Today's Links: Paralympics, Disneyland and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

• Paralympics - changing attitudes in China [Radio Netherlands]
  "It's money well spent, but China's own 83 million disabled people no doubt find it more important not to be discriminated against any more by the rest of society, or to be stared at as if they were circus freaks."
• Woman who stripped during Paralympic opening mentally ill [AFP]
  "A woman who burst into the Beijing Paralympics opening ceremony and tried to remove her clothes was mentally ill, organizers said on Sunday."
• HK Disneyland lures Chinese [AFP]
  "Hong Kong Disneyland will celebrate its birthday on Friday after three difficult years, as its new managing director juggles a grab for Chinese visitors with a battle over how to fund expansion."
• Chinese don't wait for Apple launch to get iPhone [AFP]
  "In scenes reminiscent of a generation ago, Chinese are tapping friends and relatives travelling abroad to bring back electronic devices that are unavailable in China."
• Flood in China coal mine traps 23 people [AP]
  "The flood swamped the mine in Yuzhou city of Henan province early Sunday morning, trapping 23 people, the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety said in a statement on its Web site. It did not explain what caused the flood."
• China to launch space mission in late September [AP]
  "The Shenzhou 7 launch is to take place between Sept. 25 and 30, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Saturday.The spacecraft will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu province, the agency said, citing a spokesman from the center."
• Iran seeks to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization [Tehran Times]
  "President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on Saturday expressed Iran’s interest to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization."
• AIDS rampant among Beijing gays [Xinhua]
  "Up to 5 percent of homosexuals in the city were infected, compared with 0.5 percent of women sex workers, said He Xiong, the Beijing Centers of Diseases Control and Prevention deputy director."

Photo from Tom Spender.