21/01/2020
BEIJING (Reuters) – With millions of Asians travelling on Tuesday for the Lunar New Year holiday, authorities in China confirmed that a new virus could be spread through human contact, reporting 15 medical staff had been infected and a fourth person had died.
The chilling update on the coronavirus outbreak that began in the central city of Wuhan sent shivers through financial markets, as the World Health Organisation called a meeting for Wednesday to consider declaring an international health emergency.
By the end of Monday the number of confirmed cases in China had climbed to 291, the National Health Commission said. Some 270 were in Hubei province. Wuhan, a city of 11 million people is the provincial capital.
The outbreak was also spreading to other cities, with 15 cases in southern province of Guangdong, five in the capital Beijing and two in Shanghai.
“Information about newly reported infections suggest there may now be sustained human to human transmission,” WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai said in an email statement.
The scare brought back bad memories of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), another coronavirus that broke out in China in 2002/2003, resulting in the death of nearly 800 people in global pandemic.
Health authorities around the world have begun to step up screening of travellers arriving from China. Two cases have already been identified in Thailand, one in Japan and one in South Korea, while the Philippines reported on Tuesday its first suspected case.
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission confirmed a fourth fatality on Tuesday, disclosing that an 89-year-old man who had underlying health issues, including heart disease, died on Jan. 19.
Chinese authorities also confirmed for the first time that the virus could spread through human contact and said 15 medical staff had been infected.
The mounting anxiety was transmitted to regional markets. China’s onshore yuan CNY= fell 0.6%, its biggest daily drop since Aug. 26, 2019, while airline and travel stocks fell across the region.
European shares also slipped on mounting concerns about the impact of the outbreak, with luxury goods firms particularly hard-hit on worries about weaker demand from Chinese consumers.
The virus can cause pneumonia, with symptoms including fever and difficulty in breathing. As those symptoms are similar to many other respiratory diseases, extra screening is needed.
AIRPORT SCREENING
The origin of the virus has yet to be identified, but the primary source is most likely animal, according to WHO. Chinese officials have linked the outbreak to a seafood market in Wuhan.
“The outbreak of a SARS-like coronavirus in Wuhan is developing into a major potential economic risk to the Asia-Pacific region now that there is medical evidence of human-to-human transmission,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific Chief Economist for IHS Markit, in an email statement.
So far, the WHO has not recommended trade or travel restrictions but such measures could be discussed at Wednesday’s emergency meeting.
China’s National Health Commission will also give an update on the outbreak at a press briefing at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Wednesday.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China will attend the WHO meeting and share relevant information.
“China is willing to deepen its global cooperation and work with the international community to work together to deal with the epidemic,” Geng told reporters at a regular daily briefing.
Airport authorities in the United States as well as most Asian nations also are screening passengers from Wuhan.
Australia on Tuesday said it would screen passengers on flights from Wuhan, while Singapore announced it would quarantine individuals with pneumonia and a history of travel to Wuhan within 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms.
QUEUES FOR MASKS
Wuhan officials have been using infrared thermometers to screen passengers at airports, railway stations and other passenger terminals since Jan. 14.
Zhong Nanshan, head of the National Health Commission’s team of experts investigating the outbreak, said in footage shown by state television on Monday there was no danger of a repeat of the SARS epidemic so long as precautions were taken.
Images of long lines of people queuing to buy face masks were circulating widely on Chinese social media, where the outbreak was one of the top trending topics.
Some online vendors were limiting sales of masks and hand sanitizers as demand surged.
And Shanghai’s market regulator warned on Tuesday that it will punish speculators who hoard masks and other products used for preventing diseases, according to the Shanghai Observer – a web publication backed by a Communist Party newspaper.
Trip.com, China’s top online travel booking platform, said it would refund customers who cancel bookings in Wuhan this month, or whose travel plans are disrupted by quarantines or other regulatory efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
Source: Reuters
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27/12/2019
- A push to connect Pacific nations highlights a submarine struggle for dominance over the world’s technology infrastructure
- The ambitions of Chinese tech giants like Huawei, which have laid thousands of kilometres of cable, are of increasing concern to Washington
The ambitions of Chinese tech giants like Huawei, which have laid thousands of kilometres of cable, are of increasing concern to Washington. Photo: Reuters
I
n the contest between the
US and China for dominance over the world’s technology
infrastructure, the latest battle is taking place under the Pacific Ocean.
While the US has been upping the pressure on its allies not to include equipment made by Chinese telecom giants like Huawei and ZTE in their 5G systems, Chinese companies have gained a foothold in some of the world’s most essential communications infrastructure – undersea internet cables.
Smart telecom cables: climate change hope or submarine spying tech?
Almost all global data communications flow through cables under the ocean – just one per cent travels by satellite – and Chinese companies have quietly been eroding US, European and Japanese dominance over the backbone of the internet, the undersea cable market. Now, they have trained their sights on connecting one of the most virtually remote parts of the globe, the
Pacific Island countries.
Of the 378 cables currently operating worldwide, 23 are under the Pacific. But many of these cables run right by Pacific Island nations on their paths between hubs in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Singapore.
An electric submarine cable and optical fibre. File photo
Despite the volume of data flowing under the Pacific Ocean, just half a million of the 11 million people living in Pacific Island countries and Papua New Guinea – less than five per cent – have access to a wired internet connection and only 1.5 million to a mobile connection, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (UNESCAP), compared with 53 per cent of people in Thailand and 60 per cent in the Philippines.
