(CNN) -- The sky above Beijing is getting smaller. It's an impression shared by all TV Asahi reporters who have known the city for a long time. A view of the sun setting into a vast plain is now a scene from the past.
A forest of skyscrapers now frames the sky into small squares, and any space left is getting filled with even more buildings competing with their eccentric facades. Beijing specialties, such as bicycles flooding the street and people walking in the city enjoying the cool evening breeze, are no longer to be seen.
What we witness before us is a mega-metropolis undergoing changes at the utmost speed.
Those of us who remember the Tokyo Olympic Games held in 1964 cannot help comparing what is happening in Beijing to the rapid transformation the city of Tokyo underwent to host the event. But the transformation of Beijing seems to even exceed that of Tokyo.
TV Asahi will cover the Beijing Olympics thoroughly as Japan is deeply interested in the event that will become a symbol for a new China. We have increased the number of correspondents stationed in Beijing, and they are already transmitting their coverage of what is happening in China from various angles.
During the Beijing Games, there will be a team of approximately 100 TV Asahi staff members dispatched from Japan to cover not only the events in the arenas but also every piece of news that is related to the Olympics or that happens in China during the Games.
It is going to be the first time in 20 years that the summer Olympic Games will be held in Asia, where the host city is undergoing a very exciting transformation.
As the stage for the Olympics, Beijing is sure to become a very special place for everyone in the world who takes an interest in and watches the event.
It will be the city where great moments that move people's hearts are shared; the setting for exciting competition and feats of great athletic achievement. During the Games the city will beat to the rhythm of the Olympics as even the back streets of Beijing will be full people glued to their TV set, watching the drama unfold.
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
China to set up Olympic protest zones
BEIJING, China (AP) -- Beijing will set up specially designated zones for protesters during next month's Olympics, a security official said Wednesday, in a sign China's authoritarian government may allow some demonstrations during the games.
Worries about terrorist attacks, both from international groups and Muslim separatists from western China, and about protests of any kind have prompted one of China's broadest security clampdowns in years. The overall effect is that while Beijing looks cheerful, with colorful Olympic banners and new signs, the city feels tense.
Vehicle checkpoints ring Beijing. Visa rules have been tightened to keep out foreign activists. Police have swept Beijing neighborhoods to remove Chinese who have come to the capital to complain about local government misdeeds, and known political critics and underground Christians have been told to leave.
But Liu Shaowu, director for security for the Beijing Olympic organizing committee, said Wednesday that areas in at least three public parks near outlying sporting venues have been set aside for use by demonstrators.
The remarks were the first public confirmation that Beijing may tolerate a modest amount of protest at an Olympics that the government hoped would be flawless, boosting its popularity at home and China's image abroad.
"This will allow people to protest without disrupting the Olympics," said Ni Jianping, director of the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, who lobbied Chinese leaders to set up the protest zones.
It was not clear how easy access would be to enter the zones. Liu and Beijing police would not say if special permission would be needed. A human rights campaigner criticized the move as cosmetic, and Beijing has already refused visa requests for known foreign activists.
A Beijinger whose restaurant was demolished in the city's Olympic makeover and who was jailed for trying to organize a protest, Ye Guoqiang, was taken from the Chaobai Prison on Tuesday to an unknown location, four days before he was due to be released, the monitoring group Chinese Human Rights Defenders said Wednesday. Police in Ye's old neighborhood said they were not aware of the case.
Liu, the security official, said police were trying to strike a balance between the need for safety and the desire for festiveness.
"We truly do want to preserve the festive and joyful atmosphere of the Olympic Venues," Liu told a news conference. "At the same time we want to reduce the impact security has on daily life."
He said threats from terrorism were real, given the international climate, and that the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected in Beijing presented a ripe opportunity for infiltration.
In approving the protest zones, Liu said officials noted that Athens set up such areas for the 2004 games. The Salt Lake City Winter Games of 2002 did too. "We have already designated specific areas where people or protesters who want to express their personal opinions can go to do so," Liu said.
Protests have become commonplace in many parts of China in recent years, especially by state industry workers upset about layoffs and farmers angry about land confiscation. But China's leadership remains wary about demonstrations in the capital or large-scale protests anywhere, fearing they could snowball into widespread anti-government movements. Three violent protests have occurred in far-flung provinces in recent weeks.
In a sign of Chinese nervousness, the special protest areas are not near the Olympic green where most venues and medal ceremonies are concentrated, but rather are in outlying parks: the World Park in the southwest, 3 miles from the softball venue; the Purple Bamboo Park in the west, south of the volleyball arena; and Chaoyang Park in the east where beach volleyball will be played.
