Renewed call for 'Jasmine rallies' in China

An online campaign has urged people in 13 Chinese cities to rally every Sunday to press for government transparency and free expression, following a call last week for Middle East-style protests. The new call, posted this week on the overseas-based website Boxun.com, appeared to be from the same group behind a mysterious web campaign for protests last Sunday echoing those rocking the Arab world. That earlier call to action sparked a heavy police turnout at designated protest sites in Beijing and other cities. They appeared lightly attended, however, and free of major incident. "What we need to do now is to put pressure on the Chinese ruling (Communist) party," said the renewed appeal. "If the party does not conscientiously fight corruption and accept the supervision of the people, then will it please exit the stage of history." Apparently attempting to make a statement without falling foul of China's security forces, participants were urged not to take any overt action but encouraged to merely show up for the 2:00 pm "strolling" protests. "We invite every participant to stroll, watch, or even just pretend to pass by. As long as you are present, the authoritarian government will be shaking with fear," it said. China's government has indicated growing unease over the wave of Middle East unrest, heavily censoring or blocking media reports and online discussion of the upheaval, which has toppled presidents in Tunisia and Egypt. The call for weekly "Jasmine rallies" -- a reference to Tunisia's "Jasmine revolution" -- was labelled as an "open letter" to China's rubber-stamp parliament. The National People's Congress opens its annual session March 5. The online appeal appeared to set the stage for a protracted but low-pressure bid to push China's ruling Communist Party for change, using the heavily policed Internet and word-of-mouth to get the message out. The letter echoed a number of the Arab grievances, including anger over government corruption, a lack of transparency and official accountability, and the stifling of freedom of expression. "If the government is not sincere about solving the problems, but only wants to censor the Internet and block information to suppress the protests, the protests will only get stronger," it said. Police turned out in force at the gathering site in central Beijing on Sunday, but there were no overt demonstrations. At least two people were seen being taken away by police, one for cursing at authorities and another who shouted: "I want food to eat!" No mention of the new protest call could immediately be seen circulating on China-based websites or blogs. Other cities covered under the new call range from Harbin in the far northeast to Guangzhou in the south. Chinese authorities have so far detained two people for spreading the earlier protest appeal on the Internet, while another was in custody after making public statements at a demonstration site in Harbin, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said. Human rights campaigners say police have taken away at least 100 activists or rights lawyers amid official unease after the Middle East problems and as authorities tighten security for the parliament session. US-based Human Rights Watch on Tuesday criticised the crackdown and in particular the disappearance of three noted Beijing-based rights lawyers -- Teng Biao, Tang Jitian, and Jiang Tianyong. "The authorities have failed to give any reason or formal notification to their relatives, and all three are believed to be at risk of ill-treatment and torture," it said in a statement.