CNN
Oct. 31 “Blogger Nguyen Lan Thang Arrested At Noi Bai International Airport”
Blogger Nguyen Lan Thang, a prominent human rights and free speech activist in Vietnam, is currently being detained by the security force at Noi Bai International Airport Wednesday night, October 30, 2013 upon returning to Hanoi from Bangkok. Blogger La Viet Dung, one of the people who came to the airport to welcome him home, gave the accounts of the incident in an interview with Radio Free Asia as follows:
“We have about 30 people here waiting at the airport to pick him up. At about 8:15 PM, Mr. Thang called and said he’s been arrested.
KOREA HERALD (Also in YONHAP)
Oct. 31 “FIFA gives funds to improve soccer academy in N.K.”
International soccer’s governing body FIFA has provided funds worth $500,000 to build infrastructure to update a soccer academy in Pyongyang, a media outlet reported Thursday. The International School of Football opened earlier this year and has been training North Korean youths between the ages of 6 and 13, according to a report by Radio Free Asia.
CHINA DAILY
Oct. 31 “HIV epidemic needs education, not bath house bans”
China’s State Council ignited a firestorm recently when it posted a draft regulation on its website requiring public bathhouses, spas, hot springs and saunas to prominently post signs banning “people with sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and infectious skin diseases”. … AIDS advocate Chang Kun told Radio Free Asia that the rule would “exacerbate discrimination and demonize people living with HIV as a group, so that recruiters for civil service and teaching jobs will use it as an excuse to refuse to hire them.
TIBETAN REVIEW
Oct. 31 “China dismisses Tibetan village heads for protesting police brutality”
Chinese authorities have removed three Tibetans from their posts as village heads in Dzatoe (Chinese: Zaduo) County of Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province, after they protested against paramilitary police violence on fellow-villagers, said Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) Oct 29. The police violence, including with firing of live bullets, had occurred over Aug15-16 after hundreds of Tibetan villagers blocked work at three mining sites—Atoe, Dzachen, and Chidza—and had led to dozens being injured and several others being detained. At least 500 Chinese People’s Armed Police carried out the crackdown.
LOS ANGELES TIMES (Also in ASAHI SHIMBUN)
Oct. 30 “China calls car crash a terrorist attack, arrests 5”
More than 48 hours after a car mowed down pedestrians and burst into flames at Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government broke its near-silence on the incident and characterized it as a "terrorist attack." … A report on Radio Free Asia said surveillance videos showed a second car on the scene with Xinjiang license plates followed the first car but stayed on the main road while the other drove onto the sidewalk.
TIME
Oct. 30 “Vietnamese Man Convicted for Facebook Posts”
A Facebook user in Vietnam has been convicted of posting messages calling for the release of his activist brother. The case marks first time the popular social network has been explicitly named in an indictment, as the communist Southeast Asian regime continues to clamp down on dissent. … Dinh Nhat Uy received a 15-month suspended sentence on Tuesday after a one-day trial in Long An province, southern Vietnam, but still faces effective house arrest and severe restrictions on movement for around two years. “As for the verdict, I think it is absurd and I have decided to appeal,” the 30-year-old told Radio Free Asia after the verdict.
PHNOM PENH POST
Oct. 29 “For widow, a walk to remember”
Opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party supporters and elected lawmakers have rallied around a 48-year-old widow who claims to have spent 23 days walking from Kampong Cham province to CNRP mass protests in Phnom Penh last week. … Ho Vann, an elected CNRP lawmaker, said that since Radio Free Asia had broadcast a story about Pov, the single mother had been inundated by pledges of cash to help her.
