07/25/2014CHINA Shandong, flurry of arrests against Church of Almighty God members A group of 5 members, that the state has outlawed as an "evil cult," beat to death a woman who had refused to join them. The murder has sparked public outrage because, during the violence, no one intervened to help the victim. "Hundreds" of other members arrested by the police. Beijing (AsiaNews
/ Agencies) - The judicial authority of
Shandong has accused 5 people of "intentional homicide" and "organizing and using an evil cult to
undermine the rule of law in the
country." The accused are all...
07/24/2014VATICAN-TAIWAN Pope sends condolences to Archbishop of Taipei for Magong plane crash The Pope sent a telegram through the Secretary of State. The plane was carrying 58 people; 48 have died. 10 others are hospitalized for injuries. The immediate cause is believed to be bad weather conditions, but the government has opened an investigation.
07/23/2014MACAU - CHINA Beijing's censorship and Macau universities Lecturers are fired because they express pro-democracy views or mention the horror of Mao's reign. The politburo and the principle of "one country, two systems" are off-limits on university campuses.
07/23/2014CHINA The plague detected in Gansu: 30 thousand people in Yumen under quarantine A resident skinned a groundhog feed it to his dog and contracted pneumonic plague, the only one of the 3 strains of the disease that can be transmitted from human to human. After his hospitalization and death, the authorities have sealed the area off: the quarantine expires tomorrow, but 151 residents will remain under observation. Since 2002, WHO has reported a total of 7 outbreaks of pneumonic plague.
07/23/2014CHINA - KOREA China arrests 29 North Korean refugees who face death if repatriated by Joseph Yun Li-sun The arrests were made between Qingdao and Kunming and include 5 Chinese and Koreans who were trying to help them get to South-East Asia. The Beijing government set on sending them back home, where they face concentration camps or execution. Seoul "at work" to resolve issue, experts skeptical: "China does not want refugees from the north, it fears the economic impact."
07/22/2014CHINA Government announces nation-wide investigation in the wake of "bad meat" scandal After undercover report shows the use of bad ingredients in making fast food products, Starbucks also pulls some products from the market. The government says lawbreakers will be "severely punished", but food scandals seem an incurable plague in the country.
07/22/2014CHINA Wenzhou: Christian pastor goes on hunger strike to stop church demolition Zhan Yingsheng, head of the Salvation Church, locked himself inside the tower to prevent the destruction of the cross that stands on the roof of his church. On a hunger strike since 16 July, he does not fear death. "I have changed: I was a coward and found courage. [. . .] I do not seek publicity; I took this decision because I do not have alternatives." Resistance to religious repression is growing as exemplified by the case of seminarians in Beijing and the example of heroic Bishop Ma Daqin. The full text of the clergyman's testament follows.
07/21/2014CHINA Bad meat: KFC and McDonald's "duped" by Chinese supplier World food giants, including Pizza Hut and Yum Brands, discard the Shanghai Husi Food Company. A TV report shows green, unpleasantly odoriferous meat as it goes through reprocessing to be made "anew".
07/19/2014CHINA China hit by Rammasun, the strongest typhoon in 40 years At least one victim and hundreds of thousands of people forced to leave their homes in the southern part of the country. The authorities issue red alert and call for the help of the army. In the Philippines, the storm caused more than 40 victims.
07/19/2014ITALY - ASIA 2013 sees jump in death penalty, with China, Iran and Iraq in the lead This is what emerges from the 2014 Report "The death penalty in the world" Hands Off Cain. At least 4,106 executions in the world, up from the 3,967 in 2012. Official data lacking from many countries. In China, more than 3 thousand people died at the Executioner’s hands, Iran 687 and Iraq 172.
07/18/2014CHINA - VATICAN Beijing, seminarians desert graduation ceremony: We will not celebrate Mass with illegitimate bishops The rector of the seminary is the illegitimate bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin: Students refuse to concelebrate with him and reject Msgr. Fang Xingyao, who has participated in several illegal episcopal ordinations. The directors close the year without awarding diplomas and send students home: rumors of some courses being "suspended" in September. The precedent of 2000, when 130 young students chose fidelity to the Pope over compromise with the government.
07/17/2014CHINA Beijing: first conviction in party's anti-corruption campaign Wang Suyi, 53, former chief of the United Front Work Department in Inner Mongolia, was sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption and nepotism. Sources claim he pocketed more than US$ 15 million during his career. The conviction sets the stage for criminal trials currently underway involving other senior Communist Party officials.
07/17/2014CHINA SMEs, migrant slavery, and the urgency of a Chinese economy based on human dignity by Maurizio d'Orlando China's economic development has created some room for freedom for small- and medium-sized enterprises. However, the latter continue to be under the parasitical thumb of big state corporations. Similarly, rural labour continues to be exploited. It is "better" to be a slave in Italy than in China. A people-centre society can overcome Confucian hierarchy. Christianity is a gift to China. Here is the third of a three-part analysis.
07/16/2014TIBET - CHINA Dalai Lama: Beijing should learn from the Middle East, only dialogue will save Tibet The leader of Tibetan Buddhism: "We need a realistic approach to the situation. If we continue to look to the past end up like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a permanent". He also urges Tibetans: "viewing the dispute merely through the prism of history would only aggravate the situation."
07/16/2014CHINA - UNITED STATES Authorities target Pastor Zhang’s family who flee to U.S. The Christian leader has been sentenced to 12 years for his opposition to the theft of church land by the authorities of Nanle. Officials have launched a campaign of violence and intimidation against his relatives: daughter, son in law and 1 year granddaughter forced to leave the country.
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