Doing business in China: December 2009 Archives
France chastised China on Saturday for jailing dissident Liu Xiaobo and reminded Beijingof its commitments to dialogue on human rights with the European Union.
Liu, China's most prominent dissident, was jailed on Friday for 11 years for campaigning for political freedoms, with the stiff sentence on a subversion charge swiftly condemned by rights groups and Washington.
"France, attached to the respect for freedom of expression throughout the world, reminds the Chinese authorities of their commitments in the scope of dialogue on human rights with the European Union," France's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Liu, who turns 54 on Monday, helped organize the "Charter 08" petition which called for sweeping political reforms, and before that was prominent in the 1989 pro-democracy protests centered on Tiananmen Squarethat were crushed by armed troops.
"(Liu's) resolute acts in support of respect for human rights and freedom of expression play an essential role in promoting democratic values in China," France's foreign ministry said.
(Reporting by Sophie Taylor; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Nirvi Shah, The Miami Herald | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 23, 2009
Customs agents in Miami have seized several shipments of toys from China considered dangerous by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The toys contained hazardous materials, including lead paint, or had small parts that pose choking hazards for children.
One shipment contained nearly 22,000 toys that had one or both violations. Another contained 444 lighters in the shapes of farm animals, complete with realistic sounds, that children could have mistaken for toys.
The items were headed all over the country, although Customs and Border Patrol would not specify which stores. Spokesman Jose Castellano said some items may have been intended for roadside stands and small businesses.
Other products intercepted this year include black toy guns that could be easily confused for real firearms and yellow toy ducks with lead paint.
This year, the federal government lowered the limits for lead in paint on children's toys to 90 parts per million, which is among the lowest in the world, and most children's toys must meet these and other standards, some of which were voluntary.
In 2008, the agency had reports of 19 toy-related deaths and about 172,700 hospital emergency room treated toy-related injuries to children under 15. Almost half affected children younger than 5. Most of the deaths were associated with drowning, motor vehicles or airway obstruction from a small toy or small part of a toy.
Last year, imports from China accounted for 60 precent of products seized by Customs for safety and security problems, Castellano said.
Toys that have been recalled by the federal consumer protection agency are listed at cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html and include pictures of the items.
By Luis Andres Henao | REUTERS | via UNCENSORED Yahoo! News
December 23, 2009
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - An Argentine judge has ordered the arrest of China's former President Jiang Zemin and another top official for "crimes against humanity" in the alleged persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
Falun Gong hailed it as a historic human rights ruling on Tuesday, although a lawyer for the group acknowledged it is largely symbolic.
Federal Judge Octavio de Lamadrid on December 17 asked Interpol to issue an arrest warrant against Jiang and former security chief Luo Gan after four years of investigating charges of torture and genocide against the Falun Gong group.
The judge ordered the arrest of the two "over crimes against humanity committed in China" including genocide and torture, according to a copy of the ruling. Jiang was president from 1993 to 2003.
De Lamadrid made the ruling based on sections of Argentina's 1994 constitution that allow Argentine courts to address human rights issues in other countries.
In his ruling, the judge said "if universal jurisdiction is not admitted we would find ourselves allowing impunity, which is what the international community wants to avoid."
Alejandro Cowes, an Argentine lawyer representing Falun Gong, said: "It's a historic ruling because for the first time we're opening a universal jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed abroad."
However, a second lawyer for the group acknowledged that the ruling was mostly symbolic since it is unlikely that the arrests would be carried out. Falun Gong has pushed for such rulings without results in France, Spain and elsewhere.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is scheduled to travel to China in January to discuss bilateral trade and business. Fernandez has pushed for human rights trials in Argentina against former military officers accused of abuses during the 1976-1983 "dirty war" against leftists.
A decade-long government crackdown drove Falun Gong underground in China but it has flourished abroad, where it has moved from a spiritual movement into a vehicle against Chinese Communist Party rule.
Thousands have been jailed since China declared Falun Gong a cult in 1999.
The Falun Dafa Information Center, which documents suspected abuses against practitioners in China, says 104 Falun Gong adherents died of abuse or neglect in custody last year, bringing to 3,242 the number of deaths documented over 10 years.
"I think this lawsuit is such great news because if (people in China) see that somebody is saying that this is wrong, even here in Argentina, they will be able to think that maybe what the government is telling them is not right," said Liwie Fu, president of the Falun Gong Group in Argentina, who brought the lawsuit.
