The Structure of the Milky Way Galaxy

Learn about the structure of the Milky Way and its early evolution.

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Predators And Prey: How North American Sheep Survive

Wild sheep probably migrated from Asia and have adapted to harsh climates and high altitudes.

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Chinese Rights Lawyers Beaten and Detained for Visiting ‘Black Jail’

Several prominent Chinese rights lawyers were beaten and detained as they tried to visit a “black jail” on Monday./nLi Heping, a rights lawyer from Beijing, told Radio Free Asia he was on the phone with one of the lawyers, Tang Tianhao, while security guards from the unofficial detention center attacked them. Li said the group also included rights lawyers Tang Jitian and Jiang Tianyong. Li said the lawyers were trying to visit the Ziyang Municipal Legal Education Center in Ziyang City in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The center was reportedly set up to detain followers of the spiritual group Falun Gong, which has been persecuted in China since 1999. Li said the center was holding several hundred people there illegally. Li Fangping, another rights lawyer from Beijing, said lawyers in China have been attacked and beaten by authorities more frequently. In the past two years, Chinese lawyers have been banned from representing certain clients and risk prosecution for subversion for defending sensitive cases.

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Chinese Prisoner of Conscience Awarded by Slovakian University

A Chinese prisoner of conscience Fengying Zhang was awarded the Gold Medal of St. Elizabeth for defending human and religious rights, by the St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Sciences in Slovakia on May 10th./n Ms. Zhang was not able to receive the award in person because, since November 2012, she is being detained in the Tiantang He forced labor camp in Beijing. 63-year-old Ms. Zhang was repeatedly arrested and tortured in China because she continued to uphold her belief in Falun Gong—a spiritual discipline that involves meditation and stresses improvement of one’s character. Chinese communist authorities started to crack down on Falun Gong in 1999, fearing its immense popularity as a threat to the regime‘s iron grip on power. Fengying Zhang’s daughter, who lives in Australia, received the award for her mother. [Lisa Zhang, Daughter of Fengying Zhang]: "It really means a lot, it means that on the other side of the world there are people who are supporting Falun Gong practitioners, who respect basic human rights." St. Elisabeth University sent Ms. Zhang the award ceremony invitation to the detention center where she's being held. [Lisa Zhang, Daughter of Fengying Zhang] "She did not personally receive the letter but my family told her when they visited my mum.“ Lisa has been doing all she can to save her mother, and that mission has brought her to Slovakia. She met several politicians in Slovakia and told them about her mother’s plight in the Chinese labor camp. [Jozef Mikloško, MP of Slovakia]: "I have been informed and now I have learned more about one mother, who is not so young anymore, who is defending human rights and is imprisoned and tortured for nothing. She does not know when she will get out. So it's the responsibility of us living in freedom and who have experienced 40 years of communism and who know what it’s like to go through such human rights abuses, it is our duty to fight for her." An open letter has also been circulating across Slovakia, calling for support in demanding that the Beijing labor camp release Fengying Zhang. This campaign will soon end, but Lisa’s mission continues. She’s determined to reach out far and wide across the world, telling her mother‘s story again and again until her mother is released.

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Zhu Ling Poisoning Case Linked with Former Chinese Leader

A 20-year-old poisoning case is making headlines in China. Zhu Ling was an accomplished, promising chemistry student at Tsinghua University, known as China’s MIT. Then in 1994, when Zhu was 19, she developed a mysterious illness, including hair loss, failing eyesight, and paralysis. Desperate, her friends used an early version of the Internet to contact doctors overseas. The diagnosis: poisoning by thallium, a toxic heavy metal that’s often used in rat poison. Zhu managed to survive the poison, but she’s now nearly blind, paralyzed and mentally disabled. And 19 years later, her case remains unsolved./nThe main suspect was Zhu’s college roommate, Sun Wei. She was questioned by police and had access to thallium, but was released and never charged. She’s believed to have changed her name and moved to the US. People believe that it was Sun’s family connections that kept her out of trouble. Her grandfather Sun Yueqi was a high-ranking official and was connected to former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, and her father’s cousin was once vice-mayor of Beijing. Zhu Ling’s case is well known in China, but why is it suddenly coming up now? And how is it related to the power struggles within China’s top leadership?

