Category Archives: Weibo Watch

China detains journalist who documented labour camp abuses, Tiananmen crackdown accounts

(June 12, 2013) Beijing-based photojournalist Du Bin has been detained by Chinese state security officials after he disappeared following the release of his documentary on Chinese labour camp abuses — profiled here by Probe International last month. His sister, high-profile human rights activist Hu Jia, says Du is being held because his work directly challenges the authorities: “They are suppressing him to send a message to others,” she says. Gillian Wong reports for the Associated Press. Continue reading

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New documentaries take on the horrors of China’s labor camp system

(May 7, 2013) Two new documentaries released this month reveal more horrifying details about China’s notorious re-education through labor (RTL) system. Other recent exposés of systemic human rights abuses in the RTL have led to calls to scrap the long-contested practice entirely. China’s new leadership is reportedly reviewing it. Continue reading

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Weibo Watch: Issue 11

(June 13, 2012) In this instalment of Weibo Watch: In March, Beijing announced it would build Asia’s largest trash incineration plant. In Yunnan, April was an especially cruel month: 273 rivers dried up, leaving people to weep as they tended to their fields. Meanwhile, the monitoring of PM2.5 fine particulate air pollution has stepped up in China as pressure mounts to reduce particulates and the causes of air-borne pollution. Continue reading

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Weibo Watch: Issue 10

(January 23, 2012) In this instalment of Weibo Watch: grassroots social activism takes off. Continue reading

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Weibo Watch: Issue 9

(November 21, 2011) In this instalment of Weibo Watch: the media investigates cadmium-contaminated rice, technological bird kills, and rivers polluted with heavy metals or choked with weeds; netizens catch online vendors selling protected species; and professors kneel in protest against steel factories, setting off a heated debate. Continue reading

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Weibo Watch: Issue 8

(November 9, 2011) This week, a botched Car Free Day sees heavier traffic jams than usual; Beijing’s air pollution is far worse than Chinese authorities admit; citizens clash with police in protests against waste incineration; and farmers burn straw, adding smog to Chinese cities. Continue reading

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Weibo Watch: Issue 7

This week on Weibo Watch: rock desertification is turning a huge swath of southwest China barren; villagers in Guangdong fight illegal, environmentally damaging mining; citizens in Zhejiang, protesting an energy company’s carcinogenic pollution, face official denial and police detention; restaurants stop selling shark fin; and an NGO walks along the highly polluted Xiang River. Continue reading

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Weibo Watch: Issue 6

This week, netizens take on polluting phone manufacturers, document Beijing’s traffic troubles, successfully shut down a hunting festival and investigate sales of mysterious “grey swan” meat for the Mid-Autumn Day Festival. Continue reading

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