BEIJING - A CHINESE Internet firm has been ordered to pay compensation to the parents of a university student who killed himself in a suicide pact arranged online via instant messaging, state press said on Monday.
The Internet firm Tencent was ordered by a court in east China's Zhejiang province to pay 55,600 yuan (S$10.896) for failing to block messages that led to the suicide of the student, the Global Times said.
Before his death, the student identified only as Fan, 20, had responded to an invitation to commit suicide circulated by another man surnamed Zhang through the popular messaging service QQ, run by Tencent, the report said.
Fan, a student in Shanghai, went to neighbouring Zhejiang to meet Zhang, 22, and the two burned charcoal in a sealed-up hotel room in June in an attempt to kill themselves by inhaling carbon monoxide, according to earlier reports.
Zhang, however, backed out of the suicide attempt, leaving the room, while Fan died.
Fan's parents began civil court proceedings in October to sue Tencent and Zhang for 270,000 yuan in compensation. The court ruled that Zhang should pay the parents about 111,000 yuan in damages for his involvement in the suicide, the Global Times said.
Source: ST Online/AFP
Monday, December 6, 2010
Schoolboy blows whistle on tainted mushrooms
BEIJING - AN 11-YEAR-OLD Beijing boy has become a hero to consumers for revealing that mushrooms declared safe by officials in the Chinese capital were tainted with harmful chemicals, state media said on Monday.
Primary school student Zhang Hao began investigating mushrooms - one of his favourite foods - after his mother barred him from eating them following reports casting doubt on their safety, the China Youth Daily said.
Hoping to disprove the latest fears to tarnish China's scandal-plagued food industry - that harmful bleaching agents were used to whiten the fungi - Zhang in July began gathering a range of mushroom samples.
He then tested them with the help of a research student at China Agriculture University using a microscope and fluorescent lighting.
Zhang found the chemicals were used on the overwhelming majority of the mushrooms tested, the report said.
Chinese press reports have said the whitening agents can cause a range of potential health problems including liver damage, skin allergies and respiratory ailments such as asthma.
Source: ST Online/AFP
Primary school student Zhang Hao began investigating mushrooms - one of his favourite foods - after his mother barred him from eating them following reports casting doubt on their safety, the China Youth Daily said.
Hoping to disprove the latest fears to tarnish China's scandal-plagued food industry - that harmful bleaching agents were used to whiten the fungi - Zhang in July began gathering a range of mushroom samples.
He then tested them with the help of a research student at China Agriculture University using a microscope and fluorescent lighting.
Zhang found the chemicals were used on the overwhelming majority of the mushrooms tested, the report said.
Chinese press reports have said the whitening agents can cause a range of potential health problems including liver damage, skin allergies and respiratory ailments such as asthma.
Source: ST Online/AFP
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Detained for Tiananmen photo
BEIJING - A BEIJING activist was detained on a charge of inciting subversion after posting a photo online of China's 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations that were eventually crushed by the military, killing hundreds of people.
It was the first time Bai Dongping, 47, had ever been arrested though he was taken out of Beijing 'on holiday' by police or told to stay inside his home during high-profile events such as the Olympics, said his wife, Yang Dan, said by telephone on Tuesday.
Bai was taken away on Saturday, Ms Yang said, and Beijing police called her on Sunday to tell her why. China often uses the vaguely worded charge of subversion to lock up activists who are seen as troublemakers.
'I'm really scared. That's such a strong charge. It's the first time I'd ever heard of such a thing,' Ms Yang said.
The arrest comes as several Chinese activists have reported increasing harassment after imprisoned author Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October. Liu is serving an 11-year sentence for subversion after co-authoring an appeal calling for reforms to China's one-party political system.
Bai was briefly released on Saturday before police returned and took him away again. He told his wife they had interrogated him about the Tiananmen photo he posted online.
Source: ST Online/AP
It was the first time Bai Dongping, 47, had ever been arrested though he was taken out of Beijing 'on holiday' by police or told to stay inside his home during high-profile events such as the Olympics, said his wife, Yang Dan, said by telephone on Tuesday.
Bai was taken away on Saturday, Ms Yang said, and Beijing police called her on Sunday to tell her why. China often uses the vaguely worded charge of subversion to lock up activists who are seen as troublemakers.
'I'm really scared. That's such a strong charge. It's the first time I'd ever heard of such a thing,' Ms Yang said.
The arrest comes as several Chinese activists have reported increasing harassment after imprisoned author Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October. Liu is serving an 11-year sentence for subversion after co-authoring an appeal calling for reforms to China's one-party political system.
Bai was briefly released on Saturday before police returned and took him away again. He told his wife they had interrogated him about the Tiananmen photo he posted online.
Source: ST Online/AP
Monday, November 29, 2010
China directed Google hacking
WASHINGTON - THE United States believes that Chinese authorities orchestrated a hacking campaign into computers of Google and Western governments, according to leaked documents cited on Sunday by The New York Times.
