Many women in rural areas of China can be forced into having abortions or sterilisations if they're caught breaching the one-child policy (flickr/ccyber3).

- Dire one-child policy enforced by criminals
- Dissidents unhappy with police presence around Party conferences
- Official embezzles 800 thousand Yuan from farmers

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Dire one-child policy enforced by criminals

Criminal gangs are enforcing the one-child policy, according to a villager from Wancang Village of Zhejiang Province. Crime gangs along with public security and village-level officials have united in threatening and forcing women to undergo abortions. This has caused major damage and death to victims. The local government has admitted this kind of treatment is widespread throughout China.

Mr. Ma from Yazhuang Village claimed his sister-in-law died from an abortion. She was forced to have the abortion by a local family-planning official. Mr Ma’s wife has been ill since undergoing similar surgery. She’s had stomach pains, a sore waist and bouts of dizziness. The doctor told them the surgery may have damaged her nerves, and misplaced the inner membrane of her womb. She’s also developed cysts in her ovaries. Mr Ma says she now needs to take regular medicine, and her womb will have to be removed.

Mr. Ma spoke to SOH (recording):
“At the time, my sister-in-law indeed died from an abortion. Whatever happens, there is no place for you to complain. I heard four women underwent surgery, and afterwards, many had poor health and the membranes in their wombs were damaged. My wife’s condition is very obvious. They force them and at the time we were very angry. Some of our friends wanted to fight them. No one can deal with the illegal process. It isn’t just one department, they’re in a group.”

In mid-2009, the family-planning department hired criminals to take Mr Ma and lock him up in the police station. Local government personnel were sent to threaten and beat his wife and mother. They then forced his wife into an abortion.

Mr. Ma said (recording):
“I was locked up in a police station; they didn’t give me a reason. They just wanted to threaten my wife. Ninety-nine percent of women can’t do anything but get taken away for an abortion. Our friend’s girlfriend was pregnant eight months. She was still taken away to the family planning clinic for the abortion.”

Mr. Ma also said authorities were using the high birth rate as an excuse to control and bully people.

Mr. Ma told SOH (recording):
“Whatever happens, you can do whatever you want if you have money. Even if you want to have more children, just give them more money, you don’t have to go through surgery. They won’t force you. If you have another child, they’ll just fine you a few thousand Yuan. If you don’t have this relationship however, they will punish you. It’s a common situation in our area. Whoever has more children has higher status.”

Mr Ma says forced abortions are against human nature and human rights. Due to the high number of complaints, authorities are trying to block any news on the situation. They’re also suggestions authorities stand to gain if they carry out these abortions (recording):
“Why do they keep arresting people? It’s because the abortion rate will be assessed and will count as an achievement to the official. If they accomplish this, they can be promoted and rewarded. This is a national policy. If you try post news of this online, there won’t be much success, less than one percent will succeed. Who would dare say anything? Unless you’re wealthy. Otherwise if you want to earn a living, you cannot escape from their plan.”

A local government official spoke to us briefly saying (recording):
“The birth control policies are very strict; it is same all over the country now.”

Mr. Ma has two daughters. His family made several guarantees they wouldn’t exceed the child limit and also paid some money to officials. The family-planning officials however continued to harass them. They’ve now since relocated to avoid authorities.

Craig Richter, Lin Li and Yu Liang of the SOH Radio Network.

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Dissidents unhappy with police presence around Party conferences

On the 1st of March, just three days before the Chinese Communist Party’s conferences, police had already started monitoring dissidents such as Qi Zhiyong and others. They were met with strong protest.
At 7am on the 1st of March, National Security personnel from Xuan Wu District showed up at Qi Zhiyong’s house. Despite being an annual event, this year’s harassment came one day earlier then expected. Qi was enraged at the illegal house arrest he is put under whenever there is a conference held in Beijing.

According to an witness; fearing foreign media exposure, the number plates on the police vehicles were removed before arriving at Qi’s house. Qi refused to enter the police car without signed legal documents. The witness said (recording):
“They came in an unmarked car. He refused to go, and asked, ‘On what grounds do you take me away? Isn’t this a land of the law? Which part of the law are you following?”

It is reported that other dissidents were also monitored (recording):
“A dozen people such as Li Hai, Jiang Qisheng; all refused to go this time.”

Hu Jia’s wife, Zeng Jinyan, was also subjected to harassment. Even before the Chinese New Year on February 14th, the regime had forbidden her from seeing the jailed Hu Jia (recording):
“Zeng Jinyan keeps a low profile, for her child. But she does not give up. She calls Hu Jia once a month.”

Gao Hongming received a phone call from police in the evening of the 28th of February, asking whether he wanted to go on a “trip” outside of Beijing with them. Gao was annoyed, “I’m staying here. I have to look after my elderly mother,” he said.

The wife of incarcerated dissident He Depu has been monitored since the 1st of March as well. She said, (recording):
“From today onwards, I have to travel in police cars. Some were also taken to the South, to Hainan or to Shanghai, such as Gao Hongming, Cha Jianguo and Xu Ronghai.”

The witness also said that Beijing human rights activist Li Jinping was detained in a bathing centre in Chaoyang District since he was arrested on the 13th of January. His alledged crime was applying to have a parade in honour of former Communist Party General Secretary, Zhao Ziyang (recording):

“Li Jinping has not been released since he was taken from home. He has been detained at a bath centre in Chaoyang District. He went to the Zhongnanhai leadership compound and shouted “Long-live Zhao Ziyang.”

According to dissidents, the escalation of monitoring this year could be the result of infighting within the Communist Party leadership.

Chris Thomas and Tian Xi of the SOH Radio Network.

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Official embezzles 800 thousand Yuan from farmers

Two brothers from Taiyi Village, Shanxi Province have published an open letter condemning communist authorities and the village head Qin Zhigang of embezzlement. Nearly 800 thousand Yuan was taken from Fan Guangfu and Fan Guanghong, which was intended as compensation for their family’s loss of land.

The letter contained details of a contract signed in March, 1984, between their father, Fan He’rang, and the Party committee. The contract allowed a large forestation project to take place in their village. Since then, Fan He’rang led his family to plow the land, cultivate saplings and plant trees. Despite over 20 years of continuous effort, and having nearly 200 thousand trees planted, they never received the reward mentioned in the contract.

In Autumn 2003, the state Government made plans to construct Changjin Highway. They demanded forest land of over ten acres from Fan’s family and removed over 10,000 trees. Compensation for the government’s land seizure, the trees and resettlement totalled nearly 800 thousand yuan. Accordingly, laws hold that the contracted worker of the forest is entitled to compensation by way of trees and resettlement. Fan He’rang inquired about the compensation funds to the village head, Qin Zhigang, many times. Qin continued to elude the topic; sometimes telling Fan the funds had not arrived yet, or the funds had arrived but the Communist authorities of the village had spent part of the fund.

In an interview with Sound of Hope, Fan Guangfu said (recording):
“My father assumed responsibility of the forestation project in 1984. On the contract, it was written that we would receive payments in three year’s time. Our wages were paid according to the type of tree that had survived. Locust trees are 10 cents each and pine and poplar are 30 cents each. We have not received any wages as of now. The state government started to construct a highway here in 2003. As a matter of fact, the compensation for the land seizure was given to the village committee in October 2002. We peasants simply did not know about it. The highway construction project took over 12 acres of our land and removed 10,230 trees on this piece of land.”

Fan He’rang tried many times with no success to claim his rightful compensation. He was outraged and suddenly fell ill. In order to take him to hospital, his wife had to visit Qin again to ask for the compensation. Qin, however, continued to say the money had not arrived yet. Fan’s family had to loan money from others and their financial burden worsened. Fan He’rang was very worried and his illness was deteriorating daily. He died in October 2006, with much grief.
Fan’s family went to seek money from Qin multiple times thereafter, but Qin always made excuses, and often flared up saying he would not be afraid if the villagers sue him.

Fan Guanghong said (recording):
“The funds issued by the state government to compensate our loss were all embezzled by the secretary of the CCP committee in our village: Qin Zhigang. He embezzled all our money. Now he wants to repudiate the debt. He is unwilling to give it back to us. He said, ‘the money has been spent, there is no way I could give any money to you. If you sue me, you won’t be able to win the lawsuit’.”

When an SOH reporter interviewed Qin, he denied the fact that Fan’s family did not get any compensation. He also believed that Fan’s family should not get compensation from the government requisition of the land for the construction of the highway being on their land.

Fan’s family had tried to seek help from countless people. The Fans toiled for many years, suffering unfair treatment, but they still could not get the reward for their forestation efforts, or the promised compensation for the land. As a result, when the forest was trampled, or damaged by thieves and fire, Fan’s family had no money to restore the damaged or stolen trees. They are having great difficulty continuing to cultivate and managing the forest.

Perry Luo, Lu Fang and Yu Yin of SOH Radio Network

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Radio Erabaru staff held a press conference on Monday February 22nd regarding government interference with their broadcasts.

In this special Inside China Today we bring you the latest on the situation involving Radio Erabaru’s broadcast in Indonesia.

Listen to the thoughts and opinions of the Director of Erabaru Raymond Tan. And three European Parliament members, Ana Gomes, Heidi Hautala, and Charles Tannock.

Radio Erabaru

SOH News Desk report

Radio Erabaru’s Facebook Page

Radio Erabaru’s main webpage (in Indonesian)

Members of European Parliament

Ana Gomes

Heidi Hautala

Charles Tannock

References:

http://soundofhope.org/programs/162/151755-1.asp

Tropical Hainan has become a popular tourist destination, but at the cost of skyrocketing property prices and a dangerously inflated housing bubble (flickr/Jakob Montrasio).

- China’s property market stagnates
- Huge loans for swine flu treatment
- Shanghai petitioners spend unhappy New Year in Beijing

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China’s property market stagnates

Housing prices in China skyrocketed last year. The five cities with the most risky real estate bubbles were Sanya of Hainan Province, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou. Trade experts say around the Chinese New Year period sales plateaued, and the future direction of housing prices is uncertain.

In the past five years, property prices in Haikou of Hainan rose by 20 times. Prices increased in Sanya by 50 times. According to Chinese official statistics, over the same period last year, the price of apartments in 70 major cities nationwide saw an increase of 11%. In addition, Sanya’s increase is at a staggering 31%, which topped the list.

Mr. Jiang is from Zhongtang Real Estate of Sanya. He spoke of the situation on the tropical island province of Hainan (recording):
“Last month the city was declared an international tourist hotspot, which caused a stir in real estate prices. But now that image has faded, housing prices have stabilized and the sales volume is declining. In Sanya, which is dozens of kilometres away, houses in mountainous areas were selling for 7000-8000 Yuan per square metre and new houses were starting at 20,000. This is because of the hype surrounding the ‘International Tourist Island’ designation.”

According to Mr. Jiang, only high end luxury homes or cheap subsidised homes could be built on the island. He said (recording)”
“Those who bought houses in Sanya are all rich people, with extra money they can buy for their retirements. This is not an entrepreneurial city like Shenzhen or Canton, where people start their own businesses or can seek opportunities. In future we will build hotels, high end resorts, commercial properties, golf courses and let the wealthy people come to enjoy in Sanya. High end properties cost over 10 million Yuan and villas costing 20-30 million Yuan will be built here. This is what the government of Sanya hopes people will purchase.”

