Archive for August, 2013

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29/08/2013

China environment min suspends some approvals for Sinopec, CNPC

Reuters: “China’s environment ministry will stop approving some new refining projects and upgrades of existing facilities by the country’s top state-owned oil firms after the two failed to meet key pollution targets in 2012, it said on Thursday.

Workers walk inside China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Lanzhou Chemical Company in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu province April 27, 2007. REUTERS/Jason Lee

The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) failed to meet targets to cut chemical oxygen demand in 2012, while Sinopec Group failed to meet a target to cut nitrogen oxide emissions.

Officials from the companies were not immediately available for comment, although the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily said the MEP’s move would have no impact on 790,000 barrels per day of refining capacity now under construction.

The ministry said in a notice posted on its website (www.mep.gov.cn) that it would suspend approvals of environment impact assessments for all new refining projects from the two oil giants, apart from any upgrades that target fuel pollution specifications or other environmental renovations.

“Such tough punishment on the two oil majors is unprecedented – it is a warning to others,” said Wang Tao, resident scholar at the Energy & Climate Program of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing.

“But the MEP has only suspended approval for their new refineries, and what we really need is for them to take strong measures to curb pollution from existing refineries,” said Wang.

CNPC is the parent of PetroChina, China’s dominant oil and gas producer. Sinopec Group is the parent of top Asian refiner Sinopec Corp.

The MEP and its local branches have struggled to impose their will on state-owned industrial enterprises, which are big sources of economic growth as well as pollution. But Beijing has promised to get tough on firms accused of ignoring environmental rules or approval procedures.

People’s Daily said on Thursday the decision “demonstrated China’s determination when it comes to pollution emissions.””

via China environment min suspends some approvals for Sinopec, CNPC | Reuters.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/economic-factors/greening-of-china/

Posted in China alert, Economics, Good news, Politics | Leave a Comment »

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28/08/2013

China Launches Three ASAT Satellites

Washington Free Beacon : “China’s military recently launched three small satellites into orbit as part of Beijing’s covert anti-satellite warfare program, according to a U.S. official.

AP

The three satellites, launched July 20 by a Long March-4C launcher, were later detected conducting unusual maneuvers in space indicating the Chinese are preparing to conduct space warfare against satellites, said the official who is familiar with intelligence reports about the satellites.

One of the satellites was equipped with an extension arm capable of attacking orbiting satellites that currently are vulnerable to both kinetic and electronic disruption.

“This is a real concern for U.S. national defense,” the official said. “The three are working in tandem and the one with the arm poses the most concern. This is part of a Chinese ‘Star Wars’ program.”

China’s 2007 test of an anti-satellite missile shocked U.S. military and intelligence leaders who realized the U.S. satellites, a key to conducting high-performance warfare, are vulnerable to attack. Officials have said China could cripple U.S. war-fighting efforts by knocking out a dozen satellites. Satellites are used for military command and control, precision weapons guidance, communications and intelligence-gathering.

The official discussed some aspects of the Chinese anti-satellite (ASAT) program on condition of anonymity after some details were disclosed in online posts by space researchers.

“The retractable arm can be used for a number of things – to gouge, knock off course, or grab passing satellites,” the official said.

The three satellites also could perform maintenance or repairs on orbiting satellites, the official said.

Details of the small satellite activity were first reported last week in the blog “War is Boring.”

The posting stated that one of the satellites was monitored “moving all over the place” and appeared to make close-in passes with other orbiting satellites.

“It was so strange, space analysts wondered whether China was testing a new kind of space weapon — one that could intercept other satellites and more or less claw them to death,” the report said.

The U.S. official said: “It is exactly what was reported: An ASAT test.”

According to space researchers who tracked the satellites movements, one of the satellites on Aug. 16 lowered its orbit by about 93 miles. It then changed course and rendezvoused with a different satellite. The two satellites reportedly passed within 100 meters of each other.

One space researcher was quoted in the online report as saying one satellite was equipped with a “robot-manipulator arm developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.”

The Chinese appear to be testing their capability for intercepting and either damaging or destroying orbiting satellites by testing how close they can maneuver to a satellite, the U.S. official said.

