Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
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Research sheds light on 500-year Chinese weather cycle and suggests a cool change could be on the way
Findings leave no room for complacency or inaction
A team of Chinese researchers says a period of global cooling could be on the way, but the consequences will be serious. Photo: Xinhua
A new study has found winters in northern China have been warming since 4,000BC – regardless of human activity – but the mainland scientists behind the research warn there is no room for complacency or inaction on climate change, with the prospect of a sudden global cooling also posing a danger.
The study found that winds from Arctic Siberia have been growing weaker, the conifer tree line has been retreating north, and there has been a steady rise in biodiversity in a general warming trend that continues today. It appears to have little to do with the increase in greenhouse gases which began with the industrial revolution, according to the researchers.
Lead scientist Dr Wu Jing, from the Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the study had found no evidence of human influence on northern China’s warming winters.
“Driving forces include the sun, the atmosphere, and its interaction with the ocean,” Wu said. “We have detected no evidence of human influence. But that doesn’t mean we can just relax and do nothing.”
Moon Lake, a small volcanic lake hidden in the deep forest of China’s Greater Khingan Mountain Range, where a team of scientists spent more than a decade studying the secrets hidden in its sediments. Photo: Baidu
Wu and her colleagues are concerned that, as societies grow more used to the concept of global warming, people will develop a misplaced confidence in our ability to control climate change. Nature, they warned, may trick us and might catch us totally unprepared – causing chaos, panic, famine and even wars as the global climate system is disrupted.
There are already alarming signs, according to their paper, which has been accepted for publication by the online Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.
Wu and her colleagues spent more than a dozen years studying sediments under Moon Lake, a small volcanic lake hidden in the deep forests of the Greater Khingan Mountain Range in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region. They found that winter warming over the past 6,000 years had not been a smooth ride, with ups and downs occurring about every 500 years.
Their findings confirmed an earlier study by a separate team of Chinese scientists, published by online journal Scientific Reports in 2014, which first detected the 500-year cyclical pattern of China’s summer monsoons and linked it to solar activity.
The 2014 research, which drew on 5,000 years’ worth of data, suggested the current warm phase of the cycle could terminate over the next several decades, ushering in a 250-year cool phase, potentially leading to a partial slowdown in man-made global warming.
Wu said the latest study, with 10,000 years’ worth of new data, not only helped to draw a more complete picture of the 500-year cycle, but also revealed a previously unknown mechanism behind the phenomenon, which suggested the impact of the sun on the Earth’s climate may be greater than previously thought.
According to Wu, the variation in solar activity alone was usually not strong enough to induce the rapid changes in vegetation the research team recorded in the sediment cores of Moon Lake. Instead, the scientists found the warming impact was amplified by a massive, random interaction between surface seawater and the atmosphere in the Pacific Ocean known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation.
As a result of the research findings, Wu said she was now more worried about cooling than warming.
“A sharp drop of temperature will benefit nobody. The biggest problem is, we know it will come, but we don’t know exactly when.”
Developers say their prototype craft could dive to 1,000 metres in five minutes
Liu Kaizhou, who also worked the Jiaolong submersible, says ‘We are in uncharted water’
Professor Liu Kaizhou, who developed the autopilot for China’s manned Jiaolong submersible, says his team has designed a vessel that can move through water like a plane moves through the air. Photo: Xinhua
Chinese engineers say they are developing a radical design for a super-fast robot submersible which the project leader, who worked on the manned deep-sea vessel Jiaolong, or Sea Dragon, claims can “fly” in water like a plane travels through the air.
At 3 metres (9.8ft) long, the prototype consists of a cigar-shaped body, with a guidance system in the bow and a jet plane style rudder and a propeller in the stern.
Outriggers house batteries and two more propellers. These are attached to the body by wing-like planes that the developers said will give the vessel the kind of lift in water that takes an aeroplane into the air and back to the earth.
Developers said the prototype will be capable of 10 knots and could dive to a depth of 1,000 metres (3,281 feet) – or surface from that depth – at about three metres a second, taking about 5½ minutes.
Professor Liu Kaizhou, lead scientist of the project at the Shenyang Institute of Automation, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Liaoning province, said the design had great potential.
If a traditional submarine was like an air balloon, he said, the prototype was like an aircraft. “It is technically flying, fast and freely, like a plane for the water.”
