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.

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.

Chinese Activist beaten for daring official to swim in polluted river

A Chinese farmer who dared a local environment official to swim in his province’s polluted rivers has been badly beaten in an attack his family says was linked to his activism.

Chen Zuqian, from the township of Banqiao in Zhejiang province, was one of a number of farmers and business people who publicly offered money to government officials to swim in  rivers to highlight the sorry state of China’s waterways.

Security Report: Chinese Military Unit 61398 in Shanghai is Behind US Cyber Attacks

A Virginia-based cyber security firm has released a new report alleging a specific Chinese military unit is likely behind one of the largest cyber espionage and attack campaigns aimed at American infrastructure and corporations.

In the report, released today by Mandiant, China’s Unit 61398 is blamed for stealing “hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations” since 2006, including 115 targets in the U.S. Twenty different industrial sectors were targeted in the attacks, Mandiant said, from energy and aerospace to transportation and financial institutions.

Chinese Premier Reveals His Family Was Persecuted Under Mao’s Rule

Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, has revealed how his family were “constantly persecuted” during the darkest years of Chairman Mao’s rule, in a speech that may be a warning to the hardline faction within the Communist party not to repeat the mistakes of history.

The speech, delivered in front of students at Mr Wen’s alma mater, the Nankai high school in Tianjin, recalled the paranoia and fear of life in China at the end of the 1950s as a deeply divided Communist party hunted down its opponents.

“I was born into an intellectual family in Yixing, north Tianjin in 1942. My grandfather ran a school in the village. It was the first primary school to admit girls, against pressure from the local landlords. Many of the teachers were university graduates and some became professors after 1949,” said Mr Wen, delving into his past for the first time publicly.

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao speaks about his family “constantly attacked” in Mao’s political campaigns, to high school students

By Chris Buckley, Nov. 2, 2011-

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his family was “constantly attacked” in Maoist political campaigns that convulsed the country over past decades, giving a rare glimpse into his tumultuous past as he prepares to leave office.

China’s wary leaders rarely talk about their pasts. But the premier opened up in comments to students and teachers that were published in the China Education News on Wednesday, saying his father was dismissed as a teacher and sent to tend pigs.

“After I went to high school and university, my family suffered constant attacks in the successive political campaigns,” Wen told the audience at Nankai High School, his alma mater in the north port city of Tianjin near Beijing.

Anger over detained Chinese activist reaches capital

(Reuters) – Supporters of a blind legal activist, whose long confinement in his village in east China has sparked widespread anger, petitioned Beijing officials on Tuesday after some said they were beaten when they tried to visit the activist.

In recent months, dozens of supporters have been blocked from visiting Chen Guangcheng, who is under virtual house arrest in his home village in Linyi in eastern Shandong province.

Some of the supporters were beaten by dozens of men in plain clothes while trying to visit Chen on Sunday, and their complaints were later ignored by the local police, said Mao Hengfeng, a petitioner from Shanghai.

China activists clamour for blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng

BEIJING — Chinese activists, organised through the Internet, have stepped up efforts to visit a blind rights lawyer who they said on Friday has been held under illegal house arrest for over a year.

Activists have descended on Dongshigu village in eastern China’s Shandong province calling for the release of Chen Guangcheng, a prominent rights lawyer who was released into house arrest from an over four-year prison sentence last September.

The self-taught blind lawyer was jailed in 2006 for “creating a disturbance” after campaigning against forced abortions and sterilisations under China’s “one-child” family planning policy.

Chen has been championed by human rights organisations and his case has become one of China’s most documented example of alleged rights abuse.

Officials Blamed for Tax Riots in East China

Workers in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang have hit out at excessive fees and fines heaped upon ordinary people by local officials, after the city was rocked by rioting over tax increases this week.

Textile workers in Zhejiang’s Huzhou city took to the streets, torching cars and smashing government buildings, after the government announced a rise in local taxes.

“”It was frightening, terrifying,” said a Huzhou resident surnamed Wu following two days of intense unrest in her hometown. “All the factories are closed, and the schools have halted classes too.”

Authorities sent large numbers of armed police into the city to quell the unrest, which was sparked by an announcement that a monthly tax on textile workers would rise from 250 yuan (U.S.$40) to 638 yuan (U.S$100) per person.

Support Growing for Blind Chinese Rights Activist Chen Guangcheng

News about blind Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng continues to trouble Chinese and international society.

Chen and his family have been under tight house arrest in their home in Dongshigu Village, Linyi County, Shandong Province since his release from prison over a year ago, with his young daughter Kesi prevented from attending school.

According to information on Twitter, authorities have finally allowed the child to attend a nearby elementary school as a result of public pressure and international attention.

At the same time, troubling rumors have surfaced in the village in early October that Chen may be dead.

