The Oppression of Church Continues in Central China

China Aid, October 7, 2009 -

SHANXI– Huozhou City officials met on October 3rd to discuss results of the emergency meeting held on September 28th, where officials assembled to determine whether Linfen Fushan Church would be charged as an “evil cult.” Citing the need to preserve stability in the province, local officials had seized Linfen-Fushan Church’s Senior Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, his wife Yang Rongli, and more than ten co-leaders on September 25 for attempting to petition Beijing, and have since continued to hold them in detention. Three days after the arrests, the Fushan Government held the emergency meeting to determine whether the Linfen-Church violated Chinese laws on religion, which explicitly ban “evil cults.”

On October 3rd, the Religious Affairs Bureau of Huozhou (RAB) deemed the 50,000 member church to legitimate, but the government reported they would no longer tolerate the “gross violations and law-breaking actions” of Pastor Wang Xiaoguang and his wife Yang Rongli over the past ten years. The RAB reportedly listed these violations, but no legal record of these abuses have been issued or confirmed. According to an inside source, the officials expressed satisfaction that the ten church leaders were being held in their “rightful place” in administrative detention, and the government resolved that the situation must be fully “dealt with” in the upcoming weeks……. (more detals from China Aid)

Arbitrary Detention– China Human Rights Briefing October 5-9, 2009

Chinese Human Rights defender, Oct. 6, 2009-

Arbitrary Detention

Liaoning Petitioner Stopped at Checkpoint, Alleges Beating by Police

On September 12, petitioner Liu Chunbao (刘纯宝), from Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, was stopped by policemen at a checkpoint in Xianghe County, Hebei Province while en route to Beijing.  Liu, who did not have an ID card, alleges that he was beaten by an officer before being forcibly returned to his hometown by officials from the Beijing Liasion Office of the Liaoning Provincial Government.  Liu is currently being held at a retirement home in Yingkou, under the watch of 8 guards. (CHRD)[i]

Shanxi Petitioner Detained after Traveling to Letters and Visits Office in Beijing

Xiaoyi City, Shanxi Province petitioner Bi Caizhen (毕彩珍) has been detained since she was seized outside of the National Letters and Visits Office in Beijing on September 23.  Bi had travelled to the capital to petition about corruption at Shanxi’s Liuwan (湾煤) Coal Mine and the murder of her husband, which she believes was carried out by criminals hired by management at the mine.  Bi was forcibly returned to Shanxi, and friends and fellow have been unable to contact her to determine her present condition. (CHRD)[ii]

Hangzhou Activist Seized in Beijing, Returned to Detention in Hometown

On the evening of October 3, Hangzhou petitioner-turned-activist Zhu Yingdi (朱瑛娣) was seized by Beijing policemen at a guesthouse near Yongdingmen in the capital.  By October 5, when she was able to contact her husband, she had already been forcibly returned to Hangzhou, where she is currently being detained in nearby Anji County.  According to Zhu’s husband, Mr. Dai (戴), the couple’s home in Hangzhou had been guarded around the clock by five men since September 15, and beginning September 30, they were not allowed to leave their home.  They managed to escape on the night of October 1, which is when Zhu travelled to Beijing.  Zhu has been petitioning and assisting other petitioners since the forced demolition of her home many years ago, and has been repeatedly summoned and harassed by local officials. (CHRD)[iii] ……. (more details)

Disabilities in China’s polluted Shanxi Province

By James Reynolds, BBC News, Shanxi, central China, Apr. 23, 2009-

For the Li family, the best part of the day comes at noon.

Every day, after school, Li San San picks up his children from school, jams them all onto the back of his motorbike and drives them through the hills back home.

The kids cling onto each other and laugh as they try not to fall off.

On the main roads nearby, lines of coal trucks head off to the rest of China. The valleys are full of steelworks and heavy industry.

The Li family get back to their home, which is carved into the side of a hill.

Six-year-old Hong Wei eats his noodles and sits quietly in front of his school notebook.

He has a shy smile and hides in his sister’s lap when we try to talk to him.

Hong Wei was born with an extra thumb on his right hand. His elder sister Lixia, who’s 14, was born with a twisted left foot and walks with a heavy limp.

Like many people in Shanxi, this family is too poor to go to the doctors. The parents don’t know why their children were born with defects. They’re simply left to guess.

“The air isn’t good around here,” says Li San San. “When it’s bad, it’s difficult to breathe, it looks gloomy and smoggy out there.”

The province of Shanxi is one of the most polluted places in the world.

The rate of birth defects in this region is six times higher than the national average.

In January, the director of family planning in Shanxi, An Huanxiao, told the China Daily newspaper that the province’s high rate of birth defects was related to environmental pollution. …… (more details from BBC News)

Central China city bans petitioners from seeking justice in Beijing

Radio Free Asia, 2008-12-24 -

Human rights activists speak out against a new regulation in China’s Shanxi province that they say targets the rights of petitioners.

HONG KONG— New legislation against petitioning which blocks residents of Taiyuan, in China’s Shanxi province, from seeking justice in Beijing is without legal basis, according to leading human rights activists in the country.

The legislation is in conflict with existing law, Yao Lifa, a rights advocate from China’s central Hubei province, said.

“The ‘Regulation on Petitions’ issued by China’s State Council clearly states that petitioners may voice their grievances to higher-level government offices,” Yao said.

“Sending local police to detain petitioners in Beijing is simply a way to avoid resolution of the problem.”

The legal wing of the city Communist Party committee in Taiyuan, capital of northern China’s Shanxi province, announced the new measures against petitioners earlier this week, according to the official Taiyuan Daily.

Law enforcement officers “will punish various illegal petitioning activities in accordance with the law” in locations that include Tiananmen Square, Zhongnanhai—the Party leadership compound—foreign embassies, and government representative offices, the news agency reported.

