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

  • Al Jazeera English – America treads warily over China rights
    Washington DC is perhaps a rather strange choice for someone accused of being an active terrorist to make their home …

  • Reuters – US condemns beating of priest's sons
    The United States strongly condemned on Thursday the "brutal beating" of two sons of a detained Beijing priest and voiced concern over what it said was a pattern of intimidation of religious leaders in China …

  • AFP – Chinese vice mayor sentenced to death for taking bribes
    The former vice mayor of a city in eastern China has been sentenced to death for taking more than 100 million yuan (14.6 million dollars) in bribes from property developers, state media said …

  • Radio Free Asia – Call for rural land rights
    Former top Communist Party aide Bao Tong says the recent decision to allow China's farmers to lease or transfer farmland contracted under the "responsibility" system hasn't gone far enough …

  • Time's China Blog – Activisim in China: testing the waters
    Times are always tricky for activists and human rights workers in China but the current post-Olympics period is particularly odd …

  • China Media Project – "New nationalism" adds to the list of pressures facing China’s media
    Journalists in China already face countless challenges as they try to push the limits on news and editorial coverage — a rigorous system of press controls from the top, lateral pressure and intimidation from local governments, commercial pressures and dwindling resources for investigative reporting, the ever-present risk of libel in a savage judicial environment …

  • Human Rights Watch – China: extend new media rules to Chinese reporters
    If fully implemented, Beijing’s decision to permanently enshrine in law key provisions of its Olympics-related temporary regulations on foreign media could herald a less restrictive reporting climate in China, Human Rights Watch said …