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

08/09/2013

Army summoned to quell communal violence that kills 15 in north Indian state

Reuters: “The Indian army was called in, an unusual measure, to contain communal violence pitting Hindus against Muslims that killed at least 15 people in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

Indian army vehicles patrol on a deserted road during a curfew in Muzaffarnagar, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

An army contingent of up to 800 was dispatched to the area on Saturday night, as armed gangs of Jats, a group practicing Hinduism, stormed a mosque and a village with Muslim residents, the state’s principal home secretary R.M. Srivastava said.

“We had sought assistance of the army last night after we found the violence spreading across to other villages,” Srivastava told Reuters.

“In fact, we were able to bring things under control until fresh violence broke out in (a) village Sunday morning.”

The violence erupted on Saturday following a meeting attended by Jats in Muzaffarnagar district, 140 km (90 miles) northeast of New Delhi. Police said 10 people died, including a journalist and photographer, and about 35 were injured.

Five more were killed in a fresh outbreak on Sunday morning.

A curfew was imposed in three districts,

“I would appeal to all the people there to maintain peace and do not trust or listen to any rumors,” Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister, told reporters.

The Jats are demanding the rescinding of charges against members of their community in connection with a communal clash last month in which three people were killed.

Arun Kumar, a senior police official, said tensions were fuelled by an online video purporting to show the killing of two Muslim youths last month.

Local media said about 50 outbreaks of communal tension have occurred in populous Uttar Pradesh since the region’s Samajwadi (Socialist) Party came to power last year. More than 25 people have died.”

via Army summoned to quell communal violence that kills 15 in north Indian state | Reuters.

Tags: communal clashes, Muslim, muslim residents, Muzaffarnagar district, New Delhi, politics, Uttar Pradesh

07/09/2013

China’s Sinopec to produce cleaner gasoline from October

Reuters: “China‘s Sinopec Corp will produce lower sulfur gasoline from October, three months ahead of an official mandate, as part of a national effort to clear up the smoggy air of Chinese cities.

Except for two subsidiary plants that are undergoing maintenance, the top Asian refiner will cut sulfur in all its gasoline production from 150 parts per million (ppm) to 50 ppm from October 1, a company official said.

The new standard, national IV, is similar to Euro IV.

China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer that burns roughly two million barrels per day of gasoline, rolled out in 2011 the national IV standard for gasoline and set a January 2014 deadline to make it applicable nationally.

Despite slowing economic growth, Chinese demand for gasoline has expanded much faster than diesel this year, thanks to strong growth in car sales.

Subsidiary plants in Fujian and Hainan will move to the new grade in November after overhauls, the company official said.”

via China’s Sinopec to produce cleaner gasoline from October | Reuters.

Tags: China, China National Petroleum Corporation, PetroChina, Sinopec, sinopec corp

06/09/2013

China’s Factory Owners Hunt for Energy Savings

BusinessWeek: “Kevin Chang, general manager of Concord Ceramics, is a member of a younger generation of factory bosses in China trying to survive leaner times. That quest led him to examine the power use at his factories. He didn’t like what he found.

A worker at a textile factory in Huaibei, China, on Apr. 10

For decades after China started trading with the U.S. in 1979, most factory managers didn’t focus on electricity prices. Demand from abroad was expanding, labor was cheap, and the exchange rate favored China’s exporters. But conditions have changed since demand softened in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Chang says his labor costs have doubled, and the exchange rate is less favorable. Increasing energy efficiency is one way to shore up the bottom line.

The work at Concord requires constant air conditioning, and in the summer electricity has accounted for as much as 15 percent of operating costs. Chang, who was already leaving the hallway lights off, installed a high-volume air-conditioning system to cut expenses. Yet once the system was up and running, his electricity bill went up. Chang hired an engineer from the China Academy of Building Research, a government think tank, in Guangzhou. The engineer figured out the cooling system was more powerful than the factory needed, so the air conditioning constantly cycled between maximum cooling and powering down, wasting energy. The solution, conceived a few weeks ago, was to run just half of the unit. Now the air remains at a steady temperature, and Chang says he should save about 40 percent on electricity bills: “A lot of things can be made more efficient.”

via China’s Factory Owners Hunt for Energy Savings – Businessweek.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Electricity, energy, Manufacturing | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, electricity bill, Factory, Guangzhou, Wage

06/09/2013

China urges U.N. role on Syria after U.S. says gives up

reuters: “China’s Foreign Ministry urged a role for the U.N. Security Council in resolving the crisis in Syria on Friday after the United States said it had given up trying to work with the council on Syria, accusing Russia of holding it hostage.