The prototype has 20 major components on board, including a computer, and communications and surveillance equipment. These were all developed and tested by the team, but getting them to work together posed some unexpected challenges, Liu said, meaning the transition to operations in a tough marine environment was some time away.
Underwater station could be a game changer, Chinese scientist says
“We aim to make the first open sea test in about a year,” he said.
The submersible can be powered by conventional batteries or a chemical engine that mixes lithium and sulphur hexafluoride to produce heated steam for electrical generators – an energy source often used by torpedoes.
Funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology from 2017, the project was driven by China’s growing ambition to become a superpower in the world’s oceans.
The team said their submersible had the potential to become the backbone of China’s search-and-rescue operations at sea, naval intelligence gathering, high-precision sea floor mapping, or to transport minerals from the seabed to the surface.
Professor Liu Kaizhou (left) with colleagues Ye Cong and Yang Bo, was instrumental in the success of China’s Jiaolong manned submersible. Photo: Xinhua
Professor Du Tezhuan, a researcher in fluid dynamics at the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, said the design was a bold one but it posed the research team many hard questions.
The density of water was much higher than that of air, he said, which meant the vessel would encounter more drag and would need a strong power source.
“Without sufficient speed, the lift will be weak, and to reach high speeds, lots of energy will be needed. Flying in water is not as easy as flying in the air,” said Du, who was not involved in the project.
Why Beijing is speeding up underwater drone tests in the South China Sea
“But in theory it should work. It is worth a try.”
Liu – who led the design of the autopilot system that can take the Jiaolong to depths of more than 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) – said that after tests on the prototype were complete, other innovations were possible. These included covering the vessel with air bubbles to reduce friction.
“This technology is brand new,” he said. “We are in uncharted water and we are excited by the challenges.”
BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — “A spring breeze blew into Sijiqing.”
This is how seniors at the Beijing-based nursing home recalled a visit in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.
During the visit to the Sijiqing Home for the Elderly, Xi chatted with senior citizens, asked them about their health, families and lives.
Xi stressed the need to improve the management and service quality of elderly care institutions to ensure that every senior citizen can live a carefree, healthy, comfortable and happy life.
More than five years on, Liu Jinwen, a member of the elderly fashion models team at Sijiqing, said the visit had a great impact on them.
“Senior citizens should maintain a positive outlook on life and spend their old age gracefully,” Liu said. “To that end, we set up the models team to make our lives more ‘beautiful!'”
Liu is just one of the growing number of happy seniors in China.
Under Xi’s leadership, the country has over the past few years formulated a series of measures to boost elderly care and witnessed a marked improvement of the lives of the senior citizens.
BETTER NURSING HOMES
The services at nursing homes are related to the happiness of more than 200 million old people in China, especially the 40 million of them who have lost the ability in full or in part to take care of themselves.
In 2017, a four-year campaign was launched nationwide to boost nursing homes’ service quality. More rules and regulations on the management of elderly care institutions have also been drawn up.
At Sijiqing, a lot of cultural activities were organized. A “Silver Age” college was set up. And the nursing home teamed up with a local hospital to provide fast access for senior citizens to quality medical treatment.
“It’s really convenient now,” said Zhang Jin, a Sijiqing nursing home resident.
IMPROVED COMMUNITY-LEVEL SERVICES
Another field of senior care that has benefited a lot from policy support is community-level services.
Community-based elderly care is important to China’s old-age care system. About 90 percent of the Chinese elderly prefer to spend their later years at home, 6 percent at community-level elderly care centers and only 4 percent at nursing homes, according to statistics.
But community-level elderly care centers also play a key role in providing food and medical services to senior citizens who opt to stay at home.
Liu Jianguo, 86, and his wife are among the people who benefit.
The couple, living in the southeastern city of Fuzhou, go to the community elderly daycare center almost every day.
“My wife and I usually spend the whole day here,” Liu said, praising the center for its environment, facilities and staff.
Across China, all urban communities and more than half of rural communities had established community-based old-age service facilities as of the end of 2018.
In China, a comprehensive elderly care service system is taking shape, meeting the needs of the elderly who prefer to spend later years at home, community-level centers or nursing homes.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) holds talks with India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)
BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with visiting Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar here on Monday.
Wang called on both sides to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, cherish the outcomes of the improvement of bilateral relations, further enhance mutual trust and deepen cooperation, according to a Chinese official press release.
