” he said.
Tourism is a key pillar of Cambodia’s economy and the ruins at Angkor, former capital of the Khmer kingdom, are the country’s star attraction.
The Angkor area reeled in 2.06 million foreign tourists last year, with the most coming from South Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan, and Thailand, according to a recent report by the Siem Reap provincial tourism department.
Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Cambodian authorities have barred 170 workers involved in restoration work on a temple in the world-renowned Angkor historical site from entering the complex after they threatened to strike over planned job cuts, union members said.
The workers, who were restoring the Ta Phrom temple ruins, one of the country’s tourist treasures, were prevented by police from entering the site when they showed up to work on Thursday morning, workers’ union leader El Saratt said.
They had protested a decision by Indian and Cambodian managers of the preservation project to fire 30 workers and threatened to go on strike unless the jobs were saved.
“We told the project manager that they can’t fire the 30 workers, and if they want to fire them then they will have to fire all the workers,” El Saratt told RFA’s Khmer Service.
“We urge the project to reinstate the workers,” he said, adding that the managers have also refused to pay compensation for the workers upon termination.
On Wednesday, the union filed a complaint to Cambodian Ministry of Labor, which has sent the case to an arbitration council.
'Discriminating against the union'
Ta Phrom, known as the “Tomb Raider” temple for the Hollywood movie filmed among its atmospheric ruin, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is part of the Angkor Archaeological Park that draws millions of global visitors each year.
Archaeological restoration and preservation in the park is run by the domestic Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (Apsara) in cooperation with the Archaeological Survey of India, an Indian government institution.
In December, the union had requested ASI and Apsara to give holiday pay and annual wage increases.
Project managers refused to respond to the request, and seven workers were fired shortly afterward.
Deputy union leader Uy Koy said the restoration managers were unhappy with the workers’ unionizing and threatening to strike.
“The project manager doesn’t like the union and they are discriminating against the union,” he said, warning that all the workers would stop coming to work if the union’s request to keep the jobs isn’t honored.
“We don’t want them to use any workers [if they won’t keep the 30 fired workers] because if we don’t have jobs, we don’t have any income.”
Ta Phrom restoration workers discuss their dispute, Jan 2013. Credit: RFA.
Work winding down
Devendra Singh Sood, ASI archaeological engineer and head of the Ta Phrom project, refused to comment on the case when contacted by RFA, saying that only officials at the Indian Embassy and in the Cambodian government had the authority to resolve the dispute.
Provincial Labor Department Director Chan Sokhomchenda said he had asked officials at the Indian Embassy not to allow the workers to be let go.
He said restoration work at the temple was winding down and fewer workers were needed.
Cambodian rights group ADHOC urged ASI and Apsara’s Ta Phrom project managers to negotiate with the workers.
The group’s Siem Reap provincial coordinator Sous Narin said he had asked the Indian Embassy to organize shifts so that all the workers could keep their jobs.
“I have informed the embassy about the labor law,” he said.
Tourism is a key pillar of Cambodia’s economy and the ruins at Angkor, former capital of the Khmer kingdom, are the country’s star attraction.
The Angkor area reeled in 2.06 million foreign tourists last year, with the most coming from South Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan, and Thailand, according to a recent report by the Siem Reap provincial tourism department.
Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Presidential Inbox: Integrating Global Health Into the Pivot Strategy
Presidential Inbox: Integrating Global Health Into the Pivot Strategy:
Mr. President, as you begin your second term, you and your Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping both face the challenge of building a mature and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship. There is no need to belabor the strategic importance of the Sino-American relations for the United States. Indeed, one may argue that it is precisely the strategic dynamics driven by China’s rise that led to your critical decision to pivot to Asia.
While we are told that a critical element of the U.S. pivot strategy is to nurture partnerships to address important common challenges, our rebalancing efforts thus far have focused almost solely on security and trade. They are certainly crucial in promoting U.S. economic growth and regional stability, but our relationship with China and other Asian countries has become so multifaceted and complex that other issues, like health and the environment, challenge us to promote jointly the welfare of people in the Asia-Pacific region, which still accounts for a majority of the global disease burden. As a result of the epidemiological transition, non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes are increasingly becoming the dominant cause of mortality. China, which has surpassed India to become the world’s diabetes capital, also accounts for 20 percent of the world’s total cancer-caused deaths. By increasing individual and household impoverishment and hindering socioeconomic development, the non-communicable diseases are a major cause of poverty and an urgent development challenge in the region.
