Dissident’s wife, son in US
The wife and son of dissident Guo Quan (郭泉), who is serving a 10-year sentence for “subversion,” have left the country for a new life in the US, a rights group said yesterday. Li Jing (李晶) and 12-year-old Guo Yi arrived in Los Angeles on Monday by plane, the US-based ChinaAid group said in an e-mailed statement. “They will be appealing to the US government and international groups to pay close attention to Guo’s case and for help in winning his release,” the group said, without providing further details. Guo was jailed in October 2009 for “subversion of state power.” He was an outspoken critic of the government and advocated a “multiparty, competitively elected democratic system,” according to the US-based Human Rights in China.
Gunmen kill 15 fishermen
Gunmen opened fire on three boats and killed 15 fishermen in what officials yesterday said was likely an attack by a rival group protecting its lucrative fishing grounds. The fishermen were aboard three small, wooden-hulled vessels off Sibago island in Basilan province when about 10 attackers in speedboats fired on them on Monday morning and then sped away, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cagangbang said. One of the survivors told police that their group had been warned to stay away from the fishing grounds where the attack took place, ABS-CBN TV reported.
Asylum talks break down
Negotiations have broken down between the ruling Labor Party and the opposition Liberal Party on a compromise policy to deport asylum seekers to another country. While the two parties agree that sending asylum seekers to another country within the Asia-Pacific region would be the best way to curb the increasing number heading from Indonesia and Malaysia by boat, they said yesterday that their politically charged negotiations had broken down. Prime Minister Julia Gillard accused opposition leader Tony Abbott of failing to negotiate in good faith.
Police yesterday said they were shocked at the number of mothers they found breastfeeding babies while driving along motorways in Auckland. They said they stopped three breastfeeding drivers this month, while carrying out a 10-day operation aimed at ensuring children were properly restrained in vehicles. Inspector Shanan Gray said the practice placed both mother and child “in an extremely dangerous situation.” Gray said police were also stunned at the number of children being transported in car boots [trunks].”
Opposition’s offices raided
Authorities on Monday raided the offices and homes of officials of an unregistered political party and said they have charged one person with inciting social unrest. The National Security Committee said the raids against the Alga Party were part of an investigation into last month’s fatal clashes between police and striking oil workers in the town of Zhanaozen, in which at least 16 people were killed. The raids came just days after Prime Minister Karim Masimov vowed greater political liberalization. Alga Party official Aizhangul Amirova was charged earlier this month with inciting unrest, the committee said. The newspaper Respublika also reported on Monday that the editor of independent newspaper Vzglyad, Igor Vinyavsky, was arrested on charges of inciting the overthrow of the government.