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07/05/2013

* Bank of China closes account of key North Korean bank

China responds to US-initiated action action North Korea.

SCMP: “Bank of China has shut the account of North Korea’s main foreign exchange bank, which was hit with US sanctions in March after Washington accused it of helping finance Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.

Chinese Bank of China

Chinese Bank of China (Photo credit: epSos.de)

The state-run Foreign Trade Bank had been told its transactions had been halted and its account closed, Bank of China, the country’s biggest foreign exchange bank, said in a brief statement on Tuesday. It gave no reason for the closure and the bank declined to comment further.

The closure is the first significant, publicly announced step taken by a Chinese entity to curb its dealings with North Korea in the wake of international pressure to punish Pyongyang over its banned nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

“I think it is indeed a very noteworthy action,” said Zhang Liangui, a North Korea expert at China’s Central Party School, adding Bank of China was probably concerned about its reputation and thus closed the account.

“In taking this action I think there are political considerations as well as considerations about its own interests.”

The US sanctions prohibit any transactions between US entities or individuals and the Foreign Trade Bank.

Japan has followed suit while Australia is expected to do the same soon. Washington has also urged the European Union to impose sanctions on the Foreign Trade Bank and has raised the issue with China, although Beijing has not commented publicly on the bank.

Experts have said Washington’s move was designed to make foreign banks that do business in the United States think twice about dealing with the Foreign Trade Bank, in much the same way that banks have become wary about having ties with financial institutions in sanctions-hit Iran.

China is North Korea’s traditional ally and its biggest trading partner. It is unclear how much of the US$6 billion in annual bilateral trade goes through the Foreign Trade Bank.

Among China’s other large banks, a spokesman at China Construction Bank said the bank did not do any business with the Foreign Trade Bank. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China were not immediately available for comment.

China has become increasingly frustrated with North Korea in recent months. It agreed to new UN sanctions after Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test in February.

Those sanctions, announced on March 7, target the North’s attempts to ship and receive cargo related to its nuclear and missile programmes and tighten financial curbs, including the illicit transfer of bulk cash.

The UN measures did not address the Foreign Trade Bank. Washington imposed its own sanctions several days later.”

via Bank of China closes account of key North Korean bank | South China Morning Post.

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07/05/2013

* China’s Supreme People’s Court judge urges end to wrongful convictions

SCMP: “One of China’s most senior judges has called for an end to miscarriages of justice by the nation’s courts after two cases of wrongful convictions have highlighted inadequacies in its legal system.

china-politics-shanghai-corruption_bej211_5089113.jpg

“If more of these wrongful criminal convictions appear, they will become an unprecedented challenge to the People’s Courts,” Shen Deyong, the executive vice-president of the Supreme People’s Court, wrote in the People’s Court Daily on Monday.

The paper is the court’s official mouthpiece.

“It’s preferable to release someone wrongfully, than convict someone wrongfully,” he said. “If a true criminal is released, heaven will not collapse, but if an unlucky citizen is wrongfully convicted, heaven will fall.”

Criminal trials in China had a conviction rate of 99.9 per cent in 2009, according to the latest China Law Yearbook. In recent months, several murder cases have raised public ire against the judicial system.

Zhejiang’s provincial supreme court on March 26 overturned a decade-old death sentence with two-year reprieve and a 15-year prison sentence for two men convicted on murder charges for killing a woman in Hangzhou.

Caixin in April reported on the ordeal of a farmer wrongfully sentenced to death with reprieve in 2008 in Zhecheng, Henan province. Also in Zhecheng, convicted murderer Zhao Zuohai gained prominence in 2010, when his purported victim returned to the village and Zhao’s death sentence had to be overturned.

Last year, Henan started to hold judges responsible for their rulings even after retirement to reduce the number of miscarriages of justice.”

via Supreme People’s Court judge urges end to wrongful convictions | South China Morning Post.

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07/05/2013

* Thunder out of China

It is most confusing for this state of affairs when the country continues to declare at every opportunioy that it has peaceful intentions and wants to co-exist peacefully with everyone, especially its neighbours.

The Economist: “FOR an emerging power that makes much of the peacefulness of its rise, China is engaged in what looks suspiciously like aggression on an alarming number of fronts. India says Chinese soldiers have set up camp 19km (12 miles) on its side of the “line of actual control” (LAC) that separates Ladakh in its state of Jammu & Kashmir from China, in the absence of an agreed border. Japan reports that Chinese maritime surveillance vessels are every day circling the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. And on April 26th China demanded that the Philippines “withdraw all its nationals and facilities” from a number of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, where they have been, in some cases, for decades. In all these cases China can with some justification claim it is responding to provocation. That, however, is scant comfort to its increasingly anxious neighbours.

