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

02/02/2013

* Venezuela seeks $4 billion China loan, $2 billion Chevron credit

Reuters: “Venezuela‘s government and state oil company PDVSA are in urgent talks over a long-expected $6 billion in loans from China and U.S. energy giant Chevron that would help relieve the nation’s strained finances, sources close to the discussions said.

Workers stand in front of a drilling rig at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA in Morichal July 28, 2011. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said this week that PDVSA had no plans to issue any more dollar-denominated bonds, confounding widespread speculation that one was planned to address a chronic shortage of dollars for local businesses.

That has left the government in the OPEC member seeking other forms of financing, amid pressure to order a devaluation of its currency that would ease the pressure on its cash flow by providing more bolivars for every dollar of oil sales.

Its top priority is a deal agreed last year with China Development Bank for a $4 billion loan this year.

Venezuela has borrowed $36 billion from China in recent years – repaid with oil shipments – making Beijing the single biggest foreign source of funding for the country’s socialist government, according to finance ministry data.

But a source close to the talks told Reuters that the Chinese team wanted to toughen the terms of the deal.

“The Chinese have introduced a clause that the Venezuela team decided to reject,” the source said, without describing the proposed change. “That was holding things up until recently, but they are coming to an agreement on the amendment.””

via Exclusive: Venezuela seeks $4 billion China loan, $2 billion Chevron credit – sources | Reuters.

Venezuela to Pump More Dollars Into Economy With Oil Tax – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
What Happens to Venezuelan Oil When Chavez Is Gone? (hispanicbusiness.com)
Venezuela Oil Company to Free up More Dollars (abcnews.go.com)

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

Tags: Beijing, China, China Development Bank, economy, OPEC, Petróleos de Venezuela, politics, Venezuela

30/01/2013

* Panicked property fire sale in China amid corruption fight

Sydney Morning Herald: “Thousands of Chinese communist officials have been panicked into a fire sale of their illicit properties and billions of pounds have been smuggled overseas as the country’s new leaders intensify a campaign to root out corruption.

Corruption-fighter Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan in Beijing, China.

Luxurious properties are being dumped on the market in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou for anyone able to pay in cash as officials try to cover their tracks. A report by the party’s anti-corruption unit, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said “a wave of luxury home sales began last November and has accelerated since December”.

It said the volume of deals had intensified by “a hundred times” after Xi Jinping, the incoming Chinese president, warned that corruption could kill the party and put one of the country’s most vigorous and resolute politicians, Wang Qishan, in charge of stamping out graft.

Fu Zongmo, an estate agent in Sanya, Hainan, said his colleagues had sold two houses recently for government officials. In recent years, the tropical beaches and golf courses of Sanya have attracted plenty of speculators but recently the market has stalled.”

via Panicked property fire sale in China amid corruption fight.

Corrupt Chinese Politicians are Buying Billions in U.S. Real Estate (libertyblitzkrieg.com)
China’s Xi says ‘no leniency’ in corruption fight (sinodaily.com)
China Communists to Control Size of Party Amid Corruption Fight – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)

Posted in China alert, corruption, Economics, Politics | 2 Comments »

Tags: Beijing, China, China Communists, economy, politics, Wang Qishan, Xi JinPing

25/01/2013

* China detains woman at disused mortuary for three years

BBC News: “China detains woman at disused mortuary for three year

A Chinese woman who petitioned the authorities over the treatment of her husband at a labour camp has been detained at a disused mortuary for the past three years, state media report.

An SVG map of China with Heilongjiang province highlighted in orange and Yichun city highlighted in red Legend: File:China map legend.png (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chen Qingxia had already served 18 months at a re-education camp for her campaign, but continued to fight and so was confined to the mortuary.

Reports of her ordeal in the province of Heilongjiang have triggered an outcry on social media.

Ms Chen is said to be in poor health.

But correspondents say that it looks likely that restrictions on her will be relaxed soon – a committee has been formed in the city of Yichun to re-examine her case.

There has also been some speculation in recent weeks that the Chinese authorities might reform or rethink its system of re-education through labour.

Ms Chen’s ordeal began in 2003 when her husband was imprisoned for attempting to breach a quarantine during a Sars epidemic, according to the Global Times newspaper.

After he was freed, media reports say, his body was bruised and his mental health had deteriorated so much that Ms Chen decided to travel to the capital, Beijing, to complain to the central authorities about the treatment he had received.

