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Olympics: China Unblocks Some Websites While Blocking Others

Under widespread complaints from foreign reporters, Beijing opened up a few blocked websites, including Amnesty International, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and the BBC. This privilege is only for foreigners, not Chinese citizens.

Other sensitive websites such as those of Falun Gong or the Tibetan government in exile remain blocked.

Source: Boxun, August 1, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/08/200808020125.shtml

Olympics: Shanghai Buses Install Surveillance Camera

Security surveillance equipment are being installed on board a total of 68 bus lines with more than 1,620 buses in Shanghai, Xinhua reported. The system has real-time monitoring functions with two infrared cameras at each end of the bus. The installation will be completed on August 5, in time for the Beijing Olympics on August 8.

Source: Xinhuanet, July 25, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/auto/2008-07/25/content_8764876.htm

Olympics: Chinese Internet Report on Team Darfur Member’s Visa Denial

U.S. media reports about an American reporter being denied a visa to China is spreading on Internet bulletin boards in China including those of the state-run media. The Chinese posting cited Radio Free Asia and San Jose Mercury News reporting that Kendra Zanotto, a 2004 bronze medallist from Los Gatos, California was to work as an expert synchronized swimming reporter for the Olympic News Service, an official arm of the Beijing Games. But the Chinese consulate in San Francisco denied her application, apparently due to her involvement in her affiliation with Team Darfur, an athlete-driven group seeking attention to West Darfur. The Chinese Internet posting stated that representative from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco cited her intent to immigrate at the grounds for the rejection.

Source:
People.com, July 28, 2008
http://bbs1.people.com.cn/postDetail.do?boardId=6&view=1&id=87525681
San Jose Mercury News, July 23, 2008
http://origin.mercurynews.com/news/ci_9968123

Sichuan Earthquake Parent Sentenced to Labor Camp for Exposing Shoddy School Construction

Liu Shaokun, a teacher who lost his child in the earthquake from Deyang City of Sichuan Province, was arrested by the authorities on June 25 and sentenced to one-year labor camp thereafter. His “crime” is "suspicion of inciting subversion of state power." After the May 12th Sichuan earthquake, he took pictures of the collapsed school buildings and posted them on the Internet. He also expressed his angry feelings about the sub-standard shoddy school construction when talking to media reporters.

Source: Voice of America, July 30,2008
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2008-07-30-voa68.cfm

Pre-Olympic Beijing: Police Everywhere

Oriental Daily (HK) reports on July 31, 2008: As the Olympics approache, Beijing has heightened its security levels. Police and check points are everywhere on the street. From July 30, all the visitors entering Tiananmen Square will have to go through a security check.

Source: Oriental Daily, July 31, 2008
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/

Hu Jintao’s speech regarding the Internet, January 2007

Some people think that the emergence of the Internet is the biggest threat to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), and the CCP has therefore been trying to control the Internet. In mainland China, the CCP still places a lot of emphasis on controlling the Internet. Outside of China, the CCP likewise influences a majority of Chinese language websites. The following is a report by Xinhua.net (the CCP’s official media site) about Hu Jintao’s speech regarding “Construction of the internet culture.” [1]

In the CCP Political Bureau’s 38th group study, Hu Jintao stressed:
“Create and manage the Internet culture with the innovation needed to meet people’s growing spiritual and cultural needs.”

Based on news on January 24, from xinhua.net, the CCP Central Committee Political Bureau completed its 38th group study on January 23 in the afternoon. The CCP Central Committee General Secretary Hu Jintao hosted the study. He emphasized: strengthen the establishment and management of the Internet culture, and fully demonstrate the importance of the Internet in socialist culture. This can help to improve the whole nation’s ideology and social ethical quality, can help to expand propaganda and ideological work, help to improve the charm and influence of the socialist construction of the ideological infrastructure, and help to enhance China’s soft power. We must adopt a positive attitude and innovative spirit to develop and spread a healthy Internet culture, truly construct the Internet well, utilize it well, and manage it well.

The content for this group study of the CCP Central Committee Political Bureau deals with the development of the global network and Internet culture, and its construction and management in China. The Central Foreign Affairs Office Internet Bureau director Li Wufeng, the Telecom Research Institute of the Ministry of Information Industry Prof. Cao Shumin, and senior engineers discussed this issue, and shared their opinions and suggestions on the Internet culture construction and management in China.

Several staff members of the CCP Central Committee Political Bureau carefully listened to their presentation, and discussed the related issues.

