1st of April 2011
The Lion Awakes
Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China
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People's Daily
'Trust vital' for Straits military ties
Authorities on both sides of the Taiwan Straits should explore the possibility of building a military security mechanism of mutual trust, formally end hostilities and reach a peace agreement, according to a white paper on China's national defense issued on Thursday.
It is the first time for the biennial white paper, issued by the State Council Information Office, to mention such a mechanism, proposed by President Hu Jintao in late 2008.
Although cross-Straits economic and business ties have boomed during the past three decades -- with mainland investment from the island topping more than $200 billion -- the two sides have yet to establish military contact. Taiwan has repeatedly expressed concern over the mainland's military deployment across the Straits, according to media reports.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TAIWAN
Chinese president to chair BRICS summit, address Boao Forum
Chinese President Hu Jintao will chair the BRICS Leaders' Meeting and address the Boao Forum for Asia, both slated for mid-April in the southern island province of Hainan, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu announced in Beijing Thursday.
China will host the BRICS summit on April 14 in Sanya city of Hainan,to be attended by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma, Jiang said.
BRICS is a group acronym that refers to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which are considered to be at the same stage of economic development.
Western China to become hub for foreign investment
Western China will become a hot region for overseas investment over the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period, a senior official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.
The ministry plans to adopt measures such as hosting the Western China International Fair (WCIF) to make China's vast western region more attractive to foreign investment, said Cao Hongying, vice director of the Foreign Investment Department of the MOC, at the introductory meeting of the 12th WCIF.
Cao said he expected rapid growth in foreign investment in western China in the years to come due to the area's abundant natural resources and huge market potential.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
PLA eyes complex threats
Beijing's process of modernizing its army and upgrading its arsenal comes in response to an increasingly volatile security situation, both at home and abroad, according to a defense white paper released Thursday.
This report, the seventh of its kind since 1998, provides an overview of China's national defense, ranging from its security environment to the national defense policy, as well as to defense expenditure and arms control.
On the regional front, Asia-Pacific security has become more intricate and volatile, the paper said, noting the US' tightening of its traditional regional military alliances and closer involvement in security affairs.
"Suspicion about China, interference and moves against China from the outside are on the increase," the report said.
China may double solar power capacity goal
hina, the world's largest solar panel exporter, is likely to boast 10 gigawatts (gW) of solar power capacity by 2015 from the current 1 gW, doubling its existing target amid rising doubts about the safety of nuclear power.
The country may double its target for solar power capacity to 10 gW in 2015 from the 5 gW originally planned the China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.
China is expected to announce a new five-year target for the solar industry soon. The government stalled new approvals for nuclear power projects on March 16 in the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis.
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
China eyes stronger coordination with Germany in settling global hot issues
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang met with German Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle on Thursday, calling on stronger coordination between the two countries in promoting proper settling of global hot issues.
Advisable, China reset relations with Mideast
By Li Hongmei
The Western country have formed a popular perception that the Islam states of the currently unrest Middle East play an indescribable but indispensable role in deciding the rise or fall of any world power. Further, in the current context that the international system is in the phase of transformation, the significance of the Middle East "plate" looms large, geopolitically, economically and militarily. In addition, the region not only boasts abundant oil and gas reserves but has a strong and unique appeal in terms of culture and civilization. The Middle East, hence, could somewhat contain and block the extension of a power's comprehensive strength.
In what way a power, or a rising power like China, should do to deal with the strategically critical "plate"----flexing muscles for invasion or intervention, or treating each other at equal footing, seeking mutual respect and win-win----will undoubtedly determine life or death of any power's Mideast strategies.
Hukou - longest stopgap policy in China
By Li Hong
The discriminative home-buying policy, charted by Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities earlier this year, which permits permanent urban residents to buy two homes, but non-permanent migrant workers to purchase only one, again sheds light on a draconian systematic divide of Chinese people – the "Hukou", or residence registration regime -- a left-over from Chairman Mao Zedong's era.
Flag-raising ceremony marks 3rd Serfs Emancipation Day in Lhasa
A national flag-raising ceremony is held at the Potala Palace Square in Lhasa, Tibet on March 28, 2011. More than 3,000 people participated in a national flag-raising ceremony on Monday to mark the third Serfs Emancipation Day. On March 28, 1959, China's central government announced it would dissolve the aristocratic local government of Tibet and replace it with a preparatory committee for establishing the Tibet Autonomous Region, putting an end to serfdom, and abolishing the hierarchal system characterized by theocracy with the Dalai Lama as the core of the leadership.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TIBET
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China Tibet Online
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China Daily
'Trust vital' for Straits military ties
BEIJING - Authorities on both sides of the Taiwan Straits should explore the possibility of building a military security mechanism of mutual trust, formally end hostilities and reach a peace agreement, according to a white paper on China's national defense issued on Thursday.
