Stories about Law from May, 2006
Belarus: On Trial for Text-Messaging
Iryna of TOL's Belarus Blog writes about an unprecedented (even for Belarus) trial: “We have become used to the fact that prominent academics and journalists are being sentenced to 15 days in prison for swearing or hooliganism, but last week a student was actually tried for sending a text message...
Indonesia: President Lets Off Former Leader
Indi at indirani,net writes why he will not vote for Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono again. Many Indonesians are disappointed that the president dropped corruption charged against ailing former leader Suharto.
Indonesia: Bali Weddings
Many foreign couples go to Bali to get married attracted by the traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. Indcoup warns that such a marriage may not be legal in the west. “You may think you’ve been married, but if you’ve only done the religious part, and the extremely complex bureaucratic procedures –...
China: Pinyin's persecuted past
Pinyin, the alphabetized version of simplified Chinese which today makes learning of the language so much easier was not, as noted by Pinyin.info blogger Mark Swofford, embraced during the Cultural Revolution as a communication tool, but rather attacked as ideologically incorrect with all traces burnt in the street.
China: Legal reference lists
Among several tips for better investing in China and a post—For Your Eyes Only—on the Ernst & Young estimation—since retracted—earlier this week of China's $900 billion in bad debts from Dan Harris at China Law Blog comes a list of even more Chinese law research guides.
China: Foreign firms restricted
Lehman Law intern Kevin Fisher at Chinablawger blogs on a law recently passed by the Chinese government which puts tight restrictions on foreign law firms operating in China. That non-Chinese cannot sit for the Chinese bar aside, he says, the new law is not too dissimilar from equivalent laws in...
Brunei: Blog report from the Abode of Peace: Bloggers vs Borneo Bulletin
Aside from accounts of the impending exams, lunch and the random softball-related post? Nothing much really. For the past few years, the blogging scene in this oil-rich country has not really delved into current affairs beyond their personal sphere. This may be caused by a lot of factors, perhaps it...
Nepal: Parliament Declaration
A historic Parliament Declaration in Nepal announces the revival of democracy. It's a complete turn-around from where the country was about two months back. United We Blog! covers the day.
Ukraine: 62nd Anniversary of Deportations of Crimean Tatars
J. Otto Pohl writes about the deportations of the Crimean Tatars, which took place 62 years ago: “In the early hours of 18 May 1944 some 32,000 members of the NKVD and NKGB began the systematic round up the entire Crimean Tatar population. These armed units went from house to...
Ukraine: Support for Yushchenko Low
LEvko of Foreign Notes cites an opinion poll, according to which support for president Yushchenko is much lower than it was in February 2005, when he first elected.
Belarus: Yury Radzivil Trial
TOL's Belarus Blog reports on the trial of Yury Radzivil: “Yury faces 6 years in prison just for actually being almost killed. The man who has shot few times in his car is now victim in this case, and Yury is accused for driving him over. Actually, “victim” is colonel...
Trinidad and Tobago, USA: Trinidadian man caught in child seduction sting
Steups reacts with disgust to the news that a Trinidadian man has been caught in an Internet child-seduction sting in Florida set up by Dateline NBC. “It's not enough that citizens here are causing consternation and shame but now we have expatriates casting negativity upon us.”
China: Three gorges update
An update on an old but ongoing environmental story from AB at Me Old China: “As the construction of the Three Gorges Dam comes to an end, the battle for hearts and minds has intensified once again. Propagandists with the Three Gorges Project Corporation and the state government have been...
African Diaspora: Victory for Sarkozy's Immigration Law
” [French Interior Minister] Sarkozy's immigration law [CESEDA] passed in the French National Assembly! ” says (Fr) Aimafrica . “For a country like Mali, this could be the beginning of an economic catastrophy. France … after having looted our riches and our people, wants business as usual. She no longer...
Taiwan: Chinese spy confesses
A Taiwanese agent for the Chinese government wasn't so covert in trying to purchase an F-16 fighter jet engine and cruise missiles, blogs James J. Na at The Korea Liberator, followed up by a post from Joshua on the defection of another senior North Korean scientist: “The bad news is...
DRC: Pastor Kutino's Detention
Rvd. Kutino Fernando, founder of Sauvons le Congo [Save the Congo], was recently taken from his church by policemen and his whereabouts are unknown, says (Fr) Tony Katombe at Le Blog du Congolais. The blogger is skeptical that Kutino was stocking weapons in his church or inciting violence as alleged...
China: Party pal plagiarizes?
Eight, writes Donald C. Clarke at Chinese Law Prof Blog, is the number of observers who will be allowed into the upcoming trial of Zhou Yezhong (周叶中), a legal scholar with friendly ties to Communist Party of China leadership currently being sued for plagiarism by Peking University law professor He...
Advocacy: Help protect global bloggers
Bloggers, like others at the forefront of activities promoting freedom of speech and information, can run into trouble with the authorities. At Global Voices we have had first hand experience of this with the illegal detention of one of our editors, Hao Wu. He has now been held for three...
Haiti: What Will Preval Bring?
AyitiCherieConnexion summarizes Preval's inauguration and wonders (Fr): “Ever since the election, things have settled a bit in Haiti. Kidnappings have almost disappeared. Will Preval stabilize the situation, eliminate government corruption, crime, unemployment and feelings of resentment …? Will certain countries of the international community stop dividing and conquering so that...
Nigeria's Failed Constitutional Amendment
In the fourth quarter of 2005, reports began appearing in the Nigerian mainstream print media about a bid to have the Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, attempt a third term in office. Mr. Obasanjo, who has been president since 1999, is constitutionally permitted to serve a maximum of two four-year terms....
Japan: Questionable new laws
Riding Sun‘s GaijinBiker pokes some big holes first in the Japanese government's new law requiring all foreigners entering the country to have their fingerprints scanned followed by another new law which will see a gradual decrease in the number of free parking spaces for bicycles, scooters and motorcycles in Tokyo.
