Social Stability - 168. page

Over 530 papers written by Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China were published during an Internet experience sharing conference held from November 1 through December 8 2008, Falun Gong Minghui website reported. The published papers were selected out of tens of thousands submissions. Minghui said that this is largest experience sharing conference of Mainland China Falun Gong practitioners since the persecution started in 1999.

Source: Minghui.org, December 8, 2008
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/12/8/191310.html

A group of 303 Chinese citizens signed ‘Charter 08’, a declaration to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reported Epoch Times. The Charter calls on the Chinese regime to abolish the totalitarianism, and respect human rights and religious freedom. The signatories are from academia, business world and rural communities. Since the publication of Charter 08, the authorities have taken into custody and interrogated several signatories.

Source: Epoch Times, December 9 and 10, 2008
http://epochtimes.com/gb/8/12/9/n2356980.htm
http://epochtimes.com/gb/8/12/10/n2357682.htm

According to the Ministry of Health of China, as of November 27, about 294,000 babies and young children had suffered "urinary system abnormalities" after taking formula milk from Sanlu and other brand names. Of 51,900 requiring hospital in-patient treatment, 861 remain in hospital and 154 are severe cases.

Source: Ministry of Health of China, December 1, 2008 http://www.moh.gov.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/mohbgt/s3582/200812/38386.htm

A collection of a few Chinese rights lawyers comments on the execution of Yang Jia, a young man who stabbed six Shanghai policemen as revenge for police mistreatment:

Li Jinglin: The socially disadvantaged groups including the petitioners are also learning lessons. In real life, it is impossible for their legal rights to be effectively protected.

Li Xiongbing: The social conflicts such as the Yang Jia incident were solved in an extreme way because there are no other channels [for redress]. The unrest taking place in either Longnan of Gansu province or Weng’an of Guizhou province are inevitable due to the lack of a functioning judicial system. If there exists a fair and independent third party that can act as a mediator, then such violent confrontation will not happen.

Zheng Enchong: The government’s handling of Yang Jia’s case is self-contradictory. As a consequence, people will not trust the law.

Tang Jingling: Without a fair judicial system, it’s impossible for a rights [defense] movement to proceed peacefully. However, the government’s violence always prevails.

Source: Sound of Hope Radio, December 1, 2008
http://soundofhope.org/programs/162/111882-1.asp

An article on the Deutsche Welle China section listed the number of protests held by various groups and warns of the consequences if no serious action is taken by the government.

As those whose houses were relocated, farmers who lost land, workers fighting for unfair wages, taxi drivers, property owners as well as the depressed stockholders join protests, the dissatisfaction towards the government has spread to the middle class now.

The article quoted an investigative report by Yu Jiarong, a sociologist, disclosing that the ever worsening anxiety over the economy has intensified the conflicts between the police and the protesters. Photos and videos spread through the internet are causing the incident to expand. “The expert has warned that if the government does no take any serious action, China will suffer bigger losses as anger continues to accumulate among the protesters.”

Source: Deutsche Welle, November, 26, 2008
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3822835,00.html

Since November 24, no taxi has been running in Suizhou City of Hubei Province. The city’s 500+ taxis are parked, with some drivers petitioning in front of the city government.

The strike is said to be caused by a city government directive issued on November 15. It asked for an annual 4,000 yuan “operation fee” from each of the 550 taxi cabs running in the city. The fee is levied for a four year term. If the driver does not pay the money by the end of 2008, the city police will confiscate his license.

Burdened by multiple administrative fees and charges, the taxi drivers are left with a meager disposable income off of which to live. The newly added government charge has become the last straw. The strike has been going on for two days. There is no effective dialogue between the city government and taxi drivers.

Source: Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch, November 25, 2008
http://www.msguancha.com/Article/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=1608

A medical expert in Guangzhou warned on Nov 24 that AIDS in China has entered a stage of being uncontrollable.

An 18-year-old college freshman was recently diagnosed with AIDS in a Guangzhou hospital. According to the doctor, the male student was infected through sexual intercourse.
 
In China, transmission of the deadly disease through sexual activities has dwarfed every other channel of contagion, according to Cai Weiping, an AIDS expert from Guangzhou No. 8 People’s Hospital, in a media interview.

While the liberal attitude toward sex among the younger generation is one of the major reasons for the disease being out of control, migrant workers and the elderly are also vulnerable populations. Although the government has started the AIDS education, the sex workers at the bottom of  society are usually not targeted. Cai said that due to their extremely low income, they cannot afford the cost of condoms.

Source: Nanfang Daily, November 25, 2008
http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/nfjx/200811250032.asp

775,000 applicants will be competing for 13,500 job openings for civil servants, Xinhua reported. The annual Civil Service Exam will be held on November 30, 2008. Only 1.75 % of the applicants will be offered a government job. The increase in the number of applicants shows the tight job market for college graduates, said Yang Shiqiu, Vice-Minister of Human Resources and Social Security.

Interviews and exams on specialties will be held March 15, 2009. The hiring will be completed by June 2009. It was announced earlier that non-B hepatitis carriers are eligible for the exam.

Source: Xinhua, November 19, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/19/content_10382481.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2008-11/18/content_10376387.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/18/content_10377224.htm