05/22/2013CHINA China, father of three children beaten to within an inch of his life by police The man, victim of brutal family planning police violence, is hospitalized. He was punished for being a father of three children. Reggie Littlejohn: "They are government terrorists, beyond any law." Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - More
than twenty officers, from the family planning bureau have brutally beaten a man Wednesday,
May 15 in the vicinity of Xiny.
China Aid reports
that the only reason that Zhang
Futao, a farmer from Jiangsu Province,
was attacked was because he is the father of three children,
12, 6 and 4 years of age.
The family says the victim is currently in hospital with a...
05/22/2013CHINA Beijing, 13 arrests for protests relating to case of young "suicide" migrant Security forces have arrested a group of people accused of fomenting protests and of spreading "rumors" on the internet. They include the boyfriend of the 22 year-old Yuan Liya. For many commentators, the girl was thrown from the upper floors of the mall, after a gang rape.
05/21/2013JAPAN - UNITED STATES Inflationary policies threaten to create another economic bubble by Andy Xie Andy Xie argues asset inflation is being pumped up in order to stimulate a stagnating global economy and help the unemployed, when in fact such policies benefit neither
05/21/2013CHINA Chinese youth educated in Party schools to violence and disregard for life In one month, dozens of cases of assaults, stabbings and even beheadings for petty reasons. University of Hong Kong Researcher points to school system imprinted on directives of the Communist Party and moral education of young people. Mao’s society has taught young people that human life is worthless.
05/21/2013VATICAN Pope: there should be no power struggle within the Church, because real power, according to Jesus, is service In this morning's Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae, Francis stressed how the Gospel shows that the disciples were already arguing over who was greatest among them. In the Church however, "the greatest is the one who serves the most, the one who is in the service of others the most." This "is the rule." And yet, from the start until now, there have been "power struggles within the church."
05/21/2013CHINA - NORTH KOREA 16 Chinese fishermen held hostage by the North Korean regime freed The boat seized on May 5; negotiations with Pyongyang for the release launched on the 10th. According to the shipowner no ransom paid; formerly the North Korean side had asked for 100 thousand dollars for their release. Chinese public opinion and columnists enraged against the Kim regime.
05/20/2013CHINA Chinese scholar calls for CP reform, warns the PRC will go the Soviet way
For Zhang Xien, a professor at Shandong University, 20 per cent of the CP's 83 million members are old, sick and "unable to toe the party line". At least 32 million should be encouraged to leave. The scholar addresses the dangerous issue in an article published by a biweekly magazine published by the People's Daily, the party's mouthpiece. He wants better entry requirements to weed out potentially bad officials.
05/20/2013CHINA Poultry sales plunge in China following bird flu outbreak, US$ 65 billion in losses Since March, 130 people have been infected with the H7N9 flu, with 35 deaths, sending shockwaves throughout the poultry industry. Government officials blames poor sanitation in farms. In Shandong, the authorities organise an all-chicken lunch to boost consumer confidence.
05/20/2013PIME Father Ferruccio Brambillasca new PIME Superior General Elected today by a two-thirds majority, he was regional superior in Japan. Before that, he was an educator (1989-1993) in Ducenta, Italy, and a teacher at the seminary in Pune, India.
05/20/2013VATICAN Pope: courageous “open-hearted prayer"," enables Jesus to perform miracles During Mass this morning Francis says that we must overcome that "piece of disbelief" that is in all of us. "Prayer to ask for a miracle, ask for an extraordinary action must be an involved prayer, which unites us all." An episode in Argentina demonstrates that at times we must also “struggle” in our prayer.
05/20/2013INDIA - CHINA Chinese Premier in Delhi, to strengthen "trust" and trade It is the first foreign trip of Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who then will go on to Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany. He met his Indian counterpart Singh and recalled the "great importance" of bilateral relations., But did not mention the recent tension on the borders, caused by Chinese troops invading Indian territory.
05/19/2013VATICAN Pope to Movements: The action of the Spirit is newness, harmony, mission At Mass for Pentecost, along with movements and lay associations, Francis asks believers not close in on themselves for fear the 'God’s surprises', defending ourselves " barricaded in transient structures which have lost their capacity for openness." The harmony of the Spirit brings unity, not exclusivism or standardization. "The Holy Spirit ... saves us from the threat of a Church which is gnostic and self-referential, closed in on herself" and " drive us to the very outskirts of existence in order to proclaim life in Jesus Christ." The final thanks of the Pope: "You are a gift and a treasure for the Church."
05/19/2013VATICAN Pope to Movements: man is in crisis. No to a church closed in on itself, but a Church that goes out, At the Vigil for Pentecost, Pope Francis pushes Christian witness in a world that has become the enemy of man, where the collapse of financial markets makes the news, but not the death of workers or child hunger. A great event for the Year of Faith, 200 thousand people are present: from CL and Renewal in the Spirit, to the Neocatechumenal Way, Focolare, Sant'Egidio, international associations. The testimony of John Waters, an Irish journalist, and Paul Bhatti, former minister for minorities in Pakistan. The Pope invites all to pray every day for persecuted Christians and to work for religious freedom. The Church is not an efficient NGO. Her main contribution is "to live the Gospel."
05/18/2013CHINA Torrential rains in Guangdong and Fujian, more than 50 dead and thousands displaced The bad weather has hit the city located at the foot of mountains. So far there are 14 missing and over 900 thousand people affected. The most serious damage reported in Guangdong. Landslides have devastated the nine cities, including Guangzhou, the provincial capital.