More than US$4 billion worth of cables are to come into service by 2021, continuing a trend in which US$2 billion worth of cables have come online every year since 2016, and six of these cables will connect Pacific Island countries.
The push to connect Pacific Island nations to the latest generation of internet infrastructure has received extra scrutiny from the US and its allies like
Australia
over the involvement of Chinese tech companies.
Choose Beijing over Taipei, Solomon Islands task force recommends
While the US has moved to block Huawei from supplying equipment to its allies’ 5G networks, experts say Chinese tech companies could contest the US, EU and
long-standing dominance over global data traffic through investments in subsea cables.
Chinese tech giants like Huawei have entire divisions devoted to undersea connectivity that have laid thousands of kilometres of cable, and Chinese state telecommunication companies such as China Unicom have access to many of the existing trans-Pacific cables.
But a panel led by the US Department of Justice has held up a nearly complete trans-Pacific cable project over concerns about its Chinese investor, Beijing-based Dr Peng Telecom & Media Group.
The project, the Pacific Light Cable Network, could be the first cable rejected by the panel on the grounds of national security – despite being backed by American tech giants
Google and
Facebook – setting a precedent for a tougher US stance on Chinese involvement in subsea cables.
Chinese tech giants like Huawei have entire divisions devoted to undersea connectivity that have laid thousands of kilometres of cable. Photo: AP
Craige Sloots, director of sales at Southern Cross Cable Network, which operates the largest existing sets of trans-Pacific cables, said for any new cable, regulators were likely to scrutinise the ownership of the companies involved and the maker of the project’s equipment.
These two factors, said Sloots, “pragmatically limit some of the providers you can use if you want to connect through the US”.
Experts say that Hong Kong, where the stalled Pacific Light Cable would land, was previously considered a more secure shore landing point than mainland China. But people close to the project say the recent unrest in the city has made this distinction less relevant, according to The Wall Street Journal.
If these nations want to be part of the international economy, they need reliable communications: Bruce Howe, University of Hawaii
Similar concerns caused a proposed Huawei-backed cable linking Vanuatu with Papua New Guinea to be called off last year after Australia stepped in to fund its own cable instead.
Just months after the government-owned Solomon Islands Submarine Cable Company agreed to the project with Huawei in mid-2017, Canberra put up US$67 million to connect Sydney with the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea with cables laid under the Coral Sea by Nokia’s Alcatel Submarine Networks.
Simon Fletcher, CEO of Vanuatu company Interchange, which had been planning another cable in the neighbourhood connecting Vanuatu with the Solomon Islands, said the Coral Sea project undercut the viability for small private businesses to operate in the fledgling market, where services had historically been provided by international organisations like development banks. His company’s cable has been on pause since the announcement of the Coral Sea project, though Fletcher said it would go forward next year.
US-China battle for dominance extends across Pacific, above and below the sea
22 Jul 2019
VIRTUALLY REMOTE
For years, as Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore became global hubs of high-speed internet data traffic, the cables criss-crossing the ocean floor passed by just off the shores of Pacific Island countries en route between hubs on either side of the ocean.
Tiziana Bonapace, director of UNESCAP’s information technology and disaster risk-reduction division, said the Pacific Islands remain one of the most disconnected areas in the world, where “a vast proportion of the population has no access to the internet”.
Over the past five years, international organisations like UNESCAP, the Asia Development Bank and the World Bank have been pushing for better connectivity in the region. The World Bank’s Pacific Regional Connectivity Programme has invested more than US$90 million into broadband infrastructure for Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa and Tuvalu.
Internet cables in the Pacific Ocean.
But the business case had never been good, said Bonapace.
“A cable has to travel thousands of kilometres just to connect a population smaller than one of Asia’s megacities,” she said. “As everything we do is somehow connected to the internet, the prospects for the Pacific to become virtually more remote are even higher.”
Even nations which are connected have tenuous infrastructure. In January, Tonga experienced a total internet blackout for two weeks after damage to its single cable. Most parts of the world were linked by multiple cables to prevent this type of outage, said Bruce Howe, professor of ocean and resources engineering at University of Hawaii.
“If these nations want to be part of the international economy, they need reliable communications,” Howe said.
Is Chinese support for Pacific nations shaping their stance on West Papua?
26 Aug 2019
DRAWING NEW LINES
In Papua New Guinea, where mobile internet currently reaches less than a third of the population, a partnership between local telecoms company GoPNG and the Export-Import Bank of China funded the new Huawei-built Kumul Domestic cable system, which came online this year.
The Southern Cross Next system, owned by Spark, Verizon, Singtel Optus and Telstra – the same group of shareholders which operates the massive 30,500km (19,000 mile) set of twin cables connecting the US with Australia and New Zealand known as Southern Cross – is planned to come online in 2022, and will connect directly to Fiji, Samoa, Kiribati and Tokelau.
Chinese telecoms company China Unicom counts the existing Southern Cross cables among its network capabilities – meaning it is likely to have access to the cable through a leasing agreement with one of the other companies that uses the cable, according to Canberra think tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
An undersea fibre optic cable. Photo: AFP
China Unicom and China Telecom also list the Asia America Gateway Cable System as one of their network capabilities, according to ASPI. The 20,000km (12,400-mile) cable came online in 2009 and connects the US, Guam, Hong Kong, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.
