China: Elderly women to be 're-educated' for Olympic protest

[nerdgirl 0]

In the US or UK or Australia or France … etc, if one protests something one is liable to be ridiculed on the internet for being too sensitive …
in China, even applying for a permit to protest can result in being sent to a “reeducation-through-labor” camp.

A few western commercial media sources picked up on the report made public last week by the non governmental organization (NGO) Human Rights in China:

Two Beijing Residents Sentenced to Reeducation-Through-Labor After Applying for Permits to Demonstrate in Olympics “Protest Zones”

“Human Rights in China has learned that Beijing petitioners Wu Dianyuan (79) and Wang Xiuying (77) have been ordered to serve a one-year term of Reeducation-Through-Labor (RTL) after repeatedly applying for permits to hold demonstrations in the Beijing ‘protest zones’ during the Olympics. Wu and Wang have both been actively petitioning the government since they were forcibly evicted from their homes in Beijing in 2001. On August 17, Wu and Wang each received an RTL decision dated July 30 from the RTL commission of the Beijing Municipal Government.”

VR/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[christelsabine 1]

It was in our news for a while. Absolutely ridiculous.

But, as usual, China just doesn't mind. They strictly follow up their directives.

It seems, for "Human Rights" there is no Chinese translation.

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[DZJ 0]

Heard about this case on Channel 4 News here in the UK. Have to say I sometimes get the impression that the Chinese regime seems to have given up on merely verging on the ridiculous and now seem to be indulging in some sort of full-blown self-parody.

More generally though I wonder if, now that the Olympics are over, the combined Western media will simply cruise home and find other things to busy themselves with. I imagine that by now they must have bored themselves stupid harping on about Chinese human rights violations. (Of course, they could show some dedication and keep China under scrutiny, but I'm not optimistic).

[quade 3]

I don't think we in the US have a lot of room to talk when it comes to the percentage of population that is imprisoned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/23prison.html

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The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars, more than any other nation, according to data maintained by the International Center for Prison Studies at King’s College London.

China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[BillyVance 34]

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I don't think we in the US have a lot of room to talk when it comes to the percentage of population that is imprisoned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/23prison.html

Quote

The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars, more than any other nation, according to data maintained by the International Center for Prison Studies at King’s College London.

China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison.

Well, yeah, but.... I bet you that China quietly executes far more people for various crimes than we are aware of. What might get you 10 years in a U.S. prison might get you the death penalty in China.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Darius11 12]

I wonder if we will invade them and bring democracy? We won't some humane rights violations make our president raise the roof.


US foreign policy

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[24fps 1]

A friend sent me this link :



http://www.monitorchina.org/english_site/index.php

It makes we sad that these stories rarely make the news here.

something funny and unique

[AWL71 0]

No. Invading China would cause Wal-Mart to go out of business and we can't have that.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

I don't think we in the US have a lot of room to talk when it comes to the percentage of population that is imprisoned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/23prison.html

Quote

The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars, more than any other nation, according to data maintained by the International Center for Prison Studies at King’s College London.

China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison.

so how many of the 2.3M were jailed for applying for a permit? We don't even jail felons that try to buy a gun through normal channels.

I eagerly await your next defense for China.

BTW, a one year labor camp sentence for a 79yo probably is a death sentence. I guess their problem about being evicted goes away.

[lawrocket 3]

The Chinese women are not being imprisoned. They are being re-educated.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Darius11 12]

In $$$$ we trust

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[AWL71 0]

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In $$$$ we trust

Sad but true.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

[nerdgirl 0]

Quote

More generally though I wonder if, now that the Olympics are over, the combined Western media will simply cruise home and find other things to busy themselves with. I imagine that by now they must have bored themselves stupid harping on about Chinese human rights violations. (Of course, they could show some dedication and keep China under scrutiny, but I'm not optimistic).

Yes, I concur that for many -- but not all -- human rights abuses in China will lose its newsworthiness.

One question in my mind is how does one measure the social &/or political impact of the Olympics? The impact of hosting Olympics on US cities w/r/t local economics & economic development has been explored. Or examining the impact (positive) of hostng the winter Olympics on ROK national economic development.

What to me seems like an obvious candidate case for comparison: is there any evidence that the 1980 Moscow Olympics had long term impact on the Soviet Union? I don’t know. I suspect one may not be able to disentangle the Olympics-factor from factors like ICT.

VR/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[quade 3]

Quote

so how many of the 2.3M were jailed for applying for a permit? We don't even jail felons that try to buy a gun through normal channels.

I eagerly await your next defense for China.

