06/12/2013

China-Taiwan Relations Thaw Even as Beijing Alienates Most of Asia – Businessweek

China’s tense relationships with its neighbors have recently grown even worse. Ties with Japan, already frosty over an island dispute, soured further after Beijing announced a new air defense zone in the East China Sea that overlaps with Japan’s. The expanded China zone also covers territory claimed by South Korea, but Korean air force planes are ignoring it. In the South China Sea, site of another island quarrel with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the Chinese were late and stingy in sending relief to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan: First they offered $100,000 in aid, then a still-puny $1.6 million. Out west, the Chinese foreign ministry cautioned India not to complicate the Sino-Indian relationship after President Pranab Mukherjee visited a Himalayan region that China considers part of Tibet.

Chen with Yen Cho-yun, the wife of the late chairman of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation, on Dec. 2. During his eight-day visit, Chen was feted by a host of high-level dignitaries

But when it comes to China’s ties with Taiwan, traditionally its most fraught relationship, Beijing’s leaders couldn’t be friendlier. Consider the schedule of Chen Deming. As head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, Chen is the official responsible for negotiating with the island, even though he’d never been there until last month. In late November he arrived for an eight-day visit to meet with the mayor of Taipei, the governor of the central bank, and the honorary chairman of the ruling Kuomintang, or Chinese Nationalist party.

Taiwanese officials marked the occasion by making it easier to do business with China. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou raised the daily quota of visitors from the mainland by 50 percent, to 3,000, while the two sides increased the number of direct flights across the Strait by almost 25 percent, to 828 per week.

via China-Taiwan Relations Thaw Even as Beijing Alienates Most of Asia – Businessweek.

06/12/2013

One Silver Lining of China’s Lopsided Labor Market: Shrinking Income Inequality – Businessweek

In the same week that international educators are debating the comparative merits of global school systems—and whether China’s PISA scores are overhyped—a new report from China Economic Quarterly sheds light on an unintended consequence of China’s recent push to expand higher education.

The annual supply of fresh college graduates far exceeds the number of white-collar positions available in China. Meanwhile a dwindling pool of young people willing to work in Chinese factories has driven up assembly-line wages. The result, conclude GK Dragonomics analysts Andrew Batson and Thomas Gatley, is an unexpected narrowing of China’s worryingly high level of income inequality.

Over the past decade, China has rapidly expanded access to higher education. University enrollment tripled from 2000 to 2010, from 2.2 million to 6.6 million students. Unfortunately, job creation didn’t keep pace. According to survey results from China’s labor ministry obtained by China Economic Quarterly, there were 100 job applicants in mid-2013 for every 80 white-collar jobs in China. For blue-collar positions, however, the scenario was reversed: There were 100 applicants for every 125 slots in China.

via One Silver Lining of China’s Lopsided Labor Market: Shrinking Income Inequality – Businessweek.

06/12/2013

Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia Are the World’s Most Corrupt Countries, With China in the Middle – Businessweek

So which countries are the most graft-ridden? According to Berlin-based Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index for 2013, Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are tied for that dubious distinction.

The global corruption-fighting organization notes that more than two-thirds of the 177 countries surveyed scored below 50. That’s on a scale from zero, or perceived to be highly corrupt, to 100, or perceived to be very clean. (The three worst countries all got an 8, and Ukraine, now racked by protests, got a measly 25). “The abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery continue to ravage societies around the world,” says Transparency’s Dec. 3 press release for the index.

Denmark and New Zealand tied for first place, each with a squeaky clean rating of 91. Both countries topped of the rankings last year, too, each with 90; Finland, which last year also got a 90, slipped by one point, tying with Sweden for a close second place this year.

via Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia Are the World’s Most Corrupt Countries, With China in the Middle – Businessweek.

06/12/2013

No end to suffering for Bhopal gas victims | India Insight

Twenty-nine years have passed since a poison gas leak from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal killed thousands of people. For the estimated 100,000  survivors and their children who cope with birth defects, illness and a variety of other health problems, it might as well still be the 1980s.

English: Wall painting outside Union Carbide s...

