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’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
The PAGEs (see Tabs, above) attempt to make the information more meaningful by putting some structure to the information we have researched and assembled since 2006.
BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) — Top Chinese leaders watched a New Year gala featuring traditional operas on Saturday evening in Beijing.
Leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan, joined an audience of nearly a thousand at the National Center for the Performing Arts.
The program included classic opera excerpts featuring historical stories, martial heroes and love stories, as well as modern excerpts featuring stalwart CPC members, life on a small island, the Long March, among others.
An opera piece named “Towards the Future” expressed the strong faith of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core, to fight for a decisive victory in finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and for the realization of the Chinese dream of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The show featured various forms of traditional operas, including Peking Opera, Kunqu opera and Cantonese Opera.
A Uttar Pradesh police constable was killed and some others injured as crowd of people waiting for local party leader in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district went out of control and started to pelt stones. The incident was not connected to Prime Minister Modi’s rally earlier in the eastern district.
Visuals of the violence and stone pelting in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district in which a police constable was killed. (ANI/Twitter)
A police constable was killed and some other people injured in mob violence by Nishad Party workers in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district, barely 15 kilometres from the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally on Saturday. The rioters also pelted stones on vehicles of local BJP leaders and workers returning from the rally.
Police have arrested 13 people and detained 10 others for interrogation.
Taking serious note of the incident, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who himself was present in the rally, directed the district magistrate and superintendent of police to take strict action against the unruly elements and make immediate arrests. He condoled the death and announced Rs 40 lakh and an extraordinary pension for the constable’s wife, Rs 10 lakh for his parents, and a job for one of his dependents.
#WATCH One constable dead & two locals from the area injured in stone pelting allegedly by Nishad Party workers near Atwa Mor police station in Naunera area, earlier today. #Ghazipur
UP director general of police OP Singh said the incident had no connection with the PM’s rally and the violence was a result of Nishad Party workers’ protest for release of their four workers arrested for blocking the road earlier in the morning. He said constable Vats was fatally hit by a stone on the head when the police force was trying to disperse the mob.
Police constable Surendra Vats, who was killed in mob violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district as he was returning from duty at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally there earlier in the day. (HT)
Additional director general, Varanasi zone PV Ramasastry had been rushed to the spot with extra police force while inspector general , Varanasi range, Vijay Singh Meena was already camping in Ghazipur to examine the situation and ensure immediate arrest of the rioters
Meena said the incident happened at the Atwa turning under Nonhara police station when the protestors suddenly turned violent at around 5.30 pm.
He said the Nishad Party workers had blocked the road in the morning over some demand related to reservation, but they were immediately dispersed and four arrested for causing nuisance. However, later around 60-70 party workers, including a group of women, again gathered at the Atwa turning demanding immediate release of the arrested people.
He said the deceased constable was posted at Karimudeen police station of Ghazipur and was returning after his duty in the PM’s rally. Another sub-inspector accompanying him on motorcycle was also hit but remained unhurt as he was wearing a helmet. He said some other police personnel and passers-by were also injured in the incident.
Police were identifying people involved in inciting the mob through video footage, Meena added.
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Saturday that he had a “long and very good call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that a possible trade deal between the United States and China was progressing well.
As a partial shutdown of the U.S. government entered its eighth day, with no quick end in sight, the Republican president was in Washington, sending out tweets attacking Democrats and talking up possibly improved relations with China.
The two nations have been in a trade war for much of 2018, shaking world financial markets as the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods between the world’s two largest economies has been disrupted by tariffs.
Trump and Xi agreed to a ceasefire in the trade war, deciding to hold off on imposing more tariffs for 90 days starting Dec. 1 while they negotiate a deal to end the dispute following months of escalating tensions.
“Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China,” Trump wrote. “Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made!”
Chinese state media also said Xi and Trump spoke on Saturday, and quoted Xi as saying that teams from both countries have been working to implement a consensus reached with Trump.
“I hope that the two teams will meet each other half way, work hard, and strive to reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial and beneficial to the world as soon as possible,” Xi said, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
Having cancelled his plans to travel to his estate in Florida for the holidays because of the government shutdown that started on Dec. 22, Trump tweeted, “I am in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come on over and make a deal.”