“They are learning the tactics, techniques and processes needed for anti-satellite operations,” the official said.

The Chinese have given a code name to the satellites and numbered the satellites differently. Chinese state-run media identified the satellites as the Chuang Xin-3 (Innovation-3); the Shi Yan-7 (Experiment-7); and Shi Jian-15 (Practice-15). The Shi Jian-15 is believed to be the satellite with the robotic arm. The official said the designation used in the blog, SY-7, was not correct.”

via Washington Free Beacon » China Launches Three ASAT Satellites » Print.

Posted in Aerospace, China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Politics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

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27/08/2013

Chinese Hatred of Japan—Real or Government-Created?

The Atlantic: “”On this day in 1945, Japan announced unconditional surrender.” The official account of China Central Television posted this information on Weibo, one of China’s largest social media platforms, and it quickly spread. Three trending posts, with a combined 236,000 retweets, identified the day’s significance and emphasized the number of Chinese who had been wounded and killed during the war — 35 million by China’s official estimates.

chinahatesbanner.jpg

Within an hour, the hashtag “#NeverForgetNationalHumiliation” began to trend, drawing a mix of patriotism, anger, and confusion. User @谭兵林 asked, “How can you not mention to whom the Japanese surrendered?” Others criticized the appropriation of a day thought to be a victory to remember a period of national humiliation: “Many people have told me that today is a day of national humiliation,” wrote @Cepheus的旁座-ELF, “but … isn’t today the day Japan surrendered? How can Japan surrendering be a day of national humiliation?”

How much of this anti-Japanese sentiment is real, and how much manufactured? All three trending articles were posted by state-run media, with some users complaining that “50-cent party” users — those alleged to write pro-government posts for money — played a role in spreading and promoting the anti-Japan comments. Yet much of the reaction was organic. In last year’s round of anti-Japan protests, Chinese authorities sought to promote such protests, but also control them, fearing public anger might spiral out of control. While the government may be seeking to use public sentiment, perhaps as a distraction from domestic issues, Chinese dissatisfaction with Japan is not entirely manufactured; it has sharply increased over the last year, while public support for Japan among Chinese has fallen 12 percentage points over the last five years, according to a recent Pew survey.

In particular, Japanese officials’ annual visit to Yasukuni, the shrine memorializing Japanese soldiers who fought in the Second World War, has angered Chinese. One Weibo user wrote, “When I saw on TV that the number of Japanese who visited the Yasukuni Shrine was double that of last year, I felt myself become suddenly enraged.” Many others joined in, calling for an attack on Japan or a boycott of Japanese goods.

Some version of the Yasukuni Shrine controversy replays itself between China and Japan every year, but tensions between the two countries have been especially raw of late. Last year, violent protests erupted throughout China as Japan announced it was nationalizing a chain of islands, known by Japan as the Senkaku and China as the Diaoyu. A survey conducted annually since 2005 showed that last year, 92.8 percent of Chinese and 90.1 percent of Japanese have “unfavorable feelings” toward the other’s country, with 77.6 percent of Chinese citing the aforementioned dispute as the main motivating factor.

Japan’s recent political moves — including the move to nationalize the islands — have added fuel to an already-burning fire. The Chinese education system has long incorporated teachings about Japanese atrocities during World War II and encouraged negative feelings toward the country. But this anti-Japanese sentiment is not simply an expression of regret for the past. As long-time China watchers Orville Schell and John Delury wrote in their new book, Wealth and Power:

Foreign superiority (as remembered in the Opium Wars, colonization, and Japanese occupation) may have been humiliating and shameful, but it also served as a sharp goad urging Chinese to sacrifice for all the various reform movements and revolutions that came to be launched as a way to remove the stigma of their shame.”

via Chinese Hatred of Japan—Real or Government-Created? – China – The Atlantic.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/historical-perspectives/china-20c-timeline/

Posted in Foreign invasion, History, Neighbour conflict, Politics | Leave a Comment »

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27/08/2013

Is China Building an “Aircraft Carrier in Disguise?”

If true, another step towards military confrontation.

The Diplomat: “Earlier this month a series of pictures posted on Chinese military forums appeared to show that China was building its first indigenous aircraft carrier, prompting much speculation and commentary including from The Diplomat.

