Labels: articles, Piracy, Posts by Julian the great

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Mattel and China Differ on Apology
Interpretation Sets Off Debate
By Renae Merle and Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 22, 2007; D01
Contributed by Julian Po

After weeks of uproar and suspicion about the safety of Chinese-made products, an executive of the Mattel toy company met with China's top product safety official yesterday to issue an apology. Just what the apology meant, however, was caught up in translation.

Mattel says that Thomas A. Debrowski, its executive vice president for worldwide operations, was in Beijing to repeat what the company had already said in Europe and the United States, that it was sorry for the recall of millions of toys, and that it was doing all it could to prevent further problems.

The Chinese press heard it differently. The state-run New China News Agency said Debrowski "apologized personally Friday to a senior Chinese official for the massive recall of Made-in-China toys due to design flaws committed by itself." Other media outlets said Debrowski apologized for harming the reputation of Chinese firms.

To an American ear, the news agency reports sounded as if Debrowski was making an apology for any blame placed on China.

In the United States, however, Mattel said in a statement that some reports of the meeting had been "mischaracterized."

When Debrowski said, "Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," the company said he was telling Chinese product safety chief Li Changjiang what had been said elsewhere, including that a majority of the problems had been associated with design issues, not Chinese manufacturers.

The majority of Mattel's recalls, 17.4 million units, were associated with the firm's long-standing problem of strong magnets falling out of toys and endangering children who could swallow them, Mattel said in a statement. The rest, 2.2 million, Mattel blamed on Chinese firms that used lead-based paint, which is prohibited in the United States.

Mattel, of course, has every interest in maintaining a good relationship with China, even as it must shore up the confidence of its customers. The El Segundo, Calif., toymaker receives 65 percent of its toys from China and has made significant financial investments in the Asian country. Mattel's stock closed yesterday at $23.94 per share, up 38 cents.

The recall of nearly 20 million Chinese-made toys, including some Big Bird and Elmo products, and Barbie accessories came at a sensitive time. Chinese products had already had plenty of negative publicity, starting with the recall of tainted dog food, followed by recalls of toothpaste and then seafood with a banned antibiotic. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday added Chinese-made cribs to the list, announcing the recall of 1 million of the products that pose a suffocation hazard. The crib problems were not linked to Chinese manufacturing but to design flaws. Still, the words "Made in China" were reported.

The recalls have led to a series of congressional hearings where China, along with U.S. regulators, were cast in a negative light. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) has proposed suspending imports of food and toys from China. "There has been a cascade and that's caused a U.S. consumer perception crisis of China, not all of it justified," said Drew Thompson, director of China studies at the Nixon Center.

"China has received a lot of blame for the recalls in the West," said Hari Bapuji, assistant professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada and lead author of the report, "Toy Recalls -- Is China the Problem?" "They do have problems, there is no doubt. But I think the blame they received was larger than their share of their responsibility for the problem."

In an earlier statement in China, Mattel had said that its recalls for lead-based paint had been "overly inclusive" and included toys that met U.S. standards. A Mattel spokesman could not say how many of the toys did not need to be recalled.

Mattel is "dependent on Chinese industrial capacity for its toys," said Eric Johnson, a management professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, who has studied the toy industry's migration to China. "They have significant investment of their own capital" in the country "and don't want to lose it. I suspect that Mattel has a vested interest in expanding into the Chinese market as well."

The news agency report was the latest in a series of statements from the Chinese government that suggest a new public relations strategy is underway that plays up evidence China was being treated unfairly. On Sept. 7, for example, after a meeting between Indonesian and Chinese officials over Chinese candy that allegedly contained excessive levels of formaldehyde, China said, "Indonesian authorities yesterday acknowledged that formaldehyde exists naturally in food" and regretted its earlier criticism. In turn, China promised to re-evaluate its decision to ban Indonesian seafood.

The prospect of a potential Mattel apology to China was criticized by some in Congress. "While I'm not going to argue with a U.S. company's apology for recent toy recalls, most would agree that China should be apologizing as well to consumers around the world for exporting shoddy products and dangerous food," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been critical of China's regulatory and export systems.

By emphasizing a public apology by Mattel, China gains a public relations advantage, experts said. "This is all about saving face and a private apology wouldn't have done that for China. They really needed this public apology," Johnson said.

Correspondent Ariana Eunjung Cha in Shanghai contributed to this report.

Julian's comments:

Eeew, and as a child, I kept mistaking lead-coated Thomas and Friends train tracks for chocolate bars...
...
...not Thomas Foo, lah!

Nevertheless, this is a typical case of overassumption, oversight and premature conclusion that China is to blame for everything. From the article, there could be a possibility that China has been used as a scapegoat for every MNC blunders; the fact that so many of these substandard products exist in China, has been exploited by these despicable corporations as an excuse for their own faults.

So, let this clear the smokescreen: when you see your child accidentally swallow a made-in-China Barbie's head, it might not have anything to do with China but the child un-friendly design of the doll. And who designed it? *pretends to not look at the holier-than-thou Westerners*

Oh, and here's my word of advice to Mr. Thomas (again, not Thomas Foo, lah!) Debrowski: fire your media correspondent!

Labels: articles, Posts by Julian the great, product safety

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Taiwan vice president-elect may meet China's Hu
Sun Apr 6, 2008 6:25am EDT
Contributed by Julian Po

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's vice president-elect may meet Chinese leader Hu Jintao at a trade fair in China this week, local media said on Sunday, an unprecedented step that would underline the chances for a thaw after years of diplomatic chill.

The trip comes soon after a landslide victory by President-elect Ma Ying-jeou and running mate Vincent Siew in elections last month on a platform to repair strained ties with China, which considers the self-ruled island its own.

Siew, who heads the Cross-Strait Common Market Foundation, will be leading a Taiwan delegation to the annual Boao Forum For Asia in China's southern island province of Hainan.
"Mr. Siew should be able to go. China hasn't said no and that's why we've decided to announce to everybody that we'll be going to the forum on April 11 and returning on April 13," Yu-chi Wang, spokesman for the delegation told Reuters by telephone.

Wang said it was not confirmed whether there would be a meeting between Siew and Hu, though local media, including Taiwan's TVBS television station and the United Daily News, said the two might meet since Hu would be attending the event this year.

The Taiwan Affairs Office was unavailable for comment.

Official talks between China and Taiwan have been suspended since 1999, when Taiwan's former president, Lee Teng-hui, redefined ties as "special state-to-state" relations.

But with the election of the more China-friendly Ma, some analysts believe more than half a century of hostility and tension between China and Taiwan might finally come to an end.

Siew, an ex-premier who has also held top economics posts in Taiwan, has been attending the annual forum in China over the past few years.

China sees Taiwan as a wayward province and wants to bring the island under its fold, by force if necessary. Despite political differences, trade ties have flourished and China has since become Taiwan's top trading partner and favourite investment destination.

(Reporting by Meg Shen and Ian Ransom in Beijing, writing by Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Julian's comments:
Ah yes, aren't we tired of Ah Bian's antagonistic, obonoxious attempts to internationalise Taiwan by renaming national monuments?

Finally, we have two political figures in Taiwan who understand the benefits of a united China, albeit One China, Two Systems. I mean, for the interest of everyone, Taiwan + Hong Kong + Macau + reunification with Mainland = 三媳妇回娘家 = one big, happy family, right?

