3 Million "Moses" Babies Every Year in China

"Pharaoh, king of Egypt commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.” ...but when Moses' mother saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank..." - Exodus 1:22 - 2:4

Moses was born in Egypt circa 1520 BC at a time when infanticide for male infants was mandatory, and where agents of the State would enter homes to ensure that the bloody task had been carried out. Today in China, the State is enforcing a very similar law, known as the one-child-policy, with the innocuous official title of the Family Planning Policy. The Chinese government themselves have admitted that "some 24 million Chinese men of marrying age will be unable to find a bride by the end of this decade because of the country's one-child policy". However encouraging news just in on Chinese parents who are bravely breaking the law...

As many as three million Chinese babies are hidden by their parents every year in order to get around the country's one-child policy, a researcher has discovered. Since 1978, China's government has limited each couple to one child, carrying out forced abortions and sterilizations, and monitoring women's intra uterine devices to control the population. For parents violating the policy, the penalties can be harsh. Large fines are levied, houses are often demolished and offenders are sometimes jailed. In millions of cases, families are prepared to take the risk, according to research by Liang Zhongtang, a demographer and former member of the expert committee of China's National Population and Family Planning Commission... (continue reading)

Interesting how history insists on repeating itself eh...

Sinister Side to Beijing Olympics

I've already written about the Chinese Government banning churches from operating for three months surrounding the Olympic Games.  We've looked at the evidence that some members of the Chinese gymnastic team were underage.  And now finally, we have the inside-story from a New York reporter who was arrested, interrogated and abused.  His crime? Taking photos of a Free Tibet protest

Rae refused to give the police the passwords, which made them very angry. One interrogator stood menacingly in front of Rae with a steel bar in his hand. He also hit him on the shoulder with an open hand. “I don’t want to exaggerate what happened,” said Rae, “but after having been awake so long, it’s difficult to get hit like that.”

At one point, Rae asked his interrogator what was going to happen to him. “We’re not sure if we want to slit your throat or shoot you,” was the answer he was given...

...After the 22-hour interrogation, Rae was made to sign and fingerprint every page of a 45-page document that was all in Chinese. He and the others were then driven to the Chong Wen detention center about 30 minutes away. They were kept in separate cells and made to wear prison uniforms of red T-shirts and red shorts. The police told him he was not in a jail, that it was “just a detention center.”

Rae was mixed in with the general population of prisoners—about a dozen people in a cell with narrow wooden platforms as beds, all pushed up against a wall. When they slept, it was shoulder-to-shoulder. He was given a military blanket that reeked of urine and a dirty plastic bowl and spoon for meals. Potable water was made available to the prisoners for only 15 minutes a day. Rae scrounged an empty plastic soda bottle to store water in for the day.

Read the full article here: www.en.epochtimes.com

Hat-tip: Half Done blog

China Cheating?

China is currently leading the world with 22 gold medals and a total of 35 medal. But are they cheating?...

First it was the fireworks. One billion people around the world sat back in their armchairs, oohing and ahhing at the pretty impressive fireworks display. It wasn't until about a week later that we found out that part of the display had been computer generated.

And then it was the little girl singing the Chinese Olympic Games anthem, a patriotic song entitled v "Hymn to the Motherland" - it wasn't actually her singing it, as The Telegraph sums up,

"Chinese officials have admitted deceiving the public over another highlight of the Olympic opening ceremony: the picture-perfect schoolgirl who sang as the Chinese flag entered the stadium was performing to another girl's voice."

Apparently, the show's musical director Mr. Chen decided that Yang Peiyi was too ugly, with her "buck-teeth" being one reason given for why, at the last minute Lin Miaoke (the girl in the red dress) was chosen to lip-sync the pre-recorded song. "She was not cute enough" said Mr. Chen. Rick draws an interesting parallel here.

