On Aug. 17, authorities sentenced Wu Dianyuan, 79, and her neighbor Wang Xiuying, 77, to a year of re-education through labor for "disturbing the public order." The sentence provoked widespread international criticism.

The order followed the pair's repeated attempts to apply for permission to hold a protest against being forced from their homes at one of three areas designated by the government during the Beijing Olympics.


Filial piety is also dead, I see. For some reason, it reminds me of that case in Nevada with the Sioux women, who were charged with fraud when they couldn't read English and refused to vacate what they considered their home after the lease was expired, as they couldn't read the contract to know that the property was leased.

Reeducating your local grandmother is probably still worse, on the other hand. I wonder how many people wound up creasing their eyebrows upon hearing about this; everyone relocated from that 'burb, for a start? (There's a deep-seated wrong in this--call it cultural, but no matter how much I differ with my grandmother on things, I wouldn't wish her jail time. Dear me, what wicked, kitten drowning ways these two women have! Ought we to protect the populace and order and send these biddies away to a labor camp?

Thankfully, even the Chinese government considered that one a stretch. It's only surprising because of the ecumenical aspect of China's oligarchy and its propaganda. Especially insofar as the games are concerned; best face it hasn't been, but grandmothers is a bit pushing it. Even for China. It does kind of go against the grain, although for slogans, 'No Mercy: Not Even for Grandmothers' is pretty effective.)

...Tomorrow's going to be interesting. Right now I'm just hoping everything will turn out.