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Australia: First Shark Killed As Cull Begins

Written By Unknown on Senin, 27 Januari 2014 | 00.27

A large shark has been shot dead off Australia's western coast - the first under a controversial culling policy brought in to cut the number of attacks on surfers and swimmers.

The three-metre (10ft) animal, believed to be a female tiger shark, one of three species on the government's kill list, was caught on bait lines off Meelup Beach near Dunsborough, south of Perth.

Government spokesman Simon Beaumont said a fisherman contracted to patrol the lines killed the shark and dumped its carcass at sea.

According to The West Australian newspaper, the creature was shot in the head four times at close range.

The cull, which allows baited drum lines with hooks to be set 1km (0.62 miles) off popular beaches until the end of April, was approved by Australia's national government last week.

Tiger shark The animal shot dead near Perth is believed to have been a tiger shark

Local marine experts have declared the area the deadliest in the world for shark attacks following six fatal maulings in the past two years.

However, the government's response has been criticised by environmentalists who claim there is no evidence it will reduce attacks.

They say it could even increase the danger by giving beach users a false sense of security.

The Conservation Council of Western Australia, which has campaigned against the cull, warned of a "pretty significant public backlash".

Its director Piers Verstegen said: "This is just going to increase the level of public opposition to the shark cull when people see images and hear stories of these sharks being culled.

"It is certainly a sad day for our marine life and for thousands of people opposed to killing endangered sharks."

Western Australia state premier Colin Barnett, who was heckled by members of the public at an event in Perth after the shooting was announced, said he got "no pleasure out of seeing sharks killed".

But he added: "I have an overriding responsibility to protect the people of Western Australia. That's what I'm doing."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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World Cup: Protests Turn Violent In Sao Paulo

At least 1,000 protesters have taken to the streets of Sao Paulo in violent protests against the World Cup.

Activists attacked a police patrol vehicle and tried to turn it over while others smashed the windows of shops and banks.

A man helps his family out of their car, which caught fire after driving through a flaming barrier during a protest against the 2014 World Cup in Sao PauloWoman carries her daughter away from their car, after it caught fire driving through a flaming barrier during a protest against the 2014 World Cup in Sao Paulo A mother carries her daughter away from their car after it caught fire

A number of members of the public were caught up in the violence, including a mother who was pictured carrying her terrified daughter to safety after their car caught fire as it was driven through a flaming barrier. 

The demonstrators are angry at what they say is a decline in public services as a result of money being diverted to stage the tournament.

World Cup protests Protesters attempt to turn over a police car in Sao Paulo

So-called 'back block' anarchists marched through the streets of the city shouting: "If we have no rights, there will be no Cup."

University student Leonardo Pelegrini dos Santos said: "We are against the millions and millions of dollars being spent for the Cup. It is money that should be invested in better health and education services and better transportation and housing.

"By 'rights' we mean the people's right to decent public services."

Demonstrators attack a Caixa bank branch during a protest against the 2014 World Cup in Sao Paulo Demonstrators attack a Caixa bank during the protests

Fellow student Juliana Turno said: "This is a small sample of the protests that will happen when the World Cup begins."

Protests also took place in Rio de Janeiro when 50 protesters gathered in front of the Copacabana Palace hotel holding signs with anti-World Cup slogans.

Demonstrators hold a banner that reads "There will be no World Cup" during a protest against the 2014 World Cup in Sao Paulo Demonstrators hold banners that read "There will be no World Cup" A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest against the 2014 World Cup in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

Another activist group sat on lavatories on Ipanema beach in the city to protest against what they say is a lack of basic sanitation in the city.

Activist group My Rio said the aim of the protest was to raise awareness of the thousands of litres of untreated sewage they say is pumped into the sea off the city every day.

Demonstrators run through a bar after clashing with military police during a protest against the 2014 World Cup in Sao Paulo Demonstrators run through a bar after clashing with military police

Activist Leona Deckelbaum said: "The Olympics are coming, the World Cup is coming, it's a chance to draw attention and maybe the world can talk about what's happening here in Rio.                

"To me it is unbelievable that there's not basic sanitation in a city like Rio."

Rio residents who were sunbathing on the beach and who saw the protest, also expressed concern about the safety of the water in the city.

Rio toilet protestRio toilet protest Activists also want cleaner beaches for Rio

"We come to enjoy. And here we get the impact (from sewage problems). It's really dirty. The sand, everything," said Ruth Ferreira.

The protesters also carved-out coloured silhouettes of common bacteria found in sewage which they laid on the sand.

Some 70% of Rio's sewage is untreated and flows into the sea off Copacabana, Ipanema and the Guanabara Bay.

These beaches are due to host several of Rio's events at the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics.

:: Watch Sky News live on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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China Jails Lawyer Xu Zhiyong For Four Years

Mr Xu's Closing Statement In Full

Updated: 11:03am UK, Sunday 26 January 2014

This is Xu Zhiyong's closing statement on January 22, 2014, at the end of his trial. According to his lawyer, he was able to read only "about 10 minutes of it before the presiding judge stopped him, saying it was irrelevant to the case".

You have accused me of disrupting public order for my efforts to push for rights to equal access to education, to allow children of migrant workers to sit for university entrance examinations where they reside, and for my calls that officials publicly declare their assets.

While on the face of it, this appears to be an issue of the boundary between a citizen's right to free speech and public order, what this is, in fact, is the issue of whether or not you recognize a citizen's constitutional rights.

On a still deeper level, this is actually an issue of fears you all carry within: fear of a public trial, fear of a citizen's freedom to observe a trial, fear of my name appearing online, and fear of the free society nearly upon us.

By trying to suppress the New Citizens Movement, you are obstructing China on its path to becoming a constitutional democracy through peaceful change.

And while you have not mentioned the New Citizens Movement throughout this trial, many of the documents presented here relate to it, and in my view there is no need to avoid the issue; to be able to speak openly of this is pertinent to the betterment of Chinese society.

