China Watch Blog

China Watch Blog reports that with its vague and broad definition of ‘pornography’, Uganda’s proposed Anti-Pornography Bill could curb a range of individual rights and freedoms.

Uganda has hit the international headlines once again recently following the re-tabling in parliament of a proposed Anti-Pornography Bill. Just months after MP David Bahati’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill – referred to by many as the ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill – attracted international attention and much condemnation, the Anti-Pornography Bill has now generated another storm of controversy in Uganda and beyond, AllAfrica.com reported.

If passed, the Anti-Pornography Bill would cover a range of practices and activities, but much of the outrage and debate has come to be centred on one particular issue: the miniskirt.

The Bill laid bare

The Anti-Pornography Bill is purportedly a reaction to an “increase in pornographic materials in the Ugandan mass media and nude dancing in the entertainment world”. Its provisions would aim to “equip the country with a better law to tackle the insidious social problem of pornography”.

What exactly constitutes pornography, however, has long been a point of contention around the world. In a case in the US Supreme Court in 1964 regarding the proposed banning of a film for obscenity, Justice Potter Stewart famously declined to define pornography, instead saying “I know it when I see it”. His remark reflected the subjective and changeable nature of different societies may deem to be pornography.

Unlike Stewart, Uganda’s Anti-Pornography Bill does put forward a definition of pornography. But, ironically, this definition does not seem to iron out ambiguities but rather embraces vagueness. Furthermore, the Bill’s understanding of pornography is so broad as to extend it from something seen on our screens to something seen on our streets.

The Bill defines pornography as “Any cultural practice, form of behavior or form of communication… or leisure activity… that depicts a person engaged in explicit sexual activities or conduct … erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement or indecent act or behavior intended to corrupt morals”.

This leaves as much unsaid as it says and could restrict a range of practices and activities, including the wearing of certain items of clothing. Indeed, Simon Lokodo, Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister and the main figure behind the Bill, has clarified: “Any attire which exposes intimate parts of the human body, especially areas that are of erotic function, are outlawed. Anything above the knee is outlawed. If a woman wears a miniskirt, we will arrest her.”

China Watch Blog reports that the boss of a state-owned enterprise in south China was suspended from his post on Tuesday due to his part in a luxury banquet last month which flouted the country’s frugality campaign.

Zhou Shaoqiang, general manager of Zhuhai Financial Investment Holdings Co., Ltd, was ordered to undertake self-reflection over public expenditure which exceeded standards, said the Communist Party of China’s discipline authorities in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, based on a Shenzhen Daily report.

A banquet which Zhou and 16 others had in a local restaurant on Jan. 4 cost 37, 517 yuan (about 5, 974 U.S, dollars), far more than the fake bill of 4, 689 yuan, which the restaurant had claimed under the instruction of Zhou.

The high expenditure “seriously violated regulations at central, provincial and municipal levels and caused an extremely bad social impact,” said the authorities in a statement.

With the consumption of 12 bottles of expensive red wine, the extravagant dinner was first exposed on the Internet and sparked criticism among netizens as the country has recently launched a frugality campaign.

Zhou denied that participants had drunk 12 bottles of red wine, saying only six bottles were drunk and the other six were empty ones for them to learn red wine knowledge.

Results of an investigation conducted by the Zhuhai state-owned assets supervision authorities said the bill was just 4,689 yuan. Netizens expressed doubts about the “frugal” dinner.

However, further probe showed the banquet indeed consumed 12 bottles of red wine, whose prices were 23, 706 yuan in total, said the statement by Zhuhai municipal discipline authorities.

The part of the bill which exceeded consumption standards would be paid by the diners themselves, said the statement.

The discipline authorities of Zhuhai state-owned assets supervision and administration commission were also scolded for their inaccurate probe about the case, it added.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has urged all official organs to maintain a frugal lifestyle and oppose extravagance.

The recent annual provincial “two sessions”, which referred to the meetings of local legislatures and political advisory bodies, also adopted new frugality moves in food and other respects.

China Watch Blog wishes all its loyal readers a wonderful and prosperous New Year in 2013, and may this new year bring joy, happiness and good health and prosperity to all.

