title: Mass in the Catholic Church

text: The Ritual Mass texts may not be used, except perhaps partially, when the rite is celebrated during especially important liturgical seasons or on high ranking feasts.


title: Mass in the Catholic Church

text: A Nuptial Mass is a Ritual Mass within which the sacrament of matrimony is celebrated. If one of a couple being married in a Catholic church is not a Catholic, the rite of matrimony outside Mass is to be followed. However, if the non-Catholic has been validly baptized, then, in exceptional cases and provided the bishop of the diocese gives permission, it may be considered suitable to celebrate the marriage within Mass, except that, according to the general law, Communion is not given to the non-Catholic ("Rite of Marriage", 8). The Nuptial Mass contains special prayers for the couple and, in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite, may be offered at any time of the liturgical year, except during the Paschal Triduum.


title: Tiger snake

text: Tiger snakes ("Notechis scutatus") are a large and highly venomous snake of southern Australia, including its coastal islands and Tasmania. These snakes are often observed and locally well known by their banding, black and yellow like a tiger, although the species can be highly variable in coloration and patterning. All populations are classified within the genus Notechis (Elapidae). Their diverse characteristics have been classified either as distinct species or by subspecies and regional variation.


title: Tiger snake

text: While tiger snakes are usually ground-dwelling, they are able to swim as well as climb into trees and buildings.


title: Tiger snake

text: The genus "Notechis" is allied to the elapid family, venomous snakes with fixed front fangs. The classification of this genus is given as a single and highly variable species, "Notechis scutatus", or a second species "Notechis ater", and by an arrangement of subspecies or regional morphs.


title: Tiger snake

text: A 2016 genetic analysis showed that the closest relative of the tiger snakes is the rough-scaled snake ("Tropidechis carinatus").


title: Tiger snake

text: The two extensively recognized species of this genus are "Notechis scutatus" (Peters, 1861) and "Notechis ater" (Krefft, 1866), which show further variety in their characteristics. Several authors have published revisions or described subspecies of these species. Others consider the names contained by this taxonomic arrangement to be unwarranted, and describe "Notechis" as a monotypic genus. Various authorities accept some or all the systematics previously applied, but most agree a revision of the genus is needed. Names for these subdivisions include the western types, appended to both species names as "occidentalis" (Glauert 1948) The island groups have also been described as subspecies: Chappell Island tiger snake as "N. ater serventyi" (Warrell, 1963), King Island and Tasmanian tiger snakes subspecies as "N. ater humphreysi", (Warrell, 1963) and the Peninsula tiger snake as "N. ater niger" (Kinghorn 1921).


title: Tiger snake

text: Island populations of "N. scutatus" have evolved larger heads to cope with large prey animals. Young populations have larger heads by phenotypic plasticity, whereas large heads have become genetically assimilated in older populations.


title: Tiger snake

text: "Notechis" is a genus of large venomous snakes in the family Elapidae restricted to subtropical and temperate regions of Australia. Tiger snakes are a large group of distinct populations, which may be isolated or overlapping, with extreme variance in size and colour. Individuals also show seasonal variation in colour.


title: Tiger snake

text: The total length is typically about The patterning is darker bands, strongly contrasting or indistinct, which are pale to very dark in colour. Colouration is olive, yellow, orange-brown, or jet-black, and the underside of the snake is light yellow or orange. Tiger snakes use venom to kill prey, and may also bite an aggressor; they are potentially fatal to humans. Tolerant of low temperatures, the snake may be active on warmer nights.


title: Tiger snake

text: When threatened, they flatten their bodies and raise their heads above the ground in a classic prestrike stance.


title: Tiger snake

text: The widely dispersed populations (sometimes referred as polymorphs) show some conformity in their descriptions, but these characters may be shared by separate or adjacent groups. Tiger snakes are also identified by the region or island in which the forms occur, which is prefixed to a common name.


title: Tiger snake

text: The common tiger snake has a flat, blunt head, slightly distinct from a robust body. Its body is capable of being flattened along its entire length when the snake is agitated or basking. Its average length is , with a maximum length of , but has been recorded at . Highly variable in colour, its base colours are brown, grey olive, or green with lighter crossbands usually of creamy yellow. Occasionally, unbanded specimens are found. Scales appear like overlapping shields, especially around the neck. Ventral scales number 140 to 190, subcaudals 35 to 65, mid-body in 17 or 19 rows and the anal scale is single.


title: Tiger snake

text: The western tiger snake head is distinct from its robust body, and grows to in length. Dorsally, it is steel-blue to black in color with bright yellow bands; unbanded specimens occur. The ventral surface is yellow, tending black towards the tail. Midbody scales are in 17 or 19 rows, ventrals number 140 to 165, subcaudals 36 to 51 (single) and the anal scale is single (rarely divided).


title: Tiger snake

text: The Chappell Island tiger snake has a blunt head distinct from a robust body. The giant of the tiger snakes species, it averages 1.9 m (over 6 ft) in length. Dorsally, its colour is olive-brown to almost black, sometimes with lighter crossbands. The ventral surface is usually lighter in colour. Juveniles are banded. Mid-body scales are in 17 rows; ventrals number 160 to 171, subcaudals 47 to 52 (single), and the anal scale is single. These snakes are quite docile.


title: Tiger snake

text: The King Island and Tasmanian tiger snakes each have a blunt head distinct from a robust body. Younger snakes may be slimmer and similar to other tiger snakes, eventually growing up to in length. Dorsally, they may be jet black, jet black with lighter crossbands, grey with black flecks forming faint bands, or an unbanded grey or brown. The ventral surface is usually a lighter colour. Midbody scales are in 19, 17 or sometimes 15 rows, ventrals number 161 to 174, subcaudals 48 to 52 (single) and the anal scale is single. Tasmanian tiger snakes tend to be quiet snakes, probably due to the lower temperature ranges they inhabit.


title: Tiger snake

text: The Peninsula tiger snake has a blunt head distinct from a robust body; it averages in length. Roxby Island specimens are much smaller, averaging in length. Dorsally, it is generally jet black, sometimes with white or cream markings around the lips and chin. On Kangaroo Island, specimens are highly variable in colour, often exhibiting banding and uniform brown colours. The ventral surface is dark grey to black, with some specimens on Kangaroo Island even possessing red bellies. The ventral surface becomes much lighter prior to shedding. Juveniles nearly always have banding. Midbody scales are in 17, 18, 19 and rarely 21 rows, ventrals number 160 to 184, subcaudals 45 to 54 (single) and the anal scale is single.


title: Tiger snake

text: The subspecies "Notechis ater ater", found away from mainland Australia, is typically uniformly black.


title: Tiger snake

text: As with most snakes, the colours vary widely between individuals and are an unreliable means of identifying subspecies. Accurate identification is best performed with a venom test kit or scale count.


title: Tiger snake

text: Tiger snakes give birth to 20 to 30 live young; an exceptional record was made of 64 from an eastern female.


title: Tiger snake

text: They usually mate in spring when it is in the warmer seasons and will give birth to live young in summer.


title: Tiger snake

text: Tiger snakes are usually found in coastal regions, where they favour wetlands, creeks, dams, and other habitat around watercourses, or at shelter near permanent sources of water in pastoral areas. Habitat providing an abundance of prey can support large populations. The species' distribution extends from the south of Western Australia through to South Australia, Tasmania, up through Victoria, and New South Wales. Its common habitat includes the coastal areas of Australia.


title: Tiger snake

text: Tiger snakes accounted for 17% of identified snakebite victims in Australia between 2005 and 2015, with four deaths recorded from 119 confirmed envenomations.


title: Tiger snake

text: Tiger snake venoms possess potent neurotoxins, coagulants, haemolysins, and myotoxins. Symptoms of a bite include localized pain in the foot and neck region, tingling, numbness, and sweating, followed by a fairly rapid onset of breathing difficulties and paralysis. In a study, the mortality rate from untreated bites is reported to be between 40 and 60%.


title: Tiger snake

text: Treatment is the same for all Australian venomous snakes. The pressure immobilization method is used to inhibit the flow of venom through the lymphatic system. Broad, thick bandages are applied over the bite, then down and back along the limb to the armpit or groin. The affected limb is then immobilized with a splint. Identification of the venom is possible if traces are left near the wound. Identifying the snake is not necessary if bitten in Tasmania, because the same antivenom is used to treat all Tasmanian snakes' bites. The availability of antivenom has greatly reduced the incidence of fatal tiger snake bites. Among the number of deaths caused by snakebite in Australia, those from tiger snakes are exceeded only by the brown snake. The venom yield is 35-65 mg, while the lethal dose for humans is 3 mg.


title: Tiger snake

text: In most Australian states, they are protected species, and to kill or injure one incurs a fine up to $7,500, as well as a jail sentence of 18 months in some states. It is also illegal to export a native Australian snake.


title: Source Music

text: Source Music (; romanized: "ssoseumyujig") is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2009 by So Sung-jin. In July 2019, the company was acquired by Hybe Corporation, making the company part of the collective term "Hybe Labels". The company currently manages girl group Le Sserafim, and previously managed soloist Kan Mi-youn and girl groups Glam and GFriend.


title: Source Music

text: Source Music was founded on November 17, 2009 by So Sung-jin, who worked at SM Entertainment as a talent manager for various artists between 2000 and 2002. He later moved to JYP Entertainment.


title: Source Music

text: In 2010, the label's first-ever artist, female soloist Kan Mi-youn (formerly of Baby Vox) released her first digital single titled "Going Crazy". The music video featured Lee Joon and Mir from MBLAQ. The song peaked at #11 on South Korea's national chart Gaon.


