Hong Kong’s Apple Daily recently commented on the Chinese government’s information control and how Chinese journalists tiptoe when reporting on "taboo" topics such as Falun Gong in Hong Kong and the June 4 (the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre) candlelight vigil in Victoria Park, Hong Kong.
Chinese Transfer Billions from Savings and Borrow Billions to Buy Stock
Chinese households have been pouring billions of RMB in savings into the stock market. In May 2007 alone, they transferred more than 278.4 billion RMB ($37 billion) from household savings accounts to stock trading accounts. As a result, Chinese banks are facing their biggest challenge since 1949.
China Establishes Measures For Young Pioneers Counselors
On June 26, 2007, China Youth Daily reported that the Central Committee, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Personnel, and the National Working Committee on Children, had executed and implemented the Young Pioneers Counselors Administration Measures (hereinafter referred to as "Measure"). [1] The Measure provides guidelines and support in building a team of Young Pioneer Counselors.
Hong Kong Denies Entry to Hundreds of Falun Gong Practitioners – News Blocked in Mainland China
Just days before July 1, 2007, the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s hand-over to communist China, hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners from Taiwan were denied entry into Hong Kong. After arriving, most of them were deported back to Taiwan. The incident started on June 25 when Theresa Chu, a Falun Gong human rights attorney was denied entry. As of June 30, about 520 people had been deported or detained at the airport.
Wu Bangguo: No Separation of Powers in the Hong Kong Political System
In a speech delivered at a seminar that the Communist Party held on Hong Kong’s Basic Law, Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, stated that Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy is granted by the Mainland Central Government and that there is no separation of powers in the Hong Kong political system.
The Policy on the 2006 Annual PLA Recruitment Campaign
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recruits nationwide once a year in winter starting November 1. Typically the Party Secretary of each town or city heads the recruitment campaign. A local Party Secretary in Jiangsu Province made a speech which reveals the general policies of the 2006 annual PLA recruitment campaign.
The Communist Party’s News Releases Are Meant to Shape Public Opinion
Study Times, the newspaper of the Communist Party School in Beijing, published an article on June 26, 2007, titled "Take the Initiative to Control Public Opinion." The article states that by proactively feeding information to the media, the Party news release mechanism implemented last December "will guide media and public opinion, both domestically and overseas, and set the agenda for both domestic and overseas public opinion, thus diverting the media’s original focus and perspective so that the media will voluntarily report and track news events and topics as released by the Party."
Chinese Lawyers Seek to Change Legislation for Effective Discovery
Chinese lawyers face numerous hurdles in conducting discovery for their cases. When dealing with discovery in a criminal defense, for example, lawyers worry that, when the evidence they uncover contradicts the government’s findings, the government will use Article 306 of the Criminal Law to charge them with forgery and perjury. A recent feature article in Legal Daily (reprinted by the official Xinhua) discusses the issues in detail.