Roundup - 30/11/2009

• The 12^th EU-China Summit has been held in Nanjing, Jiangsu today. Premier Wen Jiabao set the tone of the meeting by condemning countries which wanted the Renminbi to fluctuate more freely. He argues that they merely wanted to curb China's growth and that a stable Yuan was important, not only for China's growth, but also for global recovery from the current economic crisis.
  
  China aslo succeeded in securing a number of deals including further sharing of technology and 57 million Euros of investment for a near-zero emissions coal power plant.
  
  China aims to achieve its recently announced carbon intensity cuts largely through investing in new technologies. Green technologies are a growth area in China, particularly in Jiangsu where, according to Xinhua, the production value of green industries grew 60% last year.
  
  
  
• China hosted officials from India, Brazil, South Africa and Sudan, current chair of the G77 over the weekend. The officials created a draft document on climate change to help present a united front during the climate summit in Copenhagen. The statement declares that the Kyoto Protocol should remain in place. This would ensure that the burden of tackling climate change remains firmly on the West. Zhou Shijian, from Qinghua University, has characterised the summit as being 'for the West to compete for dominance, while for developing countries it is to fight for the right to development.'
  
  
  
• 48 officials and 10 journalists are facing charges of corruption after a State Council probe alleged they took bribes to cover up a coal mine disaster in Hebei. 34 miners and a rescuer died after an explosion at the Lijiawa mine in Yuxian County on July 14^th last year.
  
  According to the allegations mine bosses hid bodies, destroyed evidence and paid out 2.6 million RMB to keep to scandal hidden from public view for 85 days.
  
  
  
• A former judge has committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial. He was implicated during a crackdown on organised crime in the city of Chongqing. Wu Xiaoqing had been charged with accepting 3.5 million RMB in bribes and was unable to explain a further 5.2 million RMB in his possession. He was also charged with extorting money during land auctions, his mistress and 10 of his lawyers are also under investigation.
  
  The crackdown in Chongqing has led to the implication of nearly 200 officials including the former head of the judiciary and deputy chief justice of the high court. 1,500 alleged mafia members have also been detained including Xie Caiping, the 'Godmother of the Underworld,' who was sentenced to 18 years a month ago.
  
  
  
• The Chinese Ministry of Health is working with various government departments to drop the ban on foreigners entering the country with HIV/AIDS. Xinhua reports that Vice-Minister of Health Huang Jiefu hopes that the ban will be removed before the beginning of the Shanghai Expo 2010. December 1^st is World AIDS Day.
  

Roundup - 29/11/2009

• The first civil law suit dealing with the melamine milk scandal has come to court in Beijing. Ma Xuexin, from Henan, is suing for $8000 and for his son's medical expenses to be paid for by the state-run milk compensation fund.
  
  Mr Ma's 20-month old son developed kidney stones after being fed hundreds of packets of milk supplied by Sanlu, the now defunct company at the centre of the scandal.
  
  Families were offered a one time payout of between 2000 and 200000RMB if civil cases were not brought. Nevertheless several families have felt that the compensation is not adequate. So far six lawsuits have been accepted by Chinese courts.
  
  
  
• A cargo plane crash at take-off at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport on Saturday, killing three American crewmen. Four other crewmen, including an American, an Indonesian and a Zimbabwean are recovering in the intensive care unit of the People's Hospital in Pudong.
  
  The plane, registered with Avient Aviation in Zimbabwe, was bound for Kyrgyzstan. On attempting to take off at 8.10 am reports claim that the tail hit the runway and a fire started on board.
  
  
  
• Attempts to rescue 16 coal miners, trapped by flooding in north-east China, have been called off due to the danger of another cave-in. The flooding, at Zhonghe Coal Mine in Meihekou, Jilin, began at 1.55pm on Friday. Since then rescuers have been attempting to fill in part of the cave to prevent further water from entering. However, new crevices pointed to the likelihood of a new cave-in and work had to be halted.
  
  
  
• The China State Construction Engineering Corporation has declared that it has no business relations with Dubai World. Dubai World recently was forced to ask for more time to repay 60 billion US dollars of debt. Since then, share prices have dropped in companies believed to be exposed. The Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Bank of Communications all declared on Friday that they did not hold bonds issued by Dubai World.
  

