China came in for fierce questioning on its commitment to end abuses on Friday, as the UN committee against torture conducted its first review of the Asian nation in seven years.
Among other controversial matters, the UN committee addressed the wave of arrests in Tibet after nationalist unrest last March, the house arrest of family members of dissident rights activist Hu Jia (胡佳) and overall conditions of detention in the country.
The committee’s rapporteur Felice Gaer also quizzed Beijing on the number of people sentenced to death, the fate of North Korean emigrants and the harassment of pregnant women to “persuade” them to have an abortion.
Gaer said she was “perplexed” by China’s response, which consisted of highlighting the relevant laws in place to combat abuses, while the committee “expects information on concrete measures to make sure these [laws] are being implemented.”
“The lack of information makes it difficult to do a serious and independent assessment of the allegations by rights groups about torture and ill treatment,” she said.
But Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong (李保東) said progress had indeed been made in combating torture.
Some 40 trials involving 82 people accused of extracting confessions by torture took place last year, for example — down from 64 trials involving 119 people in 2006, he said.
China is routinely criticized by rights groups and Western countries over its human rights record, which it rejects as interference in its affairs.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS