Monthly Archives: 12月 2016

Kerry Brown: Centrifugal Empire: Central Local Relations in China by Jae Ho Chung

central-local-relations-in-chinaThe dynamics between the central administration in imperial Chinese dynasties and local levels of administration since the first unification under the short lived Qin in 220 BCE and the ways in which the shadow of these persist to this day is an enormous subject. It is curious, as Jae Ho Chung points out in the preamble to this short but intense and highly rewarding monograph, why so little attention has been paid to this subject. Continue reading

China Holds 38 Journalists Behind Bars in 2016: Press Freedom Group

tianwang-human-rights-website-founder-huang-qiNearly 40 journalists are currently behind bars amid an ongoing crackdown by the ruling Chinese Communist Party on the media this year, according to a new report from a U.S.-based press freedom group. Continue reading

Writers on the 2016 US Election: Shenaz Patel

shenaz-patel

Shenaz Patel is a Mauritian writer and a 2016 resident of the International Writers Program at the University of Iowa.

As islanders, we know how attentive we have to be to signs when a cyclone approaches.

Will I dare say it aloud? But then, everything about “politically correct” seems thrown to the dogs these days. And perhaps the core of the problem is we’ve had an overdose of political correctness, which has drugged the capacity to see, and hear, and feel. Continue reading

Conference on Ilham Tohti and Human Rights for the Uyghur in Munich

  ilham-tohtiOn the occasion of the International Day for Human Rights, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), in cooperation with the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), Ilham Tohti Initiative (ITI) and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen convened a conference in the Bayrischer Landtag in Munich on 12 December 2016. Entitled “Ilham Tohti and the Situation of the Human Rights of the Uyghur”, the conference brought together a variety of researchers, experts and representatives of diaspora movements to discuss the pressing issue of Uyghur intellectual Ilham Tohti’s unjust imprisonment, how this represented a wider deprivation of fundamental human rights for the Uyghur, and what concrete steps must be taken to achieve peaceful coexistence between Han Chinese and Uyghurs. 

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Kristina Moriconi: The Problem with Me: And Other Essays about Making Trouble in China Today

problem-with-meThis provocative collection from “China’s Troublemaker” falls short on wit and excels at arrogance.

In the translators’ introduction to Han Han’s collection of essays, The Problem with Me, we come to know this young, influential writer is speaking for “a new generation of troublemakers and dissidents, young people [in China] unhappy with the status quo.” And “central to enjoying Han Han’s writing is his sense of humor.” Continue reading

China Dismisses Critics’ Human Rights Day Statements

Last Saturday was Human Rights Day, the 68th anniversary of the United Nations’ adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The occasion brought a chorus of protests over abuses in China, from detentions and prosecutions of rights lawyers to measures against citizen journalists and NGOs. Among the critical statements was an open letter from Pen International, signed by 125 writers including Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, Yann Martel, and Salman Rushdie. From The Guardian: Continue reading

On Human Rights Day, UN Urges Everyone to Stand Up for Universal Rights

people-gather-at-freedom-park-during-a-human-rights-day-celebration-in-phnom-penh-cambodia-dec-10-2016

People gather at Freedom Park during a Human Rights Day celebration in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 10, 2016.

Countries around the world mark International Human Rights Day December 10.

As disrespect for basic human rights continues to be widespread in many parts of the globe, the United Nations is calling on everyone to stand up for universal rights. Continue reading

China to Try Top Human Rights Lawyer, Delays Three Other Cases

Authorities in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin have indicted prominent rights lawyer Li Heping on unknown charges, paving the way for a trial, while other lawyers detained in a July 2015 crackdown remain in pretrial detention. Continue reading