title: Source Music

text: In 2012, Glam was formed as a joint collaboration between Source Music and Big Hit Entertainment and was composed of Dahee, Trinity, Zinni, Miso and Jiyeon. Following Trinity's departure, they continued as a four-member group. The group was active until 2014 and was officially disbanded in January 2015, after Dahee was sentenced to one year imprisonment for a case of extortion against actor Lee Byung-hun.


title: Source Music

text: In 2015, GFriend was formed. The group consisted of members Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB, and Umji. They made their debut with the extended play "Season of Glass" on January 15, 2015.


title: Source Music

text: In July 2019, Hybe Corporation (formerly "Big Hit Entertainment") acquired Source Music, making the company a subsidiary under Hybe Labels, Hybe Corp.'s subdivision of labels, and keeping its existing management and style. On March 22, 2021, Source Music, as well as the other labels under Hybe Labels, moved to its new headquarters in the Yongsan Trade Center in the Yongsan District, the new headquarters of its parent company, Hybe Corporation. On March 31, 2021, the official website of Source Music changed its physical address to the new building in Yongsan, Seoul.


title: Source Music

text: Following the completion of their six-year contract, all GFriend members left the company on May 22, 2021, therefore marking the disbandment of the group.


title: Source Music

text: On March 14, 2022, former Iz*One members Sakura Miyawaki and Kim Chae-won signed exclusive contracts with Source Music and confirmed their debut in a new group. Le Sserafim, consisting of Sakura, Kim Chae-won, Huh Yun-jin, Kazuha, Kim Ga-ram and Hong Eun-chae, debuted on May 2 with the extended play "Fearless".


title: Source Music

text: On April 13, 2022, the company was fined 3 million won by the Korea Personal Information Protection Commission and a correction order for disclosing personal information to third parties and failing to protect personal information. Source Music used Google's questionnaire to reimburse membership fees related to the dissolution of the GFriend group, and the personal information of 22 survey participants was compromised due to improper disclosure of survey results.


title: History of the People's Republic of China

text: The history of the People's Republic of China details the history of mainland China since 1 October 1949, when CCP chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC) from atop Tiananmen, after a near complete victory (1949) by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Chinese Civil War. The PRC is the most recent political entity to govern mainland China, preceded by the Republic of China (ROC; 1912–1949) and thousands of years of monarchical dynasties. The paramount leaders have been Mao Zedong (1949-1976); Hua Guofeng (1976-1978); Deng Xiaoping (1978-1989); Jiang Zemin (1989-2002); Hu Jintao (2002-2012); and Xi Jinping (2012 to present).


text: The origins of the People's Republic can be traced to the Chinese Soviet Republic that was proclaimed in 1931 in Ruijin (Jui-chin), Jiangxi (Kiangsi), with the backing of the All-Union Communist Party in the Soviet Union in the midst of the Chinese Civil War against the Nationalist government only to dissolve in 1937.


text: Under Mao's rule, China went through a socialist transformation from a traditional peasant society, leaning towards heavy industries under planned economy, while campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution wreaked havoc on the entire country. Since late 1978, the economic reforms led by Deng Xiaoping had made China the world's second-largest and one of the fastest growing economies, with a specialty in high productivity factories and leadership in some areas of high technology. Globally, after receiving support from the USSR in the 1950s, China became bitter enemy of USSR on a worldwide basis until Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to China in May 1989. In the 21st century, the new wealth and technology led to a contest for primacy in Asian affairs versus India, Japan and the United States, and since 2017 a growing trade war with the United States.


text: Following the Chinese Civil War and victory of Mao Zedong's Communist forces over the Kuomintang forces of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to Taiwan, Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949. Mao laid heavy theoretical emphasis on command economy and class struggle, and ruled as a dictator.


text: After the Korean War ended in 1953, Mao Zedong launched campaigns to persecute former landlords and merchants, starting the industrialisation program at the same time. Mao's first goal was a total overhaul of the land ownership system, and extensive land reforms, including the execution of more powerful landlords. China's old system of gentry landlord ownership of farmland and tenant peasants was replaced with a distribution system in favor of poor/landless peasants which significantly reduced economic inequality. Over a million landlords were executed in the Chinese land reform. In Zhangzhuangcun, in the more thoroughly reformed north of the country, most "landlords" and "rich peasants" had lost all their land and often their lives or had fled. All formerly landless workers had received land, which eliminated this category altogether. As a result, "middling peasants", who now accounted for 90% of the village population, owned 91% of the land. Drug trafficking and opium use were largely wiped out. Foreign investments were seized and outsiders were expelled.


text: At the same time, political movements and class struggles were launched nationwide. The Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957–1958 significantly damaged the democracy in China, during which at least 550,000 people were persecuted, most of who were intellectuals and political dissidents. After the campaign, China entered the "de facto" one-party state of the Chinese Communist Party. Other major political movements in 1950s included the Suppression of Counter-revolutionaries, the Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns and the Sufan Movement, each of which resulted in a large number of deaths nationwide.


text: Mao Zedong believed that socialism would eventually triumph over all other ideologies, and following the First Five-Year Plan based on a Soviet-style centrally controlled economy, Mao took on the ambitious project of the Great Leap Forward in 1958, beginning an unprecedented process of collectivisation in rural areas (the People's commune). Mao urged the use of communally organised iron smelters to increase steel production, pulling workers off of agricultural labor to the point that large amounts of crops rotted unharvested. Mao decided to continue to advocate these smelters despite a visit to a factory steel mill which proved to him that high quality steel could only be produced in a factory. He thought that ending the program would dampen peasant enthusiasm for his political mobilisation, the Great Leap Forward.


text: The implementation of Maoism thought in China may have been responsible for the deadliest famine in human history, in which 15-55 million people died due to starvation and epidemics. By the end of 1961, the birth rate was nearly cut in half because of malnutrition. In 1958, the Xunhua uprising broke out and in 1959, a major uprising erupted in Tibet, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of Tibetans, and the Dalai Lama went into exile afterwards. Mao's failure with the Leap reduced his power in government, whose administrative duties fell to President Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, especially after the Seven Thousand Cadres Conference in early 1962. The power struggle between Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi together with Deng Xiaoping began after 1962. The Socialist Education Movement was launched by Mao from 1963 to 1965, as a result.


text: Much more successful was the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program, launched in 1958, with the help at first of Moscow. It used leading scientists who returned to mainland China from abroad, including Qian Xuesen, Deng Jiaxian and Qian Sanqiang. China's first atomic bomb, nuclear missile, hydrogen bomb and artificial satellite were all successfully developed by 1970. However, the program had been seriously affected by the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.


text: In 1963, Mao Zedong launched the Socialist Education Movement, which is regarded as the precursor of the Cultural Revolution. To impose socialist orthodoxy and rid China of "old elements", and at the same time serving certain political goals, Mao began the Cultural Revolution in May 1966, attempting to return to the center of political power in China. The campaign was far reaching into all aspects of Chinese life. Estimated death toll ranges from hundreds of thousands to 20 million. Massacres took place across the country while massive cannibalism also occurred; Red Guards terrorized the streets as many ordinary citizens were deemed counter-revolutionaries; education and public transportation came to a nearly complete halt; daily life involved shouting slogans and reciting Mao quotations; many prominent political leaders, including Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, were purged and deemed "capitalist roaders". The campaign would not come to a complete end until the death of Mao Zedong and arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976. The second constitution of China, known as the "1975 Constitution", was passed in 1975 during the Cultural Revolution.


text: On the other hand, by the time of Mao's death, China's unity and sovereignty were assured for the first time in a century, and there was development of infrastructure, industry, healthcare, education (only 20% of the population could read in 1949, compared to 65.5% thirty years later), which raised standard of living for the average Chinese. There is also an argument that campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward – an example of the concept New Democracy – and the Cultural Revolution were essential in jumpstarting China's development and "purifying" its culture: even though the consequences of both these campaigns were economically and humanly disastrous, they left behind a "clean slate" on which later economic progress could be built.


text: The primary foreign policy was to obtain diplomatic recognition in the face of strong American opposition. Thus in 1964, tensions between Washington and Paris allowed France to open relations.


text: In 1950, India became one of the first countries to recognize People's Republic of China and establish formal diplomatic relation. However, India had close ties to the USSR and in 1962, a one-month Sino-Indian war and also a one-month Second Sino-Indian war in 1967 broke out along their remote border. Border tensions flared from time to time ever since.


text: Beijing was very pleased that the success of the Soviet Union in the space race – the original Sputniks – demonstrated that the international communist movement had caught up in high technology with the Americans. Mao assumed that the Soviets now had a military advantage and should step up the Cold War; Khrushchev knew that the Americans were well ahead in military uses of space. The strains multiplied, quickly making a dead letter of the 1950 alliance, destroying the socialist camp unity, and affected the world balance of power. The split started with Nikita Khrushchev De-Stalinization program. It angered Mao, who admired Stalin. Moscow and Beijing became worldwide rivals, forcing communist parties around the world to take sides; many of them split, so that the pro-Soviet communists were battling the pro-Chinese communists for local control of the left-wing forces in much of the world.


