China’s long history of harvesting organs from living political foes

Enver Tohti was a surgeon in a hospital in Xinjiang, in the northwestern part of China, when, in June 1995, he was instructed by his superior to prepare for an adventure — surgery in the field.

In the morning, when the doctor and his team arrived at their destination, he realized they were at “the Western Mountain Execution Grounds, which specialized in killing political dissidents.”

Gao Zhisheng Released With Broken Teeth, Wife Fears Husband Tortured

Mainland human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng  was released from prison yesterday, his wife said, but she believed he had been tortured in jail and voiced fears for his safety.

China’s Dissident Lawyer Gao Zhisheng Released From Prison But Under Close Surveillance

Authorities at remote Shaya Prison in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang on Thursday released prominent dissident and rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng at the end of a jail term of nearly three years.

Zhou Yongkang’s son arrested for illegal business operations

Zhou Yongkang, former security czar and retired senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader, is now under investigation and prosecution. Reports have confirmed that the Yichang city procuratorate in Hubei province has also arrested Zhou’s son, Zhou Bin, on charges of involvement in illegal business operations. According to sources quoted by U.S.-based media, Zhou Bin recently submitted evidence against his father, and thus, only until now has the CCP decided to announce the investigation and prosecution of Zhou Yongkang.

Underestimating Bad Faith: Quiet Diplomacy and its Limits- The EU’s and China

– Author(s):  Sophie Richardson, Published in: Human Rights in China

It’s been a quarter of a century since the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre in China, one of the events that spurred governments around the world into putting human rights on their foreign policy agendas. And since that time, diplomats, activists, scholars, and others have debated the best ways to support respect for human rights in China, especially in light of the government’s extraordinary intransigence on this issue, now reinforced by the country’s growing international influence and economic might. In the 1990s, the standard diplomatic tools included linking trade with human rights progress, pressuring Beijing to release individuals from jail and sometimes into exile, adopting resolutions criticizing China’s record at United Nations fora, and trying to engage Chinese officials in more systematic discussions about human rights.

China Announces Arrest of Zhou Yongkang, Former Security Tsar

On Tuesday the Chinese regime’s news agency, Xinhua, announced that former domestic security tsar Zhou Yongkang has been arrested. According to the official announcement, Zhou is being charged with “grave violations of discipline,” although the official charges are not expected to name Zhou’s gravest crimes.

“Highly sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored” cyberattack hits Canada Government’s top research organization

Note: Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is in Beijing

A “highly sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored actor” recently managed to hack into the computer systems at Canada’s National Research Council, confirms the country’s chief information officer, Corinne Charette.

New Book “Vaginal Coma” Exposes Inhuman Sexual Torture in China’s Masanjia Labor Camp

Vaginal Coma, a new book revealing the brutal sexual torture of female Falun Gong practitioners and petitioners detained in Masanjia Labor Camp in China, was published in Hong Kong on July 21.

The book is by former New York Times photojournalist Du Bin. In May 2013 he released in Hong Kong a documentary film on the same topic, Above the Ghosts’ Heads: The Women of Masanjia Labor Camp. In 2011 Du published the book Toothbrush in 2011 in Taiwan on the torture of Falun Gong practitioners.

China’s demolition campaign against Christian Cross hits two more churches

BEIJING — In another sign of the authorities’ efforts to contain one of China’s fastest-growing religions, a government demolition campaign against public symbols of the Christian faith has toppled crosses at two more churches in the coastal province of Zhejiang, according to residents there.

Will Gao Zhisheng be truly free after serving his sentence in prison?

By Zhang Min, program host of “Journey of the Soul” on July 12, 2014), Radio Free Asia,
Translated by China Aid

Gao Zhisheng is going to finish serving his 8-year sentence, including three years in prison and five years’ probation. His family asked to pick him up from prison, but was told that the prison would need to communicate with Beijing first.

Zhou Yongkang Used Oil Executive Jiang Built a Network of Allies

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Oil executive Jiang Jiemin rose to power in Communist China in time-honored fashion: by hitching his star to a mighty mentor.

In Jiang’s case, that patron was another oil man, Zhou Yongkang, who went on to become the chief of China’s internal security apparatus and one of the country’s most powerful men.

Calls for action against live organ harvesting of Falun Gong

Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are said to die each year in China. Evidence reportedly indicates these prisoners are also victims of having their organs harvested by force. Calls for action are being voiced from various corners of the world.

China Blocks Wall Street Journal’s Chinese Edition

Another major international website has hit the Great Chinese Firewall—this time it’s the Wall Street Journal’s Chinese language edition, and it’s a mystery as to why the site has been blocked.

5 Chinese Judges from Shanghai Soliciting Prostitutes Together — Jiang Zemin is the Creator of the Bad Precedents

A video exposed five Shanghai Superior Court officers who solicited prostitutes, causing a public sensation. Ironically, the places that court officers go to solicit prostitutes are labeled as “major reception sites of People’s Government of Shanghai City.” Some commentators stated that Shanghai judicial system is corrupt to such a degree that Jiang Zemin, former Municipal Secretary of Shanghai, cannot absolve himself from blame.

Liberal intellectuals “incite resentment of the current regime”, Says China’s state mouthpiece

An article published on the front page of Xinhua, China’s state mouthpiece, on Thursday warned that if “turmoil” ever came to China, it would be worse than the collapse of the Soviet Union.

China Air Pollution Level 3-times Worse Than WHO Recommended in First Half

Air pollution in China’s largest cities, as measured by the concentration of fine particulates that pose the greatest health risk, was three-times worse in the first half of the year than levels advised by the World Health Organization.

Anti-graft Activists in China Pay Heavy Price

Chinese citizens who take the anti-corruption campaign of President Xi Jinping to heart by blowing the whistle on graft are likely to pay a high personal price, according to analysts.

Three Tibetans Detained for Refusing to Fly the Chinese Communist Flag at Home

Chinese authorities in Tibet have detained three villagers for refusing to fly the Chinese national flag from their homes, as local officials continue to press a campaign forcing displays of loyalty to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Two More House Churches Raided by Police in China’s Xinjiang Region

China Aid has learned of two more police raids on house churches in Xinjiang.

Western Intelligence Agencies Ban China Lenovo Computers Over Hacking Issues

Britain’s intelligence agencies, including MI6 and MI5, have allegedly banned the use of computers manufactured by Chinese company Lenovo due to concerns that the machines come hardwired with a vulnerability to hacking.

China Hackers Target Remote Conferencing Devices: Dell Researchers

(Reuters) – A Chinese hacking group tied to the breach of security company RSA two years ago has targeted a maker of audio-visual conference equipment in a likely attempt to tap into boardroom and other high-level remote meetings.

Six Death Crimes Within Seven Days, All in Beijing

China has seen a slew of crimes in a single week, all occurring in Beijing.

Will Bo Xilai’s Case Haunt the Party’s Beidaihe Meeting?

China’s first group of “model workers” recently gathered in Beijing. This shows that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders have been gradually stationed in Beidaihe. This is the first Beidaihe meeting (summer meeting in beach resort district of Beidaihe) for General Secretary Xi Jinping. Will the trial of Chongqing Party Secretary, Bo Xilai, become the main topic discussed and the focus of international public opinion?