August 6:
The suicide rate among senior citizens in rural China has risen steadily since 1990 according to a study by Liu Yanwu a Sociologist at Wuhan University. The six-year study, which examined suicide rates in 40 villages in eleven provinces, found the main reasons rural seniors killed themselves are poor living conditions and sickness. “Those who took their own life wanted to die with dignity or take a burden off their families,” the official China Youth Daily wrote. But some suicides were actually closer to murder, for instance, when an elderly couple drank pesticide but the husband survived, the family held the funeral immediately and made the husband watch. He died three days later. Liu agues that an effective campaign to target starvation, illness and loneliness could lower the senior suicide rate, Want China Times reports. Many rural seniors survive on a newly introduced 55 yuan ($9) monthly stipend.
[Editor’s Note: Last year, the number of Chinese over 60 exceeded 200 million representing 14.9% of China’s total population, significantly higher than the 10% the United Nations defines as a balanced age distribution. The number of people without the ability to take care of themselves reached 36 million in 2012 and 37.5 million last year.]
August 7:
Senior American and Chinese naval officials have agreed that their two forces should train together, the South China Morning Post reports. The idea was raised when the U.S. 7th Fleet’s command ship, the USS Blue Ridge docked in Qingdao, Shandong. The lieutenant commander of the PLA navy vessel Harbin, Guan Qiwu, said: “Do you think PLA Navy officers could visit 7th Fleet ships and receive training?” prompting Vice admiral Robert Thomas to reply that both navies could work together on operations, training exercises, and information exchange. Last week, U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus urged the two countries to deepen military ties and said the U.S. side would welcome joint naval exercises and port visits from China’s aircraft carriers.
August 8:
Rescue teams from China’s Maritime Search and Rescue Center and Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) have conducted a joint search and rescue drill to practice for maritime disasters in the waters off the Fujian coast, near the Taipei-controlled Matsu islands. Beijing and Taipei worked together to design the drill, which was hosted by the mainland, the China Post reports. In total, 33 vessels, four helicopters and around 550 personnel were mobilized for the simulation which involved the rescue of passengers after a ferry collided with a cargo ship. During the drill the cross-Strait notification system and emergency contingency mechanisms were also tested. “Both sides will conduct [a] maritime search and rescue drill every two years and pool resources for humanitarian rescue missions to ensure the safety of vessels, people and the environment,” said the CGA.
August 13:
In an operation against suspected Uighur separatists in Hotan, Xinjiang on August 1, public security officers used hand grenades to clear a civilian residence, killing nine, including two children. According to official reports, locals found traces of the suspects in a maize field in Moyu County and officers drove them to the residence. Security services paid 30,000 local residents between 200 to 20,000 yuan for “participating” in the capture of the suspects for a total cost of over 10 million yuan for the single operation, the Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reports.
August 20:
Five Tibetans have died in police custody in Ganzi, Sichuan, the New York Timesreports. The men were detained following last week’s protest in which the police fired on an unarmed crowd that had gathered to demand the release a respected leader. One of the detainees, Lo Palsang, killed himself in detention and an unidentified 22-year-old Tibetan youth succumbed to gun shot wounds. Later, three more injured villagers who had been detained but denied medical care died of their wounds, Radio Free Asia reports.
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