In addition to the rising threat of non-communicable diseases, the Asia-Pacific region also faces growing health security threats. With extensive animal trade and cross-border human movement, the region remains a center of global concern for the emergence of pandemic influenza or a SARS-type novel, zoonotic respiratory virus. The lowered barriers to entry and reduced costs of bioengineering only increase the risks of accidental or intentional release of dangerous pathogens. In addition, there has been an increase in drug-resistant infections (e.g., artemisinin-resistant malaria and drug-resistant tuberculosis) and vector-borne diseases including dengue and Japanese encephalitis. These infectious diseases threaten U.S. military forces in the region, disturb international trade and travel, and even undermine regional stability. As you and Senator Lugar wrote in a 2005 New York Times op-ed, a major disease “outbreak could cause millions of deaths, destabilize Southeast Asia…and threaten the security of governments around the world.” Your concern was recently echoed by Mr. Xi Jinping, who said, “at present, world health problems are in close relationship with international issues, including politics, economy and social development, and have an impact on international relations and foreign policies.”
Building an enhanced global health agenda into the pivot strategy would contribute to a win-win outcome, which is precisely what Beijing hopes to achieve in what it calls a “new major country relationship.” As a Chinese scholar said, the ability to achieve such a relationship depends, among others, on how the two countries “develop their potential” for win-win cooperation. Health is an area that is politically neutral and about which each side feels strongly. Indeed, demographic and epidemiological transition and China’s move toward universal health coverage not only generated huge demand for more and better healthcare, but also ushered in forces supporting private and overseas investment in a sector that is traditionally monopolized by government actors. Given the U.S. comparative advantage in pharmaceutical-related research and development as well as healthcare management and service quality, health system transition in China would generate more business opportunities for U.S. companies and contribute to the narrowing trade deficit with China. Equally important, tackling a common health challenge helps countries in the region build trust and reduce tensions around more contentious policy issues such as territorial dispute. While substantial cooperation over health may provide Beijing an additional reason to focus more on domestic welfare and internal transition, improved U.S.-China relations contributes to regional security, which helps strengthen the United States’ position in the region.
In your first term, Mr. President, your administration was active in conducting health diplomacy by proposing a set of innovative guiding principles and objectives as well as launching new initiatives. While the results of these programs were mixed, the inclusion of an enhanced global health agenda within the pivot strategy would serve to strengthen your leadership in this area and the administration’s ability to effectively handle health diplomacy. When integrated into the pivot strategy, such an agenda would include:
Forty years ago, when the first batch of American health workers were allowed to visit China, Milo Leavitt, then director of the Fogarty International Center, noted in Medicine and Public Health in the People’s Republic of China that “for those who believe that the universal desire for health and relief from disease and suffering may be the strongest key to peace and international cooperation, it is significant and heartening to observe that physicians were among the first groups granted permission to visit the People’s Republic of China.” If cooperation over health contributed to the opening of China in the early 1970s, now it can and should play a much larger role in building strategic trust and contributing to the success of your pivot strategy. We look forward to your leadership in shaping this global health agenda.
Mr. President, as you begin your second term, you and your Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping both face the challenge of building a mature and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship. There is no need to belabor the strategic importance of the Sino-American relations for the United States. Indeed, one may argue that it is precisely the strategic dynamics driven by China’s rise that led to your critical decision to pivot to Asia.
While we are told that a critical element of the U.S. pivot strategy is to nurture partnerships to address important common challenges, our rebalancing efforts thus far have focused almost solely on security and trade. They are certainly crucial in promoting U.S. economic growth and regional stability, but our relationship with China and other Asian countries has become so multifaceted and complex that other issues, like health and the environment, challenge us to promote jointly the welfare of people in the Asia-Pacific region, which still accounts for a majority of the global disease burden. As a result of the epidemiological transition, non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes are increasingly becoming the dominant cause of mortality. China, which has surpassed India to become the world’s diabetes capital, also accounts for 20 percent of the world’s total cancer-caused deaths. By increasing individual and household impoverishment and hindering socioeconomic development, the non-communicable diseases are a major cause of poverty and an urgent development challenge in the region.
