Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi were detained after organizing a small seaside gathering of activists to discuss human rights. Their lengthy sentences point to Beijing’s intolerance of dissent.
A con game that undercover police use to obtain confessions in Canada secures convictions, but opponents say it’s a breeding ground for false confessions.
The episode stirred anger not only for its shock factor, but also for the wider social problems it exemplified, and the government’s lack of transparency.
For Beijing, showing displeasure too openly carries risks, particularly of harming the chances for its preferred party in Taiwan’s coming presidential election.