China

Now some claim that this narrative might have been mistaken.

According to Japan’s Kyodo News, Kanwa Information Center, a private Canadian think tank, has published a report that claims that the pictures do not show an aircraft carrier. Instead, the Kanwa report—which is based on Ukraine military sources— says the vessel under construction is China’s first amphibious assault ship capable of carrying hovercraft and helicopters.

In other words, if the report is accurate, China is building a Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA)-like ship not completely unlike the Izumo-class helicopter destroyer Japan launched earlier this month, which Chinese analysts referred to as an “aircraft carrier in disguise.”

Kanwa says the vessel is being built at a shipyard on Shanghai’s Changxing Island and could be commissioned as early as 2015. It will reportedly displace 35,000 tons, roughly double what China’s three existing Type 071 amphibious assault ships, which displace between 17,000-20,000 tons, according to Sino-Defense. The same source says the Type 071 ships were built by Shanghai-based Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard. The location of Changxing Island, suggests that Jiangnan Shipyard is constructing the new vessel.

Japan’s Izumo-class helicopter destroyer reportedly displaces between 20,000-25,000-tons.

China’s new LHA will carry four hovercraft and up to 20 helicopters, according to Kyodo News, which cited the Kanawa report.

There’s reason to think the Kanwa report is accurate. Indeed, last November a Chinese admiral told CCTV, China’s official broadcaster, that the PLAN was building a 40,000-ton amphibious assault ship similar to the U.S. Navy’s LHA.”

via Is China Building an “Aircraft Carrier in Disguise?” | Flashpoints | The Diplomat.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2013/08/21/china-japan-and-indias-asian-arms-race/

Posted in China alert, Military, Neighbour conflict, Politics | Leave a Comment »

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27/08/2013

China’s Shanghai Tower: A massive urban green space

If true, very impressive.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

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26/08/2013

Mooncake Austerity Hits China’s Mid-Autumn Festiva

WSJ: “First baijiu, then red carpets, and now mooncakes. For Chinese government officials, the list of taboos keeps getting longer.

One month before the country celebrates its annual Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese authorities said Wednesday that they are barring officials from buying mooncakes—a centerpiece of the holiday—as well as giving presents or hosting dinners on the public dime.

Traditionally, mooncakes are gifted (and often re-gifted) as a form of tribute during the festival, exchanged among family members as well as among companies, their clients and employees. “But this kind of polite reciprocity, when overdone, becomes a kind of squandering of cash,” ran an editorial in the People’s Daily on Thursday, praising the mooncake crackdown.

About the size of a hockey puck and traditionally stuffed with anything from red bean paste to salted egg yolk, these days, the once-humble mooncake is barely recognizable. Some are now made of solid gold and others come swathed in pure silk. Such is the luxury nature of some mooncakes that in past years, talk of a “mooncake bubble” circulated, while in 2011, China’s government proposed that workers pay income tax on the value of cakes gifted to them by their employers.

Given the frenetic pace of mooncake gift-giving, they’ve long been seen as an easy vehicle for corruption. Many environmental NGOs have also condemned the modern crop of mooncakes, criticizing their elaborate packaging as wasteful.

This week’s mooncake crackdown is part of a broader attempt to quell anger about public corruption, which in recent years has been stoked by the sight of officials gorging on lavish banquets and indulging in other excesses, including luxury watches and more. Thursday’s editorial in the People’s Daily, for example, cited the anti-mooncake move as part of President Xi Jinping’s effort to educate Party members about the evils of the “Four Winds,” i.e. “formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and waste.”

On Thursday, some users on Sina Weibo, China’s popular Twitter-like microblogging service, though, were less than impressed. “”The system doesn’t change, these kinds of trivialities aren’t of any use,” wrote one.

Others mourned the idea that the confections were facilitating corruption. “A holiday that was once simple and pure has been transformed by China’s corrupt bureaucracy into something with a different meaning,” wrote another. “How sad.”

Still others took the opportunity to rail against mooncakes in general. Despite the holiday zeal for them, many languish uneaten for weeks after they’ve been gifted. “They’re just a mix of stuff high in fat, high in sugar, and high in additives,” wrote one user.

