China in the headlines – 24 June 2008

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

TIBET VIDEO DIARY
BBC James Reynolds’ Blog – While I was in Tibet I took along a small camera and filmed a short video diary of the trip. Here it is …

REVISED 'LAWYERS LAW' FAILS TO PROTECT LAWYERS
Human Rights in China is deeply concerned that the revised Lawyers Law, which came into force on June 1, 2008, is already falling short of its goal to "protect the practice of law by lawyers" because of flawed local implementation and the continued abuse by the authorities of China’s highly restrictive state secrets laws …

RICHARD GERE TRAVELS TO TIBET … IN A FIAT DELTA
Shanghaiist Blog – Less than a month after airing this commercial featuring Richard Gere driving the new Fiat Delta from Hollywood to Tibet, Italian automaker Fiat has been forced to withdraw the ad, and issue a statement extending its "apologies to the Government of the People's Republic of China and to the Chinese people" …

BATON PASSED IN DIPLOMATIC GAMES
SMH – Kevin Rudd's decision to attend the Beijing Olympics has led to predictable outrage from Bob Brown. Last week the Greens leader declared "the pollution of Beijing strong-arm politics has reached the Prime Minister's office here in Canberra" …

UYGHUR MOSQUE DEMOLISHED
Radio Free Asia – Chinese authorities have demolished a Uyghur mosque in remote and restive Xinjiang amid mounting tension over security ahead of the Beijing Olympics, according to a Uyghur exile group and local officials …

TENSIONS RISE BETWEEN TIBETANS, CHINESE MUSLIMS
Los Angeles Times – The riot began with a customer's complaint about her dinner. "Waitress, there's a tooth in my soup," a Tibetan woman said indignantly …

CHINA'S VISA POLICY THREATENS OLYMPICS TOURISM
New York Times – The plush lobby of Beijing’s Kerry Center Hotel is usually crowded with foreign guests, many of them listening to jazz and sipping martinis in Centro, the hotel’s fashionable bar, or lining up for taxis after dinner at the Horizon restaurant …

YOUNG & RESTLESS IN CHINA
PBS Frontline documentary – An intimate look into the lives of nine young Chinese, coming of age in a society that’s changing at breakneck speed …

CHINA'S OVEREAGER AMERICAN CENSORS
Forbes – Practically every U.S.-owned search engine has caved to the Chinese government's demands that they censor political Web sites in China. But none of them seem to agree on just what sites need censoring …

TIBET TO REOPEN TO FOREIGN TOURIST SOON
China Daily – Tibet will reopen to foreign tourists soon, Palma Trily, executive vice chairman of Tibet, told a press conference here …