Technology | CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

10/09/2013

Russia to invest $1 billion in rare earths to cut dependence on China

Reuters: “Russia will invest $1 billion in rare earths production by 2018 in a bid to become less dependent on China, which controls more than 90 percent of global supply of the elements used in sectors including defense, telecommunications and renewable energy.

A labourer operates a bulldozer at a site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi province March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer

The United States, Japan and the European Union have complained to the World Trade Organization about China’s efforts to control the sector, saying China is trying to use its stranglehold over supply to drive up prices and gain a competitive advantage.

Rostec and IST group, an investment company belonging to Russian tycoon Alexander Nesis, have agreed to invest $1 billion in rare earths production by 2018, they said in a statement on Tuesday.

Rostec aims to cover Russian demand for these raw materials by 2017, the company added.

“The (Russian) President (Vladimir Putin) and the government have set a task to expand rare earths production as Russia’s stocks are almost depleted,” a source in state industrial and defense conglomerate Rostec told Reuters on Tuesday.

“Stocks need to be replenished as the main producer, China, has increased prices sharply,” the source said.

TriArkMining, a joint venture (JV) between Rostec and IST, has won the right to acquire 82,653 tonnes (1.1023 tons) of monazite concentrate, stored in warehouses of state-owned Uralmonatsit in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia’s Urals.

The JV plans to extract about 40,000 tonnes of rare earths from the monazite concentrate stored in the warehouses over the course of seven or eight years starting from 2015, the companies said.

The stock is rich in heavy rare earths, such as dysprosium and terbium, crucial for high-power magnets needed by the auto, defense and clean energy industries.

Heavy rare earths are scarcer than cerium and other light rare earths, making them much more valuable.

Russia consumes about 1,500 tonnes of rare earths per year and annual demand is expected to reach 6,000 tonnes by 2020, Rostec said.

The company, which has eight firms producing a wide range of defense products, sees rare earths as a strategic raw material.

China will cap rare earth production at 93,800 tonnes for 2013 as part of efforts to rein in unlicensed production in the sector, it said last week.”

via Russia to invest $1 billion in rare earths to cut dependence on China | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, president vladimir putin, Rare earth element, Russia, russian president vladimir, russian president vladimir putin, russian tycoon, sverdlovsk region, United States, Vladimir Putin, World Trade Organization

06/09/2013

Chinese boy to get ‘electronic eyes’ after cruel attack

Health24: “A six-year-old Chinese boy who had his eyes gouged out by a woman believed to be his aunt may one day see again after a Hong Kong hospital offered him “electronic eyes”.

Electronic eyes

Hong Kong-based eye expert Dennis Lam said his team would provide the treatment for free to Guo Bin – known as Bin-Bin – who was found covered in blood near his home in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi last month after the horrific attack.

Lam told AFP that future technology could restore up to 40 percent of the boy’s lost vision.

“When I heard about it I was really angry, very upset. I asked myself if I can help,” Lam told AFP.

“Being an eye doctor, my greatest encouragement is when patients can see again,” he said.

False eyes

Lam said that he is still waiting for consent from the child’s parents to bring him to his eye hospital in Shenzhen in southern China where he can be given a pair of false eyes as soon as next week.

Cameras in the prosthetic eyes would relay a signal, based on the shape of objects, to an electric pulse generator connected to his tongue helping him to recognise shapes, Lam said.

He added that the technology is already being used in Japan and Europe.

The final goal is to give the boy bionic eyes linked directly to the brain which will help him partially regain his sight, Lam said, a treatment which is still being developed.

“In the high end it (his sight) could be 20 to 40 percent about ten years down the road. It’s a wild guess. The ultimate goal is to help him to see again.”

Hong Kong’s Cable TV said the boy’s parents were considering the offer.

The little boy went missing after playing outside and his eyes were found nearby.”

via Chinese boy to get ‘electronic eyes’ after cruel attack | Health24.

Posted in China alert, Good news, innovation, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Hong Kong, Provinces of the People's Republic of China, Shanxi, Shenzhen

28/08/2013

China Launches Three ASAT Satellites

Washington Free Beacon : “China’s military recently launched three small satellites into orbit as part of Beijing’s covert anti-satellite warfare program, according to a U.S. official.

