Posts tagged ‘politics’

23/11/2012

* Assistance mechanism set up after street kids’ death

Another serious consequence of the migrant worker issue.

China Daily: “The government of Bijie, a city in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, said on Thursday that it has initiated a mechanism to help street children after five boys were recently found dead in a dumpster.

The dumpster where the bodies of the five boys were found by a trash collector in Bijie City on Friday, November 16.

Luo Yanming, deputy head of the civil affairs bureau of the city’s Qixingguan District, said under the mechanism, relief centers will be established to help people living on the streets, including children.

“Billboards and guidance signs with helplines will be set up on streets in the district, while patrol officers will step up efforts to find them,” he said.

As part of the mechanism, the district’s education authorities planned to go to local primary and high schools to ensure that those under the nine-year compulsory education system are where they should be.

“Schools should keep records of left-behind children and report any cases of drop-outs,” said Chen Yong, deputy director of the education bureau of Qixingguan District.

“In the case of drop-outs, schools should inform their parents and try to persuade the children to return to school,” Chen said.

Five left-behind children were found dead in the dumpster on a drizzling Friday night in the district, spurring an outburst of grief from the public, who blamed the children’s caregivers and the local government for failing to take care of them.

Left-behind children are those who often stay with grandparents in rural areas while their parents work in cities.

One of the poorest provinces in China, Guizhou has an increasing number of people leaving to work in coastal cities where more jobs and better pay might be found.”

via Assistance mechanism set up after street kids’ death |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2012/02/23/china-finally-realises-that-migrant-workers-are-not-a-transient-issue/

23/11/2012

* India test-fires missile interceptor

India flexes its muscles. Is it aimed at China or Pakistan; or both?

Times of India: “India on Friday test-fired a ballistic missile interceptor from a defence base in Odisha as part of its efforts to create a shield against incoming enemy missiles, defence officials said.

The indigenous Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile was fired from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast near Dhamra in Bhadrak district, about 170 km from here.

The interceptor was fired a few minutes after the target missile was fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district, about 70 km from Wheeler Island.

India is developing the interceptors which have been successfully tested several times in the past, to provide air-shield to important Indian cities against hostile attacks.”

via India test-fires missile interceptor – The Times of India.

23/11/2012

* Southeast Asian Nations Announce Trade Bloc to Rival U.S. Effort

It is not clear to me what motivates ASEAN nations to try and forma trading bloc that includes China, while Obama had initiated a similar pact to exclude China.  If may be a way of mollifying the strong stance ASEAN had taken regarding the South China Sea disputes. A ‘quid pro quo’ as it were.

NY Times: “Ten Southeast Asian nations said Tuesday that they would begin negotiating a sweeping trade pact that would include China and five of the region’s other major trading partners, but not the United States.

The proposal for the new trade bloc, to be known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, is enthusiastically embraced by China. The founding members, who belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said at the close of the association’s summit meeting here that the bloc would cover nearly half of the world’s population, starting in 2015.

The new grouping is seen as a rival to a trade initiative of the Obama administration, the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes many of the same countries but excludes China.”

via Southeast Asian Nations Announce Trade Bloc to Rival U.S. Effort – NYTimes.com.

22/11/2012

* Lone stand against wrecking ball

Even China cannot stop the determined individual protester. But this situation highlights the many protests against inadequate compensation for having to move home. The interesting thing about this post is that the source is China Daily, a state-sponsored news website.

China Daily: “An isolated five-floor building is standing in the middle of a new road that will soon be open in Wenling, Zhejiang province, the People’s Daily reported.

Lone stand against wrecking ball

A family from Xiazhangyang village insists on living on the isolated building, because they are not satisfied with the relocation compensation offered by the government, the neighbors said, according to the captions of the photos taken on Wednesday.

To guarantee their safety, neighboring rooms next to them are being kept from demolition, though the neighbors all moved out.

The road, which leads to the Wenling Railway Station, hasn’t been put into use yet.”

via Lone stand against wrecking ball[1]|chinadaily.com.cn.

21/11/2012

* India to miss export target

Bad news for ruling Congress Party as national general elections are scheduled for next year.

WSJ: “India’s merchandise exports are set to fall way short of initial estimates because of a demand slowdown in key markets, shows a government projection that is likely to deepen concerns on the country’s financial health and hurt its currency.

India’s exports could be as low as $291 billion in the fiscal year through March, compared with the initial target of $360 billion, according to a trade ministry document. At best, that if market conditions improve dramatically from now, exports could total $300 billion to $320 billion.

via India to Miss Export Target – WSJ.com.

21/11/2012

* India outraged: voices rise in crescendo against ‘Facebook arrests’

Technoholik: “Oppressive, deplorable, arbitrary… the adjectives flew freely Tuesday as Indians across all sectors verbalised their outrage at the arrest of two young women who questioned on Facebook the shutdown in Mumbai after Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray‘s death.

Shaheen Dhada, left, and Renu Srinivas, who were arrested for their Facebook posts, leave a court in Mumbai on Nov 20, 2012

A day after 21-year-old Shaheen Dabha was arrested with her friend, who had ‘liked’ the post on Facebook, and her uncle’s clinic in Thane was vandalised, police arrested nine people believed to be from the Shiv Sena. Both the women were arrested Sunday – for “hurting religious sentiments” and under the Information Technology Act, 2000 – and released on bail Monday. Police also launched an inquiry against the arrests and the vandalism in Thane, near India’s financial and entertainment hub Mumbai.

