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Words in the News
Activists go on trial in China
28 October 2013
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The trial has begun in China of three activists who were campaigning for government
officials to reveal how wealthy they are. The case is being watched closely as a sign
President Xi Jinping's administration appears to be more rigorous than his predecessor
against political activists. The BBC's Damian Grammaticas reports:
Lines of police blocked roads in the grimy eastern city of Xinyu as the three activists
were brought to court. Liu Ping, Wei Zhongping and Li Sihua were unknown outside their
hometown before now.
But their trial is being seen as highly significant. Their crime: to gather a dozen, mostly
elderly, people in the courtyard of their apartment block last April, and unfurl a banner,
calling on President Xi Jinping to make Chinese officials publicly disclose their wealth.
They re charged with illegal assembly.
Since he took over the leadership of the Communist Party a year ago, President Xi's
government has launched its own anti-corruption drive. But Mr Xi has also overseen the
broadest crackdown China has seen in recent years. Dozens of campaigners and
lawyers have been detained, many linked to a loose group called the New Citizens'
Movement that's been calling for greater civil and political rights for ordinary Chinese.
President Xi appears to be taking a tougher line even than his predecessors on any
who publicly challenge the authority of the Communist Party.
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
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bbclearningenglish.com
Vocabulary and definitions
grimy dirty
unfurl unroll, spread out
disclose reveal
illegal assembly the organisation of a meeting without official
permisson
drive initiative
overseen supervised
crackdown suppression
taking a tougher line being stricter
Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2013/10/131028_witn_china_trial.shtml
Related story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-24700026
Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
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bbclearningenglish.com