While China just published regulations on media reporting of the 2008 Olympic Games, a coalition of Falun Gong supporters is calling for a boycott of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing unless the Chinese government meets an August 2007 deatdline to allow an independent investigation of organ harvesting allegations.
Social Stability - 181. page
200 Arrested on Tiananmen Square on Anniversary of Massacre
On June 4, The Epoch Times reported that approximately 200 demonstrators gathered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the 1989 June 4 Massacre. The police immediately arrested all of the demonstrators [1].
The Olympics: China’s Ministry of Public Security Issued Directive on Barring Groups
China’s Ministry of Public Security issued an internal secret directive that lists 43 categories of people who will be investigated and barred from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Some examples of included groups are overseas hostile forces, counter-revolutionary figures, the Dalai Lama and affiliates, Falun Gong, religious groups and individuals who instigate disapproval of the Chinese Communist Party through the Internet.
Chinese Doctor Identified as Surgeon Harvesting Organs from Live Falun Gong Adherents
Mr. Yu, a doctor at a hospital in Sujiatun, Shenyang, Liaoning Province has been identified as a surgeon who works exclusively on harvesting internal organs from living Falun Gong adherents. The person who identified him is the fourth Chinese witness to corroborate the reports of China harvesting organs of Falun Gong.
Loving Communism to Be Taught to China’s Youth
Xinhua reported on January 15 that, starting in March 2008, the concept of “giving thanks” will be added to the curriculum for all elementary and middle schools in ShenYang City. The municipal Department of Education spokesperson emphasized respect for parents and teachers as part of the new effort to teach values in schools. He also mentioned that loving the [communist] Party, loving the motherland, loving society and loving people will be part of the new curriculum.
Source: Xinhua, Shenyang, January 15, 2008
http://www.rdfz.cn/xyxw/jyxw/t20080116_14828.htm
There’s a Workers Strike Every Day in Guangdong Province
Han Dongfang, a China workers activist told Radio Free Asia that in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong Province there is at least one workers’ strike a day that consists of a minimum of one thousand workers. That is in addition to the number of smaller scale strikes that take place. These workers are mainly from inland provinces such as Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei and Hunan. He said currently the government only intervenes when the situation is out of control. As a result, workers are inadvertently encouraged to resort to strong measures such as strikes. Han said that the international community holds a fantasy that economic development will help China. However, the reason it is a fantasy is that people don’t know what lies behind the economic development: the sacrifice of many people’s health and rights.
Source: BBC, January 16, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7190000/newsid_7191000/7191018.stm
Beijing Builds Detention Centers to Protect the Olympic Games
In order to express their grievances, mainland petitioners usually show up at major state activities where they can attract media attention to their plight. For example, on the second day of Indian Prime Minister Singh’s visit, the overseas Chinese affairs website Canyu reported that more than 100 petitioners attempted to enter Tiananmen Square. The police stopped them and escorted them back. It has been reported that the square is now being heavily guarded. One petitioner from Heilongjiang revealed that Beijing has set up a transit point in the suburbs to detain petitioners and prevent foreign media from accessing them during the Olympics. Similar detention centers for petitioners have also been built in all provinces and cities.
Source: Radio Free Asia, January 15, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2008/01/15/fangmin/
Leading Scholar Reported for Plagiarism
Xie Hua’an, an ex-fellow of the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (FAAS) and a leading scholar known for growing a popular hybrid rice was elected into the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in December 2007. At the time of his election, two retired FAAS researchers reported that Xie plagiarized one of his research papers. Xie’s paper “Shanyou 63 Ⅲ – China’s rice variety with the largest acreage – Photosynthetic characteristics and the utilization of solar energy” was reported to have no citations and no footnotes, except for a list of 16 references to articles that others had previously published. Data used in the paper were surprisingly identical to the data in three papers that the Jiangsu Agricultural Science team had published in 1989. CAS denied the charge.
Source: The Beijing News, January 14, 2008
http://www.thebeijingnews.com/news/guonei/2008/01-14/018@082424.htm