It is the first time for the biennial white paper, issued by the State Council Information Office, to mention such a mechanism, proposed by President Hu Jintao in late 2008.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TAIWAN
Nations discuss monetary reform
NANJING - The reform of the international monetary system (IMS) is a necessary requirement to promote the world's trade and capital flow, but it will be a long and complicated process, said China's Vice-Premier Wang Qishan on Thursday.
On Thursday, France called on the G20 to agree a timetable for enlarging the SDR basket by including the yuan. Sarkozy asked: "Is it not time today to reach agreement on the timetable for enlarging the basket of SDRs to include new emerging currencies, such as the yuan?"
The IMF refused to include the yuan in its SDR basket in November, saying the currency doesn't meet the required "freely usable" criterium.
Xia also emphasized that China cannot agree to yuan convertibility being a precondition of the currency's inclusion in the SDR basket. "We cannot accept such bargaining," Xiao said.
"The SDR basket should include the yuan, but the convertibility of the yuan should not be connected with its inclusion in the SDR," said Li Daokui, another advisor to the central bank's monetary committee.
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
Bank of China in HK to launch RMB fiduciary account scheme
HONG KONG - Bank of China (Hong Kong), in the capacity of the clearing bank for the banking business in the Chinese currency in Hong Kong, said Thursday in a statement that it will launch the Renminbi fiduciary account scheme for participating banks on April 8.
Under the scheme, participating banks in Hong Kong, which wish to open a Renminbi fiduciary account with Bank of China (Hong Kong), should sign an account opening form for Renminbi fiduciary account. Upon completion of the account opening procedures, participating banks can transfer Renminbi funds via the clearing bank to its accounts maintained with the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, said the statement.
China's yuan sets new high against USD Friday
BEIJING - The Chinese currency, or the yuan, on Friday gained 37 basis points from Thursday to a record high of 6.5527 a US dollar.
No link between yuan convertibility and SDR: Central bank
NANJING - A vice-head of China's central bank disputed on Thursday a link between the convertibility of the yuan and its inclusion in the basket that forms the Special Drawing Right, or SDR.
China's March PMI of manufacturing sector rises
BEIJING - The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of China's manufacturing sector rose to 53.4 percent in March, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said Friday.
China to build cotton reserve system
BEIJING - The Chinese government announced Thursday that it will initiate a cotton purchasing and reserve program starting this fall to boost domestic cotton production.
To build the reserve, the government plans to purchase standard cotton at 19,800 yuan ($3,018) per ton from Sept 1 this year to March 31 next year, according to a statement from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic plan.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
China to raise renewable power tariffs within 2 years
BEIJING - China plans to raise the price of power generated from renewable sources over the next two years in order to stimulate clean energy investment, China's electricity regulator said on Thursday.
When China's grid firms sell electricity from renewable sources they are currently allowed to charge 0.004 yuan ($0.001) per kilowatt-hour more than "conventional" thermal power.
According to the official China Power News, the China Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) will increase the "additional" levy to 0.006 yuan per kilowatt-hour either this year or next.
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
French firms see China as land of opportunity
BEIJING - Seeing the strong potential of China's economy, French companies want to deepen their presence in the Chinese market to benefit from the fast growth of the world's second-largest economy, driven by the country's new five-year plan.
"The challenge for French firms investing in China is currently how to address the Chinese market rather than to export from China," Annick de Kermadec-Bentzmann, president of the French Chamber of Commerce (CCIFC), told China Daily.
De Kermadec-Bentzmann said China's attraction for French companies is based on the upward trend of the economy, which will bring vast business opportunities and generate revenue for French investors.
"French companies plan to adjust their global industrial and commercial strategies for the Chinese market and strengthen their research and development capabilities to be in line with China's new economic strategy in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015)" she said.
Google-linked firms in tax fraud probe
SHANGHAI / BEIJING - Three companies linked to the Internet search giant Google have been investigated for alleged tax fraud in China, Economic Daily reported on Thursday, citing sources with China's taxation authorities.
The companies have allegedly been found using fake invoices and have had accounting and business tax irregularities involving more than 40 million yuan ($6.06 million), the report said.
The taxation authorities are understood to have asked the companies to correct the problems and have retrieved the money.
WTO rules US aid to Boeing is illegal
GENEVA - The World Trade Organization has ruled that Boeing Co received at least $5.3 billion in prohibited US subsidies to develop and build new planes, according to a finding of a report first issued in January but made public on Thursday.
The WTO trade panel's report came in response to EU complaints, which had alleged that Boeing received almost $24 billion in state subsidies between 1989 and 2006 that violated international trade rules.