What the New Citizens Movement advocates is for each and every Chinese national to act and behave as a citizen, to accept our roles as citizens and masters of our country - and not to act as feudal subjects, remain complacent, accept mob rule or a position as an underclass.

To take seriously the rights which come with citizenship, those written into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and China's Constitution: to treat these sacred rights-to vote, to freedom of speech and religion as more than an everlasting IOU.

And also to take seriously the responsibilities that come with citizenship, starting with the knowledge that China belongs to each and everyone one of us, and to accept that it is up to us to defend and define the boundaries of conscience and justice.

What the New Citizens Movement calls for is civic spirit that consists of freedom, justice, and love: individual freedom, freedom without constraint that brings true happiness, will always be the goal of both state and society; justice, that which defines the limit of individual freedom, is also what ensures fairness and preserves moral conscience; and love, be it in the form of kindness, tolerance, compassion or dedication, is our most precious emotion and the source of our happiness.

Freedom, justice, and love, these are our core values and what guides us in action.

The New Citizens Movement advocates a citizenship that begins with the individual and the personal, through small acts making concrete changes to public policy and the encompassing system; through remaining reasonable and constructive, pushing the country along the path to democratic rule of law; by uniting the Chinese people through their common civic identity, pursuing democratic rule of law and justice; forming a community of citizens committed to freedom and democracy; growing into a civil society strengthened by healthy rationalism.

Common to all those who identify themselves as citizens are the shared notions of constitutional democracy, of freedom, of equality and justice, of love, and faith - because taken as a whole, civic groups are not the same as an organization as defined in the authoritarian sense, having neither leader nor hierarchy, orders or obedience, discipline or punishment, and in contrast are based fully on the voluntarily coming together of free citizens.

It's through acts of pushing for system reforms that geographically dispersed groups of citizens are able to grow spontaneously into their own, and by acting to hold authorities accountable and pushing for political reforms, establishment of democratic rule of law, and advances in society, that civil groups are able to grow in a healthy way.

Pushing for equal access to education, the right for children of migrant workers to sit for university entrance exams where they live, and calling on officials to disclose their assets, these are civic acts carried out in precisely this sense.

The push for equal access to education rights particularly for children of migrant workers was a three-year-long action we initiated in late 2009.

Prior to that, we had received a series of requests for help from parents. It was then we realised the severity of this social issue.

More than 200 million people across China had relocated to urban areas to live and work but found themselves unable to enjoy equality where they lived despite being taxpayers.

Far more serious was learning that their children were unable to study or take university entrance examinations in their new places of residence, leaving no choice but to send them thousands of miles away back to their permanent registered addresses in order to receive an education, resulting in millions of Chinese children being left behind.

While many feel concern for the fate of children left behind, rarely do they realise the best help they can offer is to tear down the wall of household registration-based segregation, allowing the children to return to their parents.

Our action consisted of three phases. The first took place over the first half of 2010, with petitions to education authorities in Haidian district and across Beijing, through deliberations to allow non-local students to continue their studies in Beijing as they entered high school.

The second phase, which lasted from July 2010 to August 2012, consisted of petitions to the Ministry of Education to change policies to allow non-local children of migrant workers to take university entrance examinations locally.

The third phase took place between September 2012 until the end of year. It focused on pressing the Beijing Education Commission to implement new policies issued by the Ministry of Education. To that end, we gathered signatures and expanded our volunteer team of parents, and on the last Thursday of each month, we approached the Education authorities to petition. We submitted our recommendations and we consulted experts to research actionable changes to policies regarding educational paths for non-local children of migrant workers. We wrote thousands of letters to National People's Congress delegates, making calls and arranging meetings, urging them to submit proposals during the two annual parliamentary sessions.

During the Two Sessions in 2011, the Minister of Education said in one interview that policy changes for non-local children were then being drafted. During the two Sessions in 2012, the Education minister promised publicly at a press conference that changes to university entrance examinations for non-local migrant children would be released sometime in the first half of the year, and provincial education authorities would be required to draft implementation plans over the second half of 2012.

By June 28, 2012, a scheduled day for parent volunteers to continue petition work, the Ministry of Education had yet to issue any formal response. Parents decided then and there that they would return the following Thursday if by the end of the month the Ministry of Education failed to issue the new policy as it had promised. This led to the July 5 petitioning.

In August, the Ministry of Education finally released a new policy regarding university entrance examination eligibility for children of non-local migrant workers, along with an order for local education authorities to draft implementation strategies.

By the end of 2012, 29 provinces and cities across China released plans to implement the policy except for Beijing.

One parent joked bitterly that after a three-year struggle they had managed to liberate all of China, just not themselves.

I could see the tears behind the joke, because it meant that their own children would have to leave and take up studies in a strange place, in a possibly life-changing move.

As idealists, we were able to win a policy allowing children of migrant workers to continue their studies and remain with their parents, and yet the main impetus behind this change, the parents who lived and worked in Beijing without Beijing hukou, had not been able to secure for their own children the chance of an equal education. I felt I let all of them down, and many of them grew disheartened. I was compelled to go out and, standing at subway station entrances, hand out fliers calling for one last petitioning effort on February 28, 2013.

In the two petitioning events, one on July 5, 2012 and the other on February 28, 2013, we the citizens went to the education authority, or a government office, not a public place in a legal sense, to make an appeal.

China's criminal law is very clear on the definition of public spaces, and government buildings, locations of organisations and public roads are not among them. Therefore our activities do not constitute disruption of order in a public place.

Over the past three years, our activities have remained consistently moderate and reasonable. Certain parents did get emotional or agitated during the July 5 petition, and the reason was that the Ministry of Education failed to live up to its own publicly-issued promise, nor did it provide any explanation.

Yet despite this, their so-called agitation was merely the shouting of a few slogans, demanding a dialogue with the Minister of Education, rather understandable considering they had gathered 100,000 signatures, behind which stand the interests of 200 million new urban immigrants.

