Roundup - 21/01/2010

• China's National Bureau of Statistics has released above-target figures for GDP growth in 2009. They say that GDP rose 8.7% over the year with a 10.7% rise in Q4 compared with 2008. This means China is likely to replace Japan as the world's second largest economy by the end of the year. China has now declared itself the first major economy to recover from the economic crisis and PriceWaterhouseCoopers has released a report suggesting China could overtake the US as the world's largest economy as early as 2020. China has said that it will maintain its stimulus policies until demand or its exports recovers fully.
  
  However, statistics also showed a spike in inflation. While in November inflation was at 0.6% year on year, in December this rose to 1.9%. Attempts to reign in lending by the People's Bank of China are therefore likely to accelerate over the coming months.
  
  
  
• Compensation is still being sought for people infected with HIV after blood transfusions in the 1990s, it has emerged. More than 80 people in Daye, Hunan, were infected with HIV after being operated on at the Daye No.2 Hospital. In the 1990s it was common for rural Chinese to sell their blood to hospitals to supplement their income. Some victims are angry at the disparity in compensation offered. One victim who claimed compensation early on is said to have received 190,000RMB, a 500RMB monthly stipend and a promise to allow his child to work at the hospital. Now compensation usually amounts to 90,000-100,000RMB and life-long free healthcare. The hospital says the initially high compensation was offered before it was realised how many people had been infected.
  
  
  
• An additional 300,000 people will have to be moved from their homes due to the Three-Gorges Dam project. The government said that the moves were necessary to stop pollution from building up in the dam's reservoir and to protect the people from earthquakes. According to state media, 1.27 million people have already been moved to make way for the worlds largest dam. When the dam reaches full capacity, it is expected to produce 100 billion kilowatt hours a year of electricity.
  
  
  
• China has placed its J-10 fighter jet on the international arms market. The fighter, China's counterpart to the US's F-16, is likely to prove a popular choice among countries who cannot buy US fighters or who are looking for a cheap alternative. Pakistan has already put in an order for 36 fighters for US$1.4 billion. This puts the individual price at US$40 million per plane, half the price of an F-16, however, it is not clear whether this includes spare parts, maintenance, training, etc.. State media has named Iran and the Phillipines as likely future buyers.
  

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.
  

Roundup - 01/12/2009

• On World AIDS Day China's Health Ministry has warned that the infection rate among homosexual males is on the increase. Hu Jintao met some of Beijing's 50,000 volunteers working in AIDS prevention and treatment yesterday where he promised to mobilise society to combat the disease. However, with China's basic healthcare provision already largely limited to urban areas it is still impossible for many sufferers to receive treatment.
  
  
  
• Commerce Minister Chen Deming has called on the 7^th WTO Ministerial Conference to send a signal to help the world economic recovery. He also promoted reform of the organisation and its commitment to the Doha round's development mandate.
  
  
  
• China has lifted the ban on importing pork from Mexico, Canada and the USA. The ban was imposed earlier this year amid fears over Swine Flu. However, imports of pork may continue to fall due to a regime of subsidies for breeding sows.
  
  
  
• Somali pirates have warned that they will kill kidnapped Chinese crewmen if attacked by the PLA. 25 crewmen were captured when pirates seized the De Xin Hai. The ship, owned by the Qingdao Ocean Shipping Company, was carrying 76,000 tonnes of coal. The pirates claimed they were negotiating a $3.5 million ransom.
  
  
  
• New official appointments on Monday included two 46 year-olds promoted to the level of Party Secretary. This marks the rise of what is touted to be the 'sixth generation' of Chinese leaders. The 'fifth generation' is expected to take the reigns of power in 2012 when Xi Jinping is likely to take the presidency. The 'sixth generation' should come to power in 2022.
  
  Notably, one of the two new Party Secretaries is a protege of Hu Jintao, Hu Chunhua. The two worked together during Hu Jintao's time as Provincial Committee Secretary of Tibet 1988-92. Hu Chunhua has made hid career in Tibet before being appointed Acting Governor of Hebei in 2008. He has also spent most of his career working with the Communist Youth League, a significant power base of Hu Jintao's. He also won widespread aclaim for hs handling of the tainted milk scandal.
  
  
• 24 people have been arrested in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou after a dispute over housing development. Guizhou Boyu Real Estate Development Co. seems to have forcibly evicted residents from their homes at 5am on Friday before demolishing 26 buildings. Municipal police say that four residents were injured in the process.
  
  Angry residents then began blocking all roads in the area. 4 residents and 20 people working for the development company have been arrested. Police say the evicted residents have been properly accommodated.
  
  
  
• On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Premier Wen Jiabao declared his full support for 'the demands of the Palestinian people for the restoration of their legitimate national rights and the establishment of an independent state.'
  
  
  
• Authorities in China are vowing harsh punishment for those who illegally build golf courses. In 2004 a moratorium on new golf courses was imposed in an effort to save land for agriculture. However, amid economic growth and the related growth in interest in golf as a symbol of status, golf courses have blossomed all over the country. Golf will be included in the 2016 Olympic Games.
  

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 - 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.