It is owned by a consortium of carriers including AT&T, Telekom Malaysia, Telstra and Spark.
A cable backed by Google and the Australian Academic and Research Network connecting Japan and Australia through Guam is to come online early next year.
China: the real reason Australia’s pumping cash into the Pacific?
28 Jul 2018
WHAT’S NEXT
Natasha Beschorner, senior digital development specialist at the World Bank, said that while there were challenges ahead in terms of broadband access and affordability, increased connectivity was starting to bring new opportunities to the Pacific.
“Digital technologies can contribute to economic diversification, income generation and service delivery in the Pacific,” Beschorner said. “E-commerce and financial technologies are emerging and governments are considering how to roll out selected services online.”
Experts say the industry has recently seen a switch from cables being mostly funded by telecommunication carriers to being funded by content providers, like Google and Facebook. Members of the private cable industry say content companies can afford to invest in cable infrastructure to ensure the supply chain for their customers, but that the competition puts the squeeze on the research-and-development budgets of other types of companies.
Sloots at Southern Cross predicted that the nations which connected directly to the massive next-generation cable – Samoa, Kiribati and Tokelau – would be able to function as connecting points for intra-Pacific cables.
“There’s a blossoming effect in capability once certain islands are connected,” Sloots said.
There is also the push to locate an exchange point within the Pacific so that internet data no longer has to travel to a hub in Tokyo or Los Angeles and back to Pacific nations when processing – a move that could ultimately lower the cost of broadband internet service for consumers in the Pacific.
Perhaps the most effective outcome could be for Pacific nations to cut the cord and receive their internet by satellite.
The Asian Development Bank has agreed to give a US$50 million loan to Singapore’s Kacific Broadband Satellites International to provide up to two billion people across the Asia-Pacific region with affordable satellite-based internet.
The project is to be launched into orbit by SpaceX next week and aims to begin providing service by early next year.
Source: SCMP
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17/12/2019
- Centre could make Taiwan more self-sufficient in its defence capability
- Latest arms deal is further evidence of closer relations under presidencies of US’ Donald Trump and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen
A Taiwanese F-16V takes off during a drill in May. Photo: EPA-EFE
has further bolstered its defence links with the United States with plans to build an F-16 fighter jet maintenance centre, as the Taipei government continues to resist Beijing’s objective of unification.
The self-ruled island’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) and US defence contractor Lockheed Martin signed a strategic partnership agreement on Tuesday that aimed to promote the establishment of an F-16 fighter jet maintenance centre in Taiwan, to be completed by 2023.
It is the latest of several significant agreements with the US during Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump approved a US$2.2 billion arms sale on July 8 that included 108 American-made M1A2T Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger missiles.
He was quicker to approve F-16 sales than his predecessors, agreeing in August to sell the island 66 F-16V jets, which will mean Taiwan owns the most F-16s in the Asia-Pacific region.
Trump also approved, in September last year, a US$330 million deal to provide spare parts and other logistics for several types of the island’s military aircraft – less than a year after the US agreed to sell US$1.4 billion of missiles, torpedoes and an early warning system to Taiwan.
Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province to be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary.
‘Fighter jets trump battle tanks’ in Taiwan’s US arms priorities
Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the planned maintenance centre underlined how Taiwan-US military ties had become stronger under the more enthusiastic US administration of Trump and the Taiwanese presidency of
.
“The [F-16 fighter jet maintenance] centre, by improving the availability and readiness of the F-16 fleet, allows Taiwan to sustain its combat aviation, not only for daily operation but also for training,” Koh said.
“This does represent a step up. Taiwan is no longer just an end-user operating the American hardware, but will also be empowered to service it. It is designed to help Taiwan achieve better defence self-sufficiency, one of the key pledges by the Tsai administration.”
Tang Shaocheng, a senior researcher in international relations at Taiwan’s National Cheng-chi University, said the increasingly close relations between Taipei and Washington made dealing with the island more tricky for Beijing.
Beijing ‘interferes daily’ in Taiwan’s election, says Tsai Ing-wen
“The Tsai administration cares about what the US thinks but not what Beijing thinks, paving the way for ever-closer ties,” Tang said. “That definitely leaves less room for Beijing to get Taipei into its orbit, by using various economic measures.”
Beijing has suspended exchanges with Taipei and staged a series of war games around Taiwan to intimidate the island since Tsai, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, became president in 2016 and refused to accept its one-China policy.
Beijing has also tried to isolate Taiwan internationally by poaching its
diplomatic allies
since Tsai took office, has repeatedly warned Washington against seeking closer military ties with Taipei, and has protested against every arms deal the two have made.
The US acknowledges the Chinese claim that it has sovereignty over Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949 and is self-governing. However, the US regards the status of Taiwan as unsettled and supports the island with arms sales and other measures, such as by sending warships through the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from China.
