Today's Links: Chavez sucks up, Cars hit the web, and China cracks down on wiley 75-year-olds

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  • Chavez says world 'center of gravity' now Beijing [AP] "The world's center of gravity has moved to Beijing, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told his Chinese counterpart Wednesday during a visit focused on boosting Chinese oil purchases. The frequent U.S. critic also praised China's response to the global financial meltdown that has sent prices of his South American nation's key export, oil, down sharply."
  • Auto Makers Flock to Web to Woo Chinese Buyers [WSJ] "Global auto makers think the Internet is the way into the hearts of a new generation of Chinese car enthusiasts. Both foreign and domestic auto makers here are pouring ad money into online ventures, even as their overall spending remains flat. Market-tracking firm iResearch expects outlays for online auto marketing to reach 1.75 billion yuan, or roughly $256 million, this year, up from 1.38 billion yuan in 2008."
  • Professor beaten ahead of Tiananmen anniversary [ABC] "The approaching 20th anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown has brought tensions to a head, with a 75-year-old, retired professor brutally beaten for trying to honour the memory of a Chinese leader who supported the students in 1989."
  • China executes 2 for deadly attack on police [AFP] "A Chinese court executed two men from a Muslim minority group Thursday for killing 17 police in an attack in China's far west that the government portrayed as an attempt to sabotage the Beijing Olympics. The executions in the Xinjiang region come a day after two Tibetans were sentenced to death for arson during riots in Lhasa last spring."
  • China cracks down ahead of sensitive anniversaries [CSM] An elderly retired professor is beaten black and blue by thugs, under the noses of the police, for stubbornly honoring the memory of an officially disgraced former leader. A well-known social commentator's website is shut down after posting articles moderately critical of arbitrary detentions. One of Beijing's biggest dailies has to remove from its website an editorial supporting citizen supervision of government - which government censors found unacceptable. This pattern of incidents over the past 10 days highlights a new wave of crackdowns that Chinese officials have launched to forestall any hint of unrest, as they brace for a string of politically sensitive anniversaries this year.
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By Elaine Chow in on April 9, 2009 9:00 PM Comments 5 Likes Likes

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