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.
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70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China marked by its biggest ever military parade and huge civilian parade
Xi says no force can stop China ‘marching forward’ and vows to protect the long-term stability of Hong Kong
Military vehicles carry DF-17 missiles capable of reaching the US mainland during the parade to mark 70 years of the People’s Republic. Photo: AP
China staged a massive military parade in Beijing on Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, with much of the smog-shrouded capital city under a security lockdown.
President Xi Jinping inspected over 15,000 troops, more than 160 aircraft and 580 weapon systems in a show of the country’s growing military might and his drive to modernise the People’s Liberation Army.
He also delivered a bullish eight-minute speech hailing the accomplishments of seven decades of Communist rule and pledging to achieve his vision of a “Chinese dream” of national rejuvenation and global prominence.
Here are some of the key takeaways from a day of celebration in Beijing:
A show of unity
Xi presided over the ceremony in Tiananmen Square flanked by his predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, along with other retired and present party elders.
The rare appearance of Jiang and Hu – on the rostrum of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, where the country’s founding father Mao Zedong declared Communist rule on October 1, 1949 – was clearly aimed at projecting unity and solidarity in the face of daunting domestic and international challenges.
China’s National Day parade, as it happened
Hu had been absent from the funeral of former premier Li Peng in late July, although the ailing Jiang attended.
Former vice-president Zeng Qinghong and Song Ping, the oldest party elder in attendance, also appeared on the rostrum.
President Xi Jinping speaks in Tiananmen Square during Tuesday’s celebrations. Photo: Xinhua
But notably, while former premier Wen Jiabao was present, his predecessor Zhu Rongji was not.
‘No force can shake China’
Dressed in a Mao suit, Xi’s nationally televised speech invoked China’s “century of humiliation” and praised the achievements of its people, saying there was no force that could stop it forging ahead.
“No force can shake the status of our great motherland, and no force can stop the Chinese people and the Chinese nation from marching forward,” he said.
Chinese troops take part in the Republic’s largest ever military parade. Photo: AFP
“The People’s Liberation Army [PLA] will serve its purpose in safeguarding the sovereignty, security and development interests of the country, and world peace,” he said, at a time when Beijing has expanded its military footprint globally, including with its first overseas military base in Djibouti.
Xi called on the Communist Party and the country to unite and continue to fight for the realisation of what he called the “Chinese dream” – the nation’s rejuvenation.
One country, two systems
Amid escalating unrest in Hong Kong, which has plunged the city into a deepening crisis and threatened to overshadow the National Day celebrations, Xi vowed that the central government would uphold “one country, two systems”.
He said the central government would protect the long-term stability of Hong Kong and Macau, and stressed the goal of “peaceful reunification” with the self-ruling Taiwan, repeating a message frequently used by his predecessors, including Deng Xiaoping, Jiang and Hu.
The theme of one country, two systems later appeared in a National Day parade for the first time, with placards forming the words: “Hong Kong’s tomorrow will be better.”
Hong Kong Chief Executive Cheng Yuet-ngor attended the ceremony, as did 10 Hong Kong police officers involved in suppressing anti-government protests in the city.
Showing off new weapons
China’s advancement in military weaponry was on full display, with almost half of the items featured being shown to the public for the first time.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam was among the guests in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: AP
The morning’s celebrations included an 80-minute military parade – the biggest since the founding of the People’s Republic – in an apparent effort to showcase the prowess of the PLA, the world’s biggest military with 2 million personnel.
Among the weapons shown were DF series missiles, including the DF-17, a nuclear-capable glider that has the capacity to strike the US mainland, and the DF-41, which has a range of up to 15,000km, making it the world’s longest-range military missile.
Signalling Xi’s status
A 100,000-strong civilian parade featuring huge portraits of Xi and predecessors including Mao, Deng, Jiang and Hu wrapped up the morning celebration.
The procession was divided into three parts, representing three eras of the People’s Republic: the Mao era, Deng’s reform and opening up, and Xi’s era, which seeks global prominence on a par with that of the United States.
Xi appeared keen to project his supreme status in the party, reinforced since he abolished the constitutional term limit a year ago, allowing him potentially to remain leader for life.
He waved at his own portrait, unveiled alongside a sign reading “Carry out Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”.
MUMBAI (Reuters) – At least 11 people have been killed and six are missing after the Western Indian city of Pune and its neighbouring areas were hit by heavy rain and flash floods, a government official said on Wednesday.
