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China: Chen Guangcheng beaten, on hunger strike

John Kennedy · 08:15

AIDS and environmental activist and information point man for several imprisoned bloggers, lawyers and writers Hu Jia—husband of Zeng Jinyan—has, following six months of silence, updated his blog with the latest information [zh] on the situation of blind reproductive rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng, nearly a year to the day since his arrest:

陈光诚在临沂监狱遭警方指使殴打绝食4天表示抗议

Chen Guangcheng ordered beaten by police in Linyi prison, hunger strikes for four days in protest

2007年6月19日是农历五月初五端午节，陈光诚的妻子袁伟静、大哥陈光福和光诚远在杭州的舅舅一起到临沂监狱，进行每月一次的探视。由于是端午，所以今天很多服刑人员的家属在申请与”普管”服刑者一道吃饭，但唯独袁伟静要为光诚申请时，监狱方予以拒绝，说光诚属于”严管”，不可以与亲人一道吃饭。身着印有光诚头像体恤衫的袁伟静，在服刑人员家属中最为显眼，所有监狱工作人员都对她、对光诚另眼相看。袁伟静问为何光诚被”严管”，对方说在监狱不到一年的服刑者都属于严管，我们惊讶监狱人员随意歪曲法律的胡说八道。对方随即有给于另类解释，说光诚经常投诉狱方、检举公安，所以要被”严管”。这个说法证明，山东临沂的政法部门是用非法手段打击报复公民对司法部门的监督和投诉。

In the lunar calendar, June 19, 2007 is the fifth day of the fifth month: the Dragon Boat Festival. Chen Guangcheng's wife Yuan Weijing, his older brother Chen Guangfu and uncle who lives far away in Hangzhou went to Linyi prison for their monthly visitation. Due to today's festivities, the families of many minimum security inmates have applied to have a meal together, but Yuan Weijing alone, when she applied on behalf of Guangcheng, was refused by the prison authorities, who said that Guangcheng is in ‘restricted security' and could not eat with family. Wearing a t-shirt with Guangcheng's face printed upon it, Yuan Weijing stood out the most of all the inmates' family members and, along with Guangcheng, was given different treatment by all prison staff. Yuan Weijing asked why Guangcheng had been moved to ‘restricted security' and was told that all inmates having done less than a year are kept in ‘restricted security'. “We were surprised to see prison staff twist the law at will and speak nonsense.” The prison then immediately gave another explanation, saying that Guangcheng often filed complaints against the prison, bringing them to the police, and that this why he had been put in ‘restricted security'. This statement proves that the Linyi, Shandong political and legal departments are using illegal tactics to strike and get revenge in response to civil supervision and complaints filed against a judicial department.

上午11点，袁伟静和陈光福进入探视室，发现光诚被剃了犯人光头，神情也非常不好，包括提到外面有远道而来的舅舅时，光诚也没有很明显的反应。光诚告诉袁伟静和陈光福，他因为每日坚持申诉，被监狱方认为是”不听话”，所以让六名犯人拳打脚踢陈光诚。光诚在南京就读的专业就是中医和推拿按摩，，他本人就是医生，对人体非常熟悉。他感到肋部疼痛，推测自己肋骨可能被打断。光诚已经以绝食4天的方式来表示抗议，76小时以来他绝食绝水。在夏天的环境中，陈光诚的身体很快就会垮掉。

At eleven am, Yuan Weijing and Chen Guangfu entered the visitation room and noticed that Guangcheng had been given a ‘convict bald shave' and that he had an extremely bad look in his eyes; when it was mentioned that his uncle had come from far away and was just outside, Guangcheng had no visible response. Guangcheng told Yuan Weijing and Chen Guangfu that because he persisted in filing complaints every day, the prison authorities had deemed him ‘disobedient' and had six convicts punch and kick him. Guangcheng's major during studies in Nanjing had been Chinese medicine and massage therapy and himself is a doctor, thus quite familiar with the human body. Feeling ache in his ribs, he speculated that his own ribs might be broken. Guangcheng has been protesting by means of a hunger strike now in its fourth day. For seventy-six hours he has refused food and water; in the midst of summer, Chen Guangcheng's body will soon collapse.