An insider, who did not wish to be named, said that the “Free Guangcheng” movement on the Internet, and worldwide attention of Chen’s high profile case, have forced authorities in Linyi to allow Chen’s daughter to attend school. Under the escort of a guard, Kesi went to school on Oct. 16. Authorities also set up a temporary wooden shack at the school entrance to watch her.

He Peirong, a person concerned with Chen’s case, said she was glad about the decision to let Kesi go to school but hoped that the child will have a normal life and will not keep being escorted to and from school. She also hoped that authorities will openly report on Chen’s condition, his medical status and diet, and details about his daughter’s schooling.

Zeng Jinyan, wife of Hu Jia, an environmental and AIDS activist, said on Twitter that it was inappropriate and dangerous for a little girl to be escorted to school by a guard instead of her parent. Zeng referred to the daughter of missing attorney Gao Zhisheng, who was also escorted to and from school by police and suffered much humiliation. This created severe long-lasting mental problem for the girl.

In January and June, He Peirong visited Chen’s family in Dongshigu Village. She had her car smashed, was kidnapped and robbed.

Beginning Sept. 18, many other people, including some reporters, went to Dongshigu Village in groups. They were intercepted, beaten, and robbed.

These people wrote about their experiences on blogs and Twitter and gradually caught the public’s attention. Now there are many Chen supporters, include scholars, writers, businessmen, artists, and college students, according to He.

Meanwhile, Voice of America (VOA) reported on Oct. 5 that some villagers said Chen is already dead. Several media have picked up the news. VOA is attempting to verify Chen’s status.

Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers said in an Oct. 7 press release: “If Chen is dead, then the Chinese Communist Party is fully responsible for killing him through torture, denial of medical treatment and slow starvation. If Chen is alive, we urgently demand that he and his family be released immediately and unconditionally, for medical evaluation and treatment.”

Women’s Rights Without Frontiers and China Aid Association, among others, are leading an international effort to free Chen.

Chen, a self-taught lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, exposed the systematic use of forced abortion and involuntary sterilization as part of China’s One Child Policy. In August 2006, he was sentenced to four years and three months in prison where he was subjected to torture. After his release on Sept. 9, 2010, his family has been under house arrest that included beatings of Chen and his wife.

Time Magazine named Chen in its “2006 Top 100 People Who Shape Our World,” under the category of “Heroes and Pioneers.”

-Source: The Epochtimes

Activist: Child of Chinese lawyer Chen Guangcheng denied education

BEIJING — A rights activist says the 6-year-old daughter of a blind Chinese dissident has been barred from leaving her house and is unable to attend school.

He Peirong says the daughter of Chen Guangcheng and his wife has not been allowed to leave their house since Feb. 24 and her books have been taken away.

He said Tuesday that Chen’s daughter has not been allowed to attend school since it began last week.

Thousands of Taxi drivers protests hit two Chinese cities

SHANGHAI(AFP) — Thousands of taxi drivers in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou went on strike Monday over high petrol prices and traffic congestion, while drivers in Shanghai also protested over benefits.

In Hangzhou, drivers parked their cars at several locations in the city, a major tourist centre, while others simply stayed on the road and refused to take passengers, state media and taxi company officials said.

Some media estimates put the number of strikers as high as 4,000 drivers. Police declined to comment.

China’s Government Struggles With Outcry Over Train Wreck

The Internet and Chinese state media continue to ask a steady stream of questions about last Saturday’s deadly high-speed rail accident. The persistent calls for answers come despite government assurances of a thorough investigation.

And the questioners are challenging the government and its ability to control public opinion.

Caught on microblog

For the past week, the Chinese microblog, China’s version of Twitter, Sina Weibo has been a steady source of information, assistance and nonstop criticism of the government’s handling of the rail crash.

Frustrated Chinese take justice into own hands

By Pascale Trouillaud (AFP)- BEIJING — A deadly triple bomb attack in China carried out last week by a jobless man angry over a land dispute illustrates the crushing desperation of many Chinese who feel their rights are being trampled.

Car bombs and Molotov cocktails have been used by citizens who opt for vigilante justice in the Communist-ruled country, where the justice system has created mounting frustrations that could provoke more violence.

Experts say that despite the introduction of some reforms to address charges the system is unresponsive and lacks transparency, the public perception is that those changes are woefully inadequate, and rule of law is not guaranteed.

Third day of Shanghai strike threatens China exports- Two arrested, foreign reporters briefly detained

* Two arrested; foreign reporters briefly detained
* Strike sparked by rising costs, fees
* Some exports delayed at world’s busiest container port
* Minimal disruptions to refined copper flows (Adds comment, detail)

By Melanie Lee and Royston Chan

SHANGHAI, April 22 (Reuters) – Striking truck drivers protested for a third day on Friday in Shanghai’s main harbour district amid heavy police presence and signs the action has already started to curb exports from the world’s busiest container port.