The move led to her being put through a re-education camp for 18 months. After finishing the sentence, she was kept in the mortuary because she was still determined to continue her campaign.

A China National Radio report says that Mrs Chen has been allowed minimal contact with relatives.

Her husband was eventually admitted to hospital for treatment for his mental-health problems, the Global Times said.

The Communist Party’s district chief has been quoted by local television as saying local officials should bear responsibility for Mrs Chen’s treatment.”

via BBC News – China detains woman at disused mortuary for three years.

Posted in China alert, Human rights, Illegal practices, Justice, Petition, Politics, Reform, Rule of law, social media | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, China National Radio, Heilongjiang

25/01/2013

* China, Japan move to cool down territorial dispute

Reuters: “China and Japan sought to cool down tensions over a chafing territorial dispute on Friday, with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping telling an envoy from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he was committed to developing bilateral ties.

Natsuo Yamaguchi (L), leader of Japan's New Komeito party, delivers a personal letter from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to China's president-in-waiting Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, January 25, 2013. REUTERS-Ng Han Guan-Pool

Xi will consider holding a summit meeting with Abe, Natsuo Yamaguchi, a senior lawmaker and head of the junior partner in Japan’s ruling coalition, told reporters after his talks with the Chinese leader.

The meeting came as China took the dispute over a series of uninhabited islands to the United Nations.

It was not immediately clear if the U.N. involvement would increase the likelihood the row would be resolved peacefully. But launching an international legal process could reduce the temperature for now.

At China’s request, the United Nations will, later this year, consider the scientific validity of a claim by Beijing that the islands, called the Diaoyu in Chinese and the Senkaku by Japan, are part of its territory. Japan says the world body should not be involved.”

via China, Japan move to cool down territorial dispute | Reuters.

Tags: Beijing, China, Japan, Natsuo Yamaguchi, Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe, United Nations, Xi JinPing

25/01/2013

* U.N. to consider validity of China’s claim over disputed islands

Strange that a few days ago China objected to the Philippines taking their disputed islands to the UN, but now it is taking a similar action over islands in dispute with Japan.

Reuters: “The United Nations is planning to consider later this year the scientific validity of a claim by China that a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea are part of its territory, although Japan says the world body should not be involved.

A handout photograph taken on a marine surveillance plane B-3837 shows the disputed islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, December 13, 2012. Picture taken December 13, 2012. REUTERS/State Oceanic Administration of People's Republic of China/Handout

Tensions over the uninhabited islands – located near rich fishing grounds and potentially huge oil and gas reserves – flared after Japan’s government purchased them from a private Japanese owner in September, sparking violent anti-Japanese protests across China and a military standoff.

Taiwan also claims the islands, known as the Diaoyu islands in China, the Senkaku islands in Japan and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan.

It was not immediately clear if the U.N. involvement would increase the likelihood the China-Japan dispute would be resolved peacefully. But launching an international legal process that should yield a neutral scientific opinion could reduce the temperature for now in Beijing’s spat with Tokyo.

In a submission to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, China says the continental shelf in the East China Sea is a natural prolongation of China’s land territory and that it includes the disputed islands.

Under the U.N. convention, a country can extend its 200-nautical-mile economic zone if it can prove that the continental shelf is a natural extension of its land mass. The U.N. commission assesses the scientific validity of claims, but any disputes have to be resolved between states, not by the commission.

China said the “Diaoyu Dao upfold zone” – the islands – is located between the East China Sea shelf basin and the Okinawa Trough. “The Okinawa Trough is the natural termination of the continental shelf of (the East China Sea),” it said.

China also told the commission that it was still negotiating with other states on the delimitation of the continental shelf.

“Recommendations of the commission with regard to the submission will not prejudice future delimitation of the continental shelf between China and the states concerned,” said the executive summary of China’s submission published on the commission’s website.”

via U.N. to consider validity of China’s claim over disputed islands | Reuters.

Tags: Beijing, China, Continental Shelf, diaoyu islands, East China Sea, Japan, military standoff, Okinawa Trough, Senkaku Islands, United Nations

21/01/2013

* Ex-minister blames China’s pollution mess on lack of rule of law

SCMP: “China had a chance to avoid environmental disasters some 40 to 30 years ago, the country’s first environmental protection chief has lamented amid worsening air and water pollution.