Mr. Jiang told reporters that, after Sanya’s government adjusted its land policy, the era of high priced housing arrived. For regular people, their only option is to live in subsidised housing.

He said (recording):
The locals can’t afford high end housing. The government has to build welfare housing, but they aren’t of good quality or in good locations. You’re lucky if you can get one. The government will spend some money and build a road for you, put in a supermarket, a hospital, and a school and that’s it.”

In Shanghai and Beijing during New Year, the housing market had stagnated to an even greater extent. Chen Wangsheng from Shanghai’s Tianxin Real Estate Agency told reporters (recording):
“Housing prices in January were worth 12,000 Yuan a square meter. It’s still at that price at present, not much has changed. The volume is also low. Now that it’s Chinese New Year, movement in the housing market won’t be seen again until April. Of course there’s also the issue of location. When there are more buyers out there, the price will increase.”

Mr. Tian of Beijing’s Zhongtian Real Estate agreed saying (recording):
“There is no decline in price, nor is there any increase in price. The sales volume is low as well.”

Experts in the field say the central government’s policy towards the property market may cause major upheavals in the market at an earlier than expected date.

Craig Richter, Xi Wen and Lu Fang of SOH Radio Network.

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Huge loans for swine flu treatment

Swine flu victims in Jilin Province are struggling to cope with the costs of treatment. Some victims have been forced to take out high interest loans to pay expenses. Some have missed out on treatment altogether and have died in their homes. Authorities have blocked all information.

Ms. Lin is a farmer in Jilin Province. Her son is three years old. During the swine flu outbreak in November last year, her son was hospitalized for one month. She can’t afford the medical expenses and has been seeking support from government and media.

Ms. Lin told SOH (recording):
“For regular farmers, including those who grow crops or work as contractors, where can we earn so much money? (It costs me) over 100,000 Yuan. The medicine is very expensive. I tried to get help by talking to radio, to media. When I called a newspaper, they said they weren’t allowed to report such things. It’s restricted. As for government officials, each one I came across told me to speak to someone else. What can I do if they refuse to help? There’s a type of loan where if you borrow ten thousand, you must repay three thousand in interest each year. I have to take out this type of loan.”

Ms Lin’s son had respiratory failure after catching the fever for two days. He was sent to hospital. He’s currently recuperating at home.

Ms Lin said (recording):
“My child developed swine flu symptoms very quickly, in just two days. Even before a definite diagnosis was made, his illness developed to such an extent where he had to use a ventilator. When he was released from hospital, he had use in only a quarter of his lungs; the other three quarters weren’t functional. Later, when he went back for a re-examination, half his lungs had regained function.”

Many patients’ lungs were shown completely white in x-rays. Many suffered respiratory failure in the end. The more serious patients usually passed away. Some people contracted swine flu when they visited hospitals for other reasons.

Ms. Lin told us (recording):
“When a child’s lungs turn all white, it’s called white lungs. He was really scared. That child had leukaemia, and he stayed in hospital for chemo therapy, which killed both his cancer cells and immune cells. His immunity became very weak, and he contracted swine flu in that environment. It’s really difficult for his parents, indeed.”

Chris Thomas, Wang Qian and Xi Wen of SOH Radio Network

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Shanghai petitioners spend unhappy New Year in Beijing

February 14th was for some, Valentine’s Day, for others, the Chinese New Year. But for a dozen appellants from Shanghai, it was a day of bereavement. These dozen appellants braved chilly weather and went to Tiananmen Square. Using homemade videos the appellants shared their messages. They demanded democracy, freedom, and condemned persecution and torture.

When interviewed on February 18th, Ms. Mao Hengfeng said on behalf of the appellants (recording):
“On New Year’s Day we went to Tiananmen Square. There were about twenty of us. By the grace of God, I realized one of my dreams. We petitioned there for democracy, freedom, and human rights. Some of us are homeless, and others cannot go back home. With tears in our eyes, we condemned torture, which we suffered plenty of in prison. And we demanded justice.”

Mao recounted her bitter experience (recording):
“My mother was poisoned by the [Chinese Communist] regime in 2000. I sought justice to no avail. To this day, [her body] is still kept at a funeral parlour in Shanghai. It has been ten years. My heart is broken, especially during the Chinese New Year. So I did not return. I didn’t want to bring my three children down. The government expelled them from school in 2000. A thirteen-year-old young girl has grown into a 23-year-old. They are sad enough. I brought them such harm because of my fights. I feel too ashamed to face my family.”

“I’m scared of being taken to illegal jails if I return, because of the upcoming International Expo. What would happen to us? I know the torture in jail. All those imprisoned may face ill treatment or drug injections at mental hospitals. The totalitarian tyranny brought a lot of trauma to ordinary people. We long for freedom, democracy and human rights.”

Another petitioner, Shen Peilan, also dared not return for fear of imprisonment (recording):
“All petitioners in Shanghai have been locked up, or put under watch at home. During sensitive periods, they would arrest people like us. I came here last month. If I go home I would be locked up, so I dare not return.”

On February 17th, those Shanghai appellants who were forced to spend the New Year in Beijing held a party. The scene was terribly sad. Thinking about their families thousands of miles away and talking about the plight of appellants in Beijing. They condemned local corrupt officials and recounted their personal experiences of persecution. The party ended in tears.

Perry Luo, Fu Ming and Yu Liang of the SOH Radio Network.

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Liaoning authorities search for organizers of ‘Petitioners New Year’

Over 60 homeless petitioners held the Inaugural Petitioners’ Chinese New Year Gala on February 5th. The gala was held at a simple location in Beijing and was broadcast over the internet. During the 90 minute performance, petitioners from different provinces poured their grievances and heart-felt feelings through singing. The gala was uploaded online soon after. Chinese Communist authorities have begun a massive search for the organizers and participants.

Liu Chunbao was an organiser of the Chinese New Year Gala. On February 14th, Liaoning police came to arrest him at his Shoubao Village home in Beijing at around 11am. Fortunately, Liu was not home.

Petitioner Jiang Jiawen was kidnapped by the police. Another organiser named Luan Qinyang, a 22-year-old petitioner from Liaoning province, continues to elude police.
Reporters from Sound of Hope were able to phone Luan Qinyang on February 14th. He confirmed Jiang Jiawen was kidnapped by Liaoning police.

He said (recording):
“I do not dare go home. They’re trying to arrest me. I’ve done nothing wrong. People from our Municipal government and from the provincial levels have come looking for me, on New Year’s Eve, and on New Year’s Day. They monitored the place we used to live for a whole night yesterday. They started searching our apartment at around 11am in the morning today. I wasn’t home. So they arrested Jiang Jiawen instead.”
Song Yujie, a petitioner from Liaoning, had earlier been searching for Luan Qinyang since he went into hiding on New Years Eve. He later found Mr. Luan under a bridge. He was very ill when he found him.

Mr. Song told reporters (recording):
“They sent out police to search for him and planned to charge him with ‘threatening the government.’ They’ve been looking for him everywhere since Chinese New Year’s Eve. I have been looking for him. Through someone’s help, I finally found him. When I met him, he had a high fever and was very ill. He doesn’t dare to go to a public hospital; instead, he goes to a private clinic for injections. Tell me, what is this? This lad can’t even celebrate the New Year. That is the situation we petitioners face. We planned to hold an informal concert (to celebrate the New Year). We simply wanted to get together and alleviate the pain we petitioners suffer. What is wrong with us getting together and singing a few songs?”

He went on to state the Chinese authorities weren’t trying to resolve social issues. On the contrary, the authorities make the problems worse.

He said (recording):
“I simply don’t understand it. (They claim and advocate) harmony. Can this be called harmony? Petitioners don’t carry weapons. Do we pose any threat to the government? Why do you send out the police to deal with us? Why do you fear petitioners to such an extent? If you haven’t done anything that makes you feel guilty, what is it you’re afraid of, to the extent where you would send out police to arrest unarmed petitioners?”

Liu Qingzhen, a petitioner from Zhengzhou, Henan Province, said Liaoning authorities dispatched several police cars and over ten policemen to the concert.

Huang Guangyu, a petitioner from Hunan province who hid under a bridge with Mr. Luan said (recording):
“Where are the human rights in our country? There isn’t even a mention of basic humanity. They won’t even let him go and keep searching for him! We aren’t just disappointed at the state government, we’re in total despair.”

Fu Ming and Mi Lan of the SOH Radio Network.

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Regime blocking the rights of lawyers

In 2009 the Chinese Communist Regime began targeting human rights lawyers in China in an effort to silence their efforts. A range of tactics are used including threats, kidnappings and the denial of licenses to practice law. Lawyer Tong Chaoping from the Anhui Law Firm in Beijing claims his firm has also faced persecution from authorities, especially for taking up politically sensitive cases involving human rights or religious freedom.

Tong Chaoping spoke to SOH (recording):
“The government usually interferes when we fight for the rights of farmers. Do you have the courage to uphold China’s laws and human rights? Our difficulty isn’t related to our work but is because we can’t get a license to practice. Our lawyers are met with various restrictions. At the end of last year, we submitted an application to renew our license with judicial departments. For no reason, they withheld the license. If you accuse them of violating the law, they will turn a deaf ear. This is a major issue for us.”

He continued (recording):
“Disadvantaged people desperately need legal representation. Take farmers as an example. After a farmer is deprived of his land illegally and ruthlessly, it is very difficult for him to maintain his livelihood. For example, ten thousand farmers from Yanjia Street in Taoshou District, Chongqing, need to fight for their rights. When you take care of them, one farmer pays you 100 Yuan and ten thousand can pay you a million.”

And finally he said (recording):
“All we ask for is they follow the law and give us the license. If they allowed us to follow China’s laws, we wouldn’t face any financial difficulties when representing the under-privileged. We have more cases than we can handle – countless victims need to see us about forced relocations and land rights.”

The targeting of human rights lawyers by the regime has been widespread. Renowned lawyer Gao Zhisheng was taken by police on February 4th 2009, his whereabouts has largely been unknown. Recent reports suggest he may now be residing in Urumqi of Xinjiang Province. Wang Yonghang from Dalian, Liaoning was taken by Public Security officers on July 4th 2009; he was interrogated secretly and sentenced to seven years prison. Many lawyers face kidnappings, beatings, and even torture by officials, when they take on human rights cases. Experts believe these lawyers should be praised for upholding the rights of citizens under Chinese law. Ironically, the rights of these lawyers are often compromised.

Li Yifei and Yu Liang of the SOH Radio Network.

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Chinese Communist Party sues victims of toxic milk

Authorities are charging a man for allegedly ‘interfering with social order’ in China for his continued investigation into 2008’s melamine toxic milk powder scandal. Zhao Lianhai is the founder of the Chinese non-profit group, “Home for Kidney Stone Babies.” Parents of babies who suffered as a result of the toxic milk powder say it is part of a suppression and persecution of the victims parents, whom Zhao represents.