Petitioners from Taiyuan are also banned from central government leaders’ residences and from provincial and municipal government offices that don’t handle petitions. They are also prohibited from organizing demonstrations in Beijing.

Sichuan-based rights activist Liu Zhengyou said all local authorities, including those in Taiyuan, have attempted to thwart petitioning in Beijing by sending local police to round up petitioners.

“Petitioners who are caught will be put in illegal prisons, in detention, placed under house arrest, or locked in mental hospitals. But to do this violates China’s law,” Liu said.

Petitioners punished

China maintains a “Letter and Visit Office” at various levels of the government to deal with petitions.

But Liu Zhengyou said local officials are often responsible for the problems petitioners seek to address. And after petitioners voice their grievances, it is the petitioners who are punished, rather than the officials who wronged them.

Analysts with the China Information Center rights group predict another wave of petitioning across the country next March during the People’s Congress national convention.

China’s current system of dealing with petitions is ineffective because it relies on the moral values of its many officials, Yao said.

“China has a huge army of petitioners. The government has spent so much money on stopping them, but they are still disappointed and hopeless. I call upon the Chinese government to end its system of ‘rule of person’ and to switch to one of ‘rule by law.’”

Liu Zhengyou said the current system goes beyond inefficiency and specifically targets petitioners.

“In our country there is no mechanism to rectify errors committed by officials. If you go to petition in Beijing, the person who receives you has a connection with the police from the place where you are from, and works with them to persecute you,” Liu said.

“The new Taiyuan regulation is an open campaign against petitioners, and has recently appeared in Sichuan and many other places,” he said.

“The space for petitioners is becoming even narrower and more dangerous. This is an illegal crackdown.”

- Radio Free Asia: Taiyuan Bans Petitioners from Beijing

A second reporter arrested after investigating suspected corruption in China Shanxi province

Reporters Without Borders, 15 December 2008 -

Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns the arrest of Guan Jian, a reporter with the Beijing-based weekly Wangluo Bao (Network News), while investigating allegedly corrupt real estate transactions in Taiyuan, the capital of the northern province of Shanxi. Guan was arrested on 1 December and has been held incommunicado ever since.

It is the second case this month of a journalist being arrested as a result of reporting on alleged abuse of authority and corruption in Shanxi. CCTV reporter Li Min has been held since 4 December.

“Abuse of authority by local officials is common in this region, which is biggest source of coal in China and is riddled with corruption,” Reporters Without Borders said. “It is becoming increasingly dangerous for journalists to investigate corruption allegations involving officials. We urge the central government to investigate these cases and punish those who are really guilty.”

Beijing News quoted Shanxi Public Security Department sources as saying Guan has himself been charged with corruption. He was arrested at a Taiyuan hotel by police officers from Zhangjiakou in the neighbouring province of Hebei. Video footage recorded by the hotel’s security camera shows him being forcibly taken away in a car by five men.

Guan, 49, went to Taiyuan at the end of November to investigate allegations of illegal land transactions involving a real estate company and local officials. Wangluo Bao has not named the company but it is reportedly headed by the deputy director of the Shanxi People’s Congress.

Wangluo Bao editor Ren Pengyu said to Beijing news he has had no contact with Guan since a call a few hours before he went missing in which he said he had just had a good interview.

Guan’s son Guan Yufei told the Reuters news agency he had not had news of his father since his abduction. “His friends couldn’t reach him, his colleagues couldn’t either,” he told Reuters. “At first we thought he had just gone on a reporting trip, but then after several days when he still wasn’t in touch, we got worried.”

Guan Yufei went to Taiyuan to look for his father but, aside from the hotel security camera footage, came back empty-handed.

CCTV reporter Li Min was arrested at her Beijing home on 4 December by four policemen who had been sent from Shanxi province by Shanxi prosecutor He Shusheng, whom Li had accused of abuse of authority in a report broadcast by CCTV. Like Guan, Li has herself been accused of corruption.

- Reporters Without Borders

(photos) 100 China reporters collect hush money for mining accident cover-up: photographer

The Epochtimes, Nov 5, 2008-

Real and “fake” reporters collecting hush money (from Internet)

Dai Xiaojun, a reporter from the Shanxi branch office of West Times who took pictures of real and “fake” reporters collecting hush money from the Ganhe coal mine operation in Huobao, Shanxi Province, has recently became famous for exposing the cover-up of a mining accident.

According to beijingnews.com, Ganhe Coal Mine Company tried to cover-up a mining accident that killed a coal miner on September 20. Dai Xiaojun received a tip from a friend on September 25 that the mine company was giving out money to silence reporters, and that about 100 people had lined up to collect the hush money. Dai’s friend, a senior reporter from a newspaper in Shanxi Province who did not want to expose himself, called and suggested that Dai report the story and told Dai to take a camera with him.

Reporters lineup waiting for collecting hush money

Dai said that he had read similar reports before.  However, he did not expect to see so many people at the scene. There were 38 people in the 4 pictures he took, and there were many who were not in the photos. The mine company claimed that only 28 people collected hush money, which means that they not only tried to cover-up the mining accident, but also the number of so called reporters who collected the hush money.

Dai sorted through the names iof those he had taken pictures of and found only two with reporter IDs issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People’s Republic of China. The great majority were fake reporters.

Reporters sign-in paper

Dai said that he felt a cold chill run down his spine when he took the pictures. He thought about another reporter, Lan Chengzhang, who was beaten to death while investigating an illegal coal mine in Huiyuan County in Shanxi Province. He therefore feared that the mine owner and the fake reporters would attack him.

Escape Plan

Dai said that he and his coworker had worked up an escape plan. His coworker parked the car downstairs and started the engine, and was supposed to drive off as soon as he ran downstairs. Dai should throw the camera into the car if he was caught before getting into the car, and his coworker should just leave with the camera and call the police later.

Dai said that it only took him a few seconds to take pictures of a list with names of people who had collected hush money because he acted so fast. He took a few more pictures in the stairway. Those people did not realize what happened when he went back to the car. He and his coworker first drove in the opposite direction for fear of being followed. They then turned back.

Dai uploaded the pictures on the Zhi Bo Jian website and published an article to report his findings. He said many people had questioned his motive and reliability. He thought that’s normal because he had hit a sore spot in many people. He said he did not think too much about it once he decided to report the story.

Dai said that a few years ago he read a report about a mining accident in a village in Henan Province. He saw a picture of a tall building in a newspaper with a caption saying that a local mining accident had not been reported to the authorities, and that many people collected hush money inside the building.

Dai said that the picture impressed him so much, and he was wondering why the picture could only be taken outside a building. He wondered if his camera lens could get inside the building to take more pictures of real scenes with real people collecting hush money.

Zan Aizong, formerly a Zhejiang Province reporter for China Ocean Newspaper said that giving reporters “hush money” is a common practice for industries and government officials. Some people would rather pay money to prevent something bad from being exposed to the public.

Zan said that as long asthe  General Administration of Press and Publication exists, similar incidents like “hush money,” “fake reporters and fake news reports,” “Sanlu’s tainted milk scandal cover-up,” “earthquake damages cover-up,” and so on will continue to happen. He said that if everyone is living in an environment with untrue news reporting, people will lose their ability to make good judgments and society will become worse. He said the use of hush money is unlikely to happen if non-government-run media outlets are allowed to exist.

- The Epochtimes

Second China fireworks factory blast in 2 days kills 11

BEIJING, Nov 29 (Reuters) – An explosion at a fireworks factory in north China killed 11 people and injured eight, the second such disaster in two days, state media said on Thursday.

Wednesday’s blast hit the Xingtong Fireworks Co in a suburb of Yangquan in the coal-rich province of Shanxi, Xinhua news agency said……. (more details from Reuters)

Lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s First Contact with Outside World Since His Unlawful Arrest

By Gu Qinger, Epoch Times Staff, Nov 02, 2007-

Hu Jia, Beijing-based AIDS activist, received a phone call from Gao Zhisheng, China’s most prominent human rights lawyer, at approximately 9:30 p.m. on October 28.

It was the first time Gao has contacted the outside world since being secretly arrested by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) regime’s authorities on September 22.

Not long before that, Gao wrote an open letter to members of the U.S. Congress condemning the CCP for having increased the persecution of religious and human rights defenders before the 2008 Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Beijing.

Hu Jia told our reporter, “I got a phone call from an unknown number on the night of October 28. The area code belongs to Xian City, Shaanxi Province. I recognized lawyer Gao’s voice right away. I’m very familiar with his northern Shaanxi accent. I was very excited and called out: ‘Lawyer Gao!’”

Mr. Hu reported their conversation, which lasted only one and a half minutes.

Gao warned Hu Jia not to take risks to visit his family, otherwise, the authorities would seek revenge against him. Hu reported, “Lawyer Gao asked me not to go. He also asked me to think more about my family and take good care of Zeng Jinyan and our unborn baby right now.”

Hu told Gao that “Although I’m in unlawful detention, the first thing I’ll do after I get freedom is to visit your wife and Gege (Gao’s daughter).”

Gao repeated, “I know you won’t listen to me on this, but you’d better not go.” Hu Jia responded,”Your wife and kids are all in fear.” Gao replied, “They should be better now.” Gao also told Hu that he would be staying in Shaanxi Province and Shanxi Province for a while to take care of something.

Hu passed on the news to Gao that Huang Yan, a Hubei Province-based human rights defender and Gao’s close family friend, was violently kidnapped by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau’s “National Security” Squad on September 22. She was released on October 23, after a one-month detention at Jin Zhou City, Hubei Province. Gao replied, “Please relay my thanks to her for what she has done. I have to go.” The phone call was then cut off.

Hu Jia pointed out, “Under these circumstances, the main purpose of the authorities allowing Gao to call me was to relieve the pressure from the outside to save lawyer Gao. The authorities also did this to cut off my connection with him. As Gao mentioned clearly for me to cut off the contact with his family, this is the most important thing to the authorities.”

Hu Jia said he was relieved to hear Gao Zhisheng’s voice again. He is optimistic about Gao’s situation. He predicts that Gao will go back to Beijing and be together with his family soon.

Gao Zhisheng wrote one open letter to the National Peoples’ Congress in 2004 and two open letters to Hu Jintao and Wen Jibao in 2005, before his open letter to the members of the U.S. Congress, requesting that they stop the persecution toward Falun Gong practitioners. In December 2006, he was sentenced to three years in prison for “subversion of the state,” with a five-year “suspended sentence,” and denial of all of his constitutional rights, such as freedom of speech and free association, for one year. Gao and his family have been under strict surveillance by the authorities ever since, and they have been repeatedly harassed. Thugs have beaten his daughter, apparently under the direction of someone—or some faction of—the CCP.

- Original report from the Epochtimes: Gao Zhisheng’s First Contact with Outside World Since His Unlawful Secret Arrest

China Official Shuts School to Honour the Anniversary of His Mother’s Death

Reuters, Thu Oct 25, 2007-

BEIJING (Reuters) – A village official in northern China cancelled classes at a local school for several days to honour the anniversary of his mother’s death with on-campus performances of traditional opera.

Last week, the local primary school in Baodian, a village in Shanxi province, became a de facto theatre, with local residents watching traditional opera performed on a “towering” stage set up on campus grounds, according to a local newspaper report that was carried in Thursday’s Beijing News.

“Some of the school’s classrooms were locked, while others had been converted into living quarters for a troupe of actors,” the report said.

