https://www.scmp.com/rss/324804/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Officials in Kunming will no longer be allowed to obstruct journalists as they conduct interviews and collect information, under a new set of rules put out for public review in the capital city of Yunnan . While the move was considered a sign of more sophisticated attitudes towards the role of the media in some interior provinces, experts said the new rule would make little difference while propaganda officials continued to exert so much sway. At the end of last month, Kunming prosecutors... https://www.scmp.com/article/689999/city-moots-law-defend-journalists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/689999/city-moots-law-defend-journalists?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The widow of film director Xie Jin has sued a well-known celebrity gossip writer for 500,000 yuan (HK$568,000) in damages at a Shanghai court after the blogger claimed the filmmaker died while having sex with a prostitute at a hotel. Song Zude, 40, a widely- read gossip writer, filed a story claiming that the 85-year-old had been with a prostitute when he died. Xie was a respected director and Song's remarks caused a storm on the internet and made headlines in tabloid newspapers. Xie's widow,... https://www.scmp.com/article/689696/directors-widow-sues-over-prostitute-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/689696/directors-widow-sues-over-prostitute-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The Ministry of Education is seeking public opinion on a draft list of simplified Chinese characters, and says it will not permit the use of traditional characters in the near future. The list has been drawn up over the past eight years under the ministry's supervision, and was opened to public review from yesterday until the end of this month. The aim is to standardise and regulate the use of simplified characters, and adapt to changing demands in the information age. The list comes with a... https://www.scmp.com/article/689596/opinion-sought-simplified-characters-list?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/689596/opinion-sought-simplified-characters-list?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Beijing won wide recognition for its relaxation of the overseas media's access before and during the Olympic Games last year, but in the year since signs show tightening controls over dissidents and the domestic media. To keep the promises the central government had made with its bid for the Games to provide foreign media with good working conditions, Beijing issued several rules and media guidelines in 2006 to help foreign journalists. Under the relaxed rules, overseas reporters did not... https://www.scmp.com/article/689222/beijing-tightens-control-over-activists-local-media?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/689222/beijing-tightens-control-over-activists-local-media?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Two prison guards stood trial yesterday in a high-profile case in Yunnan in which an inmate died under suspicious circumstances on February 12 at a detention centre. Li Dongming, 48, and Su Shaolu, 36 - guards at the centre, in Jinning county - appeared at the Songming County People's Court charged with lax management, mainland media said. Prosecutors and lawyers for the two guards presented their arguments, but no verdict was reached. The case was assigned to the Songming court by the Kunming... https://www.scmp.com/article/689108/jailers-court-over-hide-and-seek-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/689108/jailers-court-over-hide-and-seek-death?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 A Yunnan propaganda chief ordered local newspapers to run at least 10 pages of special reports trumpeting ethnic unity and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic for six days when President Hu Jintao visited the province. Under a detailed order issued by Yunnan's deputy propaganda chief, Wu Hao, local newspapers, radio and television were requested to put 'the ultimate effort' into coverage during the six days from July 25, local media sources said. Economic and... https://www.scmp.com/article/689005/propaganda-push-hits-presses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/689005/propaganda-push-hits-presses?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 If you were asked to guess Chen Lei's profession, engineering might not be the first career that springs to mind after a glance at the slim, soft-spoken 38-year-old woman. But she is more: she was the chief engineer for the construction of the National Aquatics Centre, better known as the 'Water Cube'. And one year after the translucent blue venue hosted the swimming competitions at the Beijing Olympics, it is still winning as many admirers as the 'Bird's Nest' stadium nearby, with its... https://www.scmp.com/article/688861/woman-behind-water-cube?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/688861/woman-behind-water-cube?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Xu Zhiyong, a legal rights activist and founder of civil rights group Gongmeng, was taken from his home by Beijing police on Wednesday, it was confirmed yesterday. The move raises further concern of a clampdown on rights group ahead of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic in October. This news came after another non-governmental group, the Yirenping Centre, was raided by authorities on Wednesday for illegal publishing. Dr Xu, 36, one of the co-founders of prominent... https://www.scmp.com/article/688398/civil-rights-activist-detained-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/688398/civil-rights-activist-detained-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Most of the computers, documents and other equipment had been confiscated. Even so, civil rights activist Xu Zhiyong sat serenely in his office, talking softly. Downstairs, guards and plain-clothes policemen stopped petitioners who came to show support and prevented reporters from entering the office building. On July 15, the Open Constitution Initiative, a volunteer legal service of which Dr Xu is the legal representative and co-founder, was ordered to pay 1.4 million yuan (HK$1.6 million) in... https://www.scmp.com/article/687822/civil-rights-pioneer-refuses-give-after-authorities-threaten-close-office?