Zhao met with his attorney, Peng Jian, on February 10. According to Jian, Zhao maintains his innocence. Peng said,
“Zhao believes he is innocent, and he wants to be defended as such, and that is exactly what I intend to do.”

Zhao was arrested for allegedly organising parents of the baby milk powder victims to go to Shijiazhuang and Beijing to protest in front of the court house. He was also alleged to have told media outlets about Li Ruirui, a young woman from Anhui province allegedly raped by police while in prison. Also for subsequently organising a protest outside of Beijing’s Public Security Bureau in an effort to rescue Li Ruirui.

Liu Dejun was present with Zhao outside the Public Security Bureau. Liu says everything he did was within the law and his arrest was groundless.

Liu said, “It’s very normal to protest for the parents of the baby [milk] powder victims in front of the court house for their babies were the ones being hurt. Zhao was not even present. Li Ruirui’s rape case is also very well known; the whole world knows. Li was raped while in prison and many [people] reported the case to the police. Appellants then thought they might not be able to do it, because if they went to the police station to report the rape, they could be arrested and sent back home. Therefore they asked reporters to alert the public. They did so out of fear of the justice system. There was nothing like “interference with social order”. Back then [during the protest], we were on the sidewalk, to the east of the Public Security building. Not in front of the entrance, so there was no “interference with social order”.

Liu believes the suit against Zhao is a suppression of civil rights, for the parents of babies poisoned by the toxic milk powder in 2008.

Liu said,
“I think he is being charged because of his investigation into the poisonous baby milk powder. There are rumours of strong backing behind the milk powder manufacturer, Sanlu. I think it is because he kept going on with his investigation and never stopped, and this was against the interests of the supporters.”

Zhou Jin, whose baby was poisoned by the Sanlu milk powder shares Liu’s opinion. Zhou said, “They tried everything, used all means to stop us from seeking justice for the children.” Zhou Jin emphasized that the charges against Zhao Lianhai were also like charges against all the victimised children and their parents. Zhou Jin said if Zhao Lianhai is found guilty many parents will go to Beijing to turn themselves in with their children.

Zhou said,
“Everything he did was rational, and he never went beyond the boundary of the law. I can’t imagine this *** government would treat him like this. Bringing charges against him, bringing charges against the parents of the baby milk powder victims. Whatever Zhao did is something those parents are doing as well. If he is guilty, then we are all guilty, even the children are guilty.”

Zhao’s case will be heard in the second half of February. The Ministry of Public Health has recently published a notice that three kinds of poisonous baby powder are now on sale in Canton. Senior analyst of the dairy industry, Wang Dingmian, estimated that there is about 100,000 tonnes of poisonous baby milk powder that has not been destroyed. The Ministry of Public Health of Liaoning province also revealed that poisonous ice cream bars with excessive amounts of melamine has been found in Liaoyang, a city in the province.

Caden Pearson, Fu Ming and Yu Xin of SOH Radio Network.

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Tan Zuoren has recently been sentenced to five years imprisonment for his opinions on the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. There are suspicions however the arrests are designed to silence his call for an investigation into the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake.

- Investigator into ‘tofu – buildings’ convicted
- Thousands of bird flu patients left undiagnosed in Daqing
- Workers protest in Suizhou, Hubei over wages

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Investigator into ‘tofu – buildings’ convicted

Tan Zuoren, author and famous environmentalist of Sichuan Province, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was convicted of inciting subversion of state power, allegedly for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party over it’s handling of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. Tan Zuoren’s wife and lawyer said they would appeal the decision.

The sentence was handed down at the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court, after just five minutes deliberation. Tan’s wife and two daughters weren’t allowed in the court. Police dispersed a crowd of 200 supporters outside. Tan’s lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang said he was ‘heart broken and shattered’ about the trial.

Pu told SOH (recording):
“The sentence is for subversion of the state, he was sentenced to five years prison, three of those years without any political rights. This is an extreme case of punishing people for their speech. The conviction was handed down due to an article he wrote commemorating the June 4th Tiananmen Square incident, titled ‘Witnessing the Last Beauty’, which was published overseas online. He also started a blood donation drive for the (Sichuan) earthquake in Tiananmen Square on the eve of the 20th anniversary. To commemorate the spirit of the demonstrations, he accepted an interview with Sound of Hope Radio. The authorities believe these acts posed a threat to the government of the People’s Republic of China, and sentenced him to prison just for his words. Five years for some words, this is sad and heart-breaking.”

Pu Zhiqiang told the Financial Times that none of them imagined the court would avoid mentioning the Tan’s involvement with the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake and ended up convicting him based on his Tiananmen Square involvement.

Ran Yunfei, an author from Chengdu, and Chen Yunfei, a pro-democracy activist, both planned to sit in court on the day. They’re both however under house arrest. When interviewed Ran Yunfei said (recording):
“This is absurd; it’s shameless, and completely illegal. Tan Zuoren is not guilty of anything; he didn’t commit any crime, and is the country’s best citizen. This is an absurd conviction by the court.”

Chen Yunfei said (recording):
“I used to think the government was ignorant of the law, but now, after sentencing of Tan Zuoren, I think they’re completely shameless. They’ve actually done a favor for Tan Zuoren, by letting the whole world know how much Tan sacrificed for Chinese people, and for its democracy and freedom. This sentence acknowledges the government’s attack on him.”

Tan, 55, is a well known writer and environmentalist in China. After the May 12th 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, he went to the disaster area to visit the parents of student victims. He also collected data on the deaths of the students. Last February, Tan wrote a proposal titled the ‘Profiles on the May 12th Students’ calling for an investigation into the quality of the construction of school buildings, which collapsed during the quake. He wanted ‘to ensure accurate and detailed information on every student, every class, every school, every township, and every county and city involved.’ Following that, on March 28th 2009, the police arrested Tan on charges of ‘inciting subversion of state power’. It’s believed his recent conviction may be a means to silence him about this issue, according to Roseann Rife, Asia-Pacific deputy director at Amnesty International.

Chris Thomas of the SOH Radio Network.

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Thousands of bird flu patients left undiagnosed in Daqing

Hospitals in Daqing of Heilongjiang province are prohibited from giving bird flu diagnoses. Patients with bird flu are instead diagnosed with unknown pneumonia. Doctors say cases peaked with nearly ten thousand patients with bird flu symptoms. The death toll remains unknown.

Bird flu-like cases first appeared locally in May 2009. These cases spiked during September and October. But the Health Department circulated a document that forbade hospitals from diagnosing bird flu.

A doctor from Daqing General Hospital said (recording),
“We have no authority to confirm this. The Health Department files specified that only the city government can confirm suspects. There are too many patients; we have nearly ten thousand. After they are hospitalized, we send all samples to the Provincial Disease Control Center for tests. We do not have facilities to conduct any of the tests.”

Another doctor at the same Hospital said (recording),
“Patients come in based on suspicion. They are identified with an unknown pneumonia and kept for in-patient treatment. There were two to three hundred a day during peak time.”

One doctor from the Fever Clinic at the Daqing General Hospital told reporters, (recording),
“Initially, we sent all fever patients to the Hospital for Infectious Diseases. Later on the hospital became full. A document was circulated and now we take them all. Patients are taken in at A&E. Those with severe symptoms are taken in at ICU. There have been cases of death. I don’t know whether they were eventually reported as unknown pneumonia or bird flu, because patients went to different wards. I am unclear on exactly how many were reported.”

A doctor from the Second Hospital in Daqing agreed and said, (recording),
“We identify the cases as bird flu but can not give the diagnosis. Only the Disease Control Center can diagnose bird flu. We don’t have the information. We have taken patients in the past, when the Disease Control Center confirmed the diagnosis and sent them over. I don’t know exactly how many cases of bird flu have been diagnosed.”

Perry Luo, Yu Shan and Zhang Lina of the SOH Radio Network.

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Workers protest in Suizhou, Hubei over wages

Hundreds of migrant workers protested in Suizhou, Hubei Province on February 8th. They blocked roads in front of the city hall demanding basic wages.

Disgruntled workers began arriving at the city hall at nine a.m. and held banners. They blocked a main highway and motorbikes were used to block the exits of the Suizhou City Hall. Despite police already being at the scene, unhappy workers continued to arrive. This was the second day of protests and road blockades over wage issues.

Prominent civil rights activist Mr. Liu Feiyue was available to shed light on the situation, he said (recording):
“The financial situation of the proprietor and company isn’t clear. But the wages for several hundred migrant workers are overdue, it’s possible there are overdue payments of several thousand dollars or even greater. It’s the end of year and everyone wants to go home and celebrate a peaceful and auspicious year. They want to buy presents for their families. Their wages haven’t been paid however, so they have no choice but to do this”

Liu Feiyue believes employment contracts often leave migrant workers in a vulnerable position. These problems can’t be addressed due to collusion between government officials and businesspeople.

He said (recording):
“Because they’re migrant workers, they’re in a vulnerable position. Also, some business owners or directors collude with officials to do money deals. This is why the migrant workers have their interests sacrificed, and wages easily go unpaid.”
Liu Feiyue also said since the Chinese Communist Party came to power, the morality of Chinese people has been sliding. The authorities are greater than the law, and that’s why violations of the law continue.

He said (recording):
“Under these conditions, it becomes a common practice in modern Chinese society, with a bad moral system, violations of the law and no respect for the law, the law will be regarded as nothing but sheets of paper.”

Craig Richter, Fu Ming and Yu Ning of the SOH Radio Network.

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Chinese authorities have issued new regulations to stem the problem of illegal land evictions. These regulations however have been heavily scrutinised.

- Canton train tickets run sparse, ID ticketing ineffective
- Beijing Judicial Bureau monitors Falun Gong lawyers
- New property regulations widely condemned

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Canton train tickets run sparse, ID ticketing ineffective

It is allegedly the largest annual migration in human history. It sets a new record year after year after year. An estimated more than 2.5 billion journeys, more than 2.5 billion destinations; all in the 30 days before Chinese New Year. Every year in the month leading up to February 14th, Chinese nationals across the entire country go home for the holidays. As the record number of travellers continues to increase, tickets home become scarce, driving up ticket prices, as well security measures.

Recently, China began checking ID cards for the sale of train tickets. Passengers’ names are printed on the tickets in an effort to prevent ticket scalpers. However, travellers say it is still hard to get a ticket from Canton to Beijing. Ticket scalping still exists and bus fares have risen as well, making it difficult for many peasants working in the city to return to their countryside homes for Chinese New Year.

Mr. Jin, who is a peasant worker from Dong Guan, Guangdong Province, said many farmers that turned into city laborers had to stay in the city to spend new years, as they could not attain train tickets.

He told reporters (Recording):
“I am in Hubei Province. I am scheduled to go home on Feburary 7th, but since I could not book a ticket, I have decided to spend the New Year holiday in Dong Guan. Some of my friends rented a charter bus and went home, but most of them could not buy a ticket, so they will stay here during the holidays. There are so many people at the train station waiting, all the way from the ticket window to main street. There are just far too many people there.”

Ms. Wang managed to return to her home in Henan Province. She said all the train tickets departing Canton and heading northbound are sold out and buying from the scalpers would be too costly.

