Radio Free Asia 12/1/2005

Chinese Court Jails Uyghur Editor for Publishing Veiled Dissent
WASHINGTON—Chinese authorities have jailed the chief editor of the Kashgar Literature Journal for publishing a fable they regard as a veiled indictment of China’s heavy-handed rule in the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Radio Free Asia (RFA) has learned. The author of the story is already serving a 10-year jail term for inciting separatism.

Nepal Police Arrest 18 Tibetan Migrants
Police in Nepal are holding 18 Tibetans who crossed the border from China without legal documents in a local jail because they lack the money to pay fines levied for illegal immigration, RFA's Tibetan service has learned from sources in Kathmandu.

Tibetan Monks Arrested, Monastery Closed Amid Protests
Chinese authorities in Tibet arrest five monks and close their monastery amid rare protests against an intensified campaign to crack down on followers of the Dalai Lama.

North Korean Director Plans Prison-Camp Stage Musical
A North Korean movie director who defected to the South scrambles to finance a stage musical set against the inhuman backdrop of a Stalinist-style gulag. "I desperately want to bring the musical to other countries, especially the United States, to awaken those people who ignore the human rights situation,”he says.

Laos Is Now a Major Transit Point for North Korean Defectors
North Koreans fleeing hunger and political oppression in their homeland are increasingly making the risky journey through China to Laos, in the hope of entering Thailand and seeking political asylum, RFA’s Korean service has learned.

Single Happiness: Marriage Takes a Back Seat in China
HONG KONG—Over the years, they have invented numerous enduring symbols of marital bliss, such as the Mandarin duck and the “double happiness” icon. But China’s younger generations now seem to be falling out of love with marriage.