May we have world peace, and people of all religious backgrounds show even greater tolerance to people from other religious backgrounds. Let each person to live life according to his or her own beliefs.

May global trade be strengthened, and those people in power show greater mercy to the haves and the have-nots, and allow people to have greater confidence in the justice systems around the world.

China Watch Blog reports that members of the Baha’i community in Iran are the most persecuted religious minority in the Islamic Republic, where suppression of alternative faiths is growing worse, U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, was quoted as saying in a Reuters report on Monday. (Dr Shaheed’s most recent report encompasses 124 cases of human rights violations between February and July 2012)

Shaheed also warned that the increasingly harsh sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program may be preventing normal Iranians from exercising their human rights because they face greater difficulties accessing medicine and other basic necessities.

“By and large I would say the Baha’is are the most persecuted religious minority in Iran,” he told a seminar at the International Peace Institute in New York.

The Baha’i faith is not a recognized religion in Iran, which Shaheed said was likely the main reason its practitioners were being persecuted. (But the Baha’i Faith is recognized in many countries around the world, including in Hong Kong, where a legislation has been passed making it a full fledged religion, founded by Baha’U'llah, and is wrongly considered a sect of any religion in some parts of the world).

“The numbers of Baha’is that are in prison have increased, over a hundred at the present time according to the information I have,” Shaheed said.

“They face a whole range of discrimination, from being unable to practice their faith, being denied access to basic services,” he said. “And often they face charges unrelated to their faith, national security charges.”

Baha’is regard their faith’s 19th-century founder (Baha’U'llah) as the latest in a line of prophets including Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammad. Iran’s Shi’ite religious establishment condemns the faith as heretical.

Shaheed will present his annual report on rights in Iran to the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee later this week. His report details how rights activists in Iran face beatings with batons, mock hangings, rape and threats that family members will be raped or killed. (Baha’is are recognized as a NGO at the UN, and have had a permanent seat there for many years, and are also recognized as a leading community for “World Peace”).

‘HARASSMENT CONTINUES’

He told the audience of diplomats, U.N. officials, rights advocates and journalists that other religious minorities also faced persecution in Iran, an allegation Iran’s government has denied.

He said that even officially tolerated religious minorities, such as Sunni Muslims, Dervishes and Christians, faced persecution and discrimination.

“The broad picture is the harassment continues, and the same goes for other minority religions which are … recognized in the constitution,” said Shaheed, a former foreign minister of Maldives.
Last month Shaheed said that more than 300 Christians have been arrested since mid-2010. He expanded on those concerns on Monday during his presentation in New York.

“Targeting of new converts is what’s really at issue at the present time, those who convert from, say, Islam to Christianity are targeted for persecution and those who proselytize or evangelize are targeted for persecution,” he said.

He also echoed concerns raised by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said in a report published last week that international sanctions on Iran were having “significant” effects on the Iranian people and also appeared to be harming humanitarian operations.
Shaheed said there were increasing reports of “shortages that can have an impact on the ability of people to realize their basic human rights, for example in medicines and so on.”

So far Iran has not allowed him to visit the country to carry out his work, though Shaheed said he was urging Tehran to allow him to visit and assess the impact of sanctions, as well as the general human rights situation.

“What I am saying is that I am not able to speak on the subject authoritatively without investigating further,” he said.

Iran has been hit by U.N., U.S., European Union and other Western sanctions for refusing to halt a nuclear program Tehran says is entirely peaceful but which Washington and its allies say is aimed at amassing the capability to produce atomic bombs.

Yours truly adds that an International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran was announced recently by UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed when he recently released his third report on human rights violations in Iran.

This most recent report, which encompasses 124 cases of human rights violations between February and July 2012, also discusses freedom of religion in Iran, addressing in a large part the situation of the religious minorities particularly the Baha’is, Christian, and Dervish communities. In accordance with UN protocol this 23-page report has been finalized and submitted to the Iranian authorities to allow for their response.

In his report, Dr Shaheed says, “that he has so far “catalogued a wide range of human rights violations” and “asserts that these violations are products of legal incongruities, insufficient adherence to the rule of law, and the existence of widespread impunity.”

