Free Media Online » NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog Supporting free media worldwide Sun, 13 May 2012 20:54:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Who really speaks for China? Wei Jingsheng, Yu Jie, Fang Lizhi, Chen Guangcheng… http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/05/13/who-really-speaks-for-china-wei-jingsheng-yu-jie-fang-lizhi-chen-guangcheng%e2%80%a6/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/05/13/who-really-speaks-for-china-wei-jingsheng-yu-jie-fang-lizhi-chen-guangcheng%e2%80%a6/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 20:50:03 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=16486 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): When dissident lawyer Chen Guang­cheng escaped ­extra-legal house arrest to make his way to the U.S. Embassy, he became “an instant hero” on the Chinese Internet, writes Perry Link, co-editor of The Tiananmen Papers : How had he escaped

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Who really speaks for China? Wei Jingsheng, Yu Jie, Fang Lizhi, Chen Guangcheng…

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/05/13/who-really-speaks-for-china-wei-jingsheng-yu-jie-fang-lizhi-chen-guangcheng%e2%80%a6/feed/ 0 Guangcheng case highlights ‘clash of ideas’ in US-China relations http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/05/01/guangcheng-case-highlights-%e2%80%98clash-of-ideas%e2%80%99-in-us-china-relations/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/05/01/guangcheng-case-highlights-%e2%80%98clash-of-ideas%e2%80%99-in-us-china-relations/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 17:25:20 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=16147 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng’s audacious escape from detention is likely to have as big an impact on US-China relations as it is having on the ruling party’s internal ideological conflicts. “The fate of Chen Guangcheng is not one of those minor blips that will be brushed under the diplomatic carpet,” notes a leading analyst

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Guangcheng case highlights ‘clash of ideas’ in US-China relations

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/05/01/guangcheng-case-highlights-%e2%80%98clash-of-ideas%e2%80%99-in-us-china-relations/feed/ 0 Empowering independent media: U.S. efforts to foster a free press and an open Internet http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/04/19/empowering-independent-media-u-s-efforts-to-foster-a-free-press-and-an-open-internet/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/04/19/empowering-independent-media-u-s-efforts-to-foster-a-free-press-and-an-open-internet/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:49:28 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=15939 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Efforts to bolster independent media and an open Internet overseas are having significant impact, but face a lack of funding, growth in online censorship and surveillance, and rising attacks on journalists, according to a new report from the Center for International Media Assistance. The forthcoming 150-page report, Empowering Independent Media , provides a comprehensive survey of U.S. initiatives by public and private donors, nonprofit organizations, universities, and others that focus on media as a means to encourage democratization and economic development.

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Empowering independent media: U.S. efforts to foster a free press and an open Internet

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/04/19/empowering-independent-media-u-s-efforts-to-foster-a-free-press-and-an-open-internet/feed/ 0 ‘Fearful’ and ‘encircled’ – Putin is ‘no longer a tsar’ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/03/09/%e2%80%98fearful%e2%80%99-and-%e2%80%98encircled%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-putin-is-%e2%80%98no-longer-a-tsar%e2%80%99/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/03/09/%e2%80%98fearful%e2%80%99-and-%e2%80%98encircled%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-putin-is-%e2%80%98no-longer-a-tsar%e2%80%99/#comments Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:01:45 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=15139 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Historians and political scientists have long debated the respective importance of individuals and impersonal forces, agency and structure, volition and determinism in shaping world affairs. Democracy Lab’s Christian Caryl argues that, from Russia to Burma, personalities are more important than ever. It’s certainly true in the former, where Kremlin politics are taking on the characteristics of Vladimir Putin’s personal psychic foibles writ large

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‘Fearful’ and ‘encircled’ – Putin is ‘no longer a tsar’

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/03/09/%e2%80%98fearful%e2%80%99-and-%e2%80%98encircled%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-putin-is-%e2%80%98no-longer-a-tsar%e2%80%99/feed/ 0 Putin ‘on a collision course’ or ‘at a fork in the road’? – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/03/02/putin-%e2%80%98on-a-collision-course%e2%80%99-or-%e2%80%98at-a-fork-in-the-road%e2%80%99-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/03/02/putin-%e2%80%98on-a-collision-course%e2%80%99-or-%e2%80%98at-a-fork-in-the-road%e2%80%99-ned/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:36:19 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=14928 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): “The point of elections is that their outcome should be uncertain,” says The Economist.

