AFP: UN 'disturbed' by jailing of China activist

[ellisonz]

The gates of China's Jinzhou prison in 2010. The UN rights agency on Friday urged China to halt its "severe suppression" of dissent following the jailing of democracy activist Li Tie - AFP Photographer

AFP – 7 hrs ago

The UN rights agency on Friday urged China to halt its "severe suppression" of dissent following the jailing of democracy activist Li Tie.

"The very harsh sentencing of human rights defender Li Tie is the fourth verdict against a prominent human rights defender in China since last December," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"We are very disturbed by this trend of severe suppression of dissent in the country, which appears to be designed to intimidate."

Li was jailed for 10 years for subversion in the central city of Wuhan on Wednesday, a relative told AFP.

http://news.yahoo.com/un-disturbed-jailing-china-activist-154600692.html

[Left Coast2020]

1. I believe its high time people begin to push the U.N.

....to protest this publicly. Enough is enough. When I lived there I heard horror stories of people that have been sent to "hidden detention camps" and their alledged crime. This has to stop. NOW! People should also protest the consulate in San Fran. L.A. and D.C. Its time to end this crap.

[ellisonz]

2. Agreed.

The key to advocacy of this nature is to be organized. There's definitely room for the formation of an organization to coalesce the various groups already opposed to the PRC on human rights, both domestic, and on Tibetan and Korean issues. We cannot be silent, in real life, or on the internet which the PRC does take quite seriously.

China pays internet users to flood web forums with pro-government propaganda
From correspondents in Beijing
AFP
May 16, 2011 12:00PM

CHINA, which employs an army of censors to police the internet, has also deployed legions of "web commentators" to get the government's message out in a crafty but effective way.

With nearly half a billion people surfing the net in China, more than half of them using microblogs, the internet has quickly become a vital forum for debate in the world's most populous country — and a major sounding board.

That fact has obviously registered with the country's Communist leaders, who pay careful attention to the conversations that unfold online despite heavy restrictions on what can and cannot be discussed in cyberspace.

Enter the "web commentators" who, either anonymously or using pseudonyms, spread politically correct arguments — many of them for money.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/chinese-government-pays-internet-users-to-troll-comment-forums-with-pro-government-propaganda/story-e6frfro0-1226056659550#ixzz1k373gSpg

[David__77]

3. I think the US should be friends with China.

China doesn't pay me to say it! And my Chinese friends are patriotic and happy that the country is on the rise.

Also, China is friends with both N. Korea and S. Korea. I see nothing wrong with that.

And the UN doesn't recognize Tibet as anything except a part of China.

[ellisonz]

4. Well...

...I agree, we should be friends with the Chinese people, but the PRC is a totalitarian government.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on what life is like in N. Korea.

Nepal submitted Tibet's application for statehood in 1949.

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?article=The+Forgotten+History+of+Tibet%27s+Role+in+Nepal%27s+1949+UN+Application&id=30156&t=1&c=4

Tibet ought to be an independent state, like Bhutan. If the PRC invaded Bhutan would you object? How about if India invaded Nepal?

[David__77]

5. OK.

Nepal would certainly not support that application today in any way or form. That was the old monarchy - the elected government has a one-China policy and opposes use of its territory by Tibet independence groups.

Things are not good in N. Korea, of course. But I don't want China to cut off relations or to take measures that would further deteriorate conditions there.

I do not see any analogy between Tibet on the one hand, and Bhutan and Nepal on the other. Tibet has been part of the PRC for many decades now. It is the same with Kurdestan, with the Basque region, with the Uighurs, and on and on. They each have a distinct language, culture, shared history. Does that also mean that they all have the right to secede from the states to which they belong? By what criteria should all of these cases be judged (because their should be one standard, not many)?

We are not at a phase in international relations where there are clearly established states, almost all with membership in the UN. There are some states that claim sovereignty over areas that are not recognized by the UN. China is not one of them, however. Even Taiwan is considered to be part of China by the UN and the vast majority of its member-states.

[ellisonz]

6. Tibet was an independent nation until 1950.

Again, suppose the PRC had invaded Bhutan in 1950 also, would that negate Bhutan's rightful claim to being an independent state?

Our failure to stand up the PRC diplomatically is shameful.

I think there should be an independent Kurdestan. The Basque people should have much greater rights. The Uighurs should have their own state. Let's face it, the PRC invaded and occupied these lands.