Chinese Communist Party

First images of the convicted Tibetans

Julien — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:05:57 +0200

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.

According to the Chinese TV channel CCTV, the trial lasted all day and was open to the public. These photos show ten of the thirty Tibetans who were sentenced today in Lhasa. The second image is particularly interesting - a man sitting in the front row of the public benches sporting traditional Tibetan dress. Is he a pro-Beijing Tibetan? The image has been carefully chosen, perhaps to show that - just as the authorities insisted from the very beginning of the crisis - Tibetan people support the Chinese government and only a violent minority took part in the riots. We will try to find out more and update this post soon.

Publicly humiliated, like in the Mao days

Julien — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:41:44 +0200

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.

The local villager's plight began when power station developers announced late 2005 that they were planning to build a new plant close to his sand factory in Dao Country, Central China. When construction began, Tang says the developers made changes to the area without previous consultation. The changes, such as raising the land level by two metres and modifying fencing borders, resulted in the capture of his land. He said they also stole 200,000 metric cubes of sand and grit belonging to the sand factory. He decided to fight for his ownership rights and filed a case against the power station owners.

In February of last year he was set to leave Xialiu village for a holiday. Yet, upon his departure, he was arrested by a policeman and held in custody. Four days later, following negotiations with the mayor, the power station constructors forced Tang to sign an agreement. They said he would receive compensations worth €3,500, far short of the ground's value. However, the contract was no such thing. In fact, the document was later used as evidence against Tang when the developers accused him of trying to extort money from the company.

Small shareholders in China fret over tumbling economy

Julien — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:50:09 +0100

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.

Hitting an eight month low the Chinese stock market is valued at a third of what it was at its peak in October last year. But central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan yesterday dismissed the warning signs as "rumours". He shrugged off concern about the possible effects of the US subprime crisis. "America is far away," he pointed out, before telling the Chinese parliament "it's better not to talk about [these issues] here".

What a photo! Thanks Photoshop…

Julien — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:49:00 +0100

According to the Chengdu Evening News [original article in Chinese here], this image has been reproduced by almost 200 foreign media. “Dajiala”, the web-user who exposed the sham, says he discovered the hoax by studying the EFIX details which are automatically registered in the file of a digital image. The details proved that the picture was in fact a montage of various images taken on different days.

Frozen, and forgotten, world

Julien — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:37:25 +0100

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.

Vox pops… with a script

Julien — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:23:09 +0100

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.

These pictures were taken in 2004 in Huangshi in the central China province of Hubei. Journalists from a local television station are ‘questioning' people on a Communist Party conference that took place in town. Controversy over the affair started to flare up on the discussion forum that first published the photographs. Authorities have now banned any comments on the subject.

One child policy imposed on the rich

Julien — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:49:58 +0100

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’.

The man writes: birth control: everyone has responsibility;

Then the boy rewrites: birth control: adults have responsibility;

The woman comes, and changes it to: birth control, men have responsibility;

The man comes, and changes it to: birth control, women have responsibility.

Blogger put in prison for criticising the Olympic Games

Julien — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:09:00 +0100

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.

Got a degree, now where are the jobs?

Julien — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:01:47 +0100

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.

The Chinese press follows the 17th congress of the Chinese Communist Party

Julien — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:19:00 +0200

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.