Inside China Today

Inside China Today – Thursday 20th August

Headlines…
Serious metal contamination in Xiang River;
Reaction to government acquisition of Sichuan relief;
Protest applications by 500 teachers refused;
WOIPFG supports class action against persecution of Falun Gong.

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Serious metal contamination in Xiang River

According to recent reports on Süddeutsche Zeitung and TAGES ANZEIGER of Switzerland, the Xiang River in Hunan Province, China is seriously polluted. A staff member at the Environmental Protection Bureau of Hunan Province said that the mud from Xiang River can be used to extract numerous kinds of heavy metals.

The report from Süddeutsche Zeitung stated that there are more mining activities for Zinc, Lead, and Antimony in Hunan Province than any other place in China. As of today, local authorities do not have any environmental regulations for the mining and related production activities in many places. Toxic mud and waste is directly poured into the Xiang River and its tributaries. Even ordinary waste treatment facilities are rarely seen. Some environmental staff members say the heavy metals in certain areas of the Xiang River exceed national standards by several hundred times.

Hunan province has an abundance of natural resources. The Xiang River, a river 800 kilometers long, is the mother river for the people of Hunan. Under the socialist planned economy, promoted from Mao’s time, the resources in Hunan province, more specifically, seven metals such as zinc, lead and antimony, are being exploited in a manner that has low efficiency and creates serious contamination problems.

TAGESANZEIGER, the largest newspaper in Switzerland, published an article by Henrik Bok on August 13. The article described how this very river that China’s “Great leader” loved so much several decades ago had again become a hot topic. Mao swam in the Xiang River on May 30, 1956, making this river well-known throughout China. However, this river is now so polluted that it is unsuitable for swimmers.

Zhang Zhiguang, a staff member at Environmental Protection Bureau of Hunan Province said ironically: “If you dig out the mud from the river, it can be sent to an extraction factory to extract heavy metals.”

According to these reports, the most serious pollution comes from the metal Antimony, a by-product during the extraction of zinc.

On July 30 this year, over 1000 peasants protested over the contaminated drinking water and farm land. A local media reported that the peasants took the corpse of a peasant who died of antimony poisoning to demonstrate in front of the Liuyang City Government. So far, many people in the Xiang River region have died due to the same reason. According to Chinese magazine “Finance,” a seven-year-old boy called Liu Bingqing died of antimony poisoning in December last year.

Environmental institutions found Cadmium, Mercury and Lead in vegetable samples from Zhuzhou, a city by the Xiang River. The content of these metals exceed the highest national standard by 65 times, 186 times and 66 times, respectively.

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Reaction to government acquisition of Sichuan disaster relief fund

Since the Sichuan Wenchuan earthquake disaster, millions of people inside and outside China have donated to help those in need. However, an investigation by the Institute of Public Administration at Qinghua University determined that about 80% of the 76,712 million Yuan of disaster relief had gone into government accounts and became “extra tax revenue.” When the news was published, the Internet response was overwhelming. However, Internet censors swiftly blocked related reports.

Chen Xi says the regime must be questioned, because the CCP’s organizational structure is not subject to control by any other organization. On the contrary, many domestic group is under its leadership. Therefore it is highly likely that the regime could use the disaster fund. (Recording), “In China the social structure is completely totalitarian. In other words, non-governmental and non-for-profit organizations are all under the direct control of the regime. Therefore it is likely that these funds could be diverted to governmental agencies or become a part of government’s budget instead of being directly applied to disaster victims as intended by the donors.”

Chen added, in other countries these public donations would require participation and management from non-for-profit organizations. The CCP, however, would never allow intervention from these groups. Therefore the intention of the donors and rights of the victims would be ignored. (Recording) “The official will is imposed on the donors, which is an awkward situation for many donors in mainland. So in my opinion, it is impossible for the funds to go directly into the hands of the victims according to the donors’ wishes under the current huge totalitarian regime where non-governmental organizations are virtually non-existent or impossible to exist.”

By Li Jie and Yu Yin of the SOH Radio Network

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Protest applications by 500 teachers refused

Behind the Great Wall a dispute has been ongoing since June. Privately qualified teachers wish to become public teachers but their applications have been denied.

Over 500 private teachers from Public Security County, in China’s central province of Hubei, have applied for demonstration permission in order to demand a resolution.

In June seven teachers were detained and held for 15 days when authorities broke up a sit in protest at midnight. On August 15 the teachers resubmitted their applications.

