Archive for March, 2013

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22/03/2013

* China’s glamorous new first lady an instant internet hit

The last time a Chinese leader went abroad on an official visit with is wife was probably in the 1940s when Gen Chiang Kaishek was accompanied by his wife Madame Soong Meiling. She so charmed the US, esp President Roosevelt, that she was regarded as China’s unofficial ambassador to the US. The inclusion of the Chinese ‘first lady’ by President Xi is no accident. It is the new leadership’s proclamation that they are breaking with the past in more ways than one. They are no longer just ‘sons of revolutionaries’ but power owners in their own right, leading the world’s second nation which, within the next few decades, will become the world’s first nation.

We don’t know if Premier Li will  also take his wife abroad. But he has sent his own signal as long ago as August 2011 by making a major speech in Hong Kong in fluent English. Another break with tradition where Chinese leaders always addressed foreign events in Chinese no matter how fluent they were in that country’s tongue. This is global diplomacy of the 21st Century. Recognising that English is the international language of trade, commerce, education, technology and, now, of diplomacy.

Reuters: “With a smile on her face, dressed in a simple black peacoat and carrying an elegant unbranded bag, China’s new first lady, Peng Liyuan, stepped into the international limelight on Friday and became an instant internet sensation back home.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and First Lady Peng Liyuan wave as they disembark from a plane upon their arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo airport March 22, 2013. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Stepping off the aircraft in Moscow – the first stop of President Xi Jinping‘s maiden foreign trip since assuming office – Peng’s glamorous appearance and obvious affection for her portly husband caused Chinese microbloggers to swoon.

“So beautiful, Peng Liyuan, so beautiful! How composed, how magnanimous,” wrote one user on China’s popular Twitter-like service Sina Weibo.

“Who could not love such a lady as this and be insanely happy with her?” wrote another.

Taobao, an online shopping site similar to eBay and Amazon, quickly began offering for sale coats in the same style of Peng’s, advertising it as “the same style as the first lady’s”.

Others wondered what brand her bag and shoes were.

“Her shoes are really classic, and who designed her bag?” wrote a third Weibo user.

Peng is best known in China as a singer, and for many years was arguably better known and certainly more popular than her husband.

People who have met her and know her say that Peng is vivacious and fun to be around, though she was ordered to take a back seat after Xi became vice president in 2007 as he was being groomed for state power.

But she is expected to be given high-profile events of her own to attend on Xi’s sweep through Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo on a week-long trip, as the government tries to soften the image of China abroad.

Peng has won praise for her advocacy for pet causes, most notably for children living with HIV/AIDS, and may visit charities related to this while abroad.

Unlike the baby-kissing politicians of the West, China’s Communist Party works hard to keep its top leaders from appearing too human – to the point that for many, even their official birthdates and the names of their children are regarded as a state secret.

Xi and Peng are different. Their romance has been the subject of dozens of glowing reports and pictorials in state media.

“When he comes home, I’ve never thought of it as though there’s some leader in the house. In my eyes, he’s just my husband,” Peng gushed in an interview with a state-run magazine in 2007, describing Xi as frugal, hardworking and down-to-earth.

Peng is Xi’s second wife, and the two have a daughter studying at Harvard under an assumed name. Xi divorced his first wife, the daughter of a diplomat.”

via China’s glamorous new first lady an instant internet hit | Reuters.

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21/03/2013

* Millions of tonnes of rural refuse are dumped in waterways a year, bill says

So it’s not only factories and chemical plants that are at fault.  Common rural folk are too!

SCMP: “Many were shocked when thousands of dead pigs were found floating on Shanghai’s Huangpu River this month, but animal carcasses are not the only things that end up in the nation’s waterways.

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Rivers and lakes are among the major dumping sites of some 190 million tonnes of household waste generated in rural areas every year, most of which are casually dumped without being recycled or properly treated, according to a bill submitted to the annual session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing last week.

Research by the China Association for Promoting Democracy, one of the mainland’s eight non-communist political parties, shows that most household refuse in the rural areas is piled on the side of roads, dumped under bridges, in fields or on river banks, or simply burned.

Researchers said the variety and amount of rural waste had risen markedly over the past decade as living standards improved.

In rural areas, household refuse used to comprise mainly of kitchen waste and ash from burning coal or firewood, but Wang Jinxia, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences‘ Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy, said there was now more plastic packaging, sanitation products and even furniture in the thrown-away waste.

Wang said the limited amount of household waste, most of it biodegradable, could be absorbed by nature’s self-cleaning capacity in the past, but now the amount and variety of trash had far exceeded that capacity, threatening the environment.

“It [dumping refuse in rivers] is a rather prevalent phenomenon … in some extreme cases, the rivers are even clogged,” Wang said.