Tibet's largest solar power plant to be operational
XIGAZE - The largest solar power plant in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region will become operational in May to help ease the plateau region's power shortages.
The 30-megawatt solar photovoltaic generation project in Xigaze prefecture, about 3 km northwest of Tibet's second largest city Xigaze, is perched at 3,895 meters above sea level, the project's steering committee said Thursday in a press release.
It said the project would cost 800 million yuan ($122 million), funded solely by Linuo Power Group, a leading provider of solar photovoltaic power generation systems based in East China's Shandong province.
Construction of the first phase, costing 249 million yuan and covering an area of 30 hectares, began in May last year. It will generate up to 20.23 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, the document said.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TIBET
Kaixin Travel
Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), Anhui province
Witness of Tibet Photography Contest and Exhibit
2011 marks the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, and the magazine China's Tibet and Federation of Literary and Art Circles of Tibet Autonomous Region are jointly holding a "Witness of Tibet, 1950-2010" photography contest. In addition to prizes, all winning works will be exhibited in Beijing and Lhasa in May 2011.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TIBET & Jambhala (Photographer)
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CCTV
CCTV Studio interview: How will China build trust VIDEO
For more analysis into the national defense white paper, we are joined in our studio by Major General Zhu Chenghu, a Professor at the Defense Affairs Institute of the PLA National Defense University.
Q1: The white paper states that China's annual defense expenditure has been kept at a reasonable level, and is in line with its economic development. But some countries are skeptical about the transparency of China's defense budget, and see China's military development as a threat. What's your view on this?
Q2: As China's economy and military power gets stronger, it is developing a growing assertion over its sovereignty claims. But this is seen by some countries as a growing threat to China's neighbors. Do you think China is taking a more active role in defending its territorial sovereignty? And how does China build trust with its neighboring countries under such circumstances?
Q3. In the white paper, China has mentioned for the first time expanding military exchanges between the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan, and the possibility of setting up a cross-strait military security mechanism. Is the Chinese Mainland gradually changing its military strategy towards Taiwan as the cross-strait relationship continues to improve?
CCTV Foreign militaries comment on PLA dev't VIDEO
With the release of China’s Defense White Paper, the country’s modernization and its new policies in military development are drawing much attention worldwide.
On Thursday, more than 100 military attaches from 80 countries attended an introduction of the paper arranged by the Ministry of National Defense.
Briefing foreign military attaches on China's National Defense policy is a routine practice of the Ministry. And a key part is clearing up doubts.
Thosmas Siegel, German Deputy Military AttachÉ, said, "The white paper says there are three stages for military development. And by 2010 you finish the first stage. How do you evaluate the situation now? ”
CCTV Tele interview: How to improve int'l monetary system? VIDEO
For more insight, we're joined on the phone by Francoise Nicolas. He's the Director of Center Asia at the French Institute of International Relations.
1) Francoise... there's a lot of talk about reforming the global monetary system. How can it be improved, to provide a more solid foundation for the global economy?
2) The dollar's dominance has been blamed by some, for financial turmoil in the past. Do you agree?
3) Seminar participants have called for a broader basket of currencies to underpin the IMF's international reserve assets... that could include currencies of emerging economies like China's yuan. What's your take on that?
4) And just briefly, can you outline what you think will add uncertainty to the global economic recovery this year?
CCTV Hu: China disapproves of use of force in int'l relations VIDEO
President Hu Jintao has met with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
President Hu says the Sino-French relationship has made great progress during the past year, adding that both sides should continue to enhance cooperation in the economy, astronomy and new energy, and particularly in nuclear power safety.
The situation in Libya was also discussed. President Hu said China maintains that Libya's sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity should be respected, adding that China always disapproves of the use of force in international relations.
Meanwhile, Sarkozy stated he looks forward to exchanging views with President Hu concerning the international monetary system reforms at the G20 Summit in November.
CCTV China enacts new smoking ban VIDEO
hina has enacted a new rule to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces. The new rule will take effect on May 1 and has been added to the revised regulations on health management in public places from the country's Ministry of Health.
The revised regulations also stipulate that business owners with public places should put up non-smoking signs, carry out promotional activities to warn people of the danger of smoking and dispatch personnel to dissuade smokers.
Furthermore, the smoking area in outdoor locations should not occupy people's paths and cigarette vending machines should be excluded from public places. However, the new rule does not list any penalty provisions for violators, which arouses doubts over how the new legislation will be implemented.
Young minds remodel future style 
The ongoing China Fashion Week in Beijing is providing a platform for new comers and new ideas. This season, the fashion fiesta is holding seven professional competitions. Our reporter Zhang Song went to the one presented by young fashion designers from China and the United States.
