China seizes toilet paper bearing image of Hong Kong leader

Saturday, February 07, 2015 | 12:12 PM    

BEIJING (AP) — Authorities in southern China have seized about 8,000 rolls of toilet paper and another 20,000 packages of tissues containing unflattering images of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing chief executive, according to an official of the small political party that placed the order.

The items were to be sold at a market in Hong Kong during Lunar New Year celebrations later this month, said Lo Kin-hei, a vice chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party.

The seizure came after Hong Kong was shaken by a massive pro-democracy movement in which demonstrators demanded greater electoral freedom than Beijing is willing to grant. During the demonstrations, protesters expressed anger at Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, calling him a puppet of Beijing, and asked him to step down.

No reason was given for the seizure of the $12,900 worth of goods in the city of Shenzhen, outside of Hong Kong, Lo said.

“I guess (the Chinese authorities) don’t like people mocking government officials, especially high-ranking government officials, after the movement. They have become more cautious about criticisms about them,” he said.

The party’s 4,000 rolls of toilet paper with Leung’s image sold out at last year’s seasonal market, and it decided to get more this year from a factory in Shenzhen, Lo said.

The images of Leung on the novelty products are cartoonish and unflattering. One has him bearing two fangs, and another has the word “lying” on his forehead. The sickle-and-hammer symbol of the Communist Party of China also appears on some products.

The order was placed under the name of a friend to obscure the party as the true buyer, and all communications were done through the friend instead of the party, Lo said.

Citing the need to protect the manufacturer, Lo declined to reveal the factory’s name and said he had no information on the whereabouts of the factory owner. “We are worried about what has happened to him,” Lo said.

Calls to Shenzhen police rang unanswered on Saturday, and there was no official report about any seizure of toilet paper.

Lo said he found the act worrisome because it indicates further tightening by Chinese authorities on freedom of speech, which is guaranteed in Hong Kong’s constitution.

“Many productions in Hong Kong rely on the mainland. This kind of tightening means in the future it will be more difficult to make products in the mainland,” Lo said. “It’s alarmful for Hong Kong people that they keep suppressing freedom in Hong Kong. We will become the mainland if this kind of mocking will be not allowed in Hong Kong.”

Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserver

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

View the original article here

China seizes toilet paper bearing image of Hong Kong leader

China seizes toilet paper bearing image of Hong Kong leader

Saturday, February 07, 2015 | 12:12 PM    

BEIJING (AP) — Authorities in southern China have seized about 8,000 rolls of toilet paper and another 20,000 packages of tissues containing unflattering images of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing chief executive, according to an official of the small political party that placed the order.

The items were to be sold at a market in Hong Kong during Lunar New Year celebrations later this month, said Lo Kin-hei, a vice chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party.

The seizure came after Hong Kong was shaken by a massive pro-democracy movement in which demonstrators demanded greater electoral freedom than Beijing is willing to grant. During the demonstrations, protesters expressed anger at Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, calling him a puppet of Beijing, and asked him to step down.

No reason was given for the seizure of the $12,900 worth of goods in the city of Shenzhen, outside of Hong Kong, Lo said.

“I guess (the Chinese authorities) don’t like people mocking government officials, especially high-ranking government officials, after the movement. They have become more cautious about criticisms about them,” he said.

The party’s 4,000 rolls of toilet paper with Leung’s image sold out at last year’s seasonal market, and it decided to get more this year from a factory in Shenzhen, Lo said.

The images of Leung on the novelty products are cartoonish and unflattering. One has him bearing two fangs, and another has the word “lying” on his forehead. The sickle-and-hammer symbol of the Communist Party of China also appears on some products.

The order was placed under the name of a friend to obscure the party as the true buyer, and all communications were done through the friend instead of the party, Lo said.

Citing the need to protect the manufacturer, Lo declined to reveal the factory’s name and said he had no information on the whereabouts of the factory owner. “We are worried about what has happened to him,” Lo said.

Calls to Shenzhen police rang unanswered on Saturday, and there was no official report about any seizure of toilet paper.

Lo said he found the act worrisome because it indicates further tightening by Chinese authorities on freedom of speech, which is guaranteed in Hong Kong’s constitution.

“Many productions in Hong Kong rely on the mainland. This kind of tightening means in the future it will be more difficult to make products in the mainland,” Lo said. “It’s alarmful for Hong Kong people that they keep suppressing freedom in Hong Kong. We will become the mainland if this kind of mocking will be not allowed in Hong Kong.”

Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserver

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

View the original article here

China seizes toilet paper bearing image of Hong Kong leader

Lance Armstrong, UK paper agree to settlement over dope report

LONDON (AP) — British newspaper The Sunday Times has reached a settlement with Lance Armstrong after suing the disgraced cyclist to recover damages from a libel settlement.

