Free Republic

'Revolution' fears over Hong Kong cardinal By Richard Spencer in Beijing (Filed: 11/03/2006) The ''official'' Catholic Church in Beijing has accused Hong Kong's newly-appointed cardinal of trying to do to China what the late Pope did to Poland. "Why would you appoint someone who doesn't support communism as a cardinal?" said Liu Bainian, the vice-chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, in a direct attack on Cardinal Joseph Zen. "Is it like Poland? Didn't the Church play a big role in Poland?" Mr Liu, whose organisation controls all of China's state-sanctioned Catholic churches, was speaking on Hong Kong radio after...

New archaeological discovery rewrites Hong Kong's history of human activity Archaeologists have discovered a new site of human activity in remote antiquity in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. Zhang Shenshui, researcher of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua here Wednesday that the important archaeological discovery not only rewrites the history when Hong Kong began having human activity, but also puts forward new topics of research for archaeologists. More than 6,000 artifacts have been unearthed at the site, which is located at the Wong Tei Tung of Sai Kung, covering 8,000 square meters. The site was a field for stone artifacts...

A funny thing happened over the weekend to the big "Cops Gone Wild" video scandal in San Francisco -- it started getting very quiet. Apparently, Mayor Gavin Newsom and his handlers realized that while the videos were bad, they didn't quite prove -- at least in the public's mind -- Newsom's charge that they were evidence of a "deep-seated" culture of sexism, racism and homophobia running through the department. By Sunday, the message was going out that Newsom -- having made his point and formed a "blue-ribbon" commission to look into the department's culture -- was now ready to get...

HONG KONG - The United States expressed concern Friday about Hong Kong's leadership change - a switch some legal experts and companies fear might mark the erosion of a legal system that has made the Chinese territory one of the best places in the world to do business. Washington avoided the blunt language it used before when it accused China of chipping away at the high degree of autonomy Hong Kong was supposed to enjoy after returning to China in 1997. Instead, U.S. Consulate General spokeswoman Susan N. Stevenson conveyed America's worry by citing the importance of the rule of...

Zhao Ziyang, former Secretary-General of mainland China’s Communist Party, died at a Beijing hospital last Monday. Good riddance to another communist? In this case, no. Not all tigers are incapable of changing their stripes. During his tenure in China’s one and only political party, Zhao took steps that truly can be called “reforms.” Zhao's greatest moment occurred during the pro-democracy rebellion of 1989, which was centered in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. He opposed the use of China’s vast military might against the peaceful protestors gathered in the square. On May 19, 1989, Zhao personally pleaded with the protestors, mostly...

Last Saturday night brought His Imperial Highness Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Chanh of Vietnam, Regent of the Imperial Dynasty and President of the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League, to Cornell. The Prince, a member of the Vietnamese imperial family gave a lecture, entitled "Revival of Vietnamese Culture: The Nguyen Dynasty," before a crowd of about 50 people. Maria Nguyen '05, vice president of the Cornell Vietnamese Association sang the American national anthem and then played the national anthem of South Vietnam. Aided by PowerPoint slides, Prince Buu Chanh then began his lecture speaking from a podium draped with the American flag...

The Imperial Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam is politically pressuring the government of Vietnam to protect the liberty, religious rights of the Vietnamese people as well as the culture, traditions, languages of the Montagnards and Khmer Krom in Vietnam. (PRWEB) October 23, 2004 -- Today, Vietnam is experiencing a minor period of outward growth. Even the most dedicated Communists are abandoning old communist economic policies, which have proven to be ineffective and sometimes harmful. Capitalism is being introduced, with the Communist Party maintained only as a vehicle to exercise absolute control of the elite Party leaders over the common people. The...

Aurora,IL (PRWEB) September 8, 2004 -- OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS - From the Office of the Leadership of the The Imperial Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam & Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League: His Imperial Highness Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Chanh of Vietnam, Regent of the Imperial Nguyen Dynasty and President of The Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League denounces the Communist Government on the return of United States Servicemen MIA or possible POWs’ and Human Rights Record. It has been stated by American Marines and Army Soldiers who are in Vietnam searching for MIA's, that there is corruption within the government of Vietnam. They stated that...

from the Kerry Ammo Armory...email-able, copyright-ready cartoon you can use in emails, on blogs, in flyers, on posters... anything that's noncommercial. Kerry’s a crook Talon News is reporting that Sen. John Kerry is guilty of taking foreign contributions: Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates government corruption, has released declassified documents which they say show that Democrat presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry accepted improper campaign contributions during his 1996 reelection bid. In exchange, Judicial Watch says Kerry helped arrange meetings between Chinese aerospace executives and U.S. Government officials. The heavily redacted FBI documents show that Johnny Chung, who plead...

Despite the Chinese government’s horrific oppression of its people, dissent persists. Today, six women held a protest on an apartment building rooftop in Beijing. They waved a banner reading, “We accuse the police, the prosecutors and the courts in Liaoning province of corruption and trickery.” The women threatened to commit suicide if their demands were not met, but were later taken away by police. The protest took place not far from communist government headquarters. A similar incident occurred several weeks ago. According to the BBC, A growing number of Chinese have been bringing petitions to Beijing to try to gain...

Rejecting the demands of Hong Kong people who staged a massive pro-democracy march, China said today it will stick by its earlier decision ruling out the direct election of the territory's next leader. A key mainland official in Hong Kong said China's top legislative panel had made its position clear when it said in April that Hong Kong people cannot democratically choose the successor to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in 2007 or all lawmakers in 2008. Hong Kong people staged a massive, peaceful pro-democracy march on Thursday, with many holding out hopes that Beijing would change its mind and move...