Jaishankar said India is looking forward to the second informal meeting between the leaders of the two countries in India this year and is willing to make sure the meeting is a full success.
Both sides believe that they should safeguard their developing country status, and safeguard their rights of development and legitimate interests in the World Trade Organization.
Wang stated China’s principled position on India’s recent unilateral move on the Kashmir issue, said that China hopes India will play a constructive role in regional peace and stability, according to the press release.
Jaishankar explained India’s stance, noting that India is willing to exercise restraint and improve relations with Pakistan. India will also abide by the consensus reached with China on maintaining peace in the border and continue to work with China to properly solve the border issue through consultations, said the press release.
Later on Monday, Wang and Jaishankar co-chaired the second meeting of the China-India high-level people-to-people exchanges mechanism, agreeing to further promote the friendship between the two peoples.
Image copyright EPAImage caption Officials say about 5,000 gathered for the fourth day of protests at the airport
Hong Kong International Airport cancelled all departures on Monday, as thousands of anti-government protesters occupied and caused disruption.
Passengers have been told not to travel to the airport, which is one of the world’s busiest transport hubs.
In a statement, officials blamed “seriously disrupted” operations.
Many of those protesting are critical of the actions of police, who on Sunday were filmed firing tear gas and rubber bullets at close range.
Some protesters wore bandages over their eyes in response to images of a woman bleeding heavily from her eye on Sunday, having reportedly been shot by a police projectile.
In a statement on Monday afternoon, Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said they were cancelling all flights that were not yet checked in.
More than 160 flights scheduled to leave after 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT) will now not depart.
Arrivals already heading into Hong Kong will still be allowed to land, but other scheduled flights have been cancelled.
Officials are now working to reopen the airport by 06:00 on Tuesday, a statement said.
Some passengers expressed annoyance at the disruption. “It’s very frustrating and scary for some people,” one man from Pakistan told the BBC. “We’ll just have to wait for our next flight.”
Helena Morgan, from the UK, said she was set to return to the UK to get her exam results on Thursday. “I’m hoping we get back for them and we’re not on a flight,” she said.
But others were more understanding of the protests. “I was expecting something, given all the news,” one arrival, Gurinda Singh, told Reuters news agency.
As rumours spread that police plan to move in on protesters on Monday evening, thousands opted to leave on foot. There are large backlogs for transport back into the centre, local reports say.
The BBC’s Stephen McDonell, who is at the scene, says the airport has effectively shut down while authorities work out how to deal with the crisis.
Hong Kong’s mass demonstrations and unrest show no sign of abating, more than two months after they were sparked by a controversial extradition bill.
Beijing officials have strongly condemned Sunday’s violence and linked violent protesters to “terrorism”.
Image copyright REUTERSImage caption Many of those who gathered carried signs condemning police conduct
What happened on Sunday?
On Sunday afternoon, a peaceful rally in the city’s Victoria Park led to clashes when protesters moved out of the area and marched along a major road despite a police ban.
There were confrontations in several central districts and police used rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators.
In the bustling central Wan Chai district, petrol bombs and bricks were thrown at police, who responded by charging at protesters.
A number of people, including a police officer, were injured in the clashes.
Videos on social media also showed officers storming enclosed railway stations and firing tear gas.
Footage inside another station showed officers firing what appeared to be rubber bullets at close range and several police officers beating people with batons.
Media caption Violence erupts in HK train stations
Local media outlets reported that suspected undercover police officers had dressed-up as protesters to make surprise arrests.
While protests in the city have turned increasingly violent, there were no reports of arrests during the three previous days of the airport sit-in.
What has the reaction been?
On Monday the Chinese authorities, who have not yet physically intervened to quell the unrest, used their strongest language yet to condemn violent protesters.
“Hong Kong’s radical demonstrators have repeatedly used extremely dangerous tools to attack police officers, which already constitutes a serious violent crime, and also shows the first signs of terrorism emerging,” Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), said at a press briefing.
“This wantonly tramples on Hong Kong’s rule of law and social order.”
Demonstrations started in June in opposition to a proposed extradition bill, which would have allowed suspected criminals to be sent to mainland China for trial.
Critics said it would undermine Hong Kong’s legal freedoms, and could be used to silence political dissidents.
Although the government has now suspended the bill, demonstrators want it to be fully withdrawn.
