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Monday, June 22, 2009

"Tens of thousands of Chinese fight the police in Shishou

"Tens of thousands of Chinese fight the police in Shishou

Posted By: Malcolm Moore at Jun 22, 2009

Source http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/malcolmmoore/blog/2009/06/22/tens_of_thousands_of_chinese_fight_the_police_in_shishou

"It was a dramatic weekend in the relatively small city of Shishou in Hubei province. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubei ) Tens of thousands of rioters torched a hotel and overturned police cars, after the authorities allegedly tried to cover up the murder of a 24-year-old man as a suicide.

The deceased, Tu Yuangao, was the chef of the Yong Long hotel. According to the cops, he committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the building and left a note.

Witnesses said there was no blood on the scene and Tu's body was already cold just after it hit the ground. His parents were surprised at the suicide note, since he was allegedly illiterate.

There are plenty of rumours flying around - that two other employees at the hotel had died in the same way, that the boss of the hotel is related to the mayor of Shishou, that the hotel was a centre for the local drug business and Yu was killed for threatening to expose what was going on. There's also a rumour that three further bodies have been found at the hotel.

There are more details and photos here (EastWestNorthSouth). (my note: photos and video) ( http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20090621_1.htm )

It's a strange story, and it gets stranger. A huge mob, of anywhere between a few thousand to 70,000 people, depending on which report you read, quickly gathered outside the building. Tu's parents refused to let his body be taken away, and instead placed it inside the hotel on ice.

The crowd defended the body against waves of policemen. However, on Saturday, a fire was lit inside the hotel, but the corpse was saved. Tu's cousin apparently armed himself with two barrels of gasoline and threatened to blow himself up if the body was taken.

The police restored order yesterday, imposed a curfew and took the body to a funeral parlour. Today, the website of the local government has been defaced by hackers.

What's extraordinary is the speed in which the riot blew up, and the venom directed against the local authorities. Whatever was behind Tu's death, there's clearly something rotten in Shishou.

But after months of calm, there have been a spate of reported riots recently. Is this because media restrictions have been lifted, allowing news of riots to spread, or has there been a genuine increase in social tension in the countryside?

It is impossible to tell. China no longer publishes the figures for how many riots take place each year, but most people put the figure at around 80,000 and the vast majority go totally unnoticed.

The fact that there have been a dozen riots reported in the last couple of months may not demonstrate anything out of the ordinary. There is no theme that connects the recent protests - some are about property, some have been triggered by work disputes, some are because of corruption.

But then again, a huge number of migrant workers are still out of work because their factories have not recovered from the economic crisis, the harvest is finished and people's savings may be running low. Perhaps the tinderbox is drier than usual."

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/malcolmmoore/blog/2009/06/22/tens_of_thousands_of_chinese_fight_the_police_in_shishou

posted by konane # 8:13 AM

Comments:

Maybe the chinese gov't is allowing these riots to be reported. The news of riots would justify a massive military crackdown on the people.

# posted by JAP69 : 8:24 AM

Thanks JAP!!! No telling why. What I find interesting is that riots US back in the 60's were at a time of high solar flare activity. Solar flares are quiet right now so wondering what's giving with riots in Iran and China, also wonder what else is over the horizon?????

# posted by konane : 8:45 AM

Looking at the fire in the photo - do they have a fire department? If so, where are the fire trucks and firemen?? Strange.

I think every human being should have basic rights, but China is the last stronghold against that notion.

# posted by Kaptainess : 9:46 AM

Thanks Kaptainess!!! Article said small town so no telling about the fire department.

Yes China has human rights abuses however would argue this is light years worse than China. China is in the spotlight, perhaps it may need to be focused here for awhile.

"232 Sudanese Slaves Liberated

"Contact: John Eibner of Christian Solidarity International (CSI), +1-202-290-8855, [email protected]

CSI Urges President Obama to Help Stamp out Slavery in Sudan

"WASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a report on the liberation of 232 Sudanese earlier this month. The slaves - Christian and traditionalist members of the Dinka tribe - were liberated, with CSI's support, from Arab masters in Darfur and neighboring Kordofan. The released captives were then repatriated to their homeland in Southern Sudan by Arab retrievers working in association with local Arab-Dinka Peace Committees. The enslavement of these Black non-Muslim Sudanese took place during jihad raids undertaken by Arab militias backed by Sudan's Islamist government during the late North-South civil war (1983-2005).

Interviews with all 232 slaves conducted by CSI representatives reveal a clear pattern of physical and psychological abuse. The liberated slaves reported having been subjected to beatings, death threats, rape, female genital mutilation, forced conversion to Islam, racial and religious insults and work without pay. Some slaves reported witnessing the execution of fellow captives.

Among the interviewed slaves were:

Achan Mawien Guat - pregnant 17 year-old: Enslaved, Raped, Circumcised, and Islamized.

Peter Akot Dut Hol - 19 year-old Christian: Enslaved, Islamized, Father Murdered, Mutilated and Terrorized.

Majok Kon Maliith - 17 year-old: Enslaved, Islamized, Terrorized, Beaten, and Blinded in one Eye.

Mary Atak Geng Baak - 18 year-old Christian: Enslaved, Islamized, Sexually Abused, Terrorized, and Economically Exploited.

Writing today to President Barack Obama, Dr. John Eibner, CEO of CSI-USA, recalled the crucial roles played by Ambassador Susan Rice, while Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, in initiating government policy to eradicate Sudanese slavery during the Clinton administration, and by President Bush's first Special Envoy for Sudan, Sen. John Danforth in placing the issue of slavery at the heart of the Sudan peace process.

Dr. Eibner furthermore urged President Obama to "revive America's commitment to act energetically for the eradication of slavery in Sudan" by supporting the reintroduction of legislation sponsored by Reps.

Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Diane Watson (D-CA) for the establishment of the United States Commission to Monitor Slavery and its Eradication in Sudan (Eradication of Slavery in Sudan Act of 2007. H.R.3844).

Slavery persists in Sudan, despite the signing in January 2005 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Islamist Government of Sudan (GOS) and the secular, Southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM). The Agreement failed to include a mechanism for overseeing the liberation of slaves and their safe repatriation.

An estimated 35,000 Black Africans from the Dinka tribe remain enslaved today, according to a member of the Government of Sudan's Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), James Aguir. (Skye Wheeler, Reuters, "Misseriya and Dinka Grapple with History of Child Abduction", Aweil, November 14, 2008). Most of these Dinka slaves are held by masters in Darfur and neighboring Kordofan. Reports from the UN Secretary General's International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur (January 2005) and from the Darfur Consortium (December 2008) also confirm the use of slavery as a weapon of war against Black Africans in Darfur. The enslavement and horrific abuse of Sudanese captives of the Lord's Resistance Army is yet another facet of Sudan's slavery problem. "

SOURCE Christian Solidarity International (CSI)"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20090529/pl_usnw/232_sudanese_slaves_liberated

# posted by konane : 10:46 AM

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Monday, June 22, 2009

"Tens of thousands of Chinese fight the police in Shishou

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