A Chinese court has sentenced a dissident writer to seven years in prison over a poem he wrote urging his countrymen to gather at a public square, a human rights group said Friday.

The hefty sentence comes ahead of next week’s visit to the U.S. by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping— widely expected to be China’s next leader — where he is likely to face questions on human rights.

A court in Hangzhou city sentenced dissident Zhu Yufu on Friday in a hearing attended by his ex-wife and son, said the Chinese Human Rights Defenders. Zhu’s ex-wife and lawyers could not immediately be reached.

Zhu is among a group of writers and intellectuals targeted by Chinese authorities in a crackdown aimed at preventing Arab Spring-style popular uprisings.

Three other dissidents have received nine- and 10-year prison terms for subversion or inciting subversion over the last few months.

The Guardian has quoted Zhu’s son, who describes the activities that landed Zhu in court:

Zhu Yufu was jailed for “inciting subversion of state power” by a court in Hangzhou, eastern China, after a trial hearing on 31 January when prosecutors cited a poem and messages he had sent on the internet, his son Zhu Ang told Reuters.

The poem said: “It’s time, Chinese people! It’s time. The Square belongs to all.” References to a “square” might evoke memories among many Chinese people of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, though the poem did not mention it or the 1989 pro-democracy protests.

Prosecutors also cited text messages that he sent using Skype. There was no suggestion that the online chat service helped police to collect evidence.

[...]He [Zhu Ang] said the verdict cited his father’s online calls for mobilisation in the name of democracy.

An English translation of the entire poem can be seen on Bruce Hume’s blog.

BBC further quotes Zhu’s son, and gives a brief outline of Zhu’s earlier clashes with the State:

“Basically, the only chance that my father had to say anything was when he was being taken out after the hearing, and he stopped and said, ‘I want to appeal’.”

Mr Zhu, a veteran activist who turns 59 this month, was involved in the 1979 Democracy Wall movement, which pressed for faster change in China.

He has been jailed twice before for his activism – in 1999 for seven years and in 2007 for two years.

Zhu’s incarceration comes just as Vice President Xi Jinping prepares to visit the U.S. The sentencing happened in spite of a recent meeting between U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (who will be Xi Jinping’s host) and China focused human rights activists. From the Taipei Times:

In the meeting, Biden and the activists “discussed the deterioration of China’s human rights situation, prospects for reform and recommendations for US policy,” a White House statement said.

“The vice president underscored the administration’s belief in the universality of human rights and its commitment to human rights as a fundamental part of our foreign policy,” it said.

“He reiterated his view that greater openness and protection of universal rights is the best way to promote innovation, prosperity and stability in all countries, including China,” it said.

An AFP report describes U.S. State Department appeals on Zhu’s behalf:

“We are deeply concerned about these reports that he has been found guilty of inciting subversion of state power and sentenced to seven years in prison for writing a poem,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

[...]“We call on the Chinese government to release Zhu Yufu and all others detained for exercising their rights and to respect the universal human rights of all their citizens,” she added.

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Post tags: activism, dissidents, political prisoners, subversion, Zhu Yufu
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The banner reads “Tibetans and Han are One Family”. Shanghaiist’s Kenneth Tan points out a satirically photoshopped image of an identical vehicle outside Hong Kong’s Sogo department store in, supposedly, 2015, its banner reading “China and Hong Kong are One Family”.

If a declaration of fraternity hanging from the side of an armoured vehicle isn’t ironic enough, the blog Mountain Phoenix over Tibet notes (in a different context) the historical background of the name “Kangding” 康定. It replaced “Dajianlu” 打箭炉 (based on the Tibetan “Dartsedo”) in the early twentieth century, and is widely held to refer to the stabilisation or pacification of Kham (eastern Tibet).

A friend, who hails from Kardze town, tells me the name is a contraction of the Tibetan karpo (“white”) and dzebo (“graceful”) – actually a rather unlikely and funny name for a macho Khampa place. It sounds more like a name for a Tibetan cosmetics line: “Fair & Lovely”!

The town Kardze, however, is not the capital of the Prefecture Kardze. That privilege goes to Dartse(m)do, a formerly important trading-town on the old Sino-Tibetan border. But in present-day Tibet, folks who hail from Dartsedo would tell you they are from Kangding.

How Dartsedowas can be so brainless and voluntarily use that dreadful Chinese name is a mystery only they are able to penetrate. Doesn’t it mean “subjugation of Kham”? Arrog Khampa, what happened to your famous pride? Linguistics is a political battlefield, if you still haven’t noticed. Why do you shoot yourself in the foot?

The BBC’s Michael Bristow describes the extensive security operation currently in place in the area, following a series of self-immolations:

A BBC team was stopped and held at the roadblock [on the way to Kangding]. “Foreigners are not allowed into Tibetan areas,” said one security man.

