- China's chief negotiator at the Copenhagen summit has condemned the US, EU and Japanese commitments to cuts in emissions. Su Wei said that the US target was 'not notable,' the EU target 'not enough,' and that the Japanese had 'actually made no commitment because they have set an impossible precondition.'
The comments, made at a news conference on the sidelines of the summit, come as hopes for a climate deal are being dampened by a north-south rift. While developed countries are trying to get developing countries to shoulder more of the burden of combating climate change, developing countries favour an extension of the Kyoto Protocol which would protect their economic growth and place more responsibility on the West to cut emissions.
The conflict was further exacerbated by the leak yesterday of a draft Danish proposal for an agreement which would abandon Kyoto, sideline the US and force major emissions cuts on the developing world. The Sudanese head of the G77, Lumumba Stanislas Dia Ping, noted that the global south would only compensated with $10 billion. Divided among the worlds population he pointed out that this was not enough to cover the price of a coffee in the West or the price of a coffin in the developing world.
Liu Xiabo's lawyer has said that police have formally recommended that he be charged with inciting subversion. Mr Liu spent time in prison after the Tiananmen Square protests and has been detained since 2008 for his participation in Charter '08. His wife says that if the charges a re brought they will try to give him a sentence of '10 years or more.'
- Police in Xinjiang have arrested 94 people for their association with riots in Urumqi in July. The arrests come as part of what Xinhua calls a 'strike hard' campaign which has seen 382 people arrested. Official figures say that 197 people, mostly Han Chinese, lost their lives in riots that flared after news of the murder of an ethnic Uighur in south China. However, many suspect that Uighur deaths from the later counter-riot are underrepresented in this figure. So far nine people have been executed and eight others sentenced to death for their involvement.
- The death-toll from A/H1N1 has jumped again to 325, with 125 deaths coming in the last week. The number of confirmed cases is now approaching 10,000 a week. However, this represents a slightly smaller percentage of the total number of cases of flu as mother strains gain ground in the deepening winter.
According to statistics, 80% of A/H1N1 flu deaths in China are pregnant women, most of whom have been pregnant for over six months. Pregnant women are being urged to take Tamiflu as early as possible.
- A court in Chongqing has sentenced the leader of a criminal gang to 20 years. Ran Guanggao was convicted of running the gang while seven other were jailed for terms ranging from two to 12 years. The gang used force to expel two rival gangs from Baima township in Wulong county before setting up underground casinos in local tea houses and becoming loan sharks. The sentences come amid a huge crackdown on organised crime in Chongqing which has led to the arrests of 700 people and exposed extensive links between organised crime, the police and the judiciary.
- 16 renal patients have contracted Hepatitis C after receiving dialysis at a clinic in Huoshan County, Anhui. Authorities were first notified about the infections in November and 25 patients tested positive to Hepatitis C, however, the clinic says that 9 of these had the disease before undergoing dialysis. Chu Chenqiang, one of the victims, has said that the authorities should provide free checks for his family.
- Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev has been visiting Beijing. He held talks with President Hu Jintao and State Councilor Dai Bingguo where he discussed the nuclear issues in Iran and North Korea, UN reform, the future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and climate change.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Roundup - 09/12/2009
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