More than 28,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas and the local administration is on alert for more rain, Deepak Mhaisekar told Reuters.
Pune, which is around 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of India’s financial hub of Mumbai, has received 113% more rainfall than average since the start of the monsoon season in early June, a weather department official said.
Of the 11 deaths, five occurred in Pune when a wall collapsed, said Mhaisekar.
South Asia gets monsoon rain annually during the June-September months which cause fatalities and mass displacement.
India’s monsoons, which deliver more than 70% of the country’s annual rainfall, are crucial for farm output and economic growth, but rainfall often weakens the foundations of poorly built walls and buildings resulting in deaths.
Image copyright EPAImage caption China is getting dressed up for its big birthday party
One week from now, the People’s Republic of China will mark its 70th anniversary with celebrations on a scale not seen in China in decades.
Beijing is pulling out all stops and 1 October will be flush with fireworks, fanfare and a huge military parade.
To ensure it goes smoothly, authorities have been ramping up security in the capital – and online – for weeks.
But with yet more protests expected in Hong Kong, the territory might just rain on China’s parade.
What is it all about?
The birth of modern China was declared on 1 October 1949, after the communists under Mao Zedong won the civil war that followed World War Two.
Image copyright EPAImage caption Exhibitions are highlighting the achievements of the Communist Party
The date is marked every year, but celebrations for this 70th anniversary are expected to eclipse previous events.
It’s the first big anniversary since China has emerged as a global power. While 10 years ago China was a superpower in the making, it is now the world’s second largest economy, almost eye-to-eye with the United States.
What to expect?
The main celebrations will take place in the capital, Beijing, where there will be a grand military parade with “advanced weapons” on display, followed by a “mass pageant”.
President Xi Jinping – considered the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao – will address the Chinese people. His speech is expected to celebrate China’s rapid growth and which will be closely watched for any indication of the country’s direction in the coming years.
The president will also hand out honours for contributions to the country and in the evening there will be a grand gala and fireworks show.
All official Chinese celebrations are carefully choreographed and the success of this one is particularly important to the government.
The Dos and Don’ts
The parade – open to invited guests only – will take place around Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. The surrounding area will be practically under lockdown, and in fact has been so several times already.
During rehearsals leading up to the big day, hotels near Tiananmen Square told guests that for several hours each day, no-one would be able to leave the hotel or return to it should they be out, leading to much travel chaos and rebookings.
Many shops and restaurants in the centre are also closed or have shortened hours and some subway stations are temporarily shut.
Image copyright EPAImage caption Security is tight ensure the party goes to plan
Trains to Beijing are running numerous safety checks on their passengers and vehicles going into the city are also being tightly watched.
On the big day itself, areas around Tiananmen Square will be blocked and guarded. Local residents will need to identify themselves if they want to pass.
To ensure the sun will shine brightly on the celebration in notoriously polluted Beijing, several coal plants and construction sites in and around the city have been ordered to stop work for the duration.
There’s also a ban on any low-flying aerial vehicles in place. That means anything from light aircraft to drones, balloons and even racing pigeons.
Censorship galore
Across much of the city centre, there are national flags set up at every door. Voluntary inspectors are monitoring the streets and locals have told the BBC they’re being questioned after having even brief conversations with foreigners
One person said she was asked by an inspector: “Who were those foreigners? Why were they here?”
The tight control naturally extends online as well. Popular social media platform Weibo said it was deleting content that “distorts” or “insults” the country’s history ahead of the anniversary.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Every house and every shop is sporting a national flag
Chinese journalists are always expected to toe the party line anyway, but starting in October they will have to pass an extra test to prove they are versed particularly in Xi Jinping’s teachings, officially called Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, which has been written into the constitution.
Whether or not they pass the exam will then determine whether they’ll be accredited as journalists.
“The fundamental point with this ‘training’ and indoctrination process isn’t so much about the content,” David Bandurski of China Media Watch told the BBC.
“It is about reinforcing the message and understanding among journalists that they work, first and foremost, for the Chinese Communist Party, and serve its agenda.”
So not only will the events be choreographed – the domestic coverage of them will also be tightly guarded.
What about Hong Kong?
Despite Beijing’s determination to let its achievements shine on 1 October, there’s a good chance Hong Kong will pull focus.
Anti-Beijing protests always take place in Hong Kong on China’s National Day, but this time, the activists know that the world is watching.