And the response they got? Take a look at the photos of the scene. One parent who goes by the online alias 'Dancing' was taken away by police pulling her hair. Was there no other way to escort her away? Was she exhibiting extreme behaviour? Had she ever done anything provocative in the past three years? No, never.

It hurts whenever I think of the event. We had pursued a very simple goal for three years, our approaches had been so reasonable, but we were assaulted with such viciousness. There were police officers who, with a prepared list of names in hand, sought them out and beat them.

In spite of what happened, I told them, over and over again, that they must stay calm and that we can't stoop to their level. This society needs a renewed sense of hope, and we can't behave like them.

The right to an equal education, the right to take a university examination where you live, these are concepts that the New Citizens Movement encompasses. Starting with changes to specific public policies and concrete system changes, in this case, for the freedom of movement, for justice, for love.

When China established the household registration system, or hukou, in 1958, it created two separate worlds: one rural, one urban.

In 1961, China established the system of custody and repatriation. From then on, anyone born in a rural area who wanted to find work and try a new life in the city could be arrested and forcibly returned home at any time. In Beijing in 2002 alone, 220,000 were detained and repatriated.

In 2003, the custody and repatriation system was abolished, but it remained a long road for new urban arrivals to integrate with the city.

In 2006, we discovered through our research in Beijing that there still existed as many as 19 discriminatory policies against non-local permanent residents, the most inhumane of them being the very policy that prevented children from living with their parents and receiving  an education.

We worked tirelessly for three years to win children the right to take the university entrance examination locally while living with their migrated parents. During the three years, I witnessed equal education campaign volunteers brave bitter winters and scorching summers at subway entrances, on roadsides and in shopping malls to collect more than 100,000 signatures with contact information included. I witnessed several hundred parents standing in the courtyard outside the Letters and Petition Office of the Ministry of Education and reciting their Declaration of Equal Access to Education. I witnessed several hundred parents and children planting trees in Qinglong Lake Park on the Clear and Bright Day in 2012. Everyone wore caps bearing the same slogan: Live in Beijing, love Beijing/

I also witnessed the taping of a program on Phoenix TV where a little girl sobbed because she could not bear to leave her mother and father in Beijing where she grew up to go back to a strange place where her hukou is to go to school. In a hutong in Di'anmen, I witnessed Zhang Xudong, a top eighth grader at Guozijian Secondary School, who was forced to go to a completely strange county high school in Zhangjiakou after graduating from middle school to continue his education just because he did not have Beijing hukou.

Ill-adjusted a year later in language, environment and textbooks, he dropped out. He became withdrawn, not the happy boy he once was anymore. His parents have worked for nearly thirty years in Beijing but they are forever outsiders and second-class citizens in this city.

When I think of the hundreds of millions of children whose fates were permanently decided by the hukou segregation, of generation after generation of Chinese people who have been hurt by this evil system, of the countless Chinese who died in the custody and repatriation system, today I stand here as a defendant, filled with no grudges but pride for having worked to eliminate the segregation system with Chinese characteristics and for having fought for millions of children to be able to live with their parents and go to school.

The calls on officials to publicly declare their assets, these are our efforts to push the country to establish an anti-corruption mechanism.

More than 137 countries and territories around the world currently have systems in place for officials to declare assets, so why can't China? What exactly is it these 'public servants' fear so much?

Excessive greed and undeserved wealth do not just bring luxuries, but also a deep-seated fear and insecurity, as well as public anger and enmity.

When we go online to collect signatures and distribute promotional materials, or unfurl banners on the street, all to call on officials to publicly declare their assets, we are at the same time exercising our civic rights to free speech provided for in the Constitution.

Our actions did not violate the rights of any other person, nor did they bring harm to society. While the speech delivered in Xidan has a few strong words, as a speech about public policy, they did not exceed the limits of free speech provided for by the constitution and the law.

It is a normal occurrence in a modern, civilised society for citizens to express their political views by displaying banners, giving speeches and taking other actions in public venues. Law enforcement agencies can be present to monitor and take precautionary measures, but they should not abuse their power or interfere.

In fact, when banners were displayed at the west gate of Tsinghua university, Zhongguancun Square and other places where no police officers were present, they caused no disorder, nor did they hinder any other people's rights. They left after displaying banners. This conforms to our idea of a "flash action". It had taken consideration of China's reality and Chinese society's tolerance capacity. We took quick actions in small groups, instead of larger gatherings, to make these public expressions.

Of course we hope that the sacred rights enshrined in the Constitution will be realised, but reform requires stability and social progress requires gradual advancement. As responsible citizens, we must adopt a gradualist approach when exercising our constitutionally guaranteed rights and when advancing the process towards democracy and rule of law.

Over the last ten years, we consistently pushed for progress through peaceful means, and we tried to effect change in specific policies through involvement in public incidents. We did so for the sake of freedom, justice, love, and for the sake of our long-held dreams.

In 2003, the custody and repatriation system was abolished but not without Sun Zhigang paying the price of his life for it. We, as legal professionals, made every effort in the process and we recommended, in our role as citizens, constitutional review on the custody and repatriation system.

For the past decade we have continued to strive to win equal rights for new migrants in cities, resulting in the introduction in 2012 of a new policy allowing migrant children to take university entrance exams where they have relocated with their parents.

We provided legal assistance to victims of grave injustices, such as the victims of melamine-tainted milk powder and the high-speed rail accident.

In 2008 when the Sanlu milk powder scandal broke, we brought together a team of lawyers and calculated the number of victims based on media reports. We proposed fair compensation schemes in accordance with the law, while working with the victims to successfully push the issuance of a government-led settlement plan.

However, the government compensation package was far from from adequate for the damages suffered by many children. For instance, the cost of an operation for one child was nearly 100,000 yuan, and the compensation he received was only 30,000 yuan. So we continued to seek redress for the more than 400 children we had represented, bringing lawsuits all the way to the Supreme People's Court, to more than a hundred courts across China, and to a court in Hong Kong.