Posted in Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), Beijing, breakaway province, build, centre, defiant, Democratic Progressive Party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), F-16 fighter jet, fighter jet, mainland, message, National Cheng-chi University, one-China policy, partnership, President Donald Trump, President Tsai Ing-wen, reunited, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, sending, Singapore, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, sovereignty, Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwan Strait, Uncategorized, US, warships, Washington |
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04/11/2019
- Hopes were high a regional summit could finally wrap up negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
- But despite claims of ‘significant progress’ in the 16-nation talks, India remains a stumbling block
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s Premier Li Keqiang attend the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Summit in Bangkok. Photo: AFP
Fifteen of the countries involved in negotiating a mammoth 16-nation Asian
trade pact were on Monday hoping to seal the deal after seven years of talks but faced a fresh setback as India signalled it was pulling out over terms that were against New Delhi’s interests.
A joint statement by all 16 states involved in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) said 15 economies had “concluded text-based negotiations for all 20 chapters and essentially all their market access issues”, and would undertake legal scrubbing of the proposed pact before a formal signing in 2020.
But “India has significant outstanding issues, which remained unresolved”, the statement said.
“All RCEP participating countries will work together to resolve these outstanding issues in a mutually satisfactory way. India’s final decision will depend on satisfactory resolution of these issues.”
Multiple Indian media outlets reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told a Monday evening meeting of leaders from the RCEP countries that “neither the talisman of [Mahatma Gandhi] nor my own conscience permit me to join the RCEP”.
“When I measure the RCEP agreement, with respect to the interest of Indians, I don’t get a positive answer,” he was quoted as saying.
Indians protest against the Modi-led government’s backing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Photo: AFP
Henry Gao, a law professor at the Singapore Management University focusing on international trade law, said an RCEP without India would be “even more worthwhile” for the so-called RCEP-15.
He cited two reasons: India’s “low ambitions” for the pact, and the high level of integration among the countries of East and Southeast Asia which are part of the RCEP-15.
“A mega trade deal like RCEP will only further accelerate the integration process and greatly boost trade and economic growth in the region,” Gao said.
Explained: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Earlier expectations were that the joint statement would declare at least a “substantial conclusion”, “near conclusion” or “in principle conclusion” of the RCEP, which aims to create a free-trade zone spanning 39 per cent of the world economy.
The phrasing used to describe the progress of negotiations is being closely parsed because, since it requires endorsement from all RCEP countries, it accurately captures the sentiment of all the 16 negotiating teams.
Last year, Singapore, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), pushed for a conclusion of the deal, but eventually the joint statement declared that only “substantial progress” had been made.
Asean countries plus six others are negotiating the trade pact. Photo: AFP
Indian media, citing government sources, said the pact’s inadequate protection against import surges, the possible circumvention of rules of origin, and a lack of “credible assurances” on market access and non-tariff barriers, proved too much for New Delhi to swallow.
facing fierce domestic criticism for being in the pact despite opposition even from
Hindu nationalist support base, last week piled on a fresh set of demands that other countries balked at, negotiators from Southeast Asian countries said over the weekend.
Furious efforts that continued up to Sunday night failed to bridge the gap between India and the 15 countries.
India’s concerns about RCEP remain the major obstacle to world’s largest trade deal
Indian critics of the RCEP say the deal will have a ruinous impact on the South Asian economy, which has trade deficits with the other 15 countries.
The biggest opposition has come from the country’s long protected industries, such as its dairy sector, which fears it could be wiped out by lower tariffs on Australian and New Zealand products that would result from the RCEP.
Indian government sources on Monday said the country had not made last-minute demands, but Southeast Asian negotiators said major demands were made as late as Thursday.
Gao, the Singapore-based law professor, said it “makes sense for India to stay out” as it would have faced “a lot of competition from Chinese manufactured products” if it were part of the deal.
“India could temporarily shield its firms from Chinese competition by staying out, but whether this will work in the long term is a different question,” he said.
Source: SCMP
Posted in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australian products, Chinese manufactured products, Chinese premier Li Keqiang, conscience, India alert, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mahatma gandhi, negotiations, New Delhi, New Zealand products, pulls out, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), seven years, Singapore, Singapore Management University, Southeast Asian negotiators, talisman, trade deal, Uncategorized, World economy |
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30/10/2019
- Black market imports from China, confusing regulations and pollution concerns are undermining India’s fireworks industry
- Industry sources say Diwali sales this year were down by 30 per cent
A woman is silhouetted by lit firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in Chennai. Photo: AFP
Arumugam Chinnaswamy set up his makeshift booth selling firecrackers in a Chennai neighbourhood a week ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, with great expectations of doing a brisk trade.
Yet a week later, he has been forced to pack up more than half his stock in the hope he’ll have better luck next year.
“Four years ago, I sold firecrackers worth 800,000 rupees (US$11,288) on the eve of Diwali alone. This year, the sales have not even been a quarter of that,” said Chinnaswamy, 65, painting a grim picture that will be recognised by many in the Indian fireworks industry.
Chinnaswamy buys his firecrackers in Sivakasi, an industrial town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu that produces more than 90 per cent of the country’s fireworks.
Sivakasi’s dry climate has helped to make it the firework capital of India and many production facilities in the town have been in the business for close to a century. For the most part, the industry has resisted mechanisation and still deals in handmade products. Its 1,100-plus manufacturing units provide jobs for 800,000 mostly uneducated workers and its diligent labour force have earned the town the nickname of ‘Little Japan’.
A worker lays firecrackers in an outdoor yard at a manufacturing unit involved in the production of firecrackers ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali, in Sivakasi. Photo: AFP
But this reputation is under threat, struggling under the weight of an anti-pollution campaign, regulatory uncertainty and the arrival of cheap black-market Chinese imports. Irregular monsoons and a slowdown-induced cash crunch have not helped matters either.
