. 24/7 Space News .
DEMOCRACY
Billionaire Guo Wengui wants regime change in Beijing
by Staff Writers
New York (AFP) Dec 9, 2017


EU "deeply troubled" by China's human rights record
Beijing (AFP) Dec 8, 2017 - The European Union delegation to China said Friday it was "extremely concerned" about the denial to Chinese citizens of "fundamental" human rights.

The EU noted "significant improvements in the Chinese people's standard of living and in access to social services such as health and education", according to a statement on its website.

"However ... during the past year, we have been deeply troubled by the deterioration of the situation with respect to freedom of information and freedom of expression and association, including with respect to online activity," it said.

The statement comes days before the International Human Rights Day on December 10, and as Beijing ramps up its crackdown on civil society, targeting everyone from lawyers to celebrity gossip bloggers.

President Xi Jinping's enactment of regulations such as the national security law established legal bases for the government's tightening grip, formalising de facto restrictions that had long been in place.

The EU delegation also said it regrets the death in detention in July of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, and called for the release of imprisoned human rights defenders, including lawyer Jiang Tianyong and Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti.

Jiang had represented some of the more than 200 Chinese lawyers and activists who were detained or questioned in a police sweep in 2015 that rights groups called "unprecedented".

The delegation's statement was not formally endorsed by all 28 EU member states, and there was no immediate response from Beijing.

Germany's ambassador to China, Michael Clauss, said separately on Friday that he was concerned about new regulations on religious affairs and the "worrying increase of pressure on religious communities".

China's officially atheist Communist authorities are wary of any organised movements outside their control, including religious ones, and analysts say controls over such groups have tightened under President Xi.

The national security law explicitly bans "cult organisations", which includes Falun Gong, Buddhist-inspired groups and several Christian groups.

A new regulation in the northwestern Xinjiang region bans religious activities in schools and stipulates that parents or guardians who "organise, lure, or force minors into religious activities" may be reported to the police.

Billionaire Guo Wengui, who is seeking asylum in the United States after accusing officials in his native China of corruption, wants "a change of the regime" in Beijing and the introduction of democracy in the world's most populous country.

"I want to try and to have rule of law, I want to try and have democracy, freedom, that's my ultimate goal... A change of the regime," he told AFP in a recent exclusive interview from his luxurious New York apartment facing Central Park.

Guo aims to achieve his goal within three years, he said, helped by a new media platform that he intends to launch before the end of December to expose the flaws of China's Communist regime.

For several months, he has been flooding social networks with accusations of corruption against China's rich and powerful.

He revealed an unexpected ally in his corner -- Steve Bannon, US President Donald Trump's former strategist who has called for Washington to wage "economic war" with China.

Guo said he has met ten times with Bannon, the one-time Goldman Sachs investment banker and head of influential ultraconservative outlet Breitbart News.

"He is one of the best international political experts I have ever seen. Mr Bannon is one of the very few Westerners who really understands Asia," said Guo, who gives his age as 47 despite uncertainty about his birthdate due to the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution in China at the time.

His Twitter account, which has nearly 480,000 people, has been repeatedly blocked since China's Communist Party congress in October, he said.

"I have money, you know this, lots of money prepared for this," Guo said of his new platform which he has been discussing with Bannon.

In the interview, Guo confirmed Wall Street Journal reports that he had been visited by Chinese government agents in his apartment in May.

He said the agents had one objective: "They are here to silence me... They want me to stop talking about the corrupt officials in the Chinese government."

"There are more than 100 hours of conversation I have on tape," he said. "For them, it was too big a threat!"

Two of Guo's brothers and many of his former employees have been imprisoned since he fled China in 2014, but he says he feels safe in the United States and is confident he will soon be granted political asylum.

"I have heard multiple sources saying I am totally safe here and my asylum should go through," he said. "One person even told me, 'They will wrap me in an American flag.'"

DEMOCRACY
Mauritania activists released after executions protest
Nouakchott (AFP) Dec 7, 2017
Five family members seeking justice for black Mauritanian soldiers executed in 1990 have been released after almost a week in detention for protesting at an independence day celebration, a security official and a rights group told AFP on Thursday. The group appeared at an event attended by President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz last week to protest the events of November 28, 1990, when 28 black M ... read more

Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

DEMOCRACY
Tech titans ramp up tools to win over children

Aerospace and Mitchell Institute release new report on policy needs for space operations

UAE launches programme to send astronauts into space

China pushed global patent filings to record high in 2016: UN

DEMOCRACY
SpaceX's Elon Musk to launch his own car into deep space

ISRO eyes one rocket launch a month in 2018

Russia to build launch pad for super heavy-lift carrier by 2028

Flat-Earther's self-launch plan hits a snag

DEMOCRACY
EU exempts fuel for ExoMars mission from Russian sanctions

Mars Rover Team's Tilted Winter Strategy Works

Brown: Clay on Mars May Have Formed in Primordial Steam Bath

Winter wanderings put Opportunity at 28 Miles on the odometer

DEMOCRACY
Nation 'leads world' in remote sensing technology

China plans for nuclear-powered interplanetary capacity by 2040

China plans first sea based launch by 2018

China's reusable spacecraft to be launched in 2020

DEMOCRACY
Regulation and compliance for nontraditional space missions

Orbital ATK purchase by Northrop Grumman approved by shareholders

UK space launch program receives funding boost from Westminster

Going green to the Red Planet

DEMOCRACY
Penn researchers establish universal signature fundamental to how glassy materials fail

In first, 3-D printed objects connect to WiFi without electronics

Better mastery of heat flow leads to next-generation thermal cloaks

3-D-printed minifactories

DEMOCRACY
Two Super-Earths around red dwarf K2-18

A New Spin to Solving Mystery of Stellar Companions

The CHEOPS scientific instrument is complete

Discovery about rare nitrogen molecules offers clues to makeup of life-supporting planets

DEMOCRACY
Wrapping up 2017 one year out from MU69

Jupiter Blues

Research bolsters possibility of plate tectonics on Europa

Pluto's hydrocarbon haze keeps dwarf planet colder than expected









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.