In the past month, photos have been posted online in a campaign to record polluted rivers, some completely covered by garbage. A stream in the Yongding county of Fujian province was used as a dump for waste including glass bottles, plastic bags, used lanterns and even furniture.

Last month, a Zhejiang businessman offered a 200,000 yuan (HK$247,000) reward to an environmental official in Ruian in challenging him to swim in a river full of household refuse and waste rubber from a shoe factory.

Every summer, 150,000 to 200,000 cubic metres of refuse is retrieved from the reservoir above the massive Three Gorges Dam to prevent it from jamming the floodgates, official media reports say. The waste include tree branches washed into the Yangtze by torrential rains, but most of it is household refuse from families living along the river’s upper reaches. Some rivers in cities have also become casual dump sites. For example, The Beijing News reported this month that the authorities had retrieved more than 10,000 corncobs from the moat of the Forbidden City – among the four tonnes of refuse that tourists threw into the Tongzi River.

Some sections of the waterway in the old town of Lijiang , a popular city for tourism in Yunnan province, were also found to be congested with plastic bottles, disposable tableware and other refuse, China National Radio reported last year, while some restaurants were accused of discharging their wastewater – containing grease and detergent – directly into the river.

The mainland banned the dumping of household refuse and industrial waste in rivers, lakes, canals and reservoirs in 2004 when the Solid Wastes Pollution Prevention Law was amended.

But researcher Wang, who did a survey of about 120 villages in seven provinces in 2010, said there was no such government oversight in some regions.

The high cost of refuse collection and treatment had also discouraged some local governments from tackling the problem, Wang said. For instance, a town with 50,000 residents would need to spend at least 3.5 million yuan a year for proper waste disposal, Wang said.

“Without a public service to collect and cart away the trash, people in rural villages have no choice but to dump it in the waterways or fields,” she said.”

via Millions of tonnes of rural refuse are dumped in waterways a year, bill says | South China Morning Post.

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21/03/2013

* Britain’s oldest wine merchant puts new Chinese wine on sale

Reuters: “Britain’s oldest wine merchant is giving its official stamp of approval to Chinese wine by stocking four wines produced in China from European grapes, a production shift which could help China muscle into the world wine market.

Barrels of wine are seen inside a wine cellar in Chateau Changyu Afip Global on the outskirts of Beijing, September 17, 2010. REUTERS/Barry Huang

Berry Bros. & Rudd, which dates back 314 years and is a supplier to the royal family, said it was the first major British retailer to put Chinese wines on sale alongside some of the world’s finest wines.”

via Britain’s oldest wine merchant puts new Chinese wine on sale | Reuters.

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21/03/2013

* India tests underwater BrahMos missile, but has no submarine to fire it

Times of India: “The utter lack of long-term strategic planning in the Indian defence establishment was once again evident on Wednesday when the country for the first time tested the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from underwater.

The submarine-launched version of the missile was “successfully” tested from an underwater pontoon off Visakhapatnam around 2.10pm. BrahMos chief A Sivathanu Pillai promptly declared, “The missile is fully ready for fitment in the ‘Project-75 India’ submarines of the Indian Navy in vertical launch configuration, which will make the platform (submarine) one of the most powerful weapon platform in the world.”

Defence minister A K Antony also chipped in soon after by saying, “It’s a wonderful achievement and proud moment for India.” DRDO chief V K Saraswat said it was “a significant step towards boosting India’s military strength”. Other defence scientists proclaimed this was “first time any supersonic cruise missile has been launched vertically from a submerged platform”.

Amid all these gushing accolades, they however forgot to mention one critical fact: the Project-75 India submarines are nothing but a mere pipedream at present. With even the initial global tender or RFP (request for proposal) for them yet to be floated, the Navy will not get the first such submarine anytime before 2023.”

via India tests underwater BrahMos missile, but has no submarine to fire it – The Times of India.

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19/03/2013

* China heads back to the ’90s in economic reform drive

Reuters: “China is poised to launch its most serious economic reform drive since the 1990s after a series of top appointments at the weekend put the architects of Zhu Rongji‘s clash with state owned enterprises in charge of key economic agencies.

China's Vice Premier Ma Kai attends the sixth plenary meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing in this March 16, 2013 file photo. China is poised to launch its most serious economic reform drive since the 1990s after a series of top appointments at the weekend put the architects of Zhu Rongji's clash with state owned enterprises in charge of key economic agencies. Picture taken March 16, 2013. REUTERS-Jason Lee-Files

Vice Premier Ma Kai, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei and central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan were all Zhu lieutenants at the State Commission for Restructuring the Economy, which drew up the blueprint to sever the army’s ties with business and make millions jobless as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were reformed.

They headline a clutch of officials in Premier Li Keqiang’s new line-up, who are broadly considered pro-business economic reformers able to finish the work started by arch-reformer Zhu when he was premier in a way that meets the different economic conditions of today.