In addition to the rising threat of non-communicable diseases, the Asia-Pacific region also faces growing health security threats. With extensive animal trade and cross-border human movement, the region remains a center of global concern for the emergence of pandemic influenza or a SARS-type novel, zoonotic respiratory virus. The lowered barriers to entry and reduced costs of bioengineering only increase the risks of accidental or intentional release of dangerous pathogens. In addition, there has been an increase in drug-resistant infections (e.g., artemisinin-resistant malaria and drug-resistant tuberculosis) and vector-borne diseases including dengue and Japanese encephalitis. These infectious diseases threaten U.S. military forces in the region, disturb international trade and travel, and even undermine regional stability. As you and Senator Lugar wrote in a 2005 New York Times op-ed, a major disease “outbreak could cause millions of deaths, destabilize Southeast Asia…and threaten the security of governments around the world.” Your concern was recently echoed by Mr. Xi Jinping, who said, “at present, world health problems are in close relationship with international issues, including politics, economy and social development, and have an impact on international relations and foreign policies.”
Building an enhanced global health agenda into the pivot strategy would contribute to a win-win outcome, which is precisely what Beijing hopes to achieve in what it calls a “new major country relationship.” As a Chinese scholar said, the ability to achieve such a relationship depends, among others, on how the two countries “develop their potential” for win-win cooperation. Health is an area that is politically neutral and about which each side feels strongly. Indeed, demographic and epidemiological transition and China’s move toward universal health coverage not only generated huge demand for more and better healthcare, but also ushered in forces supporting private and overseas investment in a sector that is traditionally monopolized by government actors. Given the U.S. comparative advantage in pharmaceutical-related research and development as well as healthcare management and service quality, health system transition in China would generate more business opportunities for U.S. companies and contribute to the narrowing trade deficit with China. Equally important, tackling a common health challenge helps countries in the region build trust and reduce tensions around more contentious policy issues such as territorial dispute. While substantial cooperation over health may provide Beijing an additional reason to focus more on domestic welfare and internal transition, improved U.S.-China relations contributes to regional security, which helps strengthen the United States’ position in the region.
In your first term, Mr. President, your administration was active in conducting health diplomacy by proposing a set of innovative guiding principles and objectives as well as launching new initiatives. While the results of these programs were mixed, the inclusion of an enhanced global health agenda within the pivot strategy would serve to strengthen your leadership in this area and the administration’s ability to effectively handle health diplomacy. When integrated into the pivot strategy, such an agenda would include:
- Actively engaging China’s healthcare sector. While promoting opportunities for U.S. biopharmaceutical firms, hospital groups, and insurance companies to do business with China, we should also demonstrate our willingness to work with China to address issues of immediate concern to the Chinese people, including their ability to access effective and affordable medicines.
- Increase U.S.-China military-to-military exchange on health issues, including humanitarian assistance and disease surveillance. A working relationship, for example, could be established between Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center and the Chinese PLA Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Jointly launch several major initiatives aimed at strengthening the health system in the region. Potential areas of cooperation include control of artemisinin-resistant malaria, dual-use research dilemma, and prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. Doing so is in both countries’ enlightened self-interest because it not only contributes to regional security and development but also allows each side to benefit from improved soft power status.
- Continue to encourage Beijing to shoulder more global health responsibilities while exploring with it the best practices and institutional requirements of development assistance for heath.
Forty years ago, when the first batch of American health workers were allowed to visit China, Milo Leavitt, then director of the Fogarty International Center, noted in Medicine and Public Health in the People’s Republic of China that “for those who believe that the universal desire for health and relief from disease and suffering may be the strongest key to peace and international cooperation, it is significant and heartening to observe that physicians were among the first groups granted permission to visit the People’s Republic of China.” If cooperation over health contributed to the opening of China in the early 1970s, now it can and should play a much larger role in building strategic trust and contributing to the success of your pivot strategy. We look forward to your leadership in shaping this global health agenda.
Western Bloggers Use Google Maps To Expose North Korean Prison Camps
Western Bloggers Use Google Maps To Expose North Korean Prison Camps:
Melissa Block talks to Curtis Melvin, editor of the North Korean Economy Watch blog, about using Google Earth satellite images to identify the locations of North Korean prisons.
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Melissa Block talks to Curtis Melvin, editor of the North Korean Economy Watch blog, about using Google Earth satellite images to identify the locations of North Korean prisons.
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Shandong Evictee Sets Fire to Self
Shandong Evictee Sets Fire to Self:
A man protesting forced eviction from his home in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong set himself on fire on Friday in front of government advisors during a parliamentary meeting, his relatives said.