Zhang Song, Beijing said "I'm here at the 798 contemporary art zone in Beijing -- famous for presenting new ideas. And now it's offering a fitting backdrop for the semiannual China Fashion Week. Young designers from China and abroad won't miss the opportunity to interpret the style of future."
See CULTURAL CHINA below
CCTV China makes first voluntary carbon deal VIDEO
China, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, is making new environmental protection commitments, now highlighted by the first voluntary carbon credit purchase in Beijing. Tuesday's buy falls under the Panda Standard, which is the country's carbon credit evaluation and calculation mechanism.
The world's fastest growing economy is looking to move into one of the globe's hottest new financial markets: carbon trading.
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
CCTV Tibet chairman delivers speech on 52nd anniversary of emancipation VIDEO
Today marks the 52nd anniversary of the emancipation of millions of Serfs in Tibet. On Sunday, the region's chairman delivered a speech to the Tibetan people.
Padma Choling, Chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region, said, "The democratic reform has freed millions of serfs in the autonomous region. Since then, the Tibet Autonomous Region has followed a road from darkness to brightness.
It is developing from poverty to affluence. It is a period that has seen the region become more open. The people of the Tibet Autonomous Region should remember this day!"
Studio interview: Changes brought by serf emancipation
And for more discussion on the changes brought about by serf emancipation, we're now joined in the studio by Mr. Da Wa Tse Ring, from the China Tibetology Research Center. Welcome ...
Q1: As a Tibetan, can you tell us about the changes serf emancipation has brought to the Autonomous Region?
Q2: Some experts and institutions in the West have a different perception about the current conditions and development strategy in the Autonomous Region. Why is this? And what can be done to better promote what is really happening in Tibet?
CCTV Destinies of two generations in Tibet VIDEO
Kesong village in the Shannan area of the Tibet Autonomous Region was the first village in Tibet to implement democratic reforms 50 years ago. Our reporter Liu Ying has visited a Tibetan family living in the Kesong village and tells us their story.
37-year-old Nima Zhuoga is an expert of growing vegetables in the Kesong village. She only had three years of primary school education, but with the help of the local Women's Federation, Nima Zhuoga was offered training and mastered the techniques for growing vegetables. And she has soon turned the knowledge into a fortune.
Nima Zhuoga, Kesong Villager, said, "Our family's life has improved significantly since 2004. Now, besides growing wild oat and greenhouse vegetables, we also raise livestock. Last year, we bought a Toyota offroad vehicle with credit from the bank to engage in tourist business. We earned a total net income of 100 thousand yuan last year."
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TIBET
See Kaixin's - China & Tibet
Global Times
The UK taught the world how to produce in the 19th century, the US showed the world how to consume in the 20th century, and China needs to demonstrate how to develop in a sustainable way in the 21st century.
UN resolution legality needs a gatekeeper
On March 29, Gaddafi's army recaptured two cities. This new twist to the Libyan military situation has heaped political embarrassment on the West. It is now time to prevent the West from further abusing Security Council Resolution No. 1973.
The Western powers have acted beyond the resolution. Although the leaders of the US, Britain and France have said their military actions are only aimed at establishing a no-fly zone, the Western air strikes have directly attacked Libyan government forces and provided air support for the opposition. They have jointly demanded Gaddafi to step down immediately, which has nothing to do with Security Council resolutions.
In the absence of China, Russia, the African Union and most members of the Arab League, the London conference centered around the political landscape of the "post-Gaddafi era." This countermands the authority of the United Nations and goes against the Western declaration of "letting Libyan people determine by themselves."
The intensification of Western direct military intervention could force Gaddafi to step down soon. But the West has two obstacles: the Security Council resolution does not grant them such authority and they have to consider public opinion. The greater the opposition of global opinion, the more hesitant the West will be.
China should unite with Russia in requiring the US, Britain and France to respect Security Council resolutions.
China needs flexible diplomacy in Mideast
London held an international meeting yesterday to map out what a post-Gaddafi Libya might look like. The US is looking to step back, but as long as its stalwart allies in the UK and France insist on military action, it will not let them stand alone.
Among the international powers, China is relatively detached from the conflict. To maintain and expand China's diplomatic initiative on the Libyan issue will better aid China in dealing with the Middle East.
As long as its society is not infected by the chaos sweeping the Middle East, China possesses a strong foundation for strategic initiative. The past two months have proven that the Chinese public desires stability and remains cool-headed toward the Middle East revolution. This enables China to consider its Middle East policy based on regional geopolitics and China's global interests.
China should set out to contact the Libyan opposition forces in time. We should neither rush to recognize them, nor continue seeing them as "rebels." We should also maintain contact with Gaddafi, too. This is real detachment in diplomacy.