Mind the digression, but China should be commended for wisely refraining from interfering with 2008's Taiwanese elections. Considering the amount of negative news pin-pointed towards China recently, having "China and Taiwan: 4th Straits Crisis" on the headlines would officially snub the former's dream of hosting a great Olympics.

On the Taiwanese side, the growing evidence of their loss of competitiveness to China would, all the more, necessitate greater economic cooperation between both parties. And with Hong Kong now on China's side (Imagine David + Goliath versus, erm, Mini David) and Japan starting to recover from recession, Taiwan is beginning to feel the pressure of compromising national interests for economic ones. Like Steve Martin would put it, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

Besides, with all the failed pleas to secure a seat in the UN, and with so few countries on official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, being nice to the Big Bro. aka China would seem like the only way to truly internationalise Taiwan and give her the status that she desperately craves for. So, are you listening, Ah Bian?

UPDATE! New article on China-Taiwan relations!

China to honour its commitment to send pandas to Taiwan
From The Hindu News Update Service

Beijing (PTI) China on Friday said it stood by its commitment to send two giant pandas to Taiwan, a move seen by many as Beijings 'panda diplomacy' to soften its ties with the self-ruled island.

Chinas offer to send the pandas was earlier rejected by Taiwan's outgoing administration of Chen Shui-bian, apparently under pressure from pro-independence forces who saw Beijings move as a "propaganda ploy".

However, in a major boost to China's attempts at establishing closer relations with Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou, who is in favour of closer ties with Beijing scored a landslide victory in the recent presidential elections.

The newly elected Taiwanese leader recently gave his approval to receive the two pandas from China.

He said as Taipei mayor earlier, he had supported acceptance of the giant pandas from China and "so I am in favour of receiving the pandas".

The panda pair, named Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan characters that go together meaning unite were healthy and happy at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre in southwestern Sichuan province of China, the State Forestry Administration spokesman Cao Qingyao said, according to Xinhua news agency.

"To let our Taiwan compatriots meet these two pandas at an early date, we hope that relevant organizations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will start communication and negotiations as soon as possible," Qingyao said.

Taipei and Taichung cities and Hsinchu county are vying with each other to host the pandas from the mainland, after the victory of Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan media said.

Taiwan had split from China during the civil war in 1949 but Beijing claims it to be part of its territory.

Labels: articles, Panda, Posts by Julian the great, Taiwan

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Read the Writing on the Great Wall
Commentary: Read the Writing on the Great Wall
Jay Weiner for Business Week
Contributed by Julian Po

The world is watching China, and what it sees isn't pretty. But Beijing still has time to get the messageSeven years ago, when the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2008 Games to China, the Olympics were supposed to bestow on Beijing a sheen of progress.

Operating under the quintet of intertwined circles and the high-minded values that are trademarks of the Olympic Movement, it was thought, would compel Beijing's rulers to be more open, more democratic.

But now the five rings are starting to choke China. Instead of a sporting event that nudges the Chinese regime toward more fairness and transparency, the Games are serving only to highlight events such as the crackdown in Tibet.

Meantime, Human Rights Watch is spotlighting the squalid conditions of the migrant workers building Olympic venues, and on Mar. 31, Dream for Darfur is scheduled to release a "report card" on the response of Olympic corporate sponsors to China's support of "genocide" in Sudan.

To make matters worse, the IOC just announced that Beijing's miserable air quality might mean rescheduling endurance events. But no, there won't be an official boycott. The EU says it won't back one. And President Bush's Treasury owes too much money to China for the U.S. to rain on the most important parade since The Long March. Besides, a series of boycotts from 1976-84 almost destroyed the Olympics and punished no one but hard-working athletes.

"Boycotts don't work," says Jill Savitt, executive director of Dream for Darfur, a group pressuring China over its support of the Sudanese regime. "Boycotts are tired. They're old school. They're kind of fringy and lefty."

The political stage belongs to those who show up, not to those who stay away. Ask the angry Tibetan monks. So with a little more than four months to go until Opening Ceremonies, China's coming-out party has become a steady drip of organized protest. China's leaders can whine that there is no connection between politics and sports, but only the naive take them seriously.

The Olympics are a political event and have been forever thus. The Internet and YouTube—when they're not blocked by censors—will turn the runup to these Games into viral political theater. In the be-careful-what-you-wish-for department, the whole world will be watching China—and not just what Beijing wants it to watch.

ENDURING OPTIMISM

The touching contradiction is that, deep down, the people seem to want the Olympics to serve as a channel for what they call "public diplomacy"—the projection of the values and opinions of China to the rest of us, not the formal, measured diplomacy of dark suits in ornate rooms.

They're hoping for a transfer of good vibes. "Beijing's citizens want to be perfect hosts," says Zhong Xin, an associate professor of journalism and communication at Beijing's Renmin University and a visiting research fellow at the University of Maryland.

One fascinating finding from a survey of Beijing residents revealed that an overwhelming number saw the Olympics as an opportunity for "Chinese officials [to] show their capability in dealing with tough issues," Zhong says. So maybe it's helpful that all this dissent has come now.

China's decision-makers have time to digest the world's reactions and adjust their behavior accordingly. But if the leadership can't—or won't—read the clear signals, if they stonewall, if they censor, if they bludgeon, the Olympic Games will become a mere sideshow. And those five rings, once filled with so much promise, will become rings of fire.

Jay Weiner, based in St. Paul, Minn., has covered every Olympics since 1984 and will be in Beijing.

Julian's comments:

Like myself (an OCD sufferer,) China is realising that nothing can be perfect, not even an Olympic games. As China plays host to one of the largest world events, it is bound to be scrutinised by especially the foreign media.

Since it is impossible (and childish) for "a globalised world" to boycott the Olympics, as in the case of the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Games, China-bashers have decided to use the influential and outspoken traits of the media to publicise their atrocities, hoping to make the Beijing 2008 Games unforgettable... for the wrong reasons. Ah, those scheming jerks. *pretends to not look at the holier-than-thou Westerners*

However, considering the improvement in infrastructure and their ability to contain the Tibet unrests (for now,) China should be commended for doing a good job in preparation for their big celebration on 08/08/08.

What's more, if you were to look at the controversies of other Olympic hosts -- Salt Lake City's bribes on IOC members, Athens eleventh hour completion of olympic venues and London's "Har?! A hideous looking stadium for 470 million pounds!" -- all I could say is, thank goodness for bad air quality in Beijing. *smirks*

Labels: articles, Beijing Olympics, Darfur conflict, Posts by Julian the great, Too bad but I just mentioned Tibet in this article :P

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Sudan's FM lauds China's role in solving Darfur issue
February 25, 2008
Xinhua News

Taken from: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/25/content_7662170.htm


