Roundup - 26/01/2010

• Five legislators in Hong Kong have resigned their seats in a bid to promote democratic reform. The legislators, from the League of Social Democrats and the Civic Party, hope that the five resulting by-elections will be viewed as a referendum on democratic reform in Hong Kong. Currently Hong Kong's legislature is only partly elected and its Chief Executive is elected by a committee appointed by Beijing. China has said that the chief executive should not be directly elected until 2017 and the legislature until 2020. However, the pro-democracy parties want the reforms to be in place by 2012.
  
  
  
• Envoys of the Dalai Lama are to meet Chinese officials in Beijing tomorrow for the ninth round of talks since 2002 on the future of Tibet. The talks have a continuous history of going nowhere. Chinese officials are expected to demand that the Dalai Lama renounce violent separatism while the Dalai's envoys will reaffirm his commitment to a peaceful road to semi-autonomy for Tibet.
  
  China is beginning a new ten-year plan for Tibet which will continue to further open up the plateau and develop the economy. Tibetan exiles say that this increases ethnic tensions due to the huge influx of non-Tibetan Chinese. However, China hopes that tensions will be diffused if it succeeds in its plan to raise the incomes of rural Tibetans to the national average.
  
  
  
• Associated Press has reported that the Obama administration has decided to continue with controversial arms sales to Taiwan. The new sale is said to include UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles. However, the sale will not include F-16 fighters as these were deemed to be too provocative. The sale of arms to Taiwan is a major thorn in the side of Sino-US relations.
  
  
  
• China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has announced that it will exceed its targets for the reduction of two key pollutants. The 11^th five year plan (2006-10) prescribed cuts of 10% of sulphur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand, a major indicator of water pollution. They say that, by the end of the year, they will have reduced an additional 400,000 tons of SO2 and 200,000 tons of COD.
  
  The 12^th five year plan (2011-15) will contain similar targets with the addition of nitrogen oxide and ammonia nitrogen to the list of chemicals set to be reduced.
  

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.