光诚1岁多的小女儿陈克斯平时认得光诚的样子，她从袁伟静穿的体恤衫上天天都能看到父亲的形象，而且她来过监狱不止一次。但这次，小克斯看到被剃了光头表情严峻的光诚，克斯已经无法认出自己的父亲。陈光福和袁伟静都看到光诚腿上的伤痕。悲伤的袁伟静继续向驻狱检查人员投诉光诚受到的虐待，并且要求狱方带光诚去医院做X光检查。而且今天是端午节，她不能将光诚被打的事情告诉光诚的母亲和舅舅，以免让70多岁的老人们伤心。

Guangcheng's one year-old daughter Chen Kesi can normally recognize her father's appearance. She sees his face every day on the t-shirt that Yuan Weijing wears and this isn't the first time that she's been to the prison. But this time, when little Kesi saw shaved-bald Guangcheng with his grim expression, Kesi was unable to recognize her own father. Chen Guangfu and Yuan Weijing even saw scars on Chen Guangcheng's leg. Sorrowful Yuan Weijing continues to complain that Guangcheng is being mistreated to the inspectors stationed at the prison, demanding that prison authorities take Guangcheng to the hospital for an x-ray. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, so she can't tell Guangcheng's mother and uncle about his having been beaten, to prevent his seventy-something old mother from being hurt.

一位盲人维权者，用自己学习的法律知识保护弱势群体，在我们这样一个有法律却没有法治的专制国家中，他的维权行动触及了当地贪官酷吏的利益，中国政府、尤其山东政法部门从2005年8月20日开始，对陈光诚和他的妻子袁伟静百般压制，22个月来多次使用言语凌辱、非法拘禁、暴力攻击。还在全世界众目睽睽、铁证如山之下把政治案件刑事化，用陷害的方式把陈光诚投入冤狱4年零3个月。属于中国公民的人权，完全被国家黑社会势力随意践踏。

One blind upholder of civil rights, using his self-taught legal knowledge to protect vulnerable groups in an authoritarian country like ours with laws but no rule of law. His civil rights-upholding actions have touched upon the ruthlessness and interests of corrupt local officials. The Chinese government, especially the Shandong political and legal departments, beginning on August 20, 2005, have used a hundred different methods to suppress Chen Guangcheng and his wife Yuan Weijing, over twenty-two months of multiple cases of verbal abuse, illegal imprisonment and violent attack. Further, within the full view of the world, with irrefutable evidence, have criminalized a political case, using means of entrapment to wrongfully cast Chen Guangcheng into four years and three months in prison. This amounts to the human rights of the Chinese people being arbitrarily and completely trampled upon by state ‘criminal society' forces.

请国际社会对盲人陈光诚的遭遇予以关注，还陈光诚自由，惩治所有参与迫害陈光诚的地方政法部门责任人。

To the international community: please pay concern to the blind Chen Guangcheng's treatment, the returning of his freedom, and the punishing of all those local government departmental representatives participating in persecuting Chen Guangcheng.

胡佳
被北京市公安局国保总队非法拘禁的第31天于BOBO自由城家中
离2008年奥运会开幕还有416天

From my home in Bobo Freedom City,

Day 31 of being illegally under arrest by Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau State Security agents,

Hu Jia

416 more days until the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

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Afghan Whispers:Education, music, wonderful nature and freedom

Hamid Tehrani · 04:09

lingua → fr · pt · bn

Sun Leaf talks about the painful situation of Afghanistan's education system. The blogger says
Compared to other countries in Asia, the Afghan education situation is startling. The statistics below show that tremendous challenges remain. One of the poorest measures includes funding or implementing short-term education projects, which are abrubtly brought to an end leaving thousands of hopeful children back in the circle of illiteracy, neglect and darkness. The blogger to prove his/her argument mentions several statistics:More than 5.4 million children are enrolled in schools today, nearly 35% of them girls, compared to a little more than a million 5 years ago and almost no girls.
Still, half of our school-age children are estimated to be out of schools with significant gender and provincial disparities.

Afghanistan's Cat Stevens

Sun leaf also writes about a popular Afghan singer who is, according to the blogger, Afghanistan's Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam).The blogger writes about this singer: you know the lyrics or not, the tune itself should be able to take you to the lands far away.