The Republican-controlled Congress was closed for the weekend and few lawmakers were in the capital.
The shutdown, affecting about one-quarter of the federal government including 800,000 or so workers, began when funding for several agencies expired.
Congress must pass legislation to restore that funding, but has not done so due to a dispute over Trump’s demand that the bill include $5 billion in taxpayer money to help pay for a wall he wants to build along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The wall was a major 2016 campaign promise of Trump’s, who promised then that it would be paid for by Mexico, which has steadfastly refused to do so. Trump has since demanded that U.S. taxpayers pay for it at an estimated total cost of $23 billion.
He sees the wall as vital to stemming illegal immigration, while Democrats and some Republicans see it as an impractical and costly project. The standoff over Trump’s demand for funding will be a test for Congress when it returns next week.
Trump tweeted on Saturday that the deaths of two migrant children this month who had been taken into U.S. custody after trying to cross the southern border were “strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies.”
It was unclear exactly which policies Trump was referring to, but his aides have referred to U.S. laws and court rulings – including laws passed with bipartisan support – that govern the conditions under which children and families can be detained as “loopholes” that encourage illegal immigration.
On Friday, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen visited Border Patrol stations in Texas after her agency instituted expanded medical checks of migrant children following the two deaths. She is also due to visit Yuma, Arizona, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Saturday.
In the interim, thousands of employees of federal agencies such as the Homeland Security, Justice, Commerce, Interior, Transportation, Agriculture and other departments were staying at home on furlough or soon to be working without pay.
For instance, members of the U.S. Coast Guard will receive their final paychecks of the year on Monday, the service said in a statement on its website on Friday after previously warning that payments would be delayed due to the shutdown.
“The administration, the Department of Homeland Security [DHS], and the Coast Guard have identified a way to pay our military workforce on Dec. 31, 2018,” the service website read.
That paycheck will be their last until the government reopens.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency also said on Friday that it would resume issuing new flood insurance policies during the shutdown, reversing an earlier decision.
Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati and Katanga Johnson in Washington; additional reporting by Lusha Zhang, Ben Blanchard and Ryan Woo in Beijing; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft
Unlike in the past, when at least a handful of students from Chinese schools made it through the early admission system, according to official results released by the college earlier this month this year there were none.
The news epitomised the falling success rate of mainland Chinese students seeking places at top US colleges in recent years amid growing uncertainty about immigration and visa policies, and the increased importance placed on applicants’ soft skills, some industry insiders have said.
The MIT offered early admission to more than 700 students chosen from 9,600 applicants from around the world. While five of them were Chinese nationals, they all graduated from US high schools.
“This is in line with the overall trend,” said Sun Rui, founder of Insight Education, a company based in the south China city of Shenzhen that helps Chinese students apply for undergraduate programmes in the United States.
“We feel that it’s harder each year to apply for top universities,” she said.
The number of students from Shenzhen who secured a place at one of the top four colleges in the US had been falling year by year, she said.
“Last year, a couple of students from Shenzhen made it to Stanford. This year it was none.”
While Chinese students had a reputation for getting high exam scores, Sun said they were often at a disadvantage when it came to soft skills, such as leadership and citizenship.
Chinese schools did not care about the latter, but American schools valued them greatly, she said.
As more Chinese children were being sent abroad to study at a younger age, those who went to US high schools were replacing those from Chinese schools when it came to undergraduate admissions, she said.
Li Li, whose daughter is at high school in Shanghai, said she had always wanted her child to apply for a top 20 US university but was now reconsidering.
“Given the current circumstances, your know, all the curbs on immigration and visa policy, I think I will consider another country, say Australia,” she said.
With richer parents eyeing better education abroad, Chinese students now account for about a third of all international students in US universities, according to official figures.
But potential applicants are being frightened away as Washington, under the administration of President Donald Trump, tightens it policies on Chinese students out of concerns about them being potential spies. The Financial Times reported recently that the White House had actually debated a proposal to stop all Chinese nationals from studying at US universities over such concerns.
New restrictions and requirements were introduced earlier this year for Chinese postgraduates majoring in science and engineering, as Trump accused China of stealing technology and intellectual property from US companies.
Sun said that an unpredictable admission policy was another reason for the drop off in Chinese students’ success in applying for top American schools.