text: Internally, the Sino-Soviet split encouraged Mao to plunge China into the Cultural Revolution, to expunge traces of Russian ways of thinking. Mao argued that as far as all-out nuclear war was concerned, the human race would not be destroyed, and instead a brave new communist world would arise from the ashes of imperialism. This attitude troubled Moscow, which had a more realistic view of the utter disasters that would accompany a nuclear war. Three major issues suddenly became critical in dividing the two nations: Taiwan, India, and China's Great Leap Forward. Although Moscow supported Beijing's position that Taiwan entirely belong to China, it demanded that it be forewarned of any invasion or serious threat that would bring American intervention. Beijing refused, and the Chinese bombardment of the island of Quemoy in August 1958 escalated the tensions. Moscow was cultivating India, both as a major purchaser of Russian munitions, and a strategically critical ally. However China was escalating its threats to the northern fringes of India, especially from Tibet. It was building a militarily significant road system that would reach disputed areas along the border. The Russians clearly favored India, and Beijing reacted as a betrayal. By far the major ideological issue was the Great Leap Forward, which represented a Chinese rejection of the Soviet form of economic development. Moscow was deeply resentful, especially since it had spent heavily to supply China with high-technology—including some nuclear skills. Moscow withdrew its vitally needed technicians and economic and military aid. Khrushchev was increasingly crude and intemperate ridiculing China and Mao Zedong to both communist and international audiences. Beijing responded through its official propaganda network of rejecting Moscow's claim to Lenin's heritage. Beijing insisted it was the true inheritor of the great Leninist tradition. At one major meeting of communist parties, Khrushchev personally attacked Mao as an ultra leftist — a left revisionist — and compared him to Stalin for dangerous egotism. The conflict was now out of control, and was increasingly fought out in 81 communist parties around the world. The final split came in July 1963, after 50,000 refugees escaped from Xinjiang in western China to Soviet territory to escape persecution. China ridiculed the Russian incompetence in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 as adventurism to start with and capitulationism to wind up on the losing side. Moscow now was increasingly giving priority to friendly relationships and test ban treaties with the United States and United Kingdom.


text: Increasingly, Beijing began to consider the Soviet Union, which it viewed as Social imperialism, as the greatest threat it faced, more so than even the leading capitalist power, the United States. In turn, overtures were made between the PRC and the United States, such as in the Ping Pong Diplomacy, Panda Diplomacy and the 1972 Nixon visit to China.


text: China established formal relationships with several major western countries and Japan. Typically the other party broke relations it had with the government on Taiwan.


text: During the Mao era, tens of millions of people died during various political movements as well as during the Great Chinese Famine, while tens of millions of other people were persecuted and permanently crippled. China turned into a "de facto" one-party state after the Anti-Rightist Campaign starting in 1957, during which democracy and the rule of law were damaged while at least 550,000 intellectuals and political dissidents were persecuted. Moreover, the Cultural Revolution severely damaged the rule of law as well as traditional Chinese culture and moral values; massacres were committed across the country and acts of cannibalism were also committed on a massive scale (e.g., Guangxi Massacre). Higher education was halted during the Cultural Revolution and scientific research was also seriously affected because many scientists were persecuted, killed or committed suicide. Some doubt statistics or accounts given for death tolls or other damages incurred by Mao's campaigns, attributing the high death toll to natural disasters, famine, or other consequences of political chaos during the rule of Chiang Kai-shek.


text: Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) also exported the ideology of socialism and socialist revolution to other parts of the world, especially to Southeast Asia. Influenced and supported by Mao and the CCP, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge conducted the Cambodian genocide during which 1.5-2 million people were killed in just three years.


text: Mao Zedong's death was followed by a power struggle between the Gang of Four, Hua Guofeng, and eventually Deng Xiaoping. The third constitution of China, known as the "1978 Constitution", was passed in 1978 under Hua's "Two Whatevers".


text: In December 1978, with the support of Ye Jianying and other high-ranking officials, Deng eventually replaced Hua and became the paramount leader of China during the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of CCP. Deng's allies such as Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang also received promotions.


text: In September 1977, Deng first proposed the idea of "Boluan Fanzheng", attempting to dismantle the far-left Maoist policies associated with the Cultural Revolution. In the same year, he resumed the National College Entrance Examination which was cancelled for ten years due to the Cultural Revolution. Moreover, within several years, victims of more than 3 million "unjust, false, wrongful cases" were rehabilitated by Deng and his allies such as Hu Yaobang, then General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. However, on the subject of Mao's legacy, Deng coined the famous phrase "7 parts good, 3 parts bad" and avoided denouncing Mao altogether. A major document presented at the September 1979 Fourth Plenum, gave a "preliminary assessment" of the entire 30-year period of Communist rule. At the plenum, party Vice Chairman Ye Jianying declared the Cultural Revolution "an appalling catastrophe" and "the most severe setback to [the] socialist cause since [1949]".


text: In June 1981, the Chinese government's condemnation of the Cultural Revolution culminated in the "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China", adopted by the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. This resolution invalidated the Cultural Revolution as a "domestic havoc", but it stated that "Comrade Mao Zedong was a great Marxist and a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist and theorist. It is true that he made gross mistakes during the "Cultural Revolution", but, if we judge his activities as a whole, his contributions to the Chinese revolution far outweigh his mistakes. His merits are primary and his errors secondary". Today, the public perception of Mao has improved at least superficially; images of Mao and Mao related objects have become fashionable, commonly used on novelty items and even as talismans.


text: As an aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, nationwide public safety worsened in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and as a result Deng launched the "Strike Hard" Anti-crime Campaign in 1983 which lasted until early 1987. More than 1.7 million people were arrested and received legal punishment during the campaign.


text: At the Third Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee, Deng embarked China on the road to "Reform and Opening-up" (改革开放 "Gaige Kaifang"), policies that began with the de-collectivisation of the countryside, followed with industrial reforms aimed at decentralizing government controls in the industrial sector. In 1979, Deng emphasized the goal of "Four Modernizations" and further proposed the idea of "xiaokang", or "moderately prosperous society". Deng laid emphasis on light industry as a stepping stone to the development of heavy industries. The achievements of Lee Kuan Yew to create an economic superpower in Singapore had a profound effect on the Communist leadership in China. Leaders in China made a major effort, especially under Deng Xiaoping, to emulate his policies of economic growth, entrepreneurship, and subtle suppression of dissent. Over the years, more than 22,000 Chinese officials were sent to Singapore to study its methods.


text: Deng championed the idea of Special Economic Zones (SEZ), including Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Xiamen, areas where foreign investment would be allowed to pour in without strict government restraint and regulations, running on a basically capitalist system. On 31 January 1979, the Shekou Industrial Zone of Shenzhen was founded, becoming the first experimental area in China to "open up". Under the leadership of Yuan Geng, the "Shekou model" of development was gradually formed, embodied in its famous slogan "Time is Money, Efficiency is Life", which then widely spread to other parts of China. In January 1984, Deng Xiaoping made his first inspection tour to Shenzhen and Zhuhai, recognizing the "Shenzhen Speed" of development as well as the success of the special economics zones. With the help of Yuan Geng, the first joint-stock commercial bank in China — the China Merchants Bank — and the first joint-stock insurance company in China — the Ping An Insurance — were both established in Shekou. In May 1984, fourteen coastal cities in China including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin were named "Open Coastal Cities (沿海开放城市)".


text: Deng recognized the importance of science and technology in the "Four Modernizations", pointing out that "science and technology are the primary productive force". In December 1981, he approved the construction of "Beijing Electron–Positron Collider", the first high-energy particle collider in China, and had several meetings with Nobel laureate Tsung-Dao Lee who supported the project. In 1985, the Great Wall Station, the first Chinese research station in Antarctica, was established. In 1986, Deng approved the proposal from four leading Chinese scientists and launched the "863 Program"; in the same year, the nine-year compulsory education system was established under law ("Law on Nine-Year Compulsory Education"). In the 1980s, Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang and Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Shenzhen were built, becoming the first two nuclear power plants in China. Deng also approved the appointments of foreign nationals to work in China, including the renowned Chinese-American mathematician Shiing-Shen Chern.


text: Supporters of the economic reforms point to the rapid development of the consumer and export sectors of the economy, the creation of an urban middle class that now constitutes 15% of the population, higher living standards (which is shown via dramatic increases in GDP per capita, consumer spending, life expectancy, literacy rate, and total grain output) and a much wider range of personal rights and freedoms for average Chinese as evidence of the success of the reforms. Critics of the economic reforms, both in China and abroad, claim that the reforms have caused wealth disparity, environmental pollution, rampant corruption, widespread unemployment associated with layoffs at inefficient state-owned enterprises, and has introduced often unwelcome cultural influences. Consequently, they believe that China's culture has been corrupted, the poor have been reduced to a hopeless abject underclass, and that the social stability is threatened. They are also of the opinion that various political reforms, such as moves towards popular elections, have been unfairly nipped in the bud.


text: After all, the path of modernisation and market-oriented economic reforms that China started since the early 1980s appears to be fundamentally unchallenged. Even critics of China's market reforms do not wish to see a backtrack of these two decades of reforms, but rather propose corrective measures to offset some of the social issues caused by existing reforms. On the other hand, in 1979, the Chinese government instituted a one child policy to try to control its rapidly increasing population. The controversial policy resulted in a dramatic decrease in child poverty. The law was eliminated in 2015.


text: On 18 August 1980, Deng Xiaoping gave a speech titled "On the Reform of the Party and State Leadership System (党和国家领导制度改革)" at an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee in Beijing, launching the political reforms in China. He called for the end of bureaucracy, centralisation of power as well as patriarchy, proposing term limits to the leading positions in China and advocating the "democratic centralism" as well as the "collective leadership". In addition, Deng proposed to the National People's Congress a systematic revision of China's constitution (the 1978 Constitution), and emphasized that the Constitution must be able to protect the civil rights of Chinese citizens and must reflect the principle of separation of powers; he also described the idea of "collective leadership" and championed the principle of "one man, one vote" among leaders to avoid the dictatorship of the General Secretary of CCP. In December 1982, the fourth Constitution of the People's Republic, known as the "1982 Constitution", was passed by the 5th National People's Congress, embodying Chinese-style constitutionalism with most of its content still being effective as of today.