The Special Rapporteur also concludes, “The submissions and interviews considered for this report provide a deeply troubling picture of the overall human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including many concerns which are systemic in nature.”

Continuing with his conclusions, the Special Rapporteur refers to the importance of perpetuating “a culture of tolerance” and asks the Iranian government to prevent discrimination against women and girls, as well as ethnic and religious minorities. He specifically asks the Iranian government to comply with international standards for the minimum age of marriage for girls.”

For those interested in Dr Shaheed’s full report, please click here: September 2012 Report

China Watch Blog has learnt that Wang Anshun was appointed vice mayor and acting mayor of Beijing on Wednesday.

According to a Xinhua report, the appointment was announced at the 34th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, the local legislative body.

The meeting also accepted the resignation of Guo Jinlong as mayor of Beijing, but there was no word why he resigned. However, Edmonton Journal reported that Guo is apparently still on track to be promoted to China’s powerful decision-making body despite public questioning of the city government’s handling of floods that left at least 37 dead.

Previously, Guo was elected secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 3.
Wang, born in December 1957, is a native of Huixian County in central China’s Henan Province. He had worked in petroleum geology authorities, the Ministry of Land and Resources, northwest China’s Gansu Province, Shanghai and Beijing, holding a series of important positions.

He has served as vice Party chief of Beijing since March 2007.

China Watch Blog has learnt that since early May, the AKOYA has never ended flying. With an average of four days of flights per week, LISA Airplanes’ team could once more enjoy, and for the first time share, the AKOYA’s remarkable performance.

LISA Airplanes’ founders, Erick HERZBERGER and Luc BERNOLE were the first two passengers of the AKOYA. “To me, this first flight is both a professional and personal achievement. Our airplane’s performance goes beyond our expectations. I’ve flown many light aircraft in my life, so I can tell the AKOYA is incomparable. She behaves exceptionally well on water in terms of speed and easiness to take-off just as much as in terms of comfort brought by the airplane’s stability.

All the work done on the Seafoils turns to be a real success. After my first flight, I proudly announced to the team that the AKOYA is perfect.” tells Erick HERZBERGER, LISA Airplanes’ CEO and AKOYA’s first passenger.

During this series of test runs with passengers, and after years of research, studies, design and tests, LISA Airplanes’ team had the great pleasure to enjoy the advantages of its innovations. One after the other, team members got in the cockpit to live this priceless moment: a flight in the AKOYA. In various weather conditions, smooth lake or rough lake with 16 inches waves (40 cm) and 18 knots of wind, take-offs and landings were all made softly and on short distances. The sensations of flying in the AKOYA will remain unforgettable for all.

With this symbolic event, LISA Airplanes has gone through a major step towards AKOYA’s deliveries: the clients’ discovery of this seaplane.

Some of AKOYA’s future clients have been invited to go on board for a demonstration flight departing from Lake Bourget, at the side of the test pilot Gerald DUCOIN. AKOYA’s new pilots unanimously sung the comfort of the high-end finished cockpit and the in-flight qualities of the airplane.

Benoit SENELLART, LISA Airplanes’ VP of Development, attests this enthusiasm: “I‘ve been involved in every step of AKOYA’s development and the first delivery will be the most memorable. Therefore, it’s with great pleasure that I watched our clients’ first flight. Their feedbacks are all positive on the easiness to pilot as well as on the sensations in flight. They really appreciated the visibility, the comfort and the safe atmosphere of the cockpit. This flight definitely won them and I am delighted with that.”

The next demonstrations in-flight will occur from September on since the AKOYA is on its way for the United States where it will be exhibited for the first time at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin from July, 23-29 2012.

China Watch Blog has learnt that Shelly Palmer put out this alert that satirical newspaper The Onion recently described Facebook as a project of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

“After years of secretly monitoring the public, we were astounded,” a fictional agency deputy director told Congress. He was happy that Facebook users voluntarily post “alphabetized lists of all their friends” and “even status updates about what they were doing moment to moment”. It is, he concluded, “truly a dream come true for the CIA”.