Ms. Wang said (Recording):
“All the tickets before New Years are probably all sold out. Some people could not get any tickets, so they went home by airplane. The day before yesterday when I arrived, the ticket prices had already increased.”

Mainland China media states that there are now ID scalpers in front of Canton Railway Station. Lost ID’s are sold to travellers for 80 Yuan each. The ID card and the ticket from the scalper could then be used to board the train. According to Mr. Chen, checking ID and printing passenger names on tickets cannot solve the problem of ticket scalping.

Mr. Chen said (Recording):
“For those who are desperate, they could get any ticket. The ones who obtained the tickets had connections to internal employees of the railway system. Adopting the system of checking and naming tickets cannot really solve the problem. People can use fake IDs to buy tickets. Ticket scalping is a lucrative business and they can charge 100 Yuan on cabins with beds and 50 Yuan on seats. As for those who are eager to go home to spend the New Year, buying those high priced tickets from scalpers is the only option.
Mr. Ye also managed to go back home; he told the reporter that those who came from the north to work as labourers in the south all need to get on the train in Canton. Some of his fellow villagers could not obtain any train tickets and they had to take the motorcycles home or charter a bus. Bus tickets are rising rapidly as well.

Mr. Ye told reporters (Recording):
“It is the same every year. Some of the workers might have spent a week sleeping on the street to line up and buy a ticket. The line was as long as 2-3 kilometers, but they still could not obtain a ticket. The factories they worked at are all closed for the holiday, so even if they stayed, there would be nothing to eat. Some rode a motorcycle back. Bus prices rose a lot. Many returned on a chartered bus, costing about 100 Yuan each, but that price is said to increase to 140 or 150 Yuan. This happens every year, lasting for about 40 days, when Chinese New Year is around the corner. There is an entrepreneur who bought 4 or 5 buses, and he can get his investment of hundreds of thousands of Yuan back because of this rush. Isn’t he good?”

Craig Richter; Lu Fang of the SOH Radio Network.

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Beijing Judicial Bureau monitors Falun Gong lawyers

An illegal hearing of two Falun Gong practitioners was held in Yichun City of Heiliongjiang Province, on the morning of January 26th. Before the hearing of Sun Dexiang and Liu Mingshu, the Beijing Judicial Bureau warned the two lawyers representing Sun Dexiang not to post their arguments on the internet or accept interviews from foreign media.
Sun and Liu are practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice of mind and body that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. Practitioners of Falun Gong, along with religions like Christianity, Tibetan Buddhism and Catholicism to name a few, are persecuted in China.

Sun’s lawyer, Mr. Li Jinglin is from Beijing and he has provided his service to numerous Falun Gong practitioners. Li Jinglin said (recording), “I have been warned on other cases that no lawyer could publish their defense over the web or give interviews to foreign media. This is a huge step backwards for the law. It is a stressful period right now. Therefore I’m not at liberty to disclose much right now. It is too difficult to be a lawyer in China.”

Also representing the defendants is Beijing lawyer Li Changming. Li submitted a “not guilty” plea for Sun. He turned down an interview for fear his telephone was being monitored by Communist authorities. Li Changming said(recording), “My telephone is not safe. I’m not at liberty to discuss these matters.”

According to the son of Sun Dexing, Che Hongbo, the hearing on the 26th went from 9am to 12pm. Che Hongbo said (recording), “The result of the first trial is not out yet. It is usually expected to be released a month and a half after the court accepts the case. A decision must be made within this time period. A checkpoint was set up at the entrance, and only those with visitor’s passes were allowed in. The court only gave one pass to me, and no one else. There were seven or eight people, all waiting at the entrance hoping for justice. The lawyer’s arguments were quite good, but he didn’t give it to me.”

According to reports Clearwisdom net, another Falun Gong practitioner in her eighties, Ms. Liu Mingshu, was tried on the same day. On the 20th July last year, after Liu was illegally kidnapped, she became seriously ill. It was not until she paid 10,000 Yuan, that she obtained a guarantor awaiting trial. Her family carried her to the court, and she remained silent through the entire hearing.

Perry Luo, Xin Gang and Lu Fang of the SOH Radio Network.

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New property regulations widely condemned

A new regulation for housing demolitions has just been released. On January 29th, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council issued a draft resolution titled the ‘Ordinance for Housing Collection and Compensation on State-owned land’. As soon as the new regulations were released, it received widespread condemnation. One criticism was this wouldn’t put an end to forced demolitions and only gave it a new name and a legitimate front.

Liu Feiyue, a human rights activist based in Hubei Province, says the regulations will create a legal hotbed for forced evictions due to its inclusion of commercial relocations. He told reporters (recording):
“Actually, these regulations should focus on the demolition of land for public purposes. However it includes commercial activities, in fact, it permits such commercial activities to continue existing. We believe however public demolitions and relocation shouldn’t include commercial activities. Commercial demolition is akin to buying things from a market, it’s a relationship of buying and selling, buying and selling are a different relationship from public welfare.”

Mr Liu says the regulations will be difficult to implement due to corruption amongst officials. He stated (recording):
“In reality, the authorities are greater than the law, and since officials hold absolute power, many regulations can’t be implemented effectively. They’re just sheets of waste paper. We’ll be very concerned even if the new regulations pass through, this means developers and local officials will have to give up their vested interests, I can see great difficulties with this.”

Wu Tianli, a Beijing resident believes the regulations don’t deal clearly with the public’s interest. Because there is still a huge commercial interest at stake, it will be difficult to protect people’s rights. She said (recording):
“If these regulations were for the people, it would clearly outline their interests…Because the buying and selling of land still exists, there will still be competition and forced demolitions won’t end. This is the truth.”

The Legislative Affairs Office has stated it is open to suggestions and opinions on the regulations. Ms Wu says this is only for show (recording):
“Forced demolitions and relocations have caused worldwide anger. It is very difficult to deal with and it may feel embarrassed. So it let’s everyone think it’s open to suggestions. This is only for show; I do not believe it is true.”

Chen Qiyong, a victim of forced demolitions in Shanghai, says the regulations don’t grant any protection to victims, and only provide protection to developers and officials. He said (recording):
“It’s a change in name only; the people still don’t receive any benefits. Before the government would demolish our homes, force us to relocate and steal our property. It’s these same people who have set up the regulations to keep up with the times. It acts as a protective umbrella. They’re saying the stealing of property is now legitimate.”

Li Huifang, a Shanghai petitioner, has issued an appeal for millions of victims around China. She said (recording):
“Before you issue these regulations, you should resolve issues from the past. There should be a proposal for problems left over from the past. Corrupt officials should return property they robbed from ordinary people. Punish those who broke the law. We are all victims, we were detained and re-educated through labor and all this because of relocations. These demolitions have caused great pain for many of us; they should pay back the innocents.”

According to Shandong lawyer Ni Wenhua, the unconstitutional ‘Regulation on the Dismantlement of Urban Houses’ released by the State Council in 2001 is still in effect. He says cases of forced demolitions are actually increasing all over China.

Chris Thomas, Fu Ming, and Zhu Jiaqi of the SOH Radio Network.

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Banner reads: "Strong Protest. HK Govt and CCP harming Shen Yun Performing Arts."

- Hong Kong public condemns disruption of Shen Yun
- Politicians rebuke Hong Kong government for defying cultural freedom
- Government corruption leads to poverty in China

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Hong Kong public condemns disruption of Shen Yun

The New York based Shen Yun Performing Arts has been forced to cancel shows in Hong Kong due to interference from the Hong Kong government. The news has disappointed and outraged people in Hong Kong, who’ve condemned the government for yielding under the pressures of the Chinese Communist regime.

Many supporters and patrons of Shen Yun who had already purchased tickets arrived outside the Immigration Department’s Immigration Tower, awaiting news of the situation. When local presenters announced the Shen Yun performances in Hong Kong were forced to cancel, many expressed anger and resentment.

Senior Hong Kong media worker Mr Cheng Xiang said (recording):
“I hope our citizens come together and pay attention to this matter together, and protect freedom in international cooperation for the sake of the Hong Kong people and Hong Kong society.”

Hong Kong resident Mr Huang Haodong who works in cultural promotions said (recording):
“I feel shocked and outraged! Shen Yun Performing Arts is a perfectly fair, reasonable and legal performing group. This time, their planned visit to Hong Kong has been intervened with in such an unreasonable manner by the Immigration Department. I feel the Hong Kong government is disgraceful.”

Mr Chui Pak Tai, Council member of Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin District said (recording):
“These moves and actions really make us feel ashamed as people of Hong Kong, so I feel extremely resentful. Throughout this ordeal the Hong Kong government has only carried out particular orders, and we see these orders have come from Beijing. Beijing is so narrow-minded, what reason does it have to censor the performance of such arts?”

Former Sai Kung District council member Mr Lam Wing Yin said (recording):
“We’re here to express our dissatisfaction, and voice our protest. Does this mean from now on the people of Hong Kong cannot enjoy such high class, high calibre artistic performances like people in other cities? Does this mean such cultural programs need to be verified by our government before our people can enjoy it without interruption? That is a definite no. Strictly speaking this has already violated the freedom that our people are entitled to.

At the conference, many Hong Kong citizens also spoke of the Chinese Communist regime’s efforts to prevent their friends and family in mainland China from seeing Shen Yun in Hong Kong, through suppression.

Hong Kong citizen Ms Zhang said (recording):
“The police in Shenzhen tapped their phones, and dispatched police officers to search their home. They then threatened to take my mother away, all for wanting to see an ordinary show.”

Ms Yang, also a citizen of Hong Kong said (recording):
“My friend was kidnapped by authorities on January 19th for his plans to see Shen Yun in Hong Kong. The Chinese Communist regime has mobilized a lot of police power. They dispatched police officers to search for the ticket to Shen Yun in his home, but could not find anything after searching the entire house. Yet they still kidnapped him, and he is currently held at Tianhe detention center.”

Many foreign tourists who planned to see Shen Yun in their visit to Hong Kong also expressed their disappointment.

Lin Xiuyi in Hong Kong, of the SOH Radio Network

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Politicians rebuke Hong Kong government for defying cultural freedom

The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has been forced to cancel seven sold out shows in Hong Kong due to intentional hindrance by the Hong Kong government. The news was received badly by many in Hong Kong. Giving their opinion, politicians criticised the government for giving in to pressure by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to suppress cultural exchange; a violation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law.

The president of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Mr. Situ Hua, pointed out the driving force of the CCP’s interference. According to Mr Situ, the totalitarian regime is on the verge of collapse, and it was apparent that many in Mainland China long to see Shen Yun Performing Arts.

He added that the CCP has been sabotaging traditional Chinese culture. As such it regarded Shen Yun’s efforts to revive traditional Chinese culture as a threat.

Mr Situ said (recording), “Take Confucius as an example. During previous political movements, Confucius was a target of attack. But now, Confucius Colleges are being set up around the world as a unification tool. These things have some artistic aspects to them but serve purely political purposes. In such a context, the authentic traditional arts will be taken as hostile and something to be stamped down.”

