Roundup - 11/12/2009

• New economic data suggests China is recovering well from the economic crisis. Figures for November show that year-on-year growth in industrial output is at 19.2% while retail sales grew 15.8% compared with last year. The growth comes after the governments massive stimulus package help to increase investment in factories and construction by 32.1% in the first eleven months of the year.
  
  The vast amount of credit, combined with rising food prices as China settles in for a harsh winter, also led to the first growth in the Consumer Price Index this year. CPI rose 0.6% in November year-on-year. Some experts suggest that inflation could reach 3% in 2010, mostly driven by rising food prices. The government is attempting to increase food prices to stimulate production. The Producer Price Index continued to show decrease, prices for manufactured products are not expected to increase until demand for exports pick up as the global economic recovery catches up with China.
  
  
  
• China has continued to place responsibility on developed nations to combat climate change. Using the phrase 'promises must be kept; actions must be resolute' (言必信,行必果) three times Yu Xintai called on rich countries to honour their commitment, pointing out that few countries met their commitments made in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He also said that rich countries owed reparations to the developing world because of their past greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  The comment came after US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern said that, though the US would pay into a climate fund, it was wrong to talk about blame.
  
  China's case was also supported by a letter from a 'Chinese citizen' published in the People's Daily. This said that, while it was terrible that so many foreign friends would suffer from climate change, some even losing their homelands, the citizen could not in good conscience ask families in his home village to remain poor for the sake of others. The letter compares the contrast between the developed and the developing world to hereditary rule.
  
  
  
• Execution by gunshot will no longer take place in Liaoning province. All cities in the province have now agreed to use lethal injections as the sole form of execution. The use of lethal injections has grown throughout China since they were first used in 1997. Beijing and Chongqing are expected to announce an end to execution by gunshot some time next year. The Higher People's Court of Liaoning released a statement saying that the exclusive use of lethal injections was a 'symbol of the progress of civilisation' while Wang Dawei, a professor from the Chinese People's Public Security University, said that it was 'a symbol of democracy and civilisation as it is the last form of respect for human life.' The numbers of people China executes is a state secret, according to an Amnesty International report this year at least 1,718 executions took place in 2008.
  
  
  
• A regulation allowing local governments to evict people from their homes and demolish them if the land is needed for other uses has been said to 'contradict the law' by the Law Committee of the 11^th National People's Congress. The National People's Congress is the country's top legislature. The committee announced that the regulation, which flamed public anger after the suicide by fire of Tang Fuzhen in Chengdu as authorities tried to demolish her home, should have been dropped following the 2007 Property Law.
  
  However, the State Council Legislative Affairs Office, in charge of administrative regulations, insisted that the rule was still in effect. Which group has greater authority is an unresolved issue in China's governmental structure but as long as there is a rift it is likely that the regulation will still be cited.
  
  
  
• Taiwan's parliament has passed a bill banning explicit images from print, TV and online media. The new bill comes after fines totaling T$1 million were imposed on the owners of the Apple Daily, a paper which has made a name for itself by animating crimes on its website. Taiwan's media is barely regulated and is one of the freest and most competitive media markets in Asia.
  

Roundup - 10/12/2009

• China has been playing down an apparent split in the G77+1's stance at the climate summit in Copenhagen yesterday. The split came when the Association of Small Island States seized the moral high ground by demanding a severe and binding agreement on greenhouse gas emissions. The group of states, supported by many of Africa's poorest coastal states, criticised the other delegations for attempting to place the burden of emissions cuts on other countries while their lands literally sank under the sea.
  
  Tuvalu, speaking for ASIS, managed to call a halt to negotiations until its own proposals were discussed. These proposals were opposed by developed nations and by the more industrialised developing nations such as China, India an South Africa. Until this point the G77+1 had been united in its stance, largely formulated by the Chinese, the the Kyoto protocol should be extended.
  
  The split seemed to receive little attention in the Chinese media, the headlines about the summit on news websites seem to mostly be a day out of date. Where there are articles on the rift it says that the moves were opposed by 'more industrialized developing states' but never mentions China by name.
  
