Roundup - 07/01/2010

• Cold weather is continuing to cause problems across much of China. Food prices are rising due to transportation issues and fears that the cold will damage crops, the price of vegetables has risen 10% in just a few days in some areas according to AFP.
  
  Industrial power usage has been rationed across much of central China. Disrupted delivery of coal to power stations and high energy demand due to the weather has meant that coal reserves are tight. Only ten days supply of coal is in storage rather than the fifteen days that government guidelines have set as a safe level. However, local governments have stated that residential power needs are primary and will be protected at all costs. So far fears of a repeat of early 2008 have been averted. In 2008 a similar cold spell combined with clumsy attempts to manipulate energy prices led to widespread power cuts across the country.
  
  
  
• Former Czech President and founding member of Charter 77, Vaclav Havel, has entered the Chinese embassy in Prague to protest the sentence of Chinese dissident and co-author of Charter 08, Liu Xiaobo.
  
  Charter 77 was launched 33 years ago yesterday and Mr. Havel and two other former dissident chose to mark the anniversary by handing a letter to the Chinese ambassador. However, the embassy did not open its doors to them and they were forced to use the letterbox.
  
  Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years on Christmas Day for inciting subversion of state power. He has appealed his sentence but campaigners say there is little hope of it being overturned.
  
  
  
• A Tibetan film maker has been sentenced to six years in jail. In a statement made in Washington his family said that Dhondup Wangchen was sentenced on Dec 28^th after a trial in which he was denied access to a lawyer.
  
  Dongdup Wangchen taught himself how to make films and set off on a journey across his native Tibet conducting a series of interviews and filming daily life. While there he was caught up in the violent protests in March 2008 during which he was arrested and charged with subversion of state power.
  
  According to Gyaljong Tsetrin, his exiled cousin, Dhondup has contracted Hepatitis B while in detention.
  
  
  
• China has offered a US$7.16 million grant to Kenya to assist with infrastructure development. China said in November that it would give US$10 billion in concessional loans over the next three years.
  
  The BBC has reported that China is offering to help develop a second port at Lamu. This port would provide a new route for the export of oil from Southern Sudan to China. Sudan will soon undergo a referendum as to the future of the country. It is possible that Southern Sudan may break away making a southern trade route to Sudan a key strategic goal for China.
  
  
  
• The US has confirmed that it will allow a controversial arms deal with Taiwan to proceed. Lockheed Martin will sell an unspecified number of Patriot air defense missiles to Taiwan in spite of strong protests from the mainland. The deal is part of a US$6.5 billion arms deal negotiated by the Bush administration. Patriot missiles are capable of shooting down most Chinese ground-to-ground missiles.
  

Roundup - 05/01/2010

• Three counties in Shaanxi have warned their 850,000 residents to avoid drinking tainted water after a major oil spill. Up to 150,000 litres of oil leaked from an oil pipeline between Gansu and Henan. According to CNPC the accident was caused during construction work by a 'third party.' The oil spilled into two tributaries of the Yellow River, into which it is now believed to be seeping. However, authorities claim to have controlled much of the spill and hope to prevent it from reaching the major cities further downstream.
  
  
  
• The dissident, Liu Xiaobo, is appealing his conviction on charges of incitement to subversion of state power. Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Dec.25^th after a year in detention for his role in drafting the Charter 08 petition. Charter 08 called for far reaching democratic reforms and received more than 10,000 signatures before it was removed from the internet. Shang Baojun, a lawyer handling Mr Liu's case said that the appeal was submitted on Dec 29^th to the Beijing Supreme People's Court. The court must now consider the appeal within 45 days.
  
  
  
• China has reiterated its preference for negotiation over sanctions in deal with Iran's nuclear issue. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Jiang Yu, said that 'dialogue and negotiations are the right ways of properly solving the Iran nuclear issue, and here is still room for diplomatic efforts.'
  
  The statement comes as the US considers organising sanctions on Iran. The US imposed an end of year deadline for Iran to agree to a US scheme for exchanging nuclear fuel which demanded simultaneous exchange within Iran. Iran has now set and end of month deadline for an agreement on its own terms. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that after a month Iran would continue to enrich uranium itself if the deal was not agreed and declared this to be 'an ultimatum.'
  
  
  
• Eight steelworkers have died in an accident in Dalian, Liaoning. According to Xinhua, the eight men fainted suddenly while repairing an electrical device in an underground pumping station. Traces of carbon monoxide were found in their blood but doctors have suggested that they could have died for oxygen deficiency as the pumping station had been sealed for some time.
  