And now, speculation is growing over allegations that some of China's athletes are underage. The age-restriction for competiting in the Olympic games has been set at 16yrs in an attempt to cut back on the high numbers of children who had been suffering from extreme training schedules that would eventuate in them being crippled or disabled. However trainers recognise that the younger gymnasts are more flexible, and have a higher strength:body-weight ratio. Check out this video which seems to present some strong evidence that several of China's gymnastic team are indeed underage. A forensic scientist who is interviewed in the video suggests that some of the athletes may even be as young as 10 years old.

Are these girls really 16?

Gateway Pundit has some screenshots on his blog, evidence that China has been removing references to it's athletes ages, and changing them to 16yrs.

These few examples just seem to exemplify China's culture of deceit.

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Hat tip: Half Done
Update (15/08/08 11pm): Children dressed in traditional Chinese costumes representing the 56 ethnic groups in China exposed as fakes: they were all of the Han Chinese ethnicity.
Related post: Chinese Govt. closes down churches for duration of Olympic Games.

Chinese Govt. Bans Churches for Three Months

To the left is a copy of the letter delivered to Beijing Churches by the Chinese Government. Click here for a translation of the letter into English. The letter essentially demands that all churches in China be shut down for three months (July 15 - October 15). The letter further goes on to state that Chinese churches are prohibited from accepting help from visiting Christians such as donations or preaching. The China Aid Association has reported on this traversty of freedom in this article, and below is an excerpt,

"Beijing- CAA has discovered that a number of Chinese House Church Pastors were forced to sign a written agreement that they would not participate in religious services while the Olympic Games are taking place in China. The document, drafted by Chinese Govnerment Officials, specifies that the House Churches in China

“…refrain from organizing and joining illegal gatherings and refrain from receiving donations, sermons and preaching from overseas religious organizations and groups that have a purpose.”

The document also prohibits the churches from gathering in their communities for more than 3 months while the Olympics are taking place. Should church members violate these rules they will be subject to the disciplinary actions of the Chinese Government."
Click here for full article

Hah! So much for the "Chinese Dream" which we were presented with at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, broadcast to 1 billion (15% of the World's population) on TV a week ago. This is the true China.

Hat tip: Doug's blog

Opening Ceremony

Crashed Rick's headquarters last night for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Bejing Olympic Games. I brought a couple of packs of Grainwaves (the best), and plenty of Coke to keep us awake.

We were watching the proceedings on Rick's Commodore Amiga monitor which did the job.

The displays put on by the Olympic hosts were bizzare to say the least, yet still astounding in their execution. You find yourself staring at the screen wondering what 4 colourfully attired puppets have to do with the huge square pattern of a thousand or so dancers. The dancers with paint-brushes attached to their hands were incredibly agile and managed to draw a fairly decent picture on the huge scroll which appeared to be center stage for most of the preliminary events of the ceremony.

TV One Olympics commentator Keith Quinn entertained us with a number of amusing reflections on the ceremony. Refering to a parade of traditionally-dressed Chinese marchers he commented "They are representing the provinces which they represent". And a bit later on, "The silk-road was instrumental in allowing China to trade with... other countries". Give the guy a break though, I suppose he's not really into this stuff, his specialty is sport, and he had a few interesting statistics and comments to make about the teams as they came out into the Birds Nest Stadium.

We were treated to some pretty fantastic fireworks, and many other displays of China's power. I can only wonder at how they pulled off some of the spectacles. The girls flying about over the stage, suspended by wires. The guys running around the large globe which rose out of the floor of the stage, with Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan singing "You and Me", standing on top. Actually the synchronised boxes which rose up and down was pretty impressive too. As I commented to Rick, "The Chinese seem to like a lot of people doing the same thing at the same time." The Chinese National Anthem definitely had that Communist ring to it, and brought to mind the National Anthem of the USSR (a favourite - even if it's translation into English does send a shiver up your spine).

