 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 by Staff Writers Beijing (AFP) April 27, 2020
Three Beijing-based internet activists have disappeared and are believed to be detained by police for archiving censored coronavirus news stories online, according to a relative. China has faced criticism over its handling of the outbreak, including punishing whistleblowers who tried to warn about the new virus. Chen Mei, Cai Wei and his girlfriend surnamed Tang -- who contributed to the crowd-sourced project on the software development platform GitHub -- went missing on April 19, according to Chen's brother Chen Kun. The volunteer-driven project, named Terminus2049, preserved articles that were blocked or removed from mainland news outlets and social media by China's aggressive online censorship. Two of the volunteers, Cai and Tang, were charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and are currently under "residential surveillance at a designated location", according to a notice from Beijing's Chaoyang District police received by their families, and seen by AFP. Chen Kun said that he is still waiting on official confirmation from Chaoyang police that his younger brother, aged 26, has been detained. "I understand that Cai and Tang disappeared around the same time as Chen Mei," Chen told AFP. "Given that both Chen and Cai were contributors to the Terminus2049 project, we suspect their disappearance was related and relevant to the project." The online project included many sensitive coronavirus stories published in recent months, such as personal narratives by Wuhan citizens and an infamous interview with Wuhan Central Hospital doctor Ai Fen, one of the earliest virus whistleblowers. The article, published by "People" magazine in March, was widely circulated by Chinese netizens in a number of languages and formats -- including Morse code -- to evade censorship after it was abruptly pulled from the internet. As China tries to control the domestic narrative surrounding the chaotic initial months of the outbreak, similar crowd-sourced initiatives have flourished on GitHub, which is used by an increasing number of tech-savvy Chinese as a last frontier against ever-tightening internet censorship. Owned by Microsoft, the US-based website remains accessible in China although the Terminus2049 page is blocked. News of the Terminus2049 trio's disappearance made a stir online in Chinese activist circles. "What quarrels were they picking, and what troubles were they provoking? Show me legal proof," said the outspoken Tsinghua University sociology professor Guo Yuhua on Twitter Sunday, referring to Cai and Tang's charges. "Picking quarrels and provoking trouble" is a vaguely defined charge often used by Chinese authorities to target activists and dissidents, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years. The administrators of 2019nCoVMemory -- another GitHub coronavirus archive -- made the "protective" move to restrict access to its site to members only, according to an email sent to subscribers that was circulated on Weibo. Chaoyang public security bureau and the administrators of 2019nCoVMemory have not responded to requests for comment. lxc-su/rox/je
US urges China to lift restrictions on rights lawyer Washington (AFP) April 20, 2020 The United States called Monday on China to lift restrictions on the movements of prominent lawyer Wang Quanzhang and urged the release of other detained rights advocates. Wang, who defended political activists and victims of land seizures, was released this month after nearly five years in prison but was not immediately allowed to return home. The State Department called on China to allow Wang's "freedom of movement, including the ability to join his family in Beijing." "We remain very conc ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