In July, 2009, when I was thrown in jail for the so-called 'Gong Meng tax evasion' and when people from all walks of life made donations to help pay the fine imposed on Gong Meng, our volunteers in the south were sending a settlement of one million yuan to the home of a baby victim.

I am forever proud of that moment, and we will not give up our promise to the disempowered even when we ourselves are in trouble.

We have spent many winters out on the streets delivering coats, blankets and steamed buns to the poor and homeless petitioners so that they would not die of hunger or cold silently in this bustling city.

Petitioning is a rights defence with Chinese characteristics. In a society like ours comprised of relationships that believe in privilege, corruption and injustice, to step forward in defence of one's rights and dignity is something only the most stubborn of us dare do.

But this small minority, when gathered in the nation's capital, number in the tens of thousands. They get driven out of Beijing, or illegally detained, or beaten.

In Beijing alone, there are more than 40 black jails - and we've verified the numbers - that have been used to illegally detain people. When we visited these black jails and reported the crime taking place, showing the specific laws it violated, we were humiliated and beaten by those guarding them. Time and time again, I feel proud for sharing a little bit of their suffering.

Having chosen to stand alongside the powerless, we have witnessed far too much injustice, suffering and misfortune over the past decade. However, we still embrace the light in our hearts and push for the country's progress in rational and constructive ways.

After proposing a review on the unconstitutionality of the custody and repatriation system, we researched and drafted new measures to better manage beggars and the homeless. We pushed the educational equality campaign. We drafted a proposal for migrant workers' children to take college entrance exams locally and our draft was adopted by most provinces and cities.

For our call for disclosure of officials' assets, we even drafted a 'Sunlight Bill' in March 2013. Raising an issue is not enough; solutions must be found. To oppose is to construct, for we are citizens of a new era, we are citizens responsible to our country, and we love China.

Unfortunately, you regard the existence and growth of these citizens as heresy and something to fear.

You say we harboured political purposes. Well we do, and our political purpose is very clear, and it is a China with democracy, rule of law, freedom, justice and love.

What we want is not to fight to gain power, or barbaric politics by any means; but good politics, a good cause for public welfare, a cause for all citizens to govern the country together.

Our mission is not to gain power but to restrict power. We aim to establish a modern and civilised system of democracy and rule of law and lay a foundation for a noble tradition of politics so that later generations can enjoy fairness, justice, freedom and happiness.

Good politics is a result of true democracy and rule of law. On every level, the government and the legislature must be elected by the people. The power to govern should not come from the barrel of a gun but through votes.

Under true democracy and rule of law, politics should be carried out within the the rule of law. Political parties should compete fairly and only those that win in free and fair elections are qualified to govern.

Under true democracy and rule of law, state powers are scientifically separated and mutually subject to checks and balances; the judiciary is independent and judges abide by the law and conscience.

Under true democracy and rule of law, the military and the police are state organs and should not become the private property of any political party or vested interest group.

Under true democracy and rule of law, the media is a social organ and should not be monopolised to be the mouthpiece of any political party or vested interested group.

Under true democracy and rule of law, the constitution stipulates and actualises sacred civil rights, including the right to vote, freedom of speech and freedom of belief. The promise of people's power should not be a lie.

These modern democratic values and measurements are rooted in common humanity. They should not be Eastern or Western, socialist or capitalist, but universal to all human societies.

Democracy is the knowledge to solve human problems. Our ancestors did not discover this knowledge. We should thus be humble and learn from others. Over the past 30 years, China introduced the system of market economy with free competition which brought economic prosperity. Similarly, China needs to introduce a democratic and constitutional system to solve the injustices of our current society.

The social injustice is intensifying in China. The greatest social injustice concerns political rights, which lie at the heart of other forms of injustice. The root of many serious social problems can be traced to the monopoly of all political powers and economic lifelines by a privileged interest group, and China's fundamental problem is the problem of democratic constitutionalism.

Anti-corruption campaigns are waged year after year, but corruption has become more and more rampant over the course of the last 60 or so years. Without democratic elections, press freedom and judicial independence, a clean government is not possible under a regime of absolute power.

The people's livelihood is emphasised year after year, yet hundreds of millions of people still live below the internationally defined poverty line.

In remote and mountainous areas, corrupt officials even embezzle the subsistence allowances of only 100 yuan a month for the extremely poor. The wealth gap between the elites and the general public is ever-widening.

Hostility towards government officials and the wealthy is, in essence, hostility towards power monopoly that perches high above.

Tens of thousands of families toil and worry about their children's basic education, looking for connections to pay bribes just for kindergarten enrollment. How has society become so rotten?

Humans are political animals, in need of more than a full stomach and warm clothes. Humans also need freedom, justice, and participation in governance of their own country. You say the National People's Congress is China's highest body of power, then again you say this highest body of power answers to the Party.

If the country's basic political system is such an open lie, how is it possible to build a society that values trust?

You say the judiciary is just and that courts hold open trials, then you arrange for unrelated people to come occupy seats reserved for observers in the courtroom. If even the courts resort to such unscrupulousness, where can people expect to find justice?

It should surprise no one that people wear frozen masks in their dealings with one another, and that whether to help a fallen elderly person can become a lasting debate.

There is toxic baby formula, kilns using child slaves, and every sort of social ill imaginable, yet the perpetrators haven't had the slightest bit of guilt or shame, and they think this is just how society is.

China's biggest problem is falsehood, and the biggest falsehood is the country's political system and its political ideology.

Are you able to even to explain clearly what socialism entails? Is or is not the National People's Congress the highest authority?

Political lies know no bounds in this country, and 1.3 billion people suffer deeply from it as a result.

Suspicion, disappointment, confusion, anger, helplessness, and resentment are norms of life.