Roundup - 27/11/2009

• China's announcement that it will cut its carbon intensity by 40-45% by 2020 is still making news. Opinion is still divided on the announcement. Some disappointed that they did not go further, others impressed that they went so far. While the Chinese media is predictably positive about the cuts, the rest of the worlds media is divided, the International Herald Tribune and the Independent (UK) for example hold a fairly positive view while the Guardian (UK) and Al Jazeera English are more cynical.
  
  China has attempted to bolster its claims by releasing a declaration of commitment by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee which is led by President Hu Jintao.
  
  Meanwhile Isabel Hilton writes an interesting article in the Guardian(UK) about China's attempts to secure patents for green technology. She suggests that while China's commitment to international climate change deals may lack enthusiasm it does understand that newer, greener technologies are necessary for both combating climate change and developing the Chinese economy.
  
  
• An accident at a coal mine in Guizhou has left nine dead and one missing. While most global media is reporting this as an explosion Xinhua and other Chinese media are reporting it as a gas leak. 162 people escaped of whom three are being treated for minor injuries.
  
  The accident follows the catastrophic blast last Saturday at a coal mine in Heilongjiang which killed 108 miners. China's coal industry is the most dangerous in the world. 1,175 lives were lost in the first six months of this year although this does represent a drop of 18.4% on the previous year.
  
  
• Chinese media is carrying reports on China's lunar mission. The Chang'e 2 lunar probe will be sent into orbit around the moon in October 2010 as part of China's plans to send a probe to the moon by 2013.
  
  Chang'e 1 was heralded as a national success story when it was launched in 2007, even being praised in song during the following new year celebrations.
  
  
• Two Child traffickers were executed yesterday morning. Hu Minghua, 55, and Su Binde, 27, were convicted of abducting and trafficking 15 children between them as well as of other charges including theft and posession of heroin.
  
  Child trafficking is a growing problem in China where a preference for boys over girls, restrictions on childbirth, a large number of unmarried men and a rise in organised crime all contribute to make children a lucrative commodity. The government has stepped up efforts to combat the trade in recent years. They claim to have rescued around 2,000 children this year and have set up a website so that parents can identify and claim their missing children. According to Xinhua 1,714 people were punished for abducting and trafficking children in the first ten months of this year.
  
  
• Andrew Jacobs at the International Herald Tribune reports on an article published in the state-run magazine Outlook (瞭望Liaowang) about China's secret prisons. The report details a system of 'black jails' used to deter petitioners from bringing their complaints to Beijing.
  
  The article claims that at peak times as many as 10,000 retrievers roam the capital searching for petitioners to place in one of 73 secret prisons. The article also points out that it is turning into a 'chain of gray industry' as the whole affair can be quite lucrative.
  
  Although the right to petition to central government is enshrined in the constitution, it reflects badly on the local governments that are being reported on. It is these local governments who run many of the prisons.
  
  A Human Rights Watch report recently prompted the Foreign Ministry to deny the existence of black jails in China. Due to the officially backed nature of Outlook, some hope that the publication of this article is a sign of changing opinions within China's leadership as to the validity of these prisons.
  
  
• 6 in 10 Taiwanese oppose the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China according to a poll by National Taiwan University. The trade treaty, supported by President Ma Yingjiu, is designed to improve trade and create jobs. However, popular feeling is running against China and this has been used by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party which claims that the agreement will reduce Taiwan to the status of a local government in future negotiations with China.
  

Will the Boat Sink the Water - Review

Much is talked about China's peasants in the time of reform but so little is based on actual research. This is particularly true when looking at peasant resistance to taxes and maltreatment by the state. Only a few books such as Ian Johnson's 'Wild Grass' and Kevin O'Brian and Li Lianjiang's 'Rightful Resistance' can truly claim to be based on first hand research. Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao's book 'A Survey of the Chinese Peasants (中国农民调查Zhongguo Nongmin Diaocha), translated into English and published under the title, 'Will the Boat Sink the Water? The Life of China's Peasants,' is a welcome insight into the subject.

