Amnesty International Australia

Yahoo! in China

Yahoo! was the first major foreign internet company to enter the Chinese market in 1999. Three years later, Yahoo! voluntarily signed the 'Public Pledge on Self-Discipline for the Chinese Internet Industry', in effect aligning itself with the Chinese Government's approach to suppressing dissent when it was under no legal obligation to do so, and damaging its own credibility in the process.

Google at 666

Last week Google closed trading at $USD666.00. Commentators certainly took the chance to remind us of Google's corporate motto "Don't Be Evil".

Tis the season ... to think about what you are putting in your shopping trolley

Your average Christmas shopping trolley comes with risks well beyond the standard squeaky wheels. And if you are buying manufactured goods like toys, human rights in China should be one of your concerns.

Basketball, running and human rights.

Chinese basketballer, now living in the United States of America, Kai Chen is running in Sydney on Sunday 25 November for "truth, justice, liberty and dignity for Chinese people." A member of the Chinese National Basketball team, Kai Chen was considered a sporting hero in China in the 1970's.

Our Toxic Technology

A nasty cocktail combining Western consumers and businesses, IT companies and Chinese regulators is harming the health of women and children in China.

Chinese dissidents remain in danger

Internet giant Yahoo! has settled a lawsuit brought against them on behalf of Chinese dissidents imprisoned as a direct result of information they provided to the authorities. While this is a positive result for the families of the jailed men, the problem of foreign-owned companies being implicated in human rights abuses in China remains.

Yahoo! gives money but no real hope

Yahoo! have settled out of court in a case involving the jailing and torture of 2 Chinese dissidents. The World Organization for Human Rights USA brought the case and accused Yahoo! of being complicit in the imprisonment of Wang Xiaoning, Shi Tao by providing Chinese authorities with personal information leading to the detention of the 2 men.

Repression extends to HIV/AIDS

Right now in Kumin, China, Human Rights Watch are in the second day of a three-day meeting entitled 'Global Fund to Fight AIDS'.

Despite the many logistics of an international meeting, there has been the added pressures of holding a meeting in China on a topic the Chinese authorities do not want publicly discussed and the further 'complication' of people who are HIV positive attending the meeting.

Yahoo!‘s half-hearted apology is not enough

We are calling on the internet giant to offer more than a half-hearted apology to the mother of jailed Chinese journalist Shi Tao. It is the responsibility of all internet service providers in China to publicly denounce censorship and clearly articulate their policies for safeguarding human rights on the internet.

All Yahoo! can manage is a nod

Called before the US Congress for the second time in 18 months over the same matter - Yahoo! executives were confronted with an angry Congress Committee demanding answers on Yahoo's! behaviour in China.

Media freedom in China

The Chinese Government has long held a tight grip on both the domestic and foreign media. This is despite Article 35 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China specifically guaranteeing "freedom of the press".

Oil and the Olympics

The media lost interest in the uprising in Burma / Myanmar quickly, but out of the public eye its business as usual, especially if you happen to be in the resource sector.

Waiting 18 years and 6 months for freedom

Ngawang Phulchung was a leader in the peaceful pro-independence demonstration of 27 September 1987, in Lhasa, Tibet.

Ngawang had been sentenced to 19 years in prison and in 2005 was granted a 6 month reduction in his sentence, hence his release on 21 October 2007.

The human rights Olympics?

Even amongst supporters of human rights and democracy, there is mixed messaging around the Games. Hong Kong democrat, Martin Lee has been accused by other democracy supporters of being a traitor for holding a position much the same as that of Amnesty International.

Whose sweat is on your clothes?

As the clothing industry has globalised, the risks of human rights abuse in clothing factories have increased. Are Australian companies doing enough to reduce this risk?

Olympics build-up: China’s cruel detention laws must end

Amnesty International has published an open letter to the Standing Committee of China's legislature and highest state body, at the 17th National People's Congress. With the Beijing Olympics less than a year away, we call for an end to 'Re-education Through Labour' - China's cruel form of detention imposed without charge, trial or judicial review.

Boo ... Yahoo!

In the United States the House Foreign Affairs Committee (a Congressional panel) has found that Yahoo! may have lied to US Congress about the company's involvement in the imprisonment of journalist and poet, Shi Tao.

Shi Tao was jailed in 2005 for sending an email to the US from his Yahoo! account in China. Yahoo! provided Shi Tao's details to Chinese authorities - he is now part way through a 10 year prison sentence for 'subversion of the state'.

Tibetan child detainees at risk of torture

Four Tibetan children are at grave risk of torture on suspicion of writing pro-Tibetan independence slogans. We have long-standing concerns about arbitrary detention without charge or trial, as well as the ill-treatment of detainees in Tibet.

President Hu does not address human rights

In Beijing yesterday, President Hu delivered a speech that lasted nearly two and a half hours. Economic growth, wealth inequality amongst the population and Taiwan were on the agenda.

China’s crackdown on human rights defenders

Blogs and websites are being shut down. In Beijing lawyers are being beaten and peaceful human rights defenders and their family members are being taken from their homes and held incommunicado. Crackdowns are intensifying.