The League of Social Democrats’ Legislative Council MP Liang Guoxiong criticized the Immigration Department for abusing power by denying seven key Shen Yun production staff their entry visas. The aim was to prevent Shen Yun from putting on a show in Hong Kong. These actions violated the ‘freedom of culture exchange’ as laid out by the Basic Law.

Mr Liang said (recording), “Tensions are very strained as there is a lot of political pressure. This is a cultural affair. Even though we did not sign the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 39 of the Basic Law has these provisions. Therefore it is illegal to restrict Hong Kong residents or others’ freedom of cultural exchanges. The Hong Kong government bows to Beijing, which was the reason for many instances of immigration control in the past. As an international city Hong Kong does not have these concepts. The more, the merrier. If a regime uses its political preferences as a yardstick, it naturally is disconnected with human rights standards.”

The President of the League of Social Democrats, Huang Yumin, strongly condemned Hong Kong government’s supporting role in suppression.

Many MPs promised to raise inquiries at the Legislative Council, demanding a response from the government.

Huang Yumin said, “In my opinion, members of the Legislative Council should raise the query at the Security Committee as well as raising inquiry at the Legislative Council assembly and following it through.”

Perry Luo; and Lin Xiuyi of the SOH Radio Network.

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Government corruption leads to poverty in China

Chinese government officials are amongst the highest spenders of public funds in the world. China’s administrative expenses surpass those of the United States, France and Japan. In contrast, over 150 million Chinese people live in extreme poverty and earn less than one dollar per day. Some scholars have said the fundamental reason for this is China’s social system.

According to economics Professor Yeliang Xia of Peking University, the large number of people living in poverty is a reflection of China’s current social system.

Xia stated, (recording)
“According to the World Bank, those whose daily consumption is under one U.S. dollar are considered in extreme poverty. If under two dollars, they are in poverty. As of today, at least 150 million people, which is over ten percent of the population, live in poverty and extreme poverty. This is a reflection of the irrational social structures and wealth distribution system.”

Professor Xia further said, real statistics on the wealth disparity should be made public and government expenditures should be cut as well (recording):
“We should reveal these facts, and get the attention of people both inside and outside of China…we should be economical and cut government spending, especially personal spending with public funds, whether they’re for food or transport, or funds for ‘studying abroad’. Those three factors account for over one trillion Chinese Yuan. This is such a huge number! I think we can cut it by at least half. We could really use that half of the money to support the lives of the poor.”
Another scholar from Heilongjiang Province named Liao Cheng, said people earning less than one U.S. dollar are abundant where he lives. Because of employment difficulties, many people between the ages 40 and 80 make a living collecting garbage. They earn less than 200 Yuan after collecting litter for three months.

Liao told reporters (recording):
“The officials can do whatever they want. The anger and resentment from the masses means nothing to them. There is no independent press and the officials ignore what the general public wants. The officials are far worse; worse than the invaders of China seen in the past. To be honest, there is nowhere else in the world where you can find corruption to the extent in China today. This is the result of an imbalance of power within the system. They can continue without stopping.”

Craig Richter; Fu Ming; and Yu Ming of the SOH Radio Network.

Google's withdrawal from China has drawn a vast response worldwide. Sun Weiguang praises their decision.

- Chinese dissidents condemn cyber attacks on Google
- Sun Weiguang praises Google’s decision

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Chinese dissidents condemn cyber attacks on Google

Chinese dissidents have come out to condemn the recent cyber attacks on Google, calling it a block on human rights. Since Google’s revelations, many dissidents have stepped forward admitting to similar attacks on their email accounts.

Guizhou-based democratic activist Mo Jiangang said his email accounts had been tapped. Here’s what he had to say to reporters (recording):
“Around June 4th each year, and also when we organised a human rights forum on December 10th, our emails, including G-mail, would either be inaccessible, or read by unknown parties.”

Associate Professor Jiao Guobiao from Beijing University also runs into frequent problems with his email. He said (recording):
“Sometimes the emails I send are returned. After a while, maybe a few hours to a few days, it would return to my mailbox. Sometimes the message would fail to send straight away. Especially when Xiaobo was being sentenced, the emails I sent returned, tagged as undeliverable, after one or two days.”

Liu Xiaobo is a human rights advocate who was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment last December.

Cyber surveillance on dissidents is widespread. Many human rights or democracy advocates have experienced similar styles of attacks. Including former Shanxi Television editor Ma Xiaoming; human rights lawyer Zhang Jiankang; and the wife of well-known human rights advocate Hu Jia.

Mo Jiangang condemned the attacks as a violation of human rights. He said (recording):
“We praise Google for taking action, because it refuses to comply with some of the regime’s policies. I think Google has done very well, because it has struck back against the CCP’s wicked policies. And it’s working to ensure freedom of speech and privacy is not compromised. I think they’ve done this out of their conscience. Of course we lament their withdrawal from China, but we firmly support Google’s choice of action. If every website can do this, then the Chinese Communist regime has no way to violate every person’s freedom of speech.”

The announcement made by Google has nevertheless raised concerns among the 384 million netizens in mainland China. Using Chinese-based search engines entails more restrictions. Jiao Guobiao said (recording):
“Actually, they’re two sides to this. After it leaves, there may not be another company that can do as much as they’ve done. If every one of them, such as Google and Sohu, all leave, search engines based outside of China would no longer settle here, and China would be abandoned. It would put the Communists in isolation, but the information available to Chinese people [would be further reduced]. The scope of information and the search engines provided by Xinhua News can’t compare to what Google can provide.”

The current dispute between Google and the Chinese Communists has entered its second week. The US government has evidence related to the cyber attacks on Google, and plans to enter discussions with the regime over the matter.

Daniel Teng; Tian Xi of the SOH Radio Network.

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Zhong Weiguang foresees good business for Google

On the 16th of January, a prominent overseas scholar, Mr. Zhong
Weiguang, gave SOH an interview about Google’s potential withdrawal from the Chinese market to protect the interests of its customers. Mr Zhong said Google’s decision not only won hearts of the Chinese public but also secured long-term business gain.

According to Mr Zhong, Google’s honest actions went a long way to enhance its reputation and brand, which will create greater business value in the future.

He said, “Google has now won trust from the Chinese people. It actions have established a very good reputation. In the long run, a totalitarian system will not last. It is obvious that in the course of change, Google stood by the people. Even though Google may lose some market share allowed by the authorities in the short term, it has won hearts, reputation and branding in the future. Google has set a very good example for other companies.”

The Google incident has been a shock to the entire system.
As a result, many political and business leaders in the west are starting to re-evaluate their cooperation with China’s Communist regime. According to Mr Zhong, the international community must uphold its principles.

Mr Zhong said, “The law in every Western country regards human rights as the most important tenet. Does this principle need to be observed when doing business in other countries? Apparently yes, because the principle is universal. Google has upheld this principle.”

Mr Zhong was very much encouraged by Google’s decision.
He states, “Everyone is very heartened by Google’s announcements, which showed that Google respects the bottom line commonly recognized in the Western society. People from China along with everyone in the world with a sense of justice are behind Google. In my opinion, Google has set a good example for other companies.”

Finally Mr Zhong called upon all foreign businesses in China to think about their long-term reputation and to make the right choice. Only in this way can they truly advance in the future.

Tang Yin, Wang Zhen and Perry Luo of the SOH Radio Network.

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Students in quarantine at Heilongjiang University.

- Cyber attacks on Google rouse response from Chinese people
- Revelations of emergency meeting on H1N1
- Dodgy new homes force Sichuan survivors into tents

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Cyber attacks on Google rouse response from Chinese people

The world’s largest online search engine Google recently revealed severe cyber attacks on the company and its G-mail users, many of whom are human rights advocates. On January 12th, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond published an official blog, which stated: “We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn…”, and considered the possibilities of pulling out of China altogether.

David Drummond revealed, “accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based G-mail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties.”
He said these attacks have been highly sophisticated and targeted, and that Google is now reviewing the feasibility of its operations in
China.

Hubei resident, Mr Wang said in an interview with SOH (recording):
“This is something worth celebrating. If all websites and organizations dare do stand up as Google has done, it would be a great shock to the Chinese Communists. If every website would be bold enough to speak the truth and refuse to compromise, it would be a heavy blow to them. The Chinese Communist Party was built on a foundation of violence and lies. If the lies no longer have effect, and our people learn the evil nature of the regime, we can cut our ties with the CCP.”

Hebei resident, Ms Wang said the CCP was afraid the people of
China would learn the truth and facts. Their cyber attacks have however offended the Google company. She said (recording):
“As Chinese people, we live in an environment filled with spies, because the CCP is very strict on censoring information, and they have tight control over news in China. Chinese people cannot see the truth of the situation. A media company like Google which dares to speak out, is something the CCP is scared of. They fear the awakening of Chinese people.”

Chinese journalist Shi Tao was sentenced to ten years in prison, when in 2005 he sent a government document through Yahoo’s email service to a foreign domain. A democratic activist from Guizhou, who wished to remain anonymous, said Google was a company of high credibility, and its G-mail service is used by some democratic and human rights advocates.

He said (recording):
“Many of our friends who seek democracy know not to use the email services in mainland China that are monitored. I have not heard of any information leaked from Gmail. The company Yahoo exposed Shi Tao’s message. As for Gmail, the CCP has attacked its server in search of trouble. The CCP is not afraid of it, even if it shuts down, they would not be scared of a company. The CCP has other search engines such as Baidu.”

According to David Drummond, in mid-December 2009, Google detected highly sophisticated and directed attacks on its corporate infrastructure, and that, “at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses—including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors—have been similarly targeted.”

A Hong Kong netizen named Li said the attacks on Google’s servers and websites that belong to Human Rights advocates have clearly originated from the CCP. Li said, (recording), “Cyber attacks on human rights organizations, are likely to originate from the CCP.

Google has threatened to give up on this market, because it has been affected, globalisation is happening everywhere nowadays.”

In order to compromise with the Chinese Communist Regime’s online censorship policies, Google introduced Google.cn for mainland China in January 2006.

Craig Richter; Wen Hong; and Si Ming of the SOH Radio Network.

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Revelations of emergency meeting on H1N1

Insiders in the Harbin Disease Control Centre have spoken of a secret emergency meeting held in November last year. The participants supposedly said mainland media have misled the public, and are jeopardising medical staff and the parents of single children. As yet, there is no cure for Influenza A also known as H1N1.

The emergency meeting was attended by local epidemic experts, the secretary of the Disease Control Centre and medical professors of city level hospitals.

An anonymous insider spoke to reporters (recording):
“Cases of maternal mortality are much higher in October; a dozen died in Harbin. Theoretically, the chances of maternal mortality are one out of a hundred thousand a year. But since a dozen have died, the number is now excessive. The secretary of the disease control centre is also a medical expert. He said the Influenza A strain has a mortality rate ten times more severe than those in the past. In addition to its high death rate, it is widespread, peaking multiple times.”

Experts at the meeting said H1N1 is highly infectious. There’s a large gap between media reports and the actual number of deaths. The actual number is likely ten to a hundred times more. Insiders believe the rampant spread of H1N1 is due to misleading domestic media reports.