By Christine Simmons | The Huffington Post
December 20, 2009
A baby product manufacturer recalled on Friday about 447,000 of its infant car seat carriers, including some branded with Eddie Bauer and Disney logos, after dozens of reports of the carrier's handle coming loose.
There have been at least three injuries to babies, including bumps, bruises and a head injury. Dorel Juvenile Group Inc., of Columbus, Ind., received 77 reports of the child restraint handle fully or partially coming off the products.
In announcing the recall, the government said consumers should immediately stop using the seat's carrying handle. The bolts that attach the handle to the seat can loosen, causing the handle to possibly separate and creating a fall hazard for babies.
The recall involves Safety 1st, Cosco, Eddie Bauer and Disney branded infant car seat carriers with certain model numbers. They were sold at department and children's product stores nationwide from January 2008 through this month.
The recall was announced on Friday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Dorel Juvenile Group.
The traffic safety agency said consumers should not use the handle until a repair kit has been installed. The repair kit includes new screws that consumers can attach to the seat carriers. They can order these free repair kits by contacting Dorel at 866-762-3316 or visiting . http://www.djgusa.com/safety_notice
"You don't want to take a chance by using this recalled car seat carrier, until you have the repair kit in place," said Patty Davis, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "The handle can fall off and the car seat carrier can drop, injuring your infant."
The traffic safety agency said the car seat is safe for use in a vehicle because it meets federal safety standards. The recalled products were sold with strollers, which are not affected by the recall.
Vinnie D'Alleva, general manager for Dorel Juvenile Group, said safety is the company's top priority and it is working closely with government agencies to get the word out to parents about the recall.
Officials from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could not say when the government first received complaints about the car seat carriers, which were on the market for about two years.
The baby seat carriers were made in China from January 2008 to April 2009. About five months later, on Sept. 1, 2009, the traffic safety agency began a preliminary evaluation about the problems, according to a report that Dorel Juvenile Group sent to the agency on Thursday.
By Radio Free Asia
14 December 2009
Chinese authorities ban registration for certain Internet domains, sparking fears of a wider crackdown.
A ban on registering certain domain names is part of a Chinese effort to tighten Internet controls, according to Chinese Internet experts.
Registration of domains with the suffix ".cn" was banned Monday, according to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), which serves as the cyber management branch of the Chinese government.
The government has said tighter Internet restrictions are needed to effectively crack down on pornography.
But Qiao Jing, vice president of cyber enterprise DotAsia, said restricting applicants to other domain names will ultimately hurt China's Internet economy.
"This incident will certainly strengthen the official hands in eliminating pornography. It seems that now the review over domain name applications will be stricter," Qiao said.
"The procedure for international domain registration, provided by VeriSign, is to review after registration, not before it. However, if CNNIC reviews applicants in advance, those applicants who wanted ".cn" may turn to ".com" [suffixes]. This is not good for China's business," he said.
A Guangzhou-based Internet expert surnamed Li said the measure was introduced to crack down on netizens who sought to establish Web sites outside of the control of the central government.
"The reason for the CNNIC decision is probably because it was criticized by CCTV for its handling of the domain name registration process, but the real purpose is to rein in the spread of personal domains," Li said, referring to China Central Television (CCTV).
CCTV criticism
CCTV last week aired a program titled "Uncontrolled Domain Names" on its "Topics in Focus" segment, criticizing CCNIC for the spread of pornography on China's cell phones.
The program suggested that CNNIC, part of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, is too lax in its supervision of Internet domain name registration, leading to misleading, inaccurate, and incomplete registration information from applicants.
Following the program, CNNIC punished three Internet domain registration offices and unveiled a set of new rules regarding domain registration on its Web site.
The latest rule, published Saturday, denies netizens the right to register for domain names containing the suffix ".cn," beginning 9 a.m. on Dec. 14.
Netizens concerned
CNNIC's new regulation has caused concern among China's netizens, who fear that more crackdowns on the registration of international domain names may follow.
Some netizens have suggested that the Chinese government may seek to eventually ban all personal Internet domain registration.
Others see Internet forums, personal blogs, personal chat and networking sites, and peer-to-peer file transfer services as other potential targets of a larger Internet rein-in.
Beijing-based blogger Guo Weidong said that CNNIC is seeking to control public opinion, "because it is absurd to close so many Web sites in the name of eliminating pornography."
"This is a fabrication. We all know that China's currency, the yuan, can be used to buy food, drink, houses, and cars. And it can also be used to buy drugs, guns, ammunition, and even prostitutes. Can you say that the yuan is illegal and committing obscene acts?"
