Chris, Debbie...... better be careful...

[MIKE BURN]

...what you post on messageboards...



I just found a scary article in the German news, about a guy guy named Luo Changfu from Chongqing, who was sentenced today for 3 years imprisonment, for talking on the Internet about the release of Liu Di from Bejing...

Quote:

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N-TV.de





Donnerstag, 13. November 2003



Chinas drakonische Strafen

Internet-Nutzer verurteilt



In China werden immer mehr Menschen verurteilt, weil sie politische Ansichten im Internet verbreitet haben. So erhielt der 39-jährige Luo Changfu in Chongqing drei Jahre Haft, nachdem ihn ein Volksgericht der "Anstiftung zur Untergrabung der Staatsgewalt" schuldig gesprochen hatte. Das berichtete das Informationszentrum für Demokratie und Menschenrechte aus Hongkong. Die Haftstrafe für den 39-Jährigen war bereits die sechste bekannt gewordene Verurteilung eines Internet-Nutzers in dieser Woche.



Der entlassene Arbeiter habe in Artikeln im Internet die Freilassung der als "Maus aus rostfreiem Stahl" bekannt gewordenen Pekinger Psychologiestudentin Liu Di gefordert. Die 23-Jährige, die vieldeutige, eher unpolitische Analysen im Internet verbreitet hatte, war im November vergangenen Jahres festgenommen worden. Das hatte eine Kampagne im chinesischen Internet ausgelöst.



Daran hatte sich auch der 40-jährige Autor Du Daobin beteiligt, der Ende Oktober in Yingcheng in der Provinz Hubei festgenommen wurde. Obwohl die Staatsanwalt Anfang des Monats den Fall der Studentin aus Mangel an Beweisen zurück an die ermittelnde Polizei gegeben hatte, wird Liu Di weiter in Haft gehalten.

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Is it REAL??????????????????

MIKE

Edited by: MIKE BURN  at: 11/13/03 10:39 pm

[bbchris]

That is what can happen in China.



Not Hong Kong - well not for another 44 years hahahaha When HK was handed back to China, one of the terms was to keep things 'the same way' for 50 years. Since a lot can happen in 50 years, I think people thought it was OK.



I remember reading something about it but he wasn't the only one, if I remember rightly - people are now using SMS to pass messages to one another. You cannot stop people passing information....

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[Seismic Anamoly]

Quote:

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When HK was handed back to China, one of the terms was to keep things 'the same way' for 50 years.

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If (hypothetically) China decided to "prematurely" void that "term" and move troops, administrators, etc. into the city to "take control", what do you think the majority of people in Hong Kong would want to see happen??



Just curious....

[RonOnGuitar]

Seismo, you're probably thinking of something like Tiananmen Square? I don't see that as too likely.



Mainland China is probably very happy with seeing Hong Kong continue to prosper as long as they are "in charge" of it. The mainland honchos aren't the pure Communist idealogues of days gone by - but they do use that system to keep/stay in power when necessary. Otherwise, the bottom line is still the bottom line ($$$) as it is pretty much with leaders most everywhere.



So, unless there were some kind of independence movement, I think the status quo suits the leaders well and whatever attempts at changes will likely be non-violent, of the non-messy institutional type. And HKers can and have already succesfully resisted that form of attempted change.



In the event of a breakaway from the mainland or major independence movement, my bets would be off, though. Then a Tiananmen Square or Tiawan-like situation is a possibility, to my thinking. And there would be little the outside world could do in such scenarios.



But if the Mainland leaders are already getting the gravy, that type of heavy-handedness just wouldn't make sense.



Just my thinkin', anywhooo...