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Putin ‘on a collision course’ or ‘at a fork in the road’?

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/03/02/putin-%e2%80%98on-a-collision-course%e2%80%99-or-%e2%80%98at-a-fork-in-the-road%e2%80%99-ned/feed/ 0 Xi Jinping – an unlikely Gorbachev? http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/17/xi-jinping-%e2%80%93-an-unlikely-gorbachev/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/17/xi-jinping-%e2%80%93-an-unlikely-gorbachev/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:00:19 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=14516 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): As China’s dauphin Xi Jinping met President Barack Obama at the White House today, a new survey revealed that 76 percent of young Americans view the Communist regime as an economic or military threat.

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Xi Jinping – an unlikely Gorbachev?

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/17/xi-jinping-%e2%80%93-an-unlikely-gorbachev/feed/ 0 New media scholar Nikolay Rudenskiy is author of ‘pro-Putin Bias in VOA’ study http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/11/new-media-scholar-nikolay-rudenskiy-is-author-of-%e2%80%98pro-putin-bias-in-voa%e2%80%99-study/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/11/new-media-scholar-nikolay-rudenskiy-is-author-of-%e2%80%98pro-putin-bias-in-voa%e2%80%99-study/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:01:49 +0000 BBGWatcher http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/11/new-media-scholar-nikolay-rudenskiy-is-author-of-%e2%80%98pro-putin-bias-in-voa%e2%80%99-study/ Sources told BBG Watch that an independent Russian journalist who warned about a “pro-Putin” bias of the Voice of America Russian Service is new media scholar Dr. Nikolay Rudenskiy. Dr. Rudenskiy was hired by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in 2011 to evaluate the VOA Russian website. In a report, which was not shared with BBG members, Dr. Rudenskiy concluded that the Russian Service had a “pro-Putin bias” and downplayed human rights reporting. He wrote in his report that “the site provides little if any unique information or bright and perceptive comment, it appears rather mediocre in terms of journalistic quality or design, and it lacks focus on the topics where it potentially could excel.” Dr. Rudenskiy’s main criticism, however, was directed at what he perceived as a bias in favor of the Kremlin. In his study, he gave several examples of VOA news reports based mostly on Russian official media that lacked an alternative American perspective. “Vice President’s [Biden] speech in Moscow University , in which he criticized Russia ‘s leadership on democracy and human rights, was clearly downplayed. The report on this event was titled ‘Joe Biden to Moscow Students: Future is Yours’; a headline as cheerful as meaningless, reminding of Soviet newspapers. What is worse, the report failed to mention that Biden spoke about the Khodorkovsky case as an example of Russia ‘s ‘legal nihilism’ – an important fact noted both in Russia and abroad. One might suspect that the omission was deliberate. If so, that could be regarded as a case of ‘pro-Russian’ (or, rather, pro-Putin) bias.” Dr. Rudenskiy was a Reagan-Fascell fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, which published the following biographical note about him: Nikolay Rudenskiy is the deputy editor of Grani.Ru (www.grani.ru), an independent online media outlet. Trained as an ethnographer, he is the author of about 40 scholarly publications and more than 100 journalistic commentaries focusing mostly on public issues in today’s Russia, including defending freedom of the press, exposing persecution of the regime’s opponents and other human rights violations, and combating racism and other forms of bigotry. During his fellowship, Rudenskiy plans to compare and contrast various approaches to the issue of hate speech in Russia and the United States. ‘Pro-Putin bias’ Evaluation of VOA Russian Website by Dr. Nikolay Rudenskiy.doc ‘Pro-Putin bias’ Evaluation of VOA Russian Website by Dr. Nikolay Rudenskiy.pdf BBG executives suppressed Dr. Rudenskiy’s study, as they had tried to suppress a similar study critical of Alhurra TV until they were forced by pressure from Congress to make it public. Dr. Rudenskiy’s study was identified by Ted Lipien, a former VOA acting associate director, in his op-ed “VOA Harms Putin Opposition in Russia” in The Washington Times. The article focused on a fake interview with a Russian anti-corruption lawyer and opposition leaders Alexei Navalny published by the VOA Russian website. The Russian Service removed the interview and apologized to Navalny who wrote in his Twitter account that “Voice of America has gone nuts” and that all…

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New media scholar Nikolay Rudenskiy is author of ‘pro-Putin Bias in VOA’ study