English: Wall painting outside Union Carbide site, Bhopal, India. Français : Grafitti sur le site de Union Carbide, Bhopal, Inde. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It was 12 a.m. on Dec. 3, 1984 when 40 tons of toxic methyl isocyanate leaked from the plant. In the J.P. Nagar neighbourhood that was worst affected, many people died instantly. The death toll is more than 5,295, according to the Indian government though projections based on an Indian Council of Medical Research study put the figure as high as 25,000. An estimated 574,372 people have been affected in some way by the gas; health activists say more than 150,000 have been seriously affected.

Lung and eye complications are common among people in this area. Many also suffer from loss of limb function along with severe palpitations and recurring chest pain.

“I do not have the strength left to do anything now,” said Mazid Khan, 52, who was employed as a security guard at the Union Carbide Corporation factory. Mazid was exposed to the gas, and now suffers from weak eyesight and swelling in his limbs.

Most victims have received 25,000 to 50,000 rupees ($400 to $800 at today’s conversion rates) in compensation, an amount that is far too small for effective medical treatment or as restitution, said Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA), an organization that works with victims of the disaster.

This is because the process of medical categorization was an extremely flawed process. Less than 6 percent of survivors underwent the crucial tests of urine thiocyanate, exercise tolerance test and lung function test. The other 94 percent received the small payment.

via No end to suffering for Bhopal gas victims | India Insight.

06/12/2013

India state elections: Exit polls give BJP the upper hand: India Insight

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to win in four of the five states that went to polls over the past month, exit poll surveys conducted by Cvoter and the India Today-ORG group showed. Such a victory will be a boost for the party and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ahead of the 2014 general elections.

The results for all the states, except Mizoram, will be announced on Sunday. Here’s what the exit polls forecast:

MADHYA PRADESH: The BJP has been ruling the state for 10 years, and exit polls indicate the party will retain power in the 230-member assembly. The Congress party’s campaign, led by Jyotiraditya Scindia, helped it improve its tally as compared to 2008, but the BJP still has the upper hand, polls showed.

The Cvoter exit poll said the BJP will win 128 seats this year, as compared to 143 seats in 2008. The Congress is likely to win 92 seats, up from 71 in the last elections. The India Today-ORG survey predicted more success for the BJP, with the party likely to win 138 of 230 seats.

DELHI: Exit polls are indicating that the BJP will make a comeback after 15 years in the national capital. Delhi registered a record voter turnout of 67 percent this year in the Dec. 4 elections, which were seen as a three-party battle between the BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

via India Insight.

04/12/2013

Urgent deal reached in Africa to cut down illegal ivory trade | Fox News

Key states where the illegal ivory trade flourishes have pledged to take urgent measures to try to halt the illicit trade and secure elephant populations across Africa, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, said Wednesday.

elephant.jpg

The agreement was reached at the African Elephant Summit convened by the government of Botswana and the IUCN held in Gaborone over the past few days.

The measures were agreed upon by key African elephant range states including Gabon, Kenya, Niger and Zambia and ivory transit states Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia, and ivory destination states, including China and Thailand, said the IUCN in a statement.

\”Our window of opportunity to tackle the growing illegal ivory trade is closing and if we do not stem the tide, future generations will condemn our unwillingness to act,\” Botswana President Ian Khama told the summit.

\”Now is the time for Africa and Asia to join forces to protect this universally valued and much needed species,\” he said.

via Urgent deal reached in Africa to cut down illegal ivory trade | Fox News.

04/12/2013

IT push aims to boost domestic demand |Sci-Tech |chinadaily.com.cn

Work on 4G licenses and broadband

Internet access to be speeded up

China is to promote consumption of IT-related products and services as it seeks to spur domestic demand and push economic upgrading.

It will speed up work to issue licenses for the fourth generation (4G) mobile network this year and accelerate development of broadband Internet access, according to a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

The nation is aiming for annual average growth of 20 percent in the information consumption industry from 2013 to 2015, the statement said.

The meeting demanded implementation of the “Broadband China” strategy, stepped-up efforts to construct and upgrade network infrastructure, pushing forward the FTTH (Fiber To the Home) project and improving Internet speed.

China, which has the largest number of mobile phones in the world at 1.2 billion, is already building 4G trial networks in major cities.

