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As of October 23, over 1,200 people petitioned for Special pardon of Yang Jia. Yang Jia, a young man in his twenties, was sentenced to death on September 1 2008 by Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People’s Court, after a closed trial, for killing 6 policemen in Shanghai. On October 20, the Shanghai Higher People’s Court turned down his appeal. The petition initiated by 44 in China on October 21 calls for abolishment of death penalty and cited unfair treatment of Yang while in government custody and during the trial.

Source: Chinese Human Rights Defenders, October 23, 2008
http://crd-net.org/Article/Class53/200810/20081023075704_11301.html

Among all of China’s college graduates, as many as 15% cannot find a job, according to a recent report issued by China Youth Research Center. The Report on China Youth Rights and Welfare also forecast the deteriorating trend in the imbalance in the gender structure of the nation’s youth population in the coming decade, with 15 to 20 surpluses of males in every 100 females. The report is compiled based upon a survey on a sample of 4,000+ people in 108 counties in 12 provinces.

Source:
Xinhua, October 22, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/employment/2008-10/22/content_10231406.ht

As Chinese courts refuse to accept suits seeking damages over the contamination of dairy supplies with the industrial chemical melamine, a group of victims under the name of Federation of Victims of Shengyuan Infant Milk Formula have hired a U.S. lawyer to claim compensation. This is the first time that a foreign lawyer involves in the toxic milk scandal.

Shengyuan group, one of the major Chinese diary manufacturers, owns a Delaware-registered venture capital company headquartered in Maryland. The linkage allows U.S. courts to have a jurisdiction over Shengyuan. The first trial is scheduled at a federal court in Maryland.

Mr. Liu, a representative of the group, said to RFA that “it is Shengyuan that violates the law, not we.”

On courts rejection of toxic milk lawsuits, Dr. Zhang Boshu at Chinese Academy of Social Science felt regretful. “We could have handled the issue through normal legal channels, which should be encouraged instead of suppressed by the government.”

Source:
RFA, October 20, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/lawyer-10202008102514.html

After a Shanghai court’s rejection of the appeal from Yang Jia, who killed six policemen in revenge for a wrongful arrest, 44 intellectuals publicly signed on an open letter, asking for the authority’s amnesty.

“Whereas death penalty is a punishment of cruelty in violation of human dignity. … More than two thirds of 193 UN member states have abolished death penalty in law or in essence.” The letter said.

“Mr. Yang has taken extremist actions and caused human tragedy, after failed attempts to seek justice through legal channels over a long period of time. This is why he was overwhelmingly sympathized by the public.”

“Shanghai authorities have refused to publicize the entire facts of the accident. Yang Jia’s mother, a key witness, was kidnapped. Seven Shanghai policemen, also key witnesses, refused to testify on court. The initial death sentence was out of a close-door trial against legal procedure.”

Among the signers are lawyers, writers, professors, and journalists, including a famous economist Mao Yushi and artists Ai Weiwei, who designed Bird Nest or Beijing National Stadium. The execution of 28-year-old Yang Jia is awaiting the approval from the Supreme People’s Court, according to his lawyer Zhai Jian.

Source:
Epoch Times, October 21, 2008
http://epochtimes.com/gb/8/10/21/n2304365.htm