The anonymous insider further revealed (recording):
“Maternal deaths occur when pregnant women developed high fevers and some die after giving birth. The virus progresses very quickly. Medical experts haven’t revealed the exact figure. H1N1 is so fierce, while media reports are untrue and harmful.”
Currently, the media are reporting the infection rate at 3%, compared to the actual infection rate of 6 to 25%. Because of the false reports, medical staff is also prone to infections.

The insider said (recording):
“Because the media conceals the truth, health care workers suffer a great deal. For instance, one coma patient was sent here without knowing he had Influenza A. As a result, his doctors didn’t take any protective measures. No one had any knowledge they were patients of Influenza A when they arrived until it was confirmed by tests.”
Our sources reveal the Communist authorities have stopped giving false reports on the state of H1N1. The epidemic is now too rampant, and quarantine has become ineffective.

According to the insider (recording):
“The first maternal death was on October 18th. She lay unconscious at the Red Cross Hospital. When she was transferred to the top Municipal Hospital, she was already in a coma. Doctors had no idea what she suffered while nurses did not take preventive measures at all. When she died, it was confirmed she was an H1N1 victim. Until now, humankind has no remedy to subdue the virus.”

The most vulnerable groups are pregnant women, people with ailments and children. According to feedback from the general public in Harbin, families of H1N1 victims have nowhere to lodge complaints or expose the true situation. This is due to the blockade by Communist authorities. People in mainland China find it hard to access overseas reports on the outbreak.

Chris Thomas and Xin Yi of the SOH Radio Network.

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Dodgy new homes force Sichuan survivors into tents

Lichun town in Pengzhou of Sichuan was one of main areas devastated by the 2008 earthquake. Houses were constructed to provide homes for victims. However they’ve been many complaints of problems with the houses, including cracks, burst pipes and other issues. Basically the homes are unsuitable for living and victims have been forced to remain in tents.

Yang Jianrong from Lihe village in Lichun, told reporters about the housing problems (recording):
“The most serious problem effecting houses in the neighborhood are broken sewer pipes. This is not being dealt with. They didn’t build good foundations, it is sloppy work, and the cement can be removed by a light touch of the hand. How can we live in houses like this? I have even borrowed money to build a new house.”

Yang Jianrong said they’d tried speaking to the company and government department in charge of construction. This was unsuccessful, further the village Party cadre has been unhelpful.

Yang Jianrong described her conditions (recording):
“My house is a shed built with plastic bags. It’s very cold. There are young and old in my family, my father-in-law and mother-in-law, my grandma is already 90 years old and we still live in this shed. How can we survive this winter? The quality of this new house is a problem, it’s terrible! I talked to our village officials but they refuse to admit any problems.”

Mr Song, a resident in Huapeng neighborhood of Lichun said the local government says the houses meet building standards. Now they’re demanding the residents pay off building costs or they won’t provide power.

Mr Song spoke to reporters (recording):
“The houses appear to be cracking, and the ground underneath keeps submerging, there are problems with the housing quality. They asked us to pay but we didn’t. We still owed more than 13,000 renminbi. There are allowances for construction efforts after disasters. Our house cost over 100,000, the government pays half and loaned 30,000 from the bank, individually we pay 20 to 30 thousand. We pay our money to the officials and they give it to the building company. The power is ready but he said if you don’t pay, they won’t connect it.”

Another resident of Lihe village, Chen Huixiong said no one is dealing with these housing problems.

Chen Huixiong told media (recording):
“There are over 200 households in our neighborhood. There are many different problems in our neighborhood. How can we live if our houses are crooked? If one day there’s a sudden earthquake, could it resist an eight point earthquake? I have been petitioning to Chengdu City.”

Chris Thomas; Xin Yi; and Liu Fang of the SOH Radio Network.

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Police called in to handle protests over land seizures in Guangdong Province.

- Guangdong villagers afraid to speak out on land robbery
- Authorities give in to Guangdong land protests
- New train ticketing policy slammed

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Guangdong villagers afraid to speak out on land robbery

On January 9th, villagers from Wuchuan Village in GuangDong Province, told SOH, 0.93 square kilometers of land in their village was forcibly taken by developers. The villagers, threatened by corrupt officials, received only a third of the compensation.

Wuchuan Village used to own one square kilometer of land, but developers took 0.93 square kilometers in September. As for the rest, a villager told reporters (recording):
“0.07 square kilometers remained, but were used for roads. Essentially nothing is left. All the land is gone.”

The developers only gave villagers 65,000 renminbi per 0.0007 square kilometers, instead of the market price of 180,000. A villager told reporters (recording):
“Some farmers opened up factories, but [the officials] called in the tax department to audit the factories. [All the villagers] kept quiet, and let them take the land away.”

The villagers used to lease the land for 20,000 renminbi per 0.0007 square kilometers annually. The loss of the land put over 4,000 villagers without a source of income. A villager told reporters (recording):
“Now, each person has 7500 renminbi. Our land had been hired out at 20,000 renminbi for every Chinese acre. I would earn that much in a few months of work, but they robbed us for 65,000.”

A neighbouring village in Titian is suffering the same problem. Nearly 700 villagers have filed a joint lawsuit against the Governor of Guangdong Province, Huang Huahua. Huang Huahua is the highest ranking official to have been indicted, since the introduction of administrative law. The case was heard publicly on December 9th 2009, by the People’s Intermediate Court of Guang Zhou.

Farmland being forcibly taken is a common issue in today’s China. Officials work with merchants to intimidate ordinary citizens, often inciting strong protests from farmers.

Chris Thomas and Tian Xi SOH Radio Network.

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Authorities give in to Guangdong land protests

Farmers from Shantou, Guangdong Province have protested for two months against village officials. The officials illegally sold the property of farmers. The protesters went to a local government office to appeal. The local government eventually gave in, partially resolving the issue. This was on the condition no more protests were to take place, or villagers risked being arrested.

Over 14,000 farmers live in Nanwan Village. In June 2009, the local government began leasing farmland back to villagers. However only 944 of a total 5477 square kilometers of land was leased.

Consequently, from June until September 10th 2009, thousands of farmers have marched around the village beating drums and gongs. They’re holding banners demanding justice, and their land returned.
One villager said in an interview (recording):
“We marched for two months, from 6:30 pm every night to 10:30 pm, beating our drums and gongs from our village to the neighboring village. Currently only a small part of the problem is resolved and we are still not satisfied.”

On July 13, 2009, thousands of farmers marched for hours from their village to appeal to the local government office in Cheng Hai.

Another villager spoke to reporters (recording):
“We have about 5,000 people. Our feet swelled, blistered and some even fainted from the heat. It’s really horrible and pitiful; they are highly dissatisfied with the government. Many people stood on the bridge holding colorful banners, lining up like a long dragon.”

In the end, the authorities conceded. The amount of land sold to development companies was reduced from 674 square kilometers to 270 square kilometers, and then finally to 54 square kilometers. The villagers have now been given 6.5 square metres of land each, to be used for 30 years. However, this was under the condition there would not be further protests.

A villager said to reporters (recording):
“Last time they said this, they lied. Later on they arrested us, threatening us while hoping fewer people would dare go back onto the land”.

Craig Richter; Gu Qinger and Yu Liang of the SOH Radio Network.

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New train ticketing policy slammed

China’s railway departments have placed travel restrictions on Chinese New Year revelers. Train tickets can only be purchased under a person’s real name. Further they’re now limited to three a person. Chinese lawyer Xie Yanyi believes these policies are not based on Chinese law and infringe peoples’ rights.

Xie Yanyi said (recording):
“At present, the public authority has adopted this policy. It infringes private rights, and has no legal foundation. Once these illegal policies are adopted, it’s just the same as giving illegal powers to public authorities. They control private rights, control public areas, and control the public’s right to access the Internet for information.”
Purchasing tickets under real names looks to have little effect on ticket scalpers. Because it’s believed many scalpers have connections with railway staff.

Xie Yanyi said (recording):
“This new ticketing policy will in fact benefit the railway department heads, but seems to be developing corruption. I believe the naming policy they’re trying to adopt will not solve the problem. Many ticket scalpers, a considerable number, go internally. For example, some scalpers have internal connections, and don’t need proof of identity when buying tickets.”

Xie Yanyi reminds the public to remain alert and not trust propaganda. Citizens must be aware of their own rights when being asked for identification.

He said (recording):
“Everyone must remain alert as it’s hard to tell the truth from propaganda. The crucial point is there must be legal authority and legitimate procedures. You must ask the relevant party and get their consent for the investigation. This can help prevent abuse of public authority.”

Craig Richter; Fu Ming; and Yu Lain of the SOH Radio Network.

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200 petitioners welcome New Year with protest in Beijing

January 4th 2010 was the first working day of the New Year. 200 petitioners arrived at the State Council Letters and Complaints Office in Beijing. They were unhappy with forced building demolitions carried out by the Shanghai government. Despite government efforts to halt the protest, petitioners persisted. They ended up registering over 203 participants for the largest protest in Shanghai to date.

Shanghai petitioner Tong Guoqing described the scene to SOH:
(Recording): “We didn’t come here to protest over personal matters, we’re reporting something which affects us all. This involves misconduct by Shanghai’s Municipal Government. We’ve finally been able to submit the report and register our complaints as a group. This was achieved through everyone’s efforts, because they set up many obstacles to stop us registering. We have finally achieved some success, and today we registered over 203 names. This could be the biggest group appeal ever.”

Tong Liya, a petitioner from Shanghai’s Huangpu District, said heavy snow in Beijing stopped petitioners entering from other regions. Another one to two hundred petitioners were stopped by authorities. Some were detained while lining up outside the Letters and Complaints Office.

Tong Liya said only a group had any power. She said:
(Recording) “The power of an individual seems too weak and frail. We believed if everyone came together there would be more strength. If you come as an individual they will grab you, beat you, and put you behind bars”.

On January 3rd and 4th, over 200 Shanghai petitioners began arriving in Beijing. Before arriving at the Complaints Office, they received donations of money and living provisions from fellow petitioners. Especially to homeless petitioners living in Yongdingmen and South Station.

Shanghai petitioner Jin Yuehua told SOH:
(Recording) “This morning at 8am, we arrived at the arches of Yongdingmen Bridge to donate clothing to petitioners. We also brought steamed buns and other things for them. They were very touched. They told us they hadn’t eaten since last night due to the snow. This afternoon at 1pm, we plan to visit South Station, to hand out money and clothing to homeless petitioners and to those sleeping under bridges.”

Later all petitioners were rounded up by staff from the Letters and Complaints Office and taken to a relief centre at South Station. Latest reports indicate they will be allowed to return to Shanghai.

Craig Richter, Bo Ming, and Xin Gang of the SOH Radio Network.

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Free computer training classes banned

Just two months since Microsoft’s free computer training course first opened its doors at the Dandelion Middle School in Shoubao Village of Daxing County in Beijing, it came to be banned by Beijing Police. According to local sources, the majority of the students that took part were appellants from across the country, which could be the reason for the banning.

A petitioner from Jilin Province, Du Mingrong, attended the last class on the 23rd of December. The classroom was packed with over 80 people. The teacher announced that the class was banned by the local police, Mrs Du told SOH (recording) “It was announced on the 22nd that there were thieves in Daxing County, there were two who were wanted by the police. They were looking in the local area for these criminals. The police station then had our classes cancelled.”

