NEW YORK TIMES: The escape of a blind human rights lawyer from house arrest, and apparently into the hands of American officials here, came at an excruciatingly awkward time for the Chinese leadership as it struggles to preserve a cohesive front after the spectacular dismissal of Bo Xilai, a member of China’s Politburo. The case of the lawyer, Chen Guangcheng, who is believed to be in the United States Embassy in Beijing, poses a quandary for the leadership. It is a blow to officials in charge of security and legal affairs, who oversaw the controversial treatment of Mr. Chen, […]
CHINA: Earth Not Too Big To Fail
NEW YORK TIMES: COPENHAGEN — With just two days remaining in historic and contentious climate talks here, China signaled overnight that it sees virtually no possibility that the nearly 200 nations gathered would find agreement by Friday. An official in the American delegation said that China would agree only to a brief political declaration that left unresolved virtually all the major issues. The conference has deadlocked over emissions cuts by, and financing for, developing nations, including China, who say they will bear the brunt of a planetary problem they did little to create. Leaders had hoped to conclude an interim […]
CHINESE DEMOCRACY: Just Sayin’
ASSOCIATED PRESS: All in all, it’s hard to imagine how Woods could have handled the whole affair worse, but don’t look for any exodus from Wood’s stable of corporate backers. Tiger is too good, too dominant, too telegenic and his transgressions, to use his word, are too minor, to scare off the big companies. Not surprisingly, Nike, like his other corporate partners, is offering its unconditional allegiance to Woods, who is arguably the company’s most important athlete. “Nike supports Tiger and his family. Our relationship remains unchanged,” the Beaverton-area company said in a statement. Forbes estimated earlier this year that […]
TIBET: Chinese Troops Open Fire On Monks & Nuns
[illustration by ALEX FINE] TIMES OF LONDON: Paramilitary police opened fire on hundreds of monks, nuns and Tibetans who tried to march on a local government office in western China yesterday to demand the return of the Dalai Lama. Residents of Luhuo said that a monk and a farmer appeared to have been killed and about a dozen people wounded in the latest violence in Tibetan areas of China. Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, said that one officer was killed when police confronted a “lawless mob” in Luhuo. The demonstration began at 4pm when about 200 nuns from Woge […]