Since July, more and more Chinese audience members have been complaining that it is very difficult to receive the signal from Voice of America and Radio Free Asia’s broadcasting to China programs. The signal has been totally interrupted since the beginning of August.
Source:
The Epoch Times, August 12, 2008-8-12
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/8/8/12/n2225683.htm
Following the government’s regulations that demonstrations would be allowed in designated parks during the Beijing Olympics, Mr. Li Jincheng and Mr. Liu Xueli applied for and obtained permission to protest in World Park. They were told to come to the authorities to get their written permission on August 9.
But on August 8, Mr. Li mysteriously disappeared near the “Bird’s Nest” Olympic Stadium. The other organizer, Mr. Liu, was also missing. Their protest permit has been invalidated.
Source: Boxun.com, August 10, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/08/200808102022.shtml
Recently the media propaganda department issued a list of requirements and guidelines on news reports about the Olympic games and its opening ceremony. The guideline emphasizes the requirement to report positively about the games. It asks media channels to downplay negative news and even forbids them to report news on subjects such as the designated demonstration sites, attacks of policemen in Xinjiang, or the mishandling of Sichuan earthquake funds.
Source: Boxun, August 8, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/08/200808081130.shtml
Tang Yongming, a 47 year old man from Hangzhou City, jumped to his death after attacking two Americans and their Chinese tour guide with a knife on August 8, the opening day of the Olympics. An American man was killed and his wife seriously injured.
In a note he left, Tang Yongming said: “The reason I take this extreme action is not cruelty and craziness, I want the world to pay attention to Chinese people’s pain suffered under the Communist Party.”
Source: Boxun.com, August 10, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/forum/200808/boxun2008b/2419.shtml
China started to build a J-14 in 2006 and its maiden flight in July 2008 was a success, according to an Internet posting on a popular Chinese military web site. The posting comments on the features of the fourth-generation fighter: First, it maximizes flight time of combat aircraft during supersonic flights. Second, it uses a large number of stealth materials and technology. Thirdly, its taking off and landing performance is greatly improved.
The posting contains a photo of a J-14 under construction.
Source: http://military.club.china.com/data/thread/1011/2281/99/40/7_1.html
As foreign reporters in Beijing find reporting in China rather restrictive, on August 7 Xinhua published an article entitled “China is open with confidence and treats foreign media kindly according to the law.” The article states that China is more open during the Olympics and everything is conducted according to the law. It further states, “foreign media has been given freedom to fully report about China,” and that some foreign TV broadcasters are even allowed to broadcast live from Tiananmen Square.
Source: Xinhua, August 7, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/olympics/2008-08/07/content_9031773.htm content_8999765.htm
Four human rights activists from U.K. and U.S. were arrested and expelled from China today. On August 6 at 5:47 a.m., three men and one woman managed to hang two banners on light posts. One banner said “Tibet will be Free”; the other said “One World One Dream Free Tibet”. Per Xinhua News, police arrived within 12 minutes and arrested them.
A spoke person of the Beijing Olympics Committee said: “their behavior is unacceptable and illegal.”
The two British citizens have boarded a Frankfurt-bound plane; the two Americans were flying to San Francisco.
Source: BBC, August 7, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7540000/newsid_7544400/7544429.stm
As of August 5, of all the 541 power plants in China, 219 have less than 7 days worth of coal inventory. Power shortages have occurred in provinces such as Shangxi, Henan, Hunan and Liaoning where local authorities have implemented planned blackouts. On July 29, the shortage hit 10.22 million Kilowatts in Shandong Province, close to one-third of the power requirement in the province.
The power shortage was attributed to lack of quality coal, which has forced the shutdown of some major power plants.
Industry experts fear that the shortage will spread to more provinces and regions including Jiangsu, Fujian, Hubei and Jiangxi and Chongqing. 70% of the power consumed in Beijing depends on power plants outside the Beijing region. Two of them, Shalingzi and Wangtan Power Plants have their coal inventory hovering at around a 2 day level of reserves.
Source: Xinhua, August 6, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-08/06/content_8999765.htm