Truly, politics affects each and every one of us intimately. We cannot escape politics, we can only work to change it.

Power must be caged by the system, and the authoritarian top-down politics must change.

I sincerely hope that those in power will find a way to integrate with the trends of human civilisation, and take an active role in pushing for political reforms and adopt the civilised politics of a constitutional democracy, therein realising the 100-year-old Chinese dream of empowering the people through peaceful reforms.

More than a century ago, China missed an opportunity to turn into a constitutional democracy through peaceful transition, sending the Chinese nation into a protracted struggle marked by revolution, turmoil, and suffering.

The Republic of China, with its hopes for a market economy and democratic system, didn't last long before totalitarian politics were revived and reached extremes during the Cultural Revolution.

Following the Cultural Revolution, China's economic reforms led to a model of incremental reforms in which social controls were relaxed but the old system and its interests remained untouched, although new spaces created by the market slowly eroded the old system as reforms were laid out.

Political reforms in China could rely on a similar model, one in which the old system and its interests stay in place as social controls are relaxed and democratic spaces outside the system are permitted to grow in a healthy direction. A model such as this would actually prove a valuable path for China to follow.

We have built a community of citizens and rationally, remaining responsible to the country, taken the first small step.

You need not fear the New Citizens' Movement, we are a new era of citizens, completely free of the earmarks of authoritarian ideology such as courting enemies, scheming for power, or harbouring thoughts to overthrow or strike down.

Our faith is in freedom, justice, and love, of pushing to advance society through peaceful reforms and healthy growth in the light of day-not acts of conspiracy, violence or other barbaric models.

The mission of civil groups is not to exist as an opposition party, although the creation of a constitutional democracy is inevitable for a future China built on civilised politics. Our mission is shared by all progressives in China, to work together to see China through the transition to civilised politics.

The New Citizens' Movement is a movement of political transformation leading to democratic rule of law, as well as a cultural movement for the renewal of political and cultural traditions. A constitutional democracy needs a fertile bed of civilised politics in order to function, and it's our collective anticipation and faith which serves as such a soil bed.

At the same time our country's citizens seek faith in healthy politics, unscrupulous and barbaric politics must also be forever cast out from the deep recesses of each and every soul. This calls for a group of upstanding citizens to bravely take on such a responsibility, sacrificing ego to become model citizens. Each and every

Chinese person shares this responsibility.

This is my responsibility. Having been born on this land, I need no reason to love this country; it's because I love China that I want her to be better.

I choose to be a peaceful reformer, carrying on with the century-old but unfinished mission of our forebears, advocating an unwavering commitment to non-violence just as I advocate freedom, justice, and love, and advocate peaceful reform as the path toward constitutional democracy.

Although I possess the means to live a superior life within this system, I feel ashamed of privilege in any form.

I choose to stand with the weak and those deprived of their rights, sharing with them the bitter cold of a Beijing winter the way it feels from the street or an underground tunnel, shouldering together the barbaric violence of the black jail.

God created both the poor and the wealthy, but keeps them apart not so we can reject or despise one another, but in order for mutual love to exist, and it was my honor to have the chance to walk alongside petitioners on their long road to justice.

My decision comes at a time when my child has just been born, when my family needs me most, and when I yearn to be there by their side. After years now of witnessing the bitter struggles of the innocent and downtrodden, I remain unable to control my own sorrow. or, try as I might, to remain silent.

I now finally accept judgment and purgatory as my fate, because for freedom, justice, and love, the happiness of people everywhere, for the glory of the Lord, all this pain, I am willing.

This is our responsibility as a citizen group. In a servile society prone widely to submission, there will always need to be someone to be the first to stand up, to face the risks and pay the price for social progress.

We are those Chinese people ready now to stand, with utmost concern for the future and destiny of the motherland, for democratic rule of law, justice, and for the dignity and well-being of the weak and marginalised.

We are kind and pure of heart, loathe to conspire and deceive, and we yearn for freedom and a simpler, happier life. We strive to serve society, and help those most in need, pushing for better society.

Bravely, we assume this responsibility, ready to forego our privilege and secular interests, even at the cost of our freedom to stay true to our ideals. Ready to put aside our egos with no thought of personal gain or loss, we respect the rights and boundaries of others, facing all beings with humility.

Such is the responsibility now upon you judges and prosecutors. Your responsibility is fidelity to the law and your conscience, to uphold the baseline of social justice, to neither be reduced to a lowly cog in this bureaucratic system nor debase the sanctity of the rule of law.

Do not say you're constrained by the bigger picture, because the bigger picture in China is not an order from above, but the letter of the law. Do not say you merely follow the logic of laws as you sentence me, and do not forget those sacred rights afforded all by law. Do not say this is just your job, or that you're innocent, because each and every one of us is ultimately responsible for our own actions and we must at all times remain faithful to our own conscience.

As a society with a history of rule by man that stretches back centuries, the law in China serves a very distinct purpose. Regardless of acting as a defendant, a juror, or a legal scholar, I have always remained true to the idea of justice and I behove you to do the same.

It has always been my hope China's legal community will undergo an awakening of conscience, that you judges can gain the same amount of respect afforded your counterparts overseas, and it is my hope an awakening of conscience will begin with you.

Those of you watching this trial from behind the scenes, or those awaiting for orders and reports back, this is also your responsibility. Don't take pains to preserve the old system simply because you have vested interests in it; no one is safe under an unjust system.

When you see politics as endless shadows and reflections of daggers and swords, as blood falling like rain with its smell in the wind, you have too much fear in your hearts.

So I have to tell you the times have changed, that a new era of politics is afoot in which the greatest strength in society is not violence but love.

Fear not democracy or loss of privilege, and fear not open competition nor the free society now taking shape.

You may find my ideas too far out, too unrealistic, but I believe in the power of faith, and in the power of the truth, compassion and beauty that exists in the depths of the human soul, just as I believe human civilisation is advancing mightily like a tide.

