Roundup - 02/12/2009

• China's official death toll from the A(H1N1) virus has tripled after the government ordered more accurate counting amid suspicions of a cover up. The figure jumped from 53 to 178 at the weekend.
  
  No official reason was given for the rise. Last month Zhong Nanshan, who helped to reveal the true extent of the SARS outbreak, wrote that he believed that some officials were under-reporting figures in order to convince their superiors that they had the situation under control. On November 19^th the Ministry of Health ordered more transparent reporting.
  
  Meanwhile, four have died after being vaccinated for A(H1N1). Of 26.18 million people vaccinated 2,867 had adverse reactions.
  
  
  
• An officially sponsored gay bar in Dali has had to delay its opening due to lack of customers. The bar was supposed to help break the taboo on homosexuality and to provide a location for education on AIDS and safe sex. However, it appears that Dali's homosexuals are shunning the limelight and sticking to the hang-outs where they feel safe. Health Minister Chen Zhu recently claimed that homosexual transmission of AIDS was now a major factor in the spread of the disease.
  
  Gao Yaojie, a respected campaigner on AIDS, has hinted that she may not return to China at the end of her current visit to the USA.
  
  
  
• Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is beginning a five day visit to China. The visit comes amid a thawing of relations. Canada's stance on China's human rights record, high tariffs on Chinese steel imports and Stephen Harpers audience with the Dalai Lama had led to tensions. However, the recession has force Canada to find new countries to invest in to end a reliance on the American markets. Stephen Harper called this his 'most important foreign visit.'
  
  
  
• Cross-strait talks between the People's Republic and the Republic on Taiwan will be held in mid or late December. The Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Assiciation will meet in Taizhong, Taiwan.
  
  
  
• An official in Guangdong has admitted to taking 650,000 RMB in bribes. Shen Zhiqiang, a former head of the salt administration, claimed that he was blackmailed into taking the bribes by his mistress. Shen's lawyer claims that the mistress was also the mistress of the briber.
  
  Six other officials are also to be tried for their involvement.