The secret cables released by whistleblower site WikiLeaks included one in which the US embassy in Beijing cited 'a Chinese contact' who pointed to a government role in the hacking, the newspaper said.
'The Google hacking was part of a coordinated campaign of computer sabotage carried out by government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws recruited by the Chinese government,' the newspaper said, citing the cable.
Chinese operatives are also believed to have broken into computers of US and Western allies along with those of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, it said.
Google announced in March that it would no longer follow the communist government's instructions to filter searches for sensitive material after what it said were coordinated cyberattacks against the Internet company.
The hacking included infiltration of the Gmail accounts of Chinese dissidents. -- AFP
source: ST Online
The secret cables released by whistleblower site WikiLeaks included one in which the US embassy in Beijing cited 'a Chinese contact' who pointed to a government role in the hacking, the newspaper said.
'The Google hacking was part of a coordinated campaign of computer sabotage carried out by government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws recruited by the Chinese government,' the newspaper said, citing the cable.
Chinese operatives are also believed to have broken into computers of US and Western allies along with those of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, it said.
Google announced in March that it would no longer follow the communist government's instructions to filter searches for sensitive material after what it said were coordinated cyberattacks against the Internet company.
The hacking included infiltration of the Gmail accounts of Chinese dissidents. -- AFP
source: ST Online
Same-sex marriage could curb HIV
BEIJING - AS HIV/AIDS becomes more prevalent among the gay population on the mainland, some experts have joined the gay community in calling for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage as a means of curbing the infection.
Although the rate of HIV infection is 0.05 per cent nationwide, gay men have been the hardest hit by the sexually transmitted disease, experts warned ahead of this year's World AIDS Day, which fell on Wednesday.
In some cities, nearly one out of five is HIV positive in the gay community, experts said.
'To legalise same-sex marriage could help stabilize and sustain gay relationships, thereby lowering the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS,' said Zhang Beichuan, a professor at Qingdao University and an outspoken gay rights advocate.
In the meantime, the government continues to work hard to reach vulnerable groups, particularly gay men, and to provide safe sex education and free condoms, said Hao Yang, deputy director of the disease prevention and control bureau under the Ministry of Health.
While government programs currently reach 90,000 gay men a month, Mr Hao said it was insufficient.
Source: CHINA DAILY/ANN
Although the rate of HIV infection is 0.05 per cent nationwide, gay men have been the hardest hit by the sexually transmitted disease, experts warned ahead of this year's World AIDS Day, which fell on Wednesday.
In some cities, nearly one out of five is HIV positive in the gay community, experts said.
'To legalise same-sex marriage could help stabilize and sustain gay relationships, thereby lowering the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS,' said Zhang Beichuan, a professor at Qingdao University and an outspoken gay rights advocate.
In the meantime, the government continues to work hard to reach vulnerable groups, particularly gay men, and to provide safe sex education and free condoms, said Hao Yang, deputy director of the disease prevention and control bureau under the Ministry of Health.
While government programs currently reach 90,000 gay men a month, Mr Hao said it was insufficient.
Source: CHINA DAILY/ANN
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Liu's wife cut off from outside world
LONDON - THE wife of jailed Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo has been completely cut off from the outside world since being put under house arrest following last month's prize announcement, a report said on Monday.
Liu Xia's telephone and Internet connections have been blocked and she has not been allowed to leave the couple's high-rise Beijing flat for almost a month, The Times said, quoting sources with knowledge of her family.
The report said she is allowed a daily phone call with her mother, but that is monitored by police. She also cannot leave to buy food - she must inform officers what she wants to eat for her evening meal so they can bring dishes from restaurants.
'She is not the kind of person who is able to bear this kind of pressure for anything more than a short period,' a friend who asked to remain anonymous told the newspaper. 'If it goes on beyond the (Nobel Prize) awards ceremony date, then I think she could be in a very bad way.'
The Chinese government reacted angrily to the Nobel prize committee's decision to award the peace prize to Liu Xiaobo, a dissident who is serving an 11-year jail sentence on subversion charges after calling for political reform. He will not be allowed to collect the prize at next month's ceremony in Oslo and at least six countries, including Russia, have said they will not attend.
The Times reported that a few days after the prize announcement on October 8, Liu Xia was allowed to visit shops, go to her parents' house and even take walks in the park as long as she was escorted by police. However, she was later told she would be allowed to stay in Beijing only if she agreed to stop communicating with friends and the outside world.
Her mother used to visit her but police insisted on being present, causing Liu to become angry and emotional and the visits have since been stopped, the Times said.
Source: ST Online/AFP
Liu Xia's telephone and Internet connections have been blocked and she has not been allowed to leave the couple's high-rise Beijing flat for almost a month, The Times said, quoting sources with knowledge of her family.
The report said she is allowed a daily phone call with her mother, but that is monitored by police. She also cannot leave to buy food - she must inform officers what she wants to eat for her evening meal so they can bring dishes from restaurants.