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US Congressional Committee Examines China's Forced Labor Camps

At a roundtable meeting on May 9th, the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China discussed the system of re-education-through-labor camps, or RTL camps, under the Chinese regime. /n [Professor Ira Belkin, Executive Director, US-Asia Law Institute, NYU]: “The crux of re-education through labor has been a system of administrative detention with no judicial review where the police have the authority to send someone to a re-education through labor camp, to incarceration up to four years, based on a very vague set of standards, and again with no judicial process.” The system is better known as forced labor camps. It’s been around since the 1950s and is used mainly to silence dissent. Professor Ira Belkin said the system itself has come under question for violating China’s own constitution. These forced labor camps gained attention last year in the US, when this woman from Oregon discovered a letter believed to have been written by an inmate at the Masanjia Labor Camp. The letter was hidden inside a box of Halloween decorations. It detailed grueling conditions for the inmates there, working as forced laborers. Masanjia was further scrutinized at the roundtable discussion, with a screening of this newly released documentary “Women Above Ghosts' Head.” New York Times photographer Du Bing interviewed former inmates. They describe the camp as a quote, “hell on earth.” Since the Chinese regime’s new leadership came in last November, there have been discussions that the labor camp system could be reformed, or even abolished. Some say reform will not be enough. [Li Xiaorong, Independent Scholar] “I think the US Congress should strongly urge the Chinese government to abolish RTL, to steer clear of replacing RTL camps with any other extra-legal detention facilities and free all detainees in RTL camps and allow them access to justice in holding their abusers accountable and seeking redress for damages.” Li recommends that the US should deny entry to Chinese officials responsible for torture or abuse inside these camps, and that their assets should also be frozen overseas. NTD News, Washington DC.

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World Falun Dafa Day Celebrated Around the World

One Chinese meditation practice, in more than 100 countries…/n[Erping Zhang, Falun Dafa Spokesperson]: "Today is a very special day, a day when the whole world joins in the celebration because it is the 14th World Falun Dafa Day, as well the 21st anniversary of Falun Dafa, the anniversary of Falun Gong being introduced to the world."/nAnd for this May 13th, it's a celebration by those whose lives have been changed by its teachings and health benefits./n[Zenon Dolnyckyj, New York Falun Gong Practitioner]: “The energy is very wonderful, and it’s hard to describe. It’s very powerful, but beautiful at the same time, very light, very uplifting. And the changes I felt inside myself were extremely powerful and really helped me to understand my life, to understand society better.”/nZenon was with hundreds of others in Manhattan, New York on Sunday (May 12). /nAnd these festivities repeated throughout the world. In Copenhagen, Denmark, Stockholm, Sweden, Seoul, South Korea, and Hong Kong./nFor this Mainland Chinese tourist, the celebration was a surprise to see./n[Mainland Chinese Tourist]: “Yes, this is the first time I’ve seen something like this. It’s not allowed in Mainland China, I think Hong Kong is relatively more free.”/nThese festivities can’t be seen in China, because even though Falun Gong was first taught in China in 1992, the Communist Party has carried out a 14-year persecution campaign against its practitioners. They are punished for practicing the Falun Gong exercises, and following its teachings of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. /nThat’s why on each World Falun Dafa Day, those suffering in China are never far from the minds of those who can freely practice their beliefs overseas./n[Erping Zhang, Falun Dafa Spokesperson]: “We believe that, in one day in the near future, we will also see such a day in mainland China when people, like us overseas, can freely and publicly cultivate and practice the genuine traditional Chinese culture.”/nNTD News, New York

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Famous Neuroscientist: Shen Yun [Connects You to All of Humanity]