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/11/new-media-scholar-nikolay-rudenskiy-is-author-of-%e2%80%98pro-putin-bias-in-voa%e2%80%99-study/feed/ 0 Twitter and internet freedom: distinguish democracies from dictatorships http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/twitter-and-internet-freedom-distinguish-democracies-from-dictatorships/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/twitter-and-internet-freedom-distinguish-democracies-from-dictatorships/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:02:43 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13995 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Reports that Twitter is planning to ‘censor’ the content of certain tweets has caused alarm amongst pro-democracy bloggers and other cyberactivists. “If Twitter censors, I’ll stop tweeting,” China’s dissident artist Ai Weiwei tweeted in response to the news. But there is a world of difference between a democracy banning speech on “security” grounds and a dictatorship banning “security”-infringing speech by autocratic fiat, writes Richard Fontaine, a Senior Advisor at the Center for a New American Security.

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Twitter and internet freedom: distinguish democracies from dictatorships

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/twitter-and-internet-freedom-distinguish-democracies-from-dictatorships/feed/ 0 Russia and the West: why democracy threatens Putin http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/russia-and-the-west-why-democracy-threatens-putin/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/russia-and-the-west-why-democracy-threatens-putin/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:54:47 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13992 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): A new two-part BBC series on Russia’s democratic regression is essential viewing for anyone seeking to understand the origins and evolution of Putin’s authoritarianism.

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Russia and the West: why democracy threatens Putin

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/russia-and-the-west-why-democracy-threatens-putin/feed/ 0 ‘Paranoid’ Kremlin tries to curb opposition, as pro-democracy US envoy sworn in http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/%e2%80%98paranoid%e2%80%99-kremlin-tries-to-curb-opposition-as-pro-democracy-us-envoy-sworn-in/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/%e2%80%98paranoid%e2%80%99-kremlin-tries-to-curb-opposition-as-pro-democracy-us-envoy-sworn-in/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:00:05 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13644 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Russia’s revived and robust opposition plans to rally near the Kremlin next month, maintaining the momentum of protests against the electoral fraud and endemic corruption characteristic of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s “soft authoritarianism.” The news came as the new US envoy to Russia, known for his commitment to promoting democracy, was sworn in by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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‘Paranoid’ Kremlin tries to curb opposition, as pro-democracy US envoy sworn in

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/%e2%80%98paranoid%e2%80%99-kremlin-tries-to-curb-opposition-as-pro-democracy-us-envoy-sworn-in/feed/ 0 Soviet Fall, Arab Spring http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/soviet-fall-arab-spring/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/soviet-fall-arab-spring/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:59:20 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13645 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Does the experience of post-Soviet transitions bear lessons for the Arab Spring?

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Soviet Fall, Arab Spring

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/soviet-fall-arab-spring/feed/ 0 Havel’s moral leadership remains a beacon, Obama tells memorial tribute http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/havel%e2%80%99s-moral-leadership-remains-a-beacon-obama-tells-memorial-tribute/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/havel%e2%80%99s-moral-leadership-remains-a-beacon-obama-tells-memorial-tribute/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:46:20 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13565 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Václav Havel’s “peaceful resistance shook the foundations of an empire, exposed the emptiness of a repressive ideology, and proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon,” President Barack Obama said today, in a statement to a memorial meeting held at the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy. “Like millions of others, I was inspired by his words and leadership, and was humbled to stand with the Czech people in a free and vibrant Hradcany Square as President,” Obama said, noting that Havel “continues to serve as a beacon to all those still struggling for freedom in …

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Havel’s moral leadership remains a beacon, Obama tells memorial tribute

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/11/havel%e2%80%99s-moral-leadership-remains-a-beacon-obama-tells-memorial-tribute/feed/ 0 ‘No Enemies, No Hatred’ – just moral authority http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/02/%e2%80%98no-enemies-no-hatred%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-just-moral-authority/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/02/%e2%80%98no-enemies-no-hatred%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-just-moral-authority/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:58:50 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13456 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): A new collection of Liu Xiaobo’s writings demonstrates that the Chinese dissident has much in common with Vaclav Havel, writes Ellen Bork, “chiefly a faith in individuals and the impact they can have on a totalitarian system”: The title “No Enemies, No Hatred” is taken from the June 2, 1989, announcement by Mr. Liu and a few comrades of a hunger strike at Tiananmen Square

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‘No Enemies, No Hatred’ – just moral authority