  
  
• The US Ambassador has noted the role that China can play in bringing 'peaceful economic development' to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Speaking to the 'Group of 100,' a group of prominent Chinese-Americans, Jon Huntsman called on China to play a greater role in the two countries. China already has a strong relationship with Pakistan. Economic investment and military cooperation and intelligence sharing have been going on for years. In response to the speech Pakistani officials stressed the 'strong and independent trajectory' of Sino-Pakistani relations.
  
  Afghanistan's ambassador to China, Sultan Baheen, said he welcomed greater cooperation between China and the US in Afghanistan. China currently help train police and mine clearing teams in the country. Their greatest impact however has been their investment in the mining industry. China's $4 billion investment in the Aynak copper mines was the largest in Afghan history. Chinese investment is an important source of independent income for the Afghan government which helps to grant it greater freedom from American influence.
  
  
  
• China's top judge has called on the judiciary to support China's economic growth. Wang Shengjun, President of the Supreme People's Court, said that 'efforts should be made to ensure the court's work accords with the overall economic development situation.'
  
  While he asked courts to safeguard people's interests, the statement could also be taken to mean that courts should rule on the side of economic growth rather than social interests. He also called for a crackdown on crimes disturbing the market order.
  
  
  
• The Central Economic Work Conference has agreed that the government should attach greater importance to the employment and settlement of rural migrants in China's cities. They pledged to relax restrictions on residence permits in small and medium-sized towns.
  
  Rural migrants in China's cities are distinguished by where they are registered at birth, they are often barred from acquiring residence permits for China's cities. However, they are essential to the urban economy and to urban development. Reports on reform to China's registration and residence permit systems have been around since the 1980s but little has yet been achieved to this end.
  
  
  
• The most googled word in mainland China is Baidu. Google has released a report saying that the word most searched for by mainland Chinese is the name of its greatest rival. While Google has achieved widespread dominance across much of the world, China has been harder to crack. Chinese search engines are specifically design to use Chinese characters and to search Chinese websites.
  
  
  
• Garlic has become a source of wealth for many investors as its price has increased 40-fold this year. The rise is partly due to garlic's traditional use against the flu. Chinese investors have been buying garlic by the truck-load in an attempt to make a quick profit.
  
  
  
  

Roundup - 09/12/2009

• 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.'
  
  

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.
  
  
  
  

Roundup - 07/12/2009

• Delegations from around the world are meeting in Copenhagen for the climate summit this week. The Chinese media largely avoids discussing the treats that China faces from climate change. Reports are also consistent with their negotiating position that it is largely up to the West to deal with the problems they have caused. In cloned articles in the People's Daily and China Daily the US is criticised for announcing its emissions cuts too late, Japan for not stating how its cuts would be achieved, Russia for announcing cuts that were not actually cuts at all, and Canada for announcing what amounted to only a 2% cut on 1990 levels. Meanwhile Brazil, India, and, of course, China are praised for their independent actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  The Chinese press is also boosting China's green image by announcing China's first electric-only powered vehicle and publishing articles on a 'Green Bank' project in Guizhou which aims to turn environmental assets into a source of profit for the local community.
  
  Meanwhile, in Copenhagen, Minister for Science and Technology Wan Gang has stated in an interview that China's carbon emissions will peak at some time between 2030 and 2040.
  
  
  
• The opposition Democratic Progressive Party has gained ground in local elections in Taiwan. There are now fears in the Nationalist Party that current President Ma Yingjiu, if current voting trends continue, will have difficulty winning reelection in 2012. While a slow reaction to Typhoon Morakot and the economic slump were major issues, President Ma's relationship with the mainland is believed to have been the biggest factor. The president has tried to forge closer economic ties with the People's Republic and to reduced military tensions. However, with fewer and fewer Taiwanese having any direct link to the mainland, the pro-independence DPP is winning popular support.
  
  
  
• Key Chinese leaders have stated at the Central Economic Work Conference that China will continue its current economic policies until the end of the current 11^th five-year plan in 2010. The policies, designed to counteract the global recession, will remain in place while experts monitor China's recovering exports, industrial output, and domestic consumer demand. Leaders expressed hope that these policies would allow for a solid economic basis to begin the 12^th five-year plan.
  
