Roundup - 07/12/2009

• Delegations from around the world are meeting in Copenhagen for the climate summit this week. The Chinese media largely avoids discussing the treats that China faces from climate change. Reports are also consistent with their negotiating position that it is largely up to the West to deal with the problems they have caused. In cloned articles in the People's Daily and China Daily the US is criticised for announcing its emissions cuts too late, Japan for not stating how its cuts would be achieved, Russia for announcing cuts that were not actually cuts at all, and Canada for announcing what amounted to only a 2% cut on 1990 levels. Meanwhile Brazil, India, and, of course, China are praised for their independent actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  The Chinese press is also boosting China's green image by announcing China's first electric-only powered vehicle and publishing articles on a 'Green Bank' project in Guizhou which aims to turn environmental assets into a source of profit for the local community.
  
  Meanwhile, in Copenhagen, Minister for Science and Technology Wan Gang has stated in an interview that China's carbon emissions will peak at some time between 2030 and 2040.
  
  
  
• The opposition Democratic Progressive Party has gained ground in local elections in Taiwan. There are now fears in the Nationalist Party that current President Ma Yingjiu, if current voting trends continue, will have difficulty winning reelection in 2012. While a slow reaction to Typhoon Morakot and the economic slump were major issues, President Ma's relationship with the mainland is believed to have been the biggest factor. The president has tried to forge closer economic ties with the People's Republic and to reduced military tensions. However, with fewer and fewer Taiwanese having any direct link to the mainland, the pro-independence DPP is winning popular support.
  
  
  
• Key Chinese leaders have stated at the Central Economic Work Conference that China will continue its current economic policies until the end of the current 11^th five-year plan in 2010. The policies, designed to counteract the global recession, will remain in place while experts monitor China's recovering exports, industrial output, and domestic consumer demand. Leaders expressed hope that these policies would allow for a solid economic basis to begin the 12^th five-year plan.
  
  
  
• Zheng Dajing, a Chinese activist who has spoken out against China's black jails, was detained on Friday. He and several other activists were held after planning protests to mark China's 'Legal Publicity Day.' Zheng, speaking to The Associated Press on Saturday through locked metal door in an alleyway in Beijing said he did not know when he would be able to leave. China has often denied the existence of a system of illegal jails meant to discourage petitioners from coming to Beijing. However, last month, the state-run Outlook magazine run a feature on the prison system detailing 73 prisons.
  
  
  
• Chinese regulators have announced that they have shut down hundreds of video-sharing sights in a new drive to control online content. 414 sites including the popular BTChina and Uubird sites have been ordered to close or to stop showing audio and video content.
  
  Meanwhile, a new reward scheme for reporting pornography has led to a surge in calls to the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre. The rewards range from 1000 to 10,000 RMB and will be decided by a special committee.