“For example, unlike before, some top schools now require writing samples from international students, which to some extent shows they have worries about the applicants’ actual skills,” she said.
BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) — The central rural work conference was held in Beijing from Dec. 28 to Dec. 29, mapping out plans for the country’s rural and agricultural work in 2019.
The meeting summarized and exchanged local experiences on the implementation of rural vitalization strategy, outlined major tasks related to agriculture, rural areas and rural people in the next two years and mapped out plans for rural and agricultural work in 2019, according to a statement released Saturday after the central rural work conference.
President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made important instructions on work related to agriculture, rural areas and rural people.
Xi stressed that new achievements were made in the rural and agricultural development in 2018, grain output reaped a good harvest and rural vitalization was off to a good start.
The year 2019 is the key year to secure a decisive victory in achieving the country’s first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Solid work related to agriculture, rural areas and rural people will play a significant role in effectively handling various risks and challenges, ensuring a steady and healthy economic development and social stability, said Xi.
BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) — China’s meteorological authorities issued a yellow alert for a heavy snowstorm on Saturday morning.
The National Meteorological Center (NMC) said snowstorms would hit parts of Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, with up to 15 centimeters of new snow expected.
The observatory warned that the snow would affect transport during rush hours, and asked local authorities to be prepared for possible damage to crops, plants and livestock.
On Saturday morning, the NMC also issued a yellow alert for a cold wave as the cold front will bring down temperatures by 10 degrees Celsius in the next three days in most parts of China.
China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Image captionPiles of garbage are a common sight in Mahul
Tens of thousands of people are fighting to leave Mahul, a heavily industrialised neighbourhood in the western Indian city of Mumbai, saying the toxic pollution there is adversely impacting their health. BBC Marathi’s Mayuresh Konnur and Janhavee Moole report on the residents’ battle to be relocated.
Anita Dhole, 38, was forced to move to a “transit camp” set up by the civic authorities in Mahul in May 2017 after the illegal slum she was living in was demolished. Since then, she says, she has been suffering.
“I have breathing trouble and high blood pressure, and the pollution has also affected my eyesight,” she says.
Hers was one of more than 5,000 families – estimated to be between 30,000 and 50,000 people – that lost their homes in the demolition drive and were offered temporary housing in Mahul. They were told they would be given homes in another Mumbai suburb later but, residents say, Mahul is not fit for living, even for a short time.
Image captionMs Dhole has been living here since May 2017
A former fishing village, it’s now close to oil and petroleum refineries, chemical factories and fertiliser plants.
A report in 2013 by the King Edward Memorial Hospital said that around 67% of people living in Mahul complained of breathlessness several times a month and around 84% of them complained of eye-irritation. In 2015, India’s environment court National Green Tribunal said there was “a perceptible threat to [the] health of residents” in Mahul because of the “prevailing air quality in the area”.
But local municipal authorities say three different surveys by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board show “that the pollution levels in Mahul are not different from other areas of Mumbai”.
Yet residents blame breathing issues, asthma, skin diseases, tuberculosis and blood pressure-related problems on poor local conditions.
Ms Dhole says her parents fell so sick in Mahul that they soon left for their village.
Image captionSkin infections are common among residents
Shamdas Salve, who also moved to Mahul last year, says his two-year-old son has had a persistent skin infection for the past five months.
“He doesn’t sleep the whole night and keeps scratching. I’ve consulted several skin specialists and changed his medication but he has had no relief. He cries and keeps scratching. He now has marks on his face too.”
His words are echoed by many of his neighbours – 10-year-old Sahil suffers from TB and so does 17-month-old Anshul Tusambad; Maya Goswami, 55, struggles with asthma; and 18-year-old Kavita Subramanyan has low BP and breathing problems.
Besides pollution, residents say they have no access to clean water and sewage facilities and that electricity supply is far from regular. There are also no hospitals or schools nearby. The area is poorly connected with other parts of the city and, as a result, many women have been forced to quit their jobs and stay home.
Image captionOverflowing sewage in Mahul’s transit camp
The transit camp where Ms Dhole lives is actually a block of apartments that goes by the official name of Eversmile layout.
It has dozens of buildings and each is home to 300 congested one-room apartments. The complex is filthy – sewage pipes are broken, gutters are overflowing; electric wires are dangling everywhere; the air is stuffy, mosquitoes abound and rats scurry past us as we walk around the neighbourhood.
