Articles: In China, Another Failed Grassroots Election
Region: China
Written by Oiwan Lam, Global Voices A retired worker from Jiangxi province, China, Liu Ping, had decided to run an economic justice campaign in the grassroots level election for her local seat in China's People's Congress. In the process, she and her supporters have been harassed by local police and on May 13, 2011, she was forcibly detained. Below is a plea made by Liu's daughter using her Sina Weibo account on May 15 and 16: 翠丝特丽: 我不怎么上微博，我的立场仅单纯... more
Views: 2586In Greece, Wave of racist attacks on immigrants in Athens
Region: Greece
Written by Asteris Masouras, Global Voices In the past days, right-wing extremists in Athens, Greece have launched pogrom-like attacks on immigrants in the downtown Athens area. It began on May 10, 2011, one day after a 44-year old escorting his pregnant wife to the hospital was mugged and stabbed to death. There is no evidence as to the identity of the killers, but racist gangs have gone on something like vengeance spree on immigrants -or even foreign-looking Greeks- who they hold general... more
Views: 3307In Hong Kong, Brainwashing Education
Region: China
Written by Oiwan Lam The Hong Kong Education Bureau is planning to make patriotic education compulsory for primary and secondary school children. The objective of the Moral and National Education Curriculum is to build “national harmony, identity and unity among individuals”, help the students to “develop a sense of belonging to the motherland”, “support national sports teams” and “appreciate Chinese culture”. The plan, however, has sparked fe... more
Views: 4112In Cuba, “Police Brutality” or “Natural Causes” in Dissident's Death?”
Region: CubaWritten by Janine Mendes-Franco Several months ago, Soto Garcia was examined by doctors and of the many ailments suffered by the activist and documented in their report, pancreatitis was not one of them. The pancreatitis that afflicted and ultimately killed Soto Garcia came suddenly, and most likely from the brutal and violent blows he was subjected to by Castro State Security agents. The blogger also notes that “members of the opposition and dissidence in Cuba are calling ... more
Views: 1731In South Africa, Corrective Rape Claims Another Victim
Region: South AfricaWritten by Haute Haiku The unending cases of “corrective rape” that have plagued South Africa at alarming levels are still on the rise. Corrective rape is a criminal practice, whereby men rape lesbian women, purportedly as a means of “curing” the woman of her sexual orientation. The latest victim is a twenty-four year old soccer player from Johannesburg who was stabbed to death minutes after dropping off her girlfriend. DA newsroom reports: Ms Nogwaza’s mu... more
Views: 2376In Pakistan, Bin Laden's Death Transforms Local Coffee House
Region: Pakistan
Written by Sasa Milosevic The death of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, has benefited not only the United States and its President Barack Obama, but also some of the city's local business owners. Coffity, a local coffee house, turned into the second hottest place in town overnight, the first one being the house where Bin Laden had been killed. As “the first coffee shop in Abbottabad […] serving espresso based coffees prepared from freshly ground beans” an... more
Views: 1483Mexico Prepares for Massive National Protest on May 8
Region: MexicoWritten by Geraldine Juarez Next Sunday May 8, 2011, Mexican citizens will march to demand the end to the “War on Drugs” and the removal of all government officials responsible for more than 35,000 deaths and the increase of insecurity and corruption. Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, who became the leading voice of the discontent towards the government's method of tackling the drug trafficking problem after his son Juan Francisco was killed, is inviting all those who want ‘pea... more
Views: 2548In China, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Region: ChinaWritten by Oiwan Lam The past week has seen a real-life version of film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” reenacted in China. The Chinese protagonist, Xu Wu, has been detained in a psychiatric hospital for four years over a labour dispute against a state-run enterprise in Wuhan, Hubei province. He escaped from the hospital and told his story to a television station in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Having traveled to Guangzhou, police from Wuhan then forced their way in... more
Views: 1994In Russia, Who is Restricting the Russian Internet?
Region: Russian Federation
Written by Marina Litvinovich, Global Voices On 18 April, 2011, American non-profit organisation Freedom House issued a report on Internet freedom in the world. The report, “Freedom on the Net 2011“ analyses freedom of access to the Internet in 2009-2010 in 37 countries. In the report (authored by Global Voices' Alexey Sidorenko, editor of RuNet Echo), Russia is rated among those countries with “partial freedom” of Internet access. Compare... more
Views: 1484Tweeting Bin Laden: Have US Journalists Become Citizen Reporters?
Region: United StatesWritten by Asteris Masouras This post is part of our special coverage The Death of Osama Bin Laden. When news of Osama Bin Laden's death broke on May 2, 2011, journalists in the United States (US) were tweeting and using social media just like other citizens to report their feelings and what they saw on the streets and even airplanes. It marks an interesting contrast to how 9/11 itself was reported in 2001, when social media was still only a nascent technology, especially in the wo... more
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