Industry figures estimate the Diwali sales of India’s 80 billion-rupee firecracker industry took a 30 per cent drop this year.
With pollution in Indian cities among the worst in the world, the government has come under pressure to do something about the nation’s toxic air – a problem that becomes more acute during Diwali due to the toxic fumes emitted when celebratory fireworks are set off. This Diwali, for instance, many areas in New Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 999, the highest possible reading (the recommended limit is 60).
That makes the fireworks industry seem like an easy target when it comes to meeting government air quality targets.
Trouble began brewing in October last year when the Supreme Court banned the manufacture of traditional fireworks containing barium nitrate, a chief polluter. That decision put a rocket under the industry, as barium nitrate is cheap and is used in about 75 per cent of all firecrackers in India.
Factories in Sivakasi responded with a four-month shutdown protest that decimated annual production levels by up to a third.
A seal denotes environment friendly ‘Green Fireworks’ at a manufacturing unit in Sivakasi. Photo: AFP
Apparently realising it had overstepped the mark – and that enforcing the Supreme Court regulations would be next to impossible – the government stepped in to rescue the industry, offering its assistance in the manufacture of environment-friendly crackers containing fewer pollutants, but it was too little, too late.
“The Supreme Court verdict was simply Delhi-centric with the vague idea of [cracking down on] urban pollution. It lacked any on-the-ground knowledge of the fireworks industry,” said Tamil Selvan, president of the Indian Fireworks Association, which represents more than 200 medium and large manufacturers.
Singapore travellers give Hong Kong a miss over Diwali long weekend
“Fireworks are low-hanging fruit for the anti-pollution drive as the industry is unorganised. Could the government or judiciary place a similar blanket ban on more pollution-causing industries like automobiles, plastics or tobacco?” asked Selvan.
CHINESE COMPETITION
The industry has also been hit by a flood of cheap Chinese firecrackers that are smuggled into the country on the black market.
In September, the country’s federal anti-smuggling agency, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, cautioned various government departments that huge quantities of Chinese-produced firecrackers had reached Indian soil in the lead up to Diwali.
But industry sources complain they have seen little action from the government to combat the problem.
An advert for firecrackers ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali, in Sivakasi. Photo: AFP
Legally, Indian manufacturers can neither import nor export firecrackers. The Indian firecracker industry is the second-largest in the world after China’s.
Raja Chandrashekar, chief of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Fireworks Traders, a lobbying body, said low-end Indian-manufactured firecrackers such as roll caps and dot caps – popular among children – had struggled to compete with Chinese-made pop pops and throw bombs.
“Despite our repeated complaints to government bodies, Chinese firecrackers find a way into India, particularly in the northern parts. This is severely affecting our business,” said Chandrashekar.
While more Chinese fireworks might be entering India, the effect has been to undermine the industry, resulting in fewer sales overall.
FIZZLING OUT?
The Sivakasi fireworks industry faces other problems, too. Not least among these is the use of child labour, which had been rampant until a government crackdown a few years ago, and the practice of some factories to operate without proper licences and with questionable safety standards.
But despite the darker aspects of the industry, its role goes beyond merely helping Diwali celebrations go with a bang every year.
India is crazy about gold. But can the love last as prices skyrocket?
“The livelihoods of over five million people who are indirectly involved in the business, in areas such as trade and transport, depend on the survival of the industry,” said Chandrashekar.
That survival looks increasingly in question. Dull sales of fireworks have been reported in major cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, though exact numbers can be hard to come by due to the unregulated nature of the industry and unreliable numbers shared by manufacturers.
So great has the resultant outcry been that some cynics even wonder whether the industry is struggling as much as it claims or whether it is part of a ploy by manufacturers to gain more government concessions and avoid any further crackdown.
“These firecracker manufacturers lie through their teeth about the Diwali sales for self-serving motives such as tax avoidance. The overall business is healthy,” said Vijay Kumar, editor of the Sivakasi-based monthly magazine Pyro India News.
“Though there was a 30-40 per cent shortage in annual production, all the manufactured products have been sold this year. No large stockpile is left with any manufacturer.”
Customers buy firecrackers on the eve of the Hindu festival of Diwali in Amritsar. Photo: AFP
Still, regardless of the manufacturers’ motives, the result of the industry’s struggles has been that street sellers like Chinnaswamy have fewer fireworks to sell – and they are struggling even to sell those.
Chinnaswamy says people are confused about the government’s anti-pollution drive and about what firecrackers are now legal and this has discouraged them from buying. Despite the government’s effort to promote “green crackers” he says these are too hard to come by to be a ready solution, at least for this year.
“There was no clarity on what type of firecrackers, whether green crackers or otherwise, can be set off and at what time of the day. Many consumers even asked me whether or not the conventional firecrackers are totally banned while there was much misinformation floating about on social media,” said Chinnaswamy.
Shaking his head, all he can do is hope that next year his Diwali goes with more of a bang.
Source: SCMP
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25/10/2019
- Haiyang Dizhi 8 in waters close to Macau as of 4pm Friday, MarineTraffic reports
- Vessel’s work in disputed waters ‘now complete’, foreign ministry says
The Haiyang Dizhi 8 was close to Macau as of Friday afternoon, according to the MarineTraffic maritime information service. Photo: Weibo
The Chinese survey ship that has been at the centre of a stand-off with Vietnam in the
was back in waters close to home on Friday afternoon, according to an online platform that provides information about maritime activity.