WASHINGTON POST (REUTERS, ATLANTIC, MEDIAITE, SHANGHAIIST, BUSINESSINSIDER, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES, DUO WEI NEWS, KOREA TIMES, STRAITS TIMES, TAKE PART, AMERICABLOG, CANADA.COM, KHAOSOD, CHINA CHRONICLE, KOREAM, DEADSPIN, BAMBOO INNOVATOR, FIRSTWEFEAST, FRIENDSEAT, THE YOUNG TURKS, BEIJING CREAM, HOAHOA REPORT)
Oct. 28 “You may never eat street food in China again after watching this video”
China's food safety problems have no better symbol than the illegal and utterly disgusting problem of gutter oil. ... This video, produced by Radio Free Asia, shows in excruciating detail how a couple of gutter oil vendors go about their work. It starts with the couple scooping sewage out of the ground, and it ends with unwitting Chinese consumers chowing down on the end product[.]
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
Oct. 28 “Shanghai district denies petitioner beaten to death”
Local authorities in Shanghai have denied that a petitioner was beaten to death by local police over a property dispute. … Radio Free Asia and Internet postings, which could not be confirmed, said last week Shen, 55, was taken to a police station on Thursday but died shortly after returning home two hours later. Shen's home in Shanghai's financial district of Pudong was demolished in 2008, but authorities accused him of squatting in replacement housing built on the same site, the Radio Free Asia report said.
TIBETAN REVIEW
Oct. 25 “China jails 3 Tibetans over a self-immolation death”
Chinese court in Marthang (Chinese: Hongyuan) County of Sichuan’s Ngaba (Aba) Prefecture has jailed three Tibetans for up to five years for having allegedly prevented police from stopping a self-immolator from burning to death in January this year, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) Oct 23. The deceased, Phuntsok, 28, had set himself ablaze and died outside the county police station on Jan 18 in protest against Chinese rule.
DAILY NK
Oct. 25 “Sharp Decline in Swiss Watch Imports”
North Korea imported 386 high-end Swiss watches this year, it has been revealed. … “North Korea purchases a very small number of watches, as the domestic market for watches is small,” Head of the Economy and Statistics Department at the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry Philippe Pegoraro told Radio Free Asia on the 24th.
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
Oct. 23 “Chinese Paper Makes Unprecedented Plea For Reporter's Release”
"Please Release Him." That was the simple but startling front-page headline on Wednesday in New Express, a cutting-edge newspaper based in China's southern city of Guangzhou. … Radio Free Asia calls the move by New Express "unprecedented" and notes: "While all Chinese newspapers are tightly controlled by the propaganda department of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, some continue to push the limits set down for them, in particular through investigative reporting of alleged corruption."
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
Oct. 23 “Desperate Chinese Villagers Turn To Self-Immolation”
In order to turn China into an urban nation, local governments have demolished tens of millions of homes over the past decade. Homeowners have often fought back, blocking heavy machinery and battling officials. … He [Mengqing]'s wife, Huang Xiaoying, denies the government's claims. Radio Free Asia, which first reported the story, interviewed an unnamed official who said the self-immolation was really just a ploy to get more money.
SINA NEWS (Also in RADIO TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL)
Oct. 22 “Former employees of four mainland banks protest in Beijing”
Radio Free Asia reported that in 2007 right before the implementation of the new Chinese labor law, the four major banks in mainland China gradually forced more than 600,000 employees retire early by accepting a small amount of monetary compensation, then hired a large number of temporary workers to fill the vacancies.
SALON
Oct. 20 “Just secede already: The obstructionists aren’t going anywhere. Maybe we should”
One of the advantages in being out of the country during the government shutdown—until this week I’d been riding out the fiasco working in Asia—is not being exposed to the petty, day-to-day indignities it spawns. … As a Chinese professor named Wu Fei told Radio Free Asia, “Whenever China and Russia enter into any sort of agreement, this weakens the United States.”
DIPLOMAT
Oct. 18 “China’s Brutal Crackdown in Xinjiang”
As the world celebrates Eid al-Adha, the Islamic festival of sacrifice, turbulence in Yarkand County, Xinjiang province continued earlier this week when five Muslim Uyghurs were shot, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA). Other acts of violence and concentrated efforts to quell the troubled region are causing many to question whether or not China's propaganda and security crackdowns are doing any good.
