Number 8 in a cut-out-and-keep series

Yoga Times

With Jelila

BEIJING ~ In the strictly controlled media world of communist China, “citizen journalism” is beating a way through censorship, breaking taboos and offering a pressure valve for social tensions.

In one striking example this month, the internet was largely responsible for breaking open a slave scandal in two Chinese provinces that some local authorities had been complicit in.

A letter posted on the internet by 400 parents of children working as slaves in brickyards was the trigger for the national press to finally report on the scandal that some rights groups say had been going on for years.

The parents’ posting was part of a growing phenomenon for marginalized people in China who cannot otherwise have their complaints addressed by the traditional, government-controlled press.

“The phenomenon of ‘citizen journalism’ suddenly arrived several years ago,” said Beijing-based dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was one of the student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests.

“Since the appearance of blogs in particular, every blog is a new platform for the spread of information.”

He cited the example of a couple in the southwestern city of Chongqing who became known as the “Stubborn Nails” in April because they refused to leave their home until they received adequate compensation from the property developer who wanted them out.

They quickly became household names in China - and symbols of resistance against greedy land developers and corrupt local authorities - mainly thanks to internet postings.

“That case was first revealed through blogs,” Liu said.

Also in Chongqing, parts of the city were set on fire in June following the beating of flower sellers by the “chengguan,” city police charged with “cleaning up” the city’s roads.

Witnesses to the beatings had appealed to local television journalists, but nothing was broadcast.

The incident only became known outside the city thanks to photos and stories published on the internet, sparking anger among China’s netizens.

“It’s fascism,” said one, while another mocked: “The inhabitants of Chongqing are truly naïve. The Chinese media is all controlled by the Communist Party; they decide what people know.”

Several days later, another blunder by the chengguan - this time in Zhengzhou in central Henan province, again targeted at a street seller - provoked further riots.

The image of protesters surrounding a police car, captured by a cellphone, made its way round the world, after being posted on Chinese movie sharing site Tudou, then reposted on YouTube.

Elsewhere across China, protesters often seek to post photos or videos of unrest on the internet to counter the versions from the state-run press and local authorities, who usually downplay or deny the events.

Recognizing the “threat” of China’s growing online community, Chinese President Hu Jintao called in January for the internet to be “purified,” and the government has since launched a number of online crackdowns.

“The department of propaganda has sent out regulations to try and control the opinions being spread on the internet, but every citizen has the right to criticize or to take part in public affairs on the internet,” said Zhu Dake, a professor at Shanghai Tongji University.

“The government has to accept the criticisms of the people; it can no longer react crudely like in the past.”

Julien Pain, who monitors internet freedom issues for Reporters without Borders, is less optimistic.

“One cannot truly say that the internet in China is becoming more and more free, because at the same time as the development of citizen journalists, the government finds ways of blocking or censoring content,” Pain said.

Reporters without Borders, which labels the Chinese government an “enemy of the internet,” says about 50 cyber dissidents are currently behind bars in China.

By Annabel Thomas

For The Bali Times

SEMINYAK ~ Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence*

There cannot be a scuba diver who has not wondered how it would be to dive bubble-free, without the sound (albeit reassuring sound!) of the air passing in and out of the second stage of your regulator; to be silently, naturally, moving through the sea … just as our ancestors did oh so many years ago.

It is actually possible to dive with a piece of equipment, called a rebreather, that will enable you to do just that. Of course it takes special training and there are life-preserving rules that are vital to follow.

But first, the basics: As you inhale, your body uses the oxygen and produces carbon dioxide. A diver using standard SCUBA (open-circuit) equipment will use only 25 percent of the oxygen breathed in; the rest is exhaled into the water along with the carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the breathed air. A rebreather recycles that exhaled air (no bubbles – i.e. closed-circuit): absorbing the carbon dioxide and adding oxygen to replace what has already been used up. This reduces the amount of gas that a diver needs to take diving, meaning a rebreather is also lighter and more compact than a standard SCUBA unit.

Due to increased pressure on the body, the deeper a diver goes, the higher the amount of oxygen breathed in. Oxygen can actually be toxic if breathed at too high a concentration - hence recreational divers being certified to a maximum depth of 30 meters and the advice to not dive deeper than 40 meters. To dive to 60 meters on normal compressed air means you risk oxygen toxicity … however, as rebreathers have the capacity to reduce the percentage of oxygen, they can be used to greater depths.

There is also a “semi-closed” rebreather which produces some, but fewer, bubbles than SCUBA systems.

It is believed that the first rebreather (albeit very basic) was made in the 1620s as part of an oar-powered submarine. In the late 19th century, there were a few different rebreathers available but they were used for purposes such as mine rescues where it was believed there may be toxic gases present. Later they were used to escape from sunken submarines but were perhaps most notoriously used by Italian navy frogmen during World War II.

These days, diving rebreathers, although expensive, are found all over the world. The lack of bubbles (and therefore reduced noise) enables military divers to move around in greater secrecy. For underwater photographers and videographers and marine biologists, this simply means they can get closer to their subjects. Obviously rebreathers are safer when exploring deep cave systems and wrecks, due to the fact that oxygen percentages can be changed, and also there’s less chance of running out of breathable gas either due to the length of time needed for ascents and descents - and if you have the misfortune to get lost or entangled.

Here in Indonesia, there’s only one company that offers rebreather courses/training, rebreather dives and rebreather rentals and sales: Blue Marlin Diving in Lombok (www.bluemarlindive.com/technical_diving.php).

Desiderata, © Max Ehrmann, 1952

The writer is director of AquaMarine Diving – Bali

By Ian Timberlake
Agence France-Presse

SINGAPORE ~ Indonesia is open for business, the chairman of the country’s investment board told the World Economic Forum on East Asia this week.

Muhammad Lutfi told global business leaders the country has moved to address concerns about corruption, red tape and legal uncertainty while opening its doors to foreign investors and seeking to end its reliance on commodity exports.

He bombarded delegates with a series of economic data on the country’s improving economic condition and said the government aims to reduce poverty to about 17 million people in 2009, from close to 56 million today.

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JAKARTA ~ Billions of dollars of Australian investment to Indonesia hinges on new legislation being passed through Indonesia’s parliament, Australia’s trade minister said during a visit here this week.

Trade Minister Warren Truss said that about AUS$2.5 billion (US$2.1 billion) was currently invested in Indonesia by Australian companies.

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SINGAPORE ~ Betting on major sporting events is illegal in much of Asia but it remains rampant, and police across the region are on full alert ahead of the Asian Cup finals.

Asians like a flutter with money changing hands at market stalls or in underground gambling dens, often run by organized crime syndicates. More still is waged on burgeoning online gambling websites.

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JAKARTA ~ The authorities have grounded nine airlines that failed to improve their safety record, the Transport Ministry said this week.

Four airlines had their operating licenses revoked and five other small airlines were suspended for failing to improve their safety in the past three months, an official at the Air Transport Directorate General’s Office said.

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