Tan Shuguang, an evictee from Wenshang county, poured gasoline over himself and set fire to it outside the Shandong Towers building in Jining city, as delegates to the local Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were emerging from the opening session, his brother said.
The flames were doused quickly and he was taken to a hospital in Jining but latest reports said that he had been taken away from the hospital by local ruling Chinese Communist Party officials.
Tan Hongguang said his brother had called their father at around 10:40 a.m. to say he was about to light the gasoline.
"He told our father that none of the delegates cared about our problems, and that they were just dodging and avoiding him," he said.
"The police and the security guards extinguished the flames quite quickly."
Tan said his brother had once previously tried to commit suicide.
"The doctors said his legs were very badly burned, but they didn't say anything about other injuries," he added.
Tan Shuguang was taken to the Jilu Hospital in Jining by officials from his home county of Wenshang.
However, his relatives said his whereabouts were unknown on Friday afternoon.
"He was admitted at about noon and was discharged at 1:30 p.m.," an employee who answered the phone at the hospital said. "According to our records, he is no longer here, but I don't know who took him away."
The employee said Tan Shuguang's condition was unlikely to have been critical, or "he would definitely not have been allowed to leave."
Taken by officials
According to Tan Hongguang, his brother had already been taken away from the hospital by officials from the family's hometown by the time the family arrived at the hospital.
"Maybe they were afraid he would give interviews to the media," he said. "We are in [the provincial capital] Jinan looking for him right now, but we can't find him."
"We called the [ruling Chinese Communist] Party secretary of our township, and he wouldn't admit it at first, but then he did admit [they had him] and told us to come and meet them, but we didn't want to do that," Tan Hongguang said.
"The moment we meet up with them, they will detain us illegally, because they're afraid we'll speak to the foreign media," he added.
An official who answered that phone at the Wenshang county government offices on Friday confirmed the self-immolation had taken place.
"We know about this incident," the official said. "But we don't know where he has been taken to."
But he added: "Our leaders know where he is. This is just the office, so we don't know the details."
Asked if the local government was astir over Tan's protest, he replied: "Yes, that's right."
Years of petitioning
Tan began petitioning the authorities for compensation after his family home was forcibly demolished three years ago. He tried to commit suicide by poisoning himself in Beijing last June after a trip to petition the central government proved unsuccessful, his relatives said.
Shortly afterwards, his father, Tan Jikui, was sent to labor camp, but sent home again after being diagnosed with cancer.
Tan Hongguang said the family was simply asking for the amount of compensation stipulated in the regulations on forced eviction.
"We just want compensation for the 60-some square meters (646 square feet) of our home, and the land it was built on," he said. "They also fired me from my job at a state-run coal mine, and I want it back. These are our three demands."
"Our township Party secretary said he wouldn't do anything because our case hadn't led to loss of life," he said. "My brother really took this to heart."
Violent forced evictions, often resulting in deaths and injuries, are continuing to rise in China, as cash-strapped local governments team up with development companies to grab property in a bid to boost revenue, according to a recent report by rights group Amnesty International.
Amnesty International collected reports of 41 cases of self-immolation from 2009 to 2011 alone due to forced evictions. That compares to fewer than 10 cases reported in the entire previous decade.
Nearly half of all rural residents have had land forcibly taken from them, with the number of cases on the rise, according to a 2011 study by the Landesa Rural Development Institute.
Reported by Fang Yuan for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
A man protesting forced eviction from his home in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong set himself on fire on Friday in front of government advisors during a parliamentary meeting, his relatives said.
Tan Shuguang, an evictee from Wenshang county, poured gasoline over himself and set fire to it outside the Shandong Towers building in Jining city, as delegates to the local Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were emerging from the opening session, his brother said.
The flames were doused quickly and he was taken to a hospital in Jining but latest reports said that he had been taken away from the hospital by local ruling Chinese Communist Party officials.
Tan Hongguang said his brother had called their father at around 10:40 a.m. to say he was about to light the gasoline.
"He told our father that none of the delegates cared about our problems, and that they were just dodging and avoiding him," he said.
"The police and the security guards extinguished the flames quite quickly."
Tan said his brother had once previously tried to commit suicide.
"The doctors said his legs were very badly burned, but they didn't say anything about other injuries," he added.
Tan Shuguang was taken to the Jilu Hospital in Jining by officials from his home county of Wenshang.
However, his relatives said his whereabouts were unknown on Friday afternoon.