text: In the first half of 1986, Deng repeatedly called for the revival of political reforms, as further economic reforms were hindered by the original political system while the country had seen an increasing trend of corruption and economic inequality, aggravated by the many social privileges enjoyed by governmental officials and their relatives. A five-man research unit for China's political reforms was established in September 1986, and the members included Zhao Ziyang, Hu Qili, Tian Jiyun, Bo Yibo and Peng Chong. Deng's intention of political reforms was to boost the administrative efficiency, further separate the responsibilities between the Communist Party and the Government, and to eliminate bureaucracy. Although he also mentioned "rule of law" and "democracy", Deng delimited the reforms within the one-party system and opposed the implementation of Western-style constitutionalism. In October 1987, at the 13th National Congress of CCP chaired by Deng, Zhao Ziyang delivered an important talk drafted by Bao Tong on the political reforms. In his speech titled "Advance Along the Road of Socialism with Chinese characteristics (沿着有中国特色的社会主义道路前进)", Zhao argued that the socialism in China was still in its primary stage and by taking Deng's speech in 1980 as guidelines, Zhao outlined a variety of steps to be taken for the political reforms, including promoting the rule of law and the separation of powers, imposing de-centralisation, and improving the election system. At this Congress, Zhao was elected as the new General Secretary of CCP.


text: However, after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, many leading reformists including Zhao and Bao were removed from their posts, and the majority of the planned political reforms (after 1986) ended drastically. Left-wing conservatives led by Chen Yun, President Li Xiannian and Premier Li Peng took control until Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in early 1992. On the other hand, many policies due to the political reforms launched by Deng in the early 1980s remain effective after 1989 (such as the new Constitution, term limits, and the democratic centralism), even though some of them have been reversed by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping after 2012.


text: In 1986, the student demonstrations led to the resignation of Hu Yaobang, then General Secretary of CCP and a leading reformist, and the left-wing conservatives continued to launch the "Anti-Bourgeois Liberalisation Campaign". The campaign ended in mid-1987 because Zhao Ziyang convinced Deng Xiaoping that the conservatives were taking advantage of the campaign to oppose the Reforms and Opening-up program.


text: Although standards of living improved significantly in the 1980s, Deng's reforms were not without criticism. Hard-liners asserted that Deng opened China once again to various social evils, and an overall increase in materialistic thinking, while liberals attacked Deng's unrelenting stance on "wider" political reforms. Liberal forces began gathering in different forms to protest against the Party's authoritarian leadership. In 1989, the death of Hu Yaobang, a liberal figure, triggered weeks of spontaneous protests in the Tiananmen Square. The government imposed martial law and sent in tanks and soldiers to suppress the demonstrations. Western countries and multilateral organisations briefly suspended their formal ties with China's government under Premier Li Peng's leadership, which was directly responsible for the military curfew and bloody crackdown.


text: In early 1979, China started a one-month war with Vietnam. Furthermore, China continued to support Khmer Rouge during Deng Xiaoping's time together with the United States, Thailand and several other countries to counter the regional influence of the Soviet Union.


text: In March 1981, Deng Xiaoping determined that a military exercise was necessary for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and in September 1981, the North China Military Exercise took place, becoming the largest exercise conducted by the PLA since the founding of the People's Republic.


text: In 1985, in order to modernise the PLA and to save money, Deng cut 1 million troops from the military (百万大裁军) and ordered further modernisation.


text: On 1 January 1979, the People's Republic of China formally established its diplomatic relations with the United States. In January 1979, Deng Xiaoping visited the United States, which was first official visit by a paramount leader of China to the United States. In the same year, the Chinese Olympic Committee for PRC was recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Under the advice of Lee Kuan Yew, Deng Xiaoping agreed to further open up the country and stop exporting communist ideologies and revolutions to other countries like Mao did, and the decisions significantly improved the relations between China and many countries, especially those in south-east Asia.


text: In 1984, Xu Haifeng, a pistol shooter, won the first Olympic gold medal for China during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In the same year, the "Sino-British Joint Declaration" was signed by China and the United Kingdom, stipulating that the sovereignty and the administrative management of Hong Kong would be handed over back to China on 1 July 1997 under the "one country, two systems" framework. In 1987, the "Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau" was signed by China and Portugal, stipulating that the sovereignty and the administrative management of Macau would be handed over back to China 20 December 1999, again under the "one country, two systems" framework.


text: In 1989, the relation between China and the Soviet Union returned to normal for the first time since the Sino-Soviet split in the 1950s. Mikhail Gorbachev, then General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, visited Beijing and met with Deng Xiaoping during the Sino-Soviet Summit, which took place amid the Tiananmen Square protests.


text: After the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, China faced strong backlash from the western countries. Deng, as a response, devised a new set of diplomatic strategies for China, which were summarised to be "hide your strength, bide your time, never take the lead". In the 1980s and early 1990s, People's Republic of China continued to establish formal diplomatic relations with a number of countries such as United Arab Emirates (1984), Qatar (1988), Saudi Arabia (1990), Singapore (1990), Israel (1992) and South Korea (1992).


text: After the Cultural Revolution, Deng started the Boluan Fanzheng program to correct the Maoist mistakes, but some of his policies and views were controversial. Deng insisted on praising that Mao had done "7 good and 3 bad" for the Chinese people, while attributing numerous disasters in the Cultural Revolution to Lin Biao and the Gang of Four. In addition, he stated and imposed the "Four Cardinal Principles" as the fundamental principles of the Constitution of China (1982), in order to maintain the one-party state in China for the Communist Party.


text: Moreover, the role that Deng played in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre was rather controversial. In fact, he also cracked down the Democracy Wall movement as well as the Beijing Spring in early 1980s.


text: To cope with the population crisis after Mao's era, Deng Xiaoping, together with other senior officials including Chen Yun and Li Xiannian, supported the implementation of the "one-child policy". Some of the extreme measures in practice created many controversies such as human rights violations.


text: After the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Deng Xiaoping stepped away from public view and fully retired. Power passed to the third generation of leadership led by Jiang Zemin, who was hailed as its "core". However, owing to the Tiananmen massacre, the Reforms and Opening-up program went into stagnation in early 1990s, and Jiang, supported by left-wing conservatives, was not doing enough to continue the reforms.


text: In the spring of 1992, Deng made his famous tour to southern China, which is widely regarded as a critical point in the history of modern China as it saved China's economic reform as well as the capital market (Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange), and preserved the stability of the society. Jiang eventually sided with Deng and publicly supported the Reforms and Opening-up program. Conservative Li Peng was the Premier of China until 1998, when reformist Zhu Rongji succeeded as the new Premier.


text: Economic growth achieved a sustained high rate by the mid-1990s. Jiang Zemin's macroeconomic reforms furthered Deng's vision for "Socialism with Chinese characteristics". Jiang laid heavy emphasis on scientific and technological advancement in areas such as space exploration. At the same time, Jiang's period saw a continued rise in social corruption in all areas of life. Unemployment skyrocketed as unprofitable State-owned enterprise (SOE) were closed to make way for more competitive ventures internally and abroad. The ill-equipped social welfare system was put on a serious test. In 2000, Jiang proposed his ideology of "Three Represents", which was ratified by the Chinese Communist Party at the Sixteenth Party Congress in 2002.


text: At the same time, Premier Zhu Rongji's economic policies held China's economy strong during the Asian Financial Crisis. Economic growth averaged at 8% annually, pushed back by the 1998 Yangtze River Floods. Standards of living improved significantly, although a wide urban-rural wealth gap was created as China saw the reappearance of the middle class. Wealth disparity between the Eastern coastal regions and the Western hinterlands continued to widen by the day, prompting government programs to "develop the West", taking on ambitious projects such as the Qinghai–Tibet railway. However, rampant corruption continued despite Premier Zhu's anti-corruption campaign that executed many officials. Corruption alone is estimated to amount to the equivalent of anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of China's GDP.


text: To sustain the increased electricity consumption, the Three Gorges Dam was built, attracting supporters and widespread criticism. Environmental pollution became a very serious problem as Beijing was frequently hit by sandstorms as a result of desertification.


text: In November 1991, China joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The 1990s saw the peaceful Handover of Hong Kong and Macau by the United Kingdom and Portugal respectively to China. Hong Kong and Macau mostly continued their own governance, retaining independence in their economic, social, and judicial systems until 2019, when Beijing tried to expand national powers in the face of large-scale protests in Hong Kong.


text: Jiang Zemin and Bill Clinton exchanged state visits, but Sino-American relations took very sour turns at the end of the decade, especially after the third Taiwan Strait Crisis. On 7 May 1999, during the Kosovo War, U.S. aircraft bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. The U.S. government claimed the strike was due to bad intelligence and false target identification. Inside the United States, the Cox Report stated that China had been stealing various top United States military secrets. In 2001, a United States surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over international waters near Hainan, inciting further outrage with the Chinese public, already dissatisfied with the United States.


text: After a decade of talks, China was finally admitted into the World Trade Organization in 2001. The same year saw the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. In August 2002, due to the efforts of the renowned mathematician Shiing-Shen Chern, the quadrennial International Congress of Mathematicians was held in Beijing — the first time in a developing country, with Chern being the honorary president of the Congress and Wu Wenjun being the president.


text: On the political agenda, China was once again put on the spotlight for the banning of public Falun Gong activity in 1999. Silent protesters from the spiritual movement sat outside of Zhongnanhai, asking for dialogue with China's leaders. Jiang saw it as a threat to the political situation and outlawed the group altogether, while using mass media propaganda to denounce it as an "evil cult".


text: Jiang Zemin, after formally retiring as the paramount leader of China in 2004, was believed to have moved behind the scenes and was still in control of the country even after his late step-down from the Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2005. The Jiang faction, including Zhou Yongkang, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, continued to impact China significantly after Hu Jintao succeeded as the paramount leader of China.