The paper paid Armstrong 300,000 pounds (now about US$470,000) in 2006 to settle a case after printing claims that he took performance-enhancing drugs.But confirmation that Armstrong led a massive doping programme on his teams came last year from a US Anti-Doping Agency report, prompting a confession by the American, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.The Sunday Times announced it was suing Armstrong for around $1.6 million to reclaim the 2006 settlement payment plus interest and legal costs.In Sunday’s editions, the paper said it and the article’s authors had reached a “mutually acceptable final resolution” with Armstrong, but said the terms are confidential.It was The Sunday Times chief sports writer David Walsh’s co-authored book, “LA Confidential,” that detailed Armstrong’s role in cycling’s doping culture and was serialised by his paper in 2004.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don’t use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed:mailto:advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

comments powered by

View the original article here

Lance Armstrong, UK paper agree to settlement over dope report

Lance Armstrong, UK paper agree to settlement over dope report

Sport

Sunday, August 25, 2013 | 3:55 PM

LONDON (AP) — British newspaper The Sunday Times has reached a settlement with Lance Armstrong after suing the disgraced cyclist to recover damages from a libel settlement.The paper paid Armstrong 300,000 pounds (now about US$470,000) in 2006 to settle a case after printing claims that he took performance-enhancing drugs.But confirmation that Armstrong led a massive doping programme on his teams came last year from a US Anti-Doping Agency report, prompting a confession by the American, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.The Sunday Times announced it was suing Armstrong for around $1.6 million to reclaim the 2006 settlement payment plus interest and legal costs.In Sunday’s editions, the paper said it and the article’s authors had reached a “mutually acceptable final resolution” with Armstrong, but said the terms are confidential.It was The Sunday Times chief sports writer David Walsh’s co-authored book, “LA Confidential,” that detailed Armstrong’s role in cycling’s doping culture and was serialised by his paper in 2004.

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don’t use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed:mailto:advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

comments powered by

View the original article here

Lance Armstrong, UK paper agree to settlement over dope report

Phillips warns investors not to rely on gov’t paper

MINISTER of Finance and Planning, Dr Peter Phillips, has warned Jamaican investors against depending on high-yielding government paper to protect them from competition, under the new Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Dr Phillips’ caution was aimed primarily at financial institutions and other businesses depending on government paper over the years to remain profitable, as well as commercial traders thriving on the importation of foreign goods.“In many respects, having existed in an environment which over many, many years of high interest rates and a lot of protected sectors, protected from the winds of competition, are able to secure profits simply by holding government paper, many elements in the investor community have lost the knowledge, skill, talent, to really face the competition,” Dr Phillips said Thursday.“Bankers will have to return to the business of banking, rather than just simply purchasing (government) paper. Companies who had huge portfolios will have to learn, again, what it takes to take an idea from concept to production. That, in itself, will take time, but it is also, I suspect, going to cause some degree of apprehension,” he stated.“People who lived simply on the basis of buying things from outside and selling them in the domestic market, if they want to sustain their profit levels, are going to have to look at how they are going to have to stop being traders and become producers, in some way; because those are the things that the programme is intended to achieve, to incentivise production and, in a sense, disincentivise the support of production elsewhere,” he added.He said that while the objectives may not be achieved overnight, the country has to sustain its commitment to that path, “and not lose heart or be overwhelmed in the immediate, painful difficulties which we face”.Dr Phillips was speaking at a press briefing at his ministry, Heroes’ Circle, on Jamaica’s performance in the first quarterly test under the new Extended Fund Facility agreement with the IMF.He said that he believes investor confidence in the EFF agreement is rebuilding, and that this was evident from recently concluded discussions with the holders of Government of Jamaica bonds in both North America and Europe.“I can say we are seeing the slow but steady and significant rebuilding of this confidence, certainly in the international community,” he said.“There are many who did not believe that we would have concluded a programme and indeed they were pleasantly surprised,” the minister said.“I am satisfied with Jamaica’s fulfilment of the prior conditions, and I think we need to emphasise that they were not easily achieved. They were achieved with the sacrifice and contributions of stockholders from all sectors of the country,” he added.Phillips also said he believed that the successful conclusion of the first review under the new programme will add to the level of confidence, but that it would require “sustained implementation” over future quarters, in order to sustain the build-up in confidence.He said that it would also require a more comprehensive communications effort, internationally and domestically, to promote the rationale behind the programme and, at the same time, take advantage of what has already been completed.He pointed out that while the programme is being administered by the Government, it will require the full realisation of its objectives and the participation of the other stakeholders, mainly the investor community.PHILLIPS … we are seeing the slow but steady rebuilding of confidence

View the original article here

Phillips warns investors not to rely on gov’t paper