Liu also reiterated that Chinese regulations require that all protesters apply and receive permission in advance, though he sidestepped questions about whether that included the special zones. Ni, the Shanghai scholar, said that Chinese protesters may be allowed only in the rather far World Park, not in the other venues.
"Designating unilaterally 'protest zones' for demonstrators does not equate to respecting the right to demonstrate because in this situation control comes first and the right second," said Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch's Asia Division.
Still, supporters of the zones said the move was a step forward. Susan Brownell, an American academic at Beijing Sports University who wrote a proposal that Ni forwarded to government officials, said her research found that the zones would help deflect criticism from all but the more extreme rights groups -- an argument she thought the government bought.
"It was about placating the West. They were really concerned about social order," Brownell said. "They must have come up with a plan to improve social order rather than make it worse."
Worries about terrorist attacks, both from international groups and Muslim separatists from western China, and about protests of any kind have prompted one of China's broadest security clampdowns in years. The overall effect is that while Beijing looks cheerful, with colorful Olympic banners and new signs, the city feels tense.
Vehicle checkpoints ring Beijing. Visa rules have been tightened to keep out foreign activists. Police have swept Beijing neighborhoods to remove Chinese who have come to the capital to complain about local government misdeeds, and known political critics and underground Christians have been told to leave.
But Liu Shaowu, director for security for the Beijing Olympic organizing committee, said Wednesday that areas in at least three public parks near outlying sporting venues have been set aside for use by demonstrators.
The remarks were the first public confirmation that Beijing may tolerate a modest amount of protest at an Olympics that the government hoped would be flawless, boosting its popularity at home and China's image abroad.
"This will allow people to protest without disrupting the Olympics," said Ni Jianping, director of the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, who lobbied Chinese leaders to set up the protest zones.
It was not clear how easy access would be to enter the zones. Liu and Beijing police would not say if special permission would be needed. A human rights campaigner criticized the move as cosmetic, and Beijing has already refused visa requests for known foreign activists.
A Beijinger whose restaurant was demolished in the city's Olympic makeover and who was jailed for trying to organize a protest, Ye Guoqiang, was taken from the Chaobai Prison on Tuesday to an unknown location, four days before he was due to be released, the monitoring group Chinese Human Rights Defenders said Wednesday. Police in Ye's old neighborhood said they were not aware of the case.
Liu, the security official, said police were trying to strike a balance between the need for safety and the desire for festiveness.
"We truly do want to preserve the festive and joyful atmosphere of the Olympic Venues," Liu told a news conference. "At the same time we want to reduce the impact security has on daily life."
He said threats from terrorism were real, given the international climate, and that the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected in Beijing presented a ripe opportunity for infiltration.
In approving the protest zones, Liu said officials noted that Athens set up such areas for the 2004 games. The Salt Lake City Winter Games of 2002 did too. "We have already designated specific areas where people or protesters who want to express their personal opinions can go to do so," Liu said.
Protests have become commonplace in many parts of China in recent years, especially by state industry workers upset about layoffs and farmers angry about land confiscation. But China's leadership remains wary about demonstrations in the capital or large-scale protests anywhere, fearing they could snowball into widespread anti-government movements. Three violent protests have occurred in far-flung provinces in recent weeks.
In a sign of Chinese nervousness, the special protest areas are not near the Olympic green where most venues and medal ceremonies are concentrated, but rather are in outlying parks: the World Park in the southwest, 3 miles from the softball venue; the Purple Bamboo Park in the west, south of the volleyball arena; and Chaoyang Park in the east where beach volleyball will be played.
Liu also reiterated that Chinese regulations require that all protesters apply and receive permission in advance, though he sidestepped questions about whether that included the special zones. Ni, the Shanghai scholar, said that Chinese protesters may be allowed only in the rather far World Park, not in the other venues.
"Designating unilaterally 'protest zones' for demonstrators does not equate to respecting the right to demonstrate because in this situation control comes first and the right second," said Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch's Asia Division.
Still, supporters of the zones said the move was a step forward. Susan Brownell, an American academic at Beijing Sports University who wrote a proposal that Ni forwarded to government officials, said her research found that the zones would help deflect criticism from all but the more extreme rights groups -- an argument she thought the government bought.
"It was about placating the West. They were really concerned about social order," Brownell said. "They must have come up with a plan to improve social order rather than make it worse."