text: Hu Jintao succeeded as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2002. In March 2003, Hu Jintao became the 6th President of the People's Republic of China, with Wen Jiabao being the Premier of China. In September 2004, Hu Jintao became the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.


text: The economy continued to grow in double-digit numbers as the development of rural areas became the major focus of government policy. In 2010, China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy. The assertion of the Scientific Perspective to create a Socialist Harmonious Society was the focus of the Hu Jintao - Wen Jiabao administration, as some Jiang Zemin-era excesses were slowly reversed. In late 2002, the South–North Water Transfer Project began construction.


text: In gradual steps to consolidate his power, Hu Jintao removed Shanghai Party secretary Chen Liangyu and other potential political opponents amidst the fight against corruption, and the ongoing struggle against once powerful Shanghai clique. In particular, in 2012, the Wang Lijun incident and the scandal of Bo Xilai received widespread attention and media coverage.


text: The continued economic growth of the country as well as its sporting power status gained China the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, this also put Hu Jintao's administration under intense spotlight. While the 2008 Olympics was commonly understood to be a come-out party for People's Republic of China, in light of the March 2008 Tibet protests, the government received heavy scrutiny. The Olympic torch was met with protest en route. Within the country, these reactions were met with a fervent wave of nationalism with accusations of Western bias against China.


text: Meanwhile, a number of scientific progresses and breakthroughs took place between 2002 and 2012, many of which originated from the 863 Program. In 2003, China successfully sent an astronaut, Yang Liwei, to the space via Shenzhou 5, becoming the third country in the world to do so independently after the United States and the Soviet Union. In 2010, "Jiaolong," the Chinese manned deep-sea research submersible, was deployed. In 2011–2012, BeiDou-2, the Chinese satellite navigation system, became operational. In 2011, Tiangong-1, the first prototype space station of China, was successfully launched. In March 2012, results from the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment in Shenzhen received international attention. In October 2012, Mo Yan became the first Chinese citizen (mainland) to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.


text: China's position in the war on terror drew the country closer diplomatically to the United States. In 2010, the Asian Games was held in Guangzhou, and in 2011, the Summer Universiade was held in Shenzhen. In 2010, another international event took place in China— Shanghai held the World Expo for the first time.


text: The political status and future of Taiwan remain uncertain, but steps have been taken to improving relations between the Communist Party and several of Taiwan's parties that hold a less antagonistic view towards China, notably former rival Kuomintang.


text: Hu's critics say that his government was overly aggressive in asserting its new power, overestimated its reach, and raised the ire and apprehension of various neighbours, including Southeast Asian countries, India, and Japan. Such policies are also said to be provocative towards the United States.


text: In the years after Hu Jintao's rise to power, respect of basic human rights in China continued to be a source of concern. Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist, was arrested and sentenced to jail for 11 years in 2010. Liu Xiaobo, together with others, authored the Charter 08 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. Liu Xiaobo passed away in 2017.


text: In Hu Jintao's time, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government created the "50 Cent Party", attempting to "guide" public opinions online in favor of the Communist Party and the Chinese government.


text: Xi Jinping became the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the two most powerful positions on 15 November 2012. And on March 14, 2013, he became the 7th President of China. Li Keqiang became the Premier of China in March 2013.


text: In October 2022, Xi Jinping was re-elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party for a precedent-breaking third term of paramount leader after Mao Zedong's death.


text: A massive, long-term anti-corruption campaign has been carried out under Xi Jinping since 2012, mostly targeting Xi Jinping's political rivals such as members of the Jiang faction including Party senior leaders Zhou Yongkang, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou.


text: In March 2018, the Party-controlled National People's Congress passed a set of constitutional amendments including the removal of term limits for the president and vice president, the creation of a National Supervisory Commission, as well as enhancing the central role of the Communist Party. On 17 March 2018, the Chinese legislature re-appointed Xi Jinping as president, now without term limits. According to the "Financial Times", Xi Jinping expressed his views of constitutional amendment at meetings with Chinese officials and foreign dignitaries. Xi Jinping explained the decision in terms of needing to align two more powerful posts — General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) — which have no term limits. However, Xi Jinping did not say whether he intended to serve as party general secretary, CMC chairman and state president, for three or more terms.


text: On the other hand, a series of scientific advances took place. In 2013, the "Yutu" rover was successfully deployed on the Moon after the Chang'e 3 lander landed on the Moon. In 2015, Tu Youyou became the first Chinese citizen (mainland) to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In December 2015, the Dark Matter Particle Explorer, China's first space observatory, was successfully launched. The Tiangong-2 space laboratory was successfully launched in 2016, and in the same year the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) was built in Guizhou. In 2018, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, world's longest sea-crossing bridge, was open to public.


text: As Xi Jinping continued to consolidate power domestically, he gradually abandoned the diplomatic principles ("hide your strength, bide your time, never take the lead") set by Deng Xiaoping and appeared more as a "strongman" in the global stage. He launched the "One Belt One Road initiative" to make infrastructure investment in dozens of countries, which received widespread attention (both receptions and criticism) from around the world.


text: Since Xi Jinping succeeded as the leader of China, he tried to change "China's passivity" into an assertive strategy to defend China's claims over border and territory disputes such as in the South China Sea and in Taiwan. In 2018, China–United States trade war started and significantly affected the global economy. In May 2020, China–India skirmishes along the border broke out and resulted in casualties.


text: On the other hand, after Xi Jinping came to power, a number of international summits were held in China. In 2014, the 22nd annual gathering of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders was held in Beijing; in 2016, the G20 summit was held in Hangzhou; and in 2017, the 9th BRICS summit was held in Xiamen. Additionally, in 2015, the Ma–Xi meeting in Singapore was the first meeting between the political leaders of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1950.


text: Since 2012, Xi Jinping together with his allies has rolled back several policies from the Boluan Fanzheng period of Deng Xiaoping and promoted his cult of personality as Mao Zedong did. For example, in 2018, Xi Jinping eliminated the term limit in China's Constitution for Chinese President, which challenged some of the political legacies of Deng Xiaoping and triggered concerns of a new Cultural Revolution.


text: Domestic human rights violation has deteriorated. In July 2015, hundreds of Chinese lawyers and human rights activists nationwide were detained or arrested during the 709 crackdown. Moreover, the Xinjiang re-education camps since 2017, in which over a million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities are being detained, and the massive protests in Hong Kong since 2019 have received widespread attention and extensive media coverage from around the world. The Hong Kong national security law published on 30 June 2020 also received widespread attention and raised considerable concern worldwide over the breach of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle.


text: After Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the Communist Party along with the Chinese government have significantly strengthened their internet censorship and tightened their control over the Chinese internet environment, blocking Chinese citizens' access to many foreign websites and mobile apps using the "Great Firewall". At the same time, a large number of "50 Cent Party" members have been recruited to "guide" online narratives around the globe in favor of the Party and the Government. During the massive Hong Kong protests, for instance, Twitter and Facebook claimed to have removed or suspended over 200,000 accounts and pages linked with the Chinese government. As of 2020, the mass surveillance system and the "Social Credit System" keep the whole population under close watch.


text: Globally, the aggressive "wolf warrior diplomacy" under Xi Jinping Administration has created numerous controversies and backlashes. Controversies also surround the "One Belt One Road initiative" and the China–United States trade war. In 2019–2020, under Xi Jinping, China's handling of the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as its relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) was rather controversial. There have been a large number of conspiracy theories and misinformation related to COVID-19, including the origin of the virus. China has also launched its own disinformation campaign globally over the issues of the pandemic, of Hong Kong and Uyghurs, and more, promoting China as a global leader while attacking the United States for instance. Furthermore, manipulation of economic data by the Chinese government, such as publishing inflated GDP figures over the years, is also a major concern.


text: China refused to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, repeated Russian propaganda about the war, opposed economic sanctions against Russia, and abstained or sided with Russia in UN votes on the war in Ukraine.


title: As the Gods Will (film)

text: High school student Shun Takahata spends much of his time playing violent video games. One morning at school, he whines that his life is completely boring but then he suddenly finds himself forced to participate in a game of Daruma-san ga koronda with death as the penalty for losing. When the Daruma doll turns toward the blackboard, it exposes a button on its back that the students can attempt to press to end the game before his timer runs out, but 6 in the class minus Shun dies.


title: As the Gods Will (film)

text: After the game, Shun finds his friend Ichika Akimoto and they make their way to the school gym. There, they play a Maneki Neko, where students dressed as mice attempt to throw a bell into a hoop attached to the collar of a giant beckoning cat, while trying not to be eaten or crushed. The game is won with the aid of Takeru Amaya, a troubled classmate who seems to revel in the opportunity to see so many deaths, and who kills all the other survivors besides Shun and Ichika after winning the game. The three of them are then put out of consciousness by a sleeping gas released by the giant beckoning cat. They wake up to find themselves with other students in a room inside a giant cube hovering over Tokyo, facing the next test: students all over Japan and elsewhere in the world face similar tests, and the handful of survivors are being brought inside walls.


title: As the Gods Will (film)

text: The next game is Kagome Kagome, where the students have to be blindfolded and will guess which of four floating Kokeshi wooden dolls is behind them within 10 seconds after the end of a short song. If they fail to do so, they will be hit with a red laser and the dolls will use telekinesis to destroy their bodies. If the Kokeshi lose, they will explode and one of them releases an answer key which opens the doors and frees the students to the next level. Shun meets and saves Shoko Takase by winning the game, and they reunite with Ichika and Yukio Sanada, whom they save from being killed by a fifth Kokeshi by holding their hands.