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/687822/civil-rights-pioneer-refuses-give-after-authorities-threaten-close-office?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Representatives of a civil rights group, Gongmeng, met Beijing taxation authorities yesterday for the first time since their office was raided and shut down last week. Xu Zhiyong, Gongmeng's legal representative and founder, previously had received a notice from the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau and the Beijing branch of the State Administration of Taxation ordering it to pay 1.23 million yuan (HK$1.39 million) in fines plus 180,000 yuan in back taxes. Gongmeng, comprising scholars, lawyers and... https://www.scmp.com/article/687820/groups-representatives-face-beijing-tax-officials-first-meeting-raid-and-shutdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/687820/groups-representatives-face-beijing-tax-officials-first-meeting-raid-and-shutdown?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 With a quarter of its 1.3 billion population now internet users and 155 million using mobile phones to surf the Web, the mainland's internet industry continues to develop rapidly despite the impact of the financial crisis. The China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) yesterday reported that 338 million people were using the internet by the end of June, a rise of 40 million, or 13.4 per cent in six months. The number accessing the Web by mobile phone rose by 32 per cent, to 155... https://www.scmp.com/article/687033/one-four-now-internet-users-and-half-hook-using-mobiles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/687033/one-four-now-internet-users-and-half-hook-using-mobiles?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The mainland media lambasted 'biased and twisted' overseas reports on the Xinjiang violence, accusing international media of 'going against the principles of fairness and objectivity'. Xinhua, the People's Daily and its nationalist tabloid offshoot, the Global Times, have criticised overseas media for double standards. But an analyst says the criticism is wide of the mark, and the reporting has been fair. An article by a People's Daily editor named Ding Gang in the Global Times was picked up... https://www.scmp.com/article/686838/state-media-attacks-western-coverage-unfair-analyst-says-reporting-objective?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/686838/state-media-attacks-western-coverage-unfair-analyst-says-reporting-objective?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The decision to allow independent media to stay in Urumqi was correct and it was crucial that Beijing kept Xinjiang open to world media, experts said yesterday. As of last night, reporters were allowed to stay in the city even as armed police and soldiers patrolled the streets, and there were reports of some confrontations between Han and Uygurs. Reporters were generally unhindered in their work, though they remained barred from sensitive areas, such as Uygur neighbourhoods, and some news... https://www.scmp.com/article/686241/keeping-region-open-media-crucial-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/686241/keeping-region-open-media-crucial-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Government media acted promptly to release information on the Urumqi riots on Sunday night, while unofficial channels of information were strictly censored, a sign that Beijing had learned its lessons from last year's violence in Tibet. Xinhua first reported events in Urumqi on Sunday night, saying an unnamed number of people had gathered in the city. Since then, the official agency has provided regular updates that have been quoted by overseas media. More reports were released in English than... https://www.scmp.com/article/686038/censors-allow-reports-state-media-go-work-internet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/686038/censors-allow-reports-state-media-go-work-internet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Martial arts fiction master Louis Cha is one of four Hong Kong authors who has joined the China Writers' Association, a semi-official organisation that has been accused of stifling freedom of expression. The other Hongkongers on the list of 408 new members are Chau Mat-mat, Choi Yick-wai and Cheung Sze-kim, who are all deputy chairmen of Hong Kong Writers. It is the first time the association has allowed Hong Kong writers to join since the 1980s. Spokesman Chen Qirong said yesterday the... https://www.scmp.com/article/684854/martial-arts-author-joins-writers-bloc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/684854/martial-arts-author-joins-writers-bloc?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Zhang Sizhi may be 83, but he is still firmly on the front line of the battle between the mainland's lawyers and the law. In recent months these battle lines have been laid bare to the public like never before thanks to the case of hotel waitress Deng Yujiao . Accused of murdering a cadre, her plight became a national cause fed by netizens impatient with officialdom and social injustice, and last week she was allowed to walk free, albeit with a guilty verdict. Mr Zhang said Deng's case was... https://www.scmp.com/article/684742/veteran-lawyer-urges-colleagues-fight-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/684742/veteran-lawyer-urges-colleagues-fight-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 One of the most outspoken voices in the mainland's media has resigned from his post at a university, citing mounting pressure on him and the annual journalism forum he hosted. The resignation of Zhan Jiang, dean of the Journalism and Communication School at the China Youth University for Political