POSTED BY MUSLIMMALAYSIA786
Police have levelled subversion charges against several top activists who urged Middle East-style protests in China, in what appears to be a severe crackdown on dissent, rights groups said on Friday.
Ahead of an appeal for fresh “Jasmine rallies” in 13 Chinese cities on Sunday, skittish authorities in Beijingcalled the foreign press into line, telephoning journalists and using state media to reiterate the reporting rules.
The best part is that knowledge of this incident is being suppressed all over the Chinese internet, EXCEPT extreme nationalist web pages where criticism of the ambassador is allowed. How do you criticize someone for being at an event you won’t even admit happened?
More than 100 activists have been subjected to interrogation, house arrest and other restrictions or have “disappeared” since the online “Jasmine” campaign first surfaced last week, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders said.
More than 100 activists have been subjected to interrogation, house arrest and other restrictions or have “disappeared” since the online “Jasmine” campaign first surfaced last week, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders said.
Police are now beginning to file charges against those rounded up, CHRD director Renee Xia said in a statement.
“The numbers point to a bad situation that is only getting worse,” Xia said.
Notice that he is standing ahead of all the others in his entourage.
Notice that the random “netizens” with the cameras happen to recognize him AND happen to know he speaks fluent chinese. They immediately turn it into a stunt by calling out his name and accusing him of trying to destabilize china.
It’s remotely possible that this guy is just naive and that the chinese officials spotted him and embarrassed him. But ask yourself why he was walking around with the US flag on his shoulder and several steps ahead of his guards.I don’t understand what the scandal is. Why can’t a US ambassador spectate at a protest? I didn’t see him pumping his fist or waving a sign. The intense music in the video makes me want to believe that something’s afoul, but I just can’t decide what it is. Your friendly assistance is appreciated.
“In the matter of a few days, we have seen more cases of prominent lawyers subjected to prolonged disappearances, more criminal charges that may carry lengthy prison sentences for activists, more home raids, and a heavier reliance on extra-legal measures.”
Leading writer Ran Yunfei and Liang Haiyi were among those charged with subversion, while veteran dissidents Ding Mao and Chen Wei — both imprisoned after the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests — were charged with inciting subversion, the Hong Kong-based group said.
A fifth activist, Hua Chunhui, was arrested on charges of “leaking state secrets” — a vague charge often used in China to silent dissent.
“Signs are emerging to indicate that the current crackdown may be one of the most severe actions taken by the government against Chinese activists in recent years,” the CHRD said.
In China, charges of subversion, incitement of subversion and leaking state secrets almost always result in conviction, the group said.
The New York-based Human Rights in China described the clampdown as having “a severity rarely seen in the past few years”.
Online campaigners this week urged people in 13 Chinese cities to rally every Sunday to press for government transparency and free expression, following last week’s calls for protests echoing those sweeping the Arab world.
Calls for protests last Sunday sparked a heavy police turnout at designated protest sites in Beijing, Shanghaiand other cities. The events appeared lightly attended, however, and free of major incidents.
Rumored presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman is ruffling more than a few feathers stateside after video of the U.S. Ambassador to Chinaattending a Jasmine Revolution protest in Beijing surfaced.
In the video, the Republican and former governor of Utah — who is resigning from his post this spring amidst speculation that he is revving up for a 2012 presidential run — sports sunglasses and a leather jacket with an American flag badge on the shoulder. Huntsman, who is fluent in Mandarin, is seen being approached by one demonstrator outside of a McDonald’s restaurant, and according to a translation provided by theShanghaiist, states: “I’m just here to look around.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Huntsman’s appearance at last Sunday’s demonstration is particularly controversial because it is rare for an ambassador to attend an anti-government protest in China. The U.S. Embassy has since moved to extinguish theories that the ambassador’s appearance implied that United States is tacitly supporting the Jasmine Revolution movement.
Officials have since claimed Huntsman’s appearance was purely coincidental. “The Huntsmans were on a family outing and happened to pass by [popular shopping street] Wangfujing,” Richard Buangan, a U.S. embassy spokesman, told the Wall Street Journal,noting the ambassador was on his way to a museum. “They realized what was going on and immediately left.”
Since the video appeared, China’s Internet censors have reportedly blocked searches for Huntsman’s Chinese name.
Watch video of Huntman’s appearance at the protest here:
Amid excessive police control and harassment, Pakatan Rakyat leaders managed to lead a protest of about 100 people including Libyan students to the Libyan embassy here, demanding the resignation of despot Muammar Gaddafi.
“We call on the Libyan military to immediately lay down their arms and stop the killing of innocent civilians. We call for respect towards the Libyans and for Gaddafi to step down immediately,” PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar told a press conference on Friday.
Earlier, the Lembah Pantai MP and her comrades had handed over a memorandum to the Libyan mission, urging an immediate end to the escalating violence taking place in the country.
It can happen here, the corruption is just as bad READMORE In China Police have levelled on more than 100 activists subversion charges against ‘Jasmine rally’ a heavier reliance on extra-legal measures.”
Filed under Uncategorized
No comments:
Post a Comment