The strike is a very public demonstration of anger over rising consumer prices and fuel price increases in China.

Hundreds of Truck drivers go on strike at China’s Shanghai ports protesting rising costs

SHANGHAI — A strike by truck drivers at Shanghai container ports continued for a second day Thursday, as they called for higher freight rates to offset rising fuel costs, firms and Chinese media said.

Hundreds of drivers, who gathered at several ports in the city on Wednesday morning, were mostly dispersed by police later that day, the Century Weekly magazine said on its website.

However, the story — which made no mention of any violence — was quickly removed and state media did not report further on the incident.

Spy and Sex Scandal Implicates Chinese Woman and S. Korean Diplomats

By Sophia Fang & Gisela Sommer, Epoch Times Staff-

Three South Korean diplomats at the consulate in Shanghai are allegedly involved in a sex-for-favors scandal with a 33-year-old married Chinese woman, said by some news sources to be the granddaughter of the late Deng Xiaoping, China’s former paramount leader. Korean reports indicate the woman has obtained classified information including the phone numbers of high-ranking Korean officials.

Mrs. Deng Xinmin is married to a Korean national, referred to as Mr. J., who works in Shanghai. Mr. J. contacted authorities after he discovered sensitive information on his wife’s USB stick.

Chinese Blogger Detained for Subversion, his wife warned against using Twitter

Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang have detained prominent blogger Guo Weidong, known by his online nickname “Daxa,” his wife said Friday.

The move comes amid an ongoing crackdown on political activists and petitioners following calls for a fourth day of “Jasmine” protests in major Chinese cities.

Guo was taken from his home late at around 8.00 p.m. on Thursday by more than 10 police officers from nearby Ningbo city, his wife Zhang Dan said.

WSJ: China’s Hooligan Government

Chairman Mao said that power grows out of the barrel of the gun, and Chinese authorities have never shied away from using violence against anyone who has stepped out of line. But this wet work was usually sanctioned by quasi-legal procedures and carried out far from the public eye—for instance in the country’s vast system of labor camps.

In recent years, however, thugs acting on behalf of various levels of government have begun openly attacking Chinese who dare to complain, as well as local and foreign journalists who record those grievances. This portends a breakdown in public respect for the state’s authority that will be self-defeating for the central government.

Foreign reporters roughed up near China activist Chen Guangcheng’s home

By Pascale Trouillaud (AFP)-

BEIJING — Foreign reporters were roughed up this week as they tried to reach blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who is under house arrest in eastern China, journalists said Wednesday.

Chen, a self-taught lawyer who gained world attention by exposing abuses in China’s “one-child” population control policy, has been under harsh restrictions since completing a more than four-year jail sentence in September.

“We were roughly pushed away from Chen’s home” by about a dozen men, said Brice Pedroletti, a journalist with French newspaper Le Monde.

Chinese Hosting Company Named In Cyber Attacks On U.S. Oil Companies

(The Hosting News) – Song Zhiyue, a technician for the website hosting company Science and Technology Internet, in northeaster Shandong province of China was recently named by McAfee in relation to attack against U.S. oil and gas companies over the past years. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Zhiyue stated over the phone “What? You’re sure it’s my company?”

McAfee’s report found that hackers broke into computers of these companies in the Unites States, Taiwan, Greece, and Kazakhstan and regularly stole private information about bidding, operations, and the company’s finances. Their was no information regarding China’s state owned oil companies benefitting from the attacks or information received.

Chinese Human rights lawyer beaten by police over secret video of his house arrest

Reporters Without Borders, Feb 11, 2011-

A famous self-taught human rights lawyer and free speech activist, Chen Guangcheng, has reportedly been badly beaten by police for circulating a secretly-recorded video showing how he is being held under house arrest in his small farm in the eastern province of Shandong.

He is said to be confined to his bed as a result of the injuries received in the beating but has not been able to receive any medical treatment. His wife, Yuan Weijing, was also beaten.

China: Blind Activist “Beaten Senseless” for Smuggled Video

Women’s Rights without Frontiers-

A new video featuring One Child Policy activist Chen Guangcheng was leaked to the China Aid Association Wednesday, February 9, 2011.  The next day it was reported that Chen and his wife, Yuan Weijing, were “beaten senseless” in retaliation for the release of the video.

Blind activist Chen exposed the systematic use of forced abortion in implementing China’s One Child Policy.  His work has not gone unnoticed by the world.  Time Magazine named him in its list of “2006’s Top 100 People Who Shape Our World,” in the category of “Heroes and Pioneers.”  In 2007 he was awarded the Magsaysay award, known as Asia’s Nobel Prize.