Hardly a defense, but I do think we sometimes lack a certain perspective on where we ourselves are in those terms and while we might not imprison a lot of old ladies for applying for permits, we certainly have imprisoned a number of people just based on the color of their skin.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[quade 3]

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The Chinese women are not being imprisoned. They are being re-educated.

hehe

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kelpdiver 2]

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so how many of the 2.3M were jailed for applying for a permit? We don't even jail felons that try to buy a gun through normal channels.

I eagerly await your next defense for China.

Hardly a defense, but I do think we sometimes lack a certain perspective on where we ourselves are in those terms and while we might not imprison a lot of old ladies for applying for permits, we certainly have imprisoned a number of people just based on the color of their skin.

Good stuff for the World Weekly News.

You can blather on about perspective while the rest of us see the obvious difference.

The Bush Administration had been holding people indefinitely as enemy combatants based on potentially flimsy evidence, and the Court has started to slap them back for it. The bigger concern is not the profiling, but that the AG never gets around to charging them, let alone convicting.

China is imprisoning people for applying for a permit to protest. There's no ambiguiety of their intention, or potential that the two ladies will start a war.

[quade 3]

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The Bush Administration had been holding people indefinitely as enemy combatants based on potentially flimsy evidence, and the Court has started to slap the . . .

Ya know . . . I wasn't even talking about Guantanamo.

We have far more human rights abuses than just that.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kelpdiver 2]

fine - then who are these 'people of color' we're imprisoning for no reason other than their skin color?

[quade 3]

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fine - then who are these 'people of color' we're imprisoning for no reason other than their skin color?

There's no way you're going to believe me so, just Google it.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kelpdiver 2]

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fine - then who are these 'people of color' we're imprisoning for no reason other than their skin color?

There's no way you're going to believe me so, just Google it.

ok, I'll file that under 'vague, unsubstantiated.'

Living in the Bay Area, I see a lot of that.

[quade 3]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3657852
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5457607
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n771.a03.html
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/06/06/usdom19035.htm
http://members.tripod.com/~ronmull/racism.html
http://www.prisonpolicy.org/articles/alternet102503.html
http://members.aol.com/digasa/stats57.htm

I guess I could go on, but the fact is the US absolutely has a problem here.

And I guess I don't think I really need to go into the entire races of people that were wiped off the face of the planet just to form the US.

I dunno . . . just being too vague I guess.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[JohnDeere 0]

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while we might not imprison a lot of old ladies for applying for permits,

So how many old ladys have we imprisoned in the last year for applying for a permit? Quit acting like we are NAZIS!!!!!! If you dont like America then please move and make it a better place! I will buy your ticket! Ignorant liberals just bash this great country when all they should be doing is moving since they dont like anything we do!

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[Lucky... 0]

Quote

Quote

I don't think we in the US have a lot of room to talk when it comes to the percentage of population that is imprisoned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/23prison.html

Quote

The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars, more than any other nation, according to data maintained by the International Center for Prison Studies at King’s College London.

China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison.

so how many of the 2.3M were jailed for applying for a permit? We don't even jail felons that try to buy a gun through normal channels.

I eagerly await your next defense for China.

BTW, a one year labor camp sentence for a 79yo probably is a death sentence. I guess their problem about being evicted goes away.

He's not defending CHina, just bringing some reality to the conversation. China sucks, but the US is no bastion of freedom and liberty either.

[Lucky... 0]

Quote

Quote

so how many of the 2.3M were jailed for applying for a permit? We don't even jail felons that try to buy a gun through normal channels.

I eagerly await your next defense for China.

Hardly a defense, but I do think we sometimes lack a certain perspective on where we ourselves are in those terms and while we might not imprison a lot of old ladies for applying for permits, we certainly have imprisoned a number of people just based on the color of their skin.

Or class, more importantly.

[Lucky... 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

so how many of the 2.3M were jailed for applying for a permit? We don't even jail felons that try to buy a gun through normal channels.

I eagerly await your next defense for China.

Hardly a defense, but I do think we sometimes lack a certain perspective on where we ourselves are in those terms and while we might not imprison a lot of old ladies for applying for permits, we certainly have imprisoned a number of people just based on the color of their skin.

Good stuff for the World Weekly News.

You can blather on about perspective while the rest of us see the obvious difference.

The Bush Administration had been holding people indefinitely as enemy combatants based on potentially flimsy evidence, and the Court has started to slap them back for it. The bigger concern is not the profiling, but that the AG never gets around to charging them, let alone convicting.

China is imprisoning people for applying for a permit to protest. There's no ambiguiety of their intention, or potential that the two ladies will start a war.

How about the warrantless wiretaps and the subsequent immunization of telecom companies? We are no bastion of liberty, so clean your windows first, then cast stones at theirss.