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

12/02/2014

Graft busters under increasing scrutiny in China’s corruption crackdown – Xinhua | English.news.cn

As China’s anti-corruption campaign picks up momentum, those charged with rooting out graft are themselves being placed under increasing scrutiny.

On Tuesday, the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee publicized 10 cases of disciplinary or legal violations by police officers, judges and prosecutors.

“This sends a signal: the disciplinary as well as the political and legal systems are not a sanctuary [in China’s anti-corruption campaign],” said Xin Ming, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

The cases include a Supreme People’s Court official suspected of taking bribes of over 2 million yuan (327,493 U.S. dollars) in exchange for intervening with trials; a prosecutor in central China’s Shanxi Province charged with taking bribes and failing to explain the sources of assets worth over 40 million yuan and 1.8 kg of gold; and a Ministry of Public Security director suspected of taking advantage of his position to benefit others, and accepting bribes of more than 2.23 million yuan.

Publicizing cases is a first for the commission. Previously, corrupt political and legal officials were named and shamed within their own circles.

Only a day before, four discipline officials who worked for the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) were reported to have been punished for breaking laws and Party anti-graft guidelines.

In the most serious case, Wu Qiang from east China’s Jiangxi Province was stripped of his CPC membership and expelled from public office for drunk driving and killing a pedestrian in 2013.

In another incident, Wu Jimian from central China’s Hubei Province was prosecuted for killing a hotel worker and injuring two others while driving a police car after leaving a banquet.

Shen Wanhao from north China’s Hebei Province was dismissed from his post for beating another discipline official during a banquet.

The fourth official, Ren Jiangang from north China’s Shanxi Province, received a Party warning for holding banquets to commemorate his father’s death and accepting 7,900 yuan in cash.

While these cases may not constitute the powerful “tigers” the CPC vowed to take down in the fresh anti-graft drive, they nevertheless sound an alarm for disciplinary, political and legal officials, said Xin, who added that anti-graft bodies would be more effective and powerful once they fix their internal problems.

“Officials of the discipline, political and legal systems are fighters against corruption and guardians of justice… They cannot do their job if they themselves are crooked,” he said.

via Graft busters under increasing scrutiny in China’s corruption crackdown – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Posted in China alert, corruption, Good news, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Central China, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, China, CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, cpc central committee, Hebei, Hubei, Jiangxi, Shanxi, Xi JinPing

12/02/2014

Old palace columns coming home[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn

A Norwegian museum will return seven marble columns, taken about 150 years ago from western Beijing’s Imperial Yuanmingyuan Garden, or the Old Summer Palace.

The deal was reached under a trilateral agreement made by the museum, Chinese tycoon Huang Nubo and Peking University. The columns will return to China in September and be publicly exhibited at Peking University after maintenance and restoration work.

Huang, chairman of Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group, will donate 10 million Norwegian kroner ($1.63 million) to the museum.

Huang told China Daily that the museum donation is not a trade or “throwing away money”, but “a very meaningful action that shows patriotism, as well as a way of repaying back the mother country, which made me rich”.

Karin Hindsbo, director of the Kode Art Museum in Bergen, told China Daily that “the donation shall be used on academic research and the general care of our collections of Chinese art“.

“A donation like this makes a world of difference for Kode,” Hindsbo said.

Huang said he was invited to visit the art museum in Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, by then-director Erlend G. Hoyersten when Huang was at a Sino-Scandinavian poets’ exchange event in Norway last year.

“The moment I saw the columns, my eyes teared up. After all, the lost relics from Yuanmingyuan represent an indelible history for all Chinese,” Huang said. “I told the museum staff the relics should not be on show, and they were sympathetic to my feelings.”

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), British and French expeditionary forces invaded the garden in 1860, removing its precious imperial collections and burning the rest.

Norwegian cavalry officer Johan W.N. Munthe got some of them from unknown sources and donated 2,500 Chinese artifacts to the Kode museum in the early 20th century.

via Old palace columns coming home[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn.

Posted in China alert, Foreign invasion, Good news, History, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: art museum, Beijing, Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group, Bergen, China, China Daily, Huang Nubo, Imperial Yuanmingyuan Garden, Norway, Old Summer Palace, Peking University, Qing Dynasty, western Beijing

12/02/2014

IBM’s CEO visits China for trust-building talks with govt leaders: sources | Reuters

A slide in IBM Corp’s (IBM.N) sales in China amid a broad backlash against claims of U.S. government spying has triggered a rare visit to Beijing by Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty.

Visitors walk past the IBM booth at the 9th China International Software Product & Information Service Expo in Nanjing, Jiangsu province September 6, 2013.REUTERS/China Daily

The head of the world’s biggest technology services company arrives in China’s capital on Wednesday for three days of meetings with government leaders, according to people familiar with her visit. The visit comes as U.S. firms like IBM and Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) seek to restore trust with Chinese regulators and reverse slumping sales.