Of the three territorial disputes it is the rekindling of the one with India that comes most as a surprise. Two long sectors of the border are contested. In the east, China briefly occupied part of what is now the state of Arunachal Pradesh, south of Tibet, in a bloody punitive war in 1962. In the west, the Aksai Chin, a high plateau the size of Switzerland, is occupied by China but claimed by India as part of Ladakh. In both sectors, patrols from each side often stray into what the other sees as its territory. They do not, however, pitch tents, as China’s soldiers have in this incursion. It is the most serious confrontation on either end of the border since 1986. After that stand-off, the two countries agreed to set the quarrel to one side, in an endless negotiation on the demarcation of the LAC, as they concentrated on building trade and other ties. A drive a decade ago to reach a political settlement soon ran into the sand. But neither side has an interest in forcing the issue.

Now above all, when China is embroiled in the other disputes, and the region is tense because of North Korea’s erratic bellicosity, it seems incomprehensible that China should want to resurrect yet another squabble. China of course denies it has done anything of the kind, insisting its soldiers are on its side of the LAC. It may, however, feel provoked. Ajai Shukla, an Indian defence analyst, has pointed out that the Indian army has been undertaking what he calls its “third surge towards the Sino-Indian border”. The previous two were in the late 1950s—leading to the 1962 war—and in 1986, leading to the present stalemate. Now, once again, says Mr Shukla, India has been “thickening” its presence in Arunachal Pradesh and in Aksai Chin, with more soldiers, weaponry and infrastructure.

So China may feel India is exploiting both the inexperience of its new leaders who took over last November, and the pressure China is under on other fronts. It may harbour similar suspicions about Japan and its “provocations” over what China calls the Diaoyu islands. Its patrols near the islands were prompted by Japan’s ignoring its warnings not to “nationalise” three of the islands by buying them from their private owner last September.

More recently—in late April—ten Japanese boats carrying about 80 right-wing activists sailed towards the islands. And members of the cabinet of Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, angered China by visiting the Yasukuni shrine—where high-ranking war criminals are among the enshrined war-dead. Part of China’s response was to reiterate that the Diaoyus are one of its “core interests”—the issues, like Taiwan and Tibet, over which it might go to war. In a joint communiqué signed by Barack Obama in 2009, America and China promised to respect each other’s core interests.

The demand directed at the Philippines, that it withdraw from disputed islands, was also a reaction—to the Philippines’ taking its dispute with China to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China rightly points out that, although the law of the sea sets rules about the waters and exclusive economic zones around islands, it says nothing about sovereignty over them.

On that question, China seems intent on imposing its own view. In addition to verbal attacks on the Philippines, it this week started tourist cruises around the Paracel archipelago (Xisha in Chinese). This is still claimed by Vietnam, which was evicted by China from the islands in 1974. China’s rows with the Philippines and Vietnam have been the most active of its many disputes in the sea. But in late March it also antagonised Brunei and Malaysia, by sending a naval flotilla where those two nations have claims, at the southern tip of China’s expansive “nine-dashed line”, a vague cartographic claim dating from the 1930s.

Individually, China’s actions can be seen as pragmatic reactions to different pressures. But, taken together, they bring two dangers. First, they make China seem embarked on a concerted campaign to establish new “facts on the ground” (or water) to strengthen its position in future negotiations or conflicts. More likely, they show almost the opposite: that China’s foreign-policy chiefs lack the clout to impose a co-ordinated, calibrated response to coincidental provocations. Rather than picking off its adversaries one by one, China is taking them all on at once. The impression of an aggressive rising power is hard to shake off.”

via Banyan: Thunder out of China | The Economist.

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06/05/2013

* Seawater can save thirsty country

desalination plant

desalination plant (Photo credit: roplant.org)

China Daily: “More government support, including subsidies and a favorable pricing mechanism, is needed for the country to use desalinated seawater to quench its thirst, a top industry expert said.

 

“The lack of an effective pricing mechanism for desalinated water and support for an operable policy is affecting the development of the country’s sea desalination industry,” said Li Linmei, director of the State Oceanic Administration‘s Institute of Seawater Desalination and Multipurpose Utilization in Tianjin.

The country aims to produce 2.2 million cubic meters of desalinated seawater daily in 2015, about three times current capacity, according to a National Development and Reform Commission plan released last year.

Current domestic water prices range from 2.4 yuan to 4.9 yuan a metric ton in the coastal regions, while the price of water for industry ranges from 3.3 yuan to 7.9 yuan a ton, according to ChinaWaterNet.

However, desalination plants can produce 674,000 tons daily at a cost of about 5 yuan ($0.80) a ton — not including infrastructure such as pipelines.

Li said the government should consider bringing desalinated water into the water grid.

Aside from subsidies and funding for pilot programs, Li believes desalination is a key part of water security.