“Because of the opera, students could not go to classes, so the school arranged a holiday,” the paper added, citing students.

The official was tight-lipped when tracked down, the report said, telling the paper: “This is my private family business. You have no right to interfere.”

Once denounced as “feudal” in Mao-era China, Confucian notions of filial piety and honouring dead family members have made a comeback in recent decades, and are particularly strong in remote rural areas.

In April, local authorities in Changyuan county in central China announced they would vet officials’ filial piety and family values when deciding on promotions.

- Original report from Reuters

Announced Publicly Quit the CCP, Former Chinese Official Granted Refugee Status by UN

By Wu Xue’er, Epoch Times Staff, Sep 29, 2007-

Jia Jia, the former General Secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Association of Scientists and Technology Experts, was granted refugee credentials officially by the United Nations. He has acquired refugee status on September 25.

Jia Jia announced his split from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when he visited Taiwan with a tourist group. He testified to the massive wave of withdrawals from the CCP in China due to the appearance of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party . He also confirmed that different levels of officials, cadre members, soldiers and citizens were determined to separate from the CCP because they saw the nature of the CCP on account of its tyranny.

(photo above: Mr. Jia Jia at a “Quit the Chinese Communist Party rally.” / The Epoch Times)

Jia Jia said he is grateful to the U.N. for approving his refugee status. He sees this as support for him and the Chinese citizens. He said that his dream is to realize democracy in China. Then he will go back to China.

In the past year, due to pressure and interference by the CCP, Jia was forced to wander about in different Asian countries. He was followed everywhere by special agents. He was almost repatriated on three occasions.

Jia said the fact that he was granted refugee status represented that the U.N. Refugee Agency has won the battle against the ferocious CCP.

Jia Jia said, “The CCP regime will collapse in the reign of Hu-Wen (Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao). The countdown of the 2008 Olympics is the countdown of the CCP’s extinction.” He called upon Hu and Wen to lead Chinese citizens to withdraw from the CCP and bring hope to China.

In the interview, Jia Jia thanked those who had helped him in the past. “I thank Falun Gong practitioners, the Chinese inside and outside of China, and human rights supporters for their help and support. I thank all the democratic countries on earth; I also thank the U.N. Refugee Agency for standing on the side of justice. The status I was granted represents the U.N.’s affirmation for the Chinese people and their support for world democracy.”

- Original report from The Epochtimes: Former Chinese Official Granted Refugee Status

Freed China Reporter To Win International Press Freedom Award

Press release, CPJ, September 24, 2007-

New York, September 24, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor four courageous journalists from Russia, Pakistan, China, and Mexico with 2007 International Press Freedom Awards in November. Each has put their life or liberty on the line to report on stories of global significance.

Dmitry Muratov of Russia, Mazhar Abbas of Pakistan, Adela Navarro Bello of Mexico, and Gao Qinrong of China have reported on the news, despite death threats, harassment, and imprisonment.

Tom Brokaw, longtime anchor of NBC News, award-winning reporter, and best-selling author, will receive CPJ’s Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for lifetime achievement. Brokaw has been a member of CPJ’s board of directors since 1993.

“This is an exceptional group of courageous journalists from some of the most dangerous countries for reporters on earth,” CPJ Board Chairman Paul Steiger said in announcing the awards. “We honor their commitment to reporting the news in the face of tremendous risk.”

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said: “These journalists are being honored not only for the extraordinary stories they have reported but also because of their courageous fight for press freedom. Muratov, Abbas, and Navarro have fought for justice on behalf of their slain colleagues, while Gao has not been deterred by eight years of prison.

“Autocrats, drug traffickers, and corrupt officials have all been exposed by these enterprising journalists. They inspire us with their bravery. With these awards, CPJ hopes to spotlight countries with poor press freedom records and strengthen protections for journalists worldwide.”

The awards will be presented at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on Tuesday, November 20. David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief of Reuters, will chair the black-tie dinner. NBC News Anchor and Managing Editor Brian Williams will host.

2007 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardees ( excerpt) :

Gao Qinrong, who worked as a reporter for China’s official Xinhua News Agency in the northern province of Shanxi, was released last year after spending eight years in prison.

In 1998, the investigative reporter exposed a scam irrigation project in his home province; Xinhua didn’t publish the report but it was circulated in the internal edition of People’s Daily, which is distributed to Communist Party leaders. When the story went on to attract national media attention from other news outlets, local officials blamed Gao. He was charged with a laundry list of crimes, including embezzlement, fraud, and even pimping, and sentenced to a 12-year jail term.

After his early release for good behavior— he ran a prison newspaper— Gao gave lengthy interviews to Chinese and international news organizations. Before it was shut down domestically, coverage of his case drew new attention to the issue of press freedom in China.

Gao is struggling to get the charges against him dropped so he can return to working as a reporter.

- Original report from CPJ.org: CPJ TO HONOR FIVE JOURNALISTS

55 Kinds of Famous Toxic Food in China

ChinaScope, 08/25/2007-

It was reported and widely reprinted in Chinese official websites and Blogs that there are 55 kinds of toxic food in China, ranging from daily rice, flour, vegetables, meat and eggs, fruits to famous seasonings and gradients, formulations, etc. [1, 2] Vegetables with very toxic residual pesticide were labeled as “harmless” vegetables and widely sold.

