Chinese Communist Party

Thirty Tibetans accused of taking part in the riots last month have been convicted today with sentences ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment. One of our Observers has sent us the first images of the trial, made public by the state press agency Xinhua, just as the sentences were handed out. See the pictures.

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When a local factory owner filed a case against a power station for stealing his sand and tampering with the land, he did not expect to be found guilty of blackmail. Paraded through the streets for eight hours, condemned in public and jailed for three months, Tang Xiaodong has now launched a campaign to seek justice. Read more...

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The Shanghai Composite Index has dropped by 40% in the past five months, with a massive 4% tumble occuring on Tuesday (March 19). The Chinese government promised its people immunity from the worldwide financial slump that grew out of the US subprime crisis, but the stark evidence suggests it has failed. Small shareholders fear the worst, and are expressing their worries online, including in songs. Read more...

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Photo: http://xitek.com/

This ‘eco’ photo - a villainous train frightening away some pretty antelopes – was rewarded in 2006 by the Chinese state-run TV channel CCTV. But over a year later, a web-user has trumped the image: the scene was created on Photoshop. Read more…

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The situation in Guizhou province, south-west China is grave. Seventy percent of rainfall is pure ice. Two thirds of electricity has been cut off, and water pipes are frozen. Many people in isolated towns are completely cut off from the world, while the rest of China remains oblivious to the extent of the disaster. To avoid national panic the authorities have downplayed events. But they may also be trying to cover up their poor reaction to the catastrophe. Read more...

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Every journalist dreads doing a vox pop. Hours of standing outside, microphone in hand, camera over shoulder, always looking for the ‘right client'; the person who'll give you a clear and concise comment on the subject. But local television in China has found a solution. Journalists (see photos) prepare comments in advance, and simply ask passers-by to read them out. Read more...

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The one-child policy rule has always been enforced more strictly in rural areas of China. While it was originally the poor who had more than one child, it’s now the rich and famous. But at a cost of over €120,000 per child, this may now change. Our Observer Yi Fuxian denounces ‘a policy that ruins future prospects for a supposedly overcrowded population’. Read more...

A funny video on the one child policy

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The famous blogger and defender of human rights Hu Jia was arrested on Dec. 27 for criticising the organisers of the Olympic Games. Specifically, he compared the Beijing Olympic Games to those organised by Nazi Germany in 1936. Hu Jia, 34, has been under house arrest since May last year. Accused of 'inciting subversion of state power', a criminal charge usually used against political dissidents, he risks more than ten years in prison. His wife Zeng Zinyan, also a blogger, is now unable to leave the house and is denied access to the telephone or internet. The couple have a baby of hardly more than one month old. Zhang, our regional editor for China, says that with eight months to go until the Olympics, the government is already tightening up on online comment. Read more...

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Material from Zhang, our regional editor for China.

This video shows surging crowds at an employment fair organised by Nanchang University in southeast China. In 1999, China launched a scheme to increase university enrolments and to develop its tertiary - or service - sector. The endeavour seems to have worked: China has a growth rate of 9% per year and boasts unemployment levels of under 5%. But the vibrant Chinese labour market has nevertheless failed to absorb the huge influx of qualified workers being churned out by the country's universities. See below...

Post your questions to Zhang.

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By Team Observers

The 17th congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) opened on 12 October. During the congress the representatives of the people must, in theory, appoint the next leaders of the country. However, in reality, they do nothing but ratify the decisions of the President and the Standing Committee. All the same, the Chinese media are required to follow the event closely, giving special attention to all information provided by the office of propaganda. This is clear when looking at images from the event.

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