The BBC reports that activist Cao Shunli, who disappeared on September 14, remains in detention at an undisclosed location. Cao was part of a group of Chinese activists traveling to Geneva to speak to the UN about the human rights situation in China.
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Gu Kailai, wife of Bo Xilai and member of the Chinese elite, sits alive in a Chinese prison. Whereas Xia Junfeng, a street vendor who killed two municipal law enforcement authorities in what appears to have been self-defense, was recently executed. Both were convicted in court for murder.
A court in Jinan, Shandong province sentenced disgraced former Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai to life in prison. The presiding judge issued a life sentence for bribery, 15 years for embezzlement, and 7 years for abuse of power, all to be served concurrently. He will be eligible for parole in 13 years.
In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Harry Wu discussed the reality of cannibalism during the Great Famine of 1958-62. Although the Communist Party attributes the cause of the famine to natural disasters, this widespread starvation was actually the result of the Great Leap Forward, a disastrous campaign aimed at establishing China as an economic world power.
Anyone knowledgeable about the One Child Policy knows of its shortcomings. Brutal enforcement, Party corruption, and stories of local government miscarriage attributed to personal retribution have been commonplace in the history of the One Child Policy. Optimists have expected a more transparent and less ruthless One Child Policy given the recent election of new leadership in Beijing.
The Jinan Intermediate People's Court announced Wednesday that it will sentence disgraced politician Bo XIlai on September 22. Bo was a rising star within the Communist Party prior to a murder scandal in which his wife was convicted of killing British businessman Neil Heywood. He last served as Party Secretary of Chongqing, a sprawling city that he governed with an iron fist.
Six Chinese officials are on trial for killing Yu Qiyi, a former Communist Party official, by torturing him while he was under "shuanggui" detention. Shuanggui detention is the extra-legal system for punishing Communist Party officials who violate Chinese law or Party discipline regulations. Many have criticized the system for its lack of due process protections afforded to the accused.
Chinese authorities arrested Hu Jia after he gave an interview to British news station Sky News. In the interview, Hu compared the Chinese Communist Party to the Soviet Communist Party and the Nazis.
Following the arrest, Hu asserted, "House arrest is a norm in my life. Having freedom is abnormal for me."
Following his detention three weeks ago on charges of soliciting a prostitute, Chinese-American blogger and venture capitalist Charles Xue publicly renounced controversial blog posts he had written. Many have likened his confession, which was broadcast on national television Sunday, to Mao-era public self-criticisms political dissidents were forced to deliver during the Cultural Revolution.
On Friday, Chinese authorities arrested Wang Gongquan, a Chinese billionaire who made his fortune in real estate. Wang, a close friend of jailed lawyer-activist Xu Zhiyong, was charged with "assembling a crowd to disrupt order in a public place," the same offense leveled against Xu.