UNITED NATIONS
Oct. 17 “Speakers Call for ‘Transparent and Equitable Dissemination of Information’”
… KIM JU SONG (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) stated that public information challenges were characterized by control of communications technology by a few countries. Certain countries were in pursuit of their hidden political interests, taking advantage of monopolized modern mass media. By imposing their “values” on developing countries, they were causing social disorder and chaos, even going as far as to create regime change. The United States and its followers were “adhering” to psychological warfare, using mass media, including Radio Free Asia, slandering “invidious” countries and aiming to bring those down through “internal disintegration”.
KOREA HERALD
Oct. 17 “Canadian charity delivers 220 tons of soybeans to N.K.”
Canadian charity group First Steps has sent 220 tons of beans to North Korea to be used to make soy milk for malnourished children, a media report said Thursday. According to Radio Free Asia, the Christian nongovernmental organization sent the beans to orphanages and day care centers in Gangwon and South Pyongan provinces and will send supervisors to the communist country this week to oversee distribution.
YONHAP (Also in CHOSUN ILBO)
Oct. 17 “N.Korea 'Disguised Civilian Cargo Planes for Military Show'”
North Korea flew civilian cargo planes painted in camouflage during a military parade earlier this year in an apparent attempt to make its arsenal seem bigger than it really is, U.S.-based website NK News said Tuesday. … Radio Free Asia pointed out Monday that the North's official KCNA news agency carried a photo where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un seems to have been pasted into a children's hospital construction site. It said the direction of the shadows of Kim and his entourage did not match the light source.
REUTERS (Also in ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, INDEPENDENT, DAILY MAIL)
Oct. 15 “Bomb at Myanmar luxury hotel wounds American tourist”
It was just before midnight when the crude time-bomb exploded in the ninth-floor guest room in the luxurious Traders Hotel in Myanmar's biggest city, badly wounding an American tourist and showering the streets below with glass. …Presidential spokesman Ye Htut linked the blasts to Myanmar assuming this year's chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). "It must have been carried out to create worries and concern among the people and to make the international community doubt the security standard in Myanmar at a time when Myanmar is going to take the ASEAN chair," Ye Htut told Radio Free Asia's Burmese-language service.
NEW YORK TIMES
Oct. 14 “As China Moves to Lower Professor’s Profile, Colleges Are Seeking to Raise Theirs”
It is hard to know exactly which transgression propelled Xia Yeliang, an accomplished Peking University economist, from opinionated irritant to a marked enemy of the ruling Communist Party. There was his 2009 public letter that ridiculed the technical school degree held by the nation’s propaganda minister and the interview he gave last year to Radio Free Asia, describing China as a “Communist one-party dictatorship.”
YONHAP
Oct. 12 “U.N. to send investigators to Cuba over seized N.K. ship”
A U.N. Security Council sanctions committee will send a team of investigators to Cuba later this month to examine the case of a North Korean ship that was caught carrying weapons from the Caribbean nation, a news report said Saturday. … The U.N. Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee plans to send the investigators to Cuba around Oct. 21 to probe details surrounding the seized cargo and the reason for its transportation to the North, according to the Washington-based Radio Free Asia.
PHAYUL (Also in TIBETAN REVIEW, TIMES OF INDIA, EXAMINER)
Oct. 12 “Tibetan sentenced to 10 years for involvement in self immolation protest”
A Chinese court in Tibet's Qinghai has sentenced a Tibetan community leader to 10 years in jail reportedly for his involvement in a self-immolation protest, reported the Radio Free Asia.