A Free Syrian Army fighter poses for a picture as he holds an RPG launcher in Raqqa province, eastern Syria September 4, 2013. Picture taken September 4, 2013. REUTERS/Nour Fourat

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power’s remarks on Thursday left no doubt that Washington would not seek U.N. approval for a military strike on Syria in response to an August 21 chemical attack near Damascus.

She said a draft resolution Britain submitted to the five permanent council members last week calling for a response to that attack was effectively dead.

Asked about those comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Security Council needed to be used.

“China supports the important role that the U.N. Security Council plays in properly resolving the Syria issue,” Hong told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

“We hope that relevant parties can continue communications and coordination and hold deep consultations so as to resolve the relevant issue in a peaceful way,” he added.

China has called for a full and impartial investigation by U.N. chemical weapons inspectors in Syria into the August 21 attack, and has warned against pre-judging the results. It has also said that whoever uses chemical weapons had to be held accountable.

“China believes that a political solution is the only realistic way out on the Syria issue. Given the current circumstances, a political solution is of utmost importance,” Hong said.

“We also hope the international community can work together and push for the holding of an international conference on the Syria issue at an early date.”

Russia and China have both vetoed previous Western efforts to impose U.N. penalties on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But China has also been keen to show it is not taking sides and has urged the Syrian government to talk to the opposition and take steps to meet demands for political change. It has said a transitional government should be formed.”

via China urges U.N. role on Syria after U.S. says gives up | Reuters.

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

Tags: Bashar al-Assad, China, chinese foreign ministry spokesman, foreign ministry spokesman, middle-east, politics, Russia, Syria, UN Security Council, United Nations Security Council, United States

06/09/2013

Beijing says 400 million Chinese cannot speak Mandarin

BBC: “China‘s Education Ministry says that about 400 million people – or 30% of the population – cannot speak the country’s national language.

Of the 70% of the population who can speak Mandarin, many do not do it well enough, a ministry spokeswoman told Xinhua news agency on Thursday.

The admission from officials came as the government launched another push for linguistic unity in China.

China is home to thousands of dialects and several minority languages.

These include Cantonese and Hokkien, which enjoy strong regional support.

Mandarin – formally called Putonghua in China, meaning “common tongue” – is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world.

The Education Ministry spokeswoman said the push would be focusing on the countryside and areas with ethnic minorities.

For decades, the ruling Communist Party has promoted Mandarin in an attempt to unite the most populous nation in the world.

But government efforts have been hampered by the sheer size of the country and a lack of investment in education, particularly the rural areas, says the BBC’s Martin Patience in Beijing.

The government’s policies have also long been contentious, particularly among ethnic minorities, our correspondent adds.

In 2010, there were protests in Tibet about the use of Mandarin in schools. At the time, protesters said it was eroding their culture and language.”

via BBC News – Beijing says 400 million Chinese cannot speak Mandarin.

Posted in China alert, ethnic minority, Mandarin, Social & cultural | 1 Comment »

Tags: Beijing, Cantonese, China, linguistic unity, Mandarin, National language, ruling communist party, Standard Chinese

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

04/09/2013

Manmohan seeks break with developed world’s policies

The Hindu: “Prime Minister refers to an orderly exit from unconventional monetary policies in the backdrop of splits between emerging markets and the U.S. and the slowing growth of India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for an “orderly exit” from unconventional monetary policies being pursued by the developed world to avoid damaging growth prospects of the developing world. File photo

Amid imminent phasing out of the fiscal stimulus by U.S. Federal Reserve, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday called for an “orderly exit” from unconventional monetary policies being pursued by the developed world for the last few years to avoid damaging growth prospects of the developing world.

In a statement before leaving for the 8th G20 Summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, he also underscored the importance of the grouping of industrialised and major developing economies to promotes policy coordination among major economies in a manner that provides for a broad based and sustained global economic recovery and growth.

The Prime Minister made a reference to an orderly exit from unconventional monetary policies in the backdrop of splits between emerging markets and the U.S. over its winding down of stimulus and the slowing growth of India and other four BRICS countries.

Dr. Singh said though there are encouraging signs of growth in industrialised countries, there is also a slowdown in emerging economies which are facing the adverse impact of significant capital outflow.

“I will emphasise in St. Petersburg the need for an orderly exit from the unconventional monetary policies being pursued by the developed world for the last few years so as to avoid damaging the growth prospects of the developing world,” he said.

Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa — grouped in the BRICS bloc seen as an alternative economic powerhouse — all go into the meeting experiencing slowing growth, embattled currencies and huge capital outflows.

The Indian rupee has lost one-fifth of its value against the US dollar this year following major capital outflows triggered mainly due to the moves by the Fed Reserve.

India is also suffering a decade-low growth and GDP rose just 4.4 per cent in the first quarter this fiscal, the weakest performance since 2009.

Dr. Singh said he will once again emphasise at the Summit that the G20 should ensure primacy of the development dimension in his deliberation, focus on job creation, promote investment in infrastructure as the means of stimulating global growth and create potential in developing countries to sustain higher growth in the medium term.”

via Manmohan seeks break with developed world’s policies – The Hindu.

Posted in Economics, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: BRIC, economic powerhouse, Federal Reserve System, fiscal stimulus, growth prospects, India, Indian rupee, manmohan singh, Monetary policy, policy coordination, prime minister manmohan singh, Russia

04/09/2013

Outlook weak for India economic growth

Reuters: “India’s economy grew at 4.4 percent in the June quarter, its slowest rate since the first three months of 2009 and weaker than analysts’ consensus of 4.7 percent in a Reuters poll.

With the rupee still trading near record lows and a ballooning current account deficit alarming investors and policymakers, several investment banks are worried about the road ahead.”

via Outlook weak for India economic growth: analysts | India Insight.

Posted in Economics, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Current account, current account deficit, Economic growth, Economy of India, India, Indian rupee, investment banks, record lows, Rupee

03/09/2013

Beijing aims to slash coal use

China Daily: “The Beijing municipal government has vowed to slash the capital’s consumption of coal by more than 50 percent over five years based on 2012 levels, according to a clean-air action plan issued on Monday.

Beijing aims to slash coal use

With the plan, local government is aiming to reduce the proportion of coal used within the city’s total energy mix to below 10 percent. Pollution from coal-fired emissions is a major contributor to Beijing’s smog, especially during the winter.

The plan aims to reduce the amount of fine particulate matter to 60 micrograms per cubic meter by 2017, which would be a 25 percent drop from 2012 levels. This requires the capital to slash 13 million metric tons of coal consumption over five years.

The municipal government has been cutting down on coal consumption for 14 years, according to China Environmental News, which is run by the Environmental Protection Ministry. Within that time frame, according to the publication, Beijing has slashed 7 million tons from its total coal consumption.

The plan issued on Monday lists a number of coal-cutting measures, including allocating a coal quota to districts and key users, strengthening the capital’s gas and electricity supply and revising a sulfur concentration standard in coal.

By reducing its coal consumption, the government says it will increase the demand for natural gas supply to 24 billion cubic meters by 2017, a goal the government said it will meet.

“The supply of natural gas within and outside China is promising since more natural gas reserves have recently been discovered,” said Zhou Dadi, vice-chairman of China Energy Research Society.

Four gas-based power plants will begin operations in Beijing by 2014. It has been estimated that they will cut the use of coal by about 9.2 million tons.

Another measure within the plan calls for replacing low-quality coal usually used in rural and suburban areas with high-quality coal that is low in sulfur content before the 2016 heating season begins.

“These areas use about 4 million tons of coal every year, accounting for less than 20 percent of the city’s total consumption. Yet because of the coal’s low quality, the sulfur dioxide generated amounts to more than 70 percent of the total emissions,” said Wang Jian, deputy head of the pollution prevention and control department of the Environmental Protection Ministry.

Wang said all low quality coal will be phased out in 2016.

Beijing is also trying to completely eliminate the use of coal within the Second Ring Road, the core area of the city, an aim first established in 2001. So far, about 200,000 households had switched from coal to electricity by the end of last year. The plan issued on Monday said by the end of 2015, the remaining 65,000 households within the area will begin using electricity for their winter heating.”

via Beijing aims to slash coal use |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

See also:

China to spend $300 billion tackling pollution as coal consumption grows (abc.net.au)

Posted in carbon emission, China alert, Economics, energy, Environment, Good news, greenhouse gas, Pollution | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, Coal, coal consumption, energy, Environmental Protection Ministry, fine particulate matter, Natural gas, natural gas reserves, quality coal

02/09/2013

Hard Facts on China

I believe that the data in the referenced material below is valid, but not sure of the conclusions.

http://horne.vplp.org/2012/11/hard-facts-on-chinaa-must-read.html

Posted in China alert, Economics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: climate, technology

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