Liu Guijin (L), the Chinese government's special representative for Darfur, shakes hands with Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, on Feb. 24, 2008.(Xinhua Photo)Photo Gallery>>>
KHARTOUM, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor Sunday said China is very much welcome in helping the country find a solution to the Darfur issue.
China is not directly involved in the Darfur conflict, but as a partner, "China is using its good relations with Sudan to help it solve the Darfur issue," Alor told reporters after a 40-minute meeting with Liu Guijin, the Chinese government's special representative for Darfur.
"There is a perception in the West that China is helping Sudan, whether directly or indirectly, (do something) against the Darfur region. And I think it is the responsibility of our government and China to change that perception," said the top Sudanese diplomat.
"China is not here to help Sudan in a way that will prompt the Darfur conflict to continue. China is here to help Sudan in issues regarding economic developments. China is here to help build Sudan, and China is engaged in business not only in the oil sector, but also other sectors," Alor said.
Commenting on some Western organizations' threat to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games, Alor said, "What they should do is to solve the Darfur issue in a right direction, instead of putting more pressure on China."
Alor expected the Beijing Olympic Games to be a success despite the pressure on China over Darfur.
Liu Guijin(C), the Chinese government's special representative for Darfur, talks with Rodolphe Adada(L), Joint Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) for Darfur, in Khartoum, capital of Sudan on Feb. 24, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)Photo Gallery>>>
The minister also reiterated that Sudan is willing to improve relations with Western countries and work with the international community to find a quick solution to the Darfur conflict.
After talks, Liu told reporters that they had had a good discussion on the Darfur issue and its settlement.
China is ready to further cooperation with Sudan, the United Nations, the African Union, regional countries and all parties concerned to find a long-term and proper solution to the Darfur issue, said the Chinese envoy.
Liu said the peacekeeping task conducted by the hybrid U.N. and African Union (AU) force in Darfur has already achieved some progress, which is largely neglected by the Western media.
The envoy said people in Darfur have suffered too long, urging all parties involved in the conflict to find a quick solution.
Liu Guijin (L), the Chinese government's special representative for Darfur, and Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor attend a press conference in Khartoum, capital of Sudan on Feb. 24, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)Photo Gallery>>>
"We need a quick solution. We need the conflict in Darfur to end sooner," he said.
Liu also held consultations with Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Mutrif Siddig.
After a trip to Britain, Liu arrived here Sunday for a four-day visit, the fourth since his appointment on May 10, 2007.
The former Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe and South Africa has been engaged in African affairs for more than 25 years. During his previous missions, Liu shuttled between the United States, Britain, Egypt and other countries concerned to seek support for a solution to the Darfur issue.

Comments by Elaine: After reading this article, I find that is a biased view that favours China. As the report is made by the local Xinhua news agency, it is understandable that they publish such pro-China articles. The article states that China is helping Sudan economically and not prompting the Darfur conflict. While, foreign sources have stated that China has supplied Sudan with weapons and aircraft in a bid to obtain natural resources, namely oil. However, some may also say that reports by the foreign media are similarly biased against China and may be classified as “China-bashing”. Therefore, it is important to question both sides of the story on the Darfur Conflict and their respective motives.

Labels: articles, Darfur conflict, posted by elaine

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China's Curious Olympic Terror Threat
Monday, Mar. 10, 2008
By Simon Elegant/Beijing

Taken from:
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1720909,00.html

The dramatic news came in the midst of China's staid and boring annual legislature: a terrorist hijacking plot, perhaps meant to mar the coming Olympic Games, had been stopped. Security forces had thwarted a plot to "create an air disaster," Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, told reporters at the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC). Apparently, on Mar. 7, a hijacking attempt by separatists from the Muslim-majority province of Xinjiang had been foiled. Initial reports stated that China Southern flight CZ6901 had made an emergency landing in the northwestern city of Lanzhou at about 12:40 p.m. after an apparent attempt to blow up the aircraft. The plane was en route from the Xinjiang capital Urumqi for Beijing.
The news however has been met with considerable skepticism outside China, particularly since details of the incident remain confusingly murky. According to the English-language China Daily, Bekri declined to give more details, only saying that the authorities are investigating "who the attackers are, where they are from and what their background is... But we can be sure that this was a case intending to create an air crash." Some details began to emerge later of between two and four hijackers, possibly carrying gasoline. But concrete information remained elusive.
Russell Leigh Moses, a China analyst based in Beijing, says that affair clearly provided the authorities with an opportunity to reiterate that the rulers of the People's Republic would brook no resistance to their will in troubled areas like Xinjiang and Tibet. It parallels a growing security crackdown on public interest lawyers, activists and other dissenting voices. Says Moses: "It's not what a lot of people outside China expected from the Games. I think there has been a conscious decision at the highest levels of the party that showing some teeth for deterrence sake is much more domestically viable than marching off into the unknown of reform and relaxation."
The paucity of details and the apparent laxness with which Chinese security officials treated the hijacking incident were particularly curious to Steven Tsang, a China specialist at St. Anthony's College, Oxford University. He noted that among the numerous anomalies in the accounts of the incident, the most glaring was that after stopping in Lanzhou, the airplane had apparently been allowed to continue its scheduled flight to Beijing. "This is more like an air rage incident in which you land and get rid of the troublesome passengers and then continue on to your destination. There's no way any anti-terrorism police would have released the plane and passengers to fly on without extensive interviews of the passengers, forensic examination of the plane and so on." Tsang also noted that it was particularly easy to blame a shadowy Islamic separatists movement in the build-up to the Beijing Olympics, possibly as a deterrent to those or any other groups who might want to disrupt the Games.
Some observers also wondered at the timing of the announcement — coming as it did smack in the middle of the annual session of the NPC, when media attention is focused on the capital. "This is exactly the kind of thing that happens around the time of the National People's Congress," says Russell Leigh Moses of the China Center in Beijing. "Cadres who don't necessarily get noticed a lot normally want to be seen as publicly carrying out the orders of the central government."
Indeed, if there is anything that will get the attention of the central government, it is the threat of terrorism. Chinese officials routinely declare that terrorism is "the greatest threat to the Olympic Games," as Minister of Public Security Zhou Youngkang put it last year. China's security forces exercise iron control and virtually unchecked powers. And yet the paranoia persists, stoked over the weekend by the Xinjiang delegation to the NPC. Bekri was not alone in making his announcement. Xinjiang Party Secretary Wang Lequan joined in the tough talk: "Terrorists, saboteurs and splittists are to be battered resolutely, no matter what ethnic group they are from."
The alleged attempt to blow up an airliner is the latest in a series of incidents relating to Xinjiang that have been made public in recent months. In January, the Chinese authorities said they had broken up a group calling itself East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), killing two and arresting 15 others. Chinese media suggested the group might have ties to al-Qaeda. Last November, Chinese media carried stories detailing death sentences against five ethnic Uighurs, natives of Xinjiang, for allegedly plotting terrorist activities. Chinese authorities say a small group of separatists is attempting to overthrow Chinese rule in the province and establish an independent Uighur state. The Lanzhou incident is bound to increase scrutiny and repression of Uighur dissent — with a Chinese public eager and concerned for a successful Olympics likely to be supportive of any new crackdown.


Comments by Elaine: This article is interesting as it focuses on the current issue of the war against terror. This is an especially glaring issue for China with the upcoming 2008 Olympics. Like the article states it is important to note that this “terror threat” was publicized during the NPC session and could be seen as a political move and also to deter any trouble makers who may want to disrupt the games in August. However, another point of view would be to question why is there Uyghur dissent in the first place? As we have studied in the “transnational issues” topic last year, it is the separatists who want to attain independence for Xinjiang using both violent and peaceful means. It is important to consider the Uyghurs relations with Beijing. Have they deteriorated to the point that the Uyghurs have to resort to terrorist means to get what they want? But then again, not all Uyghurs wish to establish an independent state, some just wish for more autonomy or for assimilation. Thus, we should not take everything at face value and should sometimes question further.

