China: Qin Yongmin’s wife calls for medical parole

From RFA’s Cantonese service:
I am Qin Yongmin’s ex-wife. My name is Li Jingfang. My hope is that the authorities will show some leniency, understanding and generosity to those in prison at this time, with the approach of the Olympic Games. I really hope that Qin Yongmin will be released from jail a little earlier. He [...]

Mandarin: Listener comments on 17th Party Congress

The video shows then President Liu Shaoqi giving his work report at the 8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Mao sits behind him on the podium, probably plotting Liu’s downfall…
Callers to Jill Ku’s call-in show appeared largely disappointed at the more than two hour-long speech given by President Hu Jintao at the 17th [...]

Burma: Who let the dogs out?

Online newspaper Irrawaddy reports:
A resident of Shwegondine, Bahan Township, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that she saw a group of four dogs with pictures of the regime’s top generals around their necks.
Sightings were also reported in four other Rangoon townships—Tharkayta, Dawbon, Hlaing Tharyar and South Okkalapa.
Some sources said the canine protest had started at [...]

Mandarin: Interview with Beijing lawyer, Li Heping

MANDARIN: Interview with Li Heping (09/30/07)
MC: Li Heping, a lawyer from Beijing Gaobo Longhua law firm, has engaged in quite a few rights-protection legal activities. On Saturday, he was suddenly kidnapped by a group of unknown gangsters. It was reported to the RFA station that the kidnappers took Li Heping to an unidentified building and [...]

Burma: Night-time evictions in Rangoon

I have received this petition twice in my Inbox this morning by e-mail. The image is part of an advertisement campaigners plan to take out in major newspapers Saturday. The following is a translation of an interview by RFA’s Burmese service with a Rangoon resident:
Man: Around 2 am in the morning they came with [...]

Qingdao: Eviction on National Day holiday?

This rather shaky video was taken on Danxian Road, and appears to show the authorities removing banners attached to the roof of the apartment building.
More than 200 residents of an apartment block in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao have begun a protest after being ordered to vacate their homes, RFA’s Cantonese service reports. (more…)

Uyghur listener describes torture for listening to RFA

UYGHUR: Man Tortured For Listening to RFA Programs (09/03/07)
Reporter: Abdulla
Man: I was arrested by the authorities for listening to RFA programs. Some people, er, my arrest was linked to some people, er, some traitors who had reported me [to the authorities]. The radio used to broadcast here for about a half an hour from 7:00 [...]

Commentary: Xiao Qiang on graft and the Internet

MANDARIN:  Reporting Corruption on the Internet (08/10/07)
Xiao Qiang (XQ): Today, I would like to talk about the underlying problems of reporting corrupt officials on the Internet. A new trend is emerging as the use of the Internet becomes popularized in China. That is, grass-root Web sites, that encourage the public to report corrupt officials, are [...]

Burma: Continuing violence in Rangoon and Mandalay

The following are translated extracts from interviews done by RFA’s Burmese service:
Eyewitness Account
09/27/07
Speaker: I saw it at Myintha Project area.  That was the Number 31 old bus terminal.   I went there because I heard people couldn’t stand it any more, so they had surrounded the security forces and attacked them with knives. It’s really true [...]

RFA interview with a Singaporean shot in Rangoon

RFA’s Mandarin service interviewed this man last night. You can read the interview in full below, and go to our English Web story for more background and context. [Photo via Ko Htike.] 
“I’m a citizen of Singapore who lives in Rangoon. At around 4:00 in the afternoon today (Thursday), my wife and I were on our [...]