We were then escorted back into Ya’an, where we were questioned at government offices by an official, surnamed Ma, who veered from friendly to threatening.

“You need to make a confession and sign a statement saying you will not go back into Tibetan areas,” he barked at one point ….

Robert Barnett, of New York’s Columbia University, said this region of western Sichuan, historically known to Tibetans as Kham, was relatively peaceful until a few years ago.

“We are talking about an area where China had a working relationship with Tibetans,” said Mr Barnett.

But he said trust started to disappear just over a decade ago when the central government began introducing hardline policies that were already in place in Tibet proper.

Kristin Jones at the Committee to Protect Journalists suggests that the policy of denying media access may be counterproductive:

Placing travel restrictions on journalists may have one unintended effect. It means that when it comes to unofficial news from China, activists and advocacy groups play a vital role in collecting and disseminating information.

Chinese authorities are hard on activists–even harder than they are on journalists. But by preventing reporters from doing their jobs, Chinese officials all but guarantee that activists are the ones reporting the news.

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Post tags: history, language, media conditions, Robert Barnett, Sichuan, Tibet coverage
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“The level of mutual trust between China and the U.S. is lagging behind what is required for further development of our bilateral relations,” Cui Tiankai said Thursday.

“Vice President Xi’s visit will present a very important opportunity to enhance” that trust, he said.

Washington and Beijing have differed in the past few weeks on a range of global issues, including sanctions on Iranian oil exports, dealing with North Korea, territorial disputes over islands in the South China Sea and, most recently, China’s decision to join Russia in vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria’s crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Cui also indicated that China was not likely to change its position on Syria. From Reuters:

But Cui, whose portfolio covers steering relations with Washington, played down the potential for ructions in Washington over Syria while also defending the veto decision.

“Mutual accusations have little value and don’t solve problems,” Cui told the briefing.

“China believes that in international relations one should not rashly use force or the threat or force, and one shouldn’t use external intervention to achieve regime change in another country,” he said.

“When necessary, China will of course use its veto; when China has to show its hand, China will certainly show its hand. Nobody should have any illusions about that,” he said.

On his visit, Xi will visit the White House while also going off the beaten track to return to Iowa where he spent time in 1985. From China Daily:

Back in 1985, Xi, then a local official in Hebei province, led a delegation to Iowa to learn about agricultural technologies. Hebei and Iowa cemented province-state ties in 1983.

Xi’s five-member delegation received a warm welcome in the Midwestern state and developed an apparently close relationship with the people of Iowa over their two-week stay.

“The reason (Xi decided to revisit Iowa) is because of the friendship,” Chinese Consul General of Chicago Yang Guoqiang said at a news conference in Chicago on Wednesday.

“The hospitality of Iowa and the Midwest is quite well-known among Chinese people because of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit last year and the story of Xi.”

Xi will discuss agricultural trade while in Iowa.
He also hopes to take in an NBA game, the Wall Street Journal reports:

Details of Vice President Xi’s visit are still being finalized—and the schedule could change at any time—but officials are making arrangements for him to attend the game in Los Angeles on the last day of his visit, possibly with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, these people said. He would be the first Chinese leader to attend an NBA match.

The idea originated from the Chinese side, these people said, and appears to be another attempt to establish an image for Mr. Xi at home and overseas as a relatively open and confident leader who feels comfortable in a public setting, and in dealing with the U.S.

Mr. Xi, who arrives in Washington on Monday, is also taking the unusual step on Wednesday of going back to see a a family in Muscatine, Iowa, that he stayed with during a visit there as a young party official in 1985.

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Post tags: NBA, Syria, U.S trade, Xi Jinping, xi jinping u.s. visit 2012
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The still-unidentified Tibetan man shouted slogans before self-immolating, they said.

“The protester appeared to be a monk,” Yeshe and Tsering said, quoting a source, “but his name and place of origin and other details are not known.”

“He was immediately taken away by soldiers and police,” they said, adding that two other monks were detained in the vicinity.

“Their identities are also unknown,” Yeshe and Tsering said.

The latest incident took place amid a worldwide vigil day called for by the Tibetan exile leader and, if true, would bring to at least 20 the number of Tibetans who have taken their lives to protest Chinese rule since March 2009, according to The New York Times. It also comes just days after three Tibetan livestock herders reportedly lit themselves ablaze in Sichuan’s Seda County.

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Post tags: self-immolation, Sichuan, Tibet protests
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Interrogator: “What is it all about? You are the initiator, correct? Who are the members? How much money have you spent on it? Who gave you the money?”

Me: “I set it up to collect everything about Chen Guangcheng in Chinese or other languages. The purpose is to get more people to know about him, raise awareness of the plight of him and his family, and call for his freedom. It needs no money, nor did anyone give me money. It’s built on a free blogging platform. Members are netizens whom I don’t personally know …. We don’t originate content. I am not a leader, and there is no need for us to contact each other.”

