Human rights conference canceled

China has canceled a three-day international human rights and democracy conference that was to take place today, out of concern the timing was too close to the June 4 anniversary of Beijing's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations, according to Bruce Gilley, who was asked to speak at the event, Reuters reported. Beijing provided no reason for the cancellation, only saying it would "await news of future plans from its faculty team in China."