MICHAEL STIPE - STIPE JOINS FREE TIBET CAMPAIGN
R.E.M. rocker MICHAEL STIPE and British actor JEREMY IRONS have voiced their support for Tibetan independence by appearing in a poster campaign on behalf of the Free Tibet organisation.The stars are among a host of celebrities who have taken part in the T for Tibet initiative, which features them making a 'T' sign with their hands in the photographs.And Anne Holmes, the Acting Director of Free Tibet Campaign, hopes the hand gesture will catch on ahead of the summer (08) Olympics in Beijing, China.She says, "We are confident the campaign and the T hand signal will go global quickly. Now all we need are some brave athletes who are willing to show they care about human rights by making the T sign in Beijing."Tibet lost independence to China in 1951, and Chinese authorities have come under fire in recent months over their human rights record in the region.
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/stipe%20joins%20free%20tibet%20campaign_1074916
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/stipe%20joins%20free%20tibet%20campaign_1074916
Update on Tibet Demonstrations, 21 July 2008
Monday, July 21 2008 @ 11:55 pm BST10 July 2008
Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County, Ngaba "TAP", Amdo (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - Three given arbitrary sentencesOn around 10 July, three people, who allegedly participated in a protest held in Ngaba county on 16 March, were given arbitrary sentences by the People's Intermediate Court of Ngaba "Tibetan Autonomous Region".Kelbar (23) from Lota township in the lower division of Ngaba county was sentenced to life prison. Terzoe (25) from Drongtoe Tsang family in Ngaba county was sentenced to 15 years and Tsegor (27) from Gongma Tsang family to 13 years of imprisonment.
18 June 2008
Nyagchu (Ch: Yajiang) County, Karze "TAP", Kham (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - A monk commits suicide due to "patriotic re-education"Trangma, a monk from Minyak Drapa Yangdhen monastery in Nyagchu county, committed suicide on 18 June for not being able to undergo the "patriotic re-education" which mainly includes denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama.His aged mother Ache and other monks were warned and intimidated against disclosing information about this incident to the outside world. The work-teams have temporarily withdrawn from the monastery following his suicide.A school within the above-mentioned monastery with around 30 monk-students were closed down by the Chinese authorities as a part of their "patriotic re-education".
No Specific Date
Bathang (Ch: Batang) County, Karze "TAP", Kham (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) -Numerous men from Lingkha-Sho and Gangri villages flee to mountainsA few days back in July, Jampa Gyaltsen, a leader of Gheymo village with an influential personality, successfully mediated to resolve the long-standing land dispute between the Lingkha-Sho and Gangri areas.However, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and officials from Bathang county arrived at the village, and decided to give the disputed land to Lingkha-Sho village saying that none other than the Chinese government has the authority to resolve the land disputes.The people of Gangri village were outraged by their decision. They opposed the authorities saying that their decision was an unfair and they were intentionally creating rift among the Tibetans. Therefore, the people can't listen to the Chinese authorities, and they should leave the village.However, the people were instead intimidated at a gun point by the PSB which has further infuriated them. As a result, the people started shouting slogans such as "Tibet belongs to Tibetans. Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Tibet is an independent county." This has led the PSB and the officials to run away from the scene.Later, two truck full of Chinese forces and work-teams led by the county head arrived at the Gangri village to suppress its people. However, all the men from the village have already fled to the mountains. The Chinese forces continue to guard the village and have already ordered those to surrender. Till now, no one has surrendered. There are over 100 families in Gangri village.
Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County, Ngaba "TAP", Amdo (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - Three given arbitrary sentencesOn around 10 July, three people, who allegedly participated in a protest held in Ngaba county on 16 March, were given arbitrary sentences by the People's Intermediate Court of Ngaba "Tibetan Autonomous Region".Kelbar (23) from Lota township in the lower division of Ngaba county was sentenced to life prison. Terzoe (25) from Drongtoe Tsang family in Ngaba county was sentenced to 15 years and Tsegor (27) from Gongma Tsang family to 13 years of imprisonment.
18 June 2008
Nyagchu (Ch: Yajiang) County, Karze "TAP", Kham (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - A monk commits suicide due to "patriotic re-education"Trangma, a monk from Minyak Drapa Yangdhen monastery in Nyagchu county, committed suicide on 18 June for not being able to undergo the "patriotic re-education" which mainly includes denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama.His aged mother Ache and other monks were warned and intimidated against disclosing information about this incident to the outside world. The work-teams have temporarily withdrawn from the monastery following his suicide.A school within the above-mentioned monastery with around 30 monk-students were closed down by the Chinese authorities as a part of their "patriotic re-education".
