By Melinda Liu | NEWSWEEK

Beijing is pumping more than half a trillion dollars into the Chinese economy in order to stave off unrest. It has good reason to worry. ( Photo: James Whitlow Delano / Redux for Newsweek/Pedestrians at Beijing’s bell tower on a recent morning)

People who knew Tang Yongming say they never imagined he could do such a horrible, senseless thing. A few minutes after noon on Aug. 9, just 12 hours after the start of the 2008 Olympics, Tang, 47, savagely knifed a visiting American couple inside Beijing’s 13th-century Drum Tower. Then he jumped 130 feet to his death from the ancient landmark’s western balcony. [Read more →]

11-17-2008
Issued by Initiatives for China
Contact: Jim Geheran
Tel: 202-290-1423
initiatives4china@gmail.com
www.initiativesforchina.org

On November 9, the Fourth Interethnic/Interfaith Leadership Conference held at Harvard University concluded on a note of unity and renewed commitment to advancing human rights, democracy, and the rule of law for all the peoples of China. Unanimous declaration pledging unity and mutual respect in a common struggle for democracy is the first of its kind in Chinese History. [Read more →]

11-10-2008
Issued by Initiatives for China
Contact: Jim Geheran
Tel: 202-290-1423
initiatives4china@gmail.com
www.initiativesforchina.org

On November 9, the Fourth Interethnic/Interfaith Leadership Conference held at Harvard University concluded on a note of unity and renewed commitment to advancing human rights, democracy, and the rule of law for all the peoples of China. The conference, funded in part, by the National Endowment for Democracy, and sponsored by the Boston-based democracy group, Initiatives for China, was attended by more than sixty delegates from virtually every ethnic and religious group under the rule of the Chinese government. Under the theme of “respecting differences, embracing universal values, united for a democratic future for all,” the conference provided a forum for finding common ground in the pursuit of human rights and democratic reforms in the governance of peoples under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party. The conference concluded with writing a Joint Declaration of Unity, which represents the first time in history that a compact was drafted and agreed upon by people from so many diverse ethnic groups from inside China. [Read more →]

11-09-2008
Issued by Initiatives for China
Contact: Jim Geheran
Tel: 202-290-1423
initiatives4china@gmail.com  www.initiativesforchina.org

November 8  The second day of the Interethnic/Interfaith Leadership Conference held at Harvard University, documented a chilling pattern of cultural repression in many of the lands under the Chinese government’s control. In a panel moderated by Michael A. Grodin, Professor of Bioethics and Human Rights at Boston University, Tibetan leaders outlined the 50 year long campaign by the Chinese government to marginalize the Tibetan people through economic and political isolation in their own land. At the same time the Chinese communist party has mounted a national and international media campaign to label the Tibetans as terrorists and ingrates who do not appreciate the huge economic investments the Chinese government has made in their territory. The Tibetan panelists were quick to point out the economic investments almost exclusively benefited the Han Chinese who resettled in the area at the urging of the Chinese government. Despite numerous efforts by the Tibetan people to open a dialogue with the Chinese government and the Chinese government’s public agreement to have such dialogues, virtually no negotiations have taken place. The intransigence and indifference of the Chinese government and its failure to negotiate in good faith has been a source of frustration to the Tibetan people.
[Read more →]

11-08-2008 Issued by Initiatives for China
Contact: Jim Geheran Tel: 202-290-1423
initiatives4china@gmail.com
www.initiativesforchina.org

The Fourth Interethnic/InterfaithLeadership Conference held its opening session at Harvard University yesterday with praise and encouragement from world leaders with backgrounds as diverse as the conference itself.

In a statement read by Secretary Thekchen Choeling, the Dalai Lama stated the importance of this conference to furthering the advancement of democratic principles in China. “I am happy to know that this conference will pay special attention to the needs of the people of mainland China for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, because these values are the foundation of a free and dynamic society. They are also the the source of true peace and stability.”

Taking time from her busy post-election schedule, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, The Honorable Nancy Pelosi sent her best wishes from her office in Washington, DC. “I commend the leaders of the diverse ethnic, faith-based and activist organizations that have gathered to cultivate an open dialogue and discover common ground,” said Speaker Pelosi. “We look forward to the day when the world’s most populous country can at last be called the world’s largest democracy.”
[Read more →]

11-07-2008 Issued by Initiatives for China
Contact: Jim Geheran Tel: 202-290-1423
initiatives4china@gmail.com
www.initiativesforchina.org

Under the theme of Respecting Differences, Embracing Universal Values, United for a Democratic Future for All, over 50 representatives from the diverse ethnic and religious groups of China convened on the evening of the November 6 in Boston for the Fourth Interethnic/Interfaith Leadership Conference. The conference is funded in part by the National Endowment for Democracy and sponsored by Initiatives for China, the Boston-based movement for advancing democracy in China through constitutional reform.
[Read more →]

Initiatives for China 11-04-2008
According to the report of  Mr. Mu Jiayu, a member of Initiatives for China inside China, today the taxi drivers in Chongqing city are still on strike to protest high gas prices and police traffic ticket abuses. The Chongqing city government declared the strike was over, yet the reporter witnessed only a few taxis running on the streets but refusing service.