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/02/%e2%80%98no-enemies-no-hatred%e2%80%99-%e2%80%93-just-moral-authority/feed/ 0 What Havel means to China’s dissidents – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/02/what-havel-means-to-china%e2%80%99s-dissidents/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/02/what-havel-means-to-china%e2%80%99s-dissidents/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:55:27 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13398 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Václav Havel spoke directly to Chinese dissidents, writes scholar and human rights activist Xiaorong Li. He knew intimately what a writer like Liu Xiaobo risks by criticizing a powerful authoritarian regime. I have tried to write something to commemorate our beloved friend Václav Havel since his passing last Sunday

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What Havel means to China’s dissidents

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/02/what-havel-means-to-china%e2%80%99s-dissidents/feed/ 0 Václav Havel – a Memorial Tribute – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/22/vaclav-havel-%e2%80%93-a-memorial-tribute-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/22/vaclav-havel-%e2%80%93-a-memorial-tribute-ned/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 01:02:39 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13375 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): The Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic, Washington, DC, and the Vaclav Havel Library, Prague, Czech Republic invites you to a Memorial Tribute honoring the life and work of Václav Havel on January 6, 2012, the 35th Anniversary of Charter 77, at 11:00 a.m. at the National Endowment for Democracy, 1025 F St. NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004

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Václav Havel – a Memorial Tribute

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/22/vaclav-havel-%e2%80%93-a-memorial-tribute-ned/feed/ 0 Putin’s ‘Ceausescu moment’? Maybe not, but …… – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/16/putin%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98ceausescu-moment%e2%80%99-maybe-not-but-%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/16/putin%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98ceausescu-moment%e2%80%99-maybe-not-but-%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:38:11 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13217 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Russian premier Vladimir Putin today disparaged his critics as pawns of the United States in his first public reaction to the growing protest movement, but the resignation of two leading Kremlin officials suggests that the regime has been rattled by the recent upsurge in protests. Putin hinted at token reforms to address corruption – even hinting that he may release former Yukos executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky – but took a largely uncompromising and notably nationalist tone during a marathon phone-in TV program

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Putin’s ‘Ceausescu moment’? Maybe not, but ……

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/16/putin%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98ceausescu-moment%e2%80%99-maybe-not-but-%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/feed/ 0 Re-run election, says Gorbachev; support Russia’s democrats, says bipartisan group – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/re-run-election-says-gorbachev-support-russia%e2%80%99s-democrats-says-bipartisan-group-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/re-run-election-says-gorbachev-support-russia%e2%80%99s-democrats-says-bipartisan-group-ned/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:21:33 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13085 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): The United States must speak and act in support of Russia’s pro-democracy forces, a bipartisan group insisted today. Passing the Sergei Magnitsky Act “would send a clear message to Russian Prime Minister Putin and his United Russia party that those guilty of human rights abuses will not be able to travel to the United States or protect their corrupt gains in our financial institutions,” said a statement from the Russia Working Group. “The Magnitsky case is one of the most emblematic examples of the breakdown of law in Russia.”

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Re-run election, says Gorbachev; support Russia’s democrats, says bipartisan group

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/re-run-election-says-gorbachev-support-russia%e2%80%99s-democrats-says-bipartisan-group-ned/feed/ 0 A year on from Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel: China still ‘under shadow of the future’ – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/a-year-on-from-liu-xiaobo%e2%80%99s-nobel-china-still-%e2%80%98under-shadow-of-the-future%e2%80%99-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/a-year-on-from-liu-xiaobo%e2%80%99s-nobel-china-still-%e2%80%98under-shadow-of-the-future%e2%80%99-ned/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:16:36 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13078 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): One year after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in absentia (above) to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo, Carl Gershman assesses China’s impact on global democratic trends, prospects for reform and the influence of the Nobel award on Chinese society and official policy. It is common knowledge that China exerts an anti-democratic influence in world politics.  Liu Xiaobo has said that China serves as “a blood transfusion machine” for smaller dictatorships in North Korea, Cuba and elsewhere.  In addition to providing economic and political support to such regimes, Beijing shares tactics bi-laterally with autocrats such as Lukashenko in Belarus, Mugabe in Zimbabwe, …

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A year on from Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel: China still ‘under shadow of the future’

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/a-year-on-from-liu-xiaobo%e2%80%99s-nobel-china-still-%e2%80%98under-shadow-of-the-future%e2%80%99-ned/feed/ 0 Liu Xiaobo – analytic calm, activist diligence – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/liu-xiaobo-%e2%80%93-analytic-calm-activist-diligence-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/liu-xiaobo-%e2%80%93-analytic-calm-activist-diligence-ned/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:13:30 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13119 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): China’s rulers are right to see imprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo as a subversive, writes Perry Link. They fully understand that his notion of democratization by peaceful, gradual means would be widely popular – if his ideas were allowed to circulate.             Liu Xiaobo is one of those unusual people who can look at human life from the broadest of perspectives and reason about it from first principles.