The book is based on several years of research in Anhui province and tells the stories of various villages burdened by exploitative, and mostly illegal, taxes. The picture is grim, village after village is bankrupted by officials looking to make money or to increase their profile in the party hierarchy. Dissenters are arrested, tortured, murdered. The stories are simply but evocatively told and it is impossible not to sympathise with the peasants who were told that the revolution was in their name.

By the middle stages of the book little analysis has been provided and the repetition of endless narratives of suffering peasants begins to numb the soul. However at this point the authors begin to question the background of the stories. Why has China's bureaucracy grown so virulently? Is it just individual bad eggs who exploit peasants or is it more systemic? The book eventually heads towards a conclusion when one the heroes of the early stories turns villain and extorts his own exploitative taxes. The fact is that the funding given to townships is not even sufficient to cover the basic (and very modest) salaries of the top officials. In this climate there is no way for the bureacracy to fund itself without the exploitation of peasants. The only honest officials are supported by their families as most of their wages are spent on the administrative costs of running their offices. With the basic question of financing China's local rural government unanswered, the systematic exploitation of peasants cannot be halted.

The book provides a clear analysis of the current situation of China's peasants in a society which claims to have lifted millions from beneath the poverty barrier. It is a timely and important work which anyone interested in the truth about life in China behind the propaganda, both Chinese and Western, must read.

Roundup - 26/11/2009

• China has announced that it intends to cut its carbon intensity (carbon emissions per unit of GDP) by 40-45% by 2020 ahead of the climate summit in Copenhagen. While the Chinese media has hailed the announcement as further proof of China's commitment to secure a binding deal on climate change, many were disappointed by the announcement. The targets mean that, due to China's rapid economic growth, carbon emissions would grow significantly over the next decade before leveling off. This is certainly a far lower target than President Obama's aim to cut overall emissions by almost 20% by 2020. Many hoped that China would make a bolder commitment and take a leading role in encouraging other developing countries to commit to carbon emission reductions.
  
  China also announced that Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the summit. This has drawn some criticism from those who hoped that President Hu Jintao would attend as he is in a more powerful position to make decisions in the later stages of the summit. However, some China-watchers have pointed out that, as Chairman of the Leading Small Group on Climate Change, Wen is the obvious choice and has considerable power to initiate policy decisions in the field. Some have commented that this may be a response to President Obama's decision to attend early in the summit instead of during the final decision-making stages.
  
  
  
• Xinhua reports that Beijing has criticised the USA's imposition of anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese-made oil pipes. The USA imposed the tariffs in response to allegations that China is unfairly subsidising the producers. The oil pipes are already subject to a 99% anti-dumping tarrif imposed earlier this month.
  
  
  
• China has aired it's first 'Made in China' advert on CNN. It is part of a global campaign to associate the 'Made in China' label with French fashion, European deasign and American technology. It's tagline is 'Made in China. Made with the World.'
  
  
  
• 8 cases of mutated H1N1 virus have been found in mainland China. Officials say that the new strain is not resistant to current treatments.
  
  
  

Roundup - 25/11/2009

• The Chinese press is reporting a statement by Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun that greater flexibility may be introduced in the Renminbi's exchange rate. China has already made the exchange rate slightly more flexible after the recession and the People's Bank of China said it was in the process of reforming the exchange rate system a month ago but there is still strong international pressure for further reform.
  
  The statement is in part aimed at the European Union. The 12^th China-EU Summit is due to be held in Nanjing next week and exchange rate reform is expected to be the central issue alongside trade and climate-change. EU Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, Luxembourg Prime Minister Lean-Claude Juncker and Joaquin Almunia, EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs will hold talks on the issue with Premier Wen Jiabao and central bank officials the day before the summit.
  

• 'Fog' has delayed at least 280 flights in and out of Beijing today. The 'fog,' often a term used instead of pollution, followed several days of hazardous pollution levels reported by the US embassy's Twittered air quality index.
  

• Xinhua reports a statement by Li Gao from the National Development and Reform Commission and a key negotiator at the upcoming Copenhagen summit. He says that China will make a 'constructive contribution and 'will not accept that it ends with an empty and so-called political declaration.' The statement follows US President Obama's attempts to dispel widespread pessimism surrounding the summit.
  