PLA eyes complex threats
Beijing's process of modernizing its army and upgrading its arsenal comes in response to an increasingly volatile security situation, both at home and abroad, according to a defense white paper released Thursday.
This report, the seventh of its kind since 1998, provides an overview of China's national defense, ranging from its security environment to the national defense policy, as well as to defense expenditure and arms control.
On the regional front, Asia-Pacific security has become more intricate and volatile, the paper said, noting the US' tightening of its traditional regional military alliances and closer involvement in security affairs.
"Suspicion about China, interference and moves against China from the outside are on the increase," the report said.
Three outspoken academics
Zhang Ming
Position: Professor, political sciences, Renmin University
Born: 1957
He Weifang
Position: Law professor, Peking University
Born: 1960
Chen Danqing
Position: Painter
Born: 1953
Kaixin Search Engine
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Dialogue
A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
International News Sources
The Wall Street Journal
‘Protracted Negotiations’ Solution to U.S.-China Tensions?
A new report from the University of Virginia outlines a series of largely conciliatory measures U.S. leaders should consider in order to improve relations with China, calling for the U.S. to treat China as an equal power and advocating “protracted negotiations” between the countries in a bid to enhance predictability and trust.
Full Text: Geithner’s Remarks at G-20 Currency Conference
Here is the official Treasury Department transcript of remarks U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was scheduled to deliver Friday at the Group of 20 nations seminar in Nanjing on the international monetary system:
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
G-20 Officials Differ Over Monetary Goals
NANJING, China—Top officials at a meeting of the world's major developed and emerging economies offered starkly different views on exchange rates and other elements of the international monetary system, underlining the challenges facing efforts to find a new global financial architecture.
Highlighting the tensions overshadowing the one-day meeting of Group of 20 officials in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner emphasized the importance of flexible exchange rates in prepared remarks that were a thinly veiled criticism of China's currency policy—which Beijing had insisted shouldn't be discussed at the meeting.
Participants at the gathering voiced agreement ...
Business Slips a Year After Moving Search Services to Hong Kong in Feud with Beijing
BEIJING—A year after Google Inc. moved its search services out of China, the Internet giant is struggling to maintain traction on a range of businesses in the country despite its executives' desire to keep growing in the wake of a feud with the Chinese government.
Prepare for the Arrival of Chinese Tourists
China is poised to become the world’s second-largest tourism market in the next two years, but is the world ready for the flood of Chinese travelers?
More In Tourism
According to a new study from the Boston Consulting Group, the answer is no.
Why Breakfast Matters for Chinese Tourists
The Chinese-speaking call centers for Hotels.com, an online hotel reservation company, are inundated with one question: What’s for breakfast?
A Shanghai Benchmark: The $40 Million Office Floor
The Empire State Building cost around $41 million. So does a single floor in China’s tallest building.
The owner of the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center says that in recent weeks it has set deals to sell five high-level floors in the building for as much as 273 million yuan, or $41.6 million, each.
China’s Venture Capitalists Go Luxury Shopping
Chinese venture capitalists continue to pump cash into online purveyors of high-end merchandise, cosmetics and lingerie that China’s newly wealthy crave.
Eight Questions: Susan Shirk, ‘Changing Media, Changing China’
The effort to make sense of what’s happening in Chinese media is one of the most fascinating, but also confusing and exhausting, jobs of the China watcher. That job was recently been made easier with the publication of “Changing Media, Changing China,” a collection of essays from Oxford University Press, dog-eared copies of which grace multiple desks inside The Wall Street Journal’s Beijing bureau.
By Alan Paul
I have watched the uproar over the Tiger Mom debate with growing annoyance that one simple question remains unasked: Where are the dads?
Eight Questions: Alan Paul, ‘Big in China’
Mr. Paul has compiled the experiences documented in his column into a book, “Big in China,” released by Harper Collins last week. China Real Time caught up with him by email and asked him eight questions about the book, the band and how he’s dealt with going back to the U.S. ...
Montecito Acquires Film Rights to 'Big In China' (Exclusive)
Journalist Alan Paul's new memoir about his unlikely adventures in Beijing is being developed with an eye for Ivan Reitman to direct.
Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock’s Montecito Pictures has acquired the film rights to journalist Alan Paul’s new memoir Big in China: My Unlikely Adventure Raising a Family, Playing the Blues and Reinventing Myself in Beijing.
Big in China is being developed with an eye for Reitman to direct. Project is out to writers.
See Kaixin's - Tiger Mum - Amy Chua 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother'
The New York Times
Memo From Beijing
China Hedges Over Whether South China Sea Is a ‘Core Interest’ Worth War
By EDWARD WONG
Leaders in Beijing have apparently been happy to let the debate over “core interests” and the South China Sea quiet down.