A Hong Kong cyclist required hospital treatment after he was attacked and set upon by a wild pig, a report says. Wong Pok-hon was cycling to work along a highway in sleepy Tai Po district in the New Territories when the 1.2 metre grey-brown beast suddenly appeared and rammed into his bike, sending him sprawling, the Sunday Morning Post reported. After the collision, the pig continued its unprovoked attack and attempted to bite Wong who was forced to use his bike as a shield to protect himself from the raging hog. The attack ended when another cyclist spotted Wong and...

Hong Kong fears possible SARS comeback 14:29 25 July 03 NewScientist.com news service Eighteen people linked to a Hong Kong psychiatric institution have been hospitalised with respiratory symptoms and are being tested for the deadly SARS virus. All have tested positive for influenza A, but this has not calmed fears that SARS - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - could be making a comeback. Hong Kong medical experts are saying extensive tests are needed for accurate diagnoses. "It will take another two to three days at least for the results of comprehensive tests to be out," a Hong Kong health department...

Hong Kong declared Sars-free China has seen thousands recover from the disease Hong Kong has been declared free of Sars, 20 days after the last confirmed case of the disease in the territory. The World Health Organization called the development a "very significant achievement in the history of Sars control", following 296 deaths from the disease in Hong Kong. "The whole world can now feel safer from the Sars threat," said David Heymann, the WHO's executive director of communicable diseases. But officials are warning that the territory must remain vigilant if it is to avoid the kind of recurrence of...

Hong Kong unmasks in slow return to normality By Andrew Gumbel 25 April 2003 Hong Kong is still the city worst affected by the outbreak of SARS, but the past few days have seen the first tentative signs of life returning back to normal. The number of probable cases reported by local hospitals peaked about a week ago and has fallen steadily since. Most of Hong Kong's secondary schools reopened this week after a three-week hiatus. Residents who fled the city in panic at the beginning of the outbreak are beginning to trickle back home. Taxi-drivers and bus riders are...

Anatomy of the deadly China syndrome Virus Sars is first of many epidemics to come Ian Sample, science correspondent Friday April 25, 2003 The Guardian We're unsure where it came from, have no treatment for it and no idea when or where it will spread next. The virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome is shrouded in unknowns. But two things are agreed upon: it's lethal, and it's not going to go away. What's more, we can look forward to far more new and extremely dangerous viruses in the next few years. In mid-February, a retired Chinese doctor, Liu Jianlun,...

Sars death toll hits new high in Hong Kong By Severin Carrell 20 April 2003 The global crisis over the Sars virus intensified yesterday after the death toll in Hong Kong reached record levels and Singapore imposed draconian measures to control the outbreak. The authorities in Hong Kong said 12 people died yesterday from the flu-like Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome – the province's highest daily figure since the epidemic began last month, taking the total toll to 81. Clearly unnerved by the fast spread of the disease, the authorities in Singapore announced that from tomorrow Sars victims who flouted quarantine...

Sars claims young victims in Hong Kong Chinese president ends silence on epidemic John Gittings in Shanghai Tuesday April 15, 2003 The Guardian Health officials in Hong Kong are trying to establish why six relatively young patients suffering from Sars - the pneumonia-like disease which has spread from the mainland - have died. Most of the fatalities so far have been older people, or ones with existing chronic problems. Some experts are afraid that the virus may be mutating.Hong Kong has reported 1,190 cases and 47 deaths. About 20% of patients have been discharged from hospital. Though no cure has...

Deaths from virus reach 100 and Hong Kong fears thousands more By Joe McDonald, AP, in Beijing 08 April 2003 Deaths worldwide from severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) reached at least 100 yesterday, as China revealed that fatalities had been much more widespread than previously reported.Hong Kong said it was preparing for a leap in Sars cases. Health officials were expecting as many as 3,000 patients. There are 700 now. Officials in Singapore were considering installing web cameras in the homes of people under quarantine to make sure they did not leave, and Vietnam said it might bar visitors from...

New reports of SARS plague Hong Kong April 06 2003 at 12:51PM Hong Kong - The Hong Kong government said on Sunday that a deadly respiratory virus had infected 42 more people in the territory, bringing the total number of cases to 842. Two more patients had died, taking the local death toll from the disease to 22, a government statement said. The pneumonia-like disease, which may have originated in southern China, hit the city in March and has been spread around the world by air travellers. Including the latest figures, the virus has killed more than 90 people worldwide...

Mystery virus claims more victims in Hong and Malaysia By D'Arcy Doran, AP 05 April 2003 More deaths from the mystery pnuemonia virus sweeping Asia were reported today in Hong Kong and Malaysia, bringing the global death toll to at least 89. Hong Kong reported three new deaths and said the number of its people infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), had risen to 800 — accounting for more than a third of the world's more than 2,300 cases. The disease has killed 20 in the territory. President George Bush followed the lead of governments in Asia and Canada...

Travellers warned to stay away from Hong Kong By Jeremy Laurance in Hong Kong 03 April 2003 For the first time in its history the World Health Organisation has advised travellers not to visit a territory because of the danger from disease. The WHO warned yesterday that the outbreak of atypical pneumonia caused by a mystery virus which has spread around the world was still uncontrolled in Hong Kong and the neighbouring Chinese province of Guangdong. The Foreign Office also said yesterday that it "strongly advised" people not to enter Hong Kong and Guangdong and urged people to "defer travel...

Proof that bird flu killed man in Hong Kong prompts alarm By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor 21 February 2003 Doctors confirmed yesterday that a man who died of a viral illness in Hong Kong last Sunday had been suffering from "bird flu", in the first known fatality from the disease since 1997. Health authorities in Hong Kong urged people to stay calm amid fears that the outbreak, thought to be caused by the transmission of the virus from chickens, could be the beginning of a pandemic. The man's nine-year-old son is in hospital with the rare strain of flu, A(H5N1)....