The three satellites, launched July 20 by a Long March-4C launcher, were later detected conducting unusual maneuvers in space indicating the Chinese are preparing to conduct space warfare against satellites, said the official who is familiar with intelligence reports about the satellites.

One of the satellites was equipped with an extension arm capable of attacking orbiting satellites that currently are vulnerable to both kinetic and electronic disruption.

“This is a real concern for U.S. national defense,” the official said. “The three are working in tandem and the one with the arm poses the most concern. This is part of a Chinese ‘Star Wars’ program.”

China’s 2007 test of an anti-satellite missile shocked U.S. military and intelligence leaders who realized the U.S. satellites, a key to conducting high-performance warfare, are vulnerable to attack. Officials have said China could cripple U.S. war-fighting efforts by knocking out a dozen satellites. Satellites are used for military command and control, precision weapons guidance, communications and intelligence-gathering.

The official discussed some aspects of the Chinese anti-satellite (ASAT) program on condition of anonymity after some details were disclosed in online posts by space researchers.

“The retractable arm can be used for a number of things – to gouge, knock off course, or grab passing satellites,” the official said.

The three satellites also could perform maintenance or repairs on orbiting satellites, the official said.

Details of the small satellite activity were first reported last week in the blog “War is Boring.”

The posting stated that one of the satellites was monitored “moving all over the place” and appeared to make close-in passes with other orbiting satellites.

“It was so strange, space analysts wondered whether China was testing a new kind of space weapon — one that could intercept other satellites and more or less claw them to death,” the report said.

The U.S. official said: “It is exactly what was reported: An ASAT test.”

According to space researchers who tracked the satellites movements, one of the satellites on Aug. 16 lowered its orbit by about 93 miles. It then changed course and rendezvoused with a different satellite. The two satellites reportedly passed within 100 meters of each other.

One space researcher was quoted in the online report as saying one satellite was equipped with a “robot-manipulator arm developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.”

The Chinese appear to be testing their capability for intercepting and either damaging or destroying orbiting satellites by testing how close they can maneuver to a satellite, the U.S. official said.

“They are learning the tactics, techniques and processes needed for anti-satellite operations,” the official said.

The Chinese have given a code name to the satellites and numbered the satellites differently. Chinese state-run media identified the satellites as the Chuang Xin-3 (Innovation-3); the Shi Yan-7 (Experiment-7); and Shi Jian-15 (Practice-15). The Shi Jian-15 is believed to be the satellite with the robotic arm. The official said the designation used in the blog, SY-7, was not correct.”

via Washington Free Beacon » China Launches Three ASAT Satellites » Print.

Posted in Aerospace, China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Politics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Anti-satellite weapon, Beijing, China, Chinese, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Long March 4C, orbiting satellites, precision weapons, satellite activity, star wars program

27/08/2013

China’s Shanghai Tower: A massive urban green space

If true, very impressive.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: economy, technology

26/08/2013

China hopes to snatch sales from US with J-31 4th-generation fighter jet

When that happens, China will really be a competitor to US for role of world Superpower.

Posted in Aerospace, China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Politics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

26/08/2013

China’s Bloggers Rally Around Bo Xilai

BusinessWeek: “Official China has been touting it as a breakthrough for government transparency. But has the decision to live blog the five-day trial of Bo Xilai, which closed Monday, backfired? That’s a relevant question as a flood of support for the charismatic former high-flying princeling has erupted on China’s Internet.

China posted portions of the five days of court proceedings in Jinan, Shandong Province, on Sina Weibo (SINA), China’s largest microblogging site. Chinese checking out the trial online got to see an unusually spirited defense put up by the 64-year-old Bo, the former head of China’s southwestern megalopolis Chongqing who almost made it into the top echelons of the Chinese leadership.

The decision to show the trial online demonstrates an admirable new candor, according to state-run media. “The public hearing and the Weibo broadcasts reflect the transparency and openness of the country’s rule of law,” said a commentary on the website of China’s official party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, on Aug. 22.

STORY: Can Bo Xilai Be China’s Comeback Kid?

