News – January 31 January 31, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in China, Dalai Lama, Economy, Education, Foreign Relations, Japan, Satellite missiles, Taiwan, Tibet, United Nations, United States.add a comment
China Defames the Dalai Lama at UN Meeting – “China’s representative noted that, ‘during the NGO’s annual meeting in 2001, the Dalai Lama had been invited to the closing ceremony. The Dalai Lama had long been a promoter of separation of Tibet from China. His behaviour ran counter to the United Nations principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty.’”
Greater support promised to boost Tibet’s economic, social development – *PROPOGANDA WATCH – CHINA STATE MEDIA* “The government discussed and passed in principle a blue print for projects and investment in the autonomous region at an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday.” What exactly does passing a blue print in principle mean? That it won’t actually happen?
Japan remains concerned about China’s missile test – “Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said his government remains concerned about China’s test firing a missile into space earlier this month to destroy an obsolete satellite.\
Paulson makes aggressive push for China to float yuan – “US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson stepped up his rhetoric against China in an appearance before the Democratic-led Congress, vowing a new drive to push Beijing to float its currency.”
China partners with Minnesota’s private colleges – “China is creating a liberal arts college program for the first time in over 50 years, and private colleges in Minnesota are going to be a part of the process. Students and faculty from 17 of the state’s private colleges such as Macalester, St. Olaf and Carleton will start studying and working this year at United International College in Zhuhui, China.” What’s interesting about this is that there is a large Tibetan community in Minnesota, particularly near Minneapolis.
Senator says China emboldened by US silence on satellite – “‘China does not believe that space can or should be free of military capabilities,’ Kyl said. ‘China believes it must develop space weapons for its own security specifically for preparation for a possible conflict with the United States over Taiwan.’”
China aims to bring peace through deals with dictators and warlords January 31, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in Border relations, Burma, China, Darfur, Economy, Exports, Foreign Relations, Human Rights, North Korea, Sudan.1 comment so far
The News
President Hu Jintao began an eight-nation tour of Africa yesterday, seeking to reaffirm China’s commitment to the continent at a time of international and domestic concern over Beijing’s growing influence.
Mr Hu’s 12-day visit, his third since coming to power in 2003, takes him to Cameroon, Liberia, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Seychelles and Sudan. He is expected to announce new investment worth billions of dollars and to follow through on promises of aid, including debt relief, made during last year’s Africa summit in Beijing.
Trade between Africa and China has risen fourfold this decade to $40 billion (£20 billion) in 2005, driven by China’s voracious appetite for natural resources, particularly oil.
The burgeoning relationship between China and Africa has passed largely unchallenged, with African leaders keen to take advantage of investment and aid that is delivered with few strings attached at a time when Western trade partners are imposing onerous conditions of accountability and the environment.
Now the relationship is being questioned, in Africa and beyond. Domestically, there is alarm at the adverse impact on local companies of a flood of cheap Chinese manufactured goods. In elections in Zambia in December the opposition attacked China’s “exploitation of workers” and low safety standards in copper mines that it took over, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Tibetan youth detained by China at Nangpa La Pass reaches India January 30, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in China, Foreign Relations, Human Rights, Nangpa La Pass, Tibet.add a comment
There are some rumors right now that contain very exciting news – I won’t post about it until I receive confirmation, however.
International Herald Tribune
January 30, 2007
DHARMSALA, India: Nearly three dozen Tibetans captured by Chinese troops as they tried to sneak out of their homeland were tortured with cattle prods and forced to do hard labor, a teenager who identified himself as one of the former detainees said Tuesday, in the first reported account of the fate of the group.
Jamyang Samten, 15, said he was one of 75 Tibetans who were making their way over the 5,800-meter (19,028-foot) -high Nanpa La Pass on Sept. 30 when Chinese border guards opened fire on them, killing a 25-year-old Buddhist nun and another person.
The incident was filmed by a mountaineering expedition and broadcast by a Romanian television station, sparking an international outcry.
Forty-one of the refugees managed to reach India after the shooting, but 32 others were caught and detained. While Samten said some of those detained have since been released, he is the only member of the group known to have again tried to flee and made it.
Samten’s account of his detention and flight, told to The Associated Press at a center for Tibetan refugees in Dharmsala, the home of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was the first report of the fate of those captured in September.
News – January 30 January 30, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in China, Dalai Lama, Economy, North Korea, Tibet, United States.add a comment
Cambodian official says Dalai Lama still not welcome – “We could not welcome him here even if he asked because Cambodia must implement the government’s policy,’ Iem said. ‘Cambodia follows the One China Policy.”
China sets date for North Korea nuclear talks – The United States demanded on Tuesday that North Korea take practical steps to nuclear disarmament at six-country negotiations, which China announced would resume on February 8.
China may need currency intervention - “This, presumably, is not lost on [Hank] Greenberg (Former American International Group Chief Executive); his suggestion is to embed in an international forum Beijing’s agreement to float the currency. He sees such a setting as far more likely to achieve results than the current bilateral dialog with Washington. Any multilateral agreement to practice floating currencies would merely be recognition of what is already a fact among most high-income countries. The main consequence would fall on developing countries.”
Slow news day so far.
MySpace.cn – A place for communists? January 29, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in Censorship, China, MySpace.cn.11 comments
(Original image, feel free to use with reference)
Reports are coming in that News Corp will be setting up their MySpace brand in China, under the name MySpace.cn. There is a placeholder page on MySpace.cn that reads, in Chinese, “China’s leading Web 2.0 website is under construction.”
