62 Gag Orders in 2009

Hard on the heels of a major communications crackdown in strife-torn Xinjiang, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports that China’s powerful Central Propaganda Department issued at least 62 gag orders on state-controlled media in 2009.

The Tibetans you’ve never heard of

Who hasn’t heard of Tibet? And who outside of Asia can even pronounce “Uyghur”?

Millions of Uyghurs (pronounced “WEE-ger”) live in China’s northwesternmost province, Xinjiang. They, like the Tibetans, are a religious as well as an ethnic minority; they have chafed under Beijing’s heavy-handed rule for the last six decades; and Chinese authorities have faced persistent accusations of repression and abuse against them. But the latest news is that Chinese authorities have closed a Web site aimed at promoting understanding between Han Chinese and ethnic Uyghurs following allegations that the site was linked to foreign “extremists,” the site’s owner said.

China, Tibet: Interview with Grace Wang

A Chinese student at Duke University in North Carolina who wrote “Free Tibet” on the back of an anti-Chinese protester during an attempt to mediate a campus dispute over Tibet is now hated by former classmates and teachers alike, a former teacher said.

China: Hu Jia sentenced to 3 1/2 years

Authorities in Beijing have sentenced AIDS activist Hu Jia to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for “incitement to subversion” after he wrote articles online critical of China’s hosting of the Olympics. The sentence was handed down Thursday by the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court.

We cannot accept this verdict, because the peaceful words Hu expressed are irrelevant to state power. Therefore, the 3 1/2-year prison sentence is inappropriate.

— Hu’s lawyer, Li Fangping, speaking to Mandarin reporter Ding Xiao

Uyghurs: China’s anti-porn campaign in Xinjiang

UYGHUR: 100-Day Campaign against “Pornographic Publications” (03/17/08)
Reporter: Kurban Wali

RFA: Dear radio listeners, according to the Tangritagh News Web site of China, Mr. Li Yi, head of the propaganda committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s Xinjiang branch, held a teleconference in Urumqi today, March 17, to organize a 100-day campaign against pornography.

李屹在会议上作了重要讲话，他肯定了过去一年“扫黄打非”取得的成绩，并提出了2008年自治区“扫黄打非”工作总的要求是：高举中国特色社会主义伟大旗 帜，以邓小平理论和“三个代表”重要思想为指导，全面贯彻党的十七大精神，深入落实科学发展观，以打击政治性、宗教类非法出版物为重点，加强日常监管，开 展专项行动，打击侵权盗版行为，开展网上“扫黄打非”斗争，查处非法报刊制售活动，扫除淫秽色情等文化垃圾，全力维护国家安定、社会稳定和文化安全，为新 疆改革、发展、稳定营造良好的文化舆论环境。More here…

During the meeting, Li Yi recognized the achievements of last year’s anti-pornography campaign in Xinjiang, saying that the challenges for 2008 were to hold high the glorious banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and taking Deng Xiaoping thought and the “Three Represents” as a guide, to fully implement the spirit of the 17th Party Congress, to put fully into practice the principles of scientific development, and to concentrate efforts towards cracking down on illegal publications containing religious and political material.

China: Tibetan protests linger in Sichuan, Gansu

A resident of Zhuoni county, Gansu province surnamed Zhou, Gansu province said: “A division of armed forces from Wuhan, Hubei province have been deployed in the Zhuoni county area.” He added: “Armed police are trying to arrest Tibetans who remain at large and there is still sporadic rioting.”

Newsdesk: Troops remain, detentions continue in Tibet

Ding Xiao’s report from RFA’s Mandarin service:

A journalist working in Beijing for a British television station who was not selected to go to Lhasa told RFA Mandarin reporter Ding Xiao on Thursday that the invitation by the Chinese government was highly selective:

“After the announcement was made, we tried like mad to get more information from the Foreign Ministry and the State Council’s information office.  They said only a certain number of people could go, that there was only a limited number of slots. 

China: RFA listener comments on Tibet

“Could it be possible that Tibetans cannot accept the fact that their tradition and customs have been so radically changed by the Han?” –Inner Mongolian man on RFA-Mandarin call-in program Listener Hotline, March 26, 2008

“How sad it was to listen to the Tibetans chanting their prayers. It was such a peaceful demonstration here in Brussels. I cried, wondering if God listens to their prayers.” –A Vietnamese woman living in Brussels, Belgium, speaking with RFA Vietnamese service, March 26, 2008

Bao Tong: Talk to the Dalai Lama

Here is Bao Tong’s essay translated in full. Original Chinese as broadcast on RFA’s Mandarin service here.

Take harmony seriously; talk to the Dalai Lama
by Bao Tong

The Lhasa incident has caused massive grief for all the Tibetan people and all of China. Anyone who has ever been through a great historical tragedy will understand its significance. The Chinese government spokesman said the whole thing was orchestrated by the Dalai Lama — a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize — from behind the scenes. However, as a reader from Europe put it: “Nobody here believes what the Chinese government says.”

Tibet: Reactions from inside China

The recent protests by Tibetans come amid growing calls among Chinese intellectuals for dialogue with the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing accuses of conspiring to split the motherland by secretly orchestrating the March 15 protests and riots in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, during which armed police opened fire on Tibetans, and where house-to-house searches and arrests are still continuing.

Sun Wenguang, a retired professor of eastern China’s Shandong University said the authorities were wrong to suppress the Tibetan protests using force.

“To crack down on the protests, especially to open fire, is a crime.