As of 4pm, the Haiyang Dizhi 8 (Marine Geology 8), which had been operating close to Vanguard Bank – a disputed reef in the Spratly Island chain claimed by both Beijing and Hanoi – was located just off Macau, the MarineTraffic service said.
China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the vessel had finished the work it had started “in Chinese-controlled waters in early July”.
“According to our understanding the work is now complete,” spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing, without elaborating.
The Japanese oil rig, Hakuryu 5, is reported to have completed its drilling mission near Vanguard Bank earlier this week. Photo: Japan Drilling Co
While in the Vanguard Reef area, the
Haiyang Dizhi 8, escorted by heavily armed coastguard vessels, made multiple passes by an oil block operated by Russian energy company Rosneft.
Observers say the presence of the Chinese vessels in the region is part of Beijing’s efforts to prevent Hanoi from partnering with international energy firms to explore energy reserves in the disputed waterway. The latest activity triggered a months-long stand-off between the two countries.
The departure of the Haiyang Dizhi 8 came amid reports that the Japanese oil rig, Hakuryu 5, owned by Tokyo-based Japan Drilling Company and employed by Rosneft, had earlier this week completed a drilling mission it started in May near Vanguard Bank.
China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe told a regional security conference that the South China Sea was an inalienable part of China’s territory. Photo: AP
Although China and Vietnam have said they are looking for a diplomatic solution to prevent confrontations, neither has shown any signs of backing down and tensions have continued to rise.
On Monday, China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe told military and defence officials attending a regional security conference in Beijing that the South China Sea was an inalienable part of China’s territory.
“We will not allow even an inch of territory that our ancestors have left to us to be taken away,” he said in his opening speech at the Xiangshan Forum.
Also on Monday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told lawmakers at the National Assembly that Hanoi would never give any territorial concessions.
“The situation in the South China Sea has become increasingly complicated,” he said. “Our party and state have consistently stated that what belongs to our independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will never give up.”
Last week, Hanoi pulled DreamWorks’ animated film Abominable from theatres over a scene featuring a map that shows Beijing’s self-declared “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea. China uses the U-shaped line to claim sovereignty over more than 80 per cent of the resource-rich waterway, parts of which are also claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.
Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said that the withdrawal of the Haiyang Dizhi might only be “temporary”.
“China has made its point about drilling activities within the nine-dash line and expects Vietnam to suspend further exploration and production activities,” he said. “[But] of course Vietnam won’t.”
China, Malaysia seek to resolve South China Sea disputes with dialogue mechanism
Zhang Mingliang, a specialist in Southeast Asian affairs at Jinan University in the south China city of Guangzhou, said that the Chinese ship’s withdrawal was unlikely to have had anything to do with the comments made by Vietnam.
“I think the main reason is that it had finished its work,” he said. “But the withdrawal could also be seen as an attempt to ease the [China’s] tensions with the US.”
The significance for relations between Beijing and Hanoi was minimal, he said, as the two nations were engaged in one of the world’s most complicated territorial disputes.
“The impact on Sino-Vietnam relations will be limited because there have been too many disputes like this one,” he said.
Source: SCMP
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17/10/2019
- Soldiers from 140 countries are expected to take part in 10-day sporting event in Wuhan, Hubei province
- It coincides with the Xiangshan Forum, where Beijing may seek to reinforce its position on issues like the South China Sea and US arms sales to Taiwan
More than 100 horses have arrived in Wuhan for the equestrian and modern pentathlon events of the Military World Games, which begin on Friday. Photo: Handout
President Xi Jinping is expected to open the Military World Games in central China on Friday, setting the stage for a
People’s Liberation Army charm offensive as it seeks to strengthen ties with foreign forces and exert its influence.
China is hosting the 10-day sporting event in Wuhan, Hubei province, and soldiers from 140 countries are expected to take part. It will coincide with the three-day Xiangshan Forum – China’s equivalent of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore – to be held on the outskirts of Beijing from Sunday.
It comes after China staged a lavish military parade in Beijing to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic on October 1, showcasing some of the PLA’s most advanced weapon systems and strategic weaponry.
A Chinese military insider on Tuesday said Xi was expected to kick off the games in Wuhan – a symbolic move by the president as he seeks to boost the PLA’s international profile.
China has built a new athletes’ village in Wuhan that can accommodate 10,000 people. Photo: Handout
“[China sees] the Military World Games as a platform to promote international military diplomacy and an opportunity for the PLA to build its international image through sporting events,” the insider said.
It will be the first time China hosts the Military World Games, which is the second-biggest multi-sport event after the Olympics and is also held every four years.
To host the mega event, China has built a new athletes’ village in Wuhan that can accommodate the 10,000 military athletes who will compete. This year’s games will have the largest number of events ever, with badminton, table tennis, tennis and men’s gymnastics included for the first time.
The US Armed Forces will send about 300 athletes to Wuhan, according to state-run Xinhua. One of them is Mark Juliano, an archer and taekwondo player, who told the news agency: “You developed world-class venues and I can’t wait to experience the games.”
