This week we continue to follow the Free Guangcheng movement (自由光诚), even though some of the more vocal Weibo accounts have been shut down, and nearly all CGC avatars wiped out.  We also offer items about increasing number of false cases against private entrepreneurs; sign of judiciary collapse; dire need for political reform; latest inflation number, and the latest on Ai Weiwei. Click on date below item for link to the original. Zheng Wei/郑维/(Editor of Zaobao Online in Singapore)【Zao Bao special report on Chen Guangcheng 】Chen Guangcheng’s case has been elevated by the local government as a “conflict between enemy and us,” the measures taken against him can be traced back to the revolutionary era, and he has been judged by ideology. It has been […]

After looking at the effects of Weibo on the Chinese justice system yesterday, I thought it was important to take a closer look. The Chinese Courts Until 1949 there was very little litigation in China. If someone wronged you, you would have to appear in front of the local leader. There you, and the person you accused were usually beaten  before your testimony would even be heard. The leader would then decide, based on anything from your moral character to the ugliness of your face which party deserved the punishment. That person would then be tortured until they confessed, and the common folk would marvel at the leader’s wisdom. This is paraphrased from the book “From the Soil” which I will be reviewing shortly. Not […]

People’s daily and other state news sources have been pointing to the influence of Weibo as a sign of China’s shift toward democracy (here and here), but is social media really creating a more just China? Note: Weibo is a Chinese networking site, something like a combination of Twitter, Facebook and a blog. It is also carefully monitored by gov’t censors (a.k.a. internet police) for stories on sensitive topics, and imposes keyword bans. One way that Weibo is contributing to the development of democracy in China, is that it has helped introduce the idea that the gov’t should actually listen to its people. Weibo has accomplished this largely because it has given common people a way of airing grievances in a public forum. In the past […]