No Specific Date
Bathang (Ch: Batang) County, Karze "TAP", Kham (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) -Numerous men from Lingkha-Sho and Gangri villages flee to mountainsA few days back in July, Jampa Gyaltsen, a leader of Gheymo village with an influential personality, successfully mediated to resolve the long-standing land dispute between the Lingkha-Sho and Gangri areas.However, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and officials from Bathang county arrived at the village, and decided to give the disputed land to Lingkha-Sho village saying that none other than the Chinese government has the authority to resolve the land disputes.The people of Gangri village were outraged by their decision. They opposed the authorities saying that their decision was an unfair and they were intentionally creating rift among the Tibetans. Therefore, the people can't listen to the Chinese authorities, and they should leave the village.However, the people were instead intimidated at a gun point by the PSB which has further infuriated them. As a result, the people started shouting slogans such as "Tibet belongs to Tibetans. Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Tibet is an independent county." This has led the PSB and the officials to run away from the scene.Later, two truck full of Chinese forces and work-teams led by the county head arrived at the Gangri village to suppress its people. However, all the men from the village have already fled to the mountains. The Chinese forces continue to guard the village and have already ordered those to surrender. Till now, no one has surrendered. There are over 100 families in Gangri village.
Migrant Workers Riot in China
SHANGHAI, China) — Hundreds of migrant workers angry over mistreatment of a fellow worker rioted for three days in eastern China, surrounding a police station and smashing cars and motorbikes, a Hong Kong-based human rights organization said Monday.
The riot began Thursday in Kanmen town in coastal Zhejiang province, said the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. Three hundred military police arrived Sunday and 30 migrant workers have been detained, the group said. No injuries were reported.
A woman who answered the telephone at Kanmen's public security bureau denied that workers broke into the police station or burned vehicles, saying they only gathered in the streets and shouted in protest. The woman did not give her name as is common with officials in China.
The Hong Kong-based rights group said the unrest in Kanmen was centered around a migrant worker who was beaten by a security guard while trying to get a temporary residence permit.
The violence comes just weeks after a crowd of 30,000 people in southwest China set fire to a police station, angry over what many believed was a cover-up of the death of a teenage girl by local authorities.
Such incidents are an embarrassment to officials, especially in the run-up to the Aug. 8 Beijing Olympics.
According to the rights group, when the worker went to police with a group of other workers to complain about the man who beat him, he was detained, triggering the protest in which hundreds of workers converged outside the police station, burning police cars and motorcycles and later throwing stones.
The report did not give any other details about the incident, including why the worker was beaten.
A notice posted on the Web site of Yuhuan County, which oversees Kanmen, said the July 10 "incident" was being investigated but did not describe what the incident was.
It "has caused a strong backlash by society, and the public is very concerned about the truth, and about how it was dealt with, and how the local offices have recovered," the notice said.
Thousands of migrant workers have flocked to the area and the situation has put pressure on the government, it said.
Also Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency said police in Guizhou province detained 100 people, including 39 members of local gangs, for involvement in last month's protest over the death of the student.
It quoted Peng Dequan, vice director of provincial public security, as saying they were still looking for other "gangsters" who were in hiding.
Authorities accused local gangs of fomenting the unrest and have urged offenders to surrender, Xinhua said.
The riot began Thursday in Kanmen town in coastal Zhejiang province, said the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. Three hundred military police arrived Sunday and 30 migrant workers have been detained, the group said. No injuries were reported.
A woman who answered the telephone at Kanmen's public security bureau denied that workers broke into the police station or burned vehicles, saying they only gathered in the streets and shouted in protest. The woman did not give her name as is common with officials in China.
The Hong Kong-based rights group said the unrest in Kanmen was centered around a migrant worker who was beaten by a security guard while trying to get a temporary residence permit.
The violence comes just weeks after a crowd of 30,000 people in southwest China set fire to a police station, angry over what many believed was a cover-up of the death of a teenage girl by local authorities.
Such incidents are an embarrassment to officials, especially in the run-up to the Aug. 8 Beijing Olympics.
According to the rights group, when the worker went to police with a group of other workers to complain about the man who beat him, he was detained, triggering the protest in which hundreds of workers converged outside the police station, burning police cars and motorcycles and later throwing stones.
The report did not give any other details about the incident, including why the worker was beaten.
A notice posted on the Web site of Yuhuan County, which oversees Kanmen, said the July 10 "incident" was being investigated but did not describe what the incident was.
It "has caused a strong backlash by society, and the public is very concerned about the truth, and about how it was dealt with, and how the local offices have recovered," the notice said.
Thousands of migrant workers have flocked to the area and the situation has put pressure on the government, it said.
Also Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency said police in Guizhou province detained 100 people, including 39 members of local gangs, for involvement in last month's protest over the death of the student.
It quoted Peng Dequan, vice director of provincial public security, as saying they were still looking for other "gangsters" who were in hiding.
Authorities accused local gangs of fomenting the unrest and have urged offenders to surrender, Xinhua said.
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