"He was admitted at about noon and was discharged at 1:30 p.m.," an employee who answered the phone at the hospital said. "According to our records, he is no longer here, but I don't know who took him away."
The employee said Tan Shuguang's condition was unlikely to have been critical, or "he would definitely not have been allowed to leave."
Taken by officials
According to Tan Hongguang, his brother had already been taken away from the hospital by officials from the family's hometown by the time the family arrived at the hospital.
"Maybe they were afraid he would give interviews to the media," he said. "We are in [the provincial capital] Jinan looking for him right now, but we can't find him."
"We called the [ruling Chinese Communist] Party secretary of our township, and he wouldn't admit it at first, but then he did admit [they had him] and told us to come and meet them, but we didn't want to do that," Tan Hongguang said.
"The moment we meet up with them, they will detain us illegally, because they're afraid we'll speak to the foreign media," he added.
An official who answered that phone at the Wenshang county government offices on Friday confirmed the self-immolation had taken place.
"We know about this incident," the official said. "But we don't know where he has been taken to."
But he added: "Our leaders know where he is. This is just the office, so we don't know the details."
Asked if the local government was astir over Tan's protest, he replied: "Yes, that's right."
Years of petitioning
Tan began petitioning the authorities for compensation after his family home was forcibly demolished three years ago. He tried to commit suicide by poisoning himself in Beijing last June after a trip to petition the central government proved unsuccessful, his relatives said.
Shortly afterwards, his father, Tan Jikui, was sent to labor camp, but sent home again after being diagnosed with cancer.
Tan Hongguang said the family was simply asking for the amount of compensation stipulated in the regulations on forced eviction.
"We just want compensation for the 60-some square meters (646 square feet) of our home, and the land it was built on," he said. "They also fired me from my job at a state-run coal mine, and I want it back. These are our three demands."
"Our township Party secretary said he wouldn't do anything because our case hadn't led to loss of life," he said. "My brother really took this to heart."
Violent forced evictions, often resulting in deaths and injuries, are continuing to rise in China, as cash-strapped local governments team up with development companies to grab property in a bid to boost revenue, according to a recent report by rights group Amnesty International.
Amnesty International collected reports of 41 cases of self-immolation from 2009 to 2011 alone due to forced evictions. That compares to fewer than 10 cases reported in the entire previous decade.
Nearly half of all rural residents have had land forcibly taken from them, with the number of cases on the rise, according to a 2011 study by the Landesa Rural Development Institute.
Reported by Fang Yuan for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Thailand’s Lèse Majesté Law Descends Further
Thailand’s Lèse Majesté Law Descends Further:
Yesterday the prominent Thai editor and activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk was sentenced to ten years in jail for publishing articles allegedly offensive to the Thai monarchy, under the draconian lèse majesté laws Thailand has in force. Bangkok-based blogger Saksith Saiyasombut has a fine overview of the scene in the courtroom as the judges read out their verdict, to the protests of several hundred observers, including other rights activists.
There has been extensive media coverage, both inside Thailand and in the global press, of this case, and yet the defendant was given a jail term considered harsh even by the ridiculous standards of the lèse majesté law, which allows anyone—not just the monarch —to file lèse majesté charges against anyone else, and so has turned into the most potent political weapon to use in Thailand today. The fact that all of this international coverage, and observers, made no difference shows how thoroughly Thailand has departed from international norms on freedom of expression, and how little the lèse majesté witch-hunt has changed under the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, despite many Thais’ hopes that the political environment would cool off, at least for a time.
Yesterday the prominent Thai editor and activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk was sentenced to ten years in jail for publishing articles allegedly offensive to the Thai monarchy, under the draconian lèse majesté laws Thailand has in force. Bangkok-based blogger Saksith Saiyasombut has a fine overview of the scene in the courtroom as the judges read out their verdict, to the protests of several hundred observers, including other rights activists.
There has been extensive media coverage, both inside Thailand and in the global press, of this case, and yet the defendant was given a jail term considered harsh even by the ridiculous standards of the lèse majesté law, which allows anyone—not just the monarch —to file lèse majesté charges against anyone else, and so has turned into the most potent political weapon to use in Thailand today. The fact that all of this international coverage, and observers, made no difference shows how thoroughly Thailand has departed from international norms on freedom of expression, and how little the lèse majesté witch-hunt has changed under the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, despite many Thais’ hopes that the political environment would cool off, at least for a time.
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