Anti-government protests have rocked the city for months and the situation shows no sign of dying down.
Clashes between police and activists have been becoming increasingly violent, with police using tear gas and activists storming parliament.
Image copyright AFPImage caption The protests have often escalated into violent clashes
That means two things for 1 October: official celebrations in the territory are being toned down to avoid clashes – the annual fireworks display has been cancelled – while at the same time, activists are planning to step up their protests.
On Sunday 29 September, a “Global Anti Totalitarianism March” is scheduled to take place at various locations around the world in support of Hong Kong.
On 1 October itself, a march in central Hong Kong is planned with everyone asked to wear black.
If the past weeks’ demonstrations are anything to go by, the smiles and celebrations in Beijing will be competing for media space with pictures of tear gas and angry young protesters in Hong Kong.
BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) — China’s National Museum of Classic Books unveiled an exhibition in Beijing Saturday to showcase the preservation and inheritance of ancient Chinese books over the past 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
More than 330 precious collections from over 70 public institutions and private collectors around the country, ranging from ancient government archives, maps, manuscripts to paintings, have been put on display.
The exhibition, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Cultural Heritage Administration, is the largest of its kind since the founding of the PRC in 1949.
With digital virtual sand table demonstration, holographic and immersive digital scenes, the curator tries to use diversified means and modern technologies to facilitate audience experience.
Researchers will conduct tests at site in Gansu to see whether it will make a viable facility to store highly radioactive waste safely
Scientists say China has the chance to become a world leader in this field but has to find a way to ensure it does not leak
A preliminary design for the Beishan Underground Research Laboratory. Photo: Handout
China has chosen a site for an underground laboratory to research the disposal of highly radioactive waste, the country’s nuclear safety watchdog said on Wednesday.
Officials said work will soon begin on building the Beishan Underground Research Laboratory 400 metres underground in the northwestern province of Gansu.
Liu Hua, the head of the Chinese National Nuclear Safety Administration, said work would be carried out to determine whether it would be possible to build a repository for high-level nuclear waste deep underground.
“China sees radioactive waste disposal as a very important part [of the development nuclear energy],” said Liu. “To develop nuclear energy, we must have safe storage and disposal of nuclear waste.”
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The Chinese authorities see nuclear power an important source of energy that will help to curb carbon emissions and pollution as well as reducing its dependence on fuel imports.
But while the country has made great strides in the development of nuclear power, it needs to find a safe and reliable way of dealing with its growing stockpiles of nuclear waste.
Liu said the Gansu site had been identified as a possible location for a deep nuclear waste store after years of searching.
Once the laboratory is built, scientists and engineers will start experiments to confirm whether it will make a viable underground storage facility.
“Based on the data of the experiments, we can then decide if we are going to pick this as the final site,” he added.
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Chinese officials usually stay tight-lipped about how nuclear waste is disposed of mainly because of fears that any discussion of the topic would trigger safety fears, although in recent years more efforts have been made to inform the public to win support.
Scientists say that nuclear waste can be divided into three categories depending on the level of radioactivity.
Low-level waste consists of minimally radioactive materials such as mop heads, rags, or protective clothing used in nuclear plants, while intermediate-level waste covers things such as filters and used reactor components.
High-level waste, however, is generated by the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and scientists generally agree that the safest way to dispose of it is to bury it deep underground in areas where the geology means it will have a minimal impact on the environment while it decays over thousands of years.
The facility will be built in a remote part of Gansu province. Photo: Handout
Some Chinese scientists said the country had the chance to lead the world in this area of research but others have expressed concerns about safety.
Jiang Kejun, a senior researcher at the Energy Research Institute of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said that very few countries in the world are studying this form of nuclear waste disposal.
“It gives China an opportunity to be a leader in research in this area, plus China has the technology and financial means,” he said.
About a dozen countries including France, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States have carried out research in this area, but in recent years most have abandoned or scaled back their programmes.
At present there are storage sites operating in Finland and the US, but other countries such as Germany have abandoned plans to build similar facilities.
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But despite broad scientific support for underground disposal, some analysts and many members of the public remain sceptical about whether it is really safe.
Lei Yian, an associate professor at the School of Physics at Peking University, said there was no absolute guarantee that the repositories would be safe when they are come into operation.
“Leakage has happened in [repositories] in the US and the former Soviet Union … it’s a difficult problem worldwide,” he said. “If China can solve it, then it will have solved a global problem.”