'She is not the kind of person who is able to bear this kind of pressure for anything more than a short period,' a friend who asked to remain anonymous told the newspaper. 'If it goes on beyond the (Nobel Prize) awards ceremony date, then I think she could be in a very bad way.'
The Chinese government reacted angrily to the Nobel prize committee's decision to award the peace prize to Liu Xiaobo, a dissident who is serving an 11-year jail sentence on subversion charges after calling for political reform. He will not be allowed to collect the prize at next month's ceremony in Oslo and at least six countries, including Russia, have said they will not attend.
The Times reported that a few days after the prize announcement on October 8, Liu Xia was allowed to visit shops, go to her parents' house and even take walks in the park as long as she was escorted by police. However, she was later told she would be allowed to stay in Beijing only if she agreed to stop communicating with friends and the outside world.
Her mother used to visit her but police insisted on being present, causing Liu to become angry and emotional and the visits have since been stopped, the Times said.
Source: ST Online/AFP
Friday, November 19, 2010
Chinese woman sent to labour camp for retweeting
China has sentenced a woman to a year in a labour camp for "disrupting social order" by retweeting a satirical message urging Chinese protesters to smash the Japan pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, an international rights group said.
Cheng Jianping, 46, re-posted a message from the social networking site Twitter last month hinting that Chinese protesters should smash the Japan pavilion at the Shanghai Expo and adding on the message "Angry youth, charge!" according to Amnesty International, which condemned the sentence in a statement last night.
Amnesty and Cheng's husband said her retweet was meant as satire, mocking anti-Japanese protesters who had grown in number since tensions between the countries increased after a dispute erupted in September over islands claimed by both Japan and China.
"Sentencing someone to a year in a labour camp, without trial, for simply repeating another person's clearly satirical observation on Twitter demonstrates the level of China's repression of online expression," Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director Sam Zarifi said in a statement.
Cheng's husband, Hua Chunhui, said he thought the government reacted the way it did to the tweet was because he and his wife are activists.
"My personal opinion is that this sentencing wasn't about this one statement. The government wants to make an example of us activists," said Hua, who lives in Wuxi in China's eastern province of Jiangsu. "The government doesn't like what we do. We actively communicate with other Chinese activists and celebrated on Twitter Liu Xiaobo's Nobel prize."
Hua said that he posted the original tweet because he was mad at all the anti-Japanese protests.
"So I posted that message on Twitter, satirically saying that if they really want to do something big, they should just get on a plane and attack the Japan pavilion at the expo. Of course, that is not possible."
The Shanghai Expo was a major event treated with great sensitivity by China and any threats against it would have been taken seriously by the government. Authorities pulled out all the stops to make sure it was a success and imposed heavy security to ensure there were no disruptions. More than 70 million people visited it before it closed at the end of October after its six-month run.
Government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Twitter is blocked in China, but some human rights activists use it by bypassing government controls.
Hua said his wife arrived at a labour re-education centre in central China's Henan Province on Wednesday evening. He said he is not allowed to visit her.
Cheng's sentencing comes as China is under fire for its hardline reaction to the Liu's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Source: Guardian online
Cheng Jianping, 46, re-posted a message from the social networking site Twitter last month hinting that Chinese protesters should smash the Japan pavilion at the Shanghai Expo and adding on the message "Angry youth, charge!" according to Amnesty International, which condemned the sentence in a statement last night.
Amnesty and Cheng's husband said her retweet was meant as satire, mocking anti-Japanese protesters who had grown in number since tensions between the countries increased after a dispute erupted in September over islands claimed by both Japan and China.
"Sentencing someone to a year in a labour camp, without trial, for simply repeating another person's clearly satirical observation on Twitter demonstrates the level of China's repression of online expression," Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director Sam Zarifi said in a statement.
Cheng's husband, Hua Chunhui, said he thought the government reacted the way it did to the tweet was because he and his wife are activists.
"My personal opinion is that this sentencing wasn't about this one statement. The government wants to make an example of us activists," said Hua, who lives in Wuxi in China's eastern province of Jiangsu. "The government doesn't like what we do. We actively communicate with other Chinese activists and celebrated on Twitter Liu Xiaobo's Nobel prize."
Hua said that he posted the original tweet because he was mad at all the anti-Japanese protests.
"So I posted that message on Twitter, satirically saying that if they really want to do something big, they should just get on a plane and attack the Japan pavilion at the expo. Of course, that is not possible."
The Shanghai Expo was a major event treated with great sensitivity by China and any threats against it would have been taken seriously by the government. Authorities pulled out all the stops to make sure it was a success and imposed heavy security to ensure there were no disruptions. More than 70 million people visited it before it closed at the end of October after its six-month run.
Government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Twitter is blocked in China, but some human rights activists use it by bypassing government controls.
Hua said his wife arrived at a labour re-education centre in central China's Henan Province on Wednesday evening. He said he is not allowed to visit her.
Cheng's sentencing comes as China is under fire for its hardline reaction to the Liu's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Source: Guardian online
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