Labels: articles, posted by elaine, Uyghur, war on terror

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Can China and India Be Friends?
Link: http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1697595,00.html

To understand the significance of 100 Indian soldiers spending a week running around southwestern China alongside troops from that country's People's Liberation Army in mock battles against imaginary terrorists, it is worth noting that Operation Hand in Hand is the first-ever joint exercise between these two armies. They fought each other in 1962, and have not exactly warmed to one another in the decades since, for much of which India was close to China's erstwhile communist rival, the Soviet Union, while China has been a reliable ally of India's arch-foe, Pakistan. "The two sides will be like two porcupines facing each other," says Delhi-based security analyst C. Uday Bhaskar, "They have had little contact for 40 years, and a negative perception of the other still prevails, more so, perhaps, on the Indian side."
The joint exercise follows a series of smaller steps to break the ice, including a joint mountaineering expedition and joint naval exercises. In 2006, Beijing and New Delhi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) providing for regular war games and annual defense summits. The thaw in the long-time Sino-Indian cold war began with the 1996 visit of Chinese Premier Jiang Zemin to New Delhi. Since elevating the relationship to a "strategic partnership" in 2005, the two countries have seen bilateral trade exceed $20 billion last year, and have worked together to voice common concerns in such international forums as the WTO and the Bali climate-change talks. "Sino-India relations are definitely on an upswing," says Dipanker Banerjee, director of the Delhi-based Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. "The army exercises are a result of a natural progression of events, so they are a welcome step."
Not everyone is as optimistic. Chief among the irritants to the relationship is a continuing border dispute: India accuses China of illegally occupying 43,180 square kilometers (16,672 square miles) of territory belonging to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, including 5,180 square kilometers (2,000 square miles) ceded to China by Pakistan. China, on its part, accuses India of occupying some 90,000 square kilometers (34,749 square miles) of Chinese territory, mostly in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Recently, Indian security experts have raised alarm over China's alleged military build-up near India's north-east, while India's Indo-Tibetan Border Police has revealed that there have been 141 border incursions by the Chinese in the past year.
"The Chinese have actually hardened their stance regarding the border issue," says Brahma Chellaney, a strategic studies expert with the Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, "Last year, the Chinese Ambassador reiterated the Chinese claim on Arunachal Pradesh, and since then they have been trying to put the onus for settlement of the border issue disproportionately on India."
India is also concerned by China's burgeoning and secretive defense expenditure, its building of road and rail links along the border, and its "string of pearls" strategy of setting up naval bases in the Indian Ocean. But China has its own strategic concerns, particularly the fact that India is being courted by the U.S. in a strategy aimed at forging a regional alliance comprising India, Japan, Australia and the U.S. To that end, last September, India held joint naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal with the U.S., Australia, Japan and Singapore, soon after China's military exercises with Russia and the Central Asian members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. China has also been protesting against India's refusal to allow Chinese direct investment in Indian ports, telecommunications and other sectors for security reasons.
This week's Sino-Indian military exercises are aimed at defusing some of this tension. "The exercises will help build military confidence between two nations that have a record of supporting dissidents on the other side — India in Tibet and China in India's North-East," says foreign affairs expert C. Raja Mohan. "They both now share a counter-terror agenda, and it is an important step forward for the two to collaborate." On the domestic political front, the exercises also offer the Indian government an opportunity to quiet criticism from its leftwing coalition partners over its pro-U.S. tilt.
Given its scale, Operation Hand in Hand is essentially symbolic, although it may set the stage for bigger and more regular war games in future. "However," says Chellaney, "Sino-Indian relations need to move beyond mere symbolic gestures towards more substantive steps to resolve outstanding issues." As the economic and security architecture of Asia is re-drawn, competition for resources and influence is likely to grow between Asia's second and third biggest economies. But this need not necessarily lead to tension, as Bhaskar points out: "What matters is how China wants to see India in the long run — as a worthy global power, or as an antagonist that must be mired in South Asia. In the past China has leaned towards the latter approach; it has been arming Pakistan to bog India down. But the way things are evolving, particularly with continuing economic globalization, that may not continue to be the case." Both India and China realize that they need peace to stay on their high growth trajectories. And for this, hand-in-hand will work better than fist-to-fist.

Posted by: Terence Tan

Labels: articles, posted by Terence

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China's Perfect Storm
Link: http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1708575,00.html