It’s not clear from my research how many social networking sites exist in China already, and what is allowed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “The [MySpace] venture will have to negotiate with China’s strict regulation of media content, as well as compromise on potentially sensitive content, said Liu Bin, principal analyst at Beijing-based research firm BDA.
The way that News Corp is attempting to exempt itself from the criticism that other U.S.-based internet companies have faced by submitting to China’s censorship demands is that they are in partnership with domestic Chinese investment firms, and will take less than 50% ownership in the new venture. I’m curious to see what scope this site can have in China, and what ways the CCP will use it in their interests.
UPDATE
One blog proports that one way the CCP will excercise control is “regulations that would require state permission to broadcast short movies online.” Given China’s record, this could be a place for State-run media to broadcast their own short propoganda films online, too.
China warns on Olympics morality January 29, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in Activism, China, Human Rights, Olympics.1 comment so far
The News
Chinese authorities have warned government and Olympic officials not to indulge in corrupt or immoral behavior during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Officials will be monitored to ensure they are living clean lifestyles, the China Daily newspaper reported.
The city’s Communist Party boss warned officials not to have their energies “dissipated by wine and women”.
Liu Qi, also the organizing committee chief, cautioned officials not to visit “entertainment venues” after work.
Losing face
Beijing’s mayor has said that the eyes of the world’s media will be on Beijing, with some 30,000 reporters expected to cover the Olympics.
“More than 20,000 unregistered reporters and 10,000 registered ones are coming, and they are going to cover every detail of Beijing in their articles,” Wang Qishan said.
“We have to have a good Olympics, otherwise not only will our generation lose face, but also our ancestors.”
The warnings came as Beijing’s former vice-mayor faced criminal proceedings after being accused of accepting bribes linked to the building of Olympic venues.
Liu Zhihua, expelled from the ruling Communist Party last month, was also condemned for having low morals and for helping his mistress “seek profit”.
The Analysis
The people who will be shaming China will be outsiders (and hopefully some brave insiders), and it won’t be over “wine and women,” it will be over genocide and colonization.
News – January 29 January 29, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in China, Dalai Lama, Economy, Environment, Japan.add a comment
China and Japan agree to build ties
China admits to climate failings – “China is failing to make progress on improving and protecting the environment, according to a new Chinese government report.”
Hong Kong shares turn flat amid worries over possible China economic controls – “Share prices turned flat in early trade, after opening firmer, amid worries that China may soon implement further macro-economic tightening measures to curb inflation as its economy shows no sign of cooling, dealers said.”
China detains Tibetan monk in Gansu for helping people listen to Radio Free Asia January 27, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in Activism, Border relations, Buddhism, Censorship, China, Human Rights, Radio Free Asia, Tibet.3 comments
KATHMANDU—Chinese authorities in a Tibetan region of northwest Gansu province have arrested a monk, possibly for helping local people listen to Radio Free Asia (RFA) broadcasts, local residents said.
“Jamyang Gyatso, a monk at Bora monastery in Amdo Labrang [in Chinese, Xiahe] was taken away on the evening of Jan. 8 by Chinese security officials,” a resident of Labrang told RFA’s Tibetan service.
“On the night Jan. 8 he was told that somebody wanted to see him outside. When he went out, he never came back that night,” the source said.
A member of the Bora monastery said officials at the monastery later discovered police had turned over Jamyang Gyatso’s room.
“Clean your own house first” – China, grow up January 27, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in China, EU, Economy, Environment, Foreign Relations, History, Human Rights, North Korea, Tibet, United States, World Economic Forum.add a comment
Presidential hopeful and U.S. Senator John McCain is calling on China to “step up,” news reports say. This past week at the “World Economic Forum” in Davos, McCain told reporters that “So far, some of us … have been very disappointed in [China's] lack of maturity,” particularly in regards to China’s downright nonchalance with North Korea’s developing nuclear programs. “It’s time for China to step up in the world and assume their responsibilities,” McCain said. “If China is going to be a superpower … it has to act like a superpower.”
As a display of China’s immaturity, Wu Xiaoling, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, told policymakers in Davos to deal with their own problems first. “There is a Chinese saying that you should put yourself in others’ shoes. You need to respect others,” she said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We respect other people’s policies. The Chinese say, clean your own house first.”
Earth to Wu Xiaoling: The entire purpose of the “World Economic Forum” is to be a forum for, well, world economics. “The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.”
China, you are part of the world that “World Economic Forum” is referring to, whether you like it or not. In fact, if there is any country that could call itself the majority of the world, it would be you. It’s a house that we all live in. Here’s a saying for you – “Mi casa es su casa.” (My house is your house) Furthermore, if the rest of the world can’t help you clean your house, and you aren’t willing to clean your own house, then who will clean your house for you? China, grow up.
China censorship damaged Google, founders admit January 27, 2007
Posted by Vibhu Norby in Censorship, China, Google.3 comments
The News
Jane Martinson in Davos
Saturday January 27, 2007
The Guardian
Google’s decision to censor its search engine in China was bad for the company, its founders admitted yesterday.
Google, launched in 1998 by two Stanford University dropouts, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, was accused of selling out and reneging on its “Don’t be evil” motto when it launched in China in 2005. The company modified the version of its search engine in China to exclude controversial topics such as the Tiananmen Square massacre or the Falun Gong movement, provoking a backlash in its core western markets.
Asked whether he regretted the decision, Mr Brin admitted yesterday: “On a business level, that decision to censor… was a net negative.”
The company has only once expressed any regret and never in as strong terms as yesterday. Mr Brin said the company had suffered because of the damage to its reputation in the US and Europe.