Hu Jintao hosted the study and gave a speech. He pointed out: the rapid development of Internet culture in China has play a positive role in spreading information and knowledge, and in promoting the party’s theoretical guidelines and policies. At the same time it has brought up the issue of our construction of socialist ideology. Whether we can actively use and effectively manage the Internet, whether we can truly use the Internet as a new tool to spread the advanced socialist culture as a new platform for public culture service, and as a new dimension for people’ healthy spiritual culture, are issues related to socialist cultural undertakings and cultural industries, related to the nation’s culture of information and the nation’s long-term stability, related to the overall situation of a socialist system with Chinese characteristics.
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Hu stressed: to strengthen the construction and management of China’s Internet culture, we must start from the overall layout of socialist development with Chinese characteristics, and the strategy of cultural development; persist in the guidance of the “Deng Xiaoping Theory” and “Thought of the Three Represents;” comprehensively implement Scientific Outlook on Development in accordance with the requirements of developing an advanced socialist culture; adhere to positive use, large scale development, and scientific management; use advanced technology to spread the advanced culture, to promote harmonious cultural construction, to better meet people’s growing spiritual and cultural needs, and to provide a powerful ideological guarantee and public media support in building a well-off society in an all-around way.

Hu Jintao introduced five requirements on strengthening Internet culture construction and management. First, we must adhere to the direction of developing an advanced socialist culture, loudly sing the main theme of ideological culture on the Internet, advocate scientific truth, spread advanced culture, promote the scientific spirit, shape good minds, and promote a healthy social environment. Second, we must improve the capability to service and supply Internet culture products, improve the scale and professionalism of the Internet culture industry, take the profound Chinese culture as the important source of the Internet culture, push our advanced culture to be digitized and Internet-ized, improve the spread of the higher grade culture of information, strive to form a group of high quality Internet products which are brand rich in the Chinese style, embodied with the modern spirit, and push the internet culture to take effect in nurturing the soul, cultivating character, and pleasing both body and mind. Third, we need to strengthen the ideological and public opinion construction on the Internet, dominate public opinion on the Internet, improve the level of guidance on the Internet, pay attention to the art of guidance, actively use the new technology, increase the intensity of positive publicity, and form positive pubic opinion. Fourth, promote construction of the Internet with civilization, purify the Internet environment, strive to create a civilized, healthy, and positive Internet culture environment, and create a sharing spiritual home. Five, we must adhere to management in accordance with law, to scientific management, and to effective management, combine the use of law, administration, economy, technology, ideological education, industry, self-regulation and other means, to speed up the dissemination of Internet information under management that is according to law, industry self-regulation, society supervision, and an orderly manner, and truly safeguard the security of the nation’s cultural information.

Hu Jintao pointed out: the CCP committees and governments at all levels should take action to strengthen the planning, improve the system, standardize management, and add staff, etc., to strengthen the development of the information industry and of Internet culture, and to truly apply the requirement of both development and management to Internet technology, industry, content, security and other aspects. It is necessary to formulate policies and create conditions to strengthen and improve the information and service closely related to people’s work and living. We must accelerate the building of Internet teams, form teams suitable for the Internet culture construction and management, such as a management team, a media guidance team, and a research and development team. We need to train a group of people with high political quality and strong technology. Government leaders at all level must pay attention to studying Internet knowledge, improving leadership and control, and striving to create a new situation for the nation’s Internet culture construction.

[1] Xinhua.net,Jan. 24, 2007
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2007-01/24/content_5648188.htm

China Issues Rebuttal on a Recent Human Rights Report Issued by Amnesty International

China issues rebuttal on report issued by Amnesty International (AI) “Human Rights in China Declining Ahead of Olympics”.

“AI was wearing tinted glasses. None of those who understand China would agree with AI” stated the Foreign Ministry. Liu Jianchao, the spokesperson from the Foreign Ministry warned that: “no one should interfere with China’s internal affairs.” Xiong Lei, Executive Director of the state-run China Society for Human Rights Studies claimed that: “China has never broken its commitments. AI has made its conclusion based on random cases and its conclusion is different from most of the Chinese people.”

Source: BBC, July 29, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7530000/newsid_7530800/7530830.stm

Severe Fire Breaks out in Shijiazhuang Prior to the Arrival of the Olympic Torch

On July 28, one day before the Olympic torch arrived at Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, a fire broke out in a textile factory. It was reported as the largest fire in the city’s history and took six hours to put out. The estimated damage is reported as high as 10 million yuan.

the Hong Kong based Information Center for Human Rights & Democracy disclosed that there are over 200 workers who were either laid off or had retired from this factory. There have been past conflicts between them and the local government. As such, there is the possibilty that the incident was arson. The press office of the Shijiazhuang Municipal government blamed the fire on short circuits and said no one was injured.

Source: Ming Pao News, July 30, 2008
http://www.mingpaonews.com/20080730/caa2.htm