Liu Fengqin, an appellant from Heilongjiang, said (recording), “In China, the government does not allow petitioners. The authorities do not wish to see assistance being given to petitioners, thus it regards the course as defiant.”

Starting from the 18th of October, the free class was held every afternoon from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. There were 50 computers in one big classroom, with which the students could practice while following the lectures.

According to Du Mingrong, word got around and almost all students who eventually attended were appellants, she states (recording), “When the courses started on the 18th of October, there were only a dozen students. Numbers were on the rise in November. In December the class was packed. The computers were not enough. Many stood. The appellants heard about the classes, they all wanted to attend, even those in their seventies.”

According to the teachers, the course was going through some structural adjustments and dates of re-offering remained unclear. It is reported that the computer training course was provided free of charge by Microsoft to the Chinese public to popularize elementary computer knowledge.

Perry Luo; Fu Ming and Kaidi of the SOH Radio Network.

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Csaba Sogor, Romanian politician says it is the duty of all leading world nations to support freedom and democracy in China.

Special report: Politicians speak out against CCP attack on SOH

CADEN PEARSON: Hello and welcome to the program. I’m your host, Caden Pearson. A special report this episode, as we update our listeners on the situation in Indonesia and Taiwan, where the Chinese Communist regime has made strong efforts to shut down our broadcasts. Both via shortwave into China’s heartland, and terrestrially around parts of Indonesia and Singapore.

Here’s a recap of the situation for new listeners.

SOH Radio Network leases air time through government-owned Radio Taiwan International, to broadcast shortwave into China, it’s Chinese-language uncensored, independent news and cultural programs. Earlier this year, the Communist regime lobbied Radio Taiwan Internationals CEO to discontinue their contract with SOH. Despite several rounds of communications and negotiations, on December 9, 2009, Radio Taiwan International reduced SOH’s broadcasting hours, and increased its leasing fee.

Traveling south now, the Communist regime has also struck out at SOH in Indonesia. Radio EraBaru 106.5FM, is a local Indonesian station that has been broadcasting SOH’s Chinese-language programs for the last four years. The station broadcasts SOH content to Chinese-speaking communities in the area, providing the only alternative source of China-related news, outside of state-controlled propaganda.

In May 2007, Indonesia’s Broadcasting Committee, KPI, published news on their website stating the Chinese Embassy had requested KPI closely monitor Radio EraBaru 106.5FM. A letter from the Chinese Embassy was leaked, with no name signed. It included many groundless and false accusations against Falun Gong, NTDTV and SOH Radio. It requested Indonesian authorities stop the radio operation. The letter was addressed to four Ministries of Indonesia – KPI, the Ministry of Foreign Relationships, the Ministry of Intelligence, and the Ministry of Communication and Information.

And here’s the latest developments on this issue.

European Parliament Vice President, Edward McMillan-Scott, and Canadian MP, David Kilgour, as well as Human Rights Without Frontiers Director, Willy Fautre, have spoken out against the these actions of the Chinese Communist regime to suppress free and independent media and democracy in Taiwan and Indonesia.

The Hon. David Kilgour wrote to Indonesia President Yudhoyono, saying he found it “deeply troubling that a foreign government with a well-documented record for systematically violating its own citizens dignity and their basic human rights” could write to the Indonesian government to demand the closing down of a domestic station in Indonesia and seemingly be listened to.

VP McMillan-Scott said, “It is well-documented that Beijing maintains complete control over all media in China, and attempts to control media flow out of the country. However, it is still up to the free world in how they react to such an attempt.”

VP McMillan-Scott also wrote letters to Indonesia’s Supreme Court Judge, the Hon. Judge Tumpa, and Taiwan President, Ying-Jeou Ma. In their letters, both said the rejection of Radio EraBaru’s license is undeserved, and urged Indonesia President Yudhoyono to take action to rectify the situation. The case is now in the hands of the Indonesia Supreme Court.

SOH President, Allen Zeng, has spoken publicly on this issue. He said:

ALLEN ZENG: We are very concerned about the situation of Radio EraBaru station in Indonesia. We have contracts; we provide news and cultural programs through them. SOH works with many radio stations around the world in this way. We believe this is an extremely urgent issue. The Chinese regime is directly pressuring an independent country to close down is own independent media. We will call upon our friends, other news media, and governments around the world to urge them to help in this issue and work together to save this radio station.

CADEN PEARSON: Joining these voices are three European politicians who have voiced their support of SOH and free media and democracy, condemning the actions of the Communist regime.

Astrid Lulling, EU Parliamentarian says Taiwan must resist pressure from CCP.

ASTRID LULLING: They should resist the pressure from Beijing! I know this is not very easy, but you must have the courage to do so! And if you have, then they will understand that they don’t come through with their dictatorship against free press!

CADEN PEARSON: Astrid Lulling there, sharing her impassioned thoughts on how the Taiwanese government should respond to the Communist regime’s pressure. Lulling is a politician in Luxembourg, and a Member of the European Parliament for the Christian Social People’s Party, part of the European People’s Party. She told SOH, the situation is “unacceptable!”

ASTRID LULLING: I’m very much attached to free media, because it’s basic of democracy. And I think it’s very important that people are well, and objectively informed, and I regret very much that the People’s Republic of China, once again, to go against free media, and against objective information of the population. I think the population… You should take much more seriously. The population does want to be well informed. And then also, if they are well informed, they react well, and they judge well. And even politicians who are not well informed cannot judge well, and decide well. So it’s very important to have free press, free media. And it’s very regrettable that they think they should close this down.

CADEN PEARSON: In his letter addressed to Taiwan President, Ying-Jeou Ma, Vice President McMillan-Scott said he had faith in the democracy and freedom of press in Taiwan. He remarked that almost at the same time that government-funded Radio Taiwan International reduced SOH’s broadcast hours, their government gave a Taiwan Foundation for Democracy award to a North Korean who broadcasts into his country, commending his “courage to pursue freedom” and his “having no fear of a totalitarian regime”.

***

CSABA SOGOR: … In history there were different powers and different empires, but our duty is to support China to behave as a leading power. And we know exactly from the recent history, of the European Union, or Europe, but from the old history too, that to behave as a leading power, that means not to count the money and to invest in economy, but human rights issues, minority rights, protection of languages are also very important.

CADEN PEARSON: Csaba Sogor is a pastor of the Reformed Church, and a politician in Romania. That was his voice you heard just now, saying other world powers have a duty to keep the Chinese regime in line, behaving as a leading power of the world should; respecting human rights and freedom of speech.

CSABA SOGOR: … And I hope that not just the Uighur, or Tibet problem will be solved, in a, let’s not say democratical [sic] way, but in a human way. Not as the leaders, or the majority things, or the Falun Gong issue, but also we think that to be a leader of the world, or being a leading power, you will be not afraid from the freedom of speech. You will be not afraid of different cultures, different religions, different traditions, and also you will not be afraid of free radios, Internet, televisions, news… Because a power; an empire, we know the European history was always signing his death when he tries to cut information, when he tries to control infrastructure, when he tries to control freedom of speech, the free thinking.

CADEN PEARSON: Sogor expressed his hope the Communist regime would learn from the mistakes made during Europe’s long history.

CSABA SOGOR: Of course, Europe had opportunity, the possibility in the last 3,000 years to learn a lot from his history, from his mistakes. Why should other empires, or other leading powers follow this long story to learn or not learn from this history. So I hope that we can help China to behave as a leading power.

Who will be the leading power of the world in the next 50 years. But until then, we have one thing to do… Not to decide who will be the leading power, but to support all countries and all regions to develop a free, democratic society where not just the money has to say something, but also the human rights and the freedom of speech.”

CADEN PEARSON: Romanian politician Csaba Sogor there, saying it is the duty of all leading world nations to support freedom and democracy in China.

***

Wolf Klinz, German politician, says he is willing to contact the heads of state of Taiwan and Indonesia to encourage them to respect freedom of press.

CADEN PEARSON: Wolf Klinz is a German politician and member of the European Parliament with the Free Democratic Party of Germany, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. In a recent interview with SOH, Klinz said the Communist regime should run the country in such a manner that provides no reason to fear domestic or international reports that may be critical of the authorities.

WOLF KLINZ: Well, we should not give in easily on these things. I think, also China, in this particular case, the government of mainland China in Beijing should not feel that, or see the need to interfere. That proves only that they are afraid of the free media. Why should they be afraid? They should organise their country, their society in such a manner that there’s no reason to be afraid of anybody reporting from outside or inside for that matter.

CADEN PEARSON: Klinz said it is the European Union’s desire to see freedom of press valued in all world nations.

WOLF KLINZ: Well, you know the European Union considers itself to be a union of values. And one of the values is freedom of press. And we do not want anybody, whether its politics, business or whatever, to interfere with the freedom of press. And therefore we have a very strong interest in seeing in other areas of the world, the freedom of press is being protected, and accepted as a value. Almost as a human right, so to speak, of society.

CADEN PEARSON: Klinz said he is willing to contact the heads of state of Taiwan and Indonesia to encourage them to respect freedom of press.

WOLF KLINZ: I think this is something that’s in everybody’s interest. Very much like the personal freedom. And we hope eventually they do realise this is something worth defending. This is what we try to do.

CADEN PEARSON: Klinz said he has faced critical reports on several occasions. When he feels a report is wrong, he will enter into a dialogue with the reporter to correct it. When there is nothing to hide, there is no reason to do so.

WOLF KLINZ: But we should not take one or two incidents of a similar nature to ban completely.

***

CADEN PEARSON: For all intents and purposes, the relationship between SOH and Radio Taiwan International seemed to be going strong, SOH’s Taiwan representative Ms Ko said last week. Since 2004, SOH has increased its airtime every year. However, Ko said that during discussions this year on continuing their partnership, she feels that Radio Taiwan International has had pressure coming from the Communist regime.

MS KO: On the 3^rd of November of this year, the president of Radio Taiwan International, Mr Wang, said not only that the new contract cannot be processed due to pressure coming from the Chinese Communist Party, but that he is considering re-adjusting the original contract which ends in January of 2010.

CADEN PEARSON: Former Chinese diplomatic official, and defector, Chen Yong Lin, said the broadcasts by SOH are the biggest thorn in the side of the Communist regime, who seek to control the Chinese people, right down to their very thoughts.

CHEN YONG LIN: The core method that the Chinese Communist Party uses to control people is mind control. It wants to control every single Chinese person’s mind in order to maintain its political power. Therefore, the CCP is trying its best to control any types of information (broadcast). SOH Radio Network is always the most problematic issue for the Chinese Communist Party; because SOH is broadcasting justice (truth) into China through many channels, including the Internet, telephone and shortwave radio.

CADEN PEARSON: And that’s it for this special report episode of ICT. Check back with us for more updates as events unfold in the coming weeks. If you have any comments or feedback, drop us a line at our website, www.insidechinatoday.net, or send us an email at insidechinatoday@sohnetwork.com. Until next time, I’m your host, Caden Pearson.