  
  
• Police in Shenzhen have launched an investigation into a wedding which has caused public outrage because of its size. Liu Shenqiang, deputy director of the Shenzhen airport police, said that he was forced to throw such a lavish banquet for his daughter's wedding because they had so many friends. However, media reports and public opinion have questioned whether it was really necessary to spend US$88,000 on over 1000 guests. Wedding guests are traditionally expected to give gifts of cash to cover the costs of weddings. However, as nobody knows the amounts given, this is often a convenient way to give cash to officials.
  
  
  
• Harsh weather conditions have continued to cause problems in Northern China. A train heading from Harbin to Baotou was trapped on Sunday evening after running into snow more than 2m deep. Other long distance trains and internal flights were also disrupted.
  
  Beijing however has managed to clear the roads and keep traffic running after the worst snowfall in 60 years. More than 20,000 workers were dispatched with snow-dissolving agents between Saturday night and Monday morning to ensure that people could get to work at the start of the week.
  

Roundup - 27/12/2009

• Two cousins of Akmal Shaikh, the british man awaiting execution in China, have arrived in Beijing to deliver a plea for mercy to President Hu Jintao. Akmal Shaikh was arrested in Urumqi, Xinjiang, in possession of 4kg of Heroin, his final attempt to appeal failed earlier this year. He was convinced by a Polish gang to carry a suitcase into China in return for achieving a hit single. His lawyers say that he is suffering from bipolar disorder but that evidence of this was not admitted prior to sentencing. According to Chinese criminal law, anybody suffering from a psychiatric condition should have this taken into account during sentencing. The Chinese authorities say that Akmal Shaikh insisted on his own sanity at his trial and therefore it was not necessary to admit the evidence. He is due to be executed on Tuesday.
  
  
  
• The National People's Congress has closed its final session of 2009, passing environmental and tort laws. The tort laws will take effect in July and are designed to cover liabilities for accidents and injuries involving such things as medical malpractice, pollution and work-related injuries. It will also provide legal recourse for those whose privacy has been infringed or reputation defamed.
  
  A new amendment to the renewable energy law is designed to increase China's use of renewable energy. Until now much of China's renewable energy production has been badly linked to the national grid and often priced out of the market by coal power stations. The amendment states that all energy from renewable sources must be bought before other sources can be used.
  
  
  
• Taiwan's President Ma Yingjiu has called on the People's Republic to 'tolerate those people who voice their opinions in a peaceful manner.' The call comes after China sentenced the dissident Liu Xiaobo to 11 years in jail for his part in Charter 08, a document which called on China to institute wide ranging reforms of its political system. President Ma has been accused of turning a blind eye to China's human rights record by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party. The DPP gained ground in recent local elections by rallying opposition to closer ties with the mainland.
  
  
  

Roundup - 14/12/2009

• Negotiations are continuing at the climate change summit in Copenhagen. Delegates are trying to finalize a draft document to show visiting leaders during the intensive two-day negotiations at the end of the week.
  
  However, some countries fear that developed countries are delaying the draft document so that they can introduce new elements once the intensive negotiations, which tend to favour powerful countries, begin. Chinese negotiator, Su Wei, said that he hopes the only thing left to discuss by the time Premier Wen Jiabao arrives will be 'how to pronounce Copenhagen.' A number of African countries have suggested that their heads of state would refuse to take part in negotiations unless significant progress was made by Wednesday evening.
  
  In the mean time Wen has been busy phoning other heads of state in an attempt to coordinate a position when leaders arrive on Wednesday and Thursday. China is still pushing for further concessions from western states, including a major increase in European emission cuts.
  
  In an interview with the Financial Times, Chinese negotiators suggested that China would no longer be asking for funding from the developed world and that funding should be directed towards poorer nations. This comes after a major row last week between the Chines negotiator Su Wei and US negotiator Todd Stern over whether money would be provided by the US and particularly if any would go to China. There is some speculation that China is worried that it will be blamed if negotiations do not lead to a deal.
  
  
  
• President Hu Jintao has opened a section of a new gas pipeline in Turkmenistan. The pipeline is to carry gas from Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan into China. It is an important sign of China's growing influence in the area, previously Turkmenistan was entirely reliant on Russia to sell its gas. A failure to renegotiate a deal with Russia since April is costing Turkmenistan around $1 billion a month.
  
  Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's President Nazarbayev has said that Khazakstan has benefited from China's handling of security issues in Xinjiang. He also said he wanted to see further cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
  
  
  
• As the first Sino-American Dialogue on Rule of Law and Human Rights ended on Sunday a number of related stories were in the press.
  
  Zhang Xi, previously the chief editor of the influential liberal paper Southern Weekend has been demoted. It is believed that the demotion came after pressure from the propaganda authorities because of the papers interview with Barack Obama. The interview was authorised by the Foreign Ministry but it is known that propaganda officials were not pleased and tried to control its publishing.
  
  Liu Xiaobo is awaiting trial after being indited for inciting subversion of state power at the end of last week. He was detained a year ago after taking part in the writing and publishing of Charter '08, a document which called for wide-ranging political reform which atttracted thousands of signatures before it was censored. He faces a possible jail term of 15 years.
  
  Meanwhile, China Daily, reports on a suspicious death in custody in Kunming, Yunnan. According to the report, Xing Kun, 29, was arrested for theft. Police say they then found him hanging in an interrogation room. However, the death occurred in a cctv black-spot and no noose was produced in evidence.
  
  The article also lists three other cases of suspicious deaths in detention which occurred earlier in the year.
  
  
  
• A woman in Guizhou has been executed for her role in a child-prostitution ring. Zhao Qingmei was convicted of forcing 22 schoolchildren and one older girl into prostitution and of aiding her husband in the rape of a child. Her husband received a death sentence with 2 years reprieve. This sentence is normally commuted to life imprisonment.
  
  
  
• A report by law firm Eversheds has suggested that London could lose out to Shanghai as the world second largest financial centre within a decade. New York will remain the most important centre but the impact of the credit crunch and China's economic development mean that Europe is facing accelerated competition from Chinese markets. The report points out that 90% of bosses in Shanghai are confident in their economic outlook compared to only 22% in London.
  
  
  
• Cai Zhiqiang, who resigned from the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress earlier this month, is being investigated for corruption. It is alleged that he took bribes when working as the head of human resources department under the Personnel Bureau of Shanghai.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Roundup - 08/12/2009

• Seven boys and a girl, aged between, 11 and 14, have died in a stampede at a school in Hunan province. The accident occurred at about 9.10pm in Yucai Middle School in Xiangxian city, a private school considered one of the city's best. 26 other pupils were injured. The crush occurred as approximately 400 of the schools 3,500 pupils were leaving their evening lessons via a stairwell. Xinhua reports that the crush began when one student tripped on the stairs, toppling several others. However, some Chinese media has reported that the crush was due to a group of boys blocking the exit. An unidentified official told Associated Press that the Education Ministry had taken over the running of the school and was investigating the headmaster and chair of the board of governors.
  
  
  
• With the Climate summit in Copenhagen now underway, Chinese officials have been making statements emphasising China's contribution the the fight against climate change. Xie Zhenhua, Vice-Minister in charge of China's National Development and Reform Commission has claimed that China's recent announcement of cuts in carbon intensity has been a major boost to the summit. Mr Xie also reiterated the Chinese position that responsibility fell mainly on the developed world to combat climate change.
  
  Meanwhile, at the conference itself, it was the Sudanese delegation, as head of the G77, which did most of the talking. Ambassador Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim maintained that the Kyoto Protocol's differentiate responsibility should be continued at least until 2020.
  
  
  
• Taiwans opposition Democratic Progressive Party is pushing hard after its success in local elections at the weekend. It claims that a trade pact with China planned by President Ma Yingjiu will cost Taiwan 1.6 million jobs and up to 4 million may see their 'employment opportunities influenced.'
  
  President Ma is also being fined NT$500,000 for siting a voter survey before ahead of the elections.
  
  
  
• The Guardian(UK) has an article on Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident. It says that his wife, Liu Xia, is losing hope for his release. He was detained in 2008 a day before the publication of Charter 08, a document calling for democratic reforms which Liu co-authored. In June he was formally arrested for inciting the subversion of state power, a crime that carries a sentence of up to 15 years.
  
  Human Rights Watch has said that Beijing is currently weighing up its options and that this may be a case where international pressure could have an effect. The US House of Representatives and internationally famous writers such as Umberto Eco and Margaret Atwood have led the calls for his release.
  
  Charter 08 was the most publicised dissident statement in recent years. Thousands had signed their name to it before all mention of it was removed from China's online community.
  
  
  
• Figures show that China has overtaken Britain and New Zealand as Australia's biggest source of migrants. 6,350 arrived in Australia in four months leading to October compared with 5,800 from Britain and 4,740 from New Zealand.