[REPORT] Dream of Ding Village

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The following is a cross post from the great people at The China Beat. The site provides context and criticism on contemporary China from China scholars and journalists. 

By Mike Frick
“Since you have gone, the house is empty, it has been three seasons now
Extinguish the lamps, let the twilight come, we must endure the setting sun” 
–Chinese funeral couplet

In 2000-2001, Elisabeth Rosenthal published a series of reports in the New York Times that alerted the world to a startling AIDS epidemic among farmers in central China. Beginning in the early 1990s, thousands of farmers in the Yellow River provinces of Henan, Hebei, Hubei, and Shanxi had contracted HIV through commercial blood selling. Local government officials in Henan promoted blood and plasma selling as a rural development scheme that would lift farmers out of poverty.

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[NEWS] Global Times Condemns Forced Labor in Drug Detention Centers

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According to official statistics over 171,000 drug users underwent forced drug treatment, in China, in 2011 alone. While a joint statement cosigned by 12 UN bodies in March 2012 calling for “States to close compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers” did not force China to close its drug treatment centers, a highly critical article from the Global Times, an official media outlet, may point to a shift in the right direction.

The article highlighted personal stories of drug users and NGOs like Asia Catalyst’s partner the Dongzhen Nalan Culture Communication Center, praising reforms including promoting counseling and community rehabilitation.

[NEWS] CHINA’S CHONGQING CITY REFORMS LAW ON SEX WORK/ 重庆市对卖淫嫖娼者不再进行劳动教养

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New changes to Chongqing City’s local laws now eliminate reeducation through labor as a form of punishment for sex workers and their clients. China’s reeducation through labor system allows police to sentence people without trial for minor crimes. While far from decriminalizing sex work Professor Yang Weidong of the National School of Administration notes that with this important step ‘the legitimacy of reeducation through labor has been questioned.’ Read the article here (in Chinese.)  

法制网报道，重庆市修改地方法规，删除对卖淫嫖娼者实行劳动教养的规定。详细的中文报道，请查看这里。

[NEWS] Call For Proposals, $20,000 For One-Year Projects

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Good news, The U.S. Embassy is now accepting proposals for the 2012 EAP/PD Small Grants Program. 

Proposals must support program activities that promote democratic practices, including development of civil society; foster freedom of information and independent media; increase transparency in government; support NGO capacity building; advance rule of law and judicial reform; promote civic education; encourage conflict resolution; prioritize human rights; and advocate for equal rights for ethnic minorities or women. Priority will be given to new projects or programs.
Grants may be made to non-governmental, not-for-profit organizations based in China that demonstrate long-term sustainability beyond the proposed program activity. 
See the full application here.