Beijing has encouraged state-owned companies to buy China-branded products since last year’s revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of spying. That has undercut business at some U.S.-based multinationals operating in the world’s second-biggest economy.

via IBM’s CEO visits China for trust-building talks with govt leaders: sources | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Economics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty., China, Cisco Systems, Cisco Systems Inc, Edward Snowden, Ginni Rometty, government leaders, IBM, IBM Corp, National Security Agency, rare visit, technology services company

12/02/2014

China to crack down on fake data ‘corruption’: statistics chief | Reuters

The accuracy of economic statistics in general in China has come under the spotlight in recent years as some growth-obsessed local governments published false economic data.

Waiters from a hotel cross a road in Beijing's Central Business District, September 3, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Lee

“In the area of statistics, falsification can be considered as the biggest form of corruption,” Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics told a meeting, in a reference to the Chinese government’s broader crackdown on corruption.

“We must seriously investigate and punish such corruption cases,” Ma was quoted as saying in a statement on the agency’s website, http://www.stats.gov.cn

via China to crack down on fake data ‘corruption’: statistics chief | Reuters.

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

Tags: Asia, China, chinese government, corruption, corruption cases, Economic data, Economic statistics, Ma Jiantang, national bureau of statistics, National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China, statistics

12/02/2014

Xiaomi is the world’s third most innovative company; “Made in China” now a compliment – Yahoo News Singapore

For the longest time, China has been known as a manufacturing powerhouse and because of that, its quality of goods has a notorious reputation. Consumers shun away and give products a smirk whenever there is a “Made in China” label on it.

American consumers associate Chinese manufacturing with the terms “mass produced,” “cheap” and “poor safety standards” more than anything else.

However, that is now changing.

“Made in China” is now a compliment as the emphasis on quality is returning.

Fast Company just announced their own list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Other than tech giants from the west such as Google, Apple, Tesla, Dropbox and a handful of others, several Chinese companies rose to the list, raising the eyebrows of industry watchers.

In particular, Xiaomi, emerged as the third most innovative company just behind Google and Bloomberg, beating several other companies including Apple and Nike. Xiaomi is reinventing the smartphone business, a segment that is exploding around the world now.

via Xiaomi is the world’s third most innovative company; “Made in China” now a compliment – Yahoo News Singapore.

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

Tags: Apple, China, compliment, Dropbox, Fast Company, Google, List of companies of China, notorious reputation, Tesla Motors, Xiaomi, Xiaomi Tech

11/02/2014

China’s power capacity up 94 mln kw in 2013 – Xinhua | English.news.cn

China’s installed power capacity increased by 94 million kilowatts (kw) in 2013, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Monday.

Thermal power accounted for the bulk of the capacity growth, topping 36.5 million kw, followed by 29.93 million kw from hydropower, 14.06 million kw from on-grid wind power, 11.3 million kw from on-grid solar power and 2.21 million kw from nuclear power.

The country’s total installed power capacity topped 1.25 billion kw at the end of 2013, up 9.3 percent year on year.

Thermal power accounted for the bulk of the total capacity at the end of 2013, reaching more than 860 million kw, up 5.7 percent year on year.

On-grid solar energy capacity increased by 340 percent from a year earlier.

China’s electricity consumption, a key indicator of economic activity, rose 7.5 percent year on year to 5.32 trillion kilowatt hours in 2013, according to the NEA.

The growth rate exceeded the 5.5-percent rise registered in 2012, but was lower than the 11.7-percent rise registered in 2011.

via China’s power capacity up 94 mln kw in 2013 – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

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

Tags: China, energy, kw, National Development and Reform Commission, National Energy Administration, NEA, Nuclear Energy Agency, power capacity, Solar power, Watt, Wind power

11/02/2014

Indian Election Not a ‘Game Changer’ – India Real Time – WSJ

A new Moody’s report argues that the biggest event on India’s political calendar this year will be neutral at best for the country’s creditworthiness—although, at worst, it could heighten existing risks.

India’s national election, due before the end of May, is dominating the country’s newsstands, and has put a freeze on many major policy and investment decisions. Perceptions that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s popular prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, is pro-business have buoyed Indian stock markets even as corporate earnings have disappointed.

But the New York-based credit-ratings agency says the contest between the governing Congress party and the BJP will hardly be decisive for India’s economic prospects.

A strong showing by either of the two major parties “would not be a near-term game changer,” it says in the report. The correlation between economic performance and the party in power is historically quite weak, it notes. What could be a bigger influence is the state of the global economy. Factors such as the budding recovery in the U.S. and Europe, the shaky economic outlook in China, and the Federal Reserve’s withdrawal of monetary stimulus will continue to buffet India and many other big emerging markets.

via Indian Election Not a ‘Game Changer’ – India Real Time – WSJ.

Posted in Elections, India alert, Internal politics, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Bharatiya Janata Party, China, Credit risk, Federal Reserve System, India, Indian National Congress, Moody's Investors Service, Narendra Modi

11/02/2014

China says gets tough on polluters, nixes projects worth $19.5 billion | Reuters

China’s environmental watchdog vetoed as many as 32 projects with a total investment of 118.4 billion yuan ($19.5 billion) last year as it stepped up efforts to get tough on industrial polluters, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Buildings are pictured amid the heavy haze at night in Beijing's central business district, January 30, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Lee

Zhai Qing, the vice-environment minister, told reporters his ministry was working to improve its environmental assessment capabilities and strengthen its powers to monitor and punish polluters.