Bedraggled and wet, Gao Biao stands in front of the Guangzhou train station with an umbrella in his hand and stares glumly at the crush of people in front of him. For the past year the 27-year-old has worked for a cosmetics factory in this southern Chinese city, and now he's trying to get home to see his mother near Suzhou in eastern China, 20 hours away by rail. He's going to miss his connection. Around him hundreds of people, all hoping to find seats, push toward an opening in the metal fence surrounding the station as a police officer shouts into a megaphone, calling for order. The hands of the giant neon green station clock tick closer to Gao's 9:56 p.m. departure time, but the line is as frozen as the temperature. "There's nothing I can do," he says. "I don't think I'll be getting on that train."
Gao is one of more than half a million travelers who were stuck outside the station in the closing days of January after some of the most severe weather in decades brought China to a virtual standstill. Unusually frigid weather and heavy snowfall severed crucial transport arteries including major rail lines, highways and airports; power outages rolled across 17 provinces, forcing factories and businesses to close. The southern part of the country, which hadn't seen snow like this since 1954, was woefully unprepared. Even more northerly cities such as Shanghai, which is near the coast, were staggered by winter's wallop. At least 49 deaths were blamed on the storms.
The weird weather hit at a particularly bad time. Every year, in what is often called the world's largest annual migration, an estimated 180 million mainlanders go on holiday or travel home to be with their families to celebrate the Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year. Millions of these travelers are migrant workers — the real dynamo driving China's economic boom — who leave behind their jobs in factories and construction sites across the country for one of the few vacations many are allowed to take. But this year is different. Bad weather is making travel impossible; millions have been stranded on their journeys home, and with meteorologists predicting more snow in the days ahead for the country's already reeling central and southern regions, the crisis only looks set to worsen.
In a country depicted these days as an economic superpower, the storms were a reminder that for all its gleaming new airports and 2.1 million miles (3.4 million km) of highways, China remains a developing nation with vulnerable, overtaxed infrastructure. Officials said the snow caused more than 100,000 buildings to collapse. Some 6,000 vehicles carrying 20,000 passengers were stranded on a highway linking the provinces of Anhui and Zhejiang. A rail line that serves as the main link between Guangzhou in the south and the capital Beijing in the north was disabled when heavy snow and ice in Hunan province knocked out power lines, leaving at least 136 trains idled, according to Xinhua, China's official news agency. In neighboring Hubei province, some 100,000 people were without drinking water for several days. In rural Guizhou province, an electrical tower collapsed under the weight of the snow, cutting off power for 41 cities and counties. The supply of coal to dozens of regional power plants was disrupted, resulting in electricity outages throughout the country.
A Shock to the EconomyAlmost 500,000 troops were deployed to help restore transportation links and clean up the devastation, the largest military deployment for a natural disaster since devastating floods almost a decade ago. But the economic damage is already done. The Chinese government estimated storm-related losses at about $3 billion. Economists say this figure is bound to rise. "I'd guess in the end [the crisis] will shave a couple tenths of a percentage point off China's GDP growth this year," says Ben Simpfendorfer, a China economist with the Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong. That's not much considering that the country's GDP growth rate was 11.4% last year. But the situation may have been made worse because factories were forced to close and shipments disrupted just as the country's industrial base typically cranks up production to make up for the one- or two-week breaks many manufacturers take for the New Year holiday.
Exporters will get off relatively lightly, because most are located in warmer coastal provinces near ports, says Stephen Green, senior economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai. Hardest hit will be producers that rely heavily on electricity such as aluminum and steel makers. But few companies will escape unscathed. Million Freight, a logistics company based in the normally balmy southern city of Shenzhen, was forced to stop taking new shipments on Jan. 28 because existing freight was stacking up. "Nearly all trains coming in and leaving from Shenzhen are delayed by seven or eight hours," says an executive at the company surnamed Feng. The company also owns more than 200 trucks but the snow "affects our highway transportation more than it does railways," Feng says. "We used to ship two 40-foot containers daily, but given the weather conditions, we stopped our truck traffic completely on the 25th." Although it's hard to give an exact number for the losses the company faces, they "will no doubt be substantial," Feng sighs.
The Inflation FactorStorm-related economic problems are likely to be temporary, but they are still worrisome because the nation is already facing the possibility of reduced growth if the U.S. slumps into a recession. In China, "risks to growth also inevitably mean risks to [social] stability," says Patrick Horgan, China managing director for Washington, D.C.-based consultants APCO Worldwide. "On a big scale like this, it's no longer just about the weather but about the ability of the government to govern." And if you had to pick one area of the economy that scares the authorities in China the most it would have to be inflation, which hits citizens where it hurts most — in the wallet. The country's consumer price index hit an 11-year high of 6.5% in October due largely to rising food and fuel costs. The storms will almost certainly cause another spike. Frigid temperatures across 14 provinces in China are destroying vegetable crops and will "push up food prices further in January and February," says Jun Ma, chief China economist at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. The consequences could be serious, says Simpfendorfer of the Royal Bank of Scotland. "Even if [inflation] creeps up to 7.5%, that grabs the headlines and will affect expectations."
There have been no reports of protests, but consumers are testy. On Jan. 29, Zhang Liying, a 36-year-old mother of one, shuffled into the supermarket near her apartment outside Shanghai, knocked snow off of her boots and started shopping for dinner. Bundled up against bitter temperatures, she had ridden her scooter to the store and was "frozen now," she said. But when Zhang got to the vegetable section, you could practically see the steam coming from her ears. Half a kilo of greens now cost 1.09 renminbi (about 15?). "Before the snow, a week ago, it was only 0.59 renminbi!" she said. "How can that be?"
The government has imposed price controls on some goods to keep inflation in check, but such policies may be making matters worse. For example, Beijing imposed price controls on utilities in early 2006, stabilizing electricity rates. But at the same time the price of coal, used to generate some 80% of the country's electricity, was left to be set by market forces. With coal prices rising, some power companies curtailed purchases because their profit margins were being squeezed and they were unable to compensate by hiking rates. With reduced stockpiles, the utilities were unable to generate enough electricity when the cold snap hit and power demand soared — and transport disruptions made it difficult or impossible to replenish supplies. Official media say plants that produce 10% of China's power are now reduced to less than three days of coal reserves. To cope with the problem, authorities have banned exports of coal mined in China and diverted shipments bound for factories to power plants. A more lasting solution — allowing utilities to pass on at least part of the price rises to consumers in order to reduce demand — simply isn't an option now because of the political sensitivity of inflation.
Damage ControlGovernment officials — perhaps mindful of the criticism that was heaped on U.S. President George W. Bush's Administration after it was slow to react to the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster — are keenly aware of the importance of managing China's big freeze. "This government has made competence a cornerstone of their administration even more than their predecessors," says Horgan, the APCO consultant. So the state propaganda machine has been working flat out to show how officials are trying to ease the crisis. The main China Central Television channel regularly airs a special program called "Battling the Blizzard." An often repeated news clip shows Premier Wen Jiabao picking up a bullhorn and apologizing to a crowd of disgruntled travelers trapped in the train station in Changsha, the icy capital of Hunan province. (Even the Premier was inconvenienced by the weather: his plane couldn't land in Changsha and was forced to divert to Wuhan, 180 miles away. Wen arrived in the capital by train.) "I'm very sorry that you are stranded and not able to go home earlier," Wen told the throng. "We are doing our best to fix things so that you will all be home."
With tens of millions still on the road and forecasts predicting more bad weather, Wen may have committed the political sin of overpromising. But one political sin can often be expunged by another: deflecting the blame. A news clip airing on state television features an interview with a young migrant worker who insists loudly — and to the beaming approval of the collected cadres — that the crisis is "a natural disaster, not caused by administrative or leadership problems." True enough, but in a country where the public is constantly reminded of the omnipotence of the central government, some citizens may not be easily convinced that China's top leaders are not somehow responsible for the weather, too.
— with reporting by Bill Powell/Shanghai and Austin Ramzy/Guangzhou

Posted by: Terence Tan

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Chinese influence in Brazil worries US
April 3, 2006, By Humphrey Hawksley BBC Newsnight, Sao Paulo Taken from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4872522.stm

While the United States has been fighting its war on terror, a new political idea has begun to punch through with such weight that alarm bells have begun ringing loudly in Washington.
Under the slogan of "peaceful rising", China is selling itself to the developing world as an alternative model for ending poverty.

The pitch is now winning an audience in Latin America, and Washington is despatching the assistant secretary of state responsible for the region, Thomas Shannon, to Beijing to find out what is going on.

His aim is to negotiate the precise line which China must not cross in creating its new strategic alliance with Latin America, which has seen billions of dollars of Chinese money earmarked for infrastructure, transport, energy and defence projects there.

"We want to make sure we don't get our wires crossed," said one official arranging the talks.
The spectre of an encroaching China is made worse by a string of elections which has produced populist and US-sceptic, left-wing leaders. During the Cold War they would probably never have survived in office.

The latest may be retired army commander Ollanta Humala, who is leading the opinion polls in the Peruvian presidential election due on 9 April.

"We're concerned about the leftist countries that are dealing with China," says Congressman Dan Burton, the Republican chairman of the sub-committee on the Western Hemisphere.

"It's extremely important that we don't let a potential enemy of the US become a dominant force in this part of the world."

'Alliance of giants'
While China pleads innocence, more and more voices in Washington are chastising President George W Bush for failing to act as decisively against China.

"As a nation we need to understand that this Communist dictatorship is a government without a conscience," says Senator Lindsey Graham who has recently been to China.
"The status quo cannot be accepted and tolerated by this country any more than the Soviet Union's practices were tolerated by Ronald Reagan."

In Brazil itself, the view is very different. It is about two developing countries, the giants of their regions, forming a natural alliance.

"It's wonderful. It's amazing," says Alexandre Solis, an aircraft engineer who spent more than two years in the Chinese city of Harbin, setting up a joint venture for the ultra hi-tech Brazilian Embraer commuter jet company.

"They wanted all the information we could give them because they are determined to be best in the world."
'Nowhere else'

The flurry of China-Brazil business began less than two years ago after an exchange of visits between Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Since then China's influence can be seen everywhere in Latin America: oil, gas, railways, ports, steel and - worryingly for the US - defence.

In Sao Paulo, Chinese language classes are packed. Not only are students taught how to speak Mandarin, but they are also guided in cultural habits such as attending banquets and singing Chinese folk songs.

"Everything I do is with China now," says one student Priscila Marques, who runs a freight forwarding company. "It's Brazil-China; nowhere else."

The nub of Mr Shannon's Beijing visit, however, is to determine how much can be put down to simply business and how much China plans to export its own political system and power.
"The Chinese government has achieved the greatest victory in the history of human rights," says Charles Tang, who heads the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and who has been behind many of the joint-venture initiatives.