A. Rice, Flour and manufactured food (4)

1. Highly Carcinogen rice (old rice, rice for peasant workers) and manufactured food made of such rice. Eating this kind of rice will lead to nausea, vomiting, and cancer in the long-run.
2. Bleached flour: contains excessive amount of oxidized benzoformyl, causing fatigue, dizzy, amenesia, more dreams and neuroasthenia
3. Black-hearted moon cake – moon cakes with fertilizers
4. Dumplings made with unwanted meat and unwashed cabbages in Xinda Food Factory, Town of Panzhuang, Ninghe County, Tianjin City[3]

B. Meat and eggs (9)

1. Taicang Meat Floss made of meat from dead pig and mother pig, mixed with large amount of pea powder and bleached with hydrogen peroxide, and added with additives, food colors to make the meat floss looking good
2. Chicken/duck meat, pork and milk with large amount of chloramphenicol, oxytetracycline
3. Muscle-type pork feed with Clenbuterol
4. Convenience food with brine or smoked meat from sick-dead animals;
5. Mule meat posing as Pingyao Beef
6. Jinhua Ham submerged in Dichlorvos
7. Toxic sausage in Taixin city, Jiangsu province
8. Toxic “peasants” food in Wenzhou, Fujian province
9. Red yold eggs from hens feed with CAROPHYLL®Red

C. Vegetables and fruits (10)

1. Vegetables with excessive residual pesticide- “harmless” vegetables in Zhangbei county, Hebei province with highly-toxic residual pesticide, such as omethoate and methamidophos. These vegetables were labeled “harmless” and claimed to have never been sprayed with pesticides. These pesticides were used because they are cheap and strong, making good-looking vegetables that sales very well. The peasants told the journalists that they never eat these vegetables. [4]
2. Potatoes smoked by sulfur
3. Sichuan kimchi preserved by prohibited industry salt
4. Toxic leeks sprayed by “3911″ pesticide, these leeks are thicker, wider, longer and with deeper color
5. “Fresh” shoot preserved by sulfur and industry salt
6. Sinister bean sprouts that were raised using growth hormone, rootless agent, bleached by Na2S2O4 [5]
7. Toxic longans bleached and smoked with sulfur
8. Strawberry and monkey hunting peach (Actinidia) that are fast-matured by growth hormone
9. Dried fruits with large amount of bacteria (100 times higher than national standard)
10. Preserved red dates with formaldehyde

D. Non-staple food, waterishlogged food, seasonings and gradients, formulations (24)

1. Toxic seeds (watermelon, pumpkin, sunflower) processed with mineral oils
2. Smelly Tofu processed by pig excrement
3. Yuba processed by chemical and carcinogens, such as industry gelatin, basic orange (chrysoidine), Rongalite (Sodium Formaldehyde Sulfoxylate)
4. Sweet potato starch noodles processed by rongalite and food colors
5. Longkou vermicelli contains rongalite;
6. Degenerated soy milk
7. Toxic milk powder in Anhui province
8. Rice noodles contains carbolic acid
9. Sanyuan “Quanjia (all good)” Lactobacillus in Shanghai with numerous streptomyces
10. Tremella, red peppers and Pericarpium Zanthoxyli
11. Black fungus (Auricularia auricular) stained with black ink
12. Green teas stained with green color
14. Various waterishlogged foods contains formaldehyde
15. Liquor mixed with industry alcohol
16. “Wine” made of Saccharin and food color
17. Hogwash fat took out from drainages
18. The famous chongqing Hot-pot Seasoning using paraffin as the coagulant
19. Red chili oil soup stock that that are leftovers from thousands of people
20. Toxic lard in Hunan province
21. Extra low price chicken extract
22. Toxic soy sauce processed with hair water
23. Shanxi “Very Old Vinegar” added with industry acetic acid
24. Fruit juice made nearby bathrooms with sorbic acid, potassium sorbate

E. Others (4)

1. “health chopsticks” submerged in sulfur
2. Low quality drinking fountains
3. Unqualified disposable medical devices
4. Numerous counterfeit and fake medicines

Notes:
[1]-[5] please check the original report from ChinaScope.org

China Suffers Severe Drought and Floods in July

By Xin Fei, Epoch Times Staff, Aug 11, 2007-

Recent climate anomalies in China has caused ceaseless droughts in some areas and continuous floods in other places. Experts have pointed out that the global greenhouse effect and other human factors were the main reasons for the disasters.

Continuous droughts and high temperatures have been afflicting many areas including Hunan, Jiangxi, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang, Xinjiang, Fujian provinces and Shanghai City, with Jiangxi and Hunan being the hardest hit. The drought in the mid-eastern part of Inner Mongolia has lasted a long time, and the situation keeps worsening.

According to the latest official figures, this year 23 million acres of cultivated area suffered from the droughts, which is 2.7 million acres higher than average. The droughts affected 21.7 million acres of crops, among which 7.8 million acres are severely affected, and 1.4 million acres completely withered. The drought has also caused a fresh water shortage for 5.88 million people and 4.7 million cattle.

Since this summer, heavy rainfalls have caused floods in many parts of China, especially in Chongqing City as well as Sichuan, Guizhou, Xinjiang, Guangxi and Hubei provinces. So far the flood has killed nearly 700 people, affected 120 million, and caused US$7 billion economic losses.

Jiangxi is experiencing the worst drought in 50 years, with 1.06 million people facing a drinking water shortage, and 1.3 million acres of crops affected by the drought. The drought is still worsening, and is spreading quickly from the middle to the rest of the province.

According to latest figures, from April 1 to July 30 this year, the average rainfalls in Jiangxi is 594 mm, 32 percent below that in the same period of past years, and 20 percent blow that in the same period of 2003.

In Hunan Province the drought has continued for four weeks, which omens a dry autumn. Several million people are facing a drinking water crisis. Rainfall is down by 25 percent compared to previous years, leaving half of the two million water reservoir facilities empty.

According to the Hunan Meteorological Bureau’s forecast, the temperate will reach up to 40° C (104° F) in most of August.

Since June, high temperatures and low rainfall have affected the northeast Heilongjiang and some other areas in the province. The provincial Sanjiang Plain area is afflicted by a summer drought, which has not occurred in that area for many years. Some areas experienced over 40 continuous rainless days. A lot of farmlands are covered with a 30-centimeter (11.8 inches) deep layer of dry soil.

In Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian Province, high temperature as lasted for 31 days by July 30, the longest period since the city’s first official weather record was made in 1880. In many other parts of Fujian, hot weather has also lasted for 26 to 35 days.

In Zhejiang the continuous hot weather has lead to water shortages in many places and the situation is becoming more serious.

Recently Shanghai has suffered continuous hot days with temperature as high as 39° C (102° F) or even higher.

According to a meteorological department report, Shanghai’s temperature peeked at 39.6° C (103° F) on July 29. The last time Shanghai had the same temperature was on July 25, 2003, and it broke a 63 years’ record.

So far nearly 700 people have died as a result of the flood, lightning and mudslides across China. The flood has affected up to 120 million people with economic losses amounting to $7 billion.

Chongqing City recently was hit by the heaviest rainfalls in the century. Millions of people were affected and nearly 100 were killed or missing. The losses reached 2.978 billion yuan ($0.39 billion).

Guangxi Province was also hit by continuous torrential rainfalls, resulting in mountain torrents and river flooding which affected 8.3 million people and caused a direct economic loss of 9.84 million yuan ($1.3 million).

From July 27 to 31, heavy rains hit Sanmenxia City of Henan Province, the south part of Shanxi Province, middle southern parts of Shannxi Province. Serious rainstorms and landslides have occurred in many areas. According to preliminary statistics, 57 people were killed and 43 were missing as of August 10.

- Original report from the Epochtimes

China: No Mass Cell Phone Text Message Without Government Approval in Shanxi

ChinaScope, 07/25/2007-

Shanxi Provincial Communication Administration recently issued a new regulation restricting mass text messaging (Short Message Service) over cell phones. The regulation mandates self-censorship by information services providers and requires government approval for dissemination of content pertaining to national security and social unrests.

The regulation titled “Opinion on Further Strengthening the Control of Text Messaging Dissemination” that was issued on July 18, 2007 by Shanxi Provincial Communication Administration. Information services businesses must review the content in the acquisition, development, processing and dissemination of information and shall not provide any information, the dissemination of which is prohibited by the state, reported Xinhua News Agency.

“The Opinion provides that the dissemination of certain important content must be pre-approved by relevant government department before such dissemination. For content pertaining to national security, social stability, people’s livelihood, personal safety, major natural disasters, public emergencies, if the dissemination thereof is to be province-wide, the content provider must present the written opinion of the provincial government or provincial leaders. If such content is to be disseminated citywide, the content provider must present the written opinion of local government or local government leaders.”

- Original report from ChinaScope.org : Shanxi New Regulation: No Mass Text Messaging (SMS) Without Government Approval

China Slavery Verdict Angers Families- ‘Bigger Fish Off the Hook’

By Ching-Ching Ni, Times Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, CA, US, Jul. 19, 2007-

The kiln owner in the case, the son of a Communist Party official, ‘got off too easy,’ one victim’s father says.

BEIJING — Family and friends reacted with anger Wednesday after the owner of a kiln operated with slaves who were beaten and forced to work long days was sentenced to nine years in prison even as two aides received far harsher punishment.

Kiln owner Wang Bingbing, the son of a local Communist Party official, was convicted Tuesday of unlawful detention for the use of slave laborers at his brick kiln in Shanxi province.

The supervisor of his plant, Zhao Yanbing, received the death penalty after he was convicted of beating a mentally impaired man to death with a shovel because he wasn’t working hard enough. Foreman Heng Tinghan, found guilty of intentionally injuring workers and illegal detention, received a life sentence.

“We are very angry. This sentence is too lenient,” said Zhang Shanlin, father of a young man so badly beaten and burned that he cannot walk without assistance. “The owner got off too easy. Without him, how could they have enslaved so many people?”

The case, which came to light last month after hundreds of fathers seeking missing children believed to have been sold into slavery pleaded for help on the Internet, exposed the widespread use of slaves at kiln operations in central China.

Tuesday’s sentencing came a week after Beijing executed the country’s top food and drug safety official for taking bribes and approving fake medicines sold at home and abroad.

Worried about the latest scandal’s potential to further tarnish the country’s reputation, officials have cracked down on 7,500 small kilns across north-central China and slapped more than a dozen kiln owners and foremen with jail terms.

“The scandal is a blot on socialist China which we must wipe out,” said Shanxi Provincial Court Vice President Liu Jimin.

Chinese media have reported that as many as 1,000 minors had been kidnapped and sold into slavery in rural kilns. Officials say only about a dozen child laborers had been freed in the recent raids, leading some critics to say that the true extent of the scandal is being covered up.

“You can see the major massaging of statistics,” said Robin Munro, research director at China Labor Bulletin, a watchdog group based in Hong Kong.

An additional 95 mostly lower-level officials have been disciplined for dereliction of duty in the brick kiln slavery case, with penalties such as removal from office and expulsion from the Communist Party.

Officials say the size of the dragnet shows an unprecedented commitment to justice, but critics and victims’ families say it lets bigger fish off the hook.

“These guys are scapegoats,” said Zhang Xiaoying, the mother of a 15-year-old boy who had been enslaved and rescued. She is not related to Zhang Shanlin. “They are hired hands. They were just following orders.”

Victims of Wang’s kiln operation said he relied on his father’s clout and bribed police to ignore abuses.

“It’s inconceivable that slave labor and gross physical abuse on the scale it’s been reported could possibly have gone on without full knowledge of local officials,” said Munro. “My guess is too many officials are involved — prosecuting them all would be even worse for the government’s image.”

“This is about local protectionism,” Zhang Shanlin said. “The government should make an example of this by striking down hard.”