China Lays Out Vision for Military
BEIJING — The Chinese military said Thursday that while the security situation in Asia and the Pacific was generally stable, it was becoming “more intricate and volatile,” with no clear solutions for tension points like the divided Korean Peninsula and with the United States increasing its involvement in regional security issues.
I.H.T. Op-Ed Contributor
How Assertive Should a Great Power Be?
By YAN XUETONG
Now that China is a major world power, should it abandon its traditional low profile?
See Below: Project Syndicate, The Sources of Chinese Conduct by Yan Xuetong
Geithner Says Strict Policy On Currency Hurts China
By DAVID BARBOZA
At a seminar on the global monetary system, Mr. Geithner says strict control of its currency could worsen China’s inflation.
Memoir (or Is It?) of Sex and Opium
HONG KONG — There are things we know about Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse, 2nd Baronet, of England: He was one of few Europeans to live among the Chinese in the early 20th century, and his writings greatly influenced the way the West saw Peking. Then there are fuzzier facts, like his claim that he had affairs with both Oscar Wilde and the Empress Dowager Cixi.
The sexually explicit “Décadence Mandchoue,” written in 1943, when Backhouse was 70 and dying, recounts his time as a young man as he explored Peking’s gay haunts and what he described as wanton practices within the Imperial Court.
Sir Edmund Backhouse from 1943
Project Syndicate
The Sources of Chinese Conduct
Yan Xuetong
BEIJING – Six decades ago, the American diplomat George Kennan wrote an article, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” that galvanized American and world opinion, which soon hardened into the rigid postures of the Cold War. Today, given China’s decisive influence on the global economy, and its increasing ability to project military power, understanding the sources of Chinese conduct has become a central issue in international relations. Indeed, better understanding of China’s foreign policy motivations may help prevent relations between China and the United States from hardening into rigid and antagonistic postures.
Financial Times
China warns of military competition in Asia
China has raised concerns over attempts by other countries to contain its growing power, as the US seeks to boost its influence in the region.
“Suspicion about China, interference and countering moves against China from the outside are on the increase,” Beijing said in a key military policy document released on Thursday, underscoring the growing friction in the Asia-Pacific region.
Caixin Online
From the UN to Sudan to the WTO, China is stepping forward to meet diplomatic challenges as a world leader
The UN Security Council recently debated a resolution to set up a no-fly zone in Libya and protect Libyan civilians with all "necessary means." It passed with 10 member-nations voting in favor, and five abstentions.
How Bargaining Power Works in Favor of Reform
By Tong Yilun
At the root of China's reform process are bargaining initiatives through which parties interact and find resolution
China's modern economic reform experience cannot be compared to economic development patterns typical in developing countries, nor the institutional transformations seen following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc.
China Pension Fund to Invest in Overseas PEs
The deputy chairman of China's National Council for Social Security Funds announced that overseas investment will be directed at PE funds
(Beijing) – China's national pension funds are preparing to invest in overseas private equity funds, according to the Deputy Chairman of China's National Council for Social Security Funds (NCSSF), Wang Zhongmin.
All Aboard China's Fast Trains to Trouble
Now that high-speed trains are crisscrossing the country, enormous costs and other shortcomings have been exposed
Nearly 300 spacious train stations replete with marble and amenities have opened across China in recent years to complement a fleet of white "Harmony" bullet trains that whisk passengers between cities at jaw-dropping speeds.
Terminal Condition: The State of Doctor's Pay
A new law allows doctors to register at multiple medical institutions – but many experts already say the prognosis does not look good for physician compensation
On the first week of a new law issued by the Ministry of Health which permits doctors to practice at multiple medical institutions, not a single doctor applied to register at the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.
First Comes Love, Then Comes the Sperm Bank
Last year, 95 percent of donors to the Guangdong Sperm Bank, one of five facilities of its kind in China, were students in nearby universities. The rise in sperm donations comes at time when subsidies have been dramatically increased – as well as social attitudes to the practice. Students that donate the maximum amount of times, as some have done, receive 3,000 yuan per year, equivalent to half a semester's tuition. Reasons provided by donors range from social responsibility to a part-time job that pays for new hi-tech gadgets.
Asia Times Online
Asia to redraw progress map
By Joergen Oerstroem Moeller.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's targeting of slower economic expansion allied to a warning on environmental damage heralds the end in Asia of a golden epoch and the onset of an age of scarcities, presenting an almost awesome challenge to both the public and corporate sectors.
Responsible China gets what it wants
By Benjamin A Shobert
The days of China keeping its opinions to itself, of following the standards other countries demand of it, appear to now be long gone as it finds ways to exert influence to get what it wants from its place as a "stakeholder" in international institutions. A recently published study finds this a product of the Chinese model being somehow superior to the American model.