The Chinese president has high hopes for the PLA athletes at this year’s Military World Games, according to an insider. Photo: Handout
The military insider said Xi had high hopes that the PLA would win gold in some of the events.
“The Russians are known to be very good at some sports but the PLA has yet to earn a reputation in any particular sport,” the insider said. “Xi hopes that the home ground advantage will give the PLA the edge this time.”
Another Beijing-based military source said the top brass had put great emphasis on the success of three events this year – the National Day parade, Military World Games and the Xiangshan Dialogue.
The source said it would be the biggest Xiangshan Forum since China began holding the event more than a decade ago, and dozens of senior foreign defence officials and military leaders invited to the games in Wuhan would also take part in the forum.
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Set up in 2006, China uses the forum to play host to foreign military experts and leaders and discuss security and defence issues in the Asia-Pacific region. It is widely seen as an effort by Beijing to compete with the Asia Security Forum in Singapore, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue after the hotel where it is staged.
The theme of this year’s Xiangshan Forum is “Maintaining international order and promoting peace in the Asia-Pacific”. Military observers said Beijing was likely to use it as an opportunity to reinforce its position on issues like the South China Sea and US arms sales to Taiwan.
Defence Minister Wei Fenghe criticised the US for damaging ties with China at last year’s Xiangshan Forum. Photo: Xinhua
Yao Yunzhu, a retired PLA major general and a delegate at the forum, said this year’s event would give the PLA an opportunity to explain its strategy to foreign militaries, including the US.
“The relationship between the PLA and its American counterpart has been stable over the past year despite tensions between Beijing and Washington over issues such as trade,” Yao said.
“But that military relationship has been stable thanks to the efforts of the two militaries to keep their communication open, as well as improving their crisis management mechanism,” she added.
Another forum delegate, Zhu Feng, dean of the international relations school at Nanjing University, said smaller countries in the region would use the forum to raise their concerns over the impact of tensions between China and the US on the region’s long-term stability.
Source: SCMP
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16/10/2019
Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in southwest China’s Chongqing, Oct. 15, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)
CHONGQING, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) — China and Singapore on Tuesday announced that the upgraded version of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement will take effect on Oct. 16.
The two sides made the announcement after four bilateral cooperation mechanism meetings co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in Chongqing.
The four meetings were the 15th China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation Meeting, the 20th China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council Meeting, the 11th China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Joint Steering Council Meeting and the third China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity Joint Steering Council Meeting.
During the meetings, the two sides comprehensively reviewed the implementation of the high-level consensus and the process of practical cooperation.
The two sides exchanged views on the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, promoting regional development and cooperation, and upholding multilateralism and free trade, and made plans for the direction and focus of their cooperation in the future.
The two sides agreed to enhance connectivity, financial support, third-party cooperation, law and judicial cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, increase investment in the new land-sea corridor and promote upgrading of major cooperation projects.
The two sides agreed to improve regional free trade arrangements, promote regional integration, enhance multilateral economic and trade cooperation, and push forward the building of an open world economic system.
Prior to the four meetings, Han met with Heng.
Commending the positive development momentum of bilateral relations, Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on the two sides to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries that have established strategic guidance of the development of bilateral relations. The two countries should make good use of the mechanism meetings to deepen cooperation in various fields, Han said.
“China’s reform will not stop, but will only accelerate. China’s door of opening-up will not be closed, but will only open wider,” said Han, adding that China welcomes Singapore to participate in its process of reform and opening-up in a larger scope, wider areas and at a deeper level.
Han said China and Singapore must work with each other to guard against the headwinds of unilateralism and protectionism, and resolutely safeguard the international system based on multilateralism and international laws, with the UN as its core.
Heng extended congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and spoke highly of China’s great development achievements.
He said the friendship between Singapore and China has remained unshakable and become increasingly stronger over the years.
Heng said Singapore attaches great importance to the building of cooperation mechanisms and is ready to work with China to promote cooperation to a new height and to upgrade bilateral relations to a new level. Singapore stands ready to work with China to jointly safeguard the rules-based multilateral trading system and address global challenges.
After the mechanism meetings, Han and Heng witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation documents covering exchanges and training, technological innovation, smart city and intellectual property.
Source: Xinhua
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16/10/2019
- Luo Zhaohui, who was credited with helping to resolve 2017 Doklam stand-off peacefully, joins group set up to tackle global warming
Luo Zhaohui previously served as China’s ambassador to India. Photo: Handout
China’s former ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui has joined a national team in charge of fighting climate change, the Chinese government website has announced.
The team, led by Premier Li Keqiang, will be responsible for coming up with proposals to tackle the problem, develop proposals for energy conservation and analyse the impact of climate change on socio-economic development.
China is currently the world’s largest polluter, accounting for a quarter of the world’s total emissions, making it crucial in the effort to curb global warming.
The US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017 also makes China the largest single economy committed to the efforts to limit emissions.
In this post, Luo is in charge of Beijing’s relations with its Asian neighbours, replacing Kong Xuanyou, who was named China’s new ambassador to Japan.
In July 2017, Luo told media in New Delhi that the Chinese people were deeply angry over the “occupation” by Indian troops of its sovereign territory but helped to resolve the situation through diplomatic means, paving the way for an informal summit between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Wuhan last year.
Luo, 57, has also served in diplomatic missions in Singapore and the US and was head of the foreign ministry’s department for Asian affairs.