But Professor Qu Geping, who has overseen environmental policymaking since the early 1970s, said pollution had run wild as a result of unchecked economic growth under a “rule of men”, as opposed to the rule of law. Their rule imposed no checks on power and allowed governments to ignore environmental protection laws and regulations.

“I would not call the past 40 years’ efforts of environmental protection a total failure,” he said. “But I have to admit that governments have done far from enough to rein in the wild pursuit of economic growth … and failed to avoid some of the worst pollution scenarios we, as policymakers, had predicted.”

Qu, 83, was China’s first environmental protection administrator between 1987 and 1993. He then headed the National People’s Congress environment and resource committee for 10 years.

After three decades of worsening industrial pollution resulting from rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, China has accumulated huge environmental debts that will have to be paid back, Qu said.

He said recently he regretted that some of the very forward-looking strategies – emphasising a more balanced and co-ordinated approach to development and conservation, that were worked out as early as 1983 – were never put into serious practice when China was still at an early stage of industrialisation.

In 1970, premier Zhou Enlai had invited a Japanese journalist to give a lecture to senior government officials on the lessons Japan had learned from a series of heavy metal pollution scandals that killed several hundred people during a period of rapid industrialisation in the 1950s and 1960s, Qu said.

“But looking back, China fell into the same trap again,” he said. “In some cases, the problems are even worse now given the country’s huge population and the vast scale of its economy.”

via Ex-minister blames China’s pollution mess on lack of rule of law | South China Morning Post.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/economic-factors/greening-of-china/

Top News: High pollution sparks China anger (bbc.co.uk)
Beijing, China Air Pollution Hits Hazardous Levels (huffingtonpost.com)
Amid Smog Deluge, China Environmental Reports Accused of Fraud (theepochtimes.com)

Posted in Affluence, carbon emission, China alert, Climate change, Consumer protection, Ecology, Economics, Environment, Green, greenhouse gas, Illegal chemicals, Manufacturing, Politics, Pollution, Sustainable development | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, climate, environment, environmental policymaking, Environmental protection, Japan, National People's Congress, pollution, premier zhou, rapid industrialisation, Zhou Enlai

20/01/2013

* Beijing to lend Taiwan historical artefacts from Forbidden City

SCMP: “Beijing has agreed to lend art exhibits for a major joint exhibition in Taipei, the head of Taiwan’s top museum said on Sunday, as the two former rivals push ahead with detente.

Feng Ming-chu, director of Taipei’s National Palace Museum, will fly to Beijing on Monday, the first such trip since 2009 when the chiefs of the museum and of Beijing’s Palace Museum made landmark exchange visits.

Feng will meet her mainland counterpart Shan Jixiang to discuss the loan of more than 30 artefacts from the museum, also known as the Forbidden City, for the exhibition in Taipei in October.

“The Palace Museum in Beijing has agreed to our proposal for loaning artefacts,” she said.

The exhibition, which will also include some items from the Taipei museum, features the artistic tastes of Qianlong (1735-1796), an emperor in China’s last dynasty Qing.

“Hopefully the co-operation between the two museums will be further enhanced through the visit, following the 2009 ice-breaking exchange of visits by the curators of the two sides,” Feng said.

The 2009 visits resulted in the loan of 37 works from the Beijing museum to the Taiwanese museum later that year.

It was the first joint exhibition by the two museums, highlighting warming relations between Beijing and Taipei which have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.”

via Beijing to lend Taiwan historical artefacts from Forbidden City | South China Morning Post.

IHT Rendezvous: From the Ashes, Tibetan Buddhism Rises in the Forbidden City (rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com)
Tibetan Buddhist palaces restored in Forbidden City (nzweek.com)
Forbidden City catalogues its vast collections (vancouverdesi.com)

Posted in China alert, Good news, Politics, Taiwan | 1 Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, Forbidden City, Museum, Palace Museum, Qing Dynasty, Taipei, Taiwan

17/01/2013

* China Loses Edge As Worlds Factory Floor

WSJ: “China is losing its competitive edge as a low-cost manufacturing base, new data suggest, with makers of everything from handbags to shirts to basic electronic components relocating to cheaper locales like Southeast Asia.

The shift—illustrated in weakened foreign investment in China—has pluses and minuses for an economy key to global growth. Beijing wants to shift to higher-value production and to see incomes rise. But a de-emphasis on manufacturing puts pressure on leaders to make sure jobs are created in other sectors to keep the worlds No. 2 economy humming.