title: As the Gods Will (film)

text: The four join Eiji Oku and Kotaro Maeda to the next level, where they have to use their keys to unlock a giant smiling head. Amaya brings in three more keys and kills a prisoner that he brought into the room. The seven survivors use their keys, and the giant head rolls away to dig a tunnel into the next room. Meanwhile, each player is displayed on television screens for the others to see. The next game is Shirokuma, a white polar bear that appears to them inside a frozen room. The students have to all answer the white bear's questions honestly, otherwise, they will be forced to single out the one that they suspect to be lying to be killed. Shoko and Yukio get killed, and Shun soon realizes that the bear is the true liar and that its real color is black, therefore winning the game and surviving with the other four students.


title: As the Gods Will (film)

text: The final game, presented by a Matryoshka doll, is a game of kick the can that must be completed before sundown. The remaining five each pick a stick, and who gets the red one plays the "Devil". Whoever's face is seen and gets called out by the "Devil", is caught and thrown into a cell. Kicking the can in the middle will make it explode, killing nearby players. Takeru gets the red stick and soon three students are caught while Shun finds armor to conceal his face. Shun falls into the sea while chaining Takeru to the armor. As Takeru fights to pull the armor up to avoid being pulled down, Shun climbs back up, having freed himself from the armor. Both race towards the can, and Shun succeeds in kicking the can first, thereby winning the game. The Matryoshka doll reveals that in fact, the explosion is a lie and that none of them will be killed by losing the game. They have a popsicle party, where they learn their fates on the wooden stick, and that the intention of the last game was simply for entertainment. Shun and Takeru live while Ichika, Eiji, and Kotaro are killed by a Matryoshka doll with lasers that disintegrates them. Shun and Takeru emerge to the top of the cube, where they see crowds cheer for them, while a hikikomori, who has been watching them from his room, goes out of his house, possibly to find the real identity of "God".


title: As the Gods Will (film)

text: Takeru celebrates while Shun kneels in despair from all of his losses, stating that "there is no God". One of the Matryoshka dolls corrects him and suggests that those deadly games will lead them to "God", as it shows him a vagrant who was also an observer of those games and the "God" behind these death games.


title: As the Gods Will (film)

text: The 2021 survival thriller K-drama series "Squid Game" has been accused of plagiarizing the movie, as both involve children's games where the penalty for losing is death. However, writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk claimed he wrote Squid Game's script in 2009 (5 years before "As the Gods Will" was released), saying "the similarities that were pointed out are purely coincidental and there is no copying from either party.”


title: Damien Duff

text: Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played predominantly as a winger. He has been the manager of League of Ireland club Shelbourne F.C. since November 2021.


title: Damien Duff

text: He began his professional playing career with Blackburn Rovers, with whom he won the Football League Cup, and in 2003 was signed for £17 million by Chelsea, where he won two Premier League titles and another League Cup. After three seasons at Stamford Bridge, he left for Newcastle United where he won the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup, and then moved on to Fulham, with whom he played in the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final. He ended his career with brief spells in the A-League with Melbourne City and the League of Ireland with Shamrock Rovers before retiring in December 2015. Since then, he has moved into coaching, working with Shamrock Rovers, Celtic and Republic of Ireland youth teams.


title: Damien Duff

text: Duff played international football for the Republic of Ireland for 14 years, winning 100 caps between 1998 and 2012. He played at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and captained the country at UEFA Euro 2012.


title: Damien Duff

text: Duff joined Blackburn Rovers as a trainee in 1996 after playing for Leicester Celtic, Lourdes Celtic and St. Kevin's Boys as a schoolboy in Dublin. He made his Blackburn debut at the age of 18 against Leicester City on the final day of the 1996–97 season for which he won the Man of the match award. In his first full season, he scored five goals. Blackburn were relegated the following season.


title: Damien Duff

text: Duff helped Blackburn achieve promotion back to the Premier League in 2001 and then win the League Cup in 2002, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at the Millennium Stadium in a season where he was Player of the Year. Following the 2002 World Cup, Duff signed a new four-year contract with Rovers. Despite injury problems in the 2002–03 season, he finished as Blackburn's top goalscorer with 11 goals, which helped his team finish sixth and qualify for the UEFA Cup.


title: Damien Duff

text: In the run up to the 2003–04 season, Chelsea made a series of bids for Duff, with a £17 million offer, eventually triggering a release clause in the player's contract. Duff chose to move to West London in July. Signed by manager Claudio Ranieri as part of the development of Chelsea financed by new owner Roman Abramovich, Duff made his debut in August 2003 in the Champions League against Slovakian side MŠK Žilina. Chelsea won 2–0 and Duff was described as the "star of the show". He scored his first Chelsea goal on 20 September 2003 in a 5–0 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Duff scored the third Chelsea goal and was named as Man of the match. Duff played 23 games in all competitions for Chelsea in the 2003–04 season scoring five goals. He missed the Champions League semi-finals as Chelsea lost to AS Monaco but was instrumental in securing for Chelsea second place in the Premier League, the club's highest league finish for 49 years as well as being part of the Champions League run, but the season ultimately ended trophyless and with the sacking of manager Claudio Ranieri.


title: Damien Duff

text: The arrival of Dutch winger Arjen Robben and new manager José Mourinho posed a threat to Duff's place in the starting line-up for the 2004–05 season, but an injury to Robben at the start of the season saw Duff as the only available winger. Mourinho, however, did not play Duff in the early part of the 2004–05 season, preferring a more narrow approach. Duff eventually got into the side after four games and, when Robben returned to the side, Duff's versatility saw him move to the right wing and form a wing partnership with Robben. The season proved to be successful for both Duff and Chelsea. He scored ten goals, including a crucial strike in a 4–2 win against Barcelona in the Champions League, while the team won the Premier League title by 12 points from second placed Arsenal, and the League Cup, in which Duff scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Manchester United. He scored three goals in 28 league appearances in the following season as the club retained their Premier League title.


title: Damien Duff

text: In July 2006, Duff agreed terms over a £5 million move to Newcastle United, signing a five-year contract. Duff made his competitive debut in a UEFA Cup second round qualifying first leg match against Latvian side Ventspils on 10 August 2006. He scored his first goal for Newcastle in September that year in a 2–0 victory over West Ham United away at the Boleyn Ground. Duff suffered a knee injury in November that kept him out for four months, during which Newcastle had a bad run of defeats. He returned but was then ruled out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury in a 2–1 loss to Portsmouth in April 2007. Sam Allardyce later described Duff's injury as 'career threatening'. During Alan Shearer's short stint as interim manager, Duff was asked to play as left back.


title: Damien Duff

text: In the final match of the 2008–09 season, against Aston Villa in a crucial relegation decider, Duff unluckily scored the deciding own goal by deflecting in a 20-yard shot by Villa's Gareth Barry which sent Newcastle down. Duff confirmed his intention to stay at the relegated club and help them back into the Premier League. On 8 August 2009, Duff scored Newcastle's first goal of the 2009–10 season in a 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion.


title: Damien Duff

text: After playing one game for Newcastle in 2009–10, Duff returned to the Premier League, signing for Fulham on a three-year contract for £4 million, and re-joining Roy Hodgson, his first manager at Blackburn Rovers. He made his Fulham debut coming on as a substitute against Amkar Perm in the Cottagers' UEFA Europa League qualifier match, setting up the third goal in a 3–1 win. Duff scored his first league goal for Fulham on 13 September 2009 in a 2–1 victory over Everton, scoring in the 79th minute. On 19 December 2009, Duff scored in the 75th minute in a 3–0 victory over Manchester United. On 17 January 2010, Duff started the game against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park and also completed the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 defeat.


title: Damien Duff

text: On 22 August 2010, he started and played the full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Craven Cottage in a 2–2 draw and also picked up a booking. On 18 September 2010, he started and played the entire match against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in a 1–1 draw. On 15 January 2011, Duff made his 500th career appearance in English football when he lined up against Wigan Athletic playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw at the DW Stadium. On 5 February 2011, he started the Premier League game against Aston Villa in a 2–2 draw at Villa Park, but was replaced on 67 minutes by Simon Davies. On 27 February 2011, he played the full 90 minutes and also scored a goal in the match with Manchester City at Eastlands in a 1–1 draw.


title: Damien Duff

text: On 5 March 2011, Duff scored a brace in a 3–2 win against former side Blackburn Rovers at Craven Cottage.


title: Damien Duff

text: About Fulham and his time at the football club, Duff stated: "I like to think that I have found my feet again here at Fulham. It's a good environment and one that players feel very comfortable in. This is a club with so much character and I'm very happy to be helping move it forward." At the end of the 2010–11 season, Duff made 27 appearances and scored 4 goals in all competitions, including making 24 Premier League appearances. On 19 August 2011, Duff signed a one-year extension to his current deal.


title: Damien Duff

text: A week later, on 7 April 2012, he starred in Fulham's 0–3 away win over Bolton Wanderers, setting up Clint Dempsey for the second goal of the match. During the match, which marked his 350th league appearance, he was a constant threat on the right wing. On 18 August 2012, Duff scored the opening goal in Fulham's 5–0 win over Norwich City on the opening day of the 2012–13 Premier League. He scored again in the following game, a 3–2 defeat to Manchester United.


title: Damien Duff

text: On 22 February 2013, Duff signed a new contract with Fulham, keeping him at the club until summer 2014. On 16 April 2014, Duff confirmed his intention to leave Fulham at the end of the 2013–14 season. Duff told "The Irish Times", "I'll be leaving Fulham. The club haven't spoken to me and I haven't spoken to the club but we don't need to speak." He was released from the club on 23 May.