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Liu Xiaobo – analytic calm, activist diligence

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/liu-xiaobo-%e2%80%93-analytic-calm-activist-diligence-ned/feed/ 0 Can US show same ‘moral leadership’ as Liu Xiaobo? – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/can-us-show-same-%e2%80%98moral-leadership%e2%80%99-as-liu-xiaobo-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/can-us-show-same-%e2%80%98moral-leadership%e2%80%99-as-liu-xiaobo-ned/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:11:19 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13118 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): A year after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Liu Xiaobo still languishes in prison, while China’s government is trying to legalize secret detentions and disappearances, writes Xiaorong Li .

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Can US show same ‘moral leadership’ as Liu Xiaobo?

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/can-us-show-same-%e2%80%98moral-leadership%e2%80%99-as-liu-xiaobo-ned/feed/ 1 What Russia’s election was really about…….. – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/what-russia%e2%80%99s-election-was-really-about%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/what-russia%e2%80%99s-election-was-really-about%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6-ned/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:08:57 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=13117 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Russian premier Vladimir Putin today blamed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for fomenting political unrest following this week’s fraudulent elections. It’s no wonder he’s upset, The Economist notes: Russia’s elections are not intended to produce surprises, just as its streets are not meant to heave with protesters and its political leaders are not supposed to be publicly booed. The country’s ‘managed democracy’, with the media muzzled, only tame opposition candidates allowed and widespread vote-rigging, is designed to hand big victories to Vladimir Putin and his United Russia party.

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What Russia’s election was really about……..

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/12/09/what-russia%e2%80%99s-election-was-really-about%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6-ned/feed/ 0 Inherent limits to China’s soft power: Let 100 flowers bloom but ………… – NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/11/11/inherent-limits-to-china%e2%80%99s-soft-power-let-100-flowers-bloom-but-%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/11/11/inherent-limits-to-china%e2%80%99s-soft-power-let-100-flowers-bloom-but-%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:04:05 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=12607 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): U.S. President Barack Obama sets off on his Asia tour amid growing speculation about the Unites States’ ability to reassure its democratic allies in the region that it can effectively counter an increasingly assertive China.

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Inherent limits to China’s soft power: Let 100 flowers bloom but …………

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/11/11/inherent-limits-to-china%e2%80%99s-soft-power-let-100-flowers-bloom-but-%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/feed/ 0 China’s moral crisis: from Maoism to Daoism? — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/31/china%e2%80%99s-moral-crisis-from-maoism-to-daoism/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/31/china%e2%80%99s-moral-crisis-from-maoism-to-daoism/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:30:34 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=12410 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): By highlighting cultural reform at the end of its annual plenum last week, China’s ruling Communist Party both drew attention to the country’s moral crisis and demonstrated its own ideological bankruptcy. Citizens were shocked and shamed by the recent incident in which two-year old Yueyue was killed and then ignored by a stream of passers-by.

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China’s moral crisis: from Maoism to Daoism?

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/31/china%e2%80%99s-moral-crisis-from-maoism-to-daoism/feed/ 0 Why Russia’s democrats need West’s support — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/21/why-russia%e2%80%99s-democrats-need-west%e2%80%99s-support-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/21/why-russia%e2%80%99s-democrats-need-west%e2%80%99s-support-ned/#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:19:40 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=12215 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Konstantin Fetisov was badly beaten for his campaign against the construction of an $8 billion Moscow-St. Petersburg highway that will destroy large swathes of the Khimki forest. His recent meeting with Michael Posner and Thomas Melia from the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor illustrates why Russian democrats need Western support, writes Michael Bohm in The Moscow Times

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Why Russia’s democrats need West’s support

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/21/why-russia%e2%80%99s-democrats-need-west%e2%80%99s-support-ned/feed/ 0 US ‘must do more’ to promote Russian democracy — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/15/us-%e2%80%98must-do-more%e2%80%99-to-promote-russian-democracy-ned/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/15/us-%e2%80%98must-do-more%e2%80%99-to-promote-russian-democracy-ned/#comments Sun, 16 Oct 2011 02:39:20 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=12036 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): The Obama administration has pursued “a robust strategy for supporting democratic change and civil society development in Russia,” the National Security Council’s senior director for Russia will tell US Senators this afternoon (watch the hearing live here). “Yet the limited results regarding democratic development in Russia over the last several years suggest that we must do more,” according to Michael McFaul, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to Moscow.