He previously served as ambassador to Pakistan and Canada before being posted to the embassy in New Delhi in India in 2016.
Source: SCMP
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13/10/2019
- The likes of Saudi Arabia also saw an upswing in travellers from the mainland after the release of its new visa programme
- But fewer Chinese tourists went abroad this year, with a 15 per cent drop from 2018 attributed to more opting to visit local historical sites
Chinese tourists take photos in front of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Reuters
Fewer Chinese travellers went overseas during
“golden week” this year – but for those who did, Japan, Thailand and Singapore were the top-ranked destinations as tourists from the mainland gave Hong Kong a miss, according to China’s largest travel company Ctrip.
Chinese government data showed only 6.07 million people travelled during the national holiday between October 1-6, a 15.1 per cent drop from the corresponding period last year. Analysts attributed this to Chinese tourists opting for a “staycation”, as 782 million people – a 7 per cent increase from last year – chose to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China by visiting local historical sites.
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For those who did venture abroad, Japan, Thailand and Singapore ranked as the top three most-booked countries in Asia during the week, according to Chinese travel firm Ctrip, as tourists from the mainland skipped protest-hit Hong Kong for other destinations.
The city, now in its 19th week of anti-government protests, over the week saw a 50 per cent overall drop in tourism from last year, as well as a 47.8 per cent reduction in border crossings at the Luohu border checkpoint, according to government figures.
Japan remained the most popular destination for Chinese tourists. In the first half of 2019, the nation saw 4.5 million visitors from China, up 11.7 per cent from the same period in 2018. In order of popularity, the top-visited cities were Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo and Nagoya, according to Japanese media.
Over the same week, Japan increased its sales tax from 8 to 10 per cent, but Chinese shoppers – who accounted for 37 per cent, or US$15.4 billion, of the spending by international visitors to the nation last year – were undeterred.
Japan saw the highest volume of overseas transactions over the week, according Alipay Mobile, the world’s largest mobile payment platform. The firm declined to share the exact amount Chinese tourists had spent in Japan, but reported average spending per international traveller during golden week had increased by 15 per cent to 2,500 yuan (US$350).
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Alipay is operated by Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the Post.
Japanese department stores such as Sogo and Seibu celebrated the Chinese national holiday by holding golden week events and sales at 15 different branches across the nation, with food and arts promotions targeting Chinese shoppers.
Chinese travellers to Japan want cultural experiences involving local customs such as temple tours, heritage sites and cultural events, according to Emily Guo, a researcher at Hong Kong-based marketing research firm Cherry Blossoms.
Chinese tourists visit Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Analysts say 782 million people opted for “staycations” at local historical sites over golden week this year. Photo: EPA
Experts say Thailand – the second-most booked country during golden week, according to Ctrip – saw many repeat travellers return to the country. The nation saw 1.03 million arrivals from China in August, up 19 per cent from 2018.
Guo said these travellers were more budget-conscious than those who travelled to Japan, and enjoyed the good value and picturesque scenery for sharing on social media.
“They have already travelled to Southeast Asia before, and are therefore looking for personalised and local experiences like interacting with Thai residents, jungle treks and food tours,” she said, adding that many are willing to spend extra on immersive experiences such as a hotel in the countryside, or on a room with a forest view.
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According to Alipay Mobile, the sale of “durian experience” packages for Chinese tourists looking to taste the spiky, pungent fruit at local farms increased by 60 per cent in Thailand and Malaysia from last year.
Shopping remained on the agenda, too. Thailand ranked second for the highest volume of overseas transactions during the week, according to data from Alipay Mobile. Most Chinese shoppers frequented duty-free shops, convenience stores and local malls, according to local press.
Singapore remained a destination of choice for tourists from the mainland. The city was among the most popular “traditional destinations” for them, according to China’s culture and tourism ministry, with others including Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Australia, France, Italy, and Russia.
Chinese tourists visiting Singapore over golden week also seized the opportunity to check out property in the Lion City. Photo: AFP
July saw the Lion City break its record for the number of Chinese arrivals, at close to 390,000, an unprecedented 46 per cent jump from the previous month.
Analysts have attributed this to a diversion of tourists from Hong Kong, but property agents such as Clarence Foo, associate deputy group director at OrangeTee & Tie, said some of these Chinese tourists were using the golden week as a chance to eye Singaporean real estate.
“Compared to a normal week, there were probably 15 to 20 per cent more Chinese visitors who viewed property,” said Foo, who counts Singaporean and international buyers among his clients.” They are certainly more keen on Singapore [property] now as there isn’t another comparable investment destination in Asia.”
Meanwhile, the Middle East is emerging as a popular shopping destination for Chinese tourists. According to Ctrip, Dubai saw 501,000 travellers from the mainland in the first half of 2019, an 11 per cent increase from last year.
Saudi Arabia has also experienced a surge in Chinese tourists, with 7,931 heading to the country since it launched its new instant tourist visa programme on September 27. With the new visa, which can be obtained online or upon arrival, tourists can stay in the country for up to 90 days, and unwed foreign men and women can for the first time share hotel rooms.
“Saudi Arabia has the potential to become very popular with Chinese tourists,” said Guo from Cherry Blossoms, adding that travellers from the mainland are increasingly looking for exciting new adventures. “It’s a status symbol for them to visit a country others haven’t visited before.”
Source: SCMP
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CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 