“The seawater desalination industry is as important as water conservancy projects for China to cope with its water shortage,” Li said.”

via Seawater can save thirsty country[1]|chinadaily.com.cn.

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06/05/2013

* ‘Running a Prison Is Women’s Work’

WSJ: “For Vimla Mehra, running one of the world’s largest prison complexes is like managing a big household.

“Women can do it better, because it’s just an application of natural work that we do at home,” Ms. Mehra told The Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time on a recent afternoon.

The 57-year-old divorced mother is the second female director general of Delhi’s Tihar Prison, which has 12,000 inmates — 540 of them women — kept in 10 jails.

Kiran Bedi, the first woman to head the prison, stood down in 1995 after two years in the role. Ms. Mehra took over in August last year.

Since then, Tihar, already home to some of India’s most notorious prisoners, has housed the suspects in the Delhi gang rape case that led to the death of a 23-year-old woman in December, prompting protest and outrage across the world.

A “motherly instinct” helps her interact with prisoners on an emotional level, but also made it difficult for her to be associated with suspects accused of such brutality, Ms. Mehra said.

“I was really distressed by what had happened to the young woman,” she said. “I was connected with the case because the suspects are with me [in Tihar] and it was very disturbing mentally.”

As director general, her duty of care is to the prisoners.

“We have to keep them properly so that no body hurts them, which every other inmate wanted to do,” she added.

via ‘Running a Prison Is Women’s Work’ – India Real Time – WSJ.

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06/05/2013

* China’s New Diplomatic Weapon: Red Flag Limos

WSJ: “Forget panda diplomacy. China has added a new weapon to its soft-power arsenal — home-grown luxury cars.

On Friday, Beijing donated 20 Chinese-made Hongqi, or Red Flag, sedans worth around $2.3 million, to the Pacific nation of Fiji.

At a ceremony in Suva, Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama described the gift as “generous” and “timely”— the cars will go straight to work next week as the country hosts a high-level meeting of G77 group of developing nations.

Fiji and China have been on friendly terms since 1975, when Fiji became the first South Pacific island nation to forge diplomatic ties with Beijing.

The Hongqi is no stranger to politics, either.

First produced in 1958, the luxury sedan was synonymous with Chinese power trips in the Mao era and the early reform years, used to transport top Chinese politicians and foreign dignitaries visiting China.

When former Chinese premier Zhou Enlai needed a nap, his own personal Hongqi had a switch he could flick that allowed him to stretch out in the back, an engineer who worked on the original design told state broadcaster China Central Television in an interview last year.

In the wake of global oil shocks manufacturer China FAW Group Corp ceased manufacture of the Hongqi in 1981. Production re-started in 1995.

Now FAW is priming Hongqi’s latest H7 model for a slice of China’s market for luxury cars.

FAW’s hopes for the old brand’s revival are high. The Hongqi H7 means the monopolization by foreigners of the high-end auto market in China could “be smashed at one stroke,” a statement on FAW’s website reads.

Yet sales thus far have been modest amid persistent doubts over quality and after-sales service. According to data from consultancy LMC Automotive, 460 Hongqi H7s were sold between the time it rolled off the production line in middle of last year and the end of March.

Those numbers could improve as the government steers its car fleet in a more domestic direction, away from the Audis and other foreign brands that have dominated over the last decade. State media recently cited FAW group president Xu Xianping as saying 10 provincial governments and some central government departments have plans to begin using Hongqi cars.

To that, add the government of Fiji. After the G77 powwow, the cars will be deployed to several ministries, according to reports in Fiji media.

As China extends its diplomatic reach, expect to see Red Flags chauffeuring the powerful on more streets around the world.”

via China’s New Diplomatic Weapon: Red Flag Limos – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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06/05/2013

* India and China ‘pull back troops’ in disputed border area

At last, common-sense prevails.

BBC: “India and China have started pulling back troops from disputed territory near the two countries’ de facto border, India’s foreign ministry says.

Map of Kashmir

Soldiers were said to have set up camps facing each other on the ill-defined frontier in Ladakh region last month.

The two sides held a series of talks to resolve the row and on Sunday, agreed to withdraw the troops.

The two countries dispute several Himalayan border areas and fought a brief war in 1962.

Tensions flare up from time to time. They have held numerous rounds of border talks, but all have been unsuccessful so far.

A spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry, Syed Akbaruddin, told the BBC that India and China had agreed to pull their troops back to positions they held prior to the current stand-off, which began last month.

Meetings between border commanders were being held to confirm the arrangement, he added.

Indian officials had accused Chinese troops of straying 10km (six miles) into Indian territory on 15 April and putting up tents in the Depsang valley in Ladakh, in eastern Kashmir.

