“Actions speak louder than words”. So, the Chinese public is waiting to see what actions are going top be taken to support the leadership’s statements regarding the need to reduce if not end corruption at all levels of government and the Party.
01/12/2012
* China home marooned in middle of road is bulldozed
Not what he asked for but more than originally offered – ends the stand-off.
BBC: “A five-storey home marooned in the middle of a new road in China for more than a year because its owner refused to leave has finally been demolished.
The road, in China’s’s eastern Zhejiang province, was built around the house because duck farmer Luo Baogen was holding out for more compensation.
Mr Luo, 67, said he had just finished the home at a cost of $95,000 and had been offered only $35,000 to move.
Officials say he finally accepted $41,000, and the bulldozers moved in.
Media attention
The home had earned the nickname “nail house” because, like a stubborn nail, it was difficult to move.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said Mr Luo and his wife had accepted the new compensation offer and had moved to a relocation area with the help of relatives on Saturday morning.”
via BBC News – China home marooned in middle of road is bulldozed.
Related articles
- Road block (smh.drive.com.au)
01/12/2012
* Jiu San Society holds national congress
Did you know that there are eight non-Communists political parties allowed in China? See – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China#The_parties
Xinhua: “The Jiu San Society, one of China’s eight non-Communist political parties, opened its 10th national congress in Beijing on Friday.
The congress will hear and deliberate on a work report by the society’s 12th central committee, discuss and approve a draft amendment to the Jiu San Society’s Constitution, and elect the party’s 13th central committee.
Li Keqiang, China’s vice premier and a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with delegates to the congress and delivered a congratulatory speech on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.
Li said in the speech that the Jiu San Society carried the fine tradition of promoting patriotism, democracy and science.
“It embarked on a historic road of working with the CPC side by side and standing together with the CPC regardless of situation, by pursuing democracy and promoting science, at the beginning of the society’s formation,” according to the vice premier.
During the last five years, China has courageously advanced along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, stood the test of various difficulties and risks, won new victories in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and achieved major progress in the cause of a united front and multi-party cooperation under the CPC leadership, Li said.
He continued that the society brought to full play its own features and advantages and made contributions to socialist economic, political, cultural, social and ecological construction during the last five years.
The cause of building a moderately prosperous society and deepening reform and opening up in all respects needs concerted efforts of the Chinese people, including the united front members, Li said.
The CPC will unswervingly adhere to the political development road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the guiding principle of “long-term coexistence, mutual supervision, sincere treatment with each other and the sharing of weal and woe,” he vowed.
It will strengthen cooperation with non-Communist parties and personages without party affiliation and further consolidate and develop “the most extensive patriotic united front,” delegates of the Jiu San Society’s congress were told.
Li said he hoped the society will lead its members to carry on its fine tradition, consolidate its ideological basis, deepen political transition and enhance self-improvement in order to make new contributions.
The vice premier also expressed hope that the society will bring its knowledge-intensive advantage to full play and offer advices accordingly.
Han Qide, executive chairman of the presidium of the Jiu San Society’s 10th national congress, delivered a work report at the congress on behalf of the society’s 12th central committee.
At the end of 1944, a number of progressive scholars organized the Forum on Democracy and Science, to strive for victory in the Anti-Japanese War and political democracy, and to develop the anti-imperialist and patriotic spirit of the May 4 Movement of 1919.
In commemoration of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and in the world anti-Fascist war, on Sept. 3, 1945, it adopted the name Jiu San Society (“Jiu San” means Sept. 3 in Chinese).
On May 4, 1946, the Jiu San Society was formally founded in Chongqing.
By the end of June this year, the society had set up more than 5,200 grass-roots organizations with more than 132,000 members. Most of the members are senior and leading intellectuals in the fields of science and technology.”
via Jiu San Society holds national congress – Xinhua | English.news.cn.
01/12/2012
* World through Dragon’s eyes
A very insightful analysis reported by a Turkish author, presumably someone who attended the 4th Xiangshan Forum in November 2012, immediately after the 18th National Congress.
30/11/2012
* China-backed payment processor to accelerate global expansion
Visa and Mastercard beware!
Reuters: “China’s state-backed electronic payment services giant, China UnionPay, launched an international arm tasked with speeding its expansion overseas, heating up competition with rivals such as Visa Inc (V.N) and Mastercard Inc (MA.N).
The move underscores UnionPay’s growing global ambitions, and follows a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling that China discriminates against foreign card companies by favoring UnionPay in the home market.
UnionPay, China’s dominant payment card supplier, is looking to expand the number of shops and outlets overseas that will accept its cards and also grow the number of partner banks issuing UnionPay-branded cards. The move would increase its business, assist inbound and outbound travelers and is also aimed at promoting the use of the yuan as a global currency.
