Publications
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Digital Freedom Network: China blocks blog again
2003-02-03Chinese users who went to dweb.blogspot.com were automatically redirected to a nonworking I.P. address. The address formerly belonged to http://falundafa.ca, the site of a Canadian-registered organization that promotes Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that the Chinese government has labeled a threat to national security. Since the Canadian Falun Gong site is blocked in China, DynaWeb speculated that the redirecting was being done to discredit Falun Gong by making unsuspecting users think that Falun Gong had hijacked the sites being redirected. -
Australian Financial Review: Hong Kong Sees Red
2003-02-03New laws are to be introduced that threaten to radically change the way of life in Hong Kong, the way business is done and the protection of personal liberties. The government is proposing to widen its powers to act in cases of treason, secession, subversion and sedition, including theft of state secrets. -
Please Help Rescue My Fiancé, American Dr. Charles Li
2003-02-02I cannot believe that the Chinese government would want to arrest such a kind and honest person. Of course, I worry for Charles safety. I care for him very much. But I know he has done nothing wrong, and I believe he will come home soon. -
Dow Jones: Sydney Women Says Chinese Police Treated Her Like "A Spy"
2003-02-02"They treated me as if I was a high-level spy," Chen told The Associated Press over the phone. "I was not allowed to leave the hotel room or to make any phone calls. They confiscated all my stuff." -
ABC (Australia): Australian Accuses Chinese Police of Harassment
2003-02-02Ms Chen, a member of the Falun Gong spiritual group [...] says eight undercover police followed her everywhere she went in Chengdu...[later] she was then held at her hotel after she tried to book a flight back to Sydney via Hong Kong. -
DPA: China frees Australian Falun Gong member, detains American
2003-02-01China has allowed an Australian member of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement to leave the country but has detained a U.S. citizen reportedly linked to the group, embassy officials said on Thursday. -
AFP: Australian [..] held for weeks in China, then expelled
2003-02-01"I was treated like a criminal by them," said Chen, adding she was repeatedly asked who sent for her, what she was doing in Chengdu and whom she was meeting..."They also questioned me about my trip to Chengdu two years ago," she said. She had then met local Falungong practitioners. -
VOA: China Detains American Falun Gong Member
2003-01-31'Falun Gong spokeswoman Sophie Xiao in Hong Kong expresses dismay over Mr. Lee's detention. Ms. Xiao said the charges against Mr. Lee could carry a penalty of 15 years in prison. "We really feel shocked because this persecution is not only being applied to Chinese citizens," she said. "Now the persecution against the Falun Gong has extended to foreign nationals."' -
ABC (Australia): Australian released in China after embassy move
2003-01-31'Ms Chen disappeared last week while visiting her parents in the city of Chengdu in south-west province of Sichuan. The embassy sent two consular officials to Chengdu yesterday after confirmation she had been detained by police. Chinese officials have made no public statement about her arrest.' -
Reuters: China Detains U.S. [Falun Gong Practitioner], Frees Australian
2003-01-31'China has detained an American follower of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, accusing him of sabotaging television and radio broadcasting systems on the mainland, the U.S. embassy said Thursday...He denied the charges but could be jailed for up to 15 years if found guilty of hijacking the airwaves and cables to broadcast Falun Gong material.' -
DJ (Dow Jones International News): Hong Kong Activists Slam Planned Anti-Subversion Law
2003-01-30'Critics fear the government's proposal will subject Hong Kong to mainland-style tactics. Some say the Falun Gong [group], outlawed in mainland China [ ] although it remains legal in Hong Kong, could be targeted.' -
SCMP (South China Morning Post): Concessions granted on security laws - The government tries to ease the public's worries about freedoms but its critics seek more changes
2003-01-30'The Bar Association and the Journalists Association said their previous concerns about the protection on human rights and media freedom had not been addressed. The Falun Gong said the proposal remained a threat to its operations in Hong Kong. Democratic Party leader Yeung Sum dismissed the amendments as superficial.' -
ABC (Australia): Australian woman detained in China & Embassy confirms Australian detained in China
2003-01-30'Two Australian embassy officials in Beijing have been dispatched to southwest China to investigate the detention of an Australian woman...Ms Chen was supposed to be visiting relatives, but rang her mother last week to say she had been kidnapped, before the phone dropped out.' -
C-News (Canada): Hong Kong scales back planned subversion law following public outcry
2003-01-29Tens of thousands have protested against the law, which has drawn criticism from business leaders and foreign governments in addition to the usual human rights activists who grumble that Hong Kong's government acts like a puppet to Beijing. -
The Standard: Concerns remain as Article 23 law tamed
2003-01-29Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung said retention of the proposal on proscribing local organisations made them all the more worried the government would persecute them..."It's becoming more obvious that the intention of the legislation is to suppress Falun Gong and other local organisations according to the wishes of the mainland government,"