This is the shared responsibility of us 1.3 billion Chinese. Dynasties, like political parties, all pass with time, but China will always be China just as we are all Chinese.

It's our responsibility to build a bright future for the country. Our China is destined to become the greatest country in the world, possessing the most advanced technology, the most prosperous economy, the greatest ability to defend equality and justice throughout the world, and the most magnificent culture to spearhead human civilisation.

But that's a China that cannot exist under authoritarian rule. Ours is a China that will only exist once constitutional democracy is realised, a China that is democratic, free and governed through rule of law.

Allow us to think together what we can do for our country, because only then can we create a bright future.

This country lacks freedom, but freedom requires each of us to fight for it; this society lacks justice, which requires each of us to defend it; this society lacks love, and it' up to each and every one of us to light that fire with our truth.

Allow us to take our citizenship seriously, to take our civil rights seriously, to take our responsibilities as citizens seriously, and to take our dreams of a civil society seriously. Let us together defend the baseline of justice and our conscience, and refuse without exception all orders to do evil from above, and refuse to shove the person in front of you just because you were shoved from behind.

The baseline lies beneath your feet just as it lies beneath all our feet. Together, let's use love to rewake our dormant conscience, break down those barriers between our hearts, and with our love establish a tradition for the Chinese people of noble and civilised politics.

Here in absurd post-totalitarian China I stand trial, charged with three crimes: promoting equal education rights for children of migrant workers, calling on officials to publicly disclose their assets, and advocating that all people behave as citizens with pride and conscience.

If the country's rulers have any intention to take citizens' constitutional rights seriously, then of course we are innocent. We had no intention to disrupt public order; our intention was to promote democracy and rule of law in China. We did nothing to disrupt public order, we were merely exercising our freedom of expression as provided for by the constitution.

Public order was not disrupted as a result of our actions, which infringed on the legitimate rights of no one.

I understand clearly that some people have to make sacrifices, and I for one am willing to pay any and all price for my belief in freedom, justice, love, and for a better future of China.

If you insist on persecuting the conscience of a people, I openly accept that destiny and the glory that accompanies it.

But do not for a second think you can terminate the New Citizens' Movement by throwing me in jail.

Ours is an era in which modern civilisation prevails, and in which growing numbers of Chinese inevitably take their citizenship and civic responsibilities seriously.

The day will come when the 1.3 billion Chinese will stand up from their submissive state and grow to be proud and responsible citizens.

China will become a country that enjoys a civilised political system and a happy society in which freedom, justice, and love prevail. The disempowered will be redeemed, as will you, you who sit high above with fear and shadows in your hearts.

China today still upholds the banner of reform, something I sincerely wish will be carried out smoothly allowing the beautiful dream of China to come true. But reform must have a clearly defined direction, and it is irresponsible to continue "feeling the stones to cross the river", just as it's irresponsible to treat the symptoms but not the roots of social ills, and irresponsible to sidestep the fundamental political system in designing the country.

One hundred years on, where China wants to go is still the most crucial question the Chinese nation faces.

As interest groups consolidate, the economy slows down, and accumulated social injustice leads to concentrated outbursts, China has once again arrived at an historical crossroad.

Reforms will succeed if the goal remains to realise democracy and constitutionalism as in line with the course of history, and without question will fail if the aim is to maintain one-party rule in contravention of history.

Absent a clear direction toward democracy and constitutionalism, even if reforms deepen as promised the most likely result will be to repeat the mistakes made during the late Qing Dynasty, picking and choosing Western practices but not fixing the system.

To a large extent, what we see happening around us today is re-enactment of the tragedy of the late Qing reforms, and for that reason I am deeply concerned about the future of the Chinese nation.

When hopes of reform are dashed, people will rise up and seek revolution.

The privileged and powerful have long transferred their children and wealth overseas; they couldn't care less of the misfortune and suffering of the disempowered, nor do they care about China's future. But we do. Someone has to care.

Peaceful transition to democracy and constitutionalism is the only path the Chinese nation has to a beautiful future.

We lost this opportunity 100 years ago, and we can't afford to miss it again today. We, the Chinese people, must decide the future direction for China.

My fellow compatriots, at any time and regardless of what happens in China, I urge everyone to maintain their faith in freedom, justice, and love. Uphold freedom of religion, stay rooted in reality, and pursue those universal rights and freedoms which were pursued and fought for and paid for in blood this past century by those also with lofty ideals.

Remain steadfast in your faith in justice, always stay true to your heart, never compromise your principles in the pursuit of your goals.

Pursue a rounded and just democratic society governed through rule of law, where all fulfill their duties and are provided for, where the strong are constrained and the weak are protected, a society built on the cornerstone of moral conscience.

Adhere to faith in love, because this nation has too many dark, bitter, and poisoned souls in need of redemption, because there exists too much vigilance, fear, and hostility between people. These evil spirits, buried in the depths of the soul, must be cast out. It is not through hatred that we rid ourselves of them, but through salvation. We are the redeemer.

Freedom, justice and love, this is the spirit of our New Citizens Movement, and must become a core value for the Chinese people for which it is up to our generation to fight, sacrifice and assume responsibility.

Our faith in the idea of building a better China, one of democracy, rule of law, freedom, justice, and love, is unwavering. As long as we continue to believe in love and the power of hope for a better future, in the desire for goodness deep inside every human soul, we will be able to make that in which we have faith a reality.

Citizens, let us begin now. It does not matter where you are, what jobs you have, whether you are poor or rich. Let us say in our hearts, in our everyday lives, on the internet, on every inch of Chinese land, say with conviction and pride that what already belongs to us: I am a citizen, we are citizens.

Citizen Xu Zhiyong

January 22


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Syria Conflict Sees Israel Tighten Security

By Tom Rayner, Middle East News Editor, Golan Heights

As the world watches the Syria talks in Geneva, Israel is keeping its eyes on the ground.