title: Damien Duff

text: In June 2014, Duff joined Australian A-League club Melbourne City as a free transfer in a one-year deal. Duff made his debut against Sydney FC on match day one, assisting David Villa for his first goal in the A-League. Duff scored his first goal against the Newcastle Jets in a 5–2 win. In March 2015, Duff confirmed that he would leave Melbourne City to return to his homeland, with the intention of finishing his career in the League of Ireland.


title: Damien Duff

text: On 14 July 2015, Duff signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers, and revealed he would be donating his wages to charity. After nine games for the Dublin-based side, on 21 December 2015 he announced his retirement from football.


title: Damien Duff

text: Duff played for the Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team in the 1997 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship finals in Iceland, the 1997 and 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. In Malaysia, he scored the first ever Golden Goal in a World Cup match.


title: Damien Duff

text: He made his senior début for the Republic of Ireland in 1998 against the Czech Republic. He won 100 caps, making him the fifth most capped player in Irish history. He started a total of 82 times for the Republic of Ireland senior squad, scoring eight goals.


title: Damien Duff

text: He played every game for Republic of Ireland at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and was voted the team's player of the tournament. After scoring against Saudi Arabia, en route to the second round of the FIFA World Cup, Duff marked his goal with an oriental bow, in retrospect often referred to as one of the most memorable moments of his international career. He was named as the FAI Senior International Player of the Year in 2002.


title: Damien Duff

text: After a poor campaign, failing to qualify and a change of managers during the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2004, he still scored two goals during the qualifiers against Georgia and Russia.


title: Damien Duff

text: He was ever present for the Republic of Ireland in their qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but yet again, they failed to qualify. Duff's former teammate Steve Staunton took over as manager but early defeats to Germany and a humiliating 5–2 loss to Cyprus saw the Irish fail to qualify again for a major tournament, followed by another change of manager.


title: Damien Duff

text: Under the new manager Giovanni Trapattoni, Duff started the manager's first game in charge against Serbia on 24 May 2008, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Duff became a key member of the squad proving assists for many of the goals. He started the matches in both legs against France as the Irish were controversially knocked out 2–1 on aggregate after extra-time.


title: Damien Duff

text: Duff was ever-present on the wings for the Republic of Ireland in their UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and he was part of the team that secured qualification for UEFA Euro 2012 with an unprecedented 5–1 aggregate play-off win over Estonia. He was named in Trapattoni's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2012 and was given the number 11 jersey. On 18 June 2012, he captained the Republic of Ireland on his 100th cap against Italy, their final group game of the tournament. This turned out to be the last match he played representing his country.


title: Damien Duff

text: During his last playing season at Shamrock Rovers, Duff coached the club's under-15 team. On 16 April 2016, it was announced that he would take on a coaching role with the Republic of Ireland under-15s, in line with the recommendation from FAI High Performance Director, Ruud Dokter, that more ex-internationals get involved in coaching roles with the national team setup. On 31 July 2016, Duff joined the Shamrock Rovers first-team coaching staff until the end of the season, with the intention that he would then take control of the under-15 group he previously managed, then competing in the League of Ireland U17 Division.


title: Damien Duff

text: Duff was appointed to a reserve team coaching position with Celtic in January 2019. When Neil Lennon became interim manager at Celtic in February 2019, Duff was promoted to first team coach, with John Kennedy promoted to assistant manager. After the club completed a third successive domestic treble, Lennon was made permanent manager, with Duff and Kennedy retaining their roles. Celtic secured a ninth league title in-a-row and fourth straight League Cup in 2019–20. On 5 April 2020, Duff was announced as the assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland senior team to Stephen Kenny, who replaced Mick McCarthy. On 24 June 2020 it was announced that in conjunction with his role as assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland senior team, Duff would also become head coach of the under 17 team at League of Ireland club Shelbourne. On 8 January 2021, Duff stepped down as Kenny's assistant.


title: Damien Duff

text: On 3 November 2021, Duff was appointed as the first team manager of League of Ireland Premier Division club, Shelbourne. His first match in senior management was a 3–0 loss at home to rivals St Patrick's Athletic on 18 February 2022.


title: Damien Duff

text: Duff married Elaine in June 2010 at Babington House near Midsomer Norton in Somerset. The couple's first child, Woody, was born a year later in the county. Duff is also a rugby fan, and is personally acquainted with some of Ireland's international rugby players.


title: Damien Duff

text: According to the February 2009 issue of "FourFourTwo" magazine Duff was worth £14 million, placing him 92nd in the magazine's 2009 Football Rich List.


title: Damien Duff

text: Duff was referenced in the song Summertime Shootout (featuring T-Pain) by AJ Tracey from his album Flu Game. The full line is “ We turn opponents into nothin' but dust.


title: Organ trade

text: Organ trade (also known as Red market) is the trading of human organs, tissues, or other body products, usually for transplantation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), organ trade is a commercial transplantation where there is a profit, or transplantations that occur outside of national medical systems. There is a global need or demand for healthy body parts for transplantation, which exceeds the numbers available.


title: Organ trade

text: , there are more than 100,000 candidates waiting for organ transplant in the United States. The median wait time for heart and liver transplants in the U.S. between 2003 and 2014, was approximately 148 days. Average time waiting for donor organs varies significantly depending on the patients UNOS status. Patients listed as Heart Status A1 wait an average of 73 days.


title: Organ trade

text: There is a worldwide shortage of organs available for transplantation, yet the commercial trade of human organs is illegal in all countries except Iran. Despite these prohibitions, organ trafficking and transplant tourism remain widespread (however, the data on the extent of the black market trade in organs is difficult to obtain). The question of whether to legalize and regulate the organ trade to combat illegal trafficking and organ shortage is greatly debated. This discussion typically centers on the sale of kidneys by living donors, since human beings are born with two kidneys but need only one to survive.


title: Organ trade

text: Iran is the only nation that allows organs to be bought and sold for money. Due to lack of infrastructure to maintain an efficient organ transplant system in the early 1980s, Iran legalized living non-related donation (LNRD) of kidneys in 1988. The Charity Association for the Support of Kidney Patients (CASKP) and the Charity Foundation for Special Diseases (CFSD) control the trade of organs, with the support of the government. These nonprofit organizations match donors to recipients, setting up tests to ensure compatibility. Donors receive tax credit compensation from the government, free health care insurance, and often direct payment from the recipient with the average donor being paid $1,200. Some donors are also offered employment opportunities. Charity organizations support recipients that cannot afford the cost of the organ.


title: Organ trade

text: Iran does place restrictions on the commercial organ trade in an attempt to limit transplant tourism. The market is contained within the country; that is, foreigners are not allowed to buy the organs of Iranian citizens. Additionally, organs can only be transplanted between people of the same nationality – so, for example, an Iranian cannot purchase a kidney from a refugee from another country.


title: Organ trade

text: Proponents of legalized organ trade have hailed the Iranian system as an example of an effective and safe organ trading model. In addition, the LNRD model is compatible with the social climate in the country. Religious practices in Iran stymies donation culture in the country as organ donations is often viewed as taboo. In 2017, from a possible 8,000 cases of brain death, 4,000 organs were viable, but only 808 were transplanted due to lack of consent.


title: Organ trade

text: Some critics argue that the Iranian system is in some ways coercive, as over 70% of donors are poor. There is no short-term or long-term follow-up on the health of organ donors. In fact, there is evidence that Iranian donors experience highly negative outcomes, both in terms of health and emotional well-being.


title: Organ trade

text: In Iran's legal markets, the price of a kidney ranges from $2,000 to $4,000. On the black market, the same kidney can be worth over $160,000, with most of proceeds taken up by middlemen. The typical price paid to donors on the black market is thought to be about US$5,000, but some donors receive as little as $1,000. In addition, these black market transplants are often dangerous to both the donor and recipient, with some contracting hepatitis or HIV.


title: Organ trade

text: Australia and Singapore recently legalized monetary compensation for living organ donors. Proponents of such initiatives say that these measures do not pay people for their organs; rather, these measures merely compensate donors for the costs associated with donating an organ. For example, Australian donors receive 9 weeks' paid leave at a rate corresponding to the national minimum wage. Kidney disease advocacy organizations in both countries have expressed their support for this new initiative.


title: Organ trade

text: Although American federal law prohibits the sale of organs, it does permit state governments to compensate donors for travel, medical, and other incidental expenses associated with their donation. In 2004, the state of Wisconsin took advantage of this law to provide tax deductions to living donors to defray the costs of donation.


title: Organ trade

text: Although all nations apart from Iran prohibit financial transactions for organs, most permit "paired donations" or kidney swaps across multiple parties. Paired donations address the problem of tissue compatibility in organ transplants. For example, you may wish to donate a kidney to your spouse but cannot to due to antibody incompatibilities. However, your kidney is a good match for a stranger who happens to be married to someone whose kidney would be compatible with your spouse. In a paired donation, you would agree to donate your kidney to the stranger, in exchange for the stranger's spouse promising to donate a kidney to your spouse.


title: Organ trade

text: Such paired donations are arguably a form of organ sale – instead of purchasing a kidney for a loved one with cash, a person pays for it with her own kidney. In fact, in the United States, the spread of kidney paired donations was initially stymied due to language in the National Organ Transplantation Act barring the transfer of human organs for "valuable consideration". It was only after the law was amended to specifically allow for kidney paired donations that the practice became popular.


title: Organ trade

text: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), illegal organ trade occurs when organs are removed from the body for the purpose of commercial transactions. Despite ordinances against organ sales, this practice persists, with studies estimating that anywhere from 5% to 42% of transplanted organs are illicitly purchased. Research indicates that illegal organ trade is on the rise, with a recent report by Global Financial Integrity estimating that the illegal organ trade generates profits between $600 million and $1.2 billion per year, with a span over many countries. These countries include, but are not limited to:


title: Organ trade

text: Criminal networks increasingly engage in kidnappings, especially of children and teenagers, who are then taken to locations with medical equipment. There they are murdered and their organs harvested for the illegal organ trade. Poverty and loopholes in legislation also contribute to the illegal trade of organs.