But that’s not the takeaway for everyone. Instead, many on the Web have written of a newfound admiration for Bo, who has been charged with bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power (the verdict—likely harsh—will come later, at a time still unspecified),and who fell from official grace last year after a murder perpetrated by his wife came to light.

“I’ve changed my view of him! He is much more gentlemanly than those with power and he really does know the law,” said one tweet by blogger He Jiangbing on Sina Weibo, translated by blog Tea Leaf Nation, which monitors China’s Internet. “This man has remarkable logic, eloquence and memory. As someone who likes smart people, for a moment I almost forgot about his avarice, evilness and ruthlessness,” wrote another microblogger, also on Sina Weibo.

While the decision to tweet key parts of the trial has indeed surprised many, others are less impressed. “The selective postings can only show selective openness and selective justice, and cannot be said to represent the truth,” said Liu Wanqiang, a Guangxi-based journalist, reported the BBC on its website on Aug. 22.

VIDEO: Can Bo Xilai’s Trial Change China’s Government?

In contrast, way back in 1976, the trial of Mao’s widow Jiang Qing, a member of the so-called Gang of Four, was shown live on television for all to view. While few Chinese then had their own TV sets, much of the population gathered communally around televisions to watch and discuss the live proceedings.

Beijing over the past week has launched a crackdown on spreading rumors on the Internet, which some fear will be used to squelch online free speech. Already authorities have announced arrests, including the detention of a muckraking journalist for “criminal fabrication and dissemination of rumors online,” reported the official English language China Daily on Aug. 26. Interestingly, little effort appears to have been made so far to scrub the Internet of the pro-Bo commentary.

“China is a country that respects and protects free speech, but people should also bear in mind that greater online freedom is guaranteed by greater responsibility,” stated the official Xinhua News Agency in a piece calling for greater efforts to police the Web on Aug. 21. “People should maintain moral principles and denounce any activities that harm the reputation and interests of others so as to stop the Internet from decaying into a land of abusive language and rumors.””

via China’s Bloggers Rally Around Bo Xilai – Businessweek.

Posted in 10 year leadership change, China alert, Internal politics, Internet, Politics, social media | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Bo Xilai, China, People's Daily, politics, Sina Weibo

23/08/2013

Is China’s Space Program Shaping a Celestial Empire?

Space.com: “China is pressing forward on its human space exploration plans, intent on establishing an international space station and, experts say, harnessing the technological muscle to launch its astronauts to the moon.

Liftoff of Shenzhou 10 Crew

Highlighting China’s intent, the country is working with the United Nations to stage a major workshop on human space technology, to be held Sept. 16-20 in Beijing.

The meeting is organized jointly by the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs and the China Manned Space Agency, co-organized by the International Academy of Astronautics and hosted by the China Manned Space Agency.”

via Is China’s Space Program Shaping a Celestial Empire? | Space.com.

China: Space Program And Strategy – Analysis (eurasiareview.com)

Posted in Aerospace, China alert, Economics, GeoPolitics, Politics, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, celestial empire, China, china manned space, Chinese space program, human space exploration, International Academy of Astronautics, International Space Station, outer space affairs, Space exploration, strategy analysis, United Nations

26/07/2013

Shoulder lights to make police more visible

China Daily:

Policemen wear their new shoulder lights at a ceremony to launch the use of the night lights in Southwest China‘s Chongqing on July 25, 2013. The shoulder lights are being used by the city’s police for the first time and will make policemen on patrol visible for 100 meters. Other public security guards will also be equipped with the lights, which can run for five days on two batteries. [Photo/CFP]

Posted in China alert, innovation, Law enforcement | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Chongqing, communist party of china, public security, Security guard, Southwest China

23/07/2013

China’s Smartphone Generation

BusinessWeek: “Every day at noon, workers spill out through the red gates of the Xue Fulan garment factory on the outskirts of Beijing to enjoy one precious hour of lunchtime freedom. They are mostly in their late teens or early 20s, living in no-frills dormitories within the factory complex. Most saunter out on a hot summer day with a water bottle in one hand and a smartphone in the other.

While personal computers are rare inside the factory, many of these young migrant workers—who are just climbing onto the lowest rung of the urban economic ladder—are now on the Internet daily. With 12-hour workdays, their free hours are scarce, but they still find time to use social media and dating apps, play video games, and read lifestyle and news sites, where they can catch a glimpse of the upscale urban life they aspire to.

