It's so refreshing to know that the Olympics did so much to open up China. Mission Accomplished, IOC. Governments in the West remain much too afraid to take a hard line with China, fearing the loss of cheap factory labor for business. The Independent:
A lawyer left wheelchair-bound after alleged mistreatment in police custody went on trial yesterday, testifying from a sickbed. Earlier in the week two other rights activists were jailed for up to 10 years as Beijing continued its crackdown on dissent. Ni Yulan, 51, is charged with fraud and falsifying information to steal property. She is also charged, along with her husband, Dong Jiqin, with causing a disturbance at a guesthouse where the couple were detained by police. Her daughter, Dong Xuan, told reporters that her mother appeared at the opening of her trial in a bed, and relied on an oxygen mask to help her breathe. "Seeing my mother lying on that bed, it made my heart ache," Ms Dong said. "This is definitely not a normal trial procedure, so I feel the risk of conviction is high," she added.