• The BBC reports that web browser Opera has closed a loophole allowing users in China to access government banned websites. Users were asked to upgrade to a Chinese version at the weekend to find that the new version does not allow access to sites such as Facebook. The BBC reports that Opera was not prepared to discuss the 'background for this decision.'
  

• Xinhua reports that three Chinese policemen have been jailed for torturing a student to death to extract a confession. Xu Gengrong was questioned over the death of a female student in Shaanxi and died on the 8^th of March shortly after 'suddenly falling ill.' The police, including a county-level police chief, were jailed for between 1 and 2 and a half years for charges including criminal abuse of power and using torture to extract a confession.
  

• The People's Daily carries an article on Hu Jintao's elaboration of his Theory of Profound Changes. Stating that the time we live in is full of 'opportunities and challenges' he highlights the importance of science and technology, newly-emerging industries and the knowledge economy for China's future. This seems to be a way of countering the current relationships of power; 'strong north and weak south, strong west and weak east.'
  
  He also points to the issue of global security and make a veiled comment on the US presence in Central Asia, 'certain hot issues can not get resolved for a long time.'
  
  
  

Yang Xianyi Obituary

Yang Xianyi, the acclaimed translator died in Beijing on Monday at the age of 95. He was most famous for his English translations of Chinese literature, notably Dream of Red Mansions and the works of Lu Xun. However, he was also the first to translate the Oddyssey into Chinese from the original Greek.
Born to a wealthy family in Tianjin, Yang Xianyi was lucky enough to study at Oxford University where he met his wife, the translator Gladys Yang (born Taylor).
He was also politically active, joining the underground after becoming appalled at the violence of Chiang Kai-shek's (Jiang Jieshi) regime. However, his strong support for Mao's new China did not stop him from becoming a victim of the Cultural Revolution, he was put in prison for four years. When arrested, he once recalled, his only thought was 'why didn't I change into proper shoes?' He was taken from his home still in his slippers.
After this cloud had cleared after the ascension of Deng Xiaoping he began a new project; a series of translations under the Panda label, modelled on Penguin.
After Hu Yaobang's forced retirement in 1987 and the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989 he became a harsh critic of the Chinese Communist Party's hardline faction. He lived abroad until 1994.
His autobiography, 'White Tiger,' was released in 2000.
In 1993 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hong Kong and earlier this year he received a lifetime achievement award from the Translators Association of China.
He is survived by his two daughters and four grandchildren.

Roundup - 24/11/2009

• All outlets are reporting on the executions of Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping over their involvement in the the tainted milk scandal that hit the news last year.
  
  Zhang Yujun was found guilty of endangering public safety for selling 770 tonnes of milk laced with melamine between July 2007 and August 2008. Geng Jinping was convicted of selling the milk to the now-bankrupt Sanlu Group.
  
  Six children died from drinking the milk and more than 300,000 were made ill.
  
  
  
• The jail sentence given to Huang Qi is also a widespread story outside of mainland China. Huang Qi gave advice to the families of five children who died in the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008. The family members wanted to bring a court case against the government over the shoddy construction of school buildings which contributed to the deaths of their children.
  
  Huang Qi was sentenced to three years in prison for illegally holding state secrets although no details were given about the charge.
  
  
  
  
• The Straits Times reports that China is backing its writers in a complaint against Google. They accuse Google of copying the work of Chinese writers without permission. Wang Ziqiang, a director-general of China's National Copyright Administration said, “I personally think Google is involved in copyright infringement, we support Chinese writers, the China Written Works Copyright Society and the Chinese Writers Association to defend their rights based on law and facts.”
  
  The copyright society claims at least 17,922 books by 570 Chinese authors have been added to Google Books.
  
  
  
• According to China Daily, Health Minister Chen Zhu announced that by the end of this year there will be an estimated 740,000 people living with HIV on the mainland. This seems out of sink with an number of external reports, notably one by the US National Intelligence Council which predicted that the number of HIV positive people in China could rise to 10 million by 2010.
  
  
  
• China is mourning the loss of esteemed translator Yang Xianyi. A brief obituary will be posted shortly.