| Video: China may prevent Nobel collection, Liu Xiaobo's wife fears Liu Xia, the wife of the imprisoned Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, is under house arrest amid rising anger in Beijing over dissident's prize. The Nobel committee wants one of the couple would attend the prize ceremony on 10 December guardian.co.uk |
China's leader Hu Jintao leads a country in ferment A 'harmonious' era, built on conservatism and too much repression is coming to an endPresident Hu Jintao would like his time since 2002 to be remembered as one of "harmony", the buzzword of the last decade. With a big meeting on in Beijing, with sharp debate about the future direction of the party and of China, "disharmony" now prevails.This is not how things were meant to be. Hu is a consensus builder, and a control freak. He never gives one-to-one interviews to western journalists. His minders ensure the world runs to a tight timetable. But the Nobel award to Liu Xiaobo is only one of several recent irruptions into this orderly world.China is a victim of its own success. When it entered the World Trade Organisation in late 2001 not even the most optimistic would have expected that within 10 years it would be the world's second largest economy, largest exporter and largest holder of foreign reserves. It has left the elite, at the top of which sits Hu, in a place they thought they would not get to for as much as another 10 years.Hu talks constantly of the party's legitimacy being built on its economic performance. But his premier, Wen Jiabao, has been alluding openly to how much more pressing political reforms will now become.China is well on its way to becoming a middle-income country. Like any other society in this transitional phase, all sorts of things start happening. Demands for stronger rule of law, a greater role for civil society,devolution of powers from central to local government, and more participation in decision-making are coming thick and fast. Dealing with the economy was the easy bit. Now things become far more complex.China is in ferment. Some 12m petitions to the central government were made from 2005 to 2009. The courts are often clogged with civil cases. As much is spent on internal security as on international defence. That the government felt so insecure it had to imprison Liu Xiaobo for 11 years is symptomatic of the contradictions.The real worry is that the party elite lack the vision, the experience and the will to start dealing with reform.Like many other systems, that of the Chinese faces pressure to modernise far faster than they ever expected. The past weeks should alert people inside and outside China to the fact that this will not be an easy process. With a leadership change due in 2012, it is not only the issues which are confusing, but also the question of who will deal with them. The signs are clear. Hu's "harmonious" era is coming to a close.ChinaNobel peace prizeLiu XiaoboKerry Brownguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ugandan paper calls for gay people to be hanged Gay people named in article face violence and abuse after newspaper claims they are recruiting childrenHuman rights activists have warned that the lives of gay people in Uganda are in danger aftera newspaper published a story featuring the names and photographs of 100 homosexuals under the headline: "Hang Them".At least one woman named in the story has been forced to leave her home after neighbours pelted it with stones, while several others have been verbally abused, according to the campaign group Sexual Minorities Uganda.The article appeared earlier this month in the Rolling Stone newspaper, a new weekly title started by journalism graduates. Its publication came just days before the first anniversary of the introduction to parliament of a controversial anti-homosexuality bill that calls for the death penalty for those convicted of repeated same-sex relations, and life imprisonment for others.Inspired at least in part by a group of US evangelicals with close links to Uganda, the bill was heavily promoted by a few preachers and politicians. Its progress through parliament was stalled after an international outcry, though it has not been scrapped.Gay activists in Uganda say the proposed legislation has fuelled hate speech and created a climate of fear among homosexuals. The media have played a strong role in this.The widely read tabloid Red Pepper has previously "outed" dozens of gay people under headlines such as "Top Homos in Uganda named". But the Rolling Stone story appears to incite people to violence against gays.On the front page, the paper claims that the homosexual community aims to "recruit 1,000,000 children by 2012", and that parents "face heart-breaks (sic) as homos raids schools". Inside, a headline reads: "Hang them; They are after our kids!!". The article lists personal details of those named, including their addresses.Giles Muhame, the managing editor of the paper, defended the story, saying it was his duty as a journalist to "expose the evil in our society"."Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda but nobody is taking action against these people," he told the Guardian. "They are recruiting new members among our kids, and destroying the moral fabric of our country."Asked about the headline that urged hanging, he said: "Other countries have capital punishment to stop drug traffickers; we should have the same for homosexuals."Frank Mugisha, the chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda, said his organisation initially chose to ignore the story, since the newspaper was not widely read. It was launched in August and has a circulation of 2,000.But after a few days he started to receive reports of harassment. In the worst case, a woman who works for a gay rights organisation was unable to leave her home after it was stoned. She was eventually moved to a safe location, Mugisha said."We didn't want to give the newspaper publicity so we held off on legal action," he said. "But now the threat against our members is real, so we are considering going to court."Uganda's media council has since suspended Rolling Stone, but only because it was not registered. The editors say they have now fulfilled all legal requirements, and will resume publishing next week.UgandaGay rightsXan Riceguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Indonesia on Alert for Volcano Eruption Indonesia warned Monday that its most volatile volcano could erupt at any time, prompting calls for the evacuation of thousands of villagers living on the mountain's slopes. online.wsj.com |
The Avon Foundation for Women Gala Celebrates Champions Who Change Women's Lives - Video NEW YORK, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The 10th annual Avon Foundation for Women Gala tonight honored exceptional women and men for their efforts to end breast cancer and violence against women. The event, held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, has raised more than $20 million for Avon philanthropy in the decade since it launched. The event was hosted by Reese Witherspoon, award-winning actress and Honorary Chair of the Avon Foundation for Women, and Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO, Avon Products Inc., with a special musical performance by Melissa Etheridge. To view the multimedia as feedproxy.google.com |