Last week the government-affiliated China Internet Network Information Center reported that 591 million people in China now have Internet access; that’s 45 percent of the population. Just six years ago, only 16 percent of China’s population was online. Among the drivers of the steep rise in Internet penetration: the rapid adoption of Internet-enabled mobile devices, especially among groups that previously lacked regular connectivity, including China’s migrant workers. More than three-quarters of China’s netizens (464 million people) now use a mobile Internet device—instead of, or in addition to, a laptop or PC.

Kantar Media, a U.K.-based global consumer research and consulting firm, polled nearly 100,000 Chinese Internet users about their online habits and preferences in 2012 and just released its analysis of the study: 59 percent of respondents said that online chat and dating were their favorite uses of the mobile Internet, while 43 percent described themselves as “frequent” users of social media. Notably, the number of Chinese netizens who claimed they had visited a social media site in the past day was higher among mobile Internet users (32 percent) than among all netizens (26 percent). Weixin (“WeChat”), Tencent’s (700:HK) popular social-media app, is almost exclusively used on smartphones and tablets.

Megacity commutes are also correlated with more time online. In 2012, Chinese commuters who travelled more than one hour to work were three times as likely to go online daily as those whose commutes were under a half hour. As China’s large cities sprawl, traffic jams proliferate as well. Shen Ying, a general manager at CTR Media, Kantar Media’s joint-venture partner in China, believes that the “fragmentation of ‘social’ time created by longer commutes” goes hand in hand with the “desire for social networking.” Fortunately for China’s lonely subway passengers, Internet access on Beijing’s subway is more stable than on New York City’s.”

via China’s Smartphone Generation – Businessweek.

Posted in China alert, Consumer, Economics, Internet, Migrant workers, social media | 1 Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, china internet network, China Internet Network Information Center, Chinese Internet users, global consumer research, internet, mobile internet users, Sina Weibo, Social media, technology

22/07/2013

Knife attacks and bomb threats follow Beijing airport explosion

SCMP: “Several incidents of violence have been reported in Beijing in the aftermath of the attempted suicide by an aggrieved petitioner at the capital’s international airport on Saturday.

On Monday, a man armed with a knife went on a rampage at a Carrefour shopping centre, in Beijing’s western district, wounding at least four people. Police have arrested a Beijing-native surnamed Wang, born in 1963 at the scene, local police said in a statement.

One child was among those wounded, Beijing News reported on its microblog. The report did not say what triggered the attack.

Last Thursday, a knife-yielding man stabbed two people, including one US woman, to death, in a similar incident.

In two unrelated incidents, Beijing police arrested two men for “threatening to carry bombs and attempting to disturb social order” in the capital.

Four hours after petitioner Ji Zhongxing caused an explosion at Beijing Capital International Airport on Saturday, a 39-year-old man surnamed Wang from Beijing’s Miyun county threatened to set off explosives at a Beijing airport to protest against land seizures, according to a statement by Beijing police.

Only one hour later, a 31-year-old man surnamed Liu from Jiangsu province, threatened to detonate explosives at a video arcade, police said. Both men have since been arrested.

Many Chinese netizens blamed a “butterfly effect” and criticised the government for failing to address petitioners’ grievances. “If the government continues in its corrupt ways, everybody will become Ji Zhongxing,” said one Weibo user. “Using lives to protest is the last way for ordinary people to seek changes,” wrote another.

via Knife attacks and bomb threats follow Beijing airport explosion | South China Morning Post.

Blast hits Beijing airport terminal (bbc.co.uk)

Posted in China alert, Petition, Politics, public protest, social media | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, Beijing Capital International Airport, China, politics, Sina Weibo

CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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Russia to invest $1 billion in rare earths to cut dependence on China

Chinese boy to get ‘electronic eyes’ after cruel attack

China Launches Three ASAT Satellites

China’s Shanghai Tower: A massive urban green space

China hopes to snatch sales from US with J-31 4th-generation fighter jet

Is China’s Space Program Shaping a Celestial Empire?

Shoulder lights to make police more visible

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Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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