- original report from  Los Angeles Times

CHINA: Child Labour Scandal Exposes Gross Corruption

By Antoaneta Bezlova, Inter Press Service (IPS), Italy, Jun 18, 2007-

BEIJING, Jun 18 (IPS) – An unfolding national scandal on the large-scale abuse of child labourers in the brick kiln industry raises questions on the adequacy of planned labour laws that are supposed to take on sweatshops and protect workers’ rights.

The first signs of the scandal surfaced early June when local newspapers carried a staggering photograph of a group of migrant workers freed after more than a year of slave labour in a brick kiln in central China.

By the standards of the Chinese state-sanctioned press, which frowns on sensationalism, the photograph was more than shocking — it showed people who were bruised, wounded and burnt, with clear signs of malnutrition and dazed expressions of disbelief at their sudden freedom.

Yet, the story accompanying the photograph was even more astounding in a country where the ruling Communist Party was swept to power for its pledges to create a workers’ paradise.

The 32 migrants had been duped into believing that they were being offered paid jobs, but once inside the brickworks in the Caosheng village of Shanxi province they were forced to work under the watch of guards and dogs for 18 hours a day. None received any money for the whole time of their enslavement and they survived only on water and steamed rolls of bread.

When a police raid freed the migrants late last month it was discovered that one man had been beaten to death with a hammer. Among the others, eight were so traumatised that they could only remember their names. All had burns on their hands and bodies from having to carry the hot bricks without protection. Their clothes had been reduced to rags and “the grime on their bodies was so thick it could be scraped off with a knife,” said the report in the Shanxi Evening News.

The brick kiln was operated by a foreman identified as Heng Tinghan, but owned by the son of the local Communist Party chief. According to local villagers, the brickworks were illegal but still allowed to operate with the tacit agreement of the local police and officials because the party boss’s son owned them.

The extraordinary revelations were followed by an open letter circulated on Chinese Internet fora, alleging that at least 1,000 children aged between eight and 16 years have been enslaved in the illegal brick kilns in Shanxi province.

The letter, signed by 400 fathers from the central province of Henan, pleaded for help in their self-organised campaign to rescue the kidnapped children. It said the children had been kidnapped or forced into cars in urban Henan centres such as the capital Zhengzhou, then sold to factory bosses for about 500 yuan (65 US dollars) each.

Henan borders Shanxi province whose rugged terrain was once used by Mao Zedong’s military strategists to hide thousands of factories churning out arms and ammunition in the late 1960s. Many of these caves now house illegal brick kilns, according to Henan fathers, where kidnapped children and migrants worked in horrific conditions.

“The places those children lived in were worse than dog kennels,” Chai Wei, a Henan father who had managed to enter several dozen brickworks in search for his missing son, told the ‘Xinjingbao’ newspaper. “There were no beds — they slept on wooden planks, and the walls were covered in excrement. We were scared stiff by what we saw.”

Chai had spearheaded the rescue efforts of nearly one hundred parents who pooled money to hire a car and go around the brickworks in Shanxi. Their search had managed to salvage around 100 children, Chai said, but there were hundreds more. His 17-year-old son, who disappeared from Zhengzhou in April, has not been found yet.

“We got no help whatsoever from the local police,” Chai complained bitterly. “Many of the local police are close to the kilns’ owners and would warn them ahead if a search party was coming. We learned not to rely on them (the police) but to tour the kilns one by one ourselves.”

The discovery of provincial webs of slave labour was made public just as China is preparing to adopt a new labour law which has been deliberated by legislators for many months. The new law aims to crack down on sweatshops and workers’ abuses by giving state-controlled unions real power for the first time since Beijing introduced market reforms in the 1980s.

Over the last ten years China’s economy has been growing at double-digit rate thanks to the labour of millions of migrant workers churning out goods for export in exchange for low wages. But, as the economy boomed labour disputes multiplied. More and more workers have gone to court or taken to the streets to protest poor working conditions and overdue pay.

The government has described the new legislation as a fresh attempt to improve worker protection and stop labour abuses. But it is not clear how effective it would be in this vast country where many local officials tend to ignore or skirt directives from the central government.

Workers’ advocates argue that enforcement powers would be improved only if Beijing allows independent labour unions.

“With no supervision or advocacy from the collective power of labour, laws and central government resolutions will not be respected or administered,” says Cai Chongguo, labour rights expert with the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin.

After all, China already has a labour law and a law on protection of minors, but neither could prevent the forced labour scandal in Shanxi, noted a signed commentary by the Xinhua News Agency on Sunday.

“The reason why such flagrant crimes were committed in the brick kilns of Shanxi is that businessmen and local officials worked hand-in-glove,” the commentary said.

The ‘China Youth Daily’ went even further, calling the uncovered slavery a “shocking disgrace”, exposing officials’ dereliction of duty. “When a law is massively undercut in its implementation so that it becomes a worthless piece of paper, then it’s necessary to rethink the law itself,” the paper said. (END/2007)

- original article from IPS

China Leader Admitted for First Time Regime is Facing Crisis

By Luo Bing, Chengming Monthly Magazine (Chinese), Hongkong, Jan. 1, 2007-

Chinese President Hu Jingtao admitted recently that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime is facing three unprecedented crises: A political crisis, a crisis revolving around social infrastructure, and a crisis concerning overall governance within the regime. Among them, the crisis of governance is the most threatening.

CCP is Faced With Three Unprecedented Crises

It was at the Annual Conference of the 12th Central Committee Political Bureau of 2006 that Hu admitted to the enormous pressure that the ruling party is facing. This pressure comes in the form of three unprecedented crises. These are: a political crisis, a social infrastructure crisis, and a crisis concerning governance. All three of these crises are triggered by and amplified by one another, creating a very difficult situation.