Famous neuroscientist and theologian Andrew Newberg was feeling good after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts in Philadelphia on May 4. He says Shen Yun was a powerful spiritual and emtional experience. [Dr Andrew Newberg, Neuroscientist & Theologian]: "Oh, it's been fabulous, it's really a very exciting display of, of the culture of China and the spirituality of it and it's really wonderful to see it all wrapped up into one expression." Dr Newberg is a pioneer in the field of neurotheology, he's been on the covers of 'Time' and 'Newsweek', as well as a featured guest on a number of radio and television shows. He says Shen Yun is a joyous and inspiring show. [Dr Andrew Newberg, Neuroscientist & Theologian]: "It's very inspiring, I think it's almost that kind of a joyful kind of experience that you really feel very positive, these wonderful emotions and it's wonderful to see the freedom and the expression of the dancers." From his research in medicine and theology Andrew is intrigued with Shen Yun's capacity to give him such powerful feelings and emotions. [Dr Andrew Newberg, Neuroscientist & Theologian]: "To me one of the things that's really striking is, is the flow of it the costumes and the way their arms move and the different sleeves and the drapes and the dresses and so forth, its just wonderful to see that movement and to me that, you know I study how the human brain works, and its wonderful to see how the music and the movement and the stories all kind of come together to really generate a very powerful feeling inside of you." He marvels at the rich spiritual content in Shen Yun. [Dr Andrew Newberg, Neuroscientist & Theologian]: "To me it it's just, it's highly spiritual, it's something that really, it really feels like it connects you to all of humanity, all of how humanity is connected to the world in general and it's a wonderful demonstration of that and an expression of the human spirit." Shen Yun moves on to Chicago, Illinois, for shows May 10-12. NTD News, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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[Mesmerising, Breathtaking] Shen Yun Performing Arts, Melbourne, Florida

Shen Yun Performing Arts played to a full house at King Center in Melbourne, Florida, May 2. At times the audience were laughing while in other moments they were moved to tears. Let's hear from some of them./n[Brook Deritany Goldfarb, Lawyer]:/n"We enjoyed the show immensely. It was mesmerizing, breathtaking, and we enjoyed the traditional Chinese dancing. And, also the expressions of religious freedom which we hold very dear, here in the United States."/n[Joyce Railey Clautice, School Teacher, Dancer, Retired]:/n"Oh, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it as a dancer. The choreography was so beautiful; it was so renewing. It’s so different than our ballet here, our dance here. And the sharpness, and the quickness, and the movement coming and going, and then the scenery, the backdrop. Oh, I just loved that."/n[Tom Adams, School teacher]:/n"Oh, very calm, very calm feeling. The images are very beautiful and very calming, and they gave you a sense of peace."/nAudience members expressed their gratitude for Shen Yun awakening the spiritual values of mankind./n[Donald McCredie, Retired Consulting Engineer]:/n"It made us realize some of the values that we should all practice. It was a very meaningful show."/n[Paul Forman, Retired Sales Manager]:/n"... and I’m learning a lot, it's quite educational."/n[John Zimmerman, Retired, Insurance Industry]:/n"I hope when Shen Yun comes to this area again, that we will be here to see it."/n[Paul Forman, Retired Sales Manager]:/n"I'm surprised it's only one day in Melbourne, it should be two."/n[Mike Krasny, Retired Lawyer]:/n"Enjoyed it very much and I hope you come back again soon."/nThis was Shen Yun's final performance in Florida and audiences are hoping the show returns very soon./n

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[There's a Reason to Live Tomorrow] Shen Yun Performing Arts, Philadelphia

Shen Yun Performing Arts is performing in the Mirriam Theater, Philadelphia to a packed house. Richard Gaglio says he's seen all the best performances the city has had to offer over the last forty years, but never before has a show taken him to heaven./n[Richard Gaglio, Owner, Computer Sales Company]:/n"From that day till now, nothing has excited me as much as seeing this Shen Yun dance troop. It, it blesses you, it moves you, and it makes you think beyond just, just who you are, and it gives you hope that, that the best is yet to come./nGaglio felt Shen Yun brings peace and joy, and builds hope./n[Richard Gaglio, Owner, Computer Sales Company]:/n"Each dance sequence, everything that, their, their faces their movements, all at the end say 'there's hope for tomorrow, there's a reason to live tomorrow, there's a reason to go on tomorrow' and when you can do that without speaking you've elevated not only yourself, but the audience to a place that they don't get a place to go. Ever."/nHe noticed the audience is spellbound not wanting to miss a moment./n[Richard Gaglio, Owner, Computer Sales Company]:/n"There's electricity in the air, it makes you want to see more, it makes you want to look more, it makes you part of the show. You're not just sitting and watching, you are sitting and being part of something. Bigger than what you are. And, if you notice, there's nobody talking, there's nobody looking around, everybody is riveted right there on each and every dancer, on each and every movement. I'd come back, if I live to be a hundred I'll come back every year."/nHe says Shen Yun will change the world./n[Richard Gaglio, Owner, Computer Sales Company]:/n"You said it in the first song, something in in the effect, atheism is a lie, evolution is a sham, but heaven, this will take you back to heaven. And it does. Can you be blessed more than that in one night? I don't think so. And, and there isn't an empty seat in the house. It should be sold out all across the world. Because if you do this, you'll find, at least for that night, people come together without their prejudices, without their preconceived ideas, people will come together for that moment. And if they can come together for that moment, they can come together for another moment, and another moment and another moment and over the years this, this dance will make a difference, not just in New York city, not just in Philadelphia, but throughout the world."/nFrom Philadelphia, Shen Yun moves on to Madison, Wisconsin, May 7-9./nNTD News, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania/n

