China: Petitioner village demolished ahead of Games

The last houses in “Petitioner village” near the southern railway station in Beijing have been swept away, petitioners say.

China: Gao Zhisheng force-fed during prison hunger strike

“They engage in manual labor, not physical labor. They work eight hours manufacturing handicrafts. But it’s impossible for someone who’s in ill health to engage in labor,” the prison duty officer said. “He would get treatment.” Hunger-striking prisoners are hospitalized for treatment, he said, adding, “Isn’t that called medical parole?”

China: Hu Jia detained for ‘incitement to subversion’

Chinese rights activist Hu Jia, best known for his advocacy work on behalf of those living with HIV/AIDS, has been detained by national security police in Beijing on charges of “incitement to subvert state power,” a fellow activist said.
Hu was detained while in the middle of an exchange of instant messages via Skype with another [...]

China: Three reporters missing in Guangdong land protest

From RFA’s Mandarin service: In Heping county, Guangdong province, three reporters whose video equipment carried the China Central Television (CCTV) logo are missing after they interviewed local villagers about how tens of thousands of mu of farmland had been expropriated for commercial use.
On December 26, after the three wrapped up their interviews with the villagers, [...]

Uyghur: Ancient city ruins fall into neglect

Intro: Some Chinese media, such as the official China Daily and the Tangritagh Web site, have published several news articles and op-eds about the Kiroran City Ruins, the ancient lost city. According to the news, humans have played a major role in the destruction of the city ruins. The ancient city disappeared from history long [...]

Cambodia: Land disputes flare (3)

by Seang Sophorn
Banteay Meanchey, December 20, 2007—People living in Balelay village, Poipet commune claimed that the provincial authorities have dismantled their houses and threatened them to move away from the land they currently live on.
A Balelay villager named Savath told RFA that in the morning of December 20, when the villagers were away from home, [...]

Cambodia: Land disputes flare (2)

by Mom Sophon
Kampot Province, December 21, 2007—In an area located almost in the center of the woods in Anlong Krom village, Ta Ken commune, Chhouk district, which is being bulldozed, about four or five people are chitchatting, and soldiers are sparsely deployed. Some are in hammocks; some are holding rifles and standing guard watchfully. Near [...]

Cambodia: Land disputes flare (1)

by Seang Sophorn
Kandal province, December 20, 2007—Some people living in Peam village, Kandal Stung district have been fearful of being arrested, following an arrest of a man who had protected his land during a land dispute.
A man living in Peam village, Sambuor Meas commune, Kandal Stung district, said on condition of anonymity due to fear [...]

Dongzhou drama escalates, 2,000 police on guard

The drama in Dongzhou, a small fishing village in Guangdong province, seems destined to escalate. At least that’s what the villagers say, as local official insist that any troubles have been minor and are long past. The latest news comes from native witnesses on the ground—reporters are being bundled away—who say some 2,000 police are [...]

Traffickers use drugs on North Korean ‘brides’ in China

We’ve reported extensively on the trafficking of North Korean women into China, where men abound, women are scarce, and the black-market trade in wives often takes a grim and grisly turn. But here’s a new angle, unearthed by RFA’s Korean service: The traffickers, taking a page from pimps in the West, are using addictive drugs [...]