The scenario is not that far from the truth. Facebook has close to a billion users, many of whom post daily updates on their thoughts and feelings. The same thing happens on Twitter. Foursquare users share information about their location. Commentators on news sites express opinions and outrage. And, as a New Scientist review of procurement requests shows, the US government is keen to take advantage of what amounts to a society of self-surveillance.

In a way, they are behind the curve – marketing firms already monitor social networks to gauge public reaction to product launches. And online chatter can be analysed to forecast election results, for example. US federal agencies want to harness these techniques in an attempt to gauge overseas opinion about America, or even get hints on how to head off terrorist activity.

With these aims in mind, officials at the Department of State issued a procurement notice on 1 June asking software developers to submit bids for a contract to supply tools that provide “deep analysis of topics, conversations, networks, and influencers of the global social web”.

These tools will analyse conversations taking place in at least seven foreign languages, including Chinese and Arabic.

Once the bids are in, the software systems will undergo a six-month trial in which they will examine online reaction to a specific event, such as a talk given by a US ambassador.

The military is even further along with such plans. In 2007, the US air force awarded defence giant Lockheed Martin a $27 million contract to develop the Web Information Spread Data Operations Module, or WISDOM, which analyses posts made to news forums, blogs and social media.

Military analysts are already using it to monitor Central and South America and the Pacific region. Lockheed Martin is now upgrading WISDOM with a $9 million contract from the navy, which wants to “understand the latest regional trends and sentiment and predict threats from groups and individuals”.

Other departments have similar plans – the FBI is talking to software vendors, and the Department of Homeland Security already has a monitoring system up and running.

How might such monitoring affect our online behaviour?

Imagine reading an article about US government policies and then wanting to post an angry comment. Would you pause if you knew the government would collect and store your comment and username? “This prevents people from speaking their minds,” says Ginger McCall of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington DC.

“It quells dissent.” One would hope government officials had such concerns in mind. It is difficult to say, however, because repeated attempts by New Scientist to obtain comments from the Department of State were met with silence.

One would hope government officials had such concerns in mind. It is difficult to say, however, because repeated attempts by New Scientist to obtain comments from the Department of State were met with silence.

China Watch Blog draws its readers attention to a Hong Kong Standard article today (Apr 19) citing a prominent Heung Yee Kuk member as having admitted that a commercial leisure park he owns has unlawfully occupied a large swath of government land for 18 years without him paying a cent.

Lychee Valley

But Leung Fuk-yuen, a key figure in resistance to a government crackdown on illegal additions to village houses, was quoted by the Standard as saying that he was not directly involved as his brothers managed the park in Tai Tong Lychee Valley, which uses part of Tai Lam Country Park.

“But I’ll comply with whatever the government wants, such as removing unauthorized structures,” said the Standard report quoting Leung, who is chairman of Shap Pat Heung Rural Committee and a Yuen Long district councillor.

The report said that he would not say if he was aware he breached land laws when planting fruit trees and setting up toilets, storage containers, wooden sheds and animal shelters two decades ago.

According to government watchdog the Audit Commission, the leisure park occupies 12,400 square meters, with 4,670 of it government land.

Director of Audit Benjamin Tang Kwok-bun blames the Lands Department for lax enforcement and for failing to act on the case for 18 years.

The auditor wants a comprehensive review of the management of unleased and unallocated government land. For it was also found that 70 percent of the Lands Department’s 494 “urgent” control cases – that means they are a public hazard – exceeded a four-month resolution target. Four cases were even unresolved after more than 10 years.

Tang also criticized the penalties for unlawful occupation offenses, saying they were not tough enough for a deterrent effect. And a lack of regular checks by the Lands Department had allowed many cases to escape detection for many years, he added.

Word from the Lands Department was that its officials accept the criticisms and will “strive to effect policy changes” to resolve “serious issues about land control and unwarranted structures.”

But this is a case of just a slap on the wrist for officials who have been fed by taxpayers money for 18 years, without having done their job at all. Shouldn’t the Lands Department officials be held accountable?

China Watch Blog has learnt that Aung San Suu Kyi, chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has won Myanmar’s parliamentary by-elections, securing a seat of parliamentary House of Representatives, the NLD headquarters announced Sunday night.

Suu Kyi won 75 percent of the ballots in Kawhmu township constituency in which she contested, the announcement said.