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US ‘must do more’ to promote Russian democracy

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/15/us-%e2%80%98must-do-more%e2%80%99-to-promote-russian-democracy-ned/feed/ 0 ‘New battle for hearts and minds’ in former Soviet space? — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/08/%e2%80%98new-battle-for-hearts-and-minds%e2%80%99-in-former-soviet-space/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/08/%e2%80%98new-battle-for-hearts-and-minds%e2%80%99-in-former-soviet-space/#comments Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:26:55 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11967 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Are authoritarians winning the war of ideas in the former Soviet bloc?

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‘New battle for hearts and minds’ in former Soviet space?

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/08/%e2%80%98new-battle-for-hearts-and-minds%e2%80%99-in-former-soviet-space/feed/ 0 Putin’s return signals end of ‘managed democracy’ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/01/putin%e2%80%99s-return-signals-end-of-%e2%80%98managed-democracy%e2%80%99/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/01/putin%e2%80%99s-return-signals-end-of-%e2%80%98managed-democracy%e2%80%99/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2011 02:24:52 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11775 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency is a fatal blow to Russia’s managed democracy and to prospects for establishing a form of authoritarianism based on Chinese-style performance-based legitimacy. The verdict comes from both a leading architect of the system and from one of its most incisive observers

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Putin’s return signals end of ‘managed democracy’

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/10/01/putin%e2%80%99s-return-signals-end-of-%e2%80%98managed-democracy%e2%80%99/feed/ 0 Declinism redux? — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/declinism-redux/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/declinism-redux/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:14:18 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11743 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): We’ve heard about the new authoritarianism, the rise of the rest, the reputed appeal of the China model, and other challenges to the liberal democratic idea. But is it really the case that the world’s leading democracy “is in an advanced state of cultural decadence” and “has more in common with a failed state than a democracy.” Heard it all before, says Robert Lieber, a professor of government and international Affairs at Georgetown University

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Declinism redux?

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/declinism-redux/feed/ 0 Putin’s ‘ominous’ self-elevation could generate crisis of legitimacy and protest movement? — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/putin%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98ominous%e2%80%99-self-elevation-could-generate-crisis-of-legitimacy-and-protest-movement/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/putin%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98ominous%e2%80%99-self-elevation-could-generate-crisis-of-legitimacy-and-protest-movement/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:02:54 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11692 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Russia’s finance minister resigned today in protest at Vladimir Putin’s “job swap” with President Dmitri Medvedev, apparently confirming the prediction of one of the Kremlin’s former political technologists that the affair “will quickly turn into a political crisis” within the ruling elite. “In a nation with the tragic history of autocracy of Russia, it is a sad and ominous development,” says one observer. Putin’s assumption of power not only makes a mockery of the notion of Russian democracy, but could generate a “crisis of legitimacy” and growing protest movement, said Mikhail Dmitriev, president of the Centre for Strategic Research, a Moscow …

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Putin’s ‘ominous’ self-elevation could generate crisis of legitimacy and protest movement?

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/putin%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98ominous%e2%80%99-self-elevation-could-generate-crisis-of-legitimacy-and-protest-movement/feed/ 0 History repeats itself at Russia’s ruling party congress — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/history-repeats-itself-at-russia%e2%80%99s-ruling-party-congress/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/history-repeats-itself-at-russia%e2%80%99s-ruling-party-congress/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:59:57 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11672 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s self-elevation prompted a bizarre, if historically familiar incident at the current congress of the ruling United Russia party. The delegates are supposed to be drafting a manifesto for December’s parliamentary elections but, Time reports: ….after Putin announced his wish to return to the presidency and delivered a speech full of extravagant promises — that he would boost wages by around 50%, defeat corruption, double the rates of road construction, home construction and total economic growth, and “completely” rearm the navy and the army in the next five years — a party functionary named Oleg Morozov …

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History repeats itself at Russia’s ruling party congress

