Songbirds in a Bamboo Cage
China stands at a crossroads of reform. In November, the fifth generation of leaders since the People’s Republic was founded was installed at the Eighteenth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
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Education Behind Bars
he prisoners have different motivations – some just want social contact, or to get a breath of fresh air from their normal routine – but many are sincere and want to improve their skills, get GEDs and that sort of stuff.
Tibet’s Burning Questions
During the last three years, almost 100 Tibetans have committed suicide by self immolation to protest conditions under Chinese rule. The wider world has been slow to respond to these protests and reluctant to “re-examine how it [has] acquiesced to China’s Tibet policies.”
CRA Caution to Canadian Mennonite May be Part of a Pattern
The last parliamentary budget included $8 million for the express purpose of CRA purging its rolls of charitable organizations it deemed unworthy of the status.
Corruption and Reform in the People’s Republic
Jiang Weiping, journalist, dissident and PEN Canada Honorary Member spoke to OpenCanada.org about some of the challenges China’s new leadership will face.
The Salman of Doubt
There is a giant fish hanging over my kitchen sink. It is a salmon, carved by Nova Scotia folk artist William Roach, and for more than 20 years it has carried a decoration on its left front fin: a button reading “I am Salman Rushdie”.
Dispatches From the 78th Congress
PEN International’s 78th Congress in Gyeongju, Korea brought together more than 300 delegates from 80 countries to share ideas, discuss campaigns and focus on emerging challenges to freedom of expression.
The Low Road to Damascus
Why should Canadians care about imprisoned Syrian blogger and poet Tal Al-Mallouhi? For the same reason we should care very much about Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on all Syrian citizens: because our relations with the Al-Assad regime helped foster the culture of impunity that is fueling today’s carnage.
The Ethics of Disclosure
But, in practice, within the public as a whole, there could be winners and losers and, ethically, that must be taken into account. What is ethical will depend on all the facts: Good facts (which can be difficult to ascertain) are essential for good ethics.
Whereof One Cannot Speak
Argument based on speculation, even “very likely” speculation, is like heading down a rabbit hole.