[REPORT] How Chinese Activists Access Information Resources

By Chang Kun


Chinese activists have been using different types of social medias to
post their works and raise international awareness to assist special cases. Following
are examples of some public ways in which Chinese activists have automatic access
to information resources. In the past few years, because of the Internet and increasing
work in this sphere by some HIV/AIDS organizations, such as Beijing AIZHIXING
Institute, a lot of grass-root organizations have grown in skills on how to use
Internet tools for their work and community, especially for posting human
rights cases to increase attention.

(more…)


On the Road to Beijing

For the next two weeks, Meg and Gisa will be “vlogging” (video blogging) our trip to Beijing and Yunnan to do on-the-ground work for Asia Catalyst: lobbying officials, coaching NGO partners, and holding a party to celebrate the accomplishments of our first “incubation” project, the Korekata AIDS Law Center.

Meanwhile, we have to kill a little time in the airport…


[REPORT] Abuses Against Drug Users in Indonesia

by Sara (Meg) Davis, Agus Triwahyuono, and Risa Alexander
from Harm Reduction Journal

In Indonesia, an ongoing government “war on drugs” has resulted in
numerous arrests and anecdotal reports of abuse in detention, but to
date there has been little documentation or analysis of this issue.
JANGKAR (also known in English as the Indonesian Harm Reduction
Network), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Jakarta,
surveyed 1106 injecting drug users in 13 cities about their experiences
of police abuse. Of those interviewed, 667 or 60% reported physical
abuse by police. These findings indicate the importance of continuing
efforts to promote police reform and harm reduction in Indonesia.

We’re delighted that our article on Jangkar’s groundbreaking research has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. For the full article and excerpts from the moving testimony of drug users in Indonesia, please see the Harm Reduction Journal.