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China’s censors target iTunes Store

2008-08-21T06:10:41+10:00

Chinese authorities have apparently blocked Apple's online iTunes Store after reports Olympic athletes may have been listening to a just released pro-Tibet album – from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Elderly Chinese women punished for daring to complain

2008-08-21T03:29:49+10:00

Two Chinese women, in their seventies, who repeatedly asked permission to use Beijing's Olympic protest zones, could be sent to forced labour camps as punishment.

Politics and sports mix for Taiwanese athletes

2008-08-21T02:24:01+10:00

Despite the recent thawing of the relationship between Taiwan and China, the island's Olympic athletes must compete under a special set of rules.

China in the headlines – 21 August 2008

2008-08-21T02:13:23+10:00

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe: Foreign journalists are getting more and more frustrated with some of the answers they are getting from Olympic organisers. Journalist and analyst from the China Media Project, David Bandurski, looks at what impact the Olympics will have on press freedoms for Chinese reporters. Tibetan protestors are reportedly shot dead in Tibet, while six US protestors are missing. Plus …

Tibet open to visitors but with strict controls

2008-08-20T02:40:50+10:00

After months of lockdown foreign tourists are finally being allowed back into Tibet, but authorities are watching their every move.

China in the headlines – 20 August 2008

2008-08-20T01:33:27+10:00

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe: Experts compare Internet access inside the Olympic Press Centre with access in other parts of Beijing. Chinese censors may have unblocked websites, but they are still jamming some broadcasts from several international radio stations – so much for media freedom. A New York Times journalist videoed what happened when he applied for permission to protest in one of the so far unused Olympic protest parks. Plus …

US magazine puts China’s laws under the spotlight

2008-08-19T05:31:03+10:00

What are China's 10 worst laws? – here's the lowdown according to reporters from US-based magazine Foreign Policy.

Would-be protestors missing, detained

2008-08-19T03:49:19+10:00

Chinese authorities haven't approved any of the 77 applications from people who wanted to hold protests in the three specially designated zones during the Olympics. Some of those who applied have been detained or forced out of the city, and at least one is missing.

China in the headlines – 19 August 2008

2008-08-19T02:19:27+10:00

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe: A human rights group wants sponsors to call on the International Olympic Committee to set up a permanent body to monitor rights abuses at future Games. The Guardian looks at how western technology firms have helped the Chinese censor the Internet. Chinese farmer Gao Chuancai has been jailed dozen of times during his decade long fight against corruption – now he is one of the would-be protestors detained after applying to use an official Olympic protest zone. Plus …

China’s undesirables not welcome at the Olympics

2008-08-18T03:31:13+10:00

Hawkers, beggars, petitioners and scrap collectors have all been forced out of Beijing for the duration of the Olympics. And now apparently psychiatric patients are being kept out of sight as well.

Religious persecution in China

2008-08-18T03:18:58+10:00

Christian activist Hua Huiqi remains in hiding after escaping from the police, though his family say he is safe and is being looked after.

China in the headlines – 18 August 2008

2008-08-18T02:03:52+10:00

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe: Daily press briefs between journalists and Olympic officials have been cancelled for the second day in a row. The Dalai Lama says China is mistreating and torturing civilians in Tibet during the Olympics. Chinese customs officials confiscate hundreds of bibles, from a group of Americans who arrived in the country at the weekend. Plus …

Sparks fly at Olympic press conference

2008-08-15T04:20:00+10:00

Beijing bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, Tim Johnson, has blogged his transcript of a heated exchange between a UK journalist and two Olympic reps at a fiery press conference yesterday.

Journalist manhandled, blogger detained

2008-08-15T02:34:00+10:00

On the same day UK journalist was manhandled by police in Beijing, in another part of the country well known Chinese citizen reporter Zhou Shuguang was being detained by officials.

