Beijing Escorts: Group: Blind Chinese activist under US protection
BEIJING (AP) – A blind legal activist who fled house arrest in his Chinese village is under the protection of American officials, overseas activists said Saturday, putting the U.S. in a difficult position days ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Chen Guangcheng, who has exposed forced abortions and sterilizations in villages as a result of China’s one-child policy, escaped a week ago from his guarded home in Shandong province in eastern China. Chinese-based activists say he was driven away by supporters and then handed over to others who brought him to Beijing.
The U.S. and Chinese governments have not confirmed reports that he sought protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
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The U.S. Embassy in Beijing declined to comment Saturday, as have U.S. officials in Washington.
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If Chen is in the U.S. Embassy or with U.S. officials at another location, it is not known how he would be able to leave or where he could go without Chinese permission. There was no extra security outside the U.S. embassy in Beijing on Saturday.
See the full article from “KTTC”
Beijing Strip Clubs: Romney says Chinese activist should be protected
WASHINGTON — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says the U.S. should do everything it can to protect a Chinese activist who escaped house arrest and was reported to be hiding in the U.S. embassy in Beijing.
In a statement released Sunday, Romney said the incident involving Chen Guangcheng points toward the broader issue of human rights and that the U.S. should help to reform the communist regime. Chen exposed forced abortions and sterilizations as a result of China’s one-child policy.
“Any serious U.S. policy toward China,” said Romney, “must confront the facts of the Chinese government’s denial of political liberties, its one-child policy and other violations of human rights.”
President Barack Obama has not spoken publicly on the incident, which comes on the eve of diplomatic talks with Beijing.
See the full article from “WRAL.com”
Beijing Escorts: Blind lawyer’s escape to overshadow US-China talks
By BRADLEY KLAPPER and MATTHEW LEEAssociated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) – Less than a week before annual U.S.-Chinese diplomatic and economic talks, relations between the powers risked sharply deteriorating Saturday with an escaped Chinese activist reportedly under American protection and a U.S. fighter jet sale to Taiwan now being considered.
Fellow activists say Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer who exposed forced abortions and sterilizations as part of China’s one-child policy, fled house arrest a week ago and has sought protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
Neither the U.S. nor Chinese government has confirmed the reports, but the saga looks set to overshadow this coming week’s Strategic and Economic Dialogue in the Chinese capital. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are leading the U.S. side at the talks beginning Thursday.
A potential further complication is a letter from the White House director of legislative affairs, Rob Nabors, to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, explaining that the Obama administration would consider selling …
See the full article from “KTTC”
Beijing Escorts: Group: Blind Chinese activist under US protection
The Secret Service circulated “enhanced standards of conduct” on Friday from Director Mark Sullivan in response to the prostitution scandal in Colombia. More >>
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By SCOTT McDONALDAssociated Press
BEIJING (AP) – A blind legal activist who fled house arrest in his rural China village is under the protection of U.S. officials and high-level talks are taking place between the countries about his fate, an overseas activist group said Saturday.
The whereabouts of Chen Guangcheng – amid unconfirmed reports that he sought protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing – could be a major political complication for the two countries, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other top U.S. officials due to arrive in China this coming week for the latest round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
“Chen is under U.S. protection and high-level talks are currently under way between U.S. and Chinese officials regarding Chen’s status,” said a statement from the ChinaAid Association. It cited a source close to the situation …
See the full article from “KTUL (blog)”
Beijing Strip Clubs: Senior Republican urges US-China investment treaty
WASHINGTON (AP) – A top Republican lawmaker is calling on the Obama administration to pursue an investment treaty with China and press Beijing on its currency policy at talks next week.
Rep. Dave Camp, chair of a congressional panel that oversees revenue and trade policy, said Thursday that China needs to open up its markets more to the U.S. and end trade-distorting policies. He voiced concern that countries such as Brazil, India and Argentina were emulating some of China’s trade practices.
Camp notes encouraging signs as China looks to rebalance its economy away from export-led growth. But he said the U.S. should continue to press Beijing to let market forces determine its currency value.
He said next week’s U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing provides an opportunity to do that.
See the full article from “WGCL Atlanta”
Beijing Adult Entertainment: Beijing – An Arrest in Tiananmen Square and an Offer of Exciting Sex
I am in Beijing but, this morning, it felt like I was home in London when a taxi driver took me on a 12-minute round trip in the opposite direction to where we were going, to increase his meter fare. It is what all cabbies must do the world over to foreigners in their city.