China is also building more facilities to dispose of low and intermediate level waste. Officials said new plants were being built in Zhenjiang, Fujian and Shandong, three coastal provinces that currently lack disposal facilities.
At present, two disposal sites for low and intermediate-level waste are in operation in Gansu and Guangdong provinces.
Prototype tested last month transports high-voltage power and liquefied natural gas side by side
It could cut the high cost and waste involved in sending energy from the far west to the east coast
The 10-metre prototype line, combining high-voltage electricity and liquefied natural gas. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chinese scientists have developed the world’s first prototype of a superconducting hybrid power line, paving the way for construction of a 2,000km (1,243-mile) line from energy-rich Xinjiang in the country’s far west to its eastern provinces.
The 10-metre, proof-of-concept wire and liquid natural gas hybrid transmission line was up and running at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Electrical Engineering in Beijing last month to show the feasibility of the technology.
The line contains a superconducting wire which can transmit nearly 1,000 amps of electric current at more than 18,000 volts with zero resistance.
In a further difference from a traditional power line, the gap between the superconducting wire and the power line’s outer shell is filled by a flow of slowly moving natural gas liquefied at low temperatures – between minus 183 and minus 173 degrees Celsius (minus 279 to minus 297 Fahrenheit). This allows the line to transfer electricity and fossil fuel at the same time.
Professor Zhang Guomin, the government research project’s lead scientist, told the South China Morning Post that the voltage and current could be much higher in its real-world applications.
“This technology can take the overall efficiency of long-distance energy transport to new heights,” he said.
Existing infrastructure to transfer energy from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the developed eastern areas such as Shanghai has high operational costs because almost 10 per cent of the energy is lost in transmission, according to some studies.
That infrastructure includes the world’s most advanced high-voltage power line and four natural gas pipes, each thousands of kilometres long. One of the natural gas pipelines, from Xinjiang to Shanghai, cost 300 billion yuan (US$42 billion).
The superconductor and natural gas hybrid line offered a possible solution, Zhang said.
Loss of electricity over the superconducting wire would be almost zero because of the elimination of resistance to the movement of electrons, he said.
The transport of liquefied natural gas would also be efficient, because one cubic metre (1,000 litres) of it would be equivalent to 600 cubic metres of the same fuel in gas form.
The temperature needed for liquefaction of natural gas is almost identical to that required for occurrence of superconductivity, at about minus 163 degrees.
Wang Gengchao, professor of physics at East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai, said the combination was a “smart idea”.
Superconducting materials are not new but their applications have been limited by the difficulty and cost of creating and maintaining the low-temperature environment.
“They are trying to kill two birds with one stone,” Wang, who was not involved in the study, said.
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“But whether the technology can find a use in large-scale infrastructure depends on other things, such as safety. Not everyone will feel comfortable with the idea of putting a high-voltage electric line and flammable natural gas side by side.”
Zhang said another new prototype line, about 30 metres long, was being developed and the 2,000km project was awaiting government approval.
He said the team had solved some major technical obstacles, including reducing the risk of accidents from electrical sparks and gas leakage.
“Many problems remain to be solved, but we are confident this technology will work,” he said. “It will protect the environment. It will save a lot of land from being used for power and gas lines.”
Xinjiang has more energy resources than any other Chinese province or region. It has nearly half of the nation’s coal reserves, a third of its oil and gas, and some of the largest wind and solar farms, according to government statistics.
BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) — As the autumn semester started Sunday, Chinese education departments, schools and military authorities have geared up for military training programs for students.
The Ministry of Education and three departments of the Central Military Commission jointly issued a directive earlier this week underlining adequate preparation of trainers, careful design of training programs and proper security management.
Freshman college students across the country and entrants to middle schools in many places are required to attend a short military training program mostly on campus but sometimes at training camps.
The military should select competent servicemen to be trainers and provide them with adequate training on teaching policies and skills, according to the directive.
Civilian and military authorities were also asked to introduce more interactive and creative training models and design courses that suit students’ physical and psychological conditions.
Germany welcomes first panda cubs born in the country
Zoo reports mother and babies doing well and in good health
Chinese giant panda Meng Meng has given birth to twins at Berlin zoo, the first pandas to be born in Germany. Photo: EPA-EFE
Berlin zoo is celebrating the safe arrival of panda twins, in the first time that the rare animals have been born in Germany.
