Lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been charged with subverting state power, Chinese Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi made the annoucement during a news conference with David Miliband on Tuesday. Gao, noted for taking on high-profile cases against the Chinese government, has been missing for over a year.
According to an internal source quoted in the Financial Times, Google is “99% certain” to close the Chinese version of its search engine after prolonged disagreements over censorship laws. Last week Google’s Chief Executive Eric Schmidt confirmed that “something will happen soon”. In response to Google’s threats to shutter Google.cn, Li Yizhong, Minister of Industry and Technology, told the National People’s Congress on Friday that Google must “bear the consequence” of its “irresponsible and unfriendly” actions.
Thirty-four Tibetans were arrested in Kathmandu last Wednesday, for staging demonstrations. The protests, outside a Buddhist monastery and the Chinese Embassy, were commemorating the 1959 Tibetan uprising. This crackdown on pro-Tibet actions coincides with an increase in security measures in Lhasa. 2,800 police officers have been deployed in the city in anticipation for potential violence this week during the second anniversary of the 2008 riots.
Journalists working in China will now be required to undergo training in Marxist and communist theories of news. The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) revealed that it will launch a new certification that will encourage reporters to serve the government and not undermine its initiatives. According to the South China Morning Post, Li Dongdong, deputy director of the GAPP, said that some Chinese journalists were giving the country a bad name as they have not been properly trained.