“I think our ability to enforce and monitor is extremely important… and since last year, we have been constantly trying to strengthen our abilities,” he added.

Beijing is under intense pressure to clean up its heavily polluted air, water and soil in the face of mounting public anger, but enforcement has been identified as one its biggest challenges, with the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) struggling to find the clout to take on powerful industrial interests and growth-obsessed local authorities.

Officials have acknowledged that the ministry’s punitive powers are limited. Fines are far lower than the cost of compliance and many big companies are willing to pay up and continue breaking the law.

The ministry is now hoping to extend its authority as China’s new leadership promises to abandon the crude pursuit of economic growth. A new environmental law is likely to raise the fines imposed on polluters, and sources say the ministry’s powers could be expanded further in a government shake-up expected to take place in March.

via China says gets tough on polluters, nixes projects worth $19.5 billion | Reuters.

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

Tags: Beijing, China, Environmental law, industrial polluters, Member of the European Parliament, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China, pollution

11/02/2014

BBC News – China and Taiwan in first government talks

China and Taiwan have held their first high-level talks since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Wang Yu-chi and Zhang Zhijun, the top cross-strait officials from each side, attended the four-day talks in Nanjing.

No official agenda was released for the talks, which are widely seen as a confidence-building exercise.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory. In the past, all talks have gone via quasi-official organisations.

The fact that talks are taking place in Nanjing is a nod to history – the city, at times, served as the capital when the Nationalists were in power more than 60 years ago.

Neither side is talking of any breakthrough during this week’s talks – their differences remain stark.

Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory, insisting that it must be reunited with the mainland – by force, if necessary.

But since the election of Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008, relations between the sides have warmed considerably.

For Taiwan, there is no ignoring China – the world’s second largest economy.

And China perhaps sees these talks as a useful opportunity to forge closer ties with Taiwan while a relatively pro-Beijing president remains in power on the island.

Mr Zhang, head of mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said: “It’s impossible to imagine in the past that we could sit here and meet.”

“We must have some imagination if [we want to] resolve some difficulties, not just for such a meeting, we should also have a bigger imagination for cross-strait future development,” he added.

Mr Wang, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, described the meeting as “a new chapter for cross-strait relations”.

“For us to simply sit at the same table, sit down to discuss issues, is already not an easy thing.”

via BBC News – China and Taiwan in first government talks.

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

Tags: Beijing, China, Ma Ying-jeou, Mainland Affairs Council, Nanjing, Taiwan, Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhang Zhijun

11/02/2014

Spanish judge issues arrest warrants for China’s former President, PM – CNN.com

A Spanish judge issued international arrest warrants Monday for China’s former President Jiang Zemin and former Prime Minister Li Peng for alleged genocide against the people of Tibet, Spain’s National Court in Madrid said.

[File photo] Former President of China Jiang Zemin (left) and former PM Li Peng in Beijing on 17 March (year unknown).

The warrants against them and three other senior Chinese officials are the latest chapter in a long-running lawsuit by pro-Tibetan groups and a dual Tibetan-Spanish citizen who seek international legal action against some Chinese officials.

Judge Ismael Moreno issued the arrest warrants for alleged “genocide, torture and crimes against humanity,” and ordered them to be sent to Interpol, the international police agency, according to a copy of the order viewed by CNN.

The former officials will surely not be arrested in China, but there’s a “medium chance” of them being arrested if they go abroad, “depending on the country and its ethics,” said Alan Cantos, president of the Barcelona-based Tibet Support Committee.

Cantos expressed satisfaction with the judge’s order, which his group has been pushing with its co-plaintiffs: the House of Tibet Foundation and Thubten Wangchen Sherpa Sherpa, a Tibetan who has lived in Spain for about 20 years and has Spanish citizenship.

“It shows that justice after all works, against all odds. If you let justice work, victims can have retribution,” Cantos said.

via Spanish judge issues arrest warrants for China’s former President, PM – CNN.com.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2013/10/23/spain-probes-hu-jintao-genocide-in-tibet-court-case-bbc-news/

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

Tags: arrest warrants, China, Chinese officials, Interpol, Jiang Zemin, Li Peng, president jiang zemin, Prime Minister Li Peng, Spain, Spain's National Court, Spanish nationality law, Tibet

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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Graft busters under increasing scrutiny in China’s corruption crackdown – Xinhua | English.news.cn

IBM’s CEO visits China for trust-building talks with govt leaders: sources | Reuters

China to crack down on fake data ‘corruption’: statistics chief | Reuters

China’s power capacity up 94 mln kw in 2013 – Xinhua | English.news.cn

Indian Election Not a ‘Game Changer’ – India Real Time – WSJ

China says gets tough on polluters, nixes projects worth $19.5 billion | Reuters

BBC News – China and Taiwan in first government talks

Spanish judge issues arrest warrants for China’s former President, PM – CNN.com

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