Eventually, we got to Tiananmen Square, where all access is guarded by soldiers/police at kiosks with X-ray machines. This is no big deal, really, as all Beijing’s metro stations have X-ray security machines too.
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As I walked up to the Novotel, three prostitutes offered to have sex with me. Well, presumably each of three prostitutes, not all three together. The youngest was wearing a white coat; the others were stylishly-dressed in black, merging into the darkness and with sadder eyes. The youngest was bubbly and effervescent: “Sex,” she said to me. “Exciting sex.”
See the full article from “Huffington Post UK (blog)”
Beijing Adult Entertainment: Chrysler Debuts China-Themed Wrangler and 300 Concepts [Beijing Auto Show]
Chrysler showed two special-edition cars, a 300 and a Jeep Wrangler, at the Beijing auto show. Both are influenced by Chinese culture.
Chrysler 300 Ruyi Design Concept
The Chrysler 300 Ruyi design concept is named for a type of opulent scepter—or, as we might call it, a Royal Whoopin’ Stick. In part, the car is meant to attract attention to the relaunch of the Chrysler brand in China, which ended a small presence there in 2009. A six-cylinder 300 will be sold there alongside a minivan wearing the “Grand Voyager” badge.
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Hopping on the dragon-themed bandwagon already carrying Aston Martin, Ferrari’s special edition 458 celebrating 20 years in China, and Rolls-Royce’s Year of the Dragon Collection, Jeep applied the design-scheme to its ute. Commemorating this as the Year of the Dragon, the Wrangler Dragon design concept is gilded with bronze-gold trim, including the grille slats, headlights, exposed bolts, and 18-inch wheels. Unbridled pimping continues inside, with lots more bronze-gold-colored detailing on the seats, doors, and dash. Dragon images are laser-etched into the headrests.
See the full article from “Car and Driver (blog)”
Beijing Adult Entertainment: 2012 Beijing: Mercedes Viano Vision Diamond
2012 Beijing: Mercedes Viano Vision Diamond
Monday, April 23, 2012 15:23 by Arman Barari
There are many companies specializing in turning vans into luxury lounges on wheels, and almost all of them have an affinity for the Mercedes Viano. This car is by far the classiest and best-looking van out there. So this time Mercedes themselves decided to have a go at pimping the Viano. The end result is currently on display at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, as the Viano Vision Diamond.
The Vision Diamond is distinguished on the outside with a unique two-tone paint job in black and diamond white, with a gold divider line. It also features a black front grille, two-tone five-spoke wheels, brake calipers with Mercedes logo in gold, and painted diamonds on the B-pillar.
See the full article from “Motorward”
Beijing Escorts: Ethics training needed for civil servants: Chinese official
Beijing, April 17 (IANS) Professional ethics training for civil servants is a “pressing and long-term strategic task” that could have a profound influence on the government’s work efficiency as well as the image of the Communist Party of China (CPC), a senior official has said.
“Lawful administration and professional ethics are two major aspects of our civil servants’ quality. Their ethics level should reflect that of society on the whole, and they should set an moral example for others,” said Yang Shiqiu, party chief of the State Administration of Civil Service (SACS).
Yang’s comments were carried in Tuesday’s People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of the CPC.
In November last year, the SACS issued guidelines offering detailed training standards including the minimum course hours and training methods. This pushed the professional ethics campaign on civil servants, an idea initiated in 2009, to new heights, reported Xinhua.
The move came in response to increased public outcry, as reports emerged of civil servants using prostitutes, taking bribes and leading luxurious lifestyles.
See the full article from “Newstrack India”
Beijing Escorts: Hearings begin for China’s former No. 1 fugitive
BEIJING—A Chinese man who battled deportation from Canada for a decade after being accused of heading China’s largest-ever smuggling ring went on trial Friday.
A court in the southern coastal city of Xiamen began to hear the high-profile case against Lai Changxing, who was extradited last July, the official Xinhua News Agency said. He fled China in 1999.
Lai is accused of masterminding a $10 billion network that smuggled everything from cigarettes to cars to oil and bribed dozens of government workers between 1996 and 1999. The operation robbed the government of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes.
He is alleged to have plied officials with liquor and prostitutes in a country where corruption is rife among government employees.
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In Canada, Lai fought against deportation, arguing he could face the death penalty or be tortured and would not get a fair trial in his home country. Beijing has assured Ottawa that Lai will not face the death penalty.
See the full article from “San Jose Mercury News”