  
  
• Zheng Dajing, a Chinese activist who has spoken out against China's black jails, was detained on Friday. He and several other activists were held after planning protests to mark China's 'Legal Publicity Day.' Zheng, speaking to The Associated Press on Saturday through locked metal door in an alleyway in Beijing said he did not know when he would be able to leave. China has often denied the existence of a system of illegal jails meant to discourage petitioners from coming to Beijing. However, last month, the state-run Outlook magazine run a feature on the prison system detailing 73 prisons.
  
  
  
• Chinese regulators have announced that they have shut down hundreds of video-sharing sights in a new drive to control online content. 414 sites including the popular BTChina and Uubird sites have been ordered to close or to stop showing audio and video content.
  
  Meanwhile, a new reward scheme for reporting pornography has led to a surge in calls to the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre. The rewards range from 1000 to 10,000 RMB and will be decided by a special committee.
  
  
  
  

Roundup - 05/12/2009

• Taiwanese voters in 17 cities and counties are heading to the polls in local government elections. Analysts say that the vote will be a crucial mid-term test for President Ma Yingjiu. Allegations have already begun to fly over voteybgef cxz`a-buying in many areas and some reports say that prosecutors have sued 76 people and detained 150 over voting irregularities.
  
  
  
• Another three people have been sentenced to death for their roles in riots in Xinjiang in July. Eight people have now been sentenced to death since Thursday in addition to the nine who have already been executed. Of the three new sentences two were given to ethnic Uighurs and one to a man with a Chinese name. One other person was sentenced to life in jail and three others received prison sentences.
  
  
  
• China's official death toll from the H1N1 virus has risen to 200. 194 of the deaths were recorded in November. The figure jumped recently after the central government warned local governments not to doctor figures in order not to improve their image.
  
  
  
• General Motors has announced that it is planning an new venture with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. to build cars in India. It also announced that it is reducing its stake in the Chinese company to 49%, thereby giving SAIC a controlling stake. The move comes after Chicago-based GM was was forced to go to a bankruptcy court during the economic crisis. SAIC will be the first major Chinese company to produce cars in India for the Indian market.
  
  
  
• Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank, has said that China is interested in exporting some of its manufacturing to Africa. China's focus in Africa has so far been on acquiring natural resources. This has led to accusations that it is merely mirroring the colonialist economic system. However, Mr. Zoellick says that after meetings with Chen Deming, China's Minister of Commerce, he believes there may be opportunities for the World Bank and China to cooperate on developing Africa's industrial base.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Roundup - 04/12/2009

• US President Obama's plan for Afghanistan is being discussed in China amid reports that the US is seeking a greater role for China in the country. China currently trains Afghan police and landmine-clearing teams as well as investing in the country's mineral deposits. Afghan Minister for Mines, Muhammad Ibrahim Adel, recently claimed that Chinese investment would likely triple Afghan government revenues within five years.
  
  Debate inside China's think-tanks is divided. Qi Huaigao from Fudan University believes that the troop surge will also help to isolate the East Turkestan Islamic Movement in Xinjiang and combat drug smuggling. Li Qingdong from the China Council for National Security Policy Studies on the other hand believes that it may force the Taliban to seek refuge in eastern China, exacerbating China's security problems. He also points out that it may put China's investments in the country at risk.
  
  Ding Xinghao, president of the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, said that, though it was unlikely China would send troops to Afghanistan, it may be willing to send peace-keeping forces under the UN flag.
  
  
  
• A court in Yangjiang, Guandong, has sentenced five people to death for their involvement in criminal gangs. 43 people were sentenced in total after a trial that began in June and produced a verdict that is reported to be 60,000 pages long. The convicts were part of a gang based in Yangjiang, nicknamed the 'knife and scissors capital' because of its cutlery industry. The gang is said to have begun by running a chain of gambling dens and then used the money and muscle to expand into the poultry, cement and trucking industries.
  
  Among the five given the death sentence are 'Spicy Qin' Lin Guoqin, said to be the brains behind the gang, and 'Hammerhead' Xu Jiangqiang who provided the muscle.
  
  
  
• China is mulling the cost of it announced cut in carbon intensity. A report from Renmin University claims that the cuts will cost $30 billion a year. It is likely that much of this cost will be carried by the Chinese consumer in the form of rising petrol and electricity prices. According to the 21^st China China Business Herald this could amount to an additional 440 RMB of expenditure each year for the average Chinese household.
  