title: Organ trade

text: Though claims of organ trafficking are difficult to substantiate due to lack of evidence and reliable data, cases of illegal organ trade have been tried and prosecuted. The persons and entities prosecuted have included criminal gangs, hospitals, third-party organ brokers, nephrologists, and individuals attempting to sell their own organs.


title: Organ trade

text: The United Network for Organ Sharing defines transplant tourism as "the purchase of a transplant organs abroad that includes access to an organ while bypassing laws, rules, or processes of any or all countries involved". The term "transplant tourism" describes the commercialism that drives illegal organ trade, but not all medical tourism for organs is illegal. For example, in some cases, both the donor and the recipient of the organ travel to a country with adequate facilities to perform a legal surgery. In other cases, a recipient travels to receive the organ of a relative living abroad. Transplant tourism raises concerns because it involves the transfer of healthy organs in one direction, depleting the regions where organs are bought. This transfer typically occurs in trends: from South to North, from developing to developed nations, from females to males, and from people of color to whites. In 2007, for example, 2,500 kidneys were purchased in Pakistan, with foreign recipients making up two-thirds of the buyers. In the same year, in Canada and the United Kingdom, experts estimated that about 30 to 50 of their citizens illegally purchased organs abroad.


title: Organ trade

text: The kidney is the most commonly sought-after organ in transplant tourism, with prices for the organ ranging from as little as $1,300 to as much as $150,000. Reports estimate that 75% of all illegal organ trading involves kidneys. The liver trade is also prominent in transplant tourism, with prices ranging from $4,000 to $157,000. Though livers are regenerative, making liver donations non-fatal, they are much less common due to an excruciating post-operative recovery period that deters donors. Other high-priced body parts commonly sold include corneas ($24,400) and unfertilized eggs ($12,400), while lower-priced bodily commodities include blood ($25–337), skin ($10 per square inch), and bones/ligaments ($5,465). While there is a high demand, and correspondingly a very high price, for vital organs such as hearts and lungs, transplant tourism and organ trafficking of these parts is very rare due to the sophisticated nature of the transplant surgery and the state-of-the-art facilities required for such transplants.


title: Organ trade

text: The international community has issued many ordinances and declarations against the organ trade. Examples include the World Medical Authority's 1985 denouncement of organs for commercial use; the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine of 1997 and its 2002 Optional Protocol Concerning Transplantation of Organs and Tissues of Human Origin; and the Declaration of Istanbul on organ trafficking and transplant tourism. The Declaration of Istanbul defines transplant commercialism, organ trafficking, and transplant tourism. It condemns these practices based on violations to equity, justice, and human dignity. The declaration aims to promote ethical practices in organ transplantation and donation on an international level. It is nonbinding, but over 100 transplant organizations support its principles, including countries such as China, Israel, the Philippines, and Pakistan, which strengthened their laws against illegal organ trading after the declaration's release.


title: Organ trade

text: The World Health Organization (WHO) has also played a prominent role in condemning the illegal organ trade. The WHO first declared organ trade illegal in 1987, stating that such a trade violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also condemns the practice on the grounds that it "is likely to take unfair advantage of the poorest and most vulnerable groups, undermines altruistic donation and leads to profiteering and human trafficking." In 1991, at the 44th World Health Assembly, it approved nine guiding principles for human organ transplant. The principles clearly stated that organs cannot be the subject of financial transactions. On May 22, 2004, these guidelines were slightly amended at the 57th World Health Assembly. They are intended for the use of governments worldwide. These global initiatives have served as a helpful resource for establishing medical professional codes and a legal framework for the issue, but have not provided the sanctions required for enforcement.


title: Organ trade

text: Since the late 1980s, China relied on executed prisoners to provide the bulk of its transplanted organs. This ready source of organs made it second only to the United States for numbers of transplantations performed. There is evidence that the government attempted to downplay the scope of organ harvesting through confidentiality agreements and laws, such as the Temporary Rules Concerning the Utilization of Corpses or Organs from the Corpses of Executed Prisoners. Critics further allege that organs were not distributed on the basis of need, but rather allocated through a corrupt system or simply sold to wealthy Chinese and foreign individuals. One source estimates that China executed at least 4,000 prisoners in 2006 to supply approximately 8,000 kidneys and 3,000 livers for foreign buyers. China was also accused of fueling its transplant industry with organs harvested from living Falun Gong practitioners. The Kilgour–Matas report concluded that China was guilty of this practice; however, the report has come under criticism for its methodology, by both Chinese and Western sources.


title: Organ trade

text: In the 2000s, the country came under increasing international and domestic pressure to end the practice of using organs from prisoners. Since then, it has implemented a number of reforms addressing these allegations. It has developed a registry of voluntary, non-incarcerated donors; it is believed that these living and deceased donors supply most of the organs transplanted in the country today. China also standardized its organ collection process, specifying which hospitals can perform operations and establishing the legal definition of brain death. In 2007, China banned foreign transplant patients and formally outlawed the sale of organs and collecting a person's organs without their consent.


title: Organ trade

text: Many non-profit organizations and international jurists are skeptical that China has truly reformed its organ transplant industry. In particular, although the number of organs taken from prisoners has dropped dramatically, there is no prohibition on collecting organs from deceased inmates who sign agreements purporting to donate their organs. There continue to be reports of prison officials offering death row inmates the opportunity to "voluntarily" donate their organs upon death, with the implication that those who decline may get worse treatment from their jailers.


title: Organ trade

text: Before 1994, India had no legislation banning the sale of organs. Low costs and high availability brought in business from around the globe, and transformed India into one of the largest kidney transplant centers in the world. However, several problems began to surface. Patients were often promised payments that were much higher than what they actually received. Other patients reported that their kidneys were removed without their consent after they underwent procedures for other reasons.


title: Organ trade

text: In 1994, the country passed the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA), banning commerce in organs and promoting posthumous donation of organs. The law's primary mechanism for preventing the sale of organs was to restrict who could donate a kidney to another person. In particular, the THOA bars strangers from donating to one another; a person can only donate to a relative, spouse, or someone bound by "affection". In practice, though, people evade the law's restrictions to continue the trade in organs. Often, claims of "affection" are unfounded and the organ donor has no connection to the recipient. In many cases, the donor may not be Indian or even speak the same language as the recipient. There have also been reports of the donor marrying the recipient to circumvent THOA's prohibition.


title: Organ trade

text: Although the sale of organs was not legal in the Philippines, prior to 2008 the practice was tolerated and even endorsed by the government. The Philippine Information Agency, a branch of the government, even promoted "all-inclusive" kidney transplant packages that retailed for roughly $25,000. The donors themselves often received as little as $2,000 for their kidneys. The country was a popular destination for transplant tourism. One high-ranking government official estimated that 800 kidneys were sold annually in the country prior to 2008, and the WHO listed it as one of the top five sites for transplant tourists in 2005.


title: Organ trade

text: In March 2008, the government passed new legislation enforcing the ban on organ sales. After the crackdown on the practice, the number of transplants has decreased from 1,046 in 2007 to 511 in 2010. Since then, the government has taken a much more active stance against transplant tourism.


title: Organ trade

text: On September 21, 2021, 92 Republican members of the U.S. Senate and House asked the heads of multiple federal agencies to investigate organ harvesting for research purposes. The letter stated, "We are alarmed by public records obtained from the National Institutes of Heath (NIH) which show that the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) may have violated federal law by altering abortion procedures to harvest organs from babies who were old enough to live outside the womb." However, PolitiFact reported several months earlier that "There is no indication that the fetal tissues used in the [University of Pittsburgh] experiments were 'purchased'," suggesting that the congress members' later description of this research as involving organ harvesting was inaccurate.


title: Organ trade

text: Data from the World Health Organization indicates that donors in the illegal organ trade are predominantly impoverished people in developing nations. In one study of organ donors in India, for example, 71% of all donors fell below the poverty line. Poor people (including poor migrants) are more likely to fall victim of organ theft. Accounts of this practice usually characterize the victims as unemployed individuals (often but not always men) between the ages of 20 and 40 who were seeking work and were taken out of the country for operations.


title: Organ trade

text: Poor people are also more likely to volunteer to sell their organs. One of the primary reasons donors articulate for why they sell their organs is to pay off debt. Migrants for instance may use the money to pay off human traffickers. The most impoverished are frequently viewed as more reliable targets for transplant tourists because they are the most in need of money. While some supporters of the organ trade argue that it helps lift some people out of poverty by providing compensation to donors, evidence of this claim is hotly debated. In many cases, people who sell their organs in order to pay off debt do not manage to escape this debt and remain trapped in debt cycles. Often, people feel like they have no choice but to donate their kidneys due to extreme poverty. In some cases, organs are sold to family members, either from parents to offspring, or from adult children to parents. This is more frequent in nations where waitlists are less formal, and among families which cannot afford to leave the country for transplants.


title: Organ trade

text: Reports by the World Health Organization show decreased health and economic well-being for those who donate organs through transplant tourism. In Iran (where organ sales are legal), 58% of donors reported negative health consequences. In Egypt, as many as 78% of donors experienced negative health outcomes, and 96% of donors stated that they regretted donating. These findings are relatively consistent across all countries: those who sell their organs on the market tend to have poorer overall health. Substandard conditions during transplant surgeries can also lead to transmission of diseases like hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. Donors' poor health is further exacerbated by depression and other mental illnesses brought on by the stress of donating and insufficient care after surgery.