PLA on board an Orient express
By Christina Lin
The tentacles of Chinese-built rail networks stretch far and wide, with lines to Tibet, high-speed connections to Southeast Asian neighbors and plans for a track to Iran passing through Central Asia. While China has done more than most to re-establish the Silk Route, some analysts are beginning to blow the whistle on the gains of such projects for its military mobilization.
Kaixin OpEd – A well informed article.
Kaixin thinks that the Iron Silk Road is more defensive rather than offensive, given the military reach of the United States.
THE ROVING EYE
Tripoli, the new Troy
By Pepe Escobar
Muammar Gaddafi is "winning" like the king of besieged Troy did for 10 years. The problem with the Odyssey Dawn script is that a rebel Ulysses or a Helen is nowhere to be found and a cast of characters of infiltrated special forces including Central Intelligence Agency covert ops will be key. Many a Libyan will eventually have to acknowledge it's best to beware of Westerners bearing gifts.
THE ROVING EYE
Endgame: Divide, rule and get the oil
By Pepe Escobar
Western moral uprightness on Libya to coalition Gulf countries goes something like this: If you sell us a lot of oil, buy our weapons, and smash al-Qaeda, that's fine; you may even kill your own people, provided it's dozens, not thousands. That's how Saudi Arabia can get away with anything. The forces of counter-revolution are now joined at the hip with the West.
Syrian sauce for the Chinese gander
By Peter Lee
The official Chinese mood over Libya is shaped by the speed with which a regime was stripped of legitimacy and exposed to military intervention, but whether it will shake the convictions of China's interventionist liberal hawks is another matter. The darkening fate of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, which models itself on China, is altogether more pertinent to Beijing's yearning for stability.
The issue in Libya is the astounding ease with which a regime that found itself at cross-purposes with the United States was unilaterally stripped of its legitimacy and exposed to military intervention through aggressive and creative interpretation of an ambiguous UN resolution - in a mere three days.
Kaixin OpEd - An insightful analysis
Starchitects shape Shanghai's urban cool
By Daniel Allen
Famous Western architects have flocked to Shanghai, seeing in its futuristic skyline a chance of riches, recognition and an opportunity to push the boundaries of their art that is scarcely available in the West. Fusing Western and oriental aesthetics, while incorporating new computing modeling techniques and green building technology, "starchitecture" is now set to spread deeper into China and Asia.
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See over for the 31st of March 2011
CULTURAL CHINA
Articles of interest from the week's news
Insights into China's Society & Cutlure
Age of restoration for ancestral temples
Heritage buildings reflect clan history, Zhang Yuchen reports from Hunan.
Song Huaiying feels content. His family's ancestral temple, after lying in ruins for 40 years, has been restored, enhancing clan unity and spiritual awareness.
The Song temple in Dianhua village fell victim to marauders during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976). Others met a similar fate or were displaced by land reform starting in the early 1950s. Now, hereditary buildings are rapidly appearing in the countryside.
Song Huaiying poses in front of the Song temple that he and his fellow villagers rebuilt.
Inside the Lu family's ancestral hall in Jinshan village, Rucheng.
Tibet through the Lenses-Potala Palace
The first part of the series is fully packed with pictures of Tibet's landmark structure—Potala Palace. The photos taken by three photographers, who are each connected with Tibet in their own way, capture the centuries-old world heritage in different moods and weather conditions.
China Green - VIDEO
Feature: Fate of Old Beijing
In the face of China’s rapid modernization, the world’s most populous country is struggling to preserve its cultural heritage, and nowhere is this more visible than in the ancient alleyways and courtyards of Beijing.
Once a ubiquitous feature of Beijing, the hutongs are more than simply housing; they are actually a way of life. Entire families live in single, crowded courtyards, often with no bathrooms. Yet despite the lack of modern amenities, the communal aspect to life within the hutongs means that few want to leave – even as their neighbourhoods are being demolished and redeveloped. UNESCO estimates that more than 88 percent of the city’s old residential quarters are already gone, most torn down in the last three decades.
In a three-part series, filmmakers Jonah Kessel and Kit Gillet explore the vanishing world of Beijing’s hutongs, the realities of life within the narrow streets, and the future for these culturally-irreplaceable areas of China’s capital.
Calligraphy on a grand scale
Artist Wang Dongling creates calligraphy on a gigantic piece of traditional Chinese paper on Tuesday at a gymnasium at China Academy of Art’s Hangzhou campus in Zhejiang province. The new piece, called Xinjing or Heart Sutra, is 7.3 meters high and 17 meters wide. The piece will be put on show in Hangzhou in October.
China Fashion Week
A model presents a creation for the 2011 Aimer Swimwear Collection during China Fashion Week in Beijing.