Among the three crises, the one revolving around governance of the regime is most serious. Hu wasted no time in pointing out that the most serious and urgent issue the CCP is facing is the implementation of the party’s principles and policies to the entire country. This is critical in that it is needed to check, reverse, and ultimately solve the crisis. It is directly related to the country’s fate, the interests of 1.3 billion people, and the vitality of the party as a ruling party.

Vice Premier Wu Banguo said at the meeting that the escalation of the governance crisis at the local level had all but destroyed the stability of society, economic development, financial order, and any potential for a harmonious relationship between the people and the government.

Disclosures: 200 to 250 reports regarding political issues, social stability, or accidents submitted by local governments account for half of the various reports every day.

A new trend has appeared recently, which is, more reports are about superstructure, democratic parties, and appealing events in religious circles. For example, legal proceedings against various party committees and government departments are used to put the heads of the respective government departments and legal departments into a passive state.

Premier Wen Jiabao said, “Lawsuits against the party or its government organs from all circles reflect not only the progress in the legal system and its law-making procedures, but also the administrative gap between the party, government organizations, and the law, which serves to worsen the crisis in governance.”

Summary of the 31-Province Questionnaire on CCP and its Organizations

The assessment questionnaire of CCP and its organizations of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and the municipalities directly under the central government are summarized below:

(1) None of them are listed as Category 1 (good, very good, very satisfied), or Category 2 (good, satisfactory).

(2) Category 3 (normal) consists of: Beijing City, Tianjin City, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Ningxia Muslim Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Hainan Province.

(3) Category 4 (unsatisfactory, bad) consists of: Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Shanghai City, Shandong Province, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Gansu Province and other provinces.

(4) Category 5 (very dissatisfied, poor) consists of: Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Heilongjiang Province, Anhui Province, Jiangxi Province, Henan Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Chongqing City, Shaanxi Province, Yunnan Province and Qinghai Province. Among them, Henan, Anhui, Shanxi, Hunan received very low points. In the provinces (autonomous regions) which are classified as Category 5 (very dissatisfied, poor), city government, police officers, and the legal system are going through judicial darkness and collusion with the business sector. The society is chaotic and wide gaps have developed between the rich and the poor, resulting in fierce, often violent protests.

The Central Committee of the CCP dispatched teams to 19 provinces (autonomous regions) in light of the current situation.

Central Authorities Have Introduced New Plan For Dealing with Social Gatherings

The Central Committee and State Council of the CCP recently promulgated a number of regulations detailing ways to strictly deal with group activities.

It includes five topics in total. It stresses that the accidents resulting from local governments’ violation of regulations and policies made by the Central Committee of the CCP would be investigated for dereliction of duty. If large-scale protests occur and cause casualties and economic losses, the corresponding people in the local government must be held responsible for serious misconduct and receive criminal prosecution.

The so-called “scale” criterion means above 5000 people in the provincial cities and above 2,000 people in other cities are involved in an accident, or above 20 people wounded, including five or more death in an accident, or with economic losses( direct and indirect) of more than 20 million yuan (about U.S. $ 2.5 million).

———————
- Chengming Monthly Magazine (Chinese) is the most widely read political magazine published in Hong Kong.
- This Article translated from Chinese by the Epochtimes

Quit the CCP Slogans Found Throughout China

The Epoch Times, Sep 02, 2006-
The Nine Commentaries On the Communist Party (the Nine Commentaries) has initiated a tidal wave of withdrawals from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since it’s introduction on November 18, 2004. More than 13 million Chinese people have publicly announced their withdrawals from the CCP and it’s related organizations through The Epoch Times website over the past two years. Not even the internet blockade has been able to stop people from posting their withdrawal statements. Many go so far as to put them on bulletin boards, license plates, telephone poles, and advertisement columns.

Information on the Nine Commentaries and on withdrawing from the CCP can be found just about anywhere. Truth clarifying DVDs, booklets, pamphlets, posters, and even banners can be found frequently occupying space at governmental agencies, National People’s Congress, parks, tourist sites, work places, educational institutions, hospitals, stores, along the streets and in residential areas. Sometimes these materials last for several months to a year before they are removed.

(photo: The slogan, “Read the Nine Commentaries, The Heavens will exterminate the CCP”, has been written on several large stones near the Dafotou tourist site in Jinan City, Shandong Province. from www.minghui.org)

Gao Dawei, spokesperson for the Global Service Center for Quitting the CCP said, “The emergence of resignations and slogans in large quantities goes to show that quitting the CCP has become a reality, has broken free of the CCP’s information blockade and has removed the inner fears of the Chinese people. It is certain that the wave of resignations around China will help more Chinese people realize the vile nature of the CCP, reexamine their own pasts and futures and dare to envision a new China. Those who speak out against communism are the hope of China.”

Shanxi Province

According to a Clearwisdom.net report on August 5, 2006, posters publicizing the Nine Commentaries as well as encouragement for people to quit the CCP were found at the Taihangshan Grand Canyon tourist site in Huguan County, Shanxi Province.

(phot at right: slogan “quit the CCP” at the Taihangshan Grand Canyon tourist site)

On May 16, 2006, posters and truth clarification materials have been spotted in the residential areas, parks, shopping and daycare centers, etc., on Xinjian Street, Taoyuan Lane, North Taoyuan Street, and North Street near the Taiyuan City Council and city government buildings. (right)

On April 18, 2006, Clearwisdom.net reported that posters promoting the withdrawal from the CCP could be seen during the National People’s Congress and the Political Consultative Conference. Such posters can be seen frequently in government agencies, the National People’s Congress, parks, tourist sites, educational institutes, hospitals, stores, various workplaces, and residential areas.

(photo: slogan on street near the Taiyuan City Council and city government buildings)

(to be cont’d…)

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Related:

- How Global CCP Resignation Statistics Are Calculated, August 2nd, 2006