Another sign that democracy in China is still a long ways away:
China's government is detaining people who were protesting problems ranging from poor health care to property seizures as the country's ceremonial parliament prepares to open its annual session, activists and human rights groups said Friday.Check out the Human Rights in China website. There is also a story about "Tiananmen Veteran Li Jianping ... has been formally indicted on charges of 'incitement to subvert state power.'" How exactly did he "subvert" state power? Apparently he posted "articles on overseas Chinese Web sites."
Thousands of people visit Beijing each year during the 10-day legislative session, hoping to air complaints about corruption and other problems. Police routinely detain them and send them home.
This year, those detained or warned ahead of the parliament session, which begins Sunday, include AIDS patients who want better medical care and people who have petitioned the government over the loss of their homes for redevelopment.
Liu Xinjuan, an activist who has complained about homes being demolished without proper compensation, was sent home to Shanghai from Beijing and forced into a mental hospital, said New York-based Human Rights in China.
Of course in the United States we have a Constitution that protects our freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble. But back in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes that the freedom of thought, conscience, expression and opinion is guaranteed to all people, including the Chinese.