Science, comes amid concerns about a worsening environment for the mainland media in a politically sensitive year. Professor Zhan submitted a letter to the university's leadership and 100 other... https://www.scmp.com/article/684263/0utspoken-media-advocate-quits-university-post-amid-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/684263/0utspoken-media-advocate-quits-university-post-amid-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The Beijing municipal government is to experiment with a new model of internet control that will see a team of 10,000 'freelance' censors monitor 'unhealthy' Web content and name registration. Deputy Mayor Cai Fuchao, also head of the municipal propaganda department, said the capital would implement a series of internet monitoring measures in an effort 'to purify the internet environment', the Beijing News reported yesterday. Mr Cai was quoted as saying the city would set up a database of the... https://www.scmp.com/article/684000/freelance-army-help-police-web-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/684000/freelance-army-help-police-web-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Blogs were blocked, Twitter was tamed and there was nothing in the newspapers, but word of Hong Kong's commemoration of the Tiananmen crackdown still filtered through to the mainland yesterday. Internet users bypassed censors and accessed overseas Chinese- language websites to see images of Thursday's 150,000-strong crowd at the candle-light vigil in Victoria Park. Some mainland bloggers travelled to Hong Kong to attend the gathering and uploaded live video onto websites. On Bullogger.com,... https://www.scmp.com/article/682757/news-hk-vigil-slips-past-censors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/682757/news-hk-vigil-slips-past-censors?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Like other participants in the June 4 movement, Ye Fu feels agony in recalling his life's ups and downs over the past 20 years. There are bitter memories of losing his parents and other loved ones, and generally of a life in ruins. Without going to Tiananmen Square, where hundreds of students were killed the night before, he resigned as a police officer as his way of breaking with an authority that, as he put it, 'lost all legitimacy after the crackdown'. Even more unbearable, says Ye Fu, 47,... https://www.scmp.com/article/682664/bitterness-and-betrayal-writer-let-down-best-friend?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/682664/bitterness-and-betrayal-writer-let-down-best-friend?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Local governments have come under fire for their failure to understand the power of the internet to stir up protests and have been urged to harness the latest technologies to control public opinion. The Xinhua-run Outlook Weekly magazine published a detailed report yesterday on the internet's role in creating 'mass incidents'. Quoting internet censors and government and party officials, the magazine warned the internet 'has become a major mobilisation tool and communication channel for some mass... https://www.scmp.com/article/682278/officials-criticised-failing-censor-web-public-opinion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/682278/officials-criticised-failing-censor-web-public-opinion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000 It was a rainy, early summer evening in Beijing, two weeks before June 4. More than 300 students, most in their twenties, packed a classroom at the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) to listen to a lecture by lawyer Zhang Sizhi, famous for his courageous defence of the nation's top dissidents. Titled 'Humanitarian quality and legal spirit', the three-hour speech began with the 83-year-old lawyer talking about his experiences of 1989, when he became involved in defending... https://www.scmp.com/article/682111/june-4-closed-book-many-bright-young-minds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/682111/june-4-closed-book-many-bright-young-minds?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Lawyers representing a pedicurist who killed an official in Hubei's Badong county have left the area, blaming official intervention and warning that 'justice is impossible'. Deng Yujiao, 21, stabbed an official to death with a fruit knife after he demanded sex in a case that has become a national scandal and prompted central government censors to gag mainland media. 'The situation in Badong has become too complicated and tense. Various signs indicate that Deng's case, a simple criminal case,... https://www.scmp.com/article/681940/lawyers-woman-who-killed-official-say-case-hopeless?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/681940/lawyers-woman-who-killed-official-say-case-hopeless?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 With a potential readership of 1 billion people, China's book publishing industry is one of the last untapped frontiers of business. But a one-party state that still jealously guards the flow of information for fear of provoking social disunity has in the past been considered an insurmountable barrier to the expansion of literary ambitions. For example, Prisoner of the State, the memoirs of ousted party chief Zhao Ziyang, is selling like hot cakes in Hong Kong but is based on tapes that had... https://www.scmp.com/article/680632/reform-might-unearth-gem-publishers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/680632/reform-might-unearth-gem-publishers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 An unrestricted news media and self-organised volunteers, the two most praised 'bright spots' of the Sichuan earthquake, are now strictly controlled and largely forgotten. In a politically sensitive year, mainland authorities have returned to their usual, heavy-handed approach. Official stonewalling has hindered the effectiveness of long-term volunteer campaigns dedicated to post-quake reconstruction. And a string of media bans has been issued to 'maintain social stability and create a... https://www.scmp.com/article/679781/free-reporting-diy-volunteers-soon-snuffed-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/679781/free-reporting-diy-volunteers-soon-snuffed-out?