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/history-repeats-itself-at-russia%e2%80%99s-ruling-party-congress/feed/ 0 Uyghurs’ slight, elderly leader is no ‘existential threat’ to China — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/uyghurs%e2%80%99-slight-elderly-leader-is-no-%e2%80%98existential-threat%e2%80%99-to-china/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/uyghurs%e2%80%99-slight-elderly-leader-is-no-%e2%80%98existential-threat%e2%80%99-to-china/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:56:50 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11671 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): China’s communist authorities have exploited the West’s ignorance of Uyghurs’ history and culture to project their struggle for autonomy as a conflict with Islamist terrorists, says a leading dissident.   “If China had honored its 1955 commitment to the autonomy of the Uighur people, there would probably be no conflict,” writes Rebiya Kadeer (above), president of the World Uighur Congress and the author of Dragon Fighter: One Woman’s Epic Struggle for Peace with China: Rather than negotiate with us, China’s rulers prefer to label the Uyghurs as terrorists, with myself as their leader.

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Uyghurs’ slight, elderly leader is no ‘existential threat’ to China

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/uyghurs%e2%80%99-slight-elderly-leader-is-no-%e2%80%98existential-threat%e2%80%99-to-china/feed/ 0 China’s ‘dictator complex’ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/china%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98dictator-complex%e2%80%99/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/china%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98dictator-complex%e2%80%99/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:51:28 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11669 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Contrary to the conventional wisdom that China “is the world’s quintessential practitioner of realpolitik –[pursuing] its national interests without ideological biases,” the Communist authorities have an irrational “dictator complex,” writes Minxin Pei. China maintained its support for Slobodan Milosevic’s regime almost until the very end of his rule. In Africa, China stuck by Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, inviting him to visit Beijing even when he was an international pariah.  Of Latin American leaders, the mandarins in Beijing seem to have taken a particular liking to Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, a dictator in all but name.

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China’s ‘dictator complex’

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/28/china%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98dictator-complex%e2%80%99/feed/ 0 China’s protests ‘could crystallize into broader movement’ — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/25/china%e2%80%99s-protests-%e2%80%98could-crystallize-into-broader-movement%e2%80%99/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/25/china%e2%80%99s-protests-%e2%80%98could-crystallize-into-broader-movement%e2%80%99/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:03:06 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11504 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): “China’s leaders seem nervous,” writes a leading analyst. “Despite presiding over a rapidly growing economy and an ever-increasing presence in international affairs, they remain wary of the potential of a popular upsurge that would threaten their hold on power.” The Communist regime faces a spectrum of unrest, from growing labor militancy, ethnic conflicts, environmental protests by an increasingly assertive middle class – and “subversive” talent shows. “China’s version of Pop Idol, is to be dropped from television schedules in spite of attracting 400m viewers at its peak,” the Financial Times reports, “following government pressure on a programme that some officials ..

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China’s protests ‘could crystallize into broader movement’

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/25/china%e2%80%99s-protests-%e2%80%98could-crystallize-into-broader-movement%e2%80%99/feed/ 0 Confront autocrats’ challenge to Internet freedom — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/24/confront-autocrats%e2%80%99-challenge-to-internet-freedom/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/24/confront-autocrats%e2%80%99-challenge-to-internet-freedom/#comments Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:24:23 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11596 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Government, business, and civil society representatives will gather at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Nairobi, Kenya next week to discuss the future of the global digital space. The gathering takes place against the backdrop of growing restrictions by repressive regimes on online freedoms.

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Confront autocrats’ challenge to Internet freedom

]]> http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/24/confront-autocrats%e2%80%99-challenge-to-internet-freedom/feed/ 0 Released dissident vows to continue promoting democracy in China — NED http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/18/released-dissident-vows-to-continue-promoting-democracy-in-china/ http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2011/09/18/released-dissident-vows-to-continue-promoting-democracy-in-china/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 16:03:36 +0000 Free Media Online http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/?p=11404 National Endowment for Democracy LogoDemocracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): A prominent Chinese dissident will persist in his efforts to promote democracy and combat corruption despite being singled out for ill-treatment “beyond people’s imagination” during a five-year prison sentence. “I still assert that China should have orderly reform, and assert the way of democracy and the rule of law,” said Guo Feixiong (right), who also goes by the name of Yang Maodong. “My faith won’t change.” Guo was imprisoned on charges of “illegal business activity” that rights groups considered politically motivated

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Released dissident vows to continue promoting democracy in China

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