Citizen journalists Huang Qi (left), Li Zhaoxiu (right) followed by several plainclothes agents (background), on Sept 5, 2016. Photo: RSF
Five women citizen journalists reporting for the independent news website 64Tianwang were kidnapped by Chinese police during the G20 summit in the southeastern city of Hangzhou, leaving their families without news of their loved-ones. Continue reading
NGO calls for release of 5 Chinese citizen journalists arrested during G20已关闭评论
Posted in Headlines, Press Freedom
Tagged arrest, G20, Journalist, Tianwang
Between 4-5 September the leaders of 19 of the world’s largest economies and representatives from the European Union meet in Hangzhou in eastern China to discuss global financial stability and international economic policy. It is the first time that China is hosting a G20 Summit and it is another opportunity for it to announce its arrival on the world stage. Millions of dollars are being spent to ensure the city is picture-postcard perfect for the arrival of the dignitaries. Continue reading
Adam Shapiro: China’s Neo-Authoritarianism on Display at the G20已关闭评论
Posted in Headlines, Human Rights Lawyer
Tagged Adam Shapiro, CHEN SHUQING, G20, HRD, LÜ GENGSONG, Neo-Authoritarianism
China’s President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, Sept. 4, 2016.
Censors in China are working overtime to scrub the Internet and social media of any mention of a slip-up made by Chinese President Xi Jinping made during a speech in Hangzhou before the Group of 20 Nations leaders’ summit. Continue reading
China’s Censors Scramble After Xi’s G-20 Speech已关闭评论
Posted in Headlines, Internet Freedom
Tagged censorship, G20, Xi Jinping
Chinese blogger Lu Yuyu (R) and his girlfriend, Li Tingyu, in undated photo. Not the News.
A Chinese citizen journalist who meticulously recorded details of public protests and other ‘mass incidents’ has begun a hunger strike in protest at his mistreatment while in police detention, a rights lawyer said on Friday. Continue reading
Chinese Citizen Journalist on Hunger Strike Over Beatings in Detention已关闭评论
Posted in Headlines, Internet Freedom
Tagged detention, hunger strike, Li Tingyu, Lu Yuyu, Not the News, Torture
It’s not easy to read a prison memoir like this one: For a Song and a Hundred Songs, A Poet’s Journey through a Chinese Prison by Liao Yiwu is a confronting book and it took me a while to get through it. It’s a bit like reading Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – one can’t just scamper through it, because each chapter is a catalyst for all kinds of reflections about the power of the state … Continue reading
For a Song and a Hundred Songs, by Liao Yiwu, translated by Wenguang Huang已关闭评论
Posted in Book Reviews
Tagged Liao Yiwu, Wenguang Huang
| SYDNEY
A statue of late Chairman Mao Zedong is pictured at Beijing University of Chemical Technology in Beijing, China, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
SYDNEY Australia’s two biggest cities Sydney and Melbourne canceled concerts commemorating the death of former Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, with one citing safety concerns, after Chinese Australians complained the content was insensitive.
The incident signifies the continued divisiveness of Mao among Chinese, both at home and abroad, four decades after his death.
In China there is a quiet resurgence in popularity toward Mao, with his image adorning banknotes and his embalmed body attracting hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors a day to Beijing. But there is also continued criticism among Chinese of his reign, under which tens of millions died.
For weeks, Chinese in Sydney and Melbourne complained that the “Glory and Dream” concerts, scheduled for September in both cities’ town halls, lionize a leader they see as responsible for millions of deaths.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the City of Sydney said in an email that after consulting police, the council had “concerns regarding the potential for civil disturbance, patron-to-patron conflict and staff-to-patron conflict” and canceled the event.
The spokesperson said the concert organizers, who booked the venue and arranged the concerts without council involvement, had also determined that the event was “at high risk of disruption and elevated risk to personal safety”.
A spokeswoman for City of Melbourne said the concert was also canceled in that city, but declined to give a reason saying it was the decision of the organizers.
An organizer of the events, Sydney property developer Peter Zhu, said in a telephone call that he was only the “sponsor” and declined to comment further. The other organizer, a group called the International Cultural Exchange Association, did not respond to emails and calls.
Mao, who died in 1976, remains a polarizing figure in China.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-china-mao-zedong-exclusive-idUSKCN1173NZ