Bikini fever at China Fashion Week - VIDEO
A bikini show presented by Beijing Aimer Lingerie was the climax of China Fashion Week at D-Park Beijing House in the 798 Art District
Love hurts as wedding costs soar
Shanghai - Weddings are not only about love; they're also about money.
To celebrate this important event in their lives, members of the post-80s generation in Shanghai are facing huge costs, which are rivaling those in the United States and Europe, a recent survey has revealed.
See Kaixin's - Marriage in China - Ancient & Modern
Chinese kites - VIDEO
Kites were first used about 2,800 years ago in China. In the past, kites were used in the military to make a signal and test the wind. With the development of papermaking, people began using paper for the sails, and kite flying has been a popular outdoor game ever since.
Classic kites use bamboo for the spars and paper or silk for the sails. Then they're designed with many different shapes and forms, which represent the pursuit of happiness, longevity, joy and good luck. Many craftsmen believe the common materials in one's life best express a person's best wishes for a better life.
It's good for our health to fly kites in the spring. We can enjoy the spring sunshine, the fresh air and the blue sky. It's relaxing, and it brings us great pleasure. It is said that if you fly a kite and then cut the twine to let the kite go, all of your illness and troubles in the coming year will fly away with the kite.
Now that spring is coming, everyone should get out their kites and enjoy flying them with friends and family.
Old Boys enliven young dreams
BEIJING - What does it take to touch a generation?
It's a question faced hundreds of times by Xiao Yang, whose online film Old Boys is resonating deeply with Chinese born in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the movie, Xiao plays a wedding party host who loves singing, while his real life business partner Wang Taili plays a hairdresser who loves dancing.
But their youthful dreams have been replaced by reality.
At the end of the movie, the two old boys walk onto a talent show to realize their dreams, even though everyone is making fun of them.
When they sing a beautiful elegy to youth, a lament for all the things lost along the way, many were in tears. The song features the music of Ohashi Takya's Arigatou, with lyrics written by the pair, known in the film and in reality as the Chopstick Brothers.
The film has been viewed online more than 26 million times since its Oct 28 debut.
Xiao Yang, 31, director of the hit online film Old Boys, prepares music in a studio in Beijing on Tuesday. The film has been viewed online more than 26 million times since its Oct 28 debut.
“Old Boy” Popular Chinese Short Film Makes Male Netizens Cry + Video Preview
Paper Apple goods the latest gifts for Qingming
GUANGZHOU - While people rush to get the latest iPhones and iPads, the deceased can also enjoy these trendy high-tech devices, although theirs will be made of paper.
With the Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, a time for paying respect to the ancestors, falling on April 5, some shops in Guangzhou selling sacrificial offerings have put paper-made versions of Apple products on their shelves.
A package of two iPads and four iPhones, paper-made and in different colors, goes for 6 yuan (90 cents), at a shop named Yongxinghang. A MacBook also costs 6 yuan.
Paper-made offerings are displayed at a market in Nanning city, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region
Investors get picky about rare, exotic teas
Afficionados are now treating the leaf-based beverage with reverence
BEIJING - While many rich Chinese people are happy to fork out $2,000 on a bottle of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, one of the most expensive wines in the world, others are turning to a more traditional Chinese beverage with centuries of culture behind it.
Rare and exotic teas are fast developing into investment opportunities with the marketing potential that French vintage wines have possessed for decades.
Xinhua News Agency reported futures in the best quality Longjing (or Dragon Well) spring tea, the leaves of which will be picked before early April, have already sold out at 60,000 yuan ($9,146) a kilogram.
Tibet's achievements celebrated
LHASA - Padma Choling, chairman of the Tibet autonomous region, delivered a speech on Sunday to the Tibetan people in celebration of the Third Serfs Emancipation Day and promised more efforts for a new Tibet that is stable, united, democratic and well-developed.
An accreditation ceremony is held in Lhasa's Jokhang Temple on Saturday. Eight monks were certified to be Gashe, the highest level of attainment for monks studying the scriptures of Tibetan Buddhism, during the service.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TIBET
Tibet marks Serfs Emancipation Day - VIDEO
Lhasa celebrates third annual Serfs Emancipation Day
LHASA - To spread the word about changes that have taken place in Tibet since the adoption of democratic reforms in 1959, the third Serfs Emancipation Day was celebrated on Monday throughout Lhasa, the capital of the autonomous region.
A ceremony celebrating Tibet's third Serfs Emancipation Day began on Monday in the square in front of the Potala Palace, a pilgrimage site for Tibetan Buddhists.
Cherry blossoms charm tourists in C China
An ancient building is seen through cherry blossoms in Wuhan University in Central China's Hubei province