Interrogator: “That’s not possible! How can a website belong to no organization, no leader, not spending money? Impossible!”

“Believe it or not, nobody leads,” I said, thinking, Where do these people come from? Do you have to have a leader to call for freedom?

Reading the whole account is strongly recommended: Part 1, Part 2

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Americans in China, Chen Guangcheng, detention, interrogation, online activism, United States
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As Goldman notes [in a previous Bloomberg article], candidate Obama didn’t shy away from using China as a political weapon, famously calling President George W. Bush a “patsy” for not driving a harder bargain on trade talks. That’s a lot tougher for him to do — impossible, actually — now that he’s the one ultimately responsible for negotiations. That’s a difficulty the Romney campaign is happy to exploit.

In a China Daily article about the coming Xi-Obama meeting, recent swipes made by Presidential incumbents and hopefuls are recalled:

Vice-President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the United States will help China-US ties fly clear of US election year turbulence, experts said.

[...]Xi will meet US President Barack Obama in Washington on Feb 14, the White House announced.

China bashing is becoming ever-more frequent in this election year.

Mitt Romney, the leading Republican candidate, pledged to “clamp down” on Beijing as a currency manipulator and openly threatened a trade war.

In his recent State of the Union address, Obama singled out China for unfair trade practices. He also pointed out China’s solar research facility and supercomputer as examples of global challenges facing the US.

An article in The Australian emphasizes the rhetorical nature of China bashing in U.S. politics: 

Romney’s longstanding efforts to paint himself as someone willing to “stand up to China” exemplifies an alarming trend of China-bashing in US politics.

Rick Santorum has echoed Romney, declaring, the US has a moral obligation to defeat China’s “godless socialism”.

Such statements are primarily targeted at shoring up political support and secondarily at painting Obama as being soft on China. We should not take them as an accurate indication of future policy. And despite this overriding political calculus, these remarks are on to something: Beijing’s currency manipulation gives China a advantage in global trade, and its abuse of intellectual property rights ought to be condemned.

[...]The shortsightedness of the recent China-bashing exhibited in both the Republican primary debates and Obama’s State of the Union address exemplifies Washington’s current lack of grand strategy and historical awareness.

An editorial printed in the Holland Sentinel – Hoekstra’s own local daily based in Holland, Michigan – reprimands Hoekstra for his “political cheap shot”:

Pete Hoekstra should be ashamed for his Super Bowl airing of an inappropriate and insensitive political advertisement aimed at U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

The political cheap shot was aimed at Sen. Stabenow, but its shrapnel hit Chinese-Americans across the state and nation.

In 2012, more than ever, we need less political rhetoric and more solid plans to get Michigan working again. China-bashing is unacceptable and is not a plan. Even in the rough and tumble world of politics, there should be no room for xenophobia and racism.

Also see a response to Hoekstra’s Super Bowl display from the satirists at Funny or Die.

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Post tags: Barack Obama, china bashing, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Xi Jinping
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[Lu Yeqin, Villager]:
“Officials from the village sold land. This land originally belonged to the villagers. After it was sold, the [villagers] were not given any money for it. The villagers are upset, and after all, this land was passed down through their family business. They rely on the land for their livelihood, but now it has been sold.”

Police did not stop more than 3000 villagers from marching to the village committee, but neither have the villagers received a response from local officials.

Local resident Mrs. Ma says the turnout has been huge.

[Mrs. Ma, Villager]:
“Everyone from the village came out. Today we will march again, and the whole village should come. I have even seen kids coming out, passing by my building.”

The Chinese blogosphere is buzzing with chatter about the demonstrations in Panhe East and West, where tensions between local residents and officials have followed a Wukan-like trajectory. From Tea Leaf Nation, which also posted images that had surfaced on Sina Weibo yesterday:

As reported on the Internet portal China.com, the Panhe Village Committee spent the last several years selling off piece after piece of Panhe’s land, all without the villagers’ knowledge. On June 11, 2011, a Wenzhou copper company brought thugs and local police as it began to mine pieces of ancestral land, leading to a confrontation that saw villagers injured, including women and the elderly. The report further states that after villagers’ attempts to report the matter were ignored, they retaliated on October 16, 2011 by attacking the property of another local company. In response, the report continues, the local government arrested nine villagers, two of whom are still in custody.

World Journal, a popular Chinese-language newspaper in North America, reports that government officials and police fled the small village of approximately 5,000 in October of last year following a violent confrontation with villagers in which more than ten were arrested. The reports agree that villagers’ demands for compensation were substantially ignored by authorities.

