Tags:
Journalism of Courage
TORONTO: The separatist Party Quebecois led by Premier Lucien Bouchard was returned to power on Tuesday in the French-speaking Quebec provincial assembly election. The ruling party won 77 seats in the 125-member assembly, while the pro-Canadian Liberals led by Jean Charest bagged 46 seats, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said. Election to the Quebec assembly was held on Monday.
BEIJING: Six Chinese dissidents, including two high profile opponents of the state, have been detained in a police crackdown on the fledgling China Democracy Party, sources said on Tuesday. Police detained Xu Wenli in Beijing and Qin Yongmin in Wuhan, central China, late Monday, the Hong Kong-based Information Centre on Human Rights and the Democratic Movement in China said in a statement. The two veterans of China8217;s dissident movement have been singled out by police for their repeated demands to have the China Democracy Party legally recognised by local authorities since its launch last July. Xu Wenli8217;s wife saidon Monday her husband had not yet been released and she expected he would be held longer than previous detentions. 8220;Police specified that Xu was being detained8217; and not just questioned,8221; He Xintong said. 8220;They told him that he was a quot;suspectquot; but did not specify a crime8221;. Under Chinese law, suspects may be detained for 30 days before being charged with any crime.
