RSF: European parliament calls for Hu Jia’s release

17 January 2008

CHINA
European parliament calls for Hu Jia’s release

The European parliament today majority approved a resolution on leading Chinese dissident Hu Jia, who has been held by the Chinese authorities since his arrest in Beijing on 27 December. During today’s debate on the resolution, European commissioner Meglena Kuneva announced that an European Union “troika” had begun negotiations with the Chinese authorities with the aim of obtaining Hu’s release.

The resolution:
- “Strongly condemns the detention of Hu Jia and demands his prompt release and that of all the dissidents who have been arrested and jailed for crimes of opinion;
- “Urges China not to use the Olympic Games as a pretext to arrest and illegally detain and imprison dissidents, journalists and human rights activists who either report on or demonstrate against human rights abuses;
- “Urges the Chinese authorities to close the so-called ‘black jails’, places of detention set up to detain ‘troublemakers’ in advance of this year’s Olympics;
- “Reiterates its opinion that human rights concerns should receive far more attention in the build-up to the Beijing Olympic Games, and highlights the need for ‘respect for universal fundamental ethical principle’ and the promotion of a peaceful society concerned ‘with the preservation of human dignity’ as enshrined in Articles 1 and 2 of the Olympic Charter.”

The resolution noted that Hu suffers from a liver disease that obliges him to take medication every day, that Time magazine named his wife, Zeng Jinyan, as one of the world’s 100 “heroes” in 2007, and that she and Hu jointly received the Reporters Without Borders – Fondation de France special “China” prize last November.

European parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering already issued a call on 31 December for Hu’s release.

——-

CHINE
Le Parlement européen adopte une résolution appelant à la libération de Hu Jia

Le 17 janvier, le Parlement européen a voté à la majorité une résolution concernant la détention du dissident Hu Jia, interpellé par les autorités chinoises le 27 décembre 2007. Pendant la session du Parlement sur le sujet, la commissaire européenne Meglena Kuneva a annoncé qu’une troïka de l’Union européenne avait entamé des négociations avec les autorités chinoises pour obtenir la libération de Hu Jia.

La résolution affirme :
- “Condamner fermement la détention de Hu Jia et réclamer sa libération immédiate ainsi que celle des autres dissidents emprisonnés pour un délit d’opinion.
- Demande instamment à la Chine de ne pas prendre prétexte des Jeux olympiques pour arrêter, détenir illégalement ou emprisonner des dissidents, des journalistes et des défenseurs des droits de l’homme.
- Demander aux autorités chinoises de fermer les ‘black jails’, prisons mises en place pour détenir les ‘fauteurs de troubles’ à l’approche des Jeux olympiques.
- Réaffirme que les préoccupations liées aux droits de l’homme méritent une attention beaucoup plus grande dans le cadre des préparatifs des Jeux olympiques de Pékin, et qu’il y a nécessité de promouvoir une société non violente incluant « la protection de la dignité humaine » comme il est mentionné dans les articles 1 et 2 de la charte olympique.”

Le Parlement européen rappelle également que Hu Jia est malade du foie et doit prendre des médicaments quotidiennement. Il précise que son épouse, Zeng Jinyan, a été désignée par le Time comme l’une des cent personnes les plus influentes de l’année 2006, et que le couple a remporté le prix Reporters sans frontières – Fondation de France spécial « Chine » en novembre 2007.

Hans-Gert Pöttering, président du Parlement européen, avait déjà demandé la libération de Hu Jia, le 31 décembre 2007.
———-

CHINA
El Parlamento Europeo aprueba una resolución pidiendo la libertad de Hu Jia

El 17 de enero, el Parlamento Europeo ha aprobado, por mayoría, una resolución relativa a la detención del disidente Hu Jia, detenido por las autoridades chinas desde el 27 de diciembre de 2007. En la sesión del Parlamento sobre el asunto, la comisaria europea Meglena Kuneva anunció que una troika de la Unión Europea ha iniciado negociaciones con las autoridades chinas, para conseguir la libertad de Hu Jia.

La resolución dice:
- “Condenar firmemente la detención de Hu Jia y pedir su libertad inmediata, así como la de los demás disidentes encarcelados por delitos de opinión.
- Hacer un llamamiento para que no se utilicen los Juegos Olímpicos como pretexto para arrestar, detener ilegalmente o encarcelar a disidentes, periodistas y defensores de los derechos humanos.
- Pedir a las autoridades chinas que cierren las “black jails”, cárceles creadas para internar a los “propagadores de disturbios” al acercarse los Juegos Olímpicos.
- Reiterar su advertencia de que, durante la preparación de los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín, debe prestarse especial atención a los problemas relativos a los derechos humanos, y que es necesario promover una sociedad no-violenta que incluya “la protección de la dignidad humana” tal y como aparece en los artículos 1 y 2 de la carta olímpica”.