TIBETAN REVIEW
Oct. 12 “Hu Jintao indicted for Tibet genocide by Spain’s top court”
The Criminal Court of Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional) has on Oct 9 indicted China’s former President Mr Hu Jintao for crimes against humanity, and will try him for having committed genocide in occupied Tibet, said co-petitioner Comité de Apoyo al Tíbet (CAT) in a statement Oct 10. … Also, Radio Free Asia (Washington) Oct 11 cited Hua [Chunying] as saying the Spanish court move was an attempt to “attack the Chinese government and sabotage friendly relations between China and [Spain].”
ECONOMIST – ANALECTS BLOG
Oct. 10 “When patriotism is flagging -- Lhasa lockdown”
MORE than five years after violent mass protests rocked Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, the city remains in the grip of a severe security lockdown. The first week of October—the festive National Day holiday period when millions in China take the chance to travel to exotic spots like Tibet—offered no relief. … Security forces reportedly fired tear gas, and possibly live ammunition, at a crowd of protestors October 6th, injuring at least 60 according to one report by the International Campaign for Tibet, a pressure group, and another by Radio Free Asia. The reports said protestors had gathered in support of a man detained for resisting official orders that Tibetans display Chinese flags at their homes. Local police officials denied such an incident had taken place, telling a Western news agency there was “no protest, no one injured”.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND SECURITY NETWORK (ISN)
Oct. 10 “How Does China Solve a Problem like North Korea?”
China-Korea relations entered an active phase of leadership exchanges during the summer of 2013 following North Korea’s December 2012 satellite launch, its February 2013 nuclear test, and the passage of UN Security Council resolutions 2087 and 2094 condemning these actions. … According to Radio Free Asia, nongovernmental and private aid programs in North Korea have been adversely affected by expanded Chinese financial sanctions since February, including the tightening of Chinese customs procedures and closure of bank accounts that show transactions with the North.
TIBETAN REVIEW
Oct. 10 “Prominent Tibetan lama, charity founder murdered in China”
A prominent Tibetan Buddhist leader based in the UK since 1963 and active in carrying out charity works in Nepal and Tibet has been murdered in Sichuan Province’s capital Chengdu, China, on Oct 7. Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) Oct 10 cited a statement from Chengdu police as saying Choje Akong Rinpoche, aged 73, his nephew and his driver were killed in a residential area and that three Tibetan suspects had stabbed the men to death in a claimed dispute over money.
KACHIN NEWS
Oct. 9 “Aung Min down plays recent Kachin clashes as Burma army sends more troops”
During an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA) this week President Thein Sein's chief negotiator, Aung Min, sought to down play recent clashes between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the military.
NEW YORK TIMES (Also in INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE)
Oct. 7 “Uighurs in China Say Bias Is Growing”
… In August, paramilitary police officers not far from Kashgar shot at least 32 men, killing a dozen, during a raid on what was described as a secret “munitions center”; a few days later at least a dozen other Uighurs were killed as they prayed at a farmhouse in Yilkiqi township, according to Radio Free Asia. The authorities said the men were taking part in “illegal religious activities” and training for a terrorist attack, but did not provide further details.
ASSOCIATED PRESS (Also in BBC, NEW YORK TIMES, BLOOMBERG NEWS, AL JAZEERA, DEUTSCHE PRESSE AGENTUR, JAPAN TIMES, JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE)
Oct. 7 “Report: Chinese Police Fire at Tibetan Protesters”
A U.S.-backed broadcaster is reporting that Chinese security forces fired into a crowd of Tibetan residents who were demanding the release of a fellow villager detained for protesting orders to display the national flag. Chinese police also fired tear gas at those protesting Sunday in Biru county in the Tibet Autonomous Region and dozens were injured, Radio Free Asia said in its report Tuesday. … In Sunday’s unrest, protesters were calling for the release of a local resident, Dorje Draktsel, who was detained last week after participating in demonstrations against the flag order, the Radio Free Asia report said.
