Global Voices

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The world is talking, are you listening?

China Digital Times highlighted some discussion on gender gap in China. Even though the overall percentage of workingwomen is not very low, as a result of urbanization, employment rate for working-age women in urban areas fell to a new low of 60.8 percent in 2010, down from 77.4 percent 20 years earlier.

David Bandurski from China Media Project explained the idea of “online social management”, a set of tactics to increase the capacity for channeling online public opinion, put forward by Fu Siming, a professor at the Central Party School.

Hong Wrong rounded up Hong Kong citizens’ responses to the city's security chief's comment on the soaring of rape cases. The police head, Lai Tung-Kwok, told women to cut down on drinking in a press conference.

Off Beat China translated Chinese netizens’ reaction to Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy. Comments are mixed, some find the act courageous, some say it is over-reaction.

Yueran Zhang from Tea Leaf Nation reviews the Chinese petition system and discusses directions for future reform:

Ongoing reforms should include the enhancement of the institutional powers of bureaus of letters and visits. On the other hand, the citizens flooding the petitioning offices, which are considered a last resort, reveal the ineffectiveness of other channels for hearing complaints and grievances. Enhancement and clarification of the roles of the People’s Congress, NGOs, the arbitration system and the judiciary branch could lessen the burden on the petitioning system.

High Peaks Pure Earth has published Elliot Sperling's translation of prominent Tibetan writer, Woser's recent blogpost urging the world to save Lhasa from being turned into another tourist shopping mall.

Patrick Lozada and James Griffiths from Shanghaiist explained on the findings of a report that found that around 50 percent of Chinese men admit to sexually assaulting their partners:

In publishing our original post, and this follow up, we are not seeking to demonise Chinese men [...] Domestic violence is a serious issue in China, but one that the government has long dragged its heals on and shown little inclination to deal with.

Two confidential Hong Kong Government memorandums has been leaked. The documents would take effect from 1 June 2013 and require

an assessment on Mainland reaction and related public relations measures will become a mandatory requirement for all policy committee papers and Executive Council submission.

Bad Canto believes that “Hong Kong is finished” if such documents come to effect.

The current Chinese Communist Party leaders are the second generation red and the third and the fourth generations are emerging in the political scene. The political system in China is more and more like a hereditary monarchy, said Chinese netizens. Off Beat China summarized the discussion.