Increase in online censorship
Many of China's nearly 360 million netizens are disgruntled at the increasing failure of Internet circumvention tools to get around the sophisticated set of blocks and censorship filters known as the "Great Firewall."
Chinese netizens and overseas technology experts say the authorities are now successfully undermining key software used to get around the Great Firewall, such as U.S.-based software developer Andrew Lewman's Tor "tunneling" software and U.S.-based Dynamic Internet Technology's Freegate software.
Netizens have also reported problems using Chinese versions of the micro-blogging service, Twitter.
Twitter equivalents Fanfou, Jiwai, and Digu were recently shut down, forcing many Internet users to migrate to Twitter, bloggers said.
And when leading Chinese Internet portal Sina.com launched its own Twitter-like service, Sina Micro Bo, users complained of too many controls.
To sign up for the service, users must receive a registration invitation containing a password.
The operators further limit users' freedom by strictly monitoring comment boards and by using automatic filters.
The controls on Sina Micro Bo are consistent with attempts by Beijing to impose real-name user registration on all of China's netizens, making anonymous Web surfing much more difficult.
Additionally, China has detained dozens of bloggers and online authors in recent months.
Authorities around the country subjected dozens more to temporary house arrest and police interviews ahead of the sensitive 60th anniversary of Communist Party rule on Oct. 1.
Original reporting by Xin Yu for RFA's Mandarin service. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated by Ping Chen. Written for the Web in English by Joshua Lipes. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
By SHARON LaFRANIERE | The New York Times
December 05, 2009
In case President Obama is curious, some students who went to his town hall meeting in Shanghai last month wonder how he gets along with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, given their bruising battle for the presidency.
They didn't ask him. They weren't allowed.
"This is a sensitive question," Ni Shixiong, one of the Chinese organizers of the event, said in an interview published in the new edition of Southern People Weekly. "It's better not to ask things related to U.S. politics."
The interview was the latest indication of efforts by Chinese authorities to stage-manage Mr. Obama's visit here and the shaping of his public image in China.
They had rejected a White House request to nationally broadcast the town hall meeting, and one student reported that she and other participants had undergone an afternoon of training for the session.
The town hall event had been Mr. Obama's one chance to interact with ordinary Chinese on his three-day trip.
The White House said the president had wanted an open discussion with no screening of questions -- allowing for the American-style mix of incisive and ill-informed queries from the public.
There was precedent for a lively interaction, even if the Chinese vetted the questions beforehand.
When President Bill Clinton visited Peking University in Beijing in 1998, students challenged him about arms sales to Taiwan and whether the United States sought to contain China geopolitically.
Some sparks also flew during President George W. Bush's question-and-answer session with Tsinghua University students in Beijing in 2002.
But Mr. Ni, a professor at Fudan University and a specialist on American-China relations, faulted the Beijing students for having asked "offensive questions."
Organizers of the Shanghai event felt "there was no need to make both sides embarrassed and stop our guests in their tracks," he said.
He said they also had not wanted to upstage events on Mr. Obama's next stop, Beijing.
There, Mr. Obama had two dinners with President Hu Jintao. He and Mr. Hu wound up by reading prepared statements to reporters. They took no questions.
"The climax was in Beijing," Mr. Ni said. "We could not overshadow what really counted."
Still, he said the town hall showed that China had loosened control over such events.
Although guidelines were set and some questions were rejected, he said, the students themselves drafted the queries and were not required to rehearse.
He contrasted the session with a visit that Yitzhak Rabin, then the Israeli prime minister, made to his classroom at Fudan University in 1993.
About 200 students were picked to attend, but 180 of them were ordered to remain silent, he said.
The 20 people who were allowed to ask questions were handed text that had been prepared for them. "They had to be able to recite the questions word for word," Mr. Ni said.
The plan went awry, he said, when Mr. Rabin began the session by posing a question of his own. No one answered. "It was very embarrassing," Mr. Ni recalled.
Mr. Ni said he repeated the question aloud and winked at his students, hoping to signal that someone should respond.
Finally one student raised his hand. But instead of answering the prime minister's question, he recited his own.
Search
The purpose of the website is to publish articles by journalists about a variety of topics concerning the People’s Republic of China. All journalists and the publications that publish their writings are clearly identified. All copyrights belong exclusively to the identified sources of these articles. | Powered by
Information + More