“They’re not tasty and they’re expensive,” added another. “No wonder that other than during the Mid-Autumn festival, people don’t eat them.””

via Mooncake Austerity Hits China’s Mid-Autumn Festival – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

Posted in China alert, corruption, Economics, Politics | Leave a Comment »

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26/08/2013

China hopes to snatch sales from US with J-31 4th-generation fighter jet

When that happens, China will really be a competitor to US for role of world Superpower.

Posted in Aerospace, China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Politics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

26/08/2013

Sonia says food bill is ‘big message’, Mulayam calls it poll gimmick

Times of India: “Declaring Congress’s goal to “wipe out hunger and malnutrition”, Sonia Gandhi asked all political parties on Monday to set aside differences and support the Food Security Bill so that a “big message” could be sent out about India’s capabilities.

English: Sonia Gandhi, Indian politician, pres...

English: Sonia Gandhi, Indian politician, president of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. Français : Sonia Gandhi, une femme politique indienne, présidente du parti du congrès indien, et veuve de Rajiv Gandhi, ancien premier ministre de l’Inde. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Opening the Congress innings on the debate in Lok Sabha on food bill, she rejected questions over whether the country had resources to implement the landmark measure.

“It is time to send out a big message that India can take responsibility of ensuring food security for all Indians … our goal is to wipe out hunger and malnutrition all over the country,” Gandhi said about her pet agenda.

Making a strong pitch for smooth passage of the landmark legislation, the UPA chairperson said the measure is a historic opportunity to provide food security to tens of millions of people in the country which will end the problem of hunger once for all.

She sought to dismiss questions over whether the ambitious scheme could be implemented. “The question is not whether we have enough resources or not and whether it would benefit the farmers or not. We have to arrange resources for it. We have to do it,” she said in the House where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was present.

Gandhi said farmers and agriculture have always remained priority of the UPA.

Agreeing that reforming public distribution system (PDS) was a must for the food law, Gandhi noted that there was basic need to remove the leakages to ensure that benefits of the food bill reached the intended beneficiary.

Gandhi said the Congress had made a commitment to the nation in the 2009 election manifesto to bring forward such a legislation. It is one in a series of various rights promised and provided by UPA like Right to Information Act, Right to Education Act, Right to Work Act and Right to Forest Produce Act.

Poll gimmick

Contending that the Food Security Bill was being brought with an eye on elections, UPA’s outside supporter Samajwadi Party on Monday demanded that the measure be kept in abeyance till chief ministers are consulted as it would put additional burden on states.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav raised a number of questions over the bill in Lok Sabha and said it would badly hurt farmers as there was no guarantee in the provisions that all the produce would be bought by the government.

“It is clearly being brought for elections … Why didn’t you bring this bill earlier when poor people were dying because of hunger? Every election, you bring up a measure. There is nothing for the poor,” he said participating in the debate on the bill.”

via Sonia says food bill is ‘big message’, Mulayam calls it poll gimmick – The Times of India.

Posted in Economics, India alert, Internal politics, Politics | Leave a Comment »

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26/08/2013

China’s Bloggers Rally Around Bo Xilai

BusinessWeek: “Official China has been touting it as a breakthrough for government transparency. But has the decision to live blog the five-day trial of Bo Xilai, which closed Monday, backfired? That’s a relevant question as a flood of support for the charismatic former high-flying princeling has erupted on China’s Internet.

Former Chinese politician Bo Xilai speaks in a court room at Jinan Intermediate People's Court in Jinan, eastern China's Shandong province, on Aug. 25

China posted portions of the five days of court proceedings in Jinan, Shandong Province, on Sina Weibo (SINA), China’s largest microblogging site. Chinese checking out the trial online got to see an unusually spirited defense put up by the 64-year-old Bo, the former head of China’s southwestern megalopolis Chongqing who almost made it into the top echelons of the Chinese leadership.

The decision to show the trial online demonstrates an admirable new candor, according to state-run media. “The public hearing and the Weibo broadcasts reflect the transparency and openness of the country’s rule of law,” said a commentary on the website of China’s official party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, on Aug. 22.

