China's contaminated food, Patrick London

Last Wednesday a man by the name of Zhao Lianhai was sentenced to prison for speaking out against contaminated milk. Mr. Lianhai whose son was a victim of ingesting milk laced with melamine attempted to organize other parents who's children were affected by the contaminated product. He started a website which has now been blocked that promoted similar unification and demand for justice against the milk companies.

Melamine which is an organic compound often used in the manufacture of various plastics. The addition of melamine to milk or powdered infant formulas stemmed from the companies' desire to increase the perceived  protein content of their products. This is usually measured by nitrogen content. Melamine being a high producer of nitrogen tips the scales during these tests. This is how Chinese companies are getting around the fact that many of them water down their milk thereby producing lower protein counts.

According to the New York Times: "By the time the Chinese news media publicized the contamination in the fall of 2008, six babies had died and 300,000 others had been sickened, including 50,000 who were hospitalized with kidney problems."

It seems preposterous then that someone should go to jail for speaking out against this injustice. However Mr. Lianhai was tried and arrested Wednesday for creating social disorder. He reportedly tore at his uniform exclaiming "I'm innocent" when the sentence was handed down.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/world/asia/11beijing.html?ref=asia

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/m/melamine/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier

"They cannot let anything happen if they don't understand it" Chinese artist under house arrest, Patrick London

This week Chinese officials detained famous artist Ai Weiwei at his home in Beijing. The officials were responding to a politically charged party the artist was planning to host in order to promote Liu Xiaobo's winning of this years Nobel Peace Prize. The party was supposed to take pace at Weiwei's newly built million dollar studio that is now scheduled to be demolished.

Ai Weiwei is not only a renowned artist in China, he is also a major political demonstrator promoting freedom of expression in China. Because of this, the artist has constant run-ins with Chinese authorities. Apparently on Friday an unmarked van without license plates pulled in front of Mr. Weiwei's driveway and forbade him from leaving. BBC reports that there were at least 10 men in the van. The officers were wearing plain clothes so as to not draw much attention. The party was still held, organized by hundreds of Weiwei's frineds. The artist said "the fact that the party was still held is a sign of how China is changing." As to his house arrest, he said:  "They cannot let anything happen if they don't understand it"

The newly built million dollar studio is planned to be demolished due to certain legal regulations that were reportedly not followed during its construction. "Ai's studio did not go through the application procedures, therefore, it is an illegal building," Chen Jie, the director of urban construction in the section the studio is located said to the Global Times. It seems quite convenient for the government that this application process was not filled out.

The Chinese government has also recently warned various governments that there will be "consequences" if any of them show favor or support toward Liu Xiaobo's Peace Prize. The ceremony however is still being planned for December 10th in Oslo. 



Video of Ai Weiwei's newest art piece: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11515658

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/China-Releases-Dissident-Artist-Ai-106862354.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11701725
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11703775

China and the Great Firewall, Patrick London

Censorship is not a new topic to the political realm in China, but recently the outcry for greater personal rights is getting some global attention. Since the ban on Twitter in China last year several incarnations have sprung up, the most recent of which is called Weibo. Weibo is a domestic micro-blog service that the regime has allowed to operate under the condition that several hundred censors monitor it at all times. Although still heavily censored, this change in internet use policy brings with it a means for large numbers of Chinese citizens to connect widely and rapidly.   

Since the internet boom of the past ten years, several new sites and servers are allowing people to connect globally faster than ever before. Sadly this is not the case in China who has established heavy censorship on what can and cannot be accessed via the internet. This control is commonly reffed to as " The Great Firewall". This firewall is government operated and specifically targets certain key words that may emerge while someone is online. The government states that this is done in order to keep political activism and unrest at a minimum. The regime fears that open widespread information will undermine their political rule. While this is not the only media controlled by the government, it may be the most threatening.

Recent political activity has spurred some global news in China including the argument over governance of the South China Sea and the detention of Mr. Liu Xiaobo the winner of this years Nobel peace prize. From this global attention, many Chinese citizens are beginning to speak more openly on political matters, something that is aided by the use of the internet. Upon hearing of Liu Xiaobo's win, the economist reports that news spread very quickly through the use of these micro-blogs by users using codes or Latin characters to write Mr. Xiaobo's name, something the censors have difficulty tracking.

Journalists are also getting in on the idea when: "In September several tweeted live on the plight of two women who were hiding in an airport lavatory in Jiangxi province. Officials were trying to prevent them flying to Beijing to issue complaints to the central authorities."-Economist. This is free exchange of unadulterated information is a bold new step for personal speech in China and is sure to make some waves with the politically charged youth.


http://www.economist.com/node/17361444
http://www.economist.com/node/17309207

Video of Ai Weiwei, a prominent Chinese political activist and artist.
http://www.economist.com/node/21012193