“UnionPay’s internationalism provides convenience to Chinese residents and companies going overseas. Also it provides a new payment option for overseas residents and companies,” Liu Shiyu, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said at the opening ceremony of UnionPay’s unit.”
via China-backed payment processor to accelerate global expansion | Reuters.
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- China Unicom launches NFC-based mobile wallet (zdnet.com)
- Transactional Banking and Mobile Payments in China: An Emerging Opportunity (knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu)
- Union Pay gets busted (chinatrack.typepad.com)
28/11/2012
* Tibetan students protest, as four more self-immolations reported
China needs to rethink its policy on Tibet. The issue of autonomy is not going to go away. Unlike the Muslim Uighurs, who are mainly domiciled in Xinjiang, Tibetans reside in large numbers in at least four provinces of which Tibet is only the main one.
BBC: “A crowd of Tibetan students has protested in Qinghai province, activists say, as four more self-immolations were reported.
Reports said more than 1,000 students took part in the protest, which was reportedly provoked by the contents of a book.
Twenty students were in hospital, media reports and activist groups said.
The four self-immolations, meanwhile, occurred in Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces on Sunday and Monday.
Foreign media are banned from Tibetan regions, making reports of protests and self-immolations hard to verify independently. Chinese state media reports some of the protests and burnings but not all.
The student protest took place on Monday in Gonghe county in Qinghai province, London-based Free Tibet said.”
via BBC News – Tibetan students protest, as four more self-immolations reported.
28/11/2012
* China Looks to Increase India Investments
If India allows China to invest in its under-developed infrastructure, then it will be a truly win-win situation.
WSJ: “China, already India’s largest trading partner, is looking to increase its Indian direct investment, taking a page from the playbook of other East Asian nations such as Japan and South Korea.
Zhang Ping, chairman of China’s National Development Reforms Commission, a key policymaking body, was in the Indian capital this week to hold a China-India strategic economic dialog, focused on increasing investments in each other’s countries. He was accompanied by around 200 representatives from government and corporations.
China’s official news agency Xinhua quoted Mr. Ping as saying China would “push forward cooperation in infrastructure including railway, power, telecommunications” with India.
“Economic co-operation between India and China is of relatively recent vintage and still has great potential to develop further,” said Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of India’s Planning Commission. He said China’s co-operation could be valuable in bridging India’s “enormous infrastructure deficit.”
Infrastructure is a particularly attractive sector for many foreign direct investors: India expects to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure over the next five years.”
via China Looks to Increase India Investments – China Real Time Report – WSJ.
Related articles
- * China, India to hold strategic economic dialogue this month (chindia-alert.org)
28/11/2012
* China to tighten laws on land grabs in rural stability push
The new leadership is already taking steps to improve conditions for the rural population of China. That is assuming local authorities take heed of central edicts.
Reuters: “China’s cabinet vowed on Wednesday to tighten laws on the expropriation of farmland, warning that the problem risked fuelling rural unrest and undermining the country’s food security.
“Rural land has been expropriated too much and too fast as industrialization and urbanization accelerate,” state news agency Xinhua reported, summing up a meeting of the State Council.
“It not only affects stability in the countryside but also threatens grain security.”
More reforms need to be put in place and a better legal system set up to resolve the problem, including stricter regulation on farmland expropriation, Xinhua said.
The meeting passed a draft law amendment altering rules on how to compensate farmers whose “collectively owned” land is expropriated, the news agency said, without providing details.
“The government must make efforts to beef up support for farmers and place rural development in a more important position,” it added.
While the comments on land seizures do not break new policy ground, they do underscore government jitters about rural discontent as President Hu Jintao prepares to hand over the running of the country to his successor, Vice President Xi Jinping, named Communist Party head this month.
Farmers in China do not directly own most of their fields. Instead, most rural land is owned collectively by a village, and farmers get leases that last for decades.
In theory, the villagers can collectively decide whether to apply to sell off or develop land. In practice, however, state officials usually decide. And hoping to win investment, revenues and pay-offs, they often override the wishes of farmers.
The number of “mass incidents” of unrest recorded by the e government grew from 8,700 in 1993 to about 90,000 in 2010, according to several government-backed studies. Some estimates are higher, and the government has not released official data for recent years.
Conflict over land requisitions accounted for more than 65 percent of rural “mass incidents”, the China Economic Times reported this year, citing survey data.”
via China to tighten laws on land grabs in rural stability push | Reuters.
