Government/Politics - 342. page

Secret Documents from Hong Kong Immigration Department were recently leaked. Among them is a partial list of names on the Special Region’s surveillance watch list. On Tuesday May 6 Hong Kong Security Bureau admitted that it holds a “surveillance list” of 11,000 names who are considered “dangerous individuals” to Hong Kong public security. A week earlier, Hong Kong Immigration has denied entry of at least six human rights activists into Hong Kong prior to the arrival of Olympic Torch Relay. The leaked documents were said to be stolen from a home PC of a new employee of the Immigration Department who allegedly downloaded the list from work.

Source: Voice of America, May 10, 2008
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2008-05-10-voa38.cfm

An article published by Xinhua on May 8 shows several pictures of prisoners in a Beijing prison celebrating the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The article mentioned that “in order to create an atmosphere of everyone supporting the Games, the Beijing Bureau of prisons launched a series of education events one year before the opening date.” The summer event “undoubtedly becomes a precious medicine” for the prison guards to lead those serving the term to see the “light of life,” said the article.

Source: Xinhua, May 8, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2008-05/08/content_8126183.htm

State textbooks for secondary schools shape the patriotism of young Chinese generations, wrote Mrs. He Qinglian, a prominent writer on China.  Mrs. He wrote that in the State textbooks for secondary schools, the Communist Party has defined the relationship between the Party and Chinese people as that between mother and children, the relationship between Communist authorities and oversea Chinese as that between motherland and oversea orphans. The article believes that the authorities’ deprivation of freedom of information has turned patriotism to loyalty to autocracy as shown in recent breakout of nationalism against western media on Tibet and the Beijing Olympics.

Source: Epoch Times, May 4, 2008
http://news.epochtimes.com/gb/8/5/4/n2105085.htm

This Xinhua commentary article, titled “Soundly Blow the Strong Note of Patriotism”, quoting a speech by Party General Secretary Hu Jintao given during a recent visit to Beijing University, urges Chinese youth to carry on the glorious tradition of patriotism and steadfastly follow the Party down the socialist path with Chinese characteristics. The article calls on Chinese youth to strongly persist with patriotism and the socialist [path] and unite with solidarity around the core leadership of Hu Jintao to realize the great goal of the country’s revival.

Source: Xinhua, May 5, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-05/05/content_8109927.htm

A new security regulation, announced yesterday by Beijing’s municipal government, goes into effect today that all persons and vehicles entering the Tiananmen Square are subject to a random security search. The new regulation also adds a list of illegal items forbidden to be brought into the area, including guns, ammunition, knives, explosive and radioactive items, drug and adult materials, and other hazardous articles that can disrupt social order and endanger public security. Security searches around Tiananmen Square will become a routine that will stay in effect all year long, according to one official from the municipal government. Under the old regulations, security searches around the square were performed only during times of special events and major holidays.

Source: Xinhua, May 6, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2008-05/05/content_8106559.htm

Xu Lin, director of China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, talked about the international spread of the Chinese language in an interview with Xinhua’s publication Outlook Weekly magazine. Xu said that the international spread of the Chinese language was a national strategy. To accomplish such a great venture, it must be done through the combined efforts of various departments of the government as well as the whole society. Xu emphasizes that the most pressing issue is to improve the ability for the Chinese language to spread [beyond the country]. China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language was established in 1987. It is made up of officials from 11 departments of the State Council. Its mission is to coordinate various ministries, treat the international spread of Chinese as a national issue, and spread it in a quiet manner. The headquarters of the Confucius Institutes established later is another face of the same office.

Source: Sohu, May 5, 2008
http://news.sohu.com/20080505/n256668069.shtml

On April 29, the Judicial Department of Aba Prefecture [Aba is the second largest Tibetan ethnic group in Sichuan Province] held a lawyers’ professional training conference. All 55 practicing lawyers in the region attended the training. During the conference, the lawyers were required to be in solidarity with the Party’s Unified Plan both in thought and action, to be sober-minded about the [political] climate, and to counter-attack the Dalai clique’s separation with concrete actions.

Source: Boxun, May 4, 2008
http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2008/05/200805040315.shtml

On April 27 & 28, Monk Shi Qingming from Huang Long Temple of Yunnan Province sat in a two-day qualification test seeking to be enrolled into the Chinese Communist Party School of Yunnan Province. He learned about the party school enrollment notice in February and applied for the test in April. Monk Shi said that he intends to study the systematic teachings about the Party in order to accept the party leadership, follow the Party’s policies on religious practice and be part of the development to build a “Harmonious Society”.

Source: Yunnan Daily, April 28, 2008 http://search.yndaily.com/cgi-bin/detail.exe?133200+yndaily/news_99+59673+news_99+
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