But that did little to curb the democracy vs dictatorship debate and the mounting fury over police high-handedness. The topic was hotly discussed in college and school classrooms, in offices, on social networking sites and was also the top trending topic on Twitter. From corporates and students to politicians and academics, the voices of protest, young and old, rose in unison. “I am so scared to write on facebook… My freedom of expression is killed by the arrest of two young ladies in Mumbai,” wrote Guwahati-based wildlife activist Firoz Ahmed on his Facebook wall.

“Police officers who arrested the two girls in Mumbai shud be immediately dismissed. That’s minimum that the govt ought to do,” tweeted activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal. “Now you can’t ask questions about why there should be a bandh? Did anyone notify the police that this is actually a democracy?” Mumbai-based author Jerry Pinto wrote angrily on his Facebook wall. In Mumbai-based communications professional Kumar Manish’s view, the arrests were an “oppressive way of muzzling voices”. “It is unfortunate and deplorable that Maharashtra Police, a state functionary, acts and reacts within couple of hours for an action which is within the laws enshrined in the Constitution of India… We are living in a democracy, let us not make it ‘demo-crazy’,” he added.”

via India outraged: voices rise in crescendo against ‘Facebook arrests’ | Technoholik.com.

21/11/2012

* Hope rule of law will prevail in Pak in 26/11 case: Khurshid

The Hindu: “With the execution of lone surviving Mumbai attacks gunman Ajmal Kasab, India hopes “rule of law” will prevail in Pakistan as well, said External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid even as civil society organisations were saddened by the end to the country’s moratorium on capital punishment.

Mr. Khurshid was referering to a trial in Pakistan of seven persons accused of masterminding the Mumbai attacks. The Minister said India had not received any request from Pakistan for handing over the body of Kasab whose hanging came barely 12 hours after India voted against a non-binding resolution in the United Nations banning the death penalty.”

via The Hindu : News / National : Hope rule of law will prevail in Pak in 26/11 case: Khurshid.

21/11/2012

* China’s commerce minister voted out in rare congress snub

Is this the start of something new and different – internal CPC democracy?  Time will tell.

Reuters: “China’s commerce minister was surprisingly blocked from a spot on the ruling Communist Party’s elite body during a conclave this week, sources said, a rare snub for an official that could raise questions about trade policies during his tenure.

China's Minister of Commerce Chen Deming looks on during a news conference at the 8th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Geneva December 15, 2011. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The failure of Chen Deming to secure a seat on the 25-member Politburo marks one of the few surprises to emerge from the party’s five-yearly congress that wrapped this week with the anointing of a new slate of top leaders who will run the world’s second largest economy.

It is also the first time in more than two decades that an official designated for a Politburo spot has been voted out of the party’s 205-member Central Committee in elections. Central Committee membership is a prerequisite for a Politburo seat.

“Chen Deming was voted out during multi-candidate elections to the Central Committee,” one source told Reuters. State news agency Xinhua said there were eight percent more candidates than seats in a preliminary vote before the formal election on Wednesday.”

via China’s commerce minister voted out in rare congress snub: sources | Reuters.

21/11/2012

* Will the Chinese people demand democracy any time soon?

If personal income (above US$10,000 per annum) is a criteria for the desire to seek democracy, and if the plan to double the personal income in a decade is met; then by the end of this leadership decade, CPC better get ready to act – in one way or another!

18/11/2012

* Southeast Asia calls for talks with China on sea dispute

S E Asia may be joining hands to call China to the discussion table; but China really dislikes being pressured and much prefers one-to-one dialogue and bi-lateral agreements.

Reuters: “Southeast Asian nations displayed a rare show of unity on Sunday against China’s sweeping maritime claims, calling for the first formal talks with Beijing over a sea dispute that has raised tensions and exposed deep divisions in the region.

(L - R)Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah hold hands during the opening ceremony of the 21st ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and East Asia summits in Phnom Penh November 18, 2012. REUTERS-Samrang Pring

As Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Cambodia for meetings with Southeast Asian leaders, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) appeared determined to avoid a repeat of an embarrassing breakdown of talks in July over competing claims in the mineral-rich South China Sea, its biggest security challenge.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen will tell Wen that ASEAN wants to begin talks on a binding Code of Conduct, aimed at reducing the chance of naval flashpoints, as soon as possible, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan told reporters.

“Prime Minister Hun Sen himself will be discussing with the PM of China tonight and delivering this consensus on the ASEAN side,” Surin said.

“They would like to see the commencement of the discussion as soon as possible because this is an issue of interest, concern and worry of the international community.”

China’s assertive claims in the South China Sea have sown deep divisions within the bloc at a time when military spending in the region is surging and the United States refocuses attention on Asia – a “pivot” that President Barack Obama will reinforce on his visit to the summit on Monday in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

Chinese ally Cambodia has used its powers as ASEAN chair this year to restrict discussion of the issue, in line with Beijing’s view that the disputes should be discussed on a bilateral basis. China has said it is willing to discuss the Code of Conduct when the “time is right.”

Diplomats said the Philippines, a close U.S. ally, had invited fellow Southeast Asian claimant states Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia to separate talks in Manila to be held later this year or early next year.

“We are trying to make that happen, hopefully in Manila,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters.

The other members of ASEAN include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, none of which have claims on the South China Sea.

One Philippine diplomat said the meeting was aimed at resolving issues among the claimant states, such as overlapping economic zones. He voiced frustration with China for delaying the start of talks with ASEAN over the Code of Conduct.

“ASEAN has done its part,” the diplomat said. “Now it is up to China to also come up with its own because when we formally sit down we will present our position to them. In fact we have already written it.””

via Southeast Asia calls for talks with China on sea dispute | Reuters.

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