El Parlamento Europeo recuerda también que Hu Jia está enfermo del hígado y tiene que medicarse diariamente. Precisa que su esposa, Zeng Jinyan, ha sido incluida por el Times en su lista de las cien personas más influyentes del año 2006, y que la pareja fue galardonada con el Premio Reporteros sin Fronteras – Fundación de Francia especial “China, en noviembre de 2007.

Hans-Gert Poettering, Presidente del Parlamento Europeo, ya pidió la libertad de Hu Jia el 31 de diciembre de 2007.

Dry, polluted, plagued by rats: the crisis in China’s greatest river

The waters of the Yangtze have fallen to their lowest levels since 1866, disrupting drinking supplies, stranding ships and posing a threat to some of the world’s most endangered species.

Asia’s longest river is losing volume as a result of a prolonged dry spell, the state media warned yesterday, predicting hefty economic losses and a possible plague of rats on nearby farmland.

News of the drought – which is likely to worsen pollution in the river – comes amid dire reports about the impact of rapid economic growth on China’s environment.

The government also revealed yesterday that the country’s most prosperous province, Guangdong, has just had its worst year of smog since the Communist party took power in 1949, while 56,000 square miles of coastline waters failed to meet environmental standards.

But the immediate concern is the Yangtze, which supplies water to hundreds of millions of people and thousands of factories in a delta that accounts for more than 40% of China’s economic output. According to the Chinese media, precipitation and water levels are at or near record lows in its middle and upper stretches.

The scale of the problem was revealed by the Yangtze water resources commission in a report on the Xinhua news agency’s website yesterday. It said that the Hankou hydrological centre near Wuhan city found the river’s depth had fallen to its lowest level in 142 years.

The measurement confirmed fears raised in recent weeks by the appearance of islands and mud flats not normally seen at this time of year. Local farmers reported far more ships than usual being trapped in unnavigable shallow waters.

Jianli county is among the areas suffering water shortages. Officials say the problem has grown worse in the past decade, raising concerns of a link to climate change.

“Before 1996, we were short of water for three months of the year, but now there are only three months when we can use water as normal,” Wu Chunping, the vice-manager of Jianli county’s water utility, was quoted as saying by Xinhua. “I heard that the water level will drop further in February.”

Li Lifeng, director of the freshwater programme of WWF China, said: “The major worry is for aquatic species and birds. If the water level goes too low they will lose a huge level of habitat.”

Among the endangered animals likely to be affected are the finless porpoise and the Chinese sturgeon, which returns to the sea at this time of year.

With the Yangtze three times as crowded with traffic as the Mississippi, conservationists fear the animals will be torn up by boat propellers or contaminated by more concentrated pollution from the 9,000 chemical plants along the Yangtze. Birds such as the Siberian crane may also suffer from the impact on their wintering area.

Local media have expressed concern that the drought could lead to a plague of rats similar to the one near Dongting lake last year after a drought was followed by fast-rising waters that drove the vermin to seek food in farm fields. “When the waters fall, the reeds die and the rats are driven inland in search of food,” said an official in the Yueyang farming and aquatic bureau who declined to give his name.

China Cites Tiananmen Protests In Obituary Praise

January 17, 2008

By REUTERS

Filed at 4:52 a.m. ET

BEIJING (Reuters) – An official Chinese obituary praised a late Communist Party city boss on Thursday for “maintaining stability” during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in a rare mention of a subject that remains taboo to this day.

Publication of the obituary for Zhang Lichang, late Party boss of Tianjin, in the official People’s Daily, coincided with the third death anniversary of Zhao Ziyang.

Zhao was toppled as national Party chief in 1989 for opposing a decision by then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to send in troops to crush the student-led pro-democracy protests.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed.

Families of victims and dissidents are kept under tight police surveillance and have had no success in petitioning the government to reverse the official verdict that the protests were “counter-revolutionary,” or subversive.

Authorities warned several dissidents, Tiananmen survivors and relatives of victims not to visit Zhao’s courtyard home in Beijing, dissident Jiang Qisheng said by telephone.

“There are police outside. They won’t let me visit Zhao Ziyang’s home. Others have also been told not to go,” Jiang said.

The Communist Party remains nervous about Zhao’s residual influence and has tried to erase him from public memory, blanking out his role in economic reforms that turned China from an economic backwater to an export powerhouse.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu was terse when asked about Zhao and any memorial activities.

“There has already been an assessment of Comrade Zhao Ziyang,” Jiang told a news conference. “The concerned social activities should conform to relevant laws and regulations.”

Zhang, Party boss of Tianjin for almost 10 years until March 2007, did not play a direct role in the crackdown in nearby Beijing on June 3-4, 1989.

“During the political disturbance that occurred when spring was changing into summer in 1989, he resolutely supported the Party Central’s major decisions and policies … maintained social stability and guaranteed the livelihood of city residents,” the obituary read.