"It has removed 400 million Chinese people from poverty and enabled them to live with dignity and take part in economic life. That is the true measure of human rights.
"Brazil should analyse why China grows so much and Brazil so little."

Monroe doctrine
Washington's political protectionism of Latin America dates as far back as 1823 when President James Monroe decreed that no foreign power would have more influence there than the US itself.

The Monroe Doctrine was last used in earnest during the Cold War, when just about every Latin American country which veered to the left - from Chile to Nicaragua - experienced some form of US intervention.

This time, as China gathers confidence, ideological debate will be over which political system - Western democracy or Chinese authoritarianism - delivers more people from poverty, and whether freedom should be measured in terms of wealth or elections.

In Beijing and Washington it might be viewed as a contest of ideas, but on the ground in Latin America it could turn into something darkly familiar.
"We should always look at Latin America in relation to the Monroe Doctrine," says Congressman Burton.

"There already are [Chinese] military exchanges and hardware being sold - or given to Latin American countries. You can rest assured the US is going to do everything it can to make sure this hemisphere is safe."

Labels: articles, posted by Thomas, Sino-US Relations

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China: Darfur, a reason to say No

February 16, 2008, Global Voices Online
Taken from: http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/02/16/china-darfura-reason-to-say-no/

Labels: articles, Beijing Olympics, posted by Thomas

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Chinese School
Date of article unknown, BBC World
Taken from: http://www.bbcworld.com/pages/ProgrammeFeature.aspxid=154&FeatureID=560

This four-part series explores the unique issues and priorities facing a Chinese School. Life in a Chinese School shares all the delights and challenges of schooling throughout the world, with its unique issues and priorities. How has the One Child Policy affected parental expectations, classmate relationships and social values?

Chinese School – Episode 1

There are 350 million children enrolled in further education across China, but ‘Chinese School’ takes as its subject one small town in rural Anhui, and focuses on the lives of a group of families, teachers and children during the course of a single academic year. It’s a school like many thousands of others across this vast nation, but through the individual stories of hardship, joy and success, an extraordinary portrait emerges of a Nation, a town and a group of children in the midst of enormous change.We follow headmistress Mrs Zhang from Ping Min Primary School, as she heads deep into the Anhui mountains in order to recruit new children to start on their long march through the Chinese education system. As a charitable foundation, her school is able to offer a chance to some of the Province’s most disadvantaged children and give them the chance of a better life. For these very poor children, a good education is theirs and their family’s best way out of poverty, so the stakes are incredibly high.At Haiyang Middle School, 16 year old Liu Xiang is fighting to get the grades he needs to get him into the town’s best school, and equally desperate to learn how to drive his dad’s taxi. As an only child, the pressure on him to pass his exams is immense, but if he can get the grades, dad has promised he can also get behind the wheel.And at the town’s best school – Xiuning Key School – 17 year old Wu Yifei is also under enormous pressure of her own. She’s thought to be the smartest student in the school’s 100 year history, has the hopes of the town riding on her shoulders, and is the entire focus of her parent’s attention. Mum has given up her career in order to cook and look after her daughter, and her teachers all expect her to excel. But success won’t come easily, and studying until midnight and beyond is the norm.

Chinese School – Episode 2

This episode explores themes of exam pressure, the one child policy, new entrepreneurialism, relationships & gender, pollution & the legacy of Chairman Mao.In a country where it's rare to have a sibling, the pressure on school-age children is immense & never more so than at exam time. It's May and the heat of summer is setting in. In this episode the senior students face the all-important Gao Kao exams. Their results can mean the difference between poverty & prosperity for their entire extended family. For star pupil Wu Yi Fei the stakes are extremely high. Her School – Xiuning Key School - expects her to come in the top ten in the entire province – over half a million students.Meanwhile at Ping Min primary school 8 year old Chen Chao is looking forward to becoming a Young Communist Pioneer. China’s one child policy sets Cheng Chao apart from his classmates – he’s one of only 5 pupils at the school who have an elder brother, something his parents risked everything for.We meet Wu Lin whose concern about the future of her country sees her researching the polluted river near her school & striving to win an English speech contest in the process. Son of migrant worker parents Wang Jian Wen is over the moon when a broken arm brings a surprise from the city. Wang Ling Qi is too cool for school & is more interested in hanging out with his girlfriend, but he knows if he doesn’t knuckle down he’ll end up working in his Dad’s motorcycle component factory & not fulfilling his dream to be a designer in the city.

Chinese School - Episode 3

It’s the start of a new school year and for sixteen year old Liu Xiang all his hard work at Haiyang Middle School has paid off as he’s been accepted into Xiuning’s Number One School. We follow Liu Xiang through the first month at his new school – undertaking compulsory military training with his new classmates and his introduction to life at Xiuning School under the watchful eye of class teacher Mr He. For Mr He’s previous star pupil Wu Yifei it’s also a new beginning at China’s prestigious Qinghua University in Beijing. We follow Wu Yifei and her parents and her grandparents make the journey to Beijing to settle her into university and follow Wu Yifei starting her life as a student among China’s elite scholars. Finally it’s also a new start for 6 year old Cheng Liu Hui Mei at Ping Min Primary School. We follow Cheng Liu Hui Mei and her fellow classmates as they learn to live away from their parents for the first time and start their educational journey guided by Headteacher Mrs Zhang.

Chinese School - Episode 4

The series Chinese School continues, with the excitement of the Olympics taking a hold.China's first ever Olympic games are on the near horizon. Xiuning county may be 1000 miles from Beijing, but that hasn't stopped Olympic fever reaching its schools.It's Autumn and with the heat of summer and exams behind them, it's time for the students to hit the sports field.With 3400 students, Haiyang Middle school is the largest school in the county. For the deputy head teacher, sports day is a mammoth undertaking, while School Radio DJ Zha Yujie sees it as the highlight of the year. She takes to the stage to support her friends as they tackle the events of the track & field.At Ping Min primary school they're holding their first ever sports day. Young champion Dai Deli is the fastest runner in school and determined to take gold, but, as always, there are lessons to be learned all round.

Labels: articles, One-Child Policy, posted by Thomas

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Sino-US relations in the eyes of Chinese: Survey

March 04, 2005, People's Daily Online
Taken from: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200503/04/eng20050304_175552.html

How Chinese view the United States? How they regard Americans and the Sino-US relations? What views Americans hold of China, the Chinese and the Sino-US relations? These are questions of great concern to the diplomatic and academic circles in China and the US. Much press coverage has been devoted to the views of Chinese, but they often stop short of making studies based on surveys. Around the Chinese traditional Lantern Festival the Global Times, with the help of the Institute of American Studies of the CASS and professional polling firms, conducted a public poll in the strict sense in five Chinese major cities.
How Chinese view the United States?

On Feb.27 all the survey data have been collected, which lead to the following results:
Among the citizens in these cities those who felt satisfied but not particularly, satisfied and very satisfied accounted for 51.9 percent, 18 percent and 1 percent respectively. Altogether they accounted for 70.9 percent.

Those who liked Americans but not particularly and those who liked Americans made up the majority with the rates at 52.9 percent and 13.2 percent respectively totaling 66.1 percent.
49.2 percent of the surveyed believed the US was the rival of China. In the meantime, those who regarded the US as a friendly country, a model of imitation and a cooperation partner accounted for 10.4 percent, 11.7 percent and 25.6 percent respectively totaling 47.7 percent.

As many as 56.7 percent of the surveyed believed the US was actually containing China.
60.5 percent believed the main issue that was going to shape the Sino-US relations was the Taiwan question.