All smiles for daily Olympic question time

2008-08-15T02:00:01+10:00

Everyday officials from the Beijing Olympic organising committee and the International Olympic Committee, along with a couple of special guests, hold a press briefing. Here's what Marina Hyde, from the UK's Guardian newspaper, thinks about it all:

China in the headlines – 15 August 2008

2008-08-15T01:33:00+10:00

China in the headlines – 15 August 2008 In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe: Foreign journalists and China's Olympic officials in a fiery clash at a news conference. The censorship foreigners don't see. Do showy protests about China's human rights record make any difference? Or do quieter tactics pay better dividends? Plus …

BBC report on violence against women in Australia

2008-08-14T08:26:00+10:00

Violence against women has become a hot topic on the political agenda since the Rudd government came into power in Australia last November.

Christmas Island - looks and feels like a prison

2008-08-14T07:16:00+10:00

There are a few things that strike you about Christmas Island and its new detention centre. Firstly, the island's remoteness from the Australian mainland, and the logistical difficulties in getting there, are brought home when you depart Perth's international airport, passport in hand. Our refugee coordinator Graham Thom, along with our national director Claire Mallinson and board vice president Jim Sharp, has just visited the new Christmas Island detention centre. These are their observations.

The blacklist – rules for journalists

2008-08-14T04:21:00+10:00

The Sydney Morning Herald has managed to get hold of a copy of 21 rules for local journalists, issued the Chinese Government's propaganda bureau.

Life behind bars: Journalist Ching Cheong

2008-08-14T04:05:00+10:00

Journalist Ching Cheong, who worked in China as a correspondent for the Singapore Strait Times, spent 1000 days in a Chinese jail accused of spying for Taiwan. He was released earlier this year. Check out his interview with Al Jazeera English.

Israel’s other refugees

2008-08-14T02:49:00+10:00

Israel is not the first country associated with African refugees, but the small Middle Eastern nation is increasingly being targeted by people fleeing war and persecution in Africa.

China in the headlines – 14 August 2008

2008-08-14T00:00:00+10:00

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe: Another Chinese activist is taken away by police after applying for permission use one of the Olympic protest zones. Monks in Tibet have been confined to their monasteries and forbidden from travelling to Beijing during the Games. A security expert discusses some recent Internet-attacks on groups working on human rights, press freedom and Tibetan independence. Plus …

New reporting rules for Chinese journalists

2008-08-13T03:27:00+10:00

Chinese authorities promises of media freedom seem pretty empty right about now – especially for Chinese journalists.

Deported from China after filming protestors

2008-08-13T02:32:00+10:00

There's a bit of interesting news about an American who was deported from China after filming and posting on the web footage of Free Tibet protestors in Beijing last week ...

China in the headlines – 13 August 2008

2008-08-13T01:41:00+10:00

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe: A website has been launched to organise a collective lawsuit against Internet censorship in China. Chinese journalists had their notebooks confiscated when US athletes begun discussing the Beijing murder of their coach's father-in-law. The story of a Taiwanese-American woman arrested in Tibet and accused of 'illegally possessing state secrets'. Plus …

Online in China

2008-08-12T07:20:00+10:00

China has more Internet users that any other country on earth, but it also has one of the most advanced systems of Internet censorship. Check out this new documentary, Cyber Warriors, which explores issues ranging the workings of the Great Firewall to the recent anti-Western Internet rage.

Protestors risking all in China

2008-08-12T05:21:00+10:00

Dissent is a dangerous endeavour in China. Challenging the party line takes nerve and the courage to risk intimidation, assault and jail.

Activist in hiding after escaping police

2008-08-12T02:43:00+10:00

Christian activist Hua Huiqi has gone into hiding after escaping from the police officers who abducted him. He was grabbed by police early on Sunday, as he cycled to a church service which was being attended by the US President.

China in the headlines – 12 August 2008

2008-08-12T01:01:00+10:00

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe: Beijing taxi drivers have been ordered to report passengers who ask to be taken to the city's designated Olympic protest areas. During the Olympics censors have unblocked some previously banned websites, but how long will it last? A Christian activist, who was heading to a church service attended by US President George Bush, hasn't been seen since being detained by police on Sunday. Plus …

Fears for missing rights activist

2008-08-11T02:40:00+10:00

Human rights campaigner Zeng Jinyan has disappeared. It's feared the 24-year-old – who is married to jailed activist Hu Jia – may have been taken away by police to stop her talking to journalists during the Olympics, reports AP.