STORY: Can Bo Xilai Be China’s Comeback Kid?

But that’s not the takeaway for everyone. Instead, many on the Web have written of a newfound admiration for Bo, who has been charged with bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power (the verdict—likely harsh—will come later, at a time still unspecified),and who fell from official grace last year after a murder perpetrated by his wife came to light.

“I’ve changed my view of him! He is much more gentlemanly than those with power and he really does know the law,” said one tweet by blogger He Jiangbing on Sina Weibo, translated by blog Tea Leaf Nation, which monitors China’s Internet. “This man has remarkable logic, eloquence and memory. As someone who likes smart people, for a moment I almost forgot about his avarice, evilness and ruthlessness,” wrote another microblogger, also on Sina Weibo.

While the decision to tweet key parts of the trial has indeed surprised many, others are less impressed. “The selective postings can only show selective openness and selective justice, and cannot be said to represent the truth,” said Liu Wanqiang, a Guangxi-based journalist, reported the BBC on its website on Aug. 22.

VIDEO: Can Bo Xilai’s Trial Change China’s Government?

In contrast, way back in 1976, the trial of Mao’s widow Jiang Qing, a member of the so-called Gang of Four, was shown live on television for all to view. While few Chinese then had their own TV sets, much of the population gathered communally around televisions to watch and discuss the live proceedings.

Beijing over the past week has launched a crackdown on spreading rumors on the Internet, which some fear will be used to squelch online free speech. Already authorities have announced arrests, including the detention of a muckraking journalist for “criminal fabrication and dissemination of rumors online,” reported the official English language China Daily on Aug. 26. Interestingly, little effort appears to have been made so far to scrub the Internet of the pro-Bo commentary.

“China is a country that respects and protects free speech, but people should also bear in mind that greater online freedom is guaranteed by greater responsibility,” stated the official Xinhua News Agency in a piece calling for greater efforts to police the Web on Aug. 21. “People should maintain moral principles and denounce any activities that harm the reputation and interests of others so as to stop the Internet from decaying into a land of abusive language and rumors.””

via China’s Bloggers Rally Around Bo Xilai – Businessweek.

Posted in 10 year leadership change, China alert, Internal politics, Internet, Politics, social media | Leave a Comment »

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26/08/2013

China supports U.N. investigation in Syria, urges caution

China (and Russia) have finally stopped giving President Assad their full support.  

(Reuters) – China supports an independent and objective investigation by U.N. experts into allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, China’s foreign minister said on Monday, while urging a cautious response and political resolution to the crisis.

United Nations (U.N.) vehicles transport a team of U.N. chemical weapons experts to the scene of a poison gas attack outside the Syrian capital last week, in Damascus August 26, 2013. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri

“China has paid close attention to the reports of the use of chemical weapons inside Syria, and China resolutely opposes the use of chemical weapons no matter who uses them,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

“China supports the U.N.’s secretariat to, in accordance with relevant U.N. resolutions, open an independent, objective, fair and professional investigation, to find out what really happened as soon as possible,” Wang said.

U.N. inspectors left central Damascus on Monday to investigate sites of an alleged chemical weapons strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, after calls from Western powers for military action to punish what may be the world’s worst chemical attack in 25 years.

Wang did not directly refer to the threats of military action, but urged a careful handling of the matter.

“The only way out for the Syrian issue is a political resolution,” he said. “All parties ought to cautiously handle the Syrian chemical weapons issue to avoid interfering in (efforts) to resolve the Syrian issue politically.”

Syria agreed on Sunday to allow the inspectors to visit the site. But the United States and its allies say evidence has probably been destroyed by heavy government shelling of the area over the past five days. It said the offer to allow inspectors came too late.

Major powers including Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s main ally which has long blocked U.N.-sponsored intervention against him, have urged the Syrian leader to cooperate with U.N. chemical weapons inspectors already in Damascus to pursue earlier allegations.

China said last week that no side should rush to pre-judge the results of any investigation by U.N. chemical weapons experts in Syria, who it said should carry out an objective and impartial inquiry in consultation with the Syrian government.

via China supports U.N. investigation in Syria, urges caution | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, GeoPolitics, Good news, Politics | 2 Comments »

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