Their demands have broadened to include calls for an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, and an amnesty for all arrested protesters.
Hong Kong is part of China but its citizens have more autonomy than those on the mainland.
It has a free press and judicial independence under the so-called “one country, two systems” approach – freedoms which activists fear are being increasingly eroded.
SHANGHAI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) — Over 15 of Shanghai’s popular destinations, including the Shanghai Wildlife Park, Shanghai Center and the Shanghai Museum reopened Sunday after typhoon Lekima left the city.
The sky cleared up in the business hub on Sunday as Lekima headed north through Jiangsu and Shandong provinces.
Typhoon Lekima, the ninth typhoon of the year, made landfall in the city of Wenling, the coastal areas of eastern Zhejiang Province, at 1:45 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Anticipating typhoon damage, Shanghai closed many of its popular tourist sites including parks and museums for safety reasons starting from Aug. 9. A total of 92 scenic sites, parks and resorts as well as museums were closed on Saturday.
On Sunday, 70 tourist sites remained closed for safety checks and are scheduled to reopen on Monday or Tuesday, said the municipal’s cultural and tourism bureau.
Chief executive Rupert Hogg says staff who ‘support or participate in illegal protests’ would face disciplinary action that ‘may include termination of employment’
Airline’s shares down 4.37 per cent on Monday morning to lowest level in 10 years, despite it complying with orders on Friday from China’s aviation authority
Cathay Pacific moved over the weekend to comply with new orders from China’s aviation authority. Photo: Bloomberg
Cathay Pacific has warned that it would sack staff taking part in illegal protests in Hong Kong, saying it would take a “zero tolerance” approach, as its shares slumped to their lowest level in 10 years in morning trading on Monday.
In a note to staff on Monday, chief executive Rupert Hogg said staff who “support or participate in illegal protests” would face disciplinary action that “could be serious and may include termination of employment”.
His warning indicated an escalation by the company, under pressure to crack down on employees after China’s civil aviation regulator said on Friday that airline staff supporting the Hong Kong protests would be barred from flights going to, from or through mainland China.
“We are all obliged to abide by law at all times,” Hogg said. “Cathay Pacific Group has a zero-tolerance approach to illegal activities. Specifically, in the current context, there will be disciplinary consequences for employees who support or participate in illegal protests. These consequences could be serious and may include termination of employment.”
By noon in Hong Kong, the stock had fallen 4.37 per cent to HK$9.85 (US$1.26), its lowest level since June 2009. Losses dragged the carrier’s parent company Swire Pacific down 5.4 per cent to HK$77.50, making it the worst performer on Hong Kong’s stock market during morning trading.
This was the lowest price since October 2018 for Swire, which owns 45 per cent of the airline. Air China, which owns 22.7 per cent of Cathay, also fell 1.53 per cent in Hong
On Friday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) told Hong Kong’s flagship carrier that any staff members who had taken part in what it called “illegal protests”, “violent actions” and “overly radical activities” would not be allowed to fly to or from the mainland, in a first warning shot at a Hong Kong-based corporate giant.
The CAAC also said that the airline would have to submit identification details of all crew operating all services using mainland China airspace, and that flights with unapproved crew lists would be barred. It gave the airline until Thursday to submit a detailed plan to improve its procedures.
Anti-extradition bill protesters join a sit-in protest at Hong Kong International Airport on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Cathay Pacific had earlier said it would not stop staff members from taking part in demonstrations.
On Wednesday, Cathay Pacific chairman John Slosar said the company would not rein in staff for openly supporting the protests. “We certainly wouldn’t dream of telling them what they have to think about something,” Slosar said.
But in his second statement in two days in relations to the CAAC’s sanctions, Hogg said the “actions and words” of staff outside of work hours could have a “significant effect on the company”, adding that the actions of a few of Cathay’s 34,000 employees would be seen as a company position.
He also asked staff to not “support or participate” in the illegal protest at the airport, saying the carrier was concerned that the protests could become disorderly and violent.
No flights by Cathay Pacific, nor by its subsidiaries Cathay Dragon or HK Express, were delayed or cancelled on Saturday or Sunday, the company said.
The CAAC’s move was widely seen as a clear warning to Hong Kong’s business community to toe Beijing’s line to pressure ongoing anti-government protests in the city that have been taking place for over two months.
Despite the airline acting over the weekend to comply with the rules, Chinese state media continued to put pressure on the company.
