Wan Fang

In a city in southern China, workers are being left unpaid as the owners of shoe manufacturing companies are disappearing.

As top Chinese leaders gather for the 4th Plenary in Beijing, tens of thousands of petitioners traveled to Beijing to air their grievances.

Security in Beijing is on alert. Special forces and armed police are patrolling the streets, and street vendors have been recruited to spy on their fellow citizens.

Chinese petitioners are risking the black jails to demand the Ministry of Finance publicize where 10 years of missing relief funds are.

The Chinese activist Hu Jia suspects that the authorities may be preparing to sentence him to jail.

At a forced demolition in southern China’s Fujian Province a deputy mayor used police and thugs to beat villagers mercilessly. One villager lost an eye, another was crippled for life, others were beaten senseless.

Twelve workers remain in custody since Aug. 19 for staging a protest; lawyer says it shows abuse of power by authorities is on the increase.

Thugs hired by a mining company in China fight villagers protesting damage to their health and environment due to toxic waste runoff.

During Bo Xilai’s trial, police and security forces are stepping up efforts to detain and hinder activists and petitioners while pressuring the general public to avoid discussing the case.