Most of these low-cost homes are meant for families who have been relocated because of demolition of unauthorised slums.
Every year, tens of thousands migrate from rural India to Mumbai in search of livelihood and most end up living in illegal shanty towns that often encroach on roads or other city infrastructure.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThousands were relocated to build the Tansa water pipeline
Most of those who were relocated to Mahul, including Ms Dhole, used to live in a slum along the Tansa pipeline – the 160km (99 miles) long water pipeline that runs through Mumbai, carrying water from Lake Tansa. It’s a major source of water for the city.
Just over half of the pipeline is overground and, over the years, unauthorised houses came up alongside it and, in some places, on top of it.
In 2006, a petition was filed in the high court in Mumbai asking the court to order the government to relocate those living in the slums to “ensure that the water, which is used by the citizens of Mumbai, is safe, and that these pipelines do not become a target for persons to attack the citizens of Mumbai”.
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In 2009, the court ruled that there must be a 10-metre gap between the pipeline and the nearest home, which meant that thousands of families had to move out. Their homes were subsequently demolished and they were told to relocate to Mahul.
Many initially refused because of the pollution, but were forced to move as the demolitions continued.
In August, the court said the civic authorities could not force people to move to Mahul and that they must find alternative housing for them or pay rent for those families that did move out.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionResidents have been protesting for months to be moved elsewhere
The protests have intensified in the past two months with many residents of Mahul’s transit camp demonstrating at the site where their homes once stood.
They have also launched a campaign on social media with the hashtag and Twitter handle MumbaisToxicHell – demanding that they are relocated again, this time to a safer and healthier environment.
Residents of Mahul protesting on the streets yet again demanding relocation from the Maha state government. Now even IIT Bombay’s report says the area is not fit to stay. What are you now waiting for? #mumbaistoxichell#wakeupgovt#residentspleadforbetterlife#mirrornow
Residents of Mahul are compelled to sleep under the sky to save their lives from toxic atmosphere of Mahul. They are camping outside their homes since 50 days to save their lives.#MumbaisToxicHell
The initial rescue operation to help the miners had to be stopped as the pumps were not adequate to flush out large volumes of water. The state government then sough Centre’s help and high-powered pumps and a team was dispatched from Odisha.
An Indian Navy team has reached the mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills where 15 people have been trapped since December 13 but will begin their operations on Sunday morning. (HT Photo)
After delays and hiccups, two teams of rescuers—one comprising divers from Indian Navy and another from the Odisha fire services—reached the flooded coal mine in Meghalaya on Saturday where 15 miners are trapped since December 13.
But except conducting recce at the site located at Khloo Ryngksan in East Jaintia Hills district and attempts to set up the high-powered pumps needed to flush out water nothing much happened during the day. Actual work on the ground will begin early on Sunday morning.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Assistant Commandant Santosh Kumar Singh, who is overseeing operations at the rat hole coal mine. said a three member team of the Indian Navy visited the site.”They did a recce of the spot, spent 30 minutes inside the main pit. They also held a meeting with us and are likely to start operation tomorrow. Now that they are here we will assist them,” he said.
The water levels inside the mine remains unchanged, he said.
A team of Odisha fire and emergency services, who finally reached the spot, tried to install their high-powered pumps. “They may be operational by tomorrow,” Singh said.
“Pumps and other machinery are being installed at the site. Everyone is working overtime with extreme dedication and zeal as our mission is to save lives. That is our top priority,” East Jaiñtia Hills district police chief Silvester Nongtnger told Hindustan Times.
He aid that after all the gear has been installed and put into place on Saturday night, rescue operations will begin on Sunday morning. “We will start right from the first hour itself.”
The initial rescue operation to help the miners started on December 14 once the NDRF and SDRF teams arrived. On December 17, a team of Directorate General of Mine Safety along with Coal India officials arrived and suggested 100 HP submersible pumps be used. The district administration wrote to the state government seeking immediate help from Coal India on December 20. However, it was only on December 26 that Coal India received a request from state government for assistance.
The rescue operation launched by the state government had to be stopped as the pumps were not adequate to flush out large volumes of water. The state government then sough Centre’s help and high-powered pumps and a team was dispatched from Odisha.