Zhang, 68, was once one of the country’s most powerful men, sitting on the Party’s decision-making Politburo until last October. He died in Tianjin on January 10.

(Editing by Nick Macfie and Sanjeev Miglani)

“只要愿意做，政治改革就可进行”

中国 | 2008.01.17

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:

1月16日是前中共总书记赵紫阳逝世三周年纪念日，赵紫阳家属以及各地民众纷纷举行悼念活动。由于来自政府方面的压力，这些活动都只能以低调不公开的方式进行。而人们对于这位力主改革的中国前领导人以及他的改革路线也再次进行了思考。

2005年1月16日，中国改革开放先驱人物之一，前中共总书记赵紫阳逝世。三年来，每到这个日子就会有民众自发进行悼念活动，纪念这位对中国改革事业做出巨大贡献，并在六四事件后因为拒绝镇压学生民主运动而遭到罢黜，并被软禁家中，直至去世的前领导人。

北京市民李金平就是这些民众中的一个代表。赵紫阳去世之后，李金平就在家中为其设立灵堂。而2005年以来，每到赵紫阳忌日，国安部门就会将李金平从家中带走，今年也不例外。他的弟弟李金龙对记者表示：“国保的人上午来，说带他吃饭去。国保八点来的，然后待到9点40给带走的。门口搁了三辆警车。也没说什么理由，就说带他去吃饭。”

赵紫阳家属当天也在家中进行了祭奠活动，据海外媒体报道，有各界人士参与活动过程，但由于政府方面的高度关注，祭奠活动保持低调。赵紫阳执政时期的机要秘书，曾因六四事件入狱多年的前中共政治体制改革研究室主任鲍彤被政府方面禁止外出，因此无法参加相关活动。鲍彤在接受德国之声电话采访时表示，政府对祭奠赵紫阳的活动总是神经过敏，他说：“我也觉得很不能理解，一个公民去世了，很多公民悼念他，我不知道这件事情会使领导层感到什么恐惧。但我看到，这件事情显然是冒犯了某些人。”

尽管自从六四事件以来，中国政府对于赵紫阳其人其事都采取避而不谈的态度。但近些年来，一些前高级官员和民众纷纷发表文章出版书籍，介绍赵紫阳的改革思路，以及赞赏他在担任政府总理和中共总书记时期的政绩和改革路线。赵紫阳的多年好友宗凤鸣出版了“软禁中的赵紫阳”，记录他在多年软禁期间的谈话记录。而中国前副总理田纪云更是在“炎黄春秋”杂志上撰文提及赵紫阳，赞扬他生活朴素，并把赵紫阳与胡耀邦并称为对中国改革起到关键作用的两名前领导人。

同样阅读了田纪云文章的鲍彤表示，能够在（赵紫阳逝世）一两年或者三年的时间里出现这么一篇文章很让人高兴。但是只有一篇文章出现，就不是好现象。

鲍彤在采访中提到，赵紫阳当年推动的经济改革，其中心思想是回归市场经济，扩大农民和企业自主权，是一个政府向民间和市场“让步”的过程。而六四事件之后，尽管中国依然执行改革政策，但却是一种不允许存在反对意见的改革，并且以权贵阶层大肆侵占国有资产为主要内容，这就导致一方面出现了大量亿万富翁，而另一方面，高达两亿民众生活在每日不到一人民币的生存线下。

鲍彤认为只有通过政治改革才能解决中国面临的严峻问题，赵紫阳当年受制于邓小平陈云等中共元老，而无法全面实施自己的改革意图，而中国目前的领导层完全有条件走出这一步。他说：“只要愿意做，应该是可以做的。现在的国际环境，国内环境，领导能力，比那个时候要高的多。我想赵紫阳先生如果看到后继者超过他，做的比他更好，他会很高兴的。把共产党加之于人民身上的，经济、政治乃至思想上的各种枷锁统统打破。我认为，不是不可能的，是有可能的。现在经常说我们中国条件不具备，我不相信，我不是老百姓条件具不具备，而是领导人给不给老百姓条件。”

石涛

Thank You America, American patriotic poems at UnitedStates.fm

Thank You America, American patriotic poems at UnitedStates.fm

VOA News – 中国等国家政治自由发展有所退步

VOA News – 中国等国家政治自由发展有所退步

VOA News – 赵紫阳逝世三周年忌日当局无表示

VOA News – 赵紫阳逝世三周年忌日当局无表示

BBC 中文网 | 国际新闻 | 美副国务卿访华施加人权压力

BBC 中文网 | 国际新闻 | 美副国务卿访华施加人权压力

马英九：“不独，不统，不武” | 时事风云 | Deutsche Welle | 2008.01.16

马英九：“不独，不统，不武” | 时事风云 | Deutsche Welle | 2008.01.16

为何中国劳资关系紧张？ | 中国 | Deutsche Welle | 2008.01.16

为何中国劳资关系紧张？ | 中国 | Deutsche Welle | 2008.01.16