Of the options for dissatisfaction with the US government greater people selected "selling weapons to Taiwan" than any other options, about 37.6 percent. 31.7 percent selected "waging the war in Iraq" and 7.9 percent selected "strengthening military ties with Japan".
Those who believed China and the US would or would probably have clash in the future on account of the Taiwan question represented 11.9 percent and 41.2 percent respectively. They together made up more than half. However, about 40 percent believed the possibility to be small or nonexistent.

The surveyed generally held negative attitude toward the US' repeatedly raising issues on China's human rights. 49.3 percent of the surveyed believed the US action to be effort at disturbing China's stability. 10.4 percent thought that it was smearing China's image. 19.1 percent believed the US didn't understand the situation in China. The three groups, together, amounted to 78.8 percent. Only 15.7 percent of the surveyed said the US was promoting democratic construction in China.

50.7 percent of the surveyed believed there had been no major changes in the Sino-US relations in recent years and those who believed the Sino-US relations to be growing good in recent years accounted for 27.3 percent.

Of the surveyed those who believed the development of the Sino-US relations sped up China's economic development and promoted China's opening up and reform accounted for 61.92 percent and 49.31 percent respectively.

Respectively 45.0 percent and 29.4 percent of the surveyed expected the Sino-US relations in President Bush's second term to remain the same or improve more or less. But there were also 11.7 percent who believed the relations would deteriorate.
More than half of the surveyed believed the influence of the American culture on China was half good and half bad. The proportion was 55.7 percent while 22 percent believed the influence to be positive.

Of the surveyed greater proportion admired the scientific and technological development in the US - 43.7 percent, than that who did its sound legal system and affluence, which were 20.9 percent and 17.9 percent respectively.

Among Chinese urban residents many held positive opinion on the economic exchange between the two countries. Those believing that the exchange promoted political exchange between the two countries and enhanced friendship between the two peoples accounted for 46.18 percent and 46.09 percent respectively.

49.8 percent of the surveyed had no discrimination toward American products on the Chinese market believing that it doesn't matter which country a brand belongs to as long as the product is of good quality and has excellent service. 25.5 percent welcomed American products on the Chinese market believing them to benefit both countries.

31.9 percent of the surveyed could accept cultural products from the US, but believed them to be far away from their ordinary life. Moreover, 27.5 percent expressed their admiration of American cultural products believing many of them to be fine works. Together the two groups who could accept American cultural products made up 59.4 percent.

Apart from this there was also a group of important statistics. 62.7 percent of Chinese urban residents understood the US through mass media. Another 20.7 percent got their impression of the US mainly through American movies. Only 3.7 percent learned of the US through direct contact with the Americans.

Public-opinion poll is a good start

The survey on public opinion of the Sino-US relations was conducted by the Global Times in five major cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chongqing. Ding Gang, deputy director of the International Department of People's Daily, who had been stationed in the US as a journalist and Dr. Li Xianggang with the Institute of American Studies of the CASS, as well as staff of the Global Times put great effort and time into the design of the survey. Director of the American Studies Institute Wang Jixi also made input to the final design of the survey. There were altogether 22 questions on the survey and the Huicong Research Center was responsible for the execution of the survey.

The method of the survey was random sample followed by house-to-house interviews by professional personnel. The survey together collected valid samples of 1,175 persons. The surveying company sent nearly a hundred professionals to the five cities. The interview in each household took about half an hour. Experts believe the survey to be scientific and objective after they learned the whole process of the survey.

Having carefully read the survey results Ding Gang believes the survey conducted so seriously and so scientifically on public opinion of the Sino-US relations to be the first of its kind. Judging from the results the survey reflects, with considerable objectivity, the contemporary Chinese public's general opinion of the US. In the US there are a lot polls on the Americans' opinions of China, said Ding Gang. Authoritative polling firms, think tanks and the media, they all conduct their own polls. What impressed him is that since 1989 renowned professional polling firms such as Gallup Poll and Zogby have been systematically conducting surveys on Americans' opinions of China every year, from which can be observed and analyzed the relation and interaction between the US' policy toward China, China's policy toward the US and the public opinion. This is very important. He hopes that as a good start the survey conducted by the Global Times can hold. After years' constant surveys it can reflect scientifically the change of Chinese opinion of the US and the relation between the change of public-opinion and that of policy.

Yan Xuetong, director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University, and Tao Wenzhao, research fellow at the Institute of American Studies of the CASS, have similar opinions. Tao Wenzhao believes the surveyed people are rather rational and have rather profound understanding of questions such as the Sino-US relations. The survey results are relatively accurate reflection of the public opinion on the US and the Sino-US relations. Surveys such as this one are helpful in knowing the general public's understanding and degree of approval of state diplomatic policy. It is very significant.

A mixture of "love and hatred" between China and the US

After deciphering the survey results Ding Gang said he has a deep impression that like the Americans the Chinese have the conflicting feelings of both love and hatred or, put it another way, both love and fear toward the other.

Similar attitudes can be read from many of the survey results. For example, the majority of Chinese realize that the US is containing China, but there are still many Chinese who like Americans. Yan Xuetong also said the results show that with regard to the Americans and the American society those admiring them are still the majority. When speaking of the US' foreign policies including the policy on China the proportions who disapprove of them are rather large.
Ding Gang took a poll conducted by Zogby last year as an example to illustrate that the Americans also have similar attitude. The poll showed that Americans who held positive opinion of China were increasing. 57 percent Americans believed the Sino-US relations were better than they had been ten years ago. In the meantime, however, another poll showed that 53 percent Americans thought China was posing a great threat to the US in terms of economy. The percentage was high up in the first place. There were still another 22 percent Americans who believed China posed a potential military threat. Ding Gang said such kind of public opinions Americans have for Chinese are, like an American expert on Sino-US relations said, a mixture of love and hatred throughout history.

Mr. Tao Wenzhao has similar feelings. In September 2003, he said, a poll by the CNN and USA Today showed that 9 percent of the interviewed regarded China as an ally. 44 percent believed China to be a friendly country. However, there were still more than 40 percent who regarded China as a threat or potential threat in the meantime. Tao Wenzhao believe the great difference in Americans' understandings of China led to the complexity of its China policy - there are contacts as well as containment and precautions. The same psychology is reflected in China's policy toward the US. On the one hand China actively promotes the development of the Sino-US relations, on the other it has to continually combat the US' policy and acts to contain China.
No too high expectations of the Sino-US relations

Experts on Sino-US relations noticed a fact reflected in the survey. While 56.7 percent realized the US is containing China the satisfaction rate for the Sino-US relations exceeded 70 percent. Yan Xuetong believes the great contrast is closely related to the guidance of the media. Ding Gang, on the other hand, believes apart from the statistics another fact must be taken into consideration, that is, more than half of the surveyed believed there had been no changes to the Sino-US relations in recent years. It can seen that the majority of Chinese do not have as high expectations of the Sino-US relations as one might think. In other words, they have become very realistic. The US' policy toward China, which is both contact and containment, has not seen major changes for a long time. Therefore they do not expect the Sino-US relations to become very sweet. The Americans should take notice of this information. After all, the US also has reasons and motivations to develop the Sino-US relations. The fact that the Chinese have no high expectations of the relations will have negative impact on the development of the Sino-US relations.