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US: Chinese Consumable Imports a Threat to US Safety and Business

Food safety in China has long been a concern. On Thursday, a US Congressional subcommittee looked into the threat of consumables imported from China./nCongressman Dana Rohrabacher opened the hearing with some shocking statistics. [Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats]: “Astonishingly the US Food and Drug Administration inspects less than 2% of the food imports from China.” And this lack of oversight has resulted in product recalls. [Bill Keating, Member, Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats]: “From tires to toothpaste to toys Chinese imports account for more than 50% of the recalls announced by the Consumer product Safety Commission.” In the case of organic food, a watchdog found in 2009 that China supplies almost half of all organic soybeans to the US. They’re graded into “A-Beans” and “B-Beans”, and in most cases, brokers can’t personally verify that the beans are in fact organic. [Mark Alan Kastel, Co-Founder, The Cornucopia Institute]: “And the B-beans? Well, the brokers have a piece of paper, a certification document, that says they're organic. And they're cheaper. Most commonly, we found the ones that got purchased were the B beans.” Because they’re cheaper, these imports are undercutting US farmers. But the playing field isn’t level, because of China’s poor environmental regulations. [Mark Alan Kastel, Co-Founder, The Cornucopia Institute]: “Organics continue to grow even in this tight economy. But for the first time we are seeing a net loss in the number of organic farmers in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states and we’re losing thousands of acres of farmland. We can’t compete with the Chinese without a level playing field in terms of aggressive certification and enforcement of organic law.” At the hearing, many expressed concern over the fact that Chinese people themselves don’t trust their own food supply. [William Triplett, Former Chief Republican Counsel, Committee on Foreign Relations]: “One of the things we’ve known for a long time is the Chinese cadres had their own farms, they don’t trust the own food and so forth and so on. That’s number one. Number two, the farmers themselves don’t trust their own food they won’t eat what they produce so they ship it to another province.” Committee members noted the bipartisan support for investigating this issue and plan to hold another hearing later this year.

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Dead Worker’s Cousin Says [Impossible] it was Suicide

Beijing police say a migrant worker from Anhui province killed herself, claiming the young woman’s family has also accepted that conclusion./n 22-year-old Yuan Liya was found dead outside a mall on May 3rd. Police say she went to the mall the night before by herself, and then jumped out of the building to kill herself. But according to Yuan’s cousin, the young woman had plenty to live for, and wouldn’t have ended her own life. [Cousin of Deceased Migrant Worker] “It’s impossible that she killed herself. Her father is seriously ill, and she cares for him a lot. The whole family relied on her to earn money to pay for her dad’s treatment. What would happen to her dad if she wasn’t around? She would not take her life like this.” After Yuan’s death, claims surfaced online that she was seen with the mall’s security guards the night before, and that she was gang-raped and killed by them. On Thursday, Beijing police arrested a woman accusing her of spreading these rumors online. Yuan’s fiancé and mother had asked to see the surveillance tape from the mall after her death, but police refused. On Thursday (May 9), Beijing police claimed the family was shown evidence, and accepted the official version of events, according to state-run China Daily. Yuan’s suspicious death sparked an angry protest on Wednesday. Authorities sent in thousands of police and paramilitary officers to the area, located around four miles south of Tiananmen Square.

