Beijing (AFP) – A historic agreement between the Vatican and Beijing on the appointment of bishops in China could be signed before Easter Sunday, a Chinese government-approved bishop said in a report. Negotiations have reached “the …
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China-Vatican deal on bishops imminent: Chinese prelate
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Hong Kong shops defy ban on trade in pangolin scales
Hong Kong (AFP) – On a winding Hong Kong street where shops keep a dizzying array of dried produce, one highly valued ingredient is still being sold despite being subject to an international ban: deep-fried …
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China activists fear high-tech crackdown in Xi’s ‘new era’
Beijing (AFP) – As Xi Jinping embarks on a potentially lifelong presidency, activists fear that the Chinese leader’s promise of a “new era” sounds the death knell for human rights under an increasingly digital-savvy police …
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Forbidden Feeds: Government controls on social media in China
Based on extensive interviews with writers, poets, artists, activists, and others personally affected by the government’s grip on online expression, as well as interviews with anonymous employees at Chinese social media companies, Forbidden Feeds: Government Controls …
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China’s parliament puts Xi on course to rule for life
Beijing (AFP) – China’s Xi Jinping on Sunday secured a path to rule indefinitely as parliament abolished presidential term limits, handing him almost total authority to pursue a vision of transforming the nation into an …
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Explainer: Xi Jinping for life
Beijing (AFP) – Public pressure, heated debate and a nail-biting vote: Don’t expect any of that when Chinese legislators cast historic ballots on lifting presidential term limits on Sunday. The rubber-stamp National People’s Congress has …
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Chinese grumble about ’emperor’ as congress fetes Xi
Beijing (AFP) – President Xi Jinping’s bid to rule for life has stunned many people in China. It left retired state-owned newspaper editor Li Datong cursing in a foreign language in a crowded mall. Belying …
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Historic meeting lauds lifetime power for Xi Jinping
Beijing (AFP) – Thousands of Chinese legislators erupted into enthusiastic applause on Monday over plans to give President Xi Jinping a lifetime mandate to mould the Asian giant into a global superpower. China’s rubber-stamp parliament …
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Millions of Chinese leave for Lunar holidays, but many may not return
Beijing/Chengdu (AFP) – Millions have begun heading home from Beijing for Lunar New Year, but many this year will not return as China’s capital becomes increasingly unwelcoming for the migrants from the provinces who once …
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Authorities attempt to censor China’s #metoo movement
Radio dispatch from Beijing for ABC Radio National. Listen here. It all began with the sexual assault allegations levelled at high profile Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein in October last year. Since then, powerful men …
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‘Call me baby’: Talking sex dolls fill a void in China
Dalian (AFP ) – With China facing a massive gender gap and a greying population, a company wants to hook up lonely men and retirees with a new kind of companion: “Smart” sex dolls that …
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China’s #MeToo movement emerges, testing censors’ limits
Beijing (AFP) – Former doctoral student Luo Qianqian was “amazed” that her sexual assault story went viral in China, inspiring other women to denounce rampant harassment on campuses and unleashing a #MeToo movement in the …
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Police video of Chinese lawyer’s arrest raises questions
Beijing (AFP) – Chinese authorities appear to be mounting a smear campaign against a detained human rights lawyer by releasing a seemingly edited police video which shows him resisting arrest and then swinging at an …
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Roundup: 2017 China human rights stories
Stories from Agence France-Presse China correspondents Liu Xiaobo: China releases Nobel laureate Liu with terminal cancer Nobel winner Liu wants cancer treatment abroad, friends say China invites foreign cancer experts to treat Liu Xiaobo Images …
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‘We can’t make it here anymore’ – Migrant worker evictions tear at Beijing’s backbone
Beijing (AFP) – They fuelled their nation’s dramatic economic rise, toiling in jobs far from home, but China’s migrant workers are now finding themselves increasingly unwelcome as authorities try to cap the population explosions in …
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Chinese activist jailed for 8 years after crackdown
Tianjin (AFP) – China sentenced an activist known by the online pseudonym “Super Vulgar Butcher” to eight years in prison Tuesday, one of the harshest punishments meted out to the group of lawyers and activists …
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French woman, husband incommunicado in China after Liu Xiaobo tribute
Beijing (AFP) – A French citizen and her husband have been incommunicado for a week after the couple travelled to southern China to paint a tribute to the late democracy activist and dissident Liu Xiaobo, …
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China police detain artist who documented migrant evictions
Beijing (AFP) – Beijing-based artist Hua Yong has been detained by police after documenting the mass eviction of migrant workers from the Chinese capital, his friends said Monday. “His current situation is unknown. We have …
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In Pictures: Bustling Beijing migrant area turns into ghost town
Beijing (AFP) – The narrow alleyways of the Beijing migrant neighbourhood were once crammed with men cooking on outdoor stoves, women hanging clothes to dry and young children playing games. Now dead leaves litter the …
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Chinese dissident’s widow sends desperate letter
Beijing (AFP) – Friends of the late Chinese democracy advocate and Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo voiced concern about his widow’s health on Thursday after she sent a letter showing signs of deep depression. The poet …