“China is about to bring on the structural reforms that will ultimately reduce the old SOEs to ashes,” Paul Markowski, President of New York-based MES Advisers and a long-time adviser to China’s financial authorities, told Reuters.

“This is changing the economic policy team in a way that would be akin to bringing back the Clinton economic team to run President Obama’s economic initiatives,” said Markowski, who met with senior officials – including those at the central bank and the powerful planning agency the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) – during China’s annual parliamentary meeting this month.

Zhu was credited with getting China into the World Trade Organisation in a move that required shutting thousands of inefficient businesses and ultimately set the nation’s exporters on course to become the world’s most prolific, driving the economy to No.2 spot behind the United States in the process.

The pace of reform hasn’t been matched since, allowing SOEs to expand their share of economic activity and retain their preferred borrower status at the nation’s banks, which critics say starves the private sector of capital and chokes innovation.

The need for an energetic push on economic reform is acute, not least because easier reforms have been done and China’s economy, now more than five times the size it was when Zhu left the stage, will respond in more muted fashion.”

via Analysis: China heads back to the ’90s in economic reform drive | Reuters.

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18/03/2013

* Taiwan to aim missiles at China

News.com.au: “TAIWAN is set to produce 50 medium-range missiles next year that will target military bases in southeast China, a media report says.

Taiwan Missiles

The article on Monday came after former defence minister Michael Tsai revealed in a recently published book that the island successfully created medium-range guided missiles that could be used against rival China back in 2008.

The “Yun Feng” (Cloud Peak) missile has been developed by the state-run Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology and each has a range of over 1,000 kilometres, said the Taipei-based China Times, citing unnamed military sources.

The missiles will be deployed in the mountains in central Taiwan from next year to aim at military targets, including airports and missile bases, along China’s southeastern coast, the report said.

Taiwan has been researching missiles of this type to counter threats from China after it fired missiles near the island in 1996, according to the report.

It added that the “Yun Feng” project was developed with the help of an unidentified European country.

The defence ministry declined to comment on Monday’s report but it has condemned Tsai’s revelations, saying they could endanger national security.

Taiwanese experts estimate China’s People’s Liberation Army currently has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the island.

Tensions with China have eased since Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwan’s president in 2008 on a Beijing-friendly platform.

However, China still refuses to renounce the possible use of force against the island in its long-stated goal of re-taking Taiwan, which has ruled itself since the end of a civil war in 1949.

via Taiwan to aim missiles at China | News.com.au.

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18/03/2013

* Indian startup aims for the moon – and $30 million

Reuters: “Rahul Narayan, who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, is the founder of Team Indus. It is the only Indian team in a race to the moon by privately funded groups competing for the largest international incentive prize of all time – the Google Lunar X Prize.

Google is offering $30 million in prizes to the first privately funded teams to safely land a robot on the Moon, including a grand prize and other bonus prizes.

In a conversation with Reuters, Narayan talks about Team Indus’ prospects, timing, his struggle to be taken seriously by investors and why he would not be too disappointed if someone else wins.”

via Indian startup aims for the moon – and $30 million | India Insight.

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18/03/2013

* China replaces Britain in world’s top five arms exporters

reuters: “China has become the world’s fifth-largest arms exporter, a respected Sweden-based think-tank said on Monday, its highest ranking since the Cold War, with Pakistan the main recipient.

A visitor to the China Aviation Museum, located on the outskirts of Beijing, takes a photograph of a row of old anti-aircraft guns on display in this August 17, 2010 file photo. REUTERS-David Gray-Files

China’s volume of weapons exports between 2008 and 2012 rose 162 percent compared with the previous five-year period, with its share of the global arms trade rising from 2 percent to 5 percent, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.

China replaces Britain in the top five arms-dealing countries between 2008 and 2012, a group dominated by the United States and Russia, which accounted for 30 percent and 26 percent of weapons exports, SIPRI said.”

via China replaces Britain in world’s top five arms exporters: report | Reuters.

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17/03/2013

* China’s Glamorous First Lady Peng Liyuan Saving the Communist Party With Song

The Daily Beast: “A U.S. president married to a Hollywood celebrity would spark a full-blown media frenzy in America. But China, for one, is not fazed. In 2007, when now president Xi Jinping was named to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), his wife, Peng Liyuan—a glamorous and wildly popular singer—quietly disappeared from public view.

China's New First Lady Peng Liyuan

Peng, 50, is known for singing soaring patriotic songs in praise of the Communist Party, often while clad in glittering floor-length ball gowns and occasionally in Chinese ethnic minority costume (think Barbra Streisand in Native American garb). She was born in Shandong province, enrolled at Shandong University of Art and Design at age 14, and joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1980, at 18. In 1986 she married Xi Jinping. Her daughter, Xi Mingze, was born in 1992 and stays invisible too (she studies at Harvard under an assumed name).