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[It Refreshes my Soul]Shen Yun Performing Arts, Honolulu

Shen Yun Performing Arts premiered at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu on May 3. Virginia Hinshaw, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hawaii was in attendance. /nShe saw Shen Yun for the second time./n[Virginia Hinshaw, Former Vice-chancellor, University of Hawaii]: "Oh I think it's fantastic, I've seen it before, but I wanted to really see it again, because it is really delightful… because it refreshes my soul, the stories, the color, the talents, the dance, excitement, I just think it is fabulous."/n[Virginia Hinshaw, Former Vice-chancellor, University of Hawaii]: "Well the stories, about the people, and also the vivid nature of the everything they do, it's, it's so bright, it's like vivid is the word that I think of."/nChaminade University of Humanities and Fine Arts Department Head Joan Chatfield was also in attendance, praised Shen Yun's delicate balance./n[Joan Chatfield, Chaminade University of Humanities and Fine Arts]: "First of all, I like the show, marvelous show, the magnificent discipline and the magnificent art form, and yet it, it's is all spectacular, it's not one person above and all the rest kind of bowing to the one who is good. I mean it, it's amazingly balanced, beautifully balanced."/n[Joan Chatfield, Chaminade University of Humanities and Fine Arts]: "I'm very happy, and I'm happy because, I think this is an opportunity for, those who, aren't exposed to the Chinese culture to have, a better feel, I mean that's all we are trying to do, always is get more and more people to understand each other, I mean we do belong to one human race, I mean, there, you know, that's it, but we come in different packaging, and different–different sizes, shapes colors and that's so nice."/nNTD News, Honolulu, Hawaii/n

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Chinese Director Zhang Yimou Investigated for Having 7 Kids

Renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou is being investigated for allegedly having seven children. The Chinese regime has a strict one-child policy, but sometimes, those with power and money can skirt the rules./n Zhang is known for directing the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On Thursday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that family planning authorities are now looking into reports that he fathered seven kids, to four different women. [Gu Zhijian, Democracy Activist] “The law in China is implemented according to the person in question. People like Zhang Yimou aren’t restricted. For ordinary people, even after they get married they need to have a birth permit to have children, if not, they’ll be forced to abort.” Zhang is currently in his second marriage, with actress Chen Ting. If he is found to have broken family planning rules, he faces more than $25 million in fines, according to state-run People’s Daily. Zhang Yimou gained fame earlier in his career for movies like “To Live”. That film was banned by Chinese authorities because it looked at the disastrous effects of the Cultural Revolution. More recently though, Zhang’s critics say he has become more aligned with the ruling Communist Party. The New York Times describes his transformation as, quote, “a director with an uncompromising vision, to one who bows to the whims of party officials.”

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US Religious Freedom Chairwoman Speaks Up for Free Press in China

The US International Religious Freedom Commission released its annual report on April 30th. At a press briefing yesterday (May 8) the Chairwoman of the Commission said how important freedom of information is to ensuring basic rights. /n [Katrina Lentos Swett, Chairman, US Commission on Intl. Religious Freedom] “Well, independent media is possibly the single most effective means to promoting freedom, promoting democracy, promoting human rights, promoting religious freedom.” She says Taiwan is a case in point. After the Republic of China lost the civil war and fled to Taiwan, it eventually developed into a relatively free and democratic country. [Katrina Lentos Swett, Chairman, US Commission on Intl. Religious Freedom] “Taiwan has shown the difference between a democratic society and an authoritarian repressive communist society.” The Commission’s 2013 report found that religious freedom in China has deteriorated over the past year. China was again on its list of countries of particular concern, highlighting the ill treatment of Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists. [Katrina Lentos Swett, Chairman, US Commission on Intl. Religious Freedom] “Religious freedom, and free expression, free speech, free press are intimately connected with one another and, you know, once again we would urge our embassy, our state department, our administration and our congress to press hard for these kinds of freedoms in China.” NTD Asia Pacific Television is having trouble renewing its contract with Taiwan-based company Chungwa Telecom. Many suspect that the real issue behind the contract problem is Taiwan’s closer relationship with the Mainland. Swett says that Taiwan needs to be careful to preserve its national integrity. [Katrina Lentos Swett, Chairman, US Commission on Intl. Religious Freedom] “And Taiwan needs to do what it can to make sure that entities that are trying to use the base of Taiwan to bring this kind of vital information to China are able to continue to do so.” She says if China is putting pressure on Chungwa Telecom, this shows how afraid Chinese authorities are of independent information. NTD News, Washington DC