From the vantage point of the Golan Heights, taken from Syria and occupied in 1967, the state is able to keep a close watch on the civil war unfolding a few miles away.

For nearly 40 years the border with Syria was Israel's quietest.

Now the mountains bristle with surveillance technology, and in the last few months, manpower and military hardware have been increased significantly.

Map of Golan Heights, Syria Israel is able to monitor the Syria conflict from the Golan Heights

Regular troops have been replaced by elite units, such as the Paratroopers and the Golani Brigade.

A high-tech barrier, loaded with motion detectors and radar, has now been constructed along the "alpha line" of the UN demilitarised zone.

Profound changes in an area which, despite rising tensions, has yet to be the source of any significant attack on Israeli civilian or military positions.

But sporadic, small-scale attacks have occurred.

The fighting in south-western Syria has not been as intense as in northern provinces, such as Idlib and Aleppo, but it has been steady.

Since summer 2012, it's believed around 75% of the Syrian towns and villages near the Israeli border have fallen to disparate rebel groups.

Some small arms fire and artillery have landed in Israeli-controlled territory as a result of unintentional spill over, but on at least seven occasions in the last year and a half the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) have responded to intentional cross-border fire, sometimes using heavy weaponry such as anti-tank missiles.

Missile being fired Border surveillance has captured the fighting over the border in real-time

So far, none of these incidents has escalated significantly, but Israel is determined to ensure the Syria regime knows it will be held responsible if that were to happen.

In December, an IDF vehicle was the target of an IED (improvised explosive device) attack along the border fence, near an area still controlled by President Bashar al Assad's troops.

And in the south near where the Israeli, Syrian and Jordanian borders meet, it is understood that an attempt to kidnap Israeli soldiers was recently thwarted.

Such incidents will stoke fears that hardline jihadist groups could begin targeting Israeli civilians if their control of the area is consolidated.

The Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is home to around 42,000 civilians - approximately 20,000 are Druze, the other 22,000 are Jews living primarily in the southern area.

In particular, analysts are concerned that the area of the Yarmouk river, which hugs the border with Jordan, could become a target for attacks on civilians due to its popularity as a tourist destination.

This all adds to the complexity of the already difficult question of what Israel wants to see happen in the Syria conflict.

On the face of it, the Israeli Government has been clear it is not taking sides, and wants no involvement in the fighting.

Transferring and treating Syrian civilians coming to the border with serious injuries is the extent of Israel's public engagement.

Golan Heights The border had been Israel's quietest but security has now been tightened

Unlike other neighbouring countries, its enemy-status has meant Israel has not been flooded with Syrian refugees trying to escape the devastation.

Yet behind closed doors, there is little unity of thought on what outcome would suit Israel best.

For now, regime control of the towns and villages in close proximity to the border is preferable to them coming under the yoke of radical jihadist groups - Israel knows the pressure points of the Assad regime, and how to press them.

But while Mr Assad remains in power with the Lebanese Shiite militia Hizbollah bolstering his position, Israel's biggest enemy, Iran, retains significance influence on its doorstep.

In the long term, that is not seen as a situation Israel will be able to tolerate.

For that reason, the likely response, in the short term at least, will be more of the same.

Further military build-up, a continuation of its heightened state of readiness, and an intense intelligence effort to thwart potential attacks on Israeli civilians.

It suits Israel to see Hizbollah fighters get killed in the fighting - at least 400 are thought to have died already, more than half the total number of fatalities suffered by the group in the last Lebanon war.

For now it also suits Israel to see Mr Assad retain control, but in a position of weakness that can be used against him.

But the reality is that Hizbollah's units are getting significantly more sophisticated warfare experience than they've ever had before.

Their presence in Syria may also assist the covert transfer of game-changing weaponry back to Lebanon - two factors that could be turned on Israel to deadly effect in future conflicts.

And while Mr Assad may offer "stability" along the border in the short term, accepting him means a tacit moral acceptance of his butchery, and Iran's guiding hand.

Even if the talks in Geneva brought an end to the fighting in Syria, bracing and preparing for the worst remains Israel's only option.

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Ukraine Unrest: Opposition Reject Top Jobs

Protests in Ukraine will continue, say opposition leaders who have rejected an offer of government jobs from President Viktor Yanukovych in an attempt to end the crisis.

The move comes amid the ongoing violence and protests, with demonstrators trying to seize government offices across the country.

On Saturday night activists laid siege to a building in the capital Kiev where police were trapped inside.

Anti-government protesters try to enter the "Ukrainian house" where riot police were located during a rally in Kiev Anti-government protesters try to enter a building in Kiev

Demonstrators threw firebombs and smashed windows and doors while police responded with tear gas.

Mr Yanukovych offered opposition chiefs Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Vitali Klitschko the posts of prime minister and deputy prime minister in a new government.

But world boxing champion Mr Klitschko said: "Our demand is the holding of presidential elections this year... "

"We will not yield, but talks will continue," he told tens of thousands of protesters in Independence Square in Kiev.

An anti-government protester looks on at a barricade near the site of clashes with riot police in Kiev Demonstrators have tried to seize government buildings across the country

Mr Yatsenyuk, head of the Fatherland party, said the opposition was prepared to take on responsibility, but added: "The people will determine the power in Ukraine. We will not step down from our position."

In recent talks between Mr Yanukovych and the opposition, both sides agreed that the protests and police presence in Kiev would be scaled down, raising hopes of a resolution to the crisis.

Mr Yanukovych also said he was willing to consider changes to the constitution that would reduce the presidency's huge powers.

He also promised to consider changes to anti-protest laws passed by parliament on January 16 which sparked the latest crisis.

Until the past week, protests had centred mainly in Kiev, with only smaller rallies elsewhere.

Opposition leaders Klitschko, Tyagnibok and Yatsenyuk attend a rally in Independence square in Kiev Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko (L) at a rally in Independence Square

But following the latest clashes, a series of government buildings have been seized in the west of the country, where support for Mr Yanukovych is weak.