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000 A former fire chief jailed for six years for dereliction of duty is being made a scapegoat to soothe public anger over a fatal Shenzhen nightclub fire, his family says. The family said that Chen Feng, former head of the No 1 brigade of the Longgang District Fire Department, was the 'fall guy' chosen by local firefighting authorities to take responsibility for the September blaze at the unlicensed Dance King nightclub. Chen, 42, was sentenced by the district people's court last month as one... https://www.scmp.com/article/678700/jailed-fire-chief-scapegoat-family-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/678700/jailed-fire-chief-scapegoat-family-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Mainland authorities are keen to create the impression they have responded quickly to the global spread of swine flu through 'full governmental information transparency'. As the deadly A/H1N1 swine flu epidemic in Mexico spread quickly to other countries, prompting fears of a global pandemic, workers in the mainland media said it was suggested that they give full coverage to the mainland's efforts to work with the international community to help curb the spread of the virus. The mainland has not... https://www.scmp.com/article/678744/officials-keen-show-media-they-have-responded-quickly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/678744/officials-keen-show-media-they-have-responded-quickly?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has beefed up the Postal Law, widening the category of people who are specifically banned from tampering with mail. But analysts pointed out that the law continued to allow mail to be opened to protect 'state security'. In its original version the law banned 'postal service workers from opening, hiding, damaging or discarding others' letters'. Under the amendment, not only postal workers but all organisations and individuals are... https://www.scmp.com/article/678030/mail-tampering-ban-broadened?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/678030/mail-tampering-ban-broadened?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The launch of the Global Times' English edition gave the mainland its second national English-language daily newspaper yesterday as the authorities push forward China's drive to overhaul its international image. Managed under the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily, the English Global Times is expected to compete with the China Daily, another state newspaper that began publishing in 1981. It vowed on its editorial page to 'be a vital new medium affording international readers the... https://www.scmp.com/article/677498/new-english-language-newspaper-starts-aim-help-chinas-image-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/677498/new-english-language-newspaper-starts-aim-help-chinas-image-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 An artist heading an independent team counting the number of schoolchildren killed in the Sichuan earthquake in May said yesterday it had verified at least 4,439 deaths using non-official sources. Ai Weiwei, who launched the 'civil investigation' four months ago to find out how many children died in shoddily built schools when the magnitude-8 quake struck, said the team was under immense pressure from authorities to stop their work. On his blog, which is blocked on the mainland, Ai said: 'By... https://www.scmp.com/article/677141/artist-tallies-student-quake-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/677141/artist-tallies-student-quake-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The Communist Party's central office and the State Council have issued three directives urging local government officials to have direct dialogue with the public and solve problems promptly, mainland media said. Analysts saw the move as an attempt by the central authorities to cool public anger, which had been fuelled by the remarks of a Peking University professor who said 99 per cent of the people petitioning the government were mentally ill and should be admitted to institutions. Central... https://www.scmp.com/article/676822/cadres-told-heed-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/676822/cadres-told-heed-people?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Beijing has drafted the first list of standard Chinese characters containing more than 8,000 of the most frequently used ones, in a bid to 'discipline the wild use of the Chinese language', mainland media said. And a language official said yesterday that 'it's up to the Ministry of Public Security, not language experts' to decide which characters were allowed in naming newborn citizens. The list, to be released in June, was drafted by a team of leading linguists over eight years, with... https://www.scmp.com/article/676743/word-police-move-name-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/676743/word-police-move-name-game?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The flourishing world of private publishing houses has for the first time become legal on the mainland, under regulatory guidelines for industry-wide reforms. The General Administration of Press and Publication (Gapp) yesterday announced the release of the long-awaited Guidelines on the Further Reform of the Press and Publication System. It acknowledges that private publishing houses are the key drivers in the press and publication industry, and had to be recognised under planning and... https://www.scmp.com/article/676058/reforms-legalise-thriving-private-publishing-houses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/676058/reforms-legalise-thriving-private-publishing-houses?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Just months after a politically charged profanity embarrassed mainland authorities by becoming a huge online hit, censors have struck back with yet another crackdown on 'indecent and unlawful' internet content, particularly parodies. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft) issued a directive on Monday highlighting prohibitions on 31 categories of online audio and video content, from violence to pornography, terrorism and content that might incite ethnic discrimination,... https://www.scmp.com/article/675609/censors-strike-internet-content-after-hit-parody?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/675609/censors-strike-internet-content-after-hit-parody?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000 For most of his public life, 51-year-old Ai Weiwei has been associated with the leading edge of art and design. Ai's credits extend from being a co-designer of Beijing's 'Bird's Nest' National Stadium to being a standard-bearer for mainland contemporary art, and one of the most saleable Chinese artists. But, in the past few years, Ai has changed tack. He still breaks rules, but these days the burly, bearded Beijinger is taking on public issues through his outspoken social commentary. His... https://www.scmp.com/article/675377/master-art-social-commentary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/675377/master-art-social-commentary?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 A dissident writer and a Charter 08 signatory was detained and interrogated by Beijing police yesterday for writing an article commemorating the 20th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen crackdown. Jiang Qisheng, 61, deputy chairman of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre and a frequent inmate for his role as a Tiananmen Square student leader, was taken from his Beijing home at about 9am by 15 officers from the Beijing Public Security Bureau. The officers read a subpoena that gave no indication... https://www.scmp.com/article/675383/dissident-detained-over-tiananmen-article?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/675383/dissident-detained-over-tiananmen-article?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 China's most prominent Tiananmen Square student dissident has managed to open weblogs on popular mainland portals to have 'direct communication' with netizens in the past six months, despite tightened control over the internet ahead of the 20th anniversary of the crackdown on democracy protesters. Wang Dan, who served five years in prison before being released on medical parole in 1998 and going to the US, quietly opened a blog on Sina.com on September 12. He used the pen name Xingzi. It... https://www.scmp.com/article/674018/wang-dan-gets-blog-sinacom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/674018/wang-dan-gets-blog-sinacom?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Two police officers have been charged over the apparent torture and death of a senior high school student at a Shaanxi detention centre, in what is the latest in a string of suspicious mainland deaths in custody. Xu Gengrong, a 19-year-old student from Danfeng High School in Danfeng county in Shangluo, was detained by county police on February 28 for interrogation over the murder of a 21-year-old female high school student, Peng Lina, 20 days earlier. But Xu died behind bars on March 8. His... https://www.scmp.com/article/673763/officers-charged-over-students-death-custody?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/673763/officers-charged-over-students-death-custody?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Mild-mannered 24-year-old Li Qiaoming was not the first, and will not be the last, to be killed in custody. But the Yunnan man was perhaps the only person to die behind bars from a game of hide-and-seek. Jinning county police initially offered that ludicrous line as an explanation for why an apparently otherwise healthy Yuxi farmer ended up dead from head injuries, last month, two weeks after he had been detained for illegal logging. The explanation satisfied nobody - least of all netizens,... https://www.scmp.com/article/673476/deadly-detention?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/673476/deadly-detention?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Mainland propaganda authorities have banned the media from reporting on a Supreme People's Court review of a long-running plagiarism case against a prominent law professor. The party's propaganda department ordered on Monday that no outlets cover the latest stage in the four-year-old plagiarism saga that has pitted dissident writer Wang Tiancheng against Wuhan University law professor Zhou Yezhong, well known for lecturing state leaders in Zhongnanhai. Reporters were told 'not do any... https://www.scmp.com/article/673404/officials-ban-media-plagiarism-court-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/673404/officials-ban-media-plagiarism-court-case?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Media that are not designated 'official' should operate according to a market-oriented model, with official media remaining as propaganda mouthpieces and performing ideological control functions, said the chief of the mainland's press and publications watchdog. The two-layer model of supervision was mentioned by General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) director Liu Binjie in an interview on Xinhua.com. He discussed the state of the industry, saying governors had realised that... https://www.scmp.com/article/672391/watchdog-calls-two-layer-media-system?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/672391/watchdog-calls-two-layer-media-system?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Police have detained relatives of victims of the tainted milk formula crisis to stop them from attending the liquidation of the bankrupt dairy firm at the centre of the contamination scandal. The police harassment came just a day after a senior court official promised that mainland courts were ready to accept compensation cases from affected families. Parents' spokesman Zhao Lianhai said police from Shijiazhuang in Hebei province followed and harassed him and relatives of four other victims... https://www.scmp.com/article/672083/police-harass-sanlu-protesters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/672083/police-harass-sanlu-protesters?