Tibetan Updates: “Legal Education”, Arrests and Sentences

A number of arrests of, and in some cases verdicts against Tibetans have recently been reported. E. V. de Cleyre lists three of them, two of them writers, and one a documentarist.

High Peaks Pure Earth has details about one of the two writers, Pema Rinchen. According to High Peaks, the reason for Pema Rinchen’s arrest was a poem titled We, Who Are Ruled By Others (translation there). High Peaks also provides a translation of a blog post by Woeser, with a short bio, and the story of arrest (and apparently maltreatment).

On the afternoon of July 5, Pema Rinchen was taken away by Drango County PSB officers. He was severely beaten. The next day (July 6) he was taken to Drango County hospital for emergency treatment.

When his family from Longda Village in Kaliang Township in Drango County heard the news, they rushed crying to the hospital, but PSB and PAP officers outside the ward barred the way and wouldn’t let them in. It isn’t currently known whether Pema Rinchen is dead or alive.

High Peaks also translated a blogpost by Woeser – 10 Tibetan Writers and Teachers Arrested, Detained or Sentenced by Sichuan Local Authorities – a month ago.

On July 14, AsiaNews, an Italian Catholic website, reported the arrest of eight Buddhist monks who had refused to participate in “legal education” – a measure apparently taken by the authorities in reaction to monks’ refusal to participate in celebrations of the CCP’s 90th birthday.

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Related
» China’s Golden Vase of National Unity, December 26, 2010
» Dolkar Tso thanks Samdrup’s Lawyers, June 26, 2010

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Pig Prices drive Inflation, despite Strategic Pork Reserve

Kungfu, Bremen-Hemelingen

On July 12, Wen Jiabao presided over a regular state council meeting which explored, decided and advanced political measures for sustained and healthy development of pork meat production. Wen had previously made inquiries about pork sales in Benxi (本溪), Liaoning province, on July 3; visited farms and supermarkets in Xianyang (咸阳市), Shaanxi province on July 9 for pork production research, and the July 12 state council meeting was therefore the third time within a fortnight that Wen had shown concern for the people’s livelihood in this regard, reports China National Radio (CNR).

According to the Financial Times, pork prices rose by 57 per cent in the past year.

Given the prominent role pork meat plays in the Chinese diet, the Chinese government established a strategic frozen pork reserve after Chinese farmers had to slaughter millions of pigs in 2008, after an outbreak of “blue-ear pig” disease which drove China’s inflation rate to its highest level in a decade, according to an NPR report in April.

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Related
» You name the Problem, the CCP solves it, February 15, 2011

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