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Taiwanese activist jailed in China for five years for ‘subversion’
Beijing (AFP) – A Chinese court sentenced Taiwanese democracy activist Lee Ming-cheh to five years in prison on Tuesday on charges of attempting to subvert state power, further souring cross-strait ties. Lee sat nervously as …
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Transcript: Dispatch for Democracy Now! on Trump visit to China
Beijing (Democracy Now!) – We go to Beijing for an update on President Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of his five-nation trip to Asia. Trump used the talks to call on …
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Secrets and wives: Gay Chinese hide behind ‘sham marriage’
Shenyang (AFP) – When Xiaoxiong and her lesbian lover wanted to hide their relationship from their parents, they decided to find men willing to marry them. They had a specific type in mind: Gay. Searching …
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Gay Chinese tourists flock to Thailand for fun, acceptance
Phuket (AFP) – Bathed in a pink spotlight, the cabaret singer at Phuket’s ZAG bar lip-syncs the top notes of a popular Mandarin love song, delighting the crowd of gay Chinese tourists who have escaped …
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Chinese dissident writer dies on medical parole
Beijing (AFP) – A veteran Chinese dissident who had nearly completed a 12-year prison sentence for “subversion” has died on medical parole, rights groups said Wednesday. Writer Yang Tongyan died on Tuesday, nearly three months …
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Twitter-happy Trump to enter China’s Great Firewall
Beijing (AFP) – US President Donald Trump has tweeted energetically throughout his Asian tour so far, but in China he will likely be one of a select few to skirt the country’s ban on his …
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China mulls three years’ jail for anthem disrespect
Beijing (AFP) – Disrespecting China’s national anthem could carry a prison sentence of up to three years under a new draft law amendment, which may also affect Hong Kong and Macau, state media reported Tuesday. …
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Activists fear more crackdowns in Xi’s ‘new era’
Beijing (AFP) – When President Xi Jinping was handed a second term at the helm of the Communist Party this week, he said China had entered a “new era”. But human rights activists expect the …
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In Communist China, it’s a man’s world at the top
Beijing (AFP) – When Xi Jinping warned against “pleasure seeking” in a stern message to the Communist Party congress last week, the audience included few women and some notable absentees — officials ousted by graft …
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‘My god, 3.5 hours’: Xi gives marathon speech, China listens
Beijing (AFP) – As Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivered his three-plus-hour speech at the Communist Party congress, delegates ranging from men in suits to military officers and former presidents dutifully turned every page as they …
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China rust belt opens door wider to foreign investors
Shenyang (AFP) – Trucks carrying hi-tech car components rumble in and out the gates of an American industrial zone in the heart of China’s rust belt — using roads that the city especially renovated for the …
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The last days of a ‘village’ in China’s Silicon Valley
Beijing (AFP) – Surrounded by the sleek hi-tech campuses and luxury condominiums of “Beijing’s Silicon Valley”, migrants from the countryside recreate village life, cooking in outdoor communal areas, playing cards and showering in the street. …
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Taiwanese activist pleads guilty to Chinese subversion charges
Beijing (AFP) – A Taiwanese democracy activist pleaded guilty Monday to charges of attempting to subvert Chinese government power during a trial in China that his wife called a “political show” and further soured cross-strait …
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At Beijing book fair, publishers admit self-censorship
Beijing (AFP) – Just days after the world’s oldest publisher briefly caved in to Chinese censorship demands, international publishing houses are courting importers at a Beijing book fair, with some admitting they keep sensitive topics …
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China rights lawyer confesses in ‘subversion’ trial
Beijing (AFP) – A prominent Chinese human rights lawyer whose case has drawn international concern confessed to charges of “inciting subversion of state power” on Tuesday in what Amnesty International dubbed a “sham trial”. Jiang …
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China’s solar panel vendors shine a spotlight on North Korea trade
Dandong (AFP) – Traders from North Korea visit Yuan Huan’s shop in the Chinese border city of Dandong several times a month to place orders, bringing their own translators and wads of cash. Yuan, manager …
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Chinese writers navigate censors to earn cash via apps
Beijing (AFP) – When outspoken professor Qiao Mu posted his resignation letter on a popular Chinese messaging app, sympathetic readers tapped their phone screens to send him money, leaving him with a 20,000 yuan ($3,000) …
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Chinese police guard late dissident’s home, empty or not
Beijing (AFP) – At a small park outside the Beijing home of late Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, security officers sat around a stone table surrounded by shrubbery, scrutinising everyone who neared the gate they …
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Dark days for China’s democracy dream
Beijing/Hong Kong (AFP) – The death of Liu Xiaobo deprives China’s dissident movement of a crucial figurehead at a time when political activism on the mainland is being forced ever deeper underground, and pro-democracy forces …
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Fate of Chinese dissident’s widow worries friends
Beijing (AFP) – Friends of the late Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo worried about the fate of his widow on Sunday, July 16, with no signs that authorities have freed her after the dissident’s sea burial. …
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Traders say business as usual at China-N.Korea border