Peng’s star began to ascend in 1983, when she performed in state broadcaster China Central Television’s inaugural new year’s gala, today the most viewed TV program in the world. (Celine Dion performed at this year’s). Peng sang in the gala almost every year until 2007.

I was working in Beijing for a Chinese government-overseen magazine in 2007. We tried to run a profile describing Xi as “the son of a veteran revolutionary and the husband of Peng Liyuan, a famous singer,” but our censor asked us to delete that line. When we resisted, she forwarded us an email in bold red font from her superior at the Ministry of Commerce, stressing that we weren’t allowed to write about the personal lives of government officials, “especially family background or marital life.” To commit this “rudimentary political error,” he wrote, was to “touch a high-voltage line.”

Chinese government officials have many reasons to avoid revealing their personal sides. Many analysts say the CCP’s power relies on a façade of unity, and that means disappearing into a monolithic, faceless abstraction. Xi’s predecessor Hu Jintao was known for his blandness, but a video unearthed late last year of a smiling, animated Hu in 1984 suggests that his evolution toward inscrutability was purposeful.

It’s also posited that Chinese culture encourages conformity; there is an oft-quoted Chinese expression, “The bird that sticks out its neck gets shot.” Moreover, the idea of a high-profile first wife conjures the ghost of Jiang Qing, Mao’s wife who was also a performer and is widely considered responsible for China’s horrific Cultural Revolution. And, as exposés on the family wealth of Wen Jiabao and Xi have revealed, digging into the personal lives of China’s political elite tends to unearth skeletons.

In the face of this kind of competition, a little stardust from China’s new First Lady might be the Party’s best weapon.

Fast-forward to now: the Financial Times just reported that Peng will not only accompany Xi to the BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, this month, but will speak there. “She can help China build soft power,” said a source in the piece. Peng also became a Goodwill Ambassador for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS—a controversial subject in China—for the World Health Organization last year and won a splashy $160,000 China Arts Award in December.

Is Xi Jinping –and the Party at large—embracing American-style politicking? It’s widely opined that Bo Xilai, the charismatic Chongqing Party secretary purged last year, was brought down for being too threateningly populist. Yet, Xi Jinping seems to be styling himself in Bo’s mold. He’s made highly publicized visits around China the last few weeks, intended to echo Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 “southern tour” that jump-started China’s economy, and inspired enthusiastic tea-leaf readings that he’ll be a reformer. Though Bo was kicked down, perhaps the party has learned from his talents.

Pressure is on for the CCP to burnish its image. Overly outsize stars within—or married to—the party can be reined in, but society at large is developing a celebrity culture, and that’s a threat too. More and more, people look up to leaders from business, pop culture, and the Internet. Alibaba founder Jack Ma inspires Steve Jobs–like reverence in China. Real-estate tycoon Zhang Xin is affiliated with the World Economic Forum and the Council on Foreign Relations and is becoming a thought leader. And the rabid following behind Li Yang, founder of Crazy English, is downright cultlike.

These people have the power to influence the masses and could do so in dangerous ways. Kai-Fu Lee, former president of Google China, has microblogged veiled criticisms of the government on his Weibo account, which has over 32 million followers. Yang Lan, the “Oprah of China,” has griped about China’s media censorship (“There are frustrations”) to overseas publications like Marie Claire. And the most popular blogger in China is Han Han, known for his cynical attitude toward Chinese politics and society.

In the face of this kind of competition, a little stardust from China’s new first lady might be the party’s best weapon.”

via China’s Glamorous First Lady Peng Liyuan Saving the Communist Party With Song – The Daily Beast.

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17/03/2013

* Chinese state-owned railway giant goes into biz

China Daily: “The China Railway Corporation, which will take over the commercial functions of the former Ministry of Railways (MOR), went into business on Sunday.

Chinese state-owned railway giant goes into biz

The company announced its arrival via Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, two days after receiving approval from the State Council, China’s cabinet.

The company will conduct business operations that were previously conducted by the now-defunct MOR, while the newly formed State Railways Administration will handle the MOR’s administrative responsibilities.

With registered capital of 1.04 trillion yuan ($165.73 billion), the China Railway Corporation will take over all of the MOR’s related assets, liabilities and personnel, as well as shoulder the responsibility of running trains for public welfare, according to a statement posted on the government website.

The wholly state-owned enterprise is administered by the central government and supervised by the Ministry of Transport, the statement said.

The move was made as part of the government’s efforts to restructure its cabinet, as well as eliminate a previous situation in which the MOR played roles as both market participant and regulator in the railway sector.

The company is expected to address the MOR’s high remaining debt and improve the country’s massive railway network.”

via Chinese state-owned railway giant goes into biz |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn.

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