TIBETAN REVIEW
Oct. 6 “China denying overseas study travel for Tibetan herders’ children”
China is denying passports to two groups of Tibetan youngsters belonging to poor nomadic families in Qinghai Province after they had got selected to study in the USA and Japan, reported Radio Free Asia (Washington) Oct 4. One group has staged a protest on Sep 2 before the provincial government offices in Xining city, alleging discrimination against the children of ordinary grassland families.
WASHINGTON POST
Oct. 4 “This is what happens when Tibetan villages refuse to fly the Chinese flag”
… On Sept. 27, Chinese authorities responded by sending in "thousands" of Chinese troops to force up the flags, according to Tibetan exile outlets and Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government-backed outlet that's among the few foreign media organizations regularly reporting on Tibet. … "Groups of seven paramilitary policemen have been stationed at each house and are watching the Tibetans,” an unnamed Tibetan local told Radio Free Asia. “Villagers are not being allowed to tend to their animals, and any Tibetan found loitering in the town is being taken away."
THE CABLE – FOREIGN POLICY’S BLOG
Oct. 4 “Not Even the NSA Can Crack the State Dept's Favorite Anonymous Network”
A far-flung group of geeks, supported by the U.S. State Department, has built a tool for anonymous communication that's so secure that even the world's most sophisticated electronic spies haven't figured out how to crack it. … However, contrary to the Guardian's report, the BBG stopped directly supporting Tor last October. At that time, the Tor portfolio was moved to Radio Free Asia, a private nonprofit that receives an annual grant from the BBG for its Internet anti-censorship work, including about $400,000 for a Tor project that monitors Internet surveillance by governments. While he was careful not to criticize the NSA, Dan Meredith, director of Radio Free Asia's Open Technology Fund, said the spy agency's exploitation of services like Tor doesn't make his job any easier. "The United States government is incredibly large with lots of diverse programs from the Census Bureau to Medicare to Radio Free Asia's Internet Freedom program -- and the employees shouldn't all get lumped together as aligned with the NSA's view of the world," he told The Cable. "You'll try to explain that to activists in Sudan, but they don't always take it that way. Sometimes I'll spend 15 minutes with people trying to convince them that I'm not CIA."
GUARDIAN
Oct. 4 “NSA and GCHQ target Tor network that protects anonymity of web users”
Board of Governors, a federal agency whose mission is to "inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy" through networks such as Voice of America, also supported Tor's development until October 2012 to ensure that people in countries such as Iran and China could access BBG content. Tor continues to receive federal funds through Radio Free Asia, which is funded by a federal grant from BBG.
TIBETAN REVIEW
Oct. 4 “Tibetans clash with Chinese cadres over flag kow-tow order”
The Chinese authorities have imposed a security clampdown over Driru (Chinese: Biru) County in northern Tibet’s Nagchu (Naqu) Prefecture after Tibetans there refused orders to fly the red flag of communist China over their homes and monasteries and it resulted in arrests and clashes. Schools in the county have been closed down while Mowa Township, where the resistance was particularly strong, now resembles a military camp, Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) Oct 2 cited a source as saying.
BBC (Also in VICE)
Oct. 3 “Anger as Apple axes China anti-firewall app”
Chinese web users have criticised Apple after the company pulled an iPhone app which enabled users to bypass firewalls and access restricted internet sites. The developers of the free app, OpenDoor, reportedly wrote to Apple protesting against the move. But Zhou Shuguang, a prominent Chinese blogger and citizen journalist, told US-based Radio Free Asia that Apple had taken away one of the tools which internet users in China relied on to circumvent the country's great firewall.
CHRISTIAN POST
Oct. 1 “China Made $2 Billion From Controversial 'One Child Policy' in 2012, Claims Chinese Christian Lawyer”
China made more than $2 billion from its "One Child Policy" in 2012, according to a Christian Chinese lawyer, with the huge sum of money being generated through fines imposed by regulators. … "When they fine you ... they don't say you have to pay it all to the government in one go, but that you should pay some when you have some money," Zhang told Radio Free Asia.