The team reached Guwahati on Friday morning around 11:30 am, but due to lack of transport provided by Meghalaya they had to wait till 5:45 pm to start their 220 km journey to the mine.
“Initially we were told that we would be travelling by trucks. Then the plan was changed and it was decided that dumpers would be used to shift the equipment to the accident site,” said Sukant Sethi, Chief Fire Officer (Odisha), who is leading the team.
“By the time we reached a primary school (located 25 km from the mine) where we were supposed to spend the night it was 2 am on Saturday. There was no person from Meghalaya government’s side who helped us with basic needs,” Sethi said.
Despite the problems faced by them, the team was keen to reach the spot soon to help the trapped miners. They finally reached around 1 pm on Saturday
Another aspect of seemingly lukewarm response by the government has emerged. Tata Trusts had offered to lend two pumps which it had airlifted from London to augment rescue efforts during the Kerala floods to Meghalaya but till date, there has been no response from the government.
Efforts to reach Peter W Ingty, additional chief secretary in-charge revenue and disaster management by Hindustan Times proved futile as he did not respond to calls.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka of making hollow promises to the people before elections for political gains.
SNS Web | New Delhi | December 29, 2018 4:27 pm
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Medical College in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh on Dec 29, 2018. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka of making hollow promises to the people before elections for political gains.
In a public meeting in Ghazipur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the PM said that the alliance government in Karnataka led by Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) had promised to waive off loans of lakhs of farmers but has only done so for 800.
“They gave the lollipop of a farm loan waiver, votes were stolen but so far only… the loans of 800 farmers have been waived off,” Modi said while exhorting people to understand “such games”.
“Long queues for urea, fertilizers can be seen in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Black-marketeers are now back on the field,” the PM said hitting out at the Congress governments in the two states.
He also said that the Congress, when it was in the Centre, had similarly made false promises.
“Congress had promised waiver of Rs 6 lakh crore loans of farmers. The waiver was of just Rs 60 thousand crore. And the CAG report revealed that of the persons whose ‘loans’ were waived, 35 lakh people were not farmers, they had no loans and neither were they eligible for waivers,” the PM said.
Asking the gathering to be wary of Congress’ promises, the PM said that the grand old party was trying to fool the people with such announcements.
“These people are trying to lure you by short-term benefit announcements and promises but all this will not help,” he said, adding, “Announcements made for instant benefits won’t be successful in the long run.”
Modi, who was in Ghazipur to lay the foundation stone of a medical college, said that people of the region will immensely benefit from the medical college.
“The medical college will not only provide Ghazipur with advanced medical facilities but also produce new and meritorious doctors,” he said, adding, “When this college is ready, the district hospital in Ghazipur will become a 300-bed facility.”
At the event, the PM also released a commemorative postal stamp in honour of Maharaja Suheldev in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Praising the 11th century ruler semi-legendary king, the PM said that Maharaj Suheldev is among those bravehearts who struggled for the honour of India.
“Remembering Maharaja Suheldev, from whom every deprived and oppressed draws inspiration, strengthens the ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ mantra,” he said underlining the political significance of the king in today’s times.
The PM said that unlike the previous governments, his government is showing respect to every brave son and daughter of the country.
Ironically, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an NDA ally, decided to stay away from all the events attended by the PM Saturday.
The SBSP, which has four legislators in the 403-member state assembly, announced that it will “boycott” Prime Minister’s programmes. The party claims that the name of its chief, state Minister for Backward Classes Welfare Om Prakash Rajbhar, has been “deliberately omitted from the invitation card”.
Rajbhar has been a bitter critic of the BJP government in the state and the Centre over a host of issues.
SBSP was not the only ally to boycott the PM’s events. The powerful Apna Dal, too, stayed away to protest the “arrogant attitude” of the BJP leaders in the state.
Ashish Patel, the state unit chief of Apna Dal, charged the BJP leaders of “insulting leaders and the weaker sections of the society”.
He also announced that till the matter between the two allies was not settled, Apna Dal will not attend any government programmes and demanded Modi’s intervention in sorting out the matter.
The Apna Dal has two Lok Sabha MPs, including MoS Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, and 9 seats in the UP Assembly.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 
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