Global Times, a tabloid associated with Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, said on Sunday the airline had still not allayed all concerns despite its adjustments to comply with the ruling.
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“These are only small steps [showing] that Cathay Pacific is heading towards the right direction, and their sincerity will need to be tested over time,” the tabloid said in an opinion article on Sunday.
It said 2,000 company staff joined citywide strikes last Monday, and cited the case of a pilot who was arrested and charged with rioting during a demonstration on July 28.
“Cathay Pacific has touched on this behaviour lightly, which has a huge impact on the trust the industry and the public have towards the company,” the article said.
State broadcaster CCTV published a short video on Weibo on Monday morning of its anchor issuing further warnings to the airline, saying there were reports of staff continuing to join “illegal gatherings” and asking tourists not to go to Hong Kong.
“If this continues, it’s not a matter of whether or not people would still want to come to Hong Kong, but whether they would still want to be on your airline,” Kang Hui said in a one-minute video.
“Let me send a friendly reminder: one would not be in trouble had one not asked for it,” Kang said, in Mandarin and then in English, translating the popular Chinese internet meme phrase “No zuo no die” and claiming some Cathay Pacific staff pretended not to understand Mandarin. Cantonese is the dominant language in Hong Kong.
Elsewhere, the company announced that two of its airport employees
for leaking passenger information about a Hong Kong police soccer team who had been on a flight to mainland China. It has also suspended the pilot who was among 44 people charged with rioting on July 28.
Although the company does not clearly specify its country-by-country performance, China and Hong Kong produced half of all its 2018 revenue – HK$57 billion of a total of HK$111 billion. A fifth of all the carrier’s flight are to and from the mainland.
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s opposition Congress party selected past president Sonia Gandhi as its interim leader on Saturday, while it searches for a successor to her son Rahul Gandhi, who quit following a crushing election defeat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) unanimously decided to appoint Sonia Gandhi as “interim president pending the election of a regular president,” the party said in a statement late on Saturday night.
The committee wanted Rahul Gandhi to continue as its president but after he refused, they asked his mother to take over the reins instead, and she accepted, the statement said.
Sonia Gandhi is one of the most influential leaders of the Congress party and is credited with having brought the party back from the brink in 2004 with a surprise victory over the incumbent central government.
The widow of assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, she was also the party’s longest serving president with 19 years at the helm, from 1998 to 2017, before handing over the baton to her son.
Congress, founded in 1885, is India’s oldest political party and dominated the country for decades after independence, led by generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family. The family produced three prime ministers: Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first and longest-serving leader, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv.
However, Italian-born Sonia Gandhi faces a tall order to pull the party out of its worst crisis in decades and at the same time choose a worthy and dependable successor.
Party leaders and foot soldiers alike have been defecting to the ruling BJP. Remaining members have been dismayed at the party’s leadership vacuum following Modi’s re-election with a majority that surpassed his victory in 2014, and are questioning the party’s survival.
Rahul Gandhi, 49, announced his decision to quit as Congress leader in May, but the party leadership refused to accept it. They pressed him to reconsider, saying the party needed a unifying figure from the family to avoid splintering.
The party thanked Rahul Gandhi for his “exceptional leadership” during the state and general elections.
Last month in the southern state of Karnataka the defection of more than a dozen legislators from the ruling Congress-led coalition paved the way for Modi’s BJP to form a government.
Congress also appeared split in its response to Delhi’s decision to strip the state of Jammu and Kashmir of special constitutional status on Monday after putting the region on lockdown.
Some Congress members, including senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia came out in support of the decision, and local media reported many in the party were supporting him.
Rahul Gandhi told reporters on Saturday night in New Delhi that considering there were reports of violence in Jammu and Kashmir, the government should provide transparent information about the actual situation on the ground.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese residents saw their per capita disposable income surge by nearly 60 times during the past seven decades thanks to the country’s steady economic expansion.
The per capita disposable income stood at about 49.7 yuan in 1949, and topped 28,200 yuan (about 4,030 U.S. dollars) in 2018, registering a growth of over 59 times factoring in inflation, a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
The steady income growth also led to continuous increases in consumption spending. Chinese residents’ per capita consumption spending surged from 88.2 yuan in 1956 to 19,853 yuan in 2018, growing 28.5 times in real terms, NBS data showed.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 