This view is also reflected in the fact that nearly half the people believed the US and China had a relationship of rivals. Ding Gang said it requires the US and China to have a correct understanding of their respective policies and to have an overall balancing in the wrestling for their respective national interests. The two countries should consider certain coordination and compromises and try to make reasonable moves so that the competition is carried on in a benign fashion, rather than letting it develop into a vicious competition or even to the degree of confrontation. This is a challenge to the wisdom of the politicians in both China and the US. Tao Wenzhao also told the reporter that the Harvard professor Joseph Nye pointed out that to blend China into the international system and to make China a responsible member is the greatest challenge to the US diplomacy in the 21st century. The former US Secretary of State Kissinger also believes that the future of the Sino-US relations cannot be built on a final strategic face-off. We can see that whether it is in the US or in China the opinion that the Sino-US relations cannot be built on a final strategic face-off is growing stronger. There are differences of opinion between the US and China as well as common interests. From the long-term point of view it is entirely possible to avoid a final strategic face-off.

Speaking of the foundation and drive for developing the Sino-US relations the experts read much from this survey. The survey statistics showed that those who attached importance to the development of the Sino-US trade and economic relations, admired the social and sci-tech development as well as the sound legal system in the US, could accept and identify with the American culture, liked Americans to some extent and were willing to study or live in the US if they had the opportunity and condition made up considerable percentage. It is safe to say that in terms of economics, culture, society, science and education etc. the Chinese public opinion of the US is conducive to the development of the Sino-US relations.

As to the negative factors in developing the Sino-US relations the public opinion and that of the government are consistent in China. Yan Xuetong said the survey show that the Chinese public sees clearly the distinction among the American people, the American society and the American government. All the Chinese public's dissatisfaction with the US is almost concentrated solely on the US's foreign policies, particularly the policy on China. Among other issues the Taiwan question is the core. Above 60 percent believe it to be the main question affecting the Sino-US relations in the future while about 32 percent Americans think the greatest issue in the Sino-US relations is that of human rights. Different Americans have different reasons for raising the question, Tao Wenzhao believes. Some of them have never come to China, some of them deliberately use the human rights question to derail the development of China while others think that the American value should be accepted by all. Therefore the question becomes complicated.
What has affected the impression of the US
To the proportion of 62.7 percent all the experts paid special attention. Part of Chinese urban residents as high as 62.7 percent admitted that their impression of the US had been shaped mainly by the media. Tao Wenzhao also admitted that as a matter of fact all scholars and decision makers in both China and the US are influenced by the media to a more or less degree. The media has an influence on people's opinion of the Sino-US relations, which cannot be underestimated. It is not so hard to see that as far as international affairs are concerned the Chinese public generally accepts what the media says.

It was also for this reason that Yan Xuetong pointed out the fact that among the reasons Chinese felt dissatisfied with the US the option of "selling weapons to Taiwan" and that of "waging the war in Iraq" were chosen by roughly the same number of people while people who chose the option of "strengthening military ties with Japan" were few - a phenomenon which greatly surprised Yan. "One of the things happened far away from us, another is a big thing which happened just outside our door and the other happened right inside our home. How could it be this result?" Yan Xuetong warned: "Think about the coverage our media devoted to Iraq, which was who knows how many times more than that of the US' arms sales to Taiwan!" Regarding "the US and Japan strengthening military ties" Ding Gang believes judging from the statistics many people were not aware of that at all or did not know much.

On this question Ding Gang's opinion is that the media which has great influence on the public should reinforce their sense of responsibility and act discreetly in terms of the proportion, weight, angle and attitude of their reportage. The media should play a positive role in international questions affecting national interests such as that of the Sino-US relations. They should not deviate from their proper stand, throw away their independent thinking and follow the voice of the west.

Labels: articles, posted by Thomas, Sino-US Relations

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The sleeping giant of biotech?

January 8, 2008, CHINAdaily
Taken from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-01/08/content_6377929.htm

PARIS - China's biotech sector accounts for just a sliver of its pharmaceutical industry and operates under the cloud of a massive review of licenses issued under a regulator executed last year for accepting bribes.

Even so, experts say, Chinese purveyors of genetically engineered drugs and vaccines -- targeting everything from cancer to Alzheimer's -- are growing at a frenzied pace and are likely to become major actors on the world stage.

"There is no question that the sector is established," said Peter Singer of the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health in Toronto who was lead researcher of a study published Monday in Nature Biotechnology.

"What we found really surprising is that in an industry that's only 10 years old, China has innovative products on the market," he said.

For their study, Singer and his colleagues selected 22 small- and medium-sized biotech firms from literally thousands operating in the health sector for close scrutiny. They looked for companies that were innovative, both scientifically and in business.

The portrait that emerged is of a dynamic sector that has been growing 30 percent annually over the past decade, reaching a turnover of three billion dollars in the domestic market in 2005.
Yet its activity is dominated by a few big stars and remains dogged by doubts as to its integrity.
It is also a sector led in large measure by "sea turtles" ("hai gui") -- Chinese-born scientists with a decade or two of US or European lab experience under their belts who have come home to found Chinese companies, often with generous backing from the government.

In a market of one billion potential patients, 15 biotech products for health are already on the market, with another 60 in the pipeline, Singer said.

Exhibit A: Gendicine, the first gene therapy product approved after clinical trials anywhere in the world.

A recombinant human adenovirus, Gendicine carries the p53 gene and is administered by injection directly into cancerous tumours in the head and neck, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

More than 5,000 patients have received the treatment in combination with radiotherapy, including 400 foreign patients from outside China.

The company became profitable shortly after the launch of the product, approved in 2005 by China's State Drug and Food Administration (SDFA).

That, as it turns out, was not an unimpeachable recommendation.

The SDFA's former director, Zheng Xiaoyu, was executed in July 2007 for accepting bribes in return for issuing drug approvals without proper review.

As a result, a staggering 170,000 licenses granted by the SDFA, especially between 1999 and 2002, are currently under review.

Another company, Shenzhen Beike Technologies, provides a treatment based on umbilical cord and bone marrow stem cells for Alzheimer's, autism, brain trauma, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury, as well as a dozen other diseases and conditions. The medication is injected directly into the spinal cord of patients.

"There is no need to do clinical trials for this kind of procedure in China," said the study's lead author, Sarah Frew, also a researcher at McLaughlin-Rotman.
"The approach this company is taking is trying the thing on patients rather than doing scientific research," added Singer.

The product has nonetheless been a commercial success, first with Chinese patients and more recently with international patients. When Frew visited the clinic a year ago, there were a dozen foreigners present.

The company's website is filled with glowing testimonials on the effectiveness of the treatment, which costs tens of thousands of dollars.

In most cases the therapies and vaccines developed in China are far less controversial. Indeed, more than 90 percent of products produced in the health biotech sector are biogenerics, with novel products accounting for 3-to-5 percent of the total.

A more recent development are international joint ventures and investment. Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences, for example, has developed an anti-cancer drug in cooperation with Huya Bioscience, based in San Diego, California. Once the medication is on the market, the Chinese partner will hold the rights for China, while Huya can lay claim to the rest of the world.
WuXi PharmaTech, which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the summer of 2007, is the first biotech service company in China with major foreign clients, including US pharmaceutical giant Merck and Britain's AstraZeneca.

The fact that WuXi has attracted such companies "punctures a little bit the legend that there is no intellectual property in China," said Singer.

Another myth that may soon fall by the wayside is that China can only reproduce what other have done already.

"There is no longer a hegemony on the part of industrialised countries in global biotech innovation," Singer said.

Labels: articles, Biotech industry, posted by Thomas

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