Total foreign direct investment flowing into China fell 3.7% in 2012 to $111.72 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday, the first annual decline since the fallout from the global financial crisis in 2009.

Then, a 13% fall in foreign investment into China reflected dire conditions for business in the U.S. and Europe, and global risk aversion, which choked off capital flows. Economists say the drop in 2012 is partly cyclical, driven by slowing overall growth in China and Europe’s prolonged debt crisis.

But it also is the result of a long-term trend of rising wages and other costs that have made China less attractive, especially for basic manufacturing, economists say.

By contrast, foreign direct investment into Thailand grew by about 63% in 2012, and Indonesia investment was up 27% in the first nine months of last year.

Coronet SpA, an Italian maker of synthetic leather with production in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, plans a new factory in Vietnam to take advantage of lower labor costs and to be closer to its customers in the shoe and handbag businesses, many of which have already moved there.

via China Loses Edge As Worlds Factory Floor – WSJ.com.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2012/12/07/apple-to-return-some-mac-production-to-u-s-in-2013/

Posted in China alert, Economics, employment, exports, FDI, Salaries, wage rises | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Asia, Beijing, China, economy, Economy of the People's Republic of China, Foreign direct investment, Guangdong, Southeast Asia

14/01/2013

Central government appears determined to let the people’s voice be heard and not censored by local authorities. Good news – if enforced.

Posted in Censorship, China alert, Illegal practices, Openness, Petition, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, censorship, China, Media of the People's Republic of China, Sina Weibo

09/01/2013

* China censorship storm spreads, Beijing paper publisher resigns in protest

Another editor stands for press freedom. Brave man, indeed.

SCMP: “In the aftermath of a rare confrontation between Chinese journalists and Communist Party censors, the publisher of a large Beijing-based newspaper has resigned.

Dai Zigeng, the Communist Party-appointed publisher of the Beijing News, announced his resignation on Tuesday night after a heated argument with propaganda officials over the publication of a controversial editorial, three senior editors at the paper told the Post on Wednesday. They were all at the scene and heard Dai tell his Communist Party bosses, “I now verbally submit my resignation to you,” in the early hours on Wednesday.

It remains unknown whether Dai’s resignation has been officially accepted by Beijing propaganda authorities.

The Beijing News has a daily circulation of more than half a million, according to its Web site.

The editorial in question, originally published in the nationalistic tabloid Global Times on Sunday, was seen as an official response to the recent strike and protest at the Guangzhou-based Southern Weekly. It blames the clashes at the Guangzhou paper on freewheeling journalists and “hostile foreign forces”. Global Times is a subsidiary publication of the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, People’s Daily.

Propaganda authorities had ordered an unknown number of daily newspapers throughout the country to run the editorial in their Tuesday editions, but only a small number of newspapers complied on that day. Dai and his staff had refused to publish the editorial after they received orders from Beijing Party censors to do so. But a Beijing propaganda official threatened to disband the newsroom and close the newspaper if they continued to disobey.

The Beijing News ran the Global Times editorial on page A20 in Wednesday’s edition . But page editors refused to put their names at the bottom of the page in protest, editors told the Post.”

via China censorship storm spreads, Beijing paper publisher resigns in protest | South China Morning Post.

China anti-censorship protest attracts support across country (guardian.co.uk)
China celebrities back censorship protest (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
‘Get rid of censorship:’ Protesters Gather in Front of Chinese Newspaper (theepochtimes.com)
Anti-Censorship Protest in China (worldnewscurator.com)
Chinese Journalists Go On Strike Over Communist Party Censorship (ibtimes.com)
Southern Weekly negotiates with government amid protests – South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

Posted in Censorship, China alert, Politics, public protest | 1 Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, chinese journalists, Communist Party, communist party of china, Global Times, Guangzhou, politics, Southern Weekly

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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* Venezuela seeks $4 billion China loan, $2 billion Chevron credit

* Panicked property fire sale in China amid corruption fight

* China, Japan move to cool down territorial dispute

* U.N. to consider validity of China’s claim over disputed islands

* Ex-minister blames China’s pollution mess on lack of rule of law

* Beijing to lend Taiwan historical artefacts from Forbidden City

* China Loses Edge As Worlds Factory Floor

* China censorship storm spreads, Beijing paper publisher resigns in protest

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