Dandong, China (AFP) – Trucks still line up bumper-to-bumper on the “Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge” to bring goods from North Korea into China even as Beijing faces massive pressure to strangle its Communist ally economically. Some …
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Images of hospital where China says Liu Xiaobo is being treated
Shenyang (APF) – The Chinese hospital caring for cancer-stricken Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo has decided to invite US, German and other foreign experts to come and help treat him in China. Video footage by Joanna …
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China invites foreign cancer experts to treat Liu Xiaobo
Shenyang, China (AFP) – The Chinese hospital caring for cancer-stricken Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo has decided to invite US, German and other foreign experts to treat him in China following international pressure to let him …
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Nobel winner Liu wants cancer treatment abroad
Beijing (AFP) – Terminally-ill Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo wants Chinese authorities to let him get treatment abroad, friends say, as officials said his cancer has spread throughout his body. Prominent Chinese dissident writer Liao Yiwu …
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Hong Kong’s allure fading in mainland China
Beijing (AFP) – When Naomi Wu was a teenager, she and her friends would ride the train from mainland China to Hong Kong several times a year to shop for clothes and designer handbags. But …
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China rejects US criticism over Nobel laureate’s treatment
Beijing (AFP) – Terminally-ill Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo wants Chinese authorities to let him get treatment abroad, friends say, as officials said his cancer has spread throughout his body. Prominent Chinese dissident writer Liao Yiwu …
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China’s treatment of sick activist raises fears for others
Beijing (AFP) – China’s treatment of cancer-stricken democracy activist Liu Xiaobo reflects Beijing’s hardening crackdown on political dissent and heightens concern over lesser-known campaigners still languishing in jail, supporters say. Liu, who was awarded the …
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China releases Nobel laureate Liu with terminal cancer
Beijing (AFP) – China’s jailed Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo has been granted medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer last month, his lawyer said Monday, worrying supporters who pleaded for his …
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Beijing shopkeepers protest evictions
Beijing (AFP) – Over 100 shopkeepers at a popular Beijing market held a rare street protest Friday against what they call unreasonable eviction as the Chinese capital seeks to curb population growth. The crowd gathered …
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Jailed Chinese lawyer force-fed medication, wife says
Beijing (AFP) – When human rights lawyer Li Heping returned to his home in Beijing after a two-year incarceration, his wife did not recognise the frail white-haired man standing in her hallway. “He is only …
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China scrambles to tame bike chaos
Beijing (AFP) – A booming rental bike business has flooded China’s streets with packs of cyclists, but their habit of going the wrong way and abandoning their rides anywhere is causing havoc. The authorities, scrambling …
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China says no mining planned in Antarctica but hints at “peaceful development”
Beijing (AFP) – China sought to dispel concerns about its ambitions in mineral-rich Antarctica on Monday, with an official saying Beijing has no plans to start mining in the vast continent. China’s expanding activities in …
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China tells the world bedtime stories in propaganda drive
Beijing (AFP) – A video of an American father telling his daughter bedtime stories about the Chinese president’s signature project. A music clip with children singing about sharing “the goodness.” A cartoon of a whisky …
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China lawyer’s wife seeks US asylum after brazen escape
Beijing (AFP) – Chen Guiqiu fled China on foot with her two daughters, only to end up in a Thai prison until US officials helped them sneak out dramatically through a back door. Now Chen …
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The Chinese human rights lawyers seen as enemies of the state
Beijing (AFP) – A leading Chinese human rights lawyer went on trial Monday for inciting subversion, in a case which sparked an international outcry after claims he was tortured. Xie Yang, who had worked on …
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Chinese court says prominent rights lawyer pleads guilty
Beijing (AFP) – A leading Chinese human rights lawyer whose case has drawn international scrutiny pleaded guilty Monday to charges of “inciting subversion of state power” in what critics called a “show trial.” Xie Yang, …
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UN slams Chinese rights lawyer’s detention
Beijing (AFP) – The United Nations’ human rights office condemned Friday the detention of a Chinese attorney while he was vacationing with his family, calling it part of an “ongoing crackdown” against lawyers. “We are …
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Chinese court sentences rights lawyer in secret trial
Beijing (AFP) – China sentenced a prominent human rights lawyer to a three-year suspended sentence Friday following a secret trial, raising concerns the country is moving to further reduce transparency in high-profile, politically sensitive cases. …
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Trial of China human rights lawyer delayed: supporters
Changsha (AFP) – A Chinese court indefinitely postponed the trial of a prominent human rights lawyer on Tuesday, his supporters said, in a case that has sparked international concern after allegations he was tortured. Xie …
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Unpredictable Donald Trump unsettles China as North Korea policy wobbles
Beijing (AFP) – From Twitter threats to Tomahawk missiles, US president Donald Trump’s unorthodox and seemingly impulsive approach to foreign policy has unsettled China, piling new pressure on its hands-off North Korea policy. As tensions …