Astrid Lulling, Member of the European Parliament for the Christian Social People's Party.

Update: Indonesia/Taiwan issue

CADEN PEARSON: European Parliament Vice President, Edward McMillan-Scott, and Canadian MP, David Kilgour,  as well as Human Rights Without Frontiers Director, Willy Fautre, have spoken out against the Chinese Communist regime’s acts to suppress free and independent media and democracy in Taiwan and Indonesia.

The Hon. David Kilgour told Indonesia’s President, Yudhoyono, he found it “deeply troubling that a foreign government with a well-documented record for systematically violating its own citizens dignity and their basic human rights” could write to the Indonesian government to demand the closing down of a domestic station in Indonesia and seemingly be listened to.

European Parliament Vice President Edward McMillan-Scott said “It is well-documented that Beijing maintains complete control over all media in China, and attempts to control media flow out of the country. However, it is still up to the free world how to react to such an attempt.”

ASTRID LULLING: “They should resist the pressure from Beijing! I know this is not very easy, but you must have the courage to do so! And if you have, then they will understand that they don’t come through with their dictatorship against free press!”

CADEN PEARSON: Astrid Lulling is a politician in Luxembourg, and a Member of the European Parliament for the Christian Social People’s Party, part of the European People’s Party. She told SOH, the situation is “unacceptable!”

ASTRID LULLING: “I’m very much attached to free media, because it’s basic of democracy. And I think it’s very important that people are well, and objectively informed, and I regret very much that the People’s Republic of China, once again, to go against free media, and against objective information of the population. I think the population… You should take much more seriously. The population does want to be well informed. And then also, if they are well informed, they react well, and they judge well. And even politicians who are not well informed cannot judge well, and decide well. So it’s very important to have free press, free media. And it’s very regrettable that they think they should close this down.”

Caden Pearson for SOH Radio Network.

Reenactment of organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Students warned not to leak information about Bird flu outbreak at their schools

Bird flu has been rampant across Chinese schools since the start of this term.  But school authorities have blocked information.  A college student recently told SOH that those who discussed the flu on the internet were warned by school officials.  The student said that information on the pandemic had been strictly censored by the Chinese regime.  Blogs and forums at various universities were shut down a few months ago, disallowing any postings.

Student (recording), “There have been many postings lately that talked about cover ups by the school.  Leaders have been specifically appointed to oversee speech, forums and blogs so as to limit the students’ freedom of speech.  They would investigate.  The internet centre at our school has the technology detect this topic.  So students dare not talk freely.”

The student continued (recording), “The Deputy Director role at our school is the same as Vice Mayor.  One of them used to be a Vice Mayor.  No one can touch him.  Many students do not approve of the various conducts of the current leadership.  Students’ complaints about embezzlement, etc. were blocked by the school authorities.”

It is reported that following the closure of China BT Net, and the renowned VeryCD download site will also be shut down within the month.  This year the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television has pulled the plug on 414 audio visual sites.

A student named Wu from Xi’an Posts and Telecommunications University said (recording), “Sealed schools do not allow internet access.  Students can not watch TV, even in their dorms.  There is nothing to do after school.  We are getting rather agitated.  Our school has been sealed off for nearly a month and a half.  The quarantine should have been completed.”

A female student from Wu Yi University said (recording), “The information is not given out to the public.  I know of two in our class, but are unsure about others.  Not just our school, I think most schools are like that.  But from a students’ perspective, most believe the information should be disclosed so that everyone knows where things stand.”

Chris Thomas; Lu Fang; and Yu Lian for Inside China for the SOH Radio Network.

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Eye-witness comes forward, moved by Falun Gong practitioner’s resilience

On December 12, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) reported new evidence on the Chinese Communist Regime’s crimes of live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. A new witness gave details of his personal account as a bystander, while vital organs including heart and kidneys were harvested from a live female Falun Gong practitioner in her 30’s.

During an interview with SOH Radio Network, WOIPFG’s spokesperson Wang Zhiyuan said the new witness, who once worked in the police bureau of Liaoning Province, spoke out to reveal what he had seen, as he was deeply moved by the upright character, compassion and tolerance of Falun Gong practitioners in the face of death.

Wang said (recording) “The Falun Gong practitioner he had contact with was extremely strong willed. He said, at the time, the deputy chief of the detention center kicked her face with tough leather shoes, while incessantly shocking her with an electric baton; during the winter climate they poured cold water on her body, and stripped her clothes… this kind of physical and mental torment went on and on. According to his account, with countless cuts and bruises all over her body, she refused to hit back or return any verbal abuse, and persisted with her belief. Even until the moment before her heart was cut out and her body sliced open, she still called out “Falun Dafa is Great”. She kindly advised her tormenters with hopes that they would awaken. This witness said the only request for practitioners of Falun Gong was to give one word of abuse [against the practice of Falun Gong], or sign there name to assure they would never practice again. It was a very simple task which to him looked like an act of raising one hand, but even so these Falun Gong practitioners did not comply, as they chose to guard their conscience and persist in their belief.”

According to Wang, another factor which contributed to the witness’ decision to speak out, was that the cruelty of the organ harvesting procedure shocked him. Wang said, in order to conceal his identity in their initial conversations the witness did not clearly state the location where the organ harvesting took place. However in subsequent conversations he clearly stated the location of the live organ harvesting was the 15th floor of the General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region. The witness expressed the inner torment he felt in failing to put a stop to these inhumane crimes, thus seeking consolation through exposing them.

(Recording) “The second point was how he witnessed the entire process of live organ harvesting.  The brutal acts he witnessed shock him still.”

When witnesses first spoke out to expose live organ harvesting in the secret concentration camp in Sujiatun, Shenyang city of Liaoning Province, on March 9, 2006, the news astounded the world. Wang Zhiyuan said, since then many organizations and individuals have carried out independent and undercover investigations. Two investigators from Canada, David Matas and David Kilgour recently published a book entitled “Bloody Harvest”, which was a collection of evidence in support of the allegations gathered through their independent systematic investigations. WOIPFG also holds a large amount of supporting evidence pointing to an organized  genocide of Falun Gong practitioners under the Chinese Communist regime.

(Recording) “This is genocide, systematically arranged and organized in mainland China and it has not been restricted to local regions. We can see this from a number of angles. Firstly, [the persecution] is carried out under government policies, supported by documents. It has been a nation-wide, large scale persecution lead by the national 6.10 office, which has mobilized all levels of government, police force as well as the military. Secondly, people who have taken part include the police, armed police, the People’s Salvation Army, ordinary citizens, as well as staff at various government levels. Also investigated was Chen Qiang, the liaison for kidney supplies at the Kidney Transplant Center of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) No. 307 Hospital in Beijing. Chen Qiang told us boldly and directly the way in which these transactions took place, and how organs of Falun Gong practitioners were harvested. He also said these activities were organized “like a dragon”. The imprisoned Falun Gong Practitioners are being stock piled and then sysematicly murdered while their organs are being removed.”

Wang Zhiyuan said, the reports from WOIPFG as well as the publication from David Matas and David Kilgour, along with the confessions submitted to Minghui.org by two forensic investigators who took part in these crimes, not only contribute to the proof of the Chinese Communist regime’s organ harvesting on Falun Gong practitioners, but give clear indication that these crimes continue to take place today. Wang Zhiyuan called on those who have participated in these crimes to assist in exposing the atrocities, obtain forgiveness as well as opening a path to the future for themselves and family members.

Craig Richter and Yu Shan for the SOH Radio Network.

H1N1 virus spreading rapidly.

Massive cover up of H1N1 epidemic

Presently the H1N1 influenza is spreading quickly across mainland China. The health department has ordered silence over the issue and has stopped all inspections. Hospitals across the country are instead told to report suspected H1N1 cases as the common cold. Our SOH reporter interviewed doctors and residents from Shijiazhuang of Hebei province.

On December 4th, staff from the Shijiazhuang Disease Control Centre said that there are many influenza cases now, and they cannot check it. (Recording): “Currently, if we have found symptoms of a cold we will treat it as a cold, we no longer differentiate whether it is H1N1 or not. We cannot differentiate, as there is too much of it.

A Doctor from Shijiazhuang hospital said that all hospitals across the country take strict orders from the Health Department in their work. Patients have to reach the formula standard of the Health department before evaluation can take place. He said (Recording): “The temperature of outpatients in all hospitals are the same, but they have to reach the target before they can do H1N1 checking. Presently all outpatients are not being checked, and checking is done by the Disease Control Centre.”

Another Doctor said: “There is a unified formula, following exactly the Health Department’s regulation. If he suffers severely he can stay in hospital, otherwise he has to go home.

The doctor also said: “Now the clinic can’t see any distinctions in the virus.”

Many Shijiazhuang residents also reported on the issue.

(Recording): “There are many colds, now we cannot clearly differentiate what is what, there are many H1N1. There are more cases because of the snow. My son’s school is closing down. There are many colds in the community, almost every family has the cold.

Another Shijiazhuang resident says to avoid the vaccine. (Recording): “From the start I’ve stood for not having the vaccine. I feel the time of this stuff is not like the epidemic of encephalitis, chickenpox and or measles in the past. We should watch it for awhile. There are too many unwritten rules in the market. We do not know if it is produced from a regulated company. I feel worried about this. The public says the spread of H1N1 in the mainland is fairly severe. But the Health department has already covered up the truth about the epidemic, so who will be the victim in the end? I don’t think the virus differentiates between high level officials and ordinary people.

Chris Thomas; Tian Xi; and Yi Xiang for SOH Radio Network.

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Bird flu cases handled by medical students

According to recent mainland sources, China is on the brink of another bird flu pandemic and its hospitals are filling with patients. However, many hospital directors and doctors chose this time to take leaves of absence, forcing hospitals to call upon students from medical schools to help deal with the growing number of patients.

A former patient named Xiao Shuan from the Zhejiang Province told SOH (recording), “Right now the bird flu is very serious in China. Many doctors refuse to show up to work out of fear. I also waited for three days at the hospital but rarely saw the doctors in charge. It was difficult to find any doctors in their forties or fifties. Only the unknown, young ones were there, which was very similar to the situation during the SARS outbreak. As soon as SARS broke out, those in charge did a disappearing act. Notes on their doors claimed they were on business trips but in fact they went into hiding in the countryside.”

A local resident from the Zhejiang province told us (recording), “Medical schools in China are connected with hospitals. Many doctors and nurses are actually students. They came to work without understanding the processes and dangers involved. Many nurses or junior doctors lack the expertise to deal with some diseases. With these junior doctors you will not recover even if you’re hospitalized.”

As the bird flu continues to break out in mainland schools, mass group infections across the country are on the rise.

The Zhejiang resident also said (recording), “The City Centre Hospital was very busy, packed with patients, especially kids and students with flu. The hospital fees are very high, similar to charges at luxurious hotels. There are six floors but no one is allowed above the fourth. The forbidden places are classed as state secrets. Even in normal times you would be told off if you were to take pictures. You are not allowed to know what the Party does not want to tell you. The more truth you know, the more danger you are in.”

Perry Luo; Wang Qian and Wu Tong for SOH Radio Network.