China had denied reports of an incursion.

The pull-out comes days ahead of Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid‘s visit to China, ahead of a scheduled visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India.

Mr Khurshid is visiting China on 9 May, ahead of Mr Li’s visit on 20 May for his first overseas trip.”

via BBC News – India and China ‘pull back troops’ in disputed border area.

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Defence, Diplomacy, Foreign invasion, GeoPolitics, History, India alert, Instability, Military, Neighbour conflict, peace keeping, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

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06/05/2013

* Abbas and Netanyahu on separate China visits

China, the new peace-maker.

BBC: “Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in China for separate talks with top officials.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (06/05/13)

Mr Abbas, who met President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday, said he would explain obstacles to talks with Israel.

Mr Netanyahu, who is visiting Shanghai before flying to Beijing later this week, was due to sign trade deals and discuss the issue of Iran.

The two men are not expected to meet while they are in China.

China would assist if they wanted to, a foreign ministry official said, but the two leaders were not expected to be in the same city at the same time.

Mr Abbas, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, signed agreements on technical co-operation and cultural exchange with Mr Xi on Monday. The Palestinian leader was also expected to meet Premier Li Keqiang during his visit.

Speaking to Xinhua news agency ahead of the visit, he said he would update Chinese leaders on “what are the obstacles that block” dialogue with Israel, and would ask Beijing “to use its relationship with Israel to remove the obstacles that obstruct the Palestinian economy”.

Xinhua quoted him as saying: “It is very good that Netanyahu will visit China too because it is a good opportunity that the Chinese listen to both of us.”

Mr Netanyahu’s visit is the first to China by an Israeli leader in six years.

He was expected to meet business delegates in Shanghai before heading to Beijing. Israeli officials say he is expected to sign a number of trade deals.

He is also expected to raise the issue of Iran, which many nations including Israel believe is trying to build nuclear weapons – something Iran denies.

Beijing is one of the biggest buyers of Iranian oil, and has opposed unilateral Western sanctions on Tehran.

“China and Israel have both much to gain from enhanced co-operation, and that’s our goal,” Mr Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev told AFP news agency.”

via BBC News – Abbas and Netanyahu on separate China visits.

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05/05/2013

* Protest in China at chemical plant plans for Kunming

BBC: “Hundreds of people have rallied in the Chinese city of Kunming to protest at plans for a factory producing a toxic chemical for the textile industry.

A child holds up protest posters in Kunming, China, 4 May

Some demonstrators wore symbolic masks and brandished posters warning against the dangers of a paraxylene (PX) spill.

“We want to survive, we want health, get PX out of Kunming”, a banner read.

Two years ago, protests against a PX factory in the city of Dalian forced the city government to close the plant, though it reportedly re-opened later.

Saturday’s protest in Kunming, in the south-west of the country, attracted at least 200 people, according to state media.

Chinese bloggers, however, put the number at up to 2,000.

The China National Petroleum Corporation plans to build a chemical plant in the nearby town of Anning to produce 500,000 tonnes of PX annually.

PX is is used to create raw materials for the production of polyester film and fabrics.

Correspondents say urban Chinese are becoming increasingly confident about protesting at potential threats to their environment.”

via BBC News – Protest in China at chemical plant plans for Kunming.

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03/05/2013

* Xi Jinping’s vision: Chasing the Chinese dream

The Economist: “THESE have been heady days for Chen Sisi, star of a song-and-dance group run by China’s nuclear-missile corps. For weeks her ballad “Chinese dream” has been topping the folk-song charts. She has performed it on state television against video backdrops of bullet trains, jets taking off from China’s newly launched aircraft-carrier and bucolic scenery. More than 1.1m fans follow her microblog, where she tweets about the Chinese dream.

Ms Chen is playing her part in a barrage of dream-themed propaganda unleashed by the Communist Party. Schools have been organising Chinese-dream speaking competitions. Some have put up “dream walls” on which students can stick notes describing their visions of the future. Party officials have selected model dreamers to tour workplaces and inspire others with their achievements. Academics are being encouraged to offer “Chinese dream” research proposals. Newspapers refer to it more and more (see chart in full article). In December state media and government researchers, purportedly on the basis of studies of its usage, declared “dream” the Chinese character of the year for 2012.

It was, however, one very specific usage just before that December publication which set the country dreaming. On November 29th, two weeks after his appointment as the party’s general secretary and military commander-in-chief, Xi Jinping visited the grandiose National Museum next to Tiananmen Square. Flanked by six dour-looking, dark-clad colleagues from the Politburo’s standing committee, Mr Xi told a gaggle of press and museum workers that the “greatest Chinese dream” was the “great revival of the Chinese nation”.”

via Xi Jinping’s vision: Chasing the Chinese dream | The Economist.

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