Amnesty International Australia

Your letters make a difference

Zeng Jinyan, the wife of jailed human rights activist Hu Jia, has received the letters that many supporters from around the world sent to her.

She has recently written to Amnesty International to thank everyone who has encouraged her to remain hopeful. "Dear Amnesty International members, thank you so much for the courage and love and blessing, thus me and my family are no more alone," writes Zeng Jinyan.

Amnesty’s to-do list for China’s Hu Jintao

One month out from the opening of the Olympics, Amnesty International has given Chinese President Hu Jintao a list of five things to do to improve human rights before the Games kick off.

China in the headlines – 8 July 2008

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

• Why are Chinese netizens doing push-ups to vent their anger and frustration at Internet censors?
  
  
• China has a growing army of Communist party-backed web commentators whose job is to neutralise undesirable public opinion.
  
  
• As bars and restaurants are being forced to close for the Olympics Beijing is becoming a ghost town.

Plus …

Podcasts: the media in China

Following on from my post last week, check out another couple of podcasts about different aspects of the media in China: again they're from the US-based National Public Radio's On The Media program.

ACT NOW - Call on Microsoft to uncensor China

Call on Microsoft to end their role in aiding the repression of freedom of expression and information in China which contradicts the very principles and values that Microsoft was founded upon.

China in the headlines – 7 July 2008

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

• Six Chinese dissidents talk about why their battle for the freedom of speech must continue.
  
  
• Claims that Beijing officials are planning a crackdown on websites and the online world during the Olympics.
  
  
• US President George Bush says boycotting the Beijing Games opening ceremony would be an affront to the Chinese people.

plus …

An Olympian blogs on human rights and the Olympics

Australian Olympian Michelle Engelsman posts her views regarding human rights abuses and the Olympics.

China in the headlines – 4 July 2008

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

• Reuters talks to well-known veteran human rights lawyer Mo Shaoping, who has represented scores of Chinese dissidents.
  
  
• A US buinessman is released after spending a decade in a Chinese jail.
  
  
• A Hong Kong reporter's travel documents are confiscated and he is prevented from entering China.

Plus ...

China in Africa: exploitation or opportunity

Al Jazeera English has a rundown of China's role in Africa. It looks at whether China, the most aggressive investor nation in Africa in recent years, is exploiting African countries or offering real economic growth and opportunity.

Australian athletes’ rights curtailed

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has imposed the narrowest interpretation of the Olympic Charter since the Mexico summer Olympics in 1968, and we're worried Australian athletes will be subjected to human rights violations.

China in the headlines – 3 July 2008

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

• Bloggers posting about last weekend's riot in Guizhou are writing backwards in a bid to dodge China's censors
  
  
• US Internet companies could be blocking more than Chinese laws demand
  
  
• Ninety per cent of the people who took part in a new Chinese survey don't want France's President to come to the Olympics

plus …

Beating protestors is not an Olympic value

Have a look at this new animation, from Amnesty International's United Kingdom section, highlighting human rights abuses in China in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

Online in China: an audio analysis

Check out this great podcast about the Internet in China. It's from the US's National Public Radio's On The Media program.

China in the headlines – 2 July 2008

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

• A group of Chinese human rights lawyers are prevented from meeting with visiting US congressmen
  
  
• A released dissident says he will continue to appeal his sentence
  
  
• Why is the newly-arrived Facebook inaccessible in some parts of China?

plus …

Weekly report: China is not a one-sided story

Westerners must look at China in all its diversity, including voices of reason, writes Antony Loewenstein

The tale of three Chinese activists

Being a human rights defender in China can be a dicey endeavour. Here are the stories of three brave men; a farmer, a journalist and a democracy activist.

China in the headlines – 1 July 2008

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

• Authorities in some areas are offering almost $1,500 to anyone who turns in a North Korean defector
  
  
• The official state news agency has a list of good manners and behaviours for Chinese people
  
  
• After last weekend's violent rioting local governments have been told to block grievances that could spoil the Games

plus …