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The core assets of the disgraced state-owned dairy giant Sanlu Group were bought by Beijing-based Sanyuan Foods yesterday for 616.5 million yuan (HK$700 million) in a five-minute auction held in a courthouse in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. Sanlu was one of 22 mainland dairies whose products were found laced with the industrial chemical melamine in September. Six babies died and nearly 300,000 fell ill. Sanlu was declared bankrupt in February, and former chairman Tian Wenhua was jailed for... https://www.scmp.com/article/672084/dairy-assets-sold-616m-yuan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/672084/dairy-assets-sold-616m-yuan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 A senior Supreme People's Court official's promise that mainland courts were ready to accept civil claims over the melamine milk scandal offered a ray of hope for victims' families, lawyers said yesterday. During a live webcast on People .com.cn on Monday, deputy court president Shen Deyong said more than 95 per cent of the 300,000 families affected by the tainted formula had accepted payouts from dairy companies, but a small number of families wanted to pursue compensation claims through... https://www.scmp.com/article/671975/top-court-officials-vow-gives-hope-families-milk-scandal-victims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/671975/top-court-officials-vow-gives-hope-families-milk-scandal-victims?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 A senior mainland official described last week's botched auction of looted Chinese relics in Paris as 'a lesson to the world', while the public and media weighed in behind the collector who claimed to be the winning bidder but said he was not prepared to pay up. Two bronze animal heads sold for Euro15.7 million (HK$153.8 million) each at a Christie's auction in Paris last week. Xiamen antiques collector Cai Mingchao said yesterday that he was the final bidder but said he 'won't pay the... https://www.scmp.com/article/671825/botched-auction-lesson-world-says-official?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/671825/botched-auction-lesson-world-says-official?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The Supreme People's Court has stepped in to the inquiry into the suspicious death of a prisoner who police initially said had died playing 'hide-and-seek' - a curious explanation that caused a public uproar. The court has sent a special commissioner to oversee the work of Yunnan prosecutors, mainland media reported. Xinhua quoted a spokesman from the Yunnan Department of Public Security as saying that prosecutors 'are diligently investigating the cause of the unusual death of a... https://www.scmp.com/article/671369/hide-and-seek-case-investigated-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/671369/hide-and-seek-case-investigated-court?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Yunnan authorities have delayed their promised release of the results of an investigation into the death in custody of a young man supposedly playing 'hide-and-seek', prompting another online outcry over official handling of the case. In a chat room on the popular 163.com website, a netizen claiming to be from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, was typical of the respondents, telling authorities not to 'fool people' over the investigation. 'Don't play hide-and-seek with the public. 'You will pay a... https://www.scmp.com/article/671095/outcry-over-delay-report-jail-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/671095/outcry-over-delay-report-jail-death?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000 A Shenzhen court has ordered a popular cosmetic surgery hospital to pay compensation to a former client for mental suffering associated with toxic gel implants she had six years ago. But it stopped short yesterday of supporting her much bigger claim for physical damage. Zhang Huiqin, a Shenzhen resident, lodged the claim against Shenzhen Fuhua Hospital in August, saying injections of hydrophilic polyacrylamide gel (PAAG), given to her by hospital doctors as part of forehead augmentation... https://www.scmp.com/article/671011/patient-wins-claim-toxic-implants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/671011/patient-wins-claim-toxic-implants?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The family of late film director Xie Jin have lodged a libel suit against celebrity watchdog Song Zude over allegations the revered filmmaker died while having sex with a prostitute in a hotel. Xie's widow, Xu Dawen, filed the suit in Shanghai's Jingan District People's Court yesterday, asking for 500,000 yuan (HK$567,974) in compensation for mental suffering caused by Song's remarks. Song's business partner and brother, Liu Xinda, who claimed to have seen Xie in the hotel, was also named... https://www.scmp.com/article/671009/allegation-filmmaker-died-having-sex-prostitute-leads-suit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/671009/allegation-filmmaker-died-having-sex-prostitute-leads-suit?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Yunnan propaganda authorities have hailed the work of a netizens' 'independent investigation' into the mysterious death of a man in detention as a breakthrough in transparency. But legal experts say the move raises concerns about interventions in the justice system. Li Qiaoming, a 24-year-old resident from Yuxi city, Yunnan province, was taken into custody at the Yining county detention house for the illegal felling of trees on January 27. On February 8, he was found with serious injuries... https://www.scmp.com/article/670906/public-probe-prison-death-faulted-and-praised?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/670906/public-probe-prison-death-faulted-and-praised?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000