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August 26, 2007 (Sunday) － Issue No. 115 |
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Uncompensated Villagers Try to Stop Power Plant Construction |
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Trial
of Pharmaceutical Company Exposes Counterfeit Medicine Production |
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Beijing
Police to Station in Ten Major Universities |
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Far is the West from Understanding China? The official consulted many experts on Chinese issues, and studying the written explanations from the experts, the immigration official eventually realized that "farmer" in China is not only an occupation but also a symbol of identity....…Full Article |
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CIPFG's Events on the Global Human Rights Torch Relay The human rights torch is a symbol of peace, justice and freedom. It has broken through many obstacles put in place by the CCP, and the first flame was lit on August 9, 2007 in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics......…Full Article |
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Conflict rises again in Shanwei, Guangdong Province because of the forceful and uncompensated land acquisition for a power plant in 2005. Since the Shanwei Massacre broke out on December 6, 2005, even under the watchful eyes of the international media, the local regime has never stopped the power plant's construction or the crackdown on the local villagers. On August 15 and 16, 2007, over 1000 residents from Dongzhou Village attempted to stop the Shanwei Power Plant from hanging power cables. The authority in Shanwei City never compensated these residents for the land used for the construction of the power plant. The local authority hired gangsters to protect the construction site from the protesting residents. According to a villager surnamed Liu from Dongyi Village, instead of solving the compensation problem, the authority hired hundreds of gangsters to protect the Shanwei Power Plant's 500kV electric cable construction site. The residents had tried to initiate a dialogue with the Shanwei authority on many occasions, but their requests went unanswered. Over 1000 residents finally decided to stop the construction. Gangsters and
Police Outnumbered Xu from Dongyi Village said, "In the evening on the August 15, a meeting was held in the village. The head of the police station came to warn the villagers, threatening to arrest the villager who rang the copper gong (to call the assembly). The angry villagers drove the police away and decided to continue the protest on August 16." On August 16, over 1000 villagers went back to the construction site and a conflict took place. The gangsters who protected the site withdrew because they were outnumbered. The angry villagers burned one of the gangsters' tents. Authorities Embezzled
the Money The first bloody
conflict in Shanwei City happened on December 6, 2005. However, until
now, the armed officers who shot the protesting villagers have not
been arrested. The villagers still haven't received their compensation,
except a few of the families of the dead, and the corruption in the
village and resident's oppressed living conditions have not improved.
Back On August 8 2007, Guangzhou City Intermediate People's Court held criminal proceedings of a well-known counterfeit medicine manufacturing case. Five people from the well known manufacturer, Qiqihar No.2 Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, were criminally charged with, "causing a major liability accident." According to a Chinese report on Xkb.com.cn, dated August 9, once in court the five defendants exposed a lot of inside information detailing counterfeit medicine production: 1. Purchasing Division – "Cannot Understand Quality Control Report from Vendor" Mr. Niu Zhongren, the only individual responsible for purchasing raw materials, was only a junior high school graduate. He cited being "unbearably busy," and replaced the mandatory "field inspections" and "sample testing" with simple "phone calls" in the purchasing process. 2. Approval Link – "GMP Certification Was Bought" Mr. Guo Xingping was the deputy-general manager of the company. He claimed that the certification was purchased by the company. "It is just a disc that contains all the certification documents. The company bought it for 100,000 yuan (USD$13,150)! 3. Laboratory
Testing Stage 4. Production
and Quality Control Division 5. The Final Comment According to the
report, 13 people in Guangzhou have died because of the medicine and
dozens of victims want to file claims for more than 20 million yuan
(US$2,630,129) in damages. Back Before the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), various groups in and outside of the CCP all strived to make gains in their own positions. Various conflicts were also getting fiercer. According to a disclosure by a CCP high-level official, Chinese president Hu Jintao is seeking a way of "Social Reconciliation" to resolve long-held social complaints to overcome this difficulty. Analysts say the most important issue in today's China is the Falun Gong problem. Because the former Chinese CCP leader Jiang Zemin's gang has made every effort to hinder this from being resolved, the Falun Gong issue has become a huge obstacle on the road to the "Social Reconciliation." Conflicts Become
Fiercer and Long-held Complaints Worsen At this critical point with various powers fighting, people are watching every action of Hu Jintao and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. People hope the two can take this great historical opportunity during the 17th National Congress." The Falun Gong
Issue Is the Key International
human rights organizations, in the name of a third party, are calling
for the CCP to stop the persecution of Falun Gong and the human rights
torch is being passed through hundreds of cities on the world's five
continents. Wherever it goes, it raises people's awareness and they
condemn the crimes conducted by the CCP, especially the act of live
organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. People reject the
idea of a bloody Beijing Olympics as well. Back Beijing police has introduced a plan to station in major universities such as Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, and others. The police will be on duty 24 hours a day with the assistance of patrol to control any emerging events and incidences on campus. According to a Beijing News report on August 15,the first of ten Universities with police station are Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Beihang University, Beijing Institute of Technology, China Agricultural University, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing University of Physical Education, Capital Normal University, and Capital Institute of P.E. Beijing China. It is believed that this move is in reaction to the increasing numbers and scale of protest activities and on campus. Last year, campus protests had increased to an average of two in every three months, and reached a record high since the June 4 Democratic Movement in 1989. The number of participants ranges from several hundreds to thousands. The protest in Zhengzhou University numbered as many as 10,000 participants. The causes leading to the campus protest activities varied. For instance, • The Lanzhou Commercial College student protest was caused by a female student being beaten by university employees for getting extra water from a supply station. A quarrel broke out that led to the student being beaten up and wounded by four staff members at the water station. • Sichuan University students protested against the school electricity blackout policy to prohibit the students from watching the World Cup • The student protests in Shengda University and Dalian Neusoft Institute of Information College were due to both universities deceiving the students with expensive tuition fees and false promises of a regular diploma. These protests led to a direct confrontation between the angry students and the police as well as damaging of police cars Even though most student protests have been blocked by the authority, many photos and videos made their way to the outside world through Internet. As indicated by
a student, "There are so many student protests nowadays that
everyone is familiar with it. People dare to express their disappointment."According
to Chinese official data, there were a total of 87,000 massive protests
last year. Even though campus protests have been proportionally insignificant,
the official has treated the campus protests with extreme caution
due to the scale, impact and sensitivity of the Tiananmen Massacre
that occurred on June 4 1989.