China Mobile, its largest telecom carrier, is promoting the homegrown Time-Division Long-Term Evolution (TD-LTE) 4G standard and hopes to start commercial 4G rollout as soon as possible.

via IT push aims to boost domestic demand |Sci-Tech |chinadaily.com.cn.

04/12/2013

UK and China agree £45m pig semen export deal | World news | theguardian.com

So that’s how the £5bn trade deal is made up!

Britain has won the right to export pig semen to China in a deal worth £45m a year.

A pig

Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, who is accompanying David Cameron on his trip to China, has also embarked on negotiations to export pigs\’ trotters – a local delicacy – to China.

Under the deal with China, the \”porcine semen\” can be flown to the country in frozen and fresh form. Pigs will not be flying but their seed will take to the air.

A No 10 spokesperson said: \”We\’re doing all we can to ensure that businesses up and down the country reap the rewards from our relationship with China. And that includes our pig farmers. This new deal to export pig semen will be worth £45m to UK firms and means Britain\’s best pigs will help sustain the largest pig population in the world.

\”And we\’re not stopping there, we\’re talking to the Chinese about serving up pigs trotters on Beijing\’s finest dining tables. That would be a real win-win – a multimillion pound boost for Britain and a gastronomic treat for Chinese diners.\”

The exports start in the first quarter of next year. Four UK artificial insemination centres, based in England and Northern Ireland, will start making preparations for the exports in the new year.

Half of the world\’s pigs are in China but the country needs to improve pig genetics. A government source said: \”China has an interest to increase the efficiency of their production, while minimising the environmental impact of increased production. The UK industry for pig production can play a large and important role in helping China achieve greater efficiency through the provision of high-quality genetic stock.”

via UK and China agree £45m pig semen export deal | World news | theguardian.com.

04/12/2013

Indian Army recruitment done on caste, region, religion lines, SC told – The Hindu

Grouping of people from a particular region in an Army regiment is unconstitutional and amounts to discrimination on caste, region and religion basis, a petitioner challenging the recruitment policy told the Supreme Court.

In an affidavit filed in the apex court countering the assertion of the Army which had justified the policy for administrative convenience and operational requirements, the petitioner pleaded that such policy should be dismantled as it is also not followed by Indian Navy and Air Force.

Earlier, the Army told the Supreme Court that it does not recruit on the basis of caste, region and religion but justified grouping of people coming from a region in a regiment for administrative convenience and operational requirements.

Countering the stand taken by the Army, the petitioner, I.S. Yadav, a doctor from Rewari in Haryana, said, “The respondent (Army) has justified the recruitment in Indian Navy and Air Force which is not based on caste/region and religion basis because of the operational requirements of these forces. But in the same breath, it justifies the caste/region/religion-based recruitment giving the same excuse of operational and administrative requirements.

via Army recruitment done on caste, region, religion lines, SC told – The Hindu.

04/12/2013

Connecting borrowers and lenders: Indians try peer-to-peer model | India Insight

Srinivas Porika tried for months to get a loan of 250,000 rupees ($4,000) to pay for his sister’s wedding, but every bank he tried turned him down. The problem: Porika’s employer, a tech start-up company, was not on the banks’ lists of pre-approved companies.

“They were ready to give me a credit card, but were not ready to give me a loan,” said the 28-year-old from Hyderabad, who met several bank managers and officials to plead his case.

The wedding went ahead in 2012, but only after Porika dipped into his savings and borrowed from friends. With an insufficient bonus at work and pressure mounting to pay off his debts this year, Porika turned to a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending website.

Entrepreneurs in India are now experimenting with the P2P business model, helping people like Porika, with websites such as i-lend.in and faircent.com providing a meeting ground for borrowers and lenders.

Such portals charge an upfront fee from both groups and get the borrower’s documents and employment details verified by a third party. A contract with terms and conditions is signed within a week, with a recovery process in place for those who default on payments.

Lenders can choose from a list of verified borrowers on the website. They are also advised to spread their investment among borrowers to lessen the risk of default.

via Connecting borrowers and lenders: Indians try peer-to-peer model | India Insight.

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