Resident panda Meng Meng delivered her first cub on Saturday evening, with the second baby arriving about an hour later.
The zoo posted a video on Twitter of the new mother guiding one of her pink babies to feed, with the announcement: “Meng Meng became a mom – twice! We are so happy, we are speechless.”
The cubs weighed in at 136 and 186 grams but their genders had not been determined, the zoo said.
Meng Meng guides one of her newborn panda twins to feed. Photo: EPA-EFE
“Meng Meng and her two cubs coped well with the birth and are all in good health,” zoo director Andreas Knieriem said.
At birth, the pink cubs, with their fine white down and disproportionately long tails, bear little resemblance to the adult black and white bears.
The births are particularly rare as it is notoriously hard to breed pandas.
Famed for its “panda diplomacy”, China has sent its national treasure to only about a dozen countries as a symbol of close relations.
The zoo pays US$15 million for a 15-year contract to host them, with most of the money going toward a conservation and breeding research programme in China.
While the cubs are born in Berlin, they remain Chinese and must be returned to China within four years after they have been weaned.
China has previously given three pandas to Germany but the last one, 34-year-old Bao Bao, died in Berlin in 2012, having become the oldest male panda in the world.
About 1,864 pandas remain in the wild in China, up from around 1,000 in the late 1970s, according to the environmental group WWF.
Just over 400 pandas live in zoos around the world, in conservation projects set up with Beijing.
Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, addresses a seminar on expositions on historical sciences made by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)
BEIJING, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — A seminar on expositions on historical sciences made by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, was held Monday in Beijing.
Xi’s expositions on historical sciences, which embody a deep understanding of history and historical sciences by contemporary Chinese Communists, are an important guideline to be followed by China’s historical research in the new era, said Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, when addressing the seminar.
He said Marxism should be firmly upheld to offer guidance and called for efforts to facilitate the building of discipline, and academic and discourse systems of history research with Chinese characteristics.
Huang stressed the importance of combining research and education, taking a clear-cut stand to oppose historical nihilism, and guiding people to establish a correct view of the history, nation, country, and culture.
The seminar, hosted by the Chinese history research institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was attended by over 150 historians from across the country.
as the two mark 45 years of diplomatic relations this year.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar said Yi Yi’s birth was “momentous” as mother panda Liang Liang had conceived her outside the usual mating season.
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“[Yi Yi] is active, bonds well with her mother and is in good health. Though the cub still feeds on milk, it has also been exposed to other diets such as bamboo leaves and carrots,” he said.
Born last January after being conceived in mid-October 2017, Yi Yi is the second offspring of giant pandas Xing Xing and Liang Liang, who were sent to Malaysia by China in May 2014 to mark 40 years of diplomatic ties
.
Yi Yi (left) plays with her mother Liang Liang during her naming ceremony at Malaysia’s National Zoo. Photo: Reuters
Their first cub, Yi Yi’s sister Nuan Nuan, was born in August 2015 and sent back to China in late 2017 as part of an agreement that cubs born in captivity must be returned at 24 months old.
Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian, who was also present at the naming ceremony, described the pandas as “friendship emissaries”, adding that Xing Xing and Liang Liang were now the “most productive giant pandas overseas”.
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“That fully shows that friendship really multiplies. It also shows the fact that Malaysia is really a very beautiful and very comfortable home for the Chinese giant pandas,” he said.
Malaysia is among the few countries where Chinese giant pandas have successfully procreated, and holds the record for the quickest conception at just 15 months after the original pair were settled in the National Zoo.
China’s use of panda diplomacy – sending giant pandas to other countries as diplomatic gifts – has been criticised by some Malaysians who were perturbed by the high costs of “renting” the animals.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar (centre) with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (second from left). Photo: DPA
Disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak, who is currently on trial for corruption and abuse of power linked to the looting of the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, signed the initial agreement that stipulates an annual payment of 4.18 million ringgit (US$1 million) be paid to China for the pandas, as well as a yearly insurance premium of 50,000 ringgit per animal.
In 2018, Xavier announced that the Malaysian government had spent 4.65 million ringgit that year on managing the National Zoo’s Giant Panda Conservation Centre, with costs expected to balloon to 7.38 million ringgit this year because of a “one-off” conservation fee of about 2.38 million ringgit.
Despite this, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in January described the pandas as an offering from China and “an important diplomatic symbol”.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 