Protesters clashed with riot police as they forced their way into a regional administration office in the town of Vinnytsia, around 120 miles from Kiev.

And about 100 anti-government activists rushed the country's energy ministry in Kiev, where clashes with police have continued.

Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky said their actions had threatened the country's entire power supply.

Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich and his subordinates meet with opposition leaders Oleh Tyahnybok, Vitaly Klitschko and Arseny Yatsenyuk in Kiev Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich (2nd L) meets with opposition leaders

Protesters also continue to occupy Kiev city hall, which they have turned into a makeshift headquarters.

The rallies began in November last year after Mr Yanukovych scrapped a treaty with the European Union in favour of a bail-out loan from Russia, following lobbying by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt suggested Mr Yanukovych was losing control over his country. He posted a map of Ukraine on Twitter showing which regions had been hit by protests.

"If Kiev regime tries a military solution to this situation, it will be very bloody and it will fail," he tweeted.

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Gravity Director Wins As Oscars Race Hots Up

Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron has won one of the film industry's top awards, giving his space thriller the edge in one of the most closely-fought Oscar battles for years.

The Mexican, who previously directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and produced The Assassination of Richard Nixon, won the Directors Guild of America (DGA) award for best feature film at a ceremony in Los Angeles.

The 52-year-old beat 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen, American Hustle's David Russell and The Wolf of Wall Street's Martin Scorsese to claim a major boost ahead of the Oscars on March 2.

Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron Cuaron picks up his award from Gravity star Sandra Bullock

All four are up for best director at the Academy Awards but the winner of the DGA prize nearly always picks up the equivalent gong on Hollywood's biggest night of the year.

In the 65-year history of the DGA awards, the winning director has failed to take home the Oscar just seven times.

Their film is often also named best picture.

Sandra Bullock, who starred alongside George Clooney in Cuaron's film, in which two astronauts become separated from their space station, introduced the director on stage to receive his award.

She joked she could barely understand him on set, saying: "I had no idea whether ice meant ice or eyes."

In his acceptance speech, Cuaron said: "This is truly an honour and I'm humbled at being recognised by my peers."

Other winners at the DGA awards included Vince Gilligan, who was named best drama director for Breaking Bad, and Steven Soderbergh, who won the television and mini series prize for Behind the Candelabra.

The Oscars take place on March 2, with Gravity and American Hustle nominated for 10 awards and 12 Years A Slave in the running for nine.

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Grammys: The Beatles To Win Lifetime Award

The Beatles are to win the lifetime achievement award at this year's Grammys, more than 50 years after their first number one album.

Sir Paul McCartney will receive the gong at the ceremony in California, picking up the prize on behalf of bandmates Ringo Starr and the late John Lennon and George Harrison.

The 71-year-old will also reunite with Starr, 73, for a show marking the 50th anniversary of the band's first US performance.

Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney of The Beatles Starr and McCartney will reunite, five decades after their US debut

Some of modern music's biggest names, including Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Macklemore and Ryan Paris, will join them on stage for the show, alongside the likes of Madonna and Metallica.

The Beatles won eight Grammys during their illustrious career, including best new artist in 1964 and album of the year for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.

They are the best-selling band in history, with more than one billion unit sales worldwide.

Musician Taylor SwiftSinger Katy Perry Taylor Swift and Katy Perry will both perform at the Grammys

The 56th Grammy Awards takes place at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, with Jay-Z leading the nominations with nine nods in total.

Daft Punk (Get Lucky), Imagine Dragons (Radioactive), Lorde (Royals), Bruno Mars (Locked Out Of Heaven) and Robin Thicke (Blurred Lines) are in the running for record of the year.

Sara Bareilles (The Blessed Unrest), Daft Punk (Random Access Memories), Kendrick Lamar (Good Kid, M.A.A.D City), Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (The Heist) and Taylor Swift (Red) are nominated for album of the year.

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India: Tourists Among Dead As Boat Capsizes

At least 21 people including tourists are feared dead after a boat capsized near islands in India's Andaman Sea.

The boat was carrying 43 people when it sank between Ross Island and North Bay near Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Some 13 survivors were pulled from the water after a search and rescue operation was launched.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his shock and said he was sad for the loss of life.

A police spokesman said initial reports suggested the boat sank after it developed a crack in its hull.

The tourists on board were all from India, he said.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are more than 600 miles (1,000km) from the Indian mainland and are flanked by the Andaman Sea to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west.

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Australia Boy, 12, 'Snatched By Crocodile'

A search is taking place in Australia for a 12-year-old boy who is thought to have been snatched by a crocodile.

The child's friend, who is the same age, was bitten on the arm in the attack, police said.

The missing boy was apparently taken as the pair swam with a number of other boys in a water hole.

Police and park rangers are searching for the child by land and boat.

The attack took place at Mudginberri Billabong in the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, southeast of the Northern Territory capital, Darwin.

Crocodile in Australia The species was protected by federal law in 1971. Pic: File

Acting Police Commander Michael White said of the injured child: "One boy, also aged 12, was bitten on the arm by the crocodile and has received medical treatment."

Crocodile numbers have increased sharply across Australia's tropical north since the species was protected by federal law in 1971.

The crocodile population is densest in the Northern Territory, where Kakadu National Park is located, and is promoted as a major tourist attraction.

A 26-year-old man was killed by a 4.7 metre-long (15.5ft) crocodile last August as he swam across the Mary River southeast of Darwin.

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Syria: 'Women And Children Free To Leave Homs'

The Syrian government has agreed to allow women and children "safe passage" from the besieged city of Homs, says UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi.

Mr Brahimi announced the news at the end of the second day of negotiations at the Syria peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland.

He said he was pleased with the general tone of talks between Syria's regime and opposition leaders.

"I am happy, because in general there is mutual respect and they are aware of the fact that this attempt is important and we must continue. I hope that this mood will continue," he told reporters.

More follows...

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