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[Never Seen Anything More Spectacular] Shen Yun, Honolulu

Honolulu is a tourist hot spot and both locals and tourists came to see Shen Yun Performing Arts on the evening of Saturday, May 4th, at Blaisdell Concert Hall./n[Oscar Tudela, Owner, Commercial Building Business]: "Oh, my God. It’s, I can’t describe, you know It’s beautiful. It’s nothing like I saw before."/nOscar Tudela missed Shen Yun in passed years and is ecstatic he finally got to see the show./n[Oscar Tudela, Owner, Commercial Building Business]: "It is my first time that I have seen such a beautiful performance, I am very impressed, and this is something that I, I recommend to everyone to see because the Chinese culture is not just movies, but this is something totally different, I have never seen anything more spectacular than this performance today."/nUniversity Lecturer Gary Kulac found the blending of high-tech backdrops with traditional arts fascinating./n[Gary Kulac, Lecturer, Information Systems, Hawaii Pacific University]: "That was something, that was something that struck me as being quite unique right off the bat, it was nice to see the I guess the blending of the traditional with the modern." Ten years of practicing martial arts, Gary knows the hardships of training to the level the Shen Yun dancers./n[Gary Kulac, Lecturer, Information Systems, Hawaii Pacific University]: "I can appreciate the difficulty and the dedication it takes to train and the physical skill. They make many, many difficult moves look extremely easy."/nPainter Michael Daly is full of respect for Shen Yun's humanitarian message./n[Michael Daly, Portrait Artist]: "I, I think it is very important to, to spread the words of, of the message of peace and justice, and humanitarian issues, wherever we can and especially through culture and the arts, like here today through dance and music, it's done tastefully and respectfully and they're making a strong statement."/nShen Yun has ended it's tour in Hawaii on May 5th and has another week left before concluding it's global tour./nNTD News, Honolulu, Hawaii/n

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Chinese Censors Target Lens Magazine for Torture Article

The pressure is on for Lens Magazine. The little-known Chinese media rocketed to international prominence in April after a lengthy exposé detailing torture and abuse at the Masanjia Women’s Labor Camp. It’s the first report of its kind by a mainland Chinese media. And now, Lens Magazine’s publishing license has been cancelled, according to the International Federation of Journalists./nhttp://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-urges-china-investigate-a-political-interference-of-a-magainze [Zan Aizong, Freelance Writer] “If authorities deem this article to be politically problematic, because it reported about the abuse in labor camps, then this becomes a ‘sensitive issue’.” The sensitive of this issue, according to analysts, is heightened because it touches on a taboo topic for the Chinese regime—its persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice. The Lens magazine article’s accounts of torture echoes more than a decade of similar claims by practitioners of Falun Gong who were severely abused at Masanjia, and other Chinese labor camps. Lens magazine didn’t specifically mention Falun Gong, but did refer to a “special group” of people who received particularly harsh treatment. [Levi Browde, Executive Director, Falun Dafa Information Center] “The persecution of Falun Gong is very much taboo in China and all officials know the quickest way to get themselves fired or even killed is to try and expose the persecution of Falun Gong. That’s widely known, no one’s going to say anything.” Shortly after the article was published on April 6, the online version was removed. Then, authorities in Liaoning, where the Masanjia labor camp is based, denied all wrong-doing after a hastily conducted investigation. [Hu Ping, Editor in Chief, Beijing Spring Magazine] “Now with the coverage by Lens, it verifies the reports by some overseas Chinese media, including those linked to Falun Gong, that these criminal acts have been happening. But the officials denied everything, and are now looking to stop this publication. It shows that this has caused a big ripple amongst the leadership.” Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. The regime has since heavily censored information about the spiritual practice. That censorship was lifted briefly last year, following the take-down of former oficial Bo Xilai. Bo oversaw the expansion of Masanjia Labor Camp in the early 2000. He has faced several lawsuits overseas for crimes against humanity for his role in the persecution of Falun Gong.

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The Universe: Quasars

Quasars are much larger and brighter than the sun and could be classified as an early stage of galaxy development.

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Using Recycled Materials to Plant Flower Bulbs

Learn about using recycled materials to plant flower bulbs in this free gardening video about how to plant flower bulbs in containers.

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The Flat Belly Diet

A recent survey found that many Americans feel that their problem area is their stomach

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