On August 17, Chen Zhongsheng, a representative for the private teachers told reporters that the Public Security Bureau in the local county refused their application. At the same time, many private teachers were warned and threatened by local officials and the Public Security [Bureau] requested them not to petition or demonstrate.

Chen Zhongsheng said,【Recording】: “Their response to us was to say our request was not approved, the reason was disruption of traffic, interference with normal social order, that is the reason.”

Zhou Zhangjun, another representative said, 【Recording】: “There were 33 teachers who signed the application form that was submitted for this demonstration, the Public Security [Bureau] is very scared, and issued a deployment to work on the following 33 people that signed the form by each leaders of the villages. You can see how despicable the Government is, It is afraid the teachers want to petition and demonstrate. There are some leaders who carry out a system of payment partly in kind and partly in cash for the private teachers, they are restricted on their personal freedom”.

Zhou Zhangjun said, although they are unable to publicly demonstrated, they will use other methods to safe guard their rights to the end.

Reported by Sound of Hope Radio International reporters Fu Ming, Jin Feng and Caden Pearson.

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WOIPFG supports class action against persecution of Falun Gong

On August 15th, 2008, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) made a statement to declare support for families of Falun Gong practitioners in Heilongjiang, who have taken class action against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for persecuting Falun Gong. The WOIPFG once again called on the international community to make a stand and bring an end to the brutal persecutions of Falun Gong under the CCP’s rule.

On August 11th there appeared an open letter of class action signed by “Every family member of Falun Gong practitioners illegally held in Daqing Prison”. In this letter, relatives and close friends of at least 56 Falun Gong practitioners, reported in great detail, facts of the persecution their respective family members had suffered over many years. They solemnly pointed out that the independence of police, courts, and procuratorates in present day China have been overtaken by the illegal 6.10 office (an organization focused on eradicating Falun Gong). These organizations have completely lost their effectiveness in jurisdiction, upholding of moral principals, and the protection of Chinese peoples rights.

WOIPFG spokesperson Dr Wang Zhiyuan told SOH reporters that the organization was very glad to see that family members of these Falun Gong practitioners had broken through the terrorizing pressure that had been forced upon them by the CCP over a long period of time. (Recording) He said, “They dare to say “No” to the CCP’s dictatorship. Being the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, we strongly support the righteous class action taken by family members of Falun Gong practitioners in Heilongjiang. We also call on all people suffering persecution, to expose this persecution, and to put a stop to it. Moreover, we call on all family members of Falun Gong practitioners under persecution, as well as the wider community, to stand up and expose these evil deeds, and end this most abhorrent persecution.”

According to records on file, over the past ten years, the Daqing Prison in Heilongjiang Province has continued to implement the CCP’s policy of genocide against Falun Gong practitioners in a proactive manner. Staff at the prison have inflicted forms of torment including forced starvation, extreme labor conditions, and physical torture on these practitioners. Many Falun Gong adherents have suffered such forms of mental and physical torment at Daqing Prison, become injured, immobilized, and have even lost their lives.

Incomplete statistical records show that to date, at least 11 Falun Gong practitioners have been tormented to death in Daqing Prison, while close to 100 remain illegally detained, and continue to suffer persecution. (Recording) The WOIPFG say’s that, “Over the past 10 years, the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong has proven to be genocide. The crimes happening in Daqing Prison, and Heilongjiang, are things taking place on a wide scale all over China, and this is only one example. You could say it is the tip of the iceberg.”

The WOIPFG warns any official still involved with the persecution today. They say that the organization will thoroughly investigate the responsibilities of all personnel of Daqing Prison who have taken part in the persecution, and will track down each and every one. No matter how long it takes and no matter how far and wide we have to search, we will bring each and every one to justice.” The organization seeks to assist the victims’ pursuit of bringing legal justice upon those involved in the persecution, and to alert the world’s people.

Dr Wang said that in its persecution of Falun Gong, the CCP has reached an exhausted path, and is bound to face its own self-inflicted collapse. The WOIPFG also calls upon the actions of righteous people around the world, to end these unimaginable crimes that continue to take place after 10 years of persecution. (Recording) They say, “We again call on all governments, organizations, and righteous people, to take an immediate stand, and to speak out for these practitioners of Falun Gong under persecution. We call on you to adopt emergency procedures to bring a stop to the crimes of genocide being committed in China. This will not only protect the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners, but also protect basic rights, conscience, and the moral principals of humanity.”

This was brought to you by Ai Lin, Fang Liang and Chris Thomas of the SOH Radio Network.

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