According to World Journal, the Wukan uprising’s ultimate success inspired Panhe villagers to decide to hold widespread demonstrations starting February 1.  Since that time, the report continues, demonstrators have circled the village unmolested. The street demonstrations shown in photographic accounts include demonstrators waving banners with slogans such as, “Denounce the Local Panhe Government’s Deceit Of The Masses,” “Down With Corrupt Officials,” and “Reselling Land And Destroying Fertile Farmland Is A Heinous Crime.”

See also CDT coverage of a new survey in which 43% of farmers reported being victims of land grabs. The Council on Foreign Relations’ Elizabeth Economy wrote Tuesday that “more Wukans are on China’s horizon” unless China creates a real system of official accountability or enforces the rule of law.

© Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chinese communist party, corruption, Guangdong, land grab protests, Panhe, sina weibo, social media, Wukan, Zhejiang
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In the brief time since the Chongqing government announced that Wang Lijun would be taking time away from his post as vice-mayor of Chongqing for “vacation-style therapy,” the phrase has risen to meme status. Weibo alone returns almost 50,000 results for the search term. Below are some sample netizen comments collected by the China Digital Times editors from Weibo, Google+, and Twitter. Read the original comments here.

From Weibo:

@ZhouXingxing: Maintenance-style demolition, vacation-style therapy, let’s continue: consoling-style rape, harmony-style looting, environmental-style murder, scientific-style theft…

@ChangCheng: What gives? Protective-style demolition, vacation-style therapy, condom-wearing rape, suicidal dismemberment.

@SnowInChina: Top couplet: Beijing–”Maintenance-style demolition,” Bottom couplet: Chongqing: “Vacation-style therapy.”

@OldGhostADing: This scroll may not be the best: “Autonomous Innovation.”

@ZhaoWenkui: Scroll: “Spring has come.”

@PanYuejianWritesSongs: “The great motherland’s spring has come.” “Happy Chinese people, spring has come!”

From Google+:

Bender Fly: I recommend Vice-Mayor Wang sing red songs. Even the vegetative are revived by red songs. I can’t imagine they wouldn’t cure Vice-Mayor Wang’s sickness.

Peng Cong: President Fang, why don’t you go take a vacation, too?

From Twitter:

@krislc: I want #vacation-styletherapy, too… Everyone else go to the American embassy. I’m not picky, the British consulate works for me.

@BillGatesCN: All these years I’ve been getting #vacation-styletherapy.

@AdeySO: Nature’s spring has come. Let’s take some more #vacation-styletherapy.

@sk0207: @krislc @28481k #British scholars have lately discovered that, in order to be invited to undergo #vacation-styletherapy, one must be intercepted en route to the embassy! Visas and such are all meaningless.

© fionasmith for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Wang Lijun
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There was a time when China was referred to as a society which was Communist or Post-Communist; today, the terms Authoritarian Capitalist or Capitalist with Asian/Chinese Characteristics are more common. However, there is a new term that appears to be increasingly applicable to the operation of the Chinese state and its impact on the lives of Chinese people and, above all, the education of Chinese youth born in the 1990s. It is increasingly clear that China is the most powerful, mature and internationally accepted fascist state in global history and its status as such should cause us all a great deal of concern.

[...] Paxton provides a useful definition of fascism as “a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.”

As an educator trying to inculcate a sense of global citizenship in young Chinese, these characteristics are far too common in my encounters with the minds of Chinese youth. The most succinct example of such indoctrination came when one of my “International Education” students became angry about a discussion concerning global environmental degradation. Despite the fact that the documentary which framed our discussion focused on a wide range of global environmental issues and that it in fact made no reference to China, she insisted that I was shaming Chinese people by talking about the environment. She followed on to insist that since China had been humiliated by foreign powers with advanced weaponry, they had no choice but to develop as quickly as possible better weapons so that they could regain their dignity and territorial integrity. The rapidity with which a discussion of global environmental issues jumped to a rant on Chinese national humiliation is telling: As anyone who has spent time face to face with regular Chinese people is aware, one never knows exactly what will trigger such mental leaps.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fascism, nationalism, universities
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According to the study, conducted in 17 provinces and regions by Beijing’s Renmin University and published in the 21st Century Business Herald, nearly a quarter of farmers did not receive any compensation for their land.

Almost two thirds of those surveyed who did receive compensation got a lump sum, which averaged 18,739 yuan ($3,000) per mu, a Chinese unit of land equivalent to 0.16 acres or 0.07 hectares, according to the study.

This compares to an average land sale price of 778,000 yuan per mu for local governments — or more than 40 times the average compensation sum given to farmers. The others received their money in installments.

On a visit to the southern manufacturing hub of Guangdong over the weekend, Wen reiterated his concern over land grabs.

Read more about land rights in China via CDT.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: farmers, forced evictions, land grab, land rights, rural development
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