204 Countries! We turned the box off at about number 90, and had half an hour of sleep. 2:30am we woke up again and blimey, if they weren't still churning them out. We watched for a bit longer and then fell asleep again. We are die-hard Olympics fans... New Zealand apparently walked out onto the track immediately before China's team - which was last up, as is the tradition at the Olympic Games. I will steer clear of the political/ethical aspect of the Bejing Olympic Games for now, apart from quoting a Chinese person who said to me the other day "I will kill you if you disagree with the Bejing Olympics". Anyway, hope to blog on this interesting subject shortly. Till then,

Go New Zealand!

5-12 Memorial

I was walking through Cathedral Square today, at around 5:30pm. Conquest of Paradise by Vangelis was playing through a powerful set of speakers in the back of a van parked near the Cathedral. I was drawn to the group of people who were now gathering around ...something, I couldn't see so I went up closer. Candles in clear plastic glasses were being laid out on the tiles of Cathedral Square. A memorial service for those who lost their lives in the terrible earthquake of Sichuan, China on 12 May this year. And an opportunity for us to show our support for those who survived, to stand beside them as they attempt to rebuild their lives.

"The death toll from the China earthquake has reached 60,560 and could rise to 80,000 or more, the Chinese government said today." - Guardian

I was handed a candle of my own. A sober-faced young chinese man pulled out his gas-lighter and lit it for me.

Two young Chinese people stood by the microphones. The man addressed the crowd in Chinese, followed by a translation from the woman. The stilted English made this even more moving than it would otherwise have been - the heartfelt message coming through strongly, despite the many grammatical mistakes. After being given an overview of the situation, another lady was invited to take a microphone on the steps at the base of the cathedral, and deliver her "mourning speech". This was a heart-rending speech - and if I knew Mandarin I'm sure I would have let a tear or two escape. The volume was up very loud and the pained voice of the speaker echoed from the surrounding buildings.

The size of the group grew, and I looked around me at my Chinese brothers and sisters. I was one of the few "white people" present. It must be so hard for them, they're here, and there's not much they can do to help, they're so far away from home.

When Minister of Commerce, Lianne Dalziel took the microphone I decided it was time to head home. I handed my candle to a man standing at the back of the crowd who hadn't managed to get one, and deep in thought, made my way to the bus exchange.

Chengdu Earthquake, an Inside Look

I received another email from my friend in China, offering a chilling insight into the devestating earthquake which has just taken place in Chengdu, China.

"...form the day before yesterday to today we nearly sleept a couple of hours , because our dorm was damaged a little and we fear others dangerous

unknown countless earthquake will happen soon, , so we spent the endless night in our playground and badmiton hall (siince the rain became extreamly heavy ) . we dare not to sleep , each possible tiny shake of the earth made us run out of form the buliding we hiding , some people get a little hurt from them including me..

my hometown was badly damaged ,many people died even including our vice mayor ,since any supply had been cut down in our hometown,,I cant contact with my dad , and i m worride about him.

I know I shoulnt complaint too much,comparing with many other people , im lucky enough , my best friend's friend 's all of her family (9 people)died .she is the only one alive.

during the time we spending , we can do nothing but waiting , darkness, sleepless , hopeless and hlepless. i still remember the suddenly strong shake of the building where we had a class in at that moment , our teacher shouted to us "RUN !JUST RUN!"we dashed outside and we began to lose banlence......."

And an excerpt from an article at www.globeandmail.com -

The 7.8 magnitude quake, centred in Sichuan province, struck in the middle of the school day yesterday and toppled at least eight schools. Chemical-laden factories and at least one hospital collapsed, trapping hundreds more, state news media said.

The death toll appeared likely to climb in China's worst earthquake in more than three decades as troops struggled on foot to reach the worst-hit area of Wenchuan, some 100 kilometres from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province...

..."Not one minute can be wasted," Mr. Wen said. "One minute, one second, could mean a child's life."

The rescue team (picture)