Back On the New York City subway, I met Mr. Chen, a chef from Fujian Province, a southern coastal province in China. He told me about the trouble he had when applying for a Green Card. On his Chinese passport his occupation was listed as "farmer." It confused the official at the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) because Mr. Chen was applying as a chef. The official consulted many experts on Chinese issues, and studying the written explanations from the experts, the immigration official eventually realized that "farmer" in China is not only an occupation but also a symbol of identity. Fortunately Mr. Chen's application was finally granted. Many foreign officials have had to face more baffling questions than a question such as whether "farmer" is an occupation—questions that the Western world can hardly understand even if it has ten times more experts on China. Such questions include the understanding of phrases like China's market economy, "the democracy with Chinese characteristics," Chinese human rights, etc. When I talk about China issues with foreigners, more than once I find myself having to spend a lot of time explaining how a phrase may be given a different meaning in China than in all other parts of the world. Interestingly, former Eastern European officials don't need such additional explanations, thanks to their past experiences of living in a society also ruled by a communist party. In a recent paper, hydro-scientist Wang Weiluo listed the water quality standards China made in the past few decades. Comparing different years' standards for the Chemical Oxygen Demand, one of the main indicators for water quality level, Wang finds that the requirement for drinkable water in 2002 is even lower than that for irrigation water in 1998. It means the "drinkable" water in 2002 would not be qualified even for irrigation in 1988. In the above cases, the connotations and/or extensions of common concepts have changed. Many people have noticed how hard it is to talk to someone who often distorts common concepts. Indeed, the China's communist regime is proved to be prone to distorting common concepts. This said, is it any wonder that Hong Kong's Supreme Court is not able to pronounce an ultimate sentence? I can list thousands of similar cases if I have the time. The problem is, such distortions are not a result of ignorance, but intentional and calculated acts. I remember reading an article on a pro-communist newspaper in Hong Kong which flattered China's so-called "democracy" and "fairness" while attacking Western democracy. Realizing the habit of distorting, you would not be surprised by the huge number of corruption and absconding among Chinese officials despite of their own repeated promises to fight corruption. In today's Chinese society, it is as common among government officials as ordinary citizens to have two faces. Such double personality is fully demonstrated in Chinese officials every behavior. This is how China has confused the Westerner society.The core of civilization is people's value perception. A common value system that features self-denial is by no means healthy for any society, like China is Rising.” Back CIPFG's
Events on the Global Human Rights Torch Relay Back The objectives of the Global Human Rights Torch Relay are to reveal the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) tyranny and stop human rights violations, with the theme that "Olympics and Crimes Against Humanity Cannot Co-exist in China." The human rights torch is a symbol of peace, justice and freedom. It has broken through many obstacles put in place by the CCP, and the first flame was lit on August 9, 2007 in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics. This event has been widely reported by the international media. Many people have approached us to inquire about the details and ways of participating. We would like to address this by providing the following information: 1. The Global Human Rights Torch Relay is a series of activities initiated by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) (www.cifpg.org). The coalition consists of over 350 government officials, lawyers, doctors, clergymen, and human rights activists from around the world. Through the torch relay activities, the CCP’s cruel eight-year persecution against the peaceful Falun Gong community will be exposed, with a focus on the illegal harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners’ organs that is currently being carried out in China. CIPFG is urging the CCP to end the persecution immediately and not to turn the 2008 Olympics into the Bloody Harvest Olympics. Olympics and crimes-against-humanity cannot co-exist in China. 2. After the first flame was lit in Athens, many international human rights organizations and individuals expressed their support. 3. Many Mainland Chinese are also participating in the torch relay in their unique way, eager to pass on their wish of "Human rights wanted, not Olympic Games" to all corners in the world. So far, eight provinces have confirmed their participation. (For security reasons, the names of these provinces will not be announced.) Concrete plans are underway and will be announced in due course. 4. Relaying the human rights torch is a grand event that has never been done before in history. The extensive press coverage and community participation so far have been extraordinary and encouraging. The human rights torch will be relayed through the following countries in this order: Europe, Oceania, Africa, North America and Asia. 5. Method of relay: The Human Rights Torch Relay events will take place at a site that best describes the characteristics of the host city. The first city in Germany that receives the torch will be Berlin. 6. In order to maximize participation, we are in the process of designing an online human rights torch relay website which is expected to be in full function within days. The new website will provide all the necessary details about the relay and welcome participants. Back |
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