Related articles
- Party acknowledges unfair treatment of China’s farmers (wantchinatimes.com)
- * China turns to machines as farmers seek fresh fields (chindia-alert.org)
- * Henan city refuses to stop clearance of graves to make farmland (chindia-alert.org)
- 8 Big Ways China’s Policies Screw Normal Chinese Citizens (businessinsider.com)
- China’s New Leaders Will Push Land Reforms To Boost The Economy (businessinsider.com)
- Wukan Woes Show Land-Reform Delay Risks, Hu Leaves Task to Xi (bloomberg.com)
24/11/2012
* The end of the “ASEAN way”
Extracted from Al Jazeera Blogs: “The long-time journalists in this region have joked that it didn’t really matter if they missed out on covering ASEAN summits as nothing ever really happened at them anyway.: ”
The ten-member regional organisation composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam was seen as a bit of a toothless mouse … ineffective, irrelevant, and a trifle useless.
All pomp and ceremony at the best of times – with very little substance. It’s been termed a “loose grouping” with nothing legally binding it together.
The one pronouncement from ASEAN with any kind of general recall was its members’ agreement of “non-interference” in each other’s affairs – which meant that for the most part, there were no condemnations of, or sanctions against, or even reactions to alleged human rights violations amongst them from anyone in the group.
It was the “ASEAN way” to be non-confrontational, put on a united front… and pretty much sweep things under the carpet. Which is likely why most thought the group a “lame” body.
Everything hinged on members’ consensus… and for many years, the only underlying consensus appeared to be making sure everyone played nice, and kept the house clean and presentable at all times. There was to be no “rocking the boat”, as it were.
But if one thing is clear after this series of recently concluded summits in Phnom Penh (ASEAN + Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the US) it’s that ASEAN is changing.
…
But it’s precisely because Cambodia, a nation with deep ties to China, tried to “stifle” that issue that things didn’t quite go as it had planned.
The Philippines, one of the countries embroiled in an increasingly tense dispute with China over overlapping maritime claims, spoke out in public contradiction of Cambodia’s statement that ASEAN members had “agreed” to not “internationalise” the territorial disputes.
“There was no consensus,” Philippine President Benigno Aquino said after the Cambodian leader finished his declaration. And that was only the beginning.
Possibly emboldened by the presence of Obama, (and the seven other non-ASEAN leaders), Aquino took the opportunity to basically “internationalise” the matter by speaking about the need for a “multi-lateral” resolution.
One that involves all those with a stake in the disputed areas’ maintaining its freedom of navigation and over-flight, including the US. A position several other countries agreed with.
And just like that, the subject that wasn’t supposed to be discussed hijacked the discussions. Much of this happened behind closed doors, but there was no way it was going to remain there… whether ASEAN liked it or not.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered his usual stage-managed, loquacious statement in an attempt to conclude the summits on a “positive” and “graceful” note… but he refused to answer questions (of which there were many!) ostensibly because he was tired and feeling “emotional” about the passing of Cambodia’s former king last month.
But never mind Hun Sen’s neat summary. The media rush, (referred to by one journalist as similar to a dangerous bar-room brawl), to get to the Chinese and Philippine delegates as they exited and looked to make side-line statements taking pot-shots at each other (without directly pointing fingers of course), said more about the region’s state of affairs than can be tidied up and swept under the carpet.
This time around, ASEAN may have found itself with little other choice than to do something more substantial.
via The end of the “ASEAN way” – Al Jazeera Blogs.
Related articles
- * Southeast Asia calls for talks with China on sea dispute (chindia-alert.org)
- Obama wades into thorny Asian territorial row (bostonherald.com)
24/11/2012
* Palestine envoy says Beijing backs U.N. entry
China backs Palestine. It usually refrains from taking sides in territorial and sovereignty disputes and prefers to be neutral. Is this a policy change? Or another sign of a proactive Foreign Ministry?
Reuters: “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas‘ envoy to China said on Friday that Beijing backs their United Nations membership bid, a day after France indicated it would support a diplomatic upgrade for Palestine.
Bassam al-Salhi, in China on a three-day trip to discuss tensions in Gaza, echoed earlier calls from China’s Foreign Ministry that Beijing would support Palestinian statehood and its entry into the United Nations.
“They (China) support the Palestinian right for ending occupation and building a Palestinian state ..and support the bid of the Palestinian membership in the United Nations,” Salhi told Reuters in an interview after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
China’s official Xinhua new agency quoted Yang as saying China “supports Palestine’s entry into the United Nations and other international organizations and understands, respects and backs Palestine’s bid for the U.N. observer status”.”
via Palestine envoy says Beijing backs U.N. entry | Reuters.
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- Palestinian envoy to brief China on Gaza situation (dailystar.com.lb)
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