Today on the net: China pays tribute to Nelson Mandela; activists challenge Russia’s anti-gay laws ahead of the Sochi Olympics; and copies of some ancient bibles and rare biblical texts are now available online.
China: Mandela hailed by officials and dissidents alike
China, along with the rest of the world has been reacting to the death of Nelson Mandela and paying tribute to the former South African leader. President Xi Jinping remembered his decade’s long struggle against apartheid, and state media has urged Chinese web users to pay homage to an “old friend” to China.
He has always been held up as an icon the Beijing authorities but he’s also been an inspiration to critics of the Communist regime who have been raising the issue of China’s human rights record. Lawyer Zhu Dingyi for example says China needs a figure like Nelson Mandela to lead China in its progress towards rule of law.
Cartoonist Jicama has expressed a similar sentiment saying “China’s Madiba” wouldn’t be fighting segregation by race, but segregation by privilege, and would need to fight for the rights enjoyed only by the privileged class; communist party officials, and their entourage.
Others like web user Jimmy Ji say that China already has its Nelson Mandela, but he is still behind bars. They are referring to Noble Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 after calling for democratic reforms and greater freedoms in China.
And some are saying China needs its own Frederik de Klerk, the last white president of South Africa under whom Mandela was released from prison in 1990: together they went on to negotiate the end of apartheid.
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