Wonderful nature, dangerous road

Onne Parl writes about her journey to the heart of wondefrul nature in Bamyian but she reminds us about the danger too. When speaking to Afghans about sightseeing, they ask at first: “Have you been to Band-e Amir?” These well-known lakes in the middle of the Koha-e-Baba Mountains are one of the few tourist places in Afghanistan. Thousands of locals bundle up the whole family and make a long journey up to the lakes. It takes one and half days from Kabul to reach this place. Furthermore there are a lot of mines left in this area. Three years ago one minibus got blasted next to the main road. Thirteen men were killed on the spot.

Praising freedom of express

Free Keyboard,an Iranian blogger talks about [Fa] his trip to Afghanistan.He compares freedom of expression between Iran and Afghanistan:Contrary to our Islamic land (Iran),in Islamic Afghanistan,there is not a lot of restriction for newspapers,magazines,internet and books.You have your freedom to publish whatever you have.You have freedom to have your site and write whatever you want in it.Just like a developed country.He adds of course extremist people threat your life.

The blogger adds when I was in Afghanistan, a friend of mine launched Kabul Press and now it has 4000 visitors. He says internet is free but a few have access to that.

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Costa Rica: Breaking Relations with Taiwan and Starting with China

Roy Rojas · 04:09

lingua → fr · es · pt · zhs · zht

On June 8, Costa Rican president Oscar Arias announced the diplomatic relations with Taiwan have been broken, and ties have been established with China. In leaving behind 60 years of diplomatic relations, this has created a great deal of critical comments, as well as of support. Legislators, blogs, press, etc. have all given their opinions.

What did Costa Rica gain in recognizing Taiwan? Some say money is the answer. During many years, Taiwan has maintained close ties with Latin American countries and gave gifts, beneficial loans, donations, etc. One cannot say that we or any of the other 24 countries were in that relationship for moral reasons. One can also not say that the country is ungrateful because that it was in the relationship for self-interest and not for conviction.

Some national blogs gave their opinions and the majority were against this decision, such as the blog La Suiza Centroamericana [ES]:

Y nos ha confirmado sin ambages que hemos entrado de manera decidida y definitiva en la era de la prostitución diplomática…Nuestra relación con Taiwán no estaba bien planteada porque se basaba en las dádivas y no en los principios fundamentales compartidos.

And it was confirmed, without talking in circles, that we entered in a decidedly and definitive fashion into the era of diplomatic prostitution…Our relationship with Taiwan was not well established because it was based on favors and not on shared fundamental principles.

One might ask whether Costa Rica's relationship with Taiwan was healthy or whether it was only for self-interest. Even though the countries share principles such as democracy, freedom of speech, whether that really mattered.

Juan Carlos Hidalgo [ES] writes:

Considero totalmente imprudente y bastante perjudicial la decisión del gobierno de cortar relaciones diplomáticas…Costa Rica siempre ha ‘rajado’ de ser un país promotor de los derechos humanos y la libertad. ¿Cómo se justifica romper relaciones con una de las pocas democracias consolidadas del Este Asiático a cambio de un régimen represivo y violador de las libertades civiles más básicas como lo es China?

I consider the government's decision to cut diplomatic ties to be completely imprudent and very harmful…Costa Rica always has ‘gave an effort' to be a country that promotes human rights and freedom. How is it justified to cut ties with one of the few consolidated democracies of East Asia in exchange of a repressive regimen and violator of the basic civil liberties, such as what happens in China?

There are other blogs that entirely support the decision, such as Fusil de Chispas [ES] writes:

El comercio y las puertas que se abren con la voraz economía China, se me hacen mucho más beneficiosas potencialmente, que el costo afectivo que parece tener el a otra cosa mariposa, en este momento específico

Commerce and doors are opened to the economic voracity of China, and I believe that this is potentially much more beneficial than the sentimental cost of the decision, ‘out with the old, and in with the new'

“A decision of this transcendence requires discreet diplomacy. We have been as transparent as the circumstances permits,” explained President Oscar Arias, when asked why the negotiations were secret. Now the country can be open to a market that contains 20% of the world's population (1.3 billion people), which is something immense and that may benefit the country.

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