Monthly Archives: 2月 2016

The Case of Zhang Kai: Refuting Lies, Clarifying the Facts, and Setting the Record Straight

Zhang Kai

Zhang Kai. Photo via his blog, with the tag “Hope.”

Lawyer Zhang Kai was taken into police custody in Wenzhou on August 25, 2015. He was placed in residential surveillance in a designated location for six months, after which he appeared on Chinese television to make a “confession” on February 25. Continue reading

China internet: Ren Zhiqiang’s account blocked after Xi criticism

Ren Zhiqiang3

Ren Zhiqiang has more than 30m followers

China has shut down the microblogging accounts of outspoken former property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang after he criticised President Ren Zhiqiang. Continue reading

China Hits Out at Hong Kong Stars Over Buddhist Event in India

Hong Kong actor Tony Leung

Hong Kong actor Tony Leung receives the distinction of officer of the Order of Arts and Letters at the French Residence in Hong Kong, June 8, 2015.

State media controlled by the ruling Chinese Communist Party has warned two Hong Kong superstars that they could be at the receiving end of a boycott in mainland China after they sat close to two key figures in the entourage of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at a recent religious event. Continue reading

Ren Zhiqiang says media should work for the people not Party, gets accused of trying to topple CCP

Ren ZhiqiangNever known to hold back his words online, outspoken former tycoon and Weibo celebrity Ren Zhiqiang has once again become the target of state media editorials, following his criticism of President Xi Jinping’s much-publicized media inspection tour on Friday. Continue reading

China Reissues Charges Against Citizen Journalist

Wang Jing

Chinese citizen journalist Wang Jing (2nd from R) denies charges that she posted reports about petitioners on the Sichuan-based rights website Tianwang and other sites, which caused a ‘serious disruption to public order.’ Photo courtesy of Tianwang

Authorities in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin have indicted a citizen journalist who reported on the self-immolation of a petitioner on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square for “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble,” paving the way for a second trial at a district court, her lawyer said. Continue reading

A Chilling Effect As Hong Kong’s Missing Bookseller Cases Go Unresolved

Customers browse books on Chinese politics by Mighty Current

Customers browse books on Chinese politics by Mighty Current, the publisher that has seen five of its booksellers disappear, at a stall set up by political activists in Hong Kong on Feb. 5. Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images

Five Hong Kong booksellers disappeared and later turned up in police custody on mainland China, and nearly two months later, Chinese authorities have yet to explain how they got there. Continue reading

Xi Jinping Tells Chinese Media to ‘Speak for the Party’

State media-CCTV

State media workers are shown celebrating President Xi Jinping’s media tour in this screen shot from CCTV broadcast, Feb. 19, 2016.

President Xi Jinping’s call for unswerving loyalty from the state media to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, speaks to the president’s ambition to lead a world superpower and echos Beijing’s growing concern over its international image, analysts told RFA’s Chinese services. Continue reading

Tienchi Martin-Liao: “I am very, very sorry… I am proud to be Chinese.”

Observers of the recent elections in Taiwan

Observers of the recent elections in Taiwan. Image provided by the author.

Reflections on Taiwan’s recent groundbreaking election.

It was an amazing experience to be an observer to the Taiwan election. Together with a small group of writers and politicians from Europe and Japan, we had the chance to witness the peaceful and passionate election in Taiwan in mid-January. The landslide victory of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was already prognosticated by several poll institutes weeks ago. Tsai Ing-wen became the first female president, meeting all expectations, yet the results in the parliament election were still quite astonishing. The ruling party Kuomintang (KMT) has lost almost 50 percent from its original 64 seats down to 35 seats, giving the DPP to get a comfortable 68 of 113 majority. More stunning is the newly founded (as of January 25, 2015) so called third forces. Some of the young leaders of the New Power Party are coming from the Sunflower Movement. They have won 5 seats and became the third political force in parliament. Continue reading