Red Carpet for Delegates, Activists Get Harassment (December 13, 2005)
As the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Sixth Ministerial conference gets underway, Hong Kong officials are condoning a police crackdown on economic justice activists in the city. One Hong Kong official justified the crackdown, noting that for the first time at a WTO conference, NGOs are participating directly in the talks. The NGOs in question, however, are limited to a handful of "more established think tanks." (Inter Press Service)
A Preview of the WTO Talks in Hong Kong (December 13, 2005)
Like in other years, the media is overdramatizing the nature of the WTO protests, writes Joshua Holland of AlterNet. As reports from the WTO meeting in Seattle show, "less than one per cent" of protestors behave violently. By focusing so disproportionately on protest violence, the media ignores the real issues at stake at the close of the Doha Round of trade negotiations.
Hong Kong on High Alert as Thousands of Protesters Fly In (December 12, 2005)
Hong Kong beefed up security in anticipation of protests at the December 2005 WTO meeting. Influenced by media focus on "anarchists" at previous WTO meetings, Hong Kong is also asking hotels to "blacklist" known protestors, raising the ire of free speech campaigners. (Guardian)