  
  
• Chinese media is reporting the the National Human Rights Action Plan of China is progressing according to plan. The reports claim that much progress has been made since its inception in April. While the reports make such claims as 'migrant worker rights and interests were better championed,' no details or evidence has been given.
  
  The reports also admit that 'some local governments have not paid enough attention to the action plan.'
  
  
  
• Two people have been shot dead by police and eight injured during a protest at a Chinese owned copper mine in Peru. The Rio Blanco copper mine in Huancabamba is involved in a running dispute with local residents. They claim that the mine is polluting their land and that after protests in 2005 the mine owners arranged the kidnap and torture of some locals.
  
  
  
• The Austrian company Future Advanced Composite Components and been bought by the Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation and Hong Kong ATL. It is the first time a European aviation company has been bought by an Asian aviation company. FACC supplies composite structural components to Boeing, Airbus and Eurocopter among others.
  

Roundup - 03/12/2009

• 85 people have been arrested in Yibin, Sichuan on suspicion of producing methamphetamine. 44 tonnes of chemicals, enough to make 10 tonnes of crystal meth worth around $318 million, were seized by police. The bust included 415 kilograms of ephedrine, a drug used to combat the flu. The State Food and Drug Administration is placing a cap on the usage of compounds containing ephedrine amid concerns that it s being used to produce large quantities of illegal narcotics.
  
  
  
• China Daily reports on a forced demolition in Chengdu which led to suicide. Due to vigorous attacks by China's netizens the local government has been forced to respond. In 2007 the local government decided to demolish a garment processing plant owned by Hu Changming in order to make way for a road. The government claims that the dispute began after Hu asked for an excessive amount of compensation. The dispute came to a head on Nov. 13^th when men with cudgels attempted to clear the way for demolition. Hu's wife, Tang Fuzhen, and several other relative resisted and Tang threatened to immolate herself. The men refused to withdraw and instead set about Tang's relatives. At one point one of then snatched a one-year old baby from her nephew's wife and began kicking her. Eventually Tang carried out her threat, poured petrol over herself and set herself alight. She died of her burns in hospital on Nov. 27^th.
  
  The report quotes a Beijing lawyer who points out that the demolition of the building should have been the responsibility of the local court, not the government officials.
  
  
  
• Five more people have been sentenced to death for crimes committed during unrest in Xinjiang in July. The court in Urumqi also sentenced two others to life imprisonment. Last month China executed nine people for their roles in the violence that officially left almost 200 dead and 1,600 injured. No comment was made as to the ethnicity of the new cases but to date those arrested and executed have been disproportionately ethnic Uighurs.
  
  
  
• The UN's Clean Development Mechanism has suspended approvals for many of China's wind farms. This comes amid suspicions that the government is manipulating state subsidies so that more schemes qualify for UN help. China has been the largest receiver of carbon credits in the program. It has received 153 million credits worth more than $1 billion.
  
  
  
• China's top meteorologist, Zheng Guoguang, has warned that climate change is a major threat to China but that the focus should be on adapting to it rather than slowing it down. In an article in 'Speaking Truth' he states that for a developing country it is less practical to combat climate change than to work with it. China's official line is that both prevention and adaptation are equally important.
  
  
  
• Four Chinese have been detained in Romania amid a dispute over market stores. Romanian tax officials closed 221 stores in Bucharest for lacking documentation on their products. When officials returned to reopen some of the stores some Chinese suspected they were there to close down more stores and attacked the officials.
  
  The incident comes amid a dispute between the store owners and the owners of the market which has been brewing since early November. Store owners bought their shops outright when Niro Market was established. Now Niro Group wants them to move to a neighouring market and buy stores there. However, they are refusing to compensate store owners for the stores they already own.
  
  On Nov 17^th store owners staged a protest and Niro group retaliated by cutting off water and power to the market. Niro Group is a well established company in Romania which focuses on real estate.
  
  
  
• Construction will begin in December on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. The project, a series of bridges, tunnels and new roads, is designed to facilitate traffic between Hong Kong, Macao and the Mainland. It is scheduled to be finished in 2015.
  
  
  
  

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.