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News » Society » China industries see profits drop |
- China industries see profits drop
- China media: Bo's wife charged
- Can China stay on top of the Olympics?
- 'Buy my book' official is jailed
- 2 charged over Neil Heywood death
- US software'not used' in China's helicopters
- Beijing toll now 77 after days-old figure updated
- Journalist in dramatic submerged car tests
- Rains avoid capital city but batter its neighbor
- Heavy rainfall hits Tianjin
- Professor quits, credentials turn out to be faked
- Heroes get priority for houses
- Massive wooden bridge dates back 2,000 years
- Piper Jaffray to Exit Hong Kong Market
- Bo Xilai Wife Charged in Poisoning Death of U.K Citizen
- China flooding gives government another credibility crisis
- China Shifts Course, Lets Yuan Drop
- Have You Heard…
- VIDEO: Bo Xilai wife charged with murder
- Bogu Kailai, Zhang Xiaojun charged with homicide
| China industries see profits drop Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:02 PM PDT Profits at China's industrial companies dip for the third successive month as the slowdown in the global economy hurts demand. |
| China media: Bo's wife charged Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:09 PM PDT Morning newspaper round-up: Gu Kailai's murder charge and the updated Beijing flood toll dominate papers. |
| Can China stay on top of the Olympics? Posted: 26 Jul 2012 04:05 PM PDT Can China keep top spot in world Olympics table? |
| 'Buy my book' official is jailed Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:40 AM PDT A FORMER top official with China's drug watchdog has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for taking bribes, fabricating charges against a superior and illegally selling a book he wrote. Zhang Jingli, former deputy director of the State Food and Drug Administration, asked for 1.17 million yuan (US$183,105) from drug companies and abused his office to facilitate their business between 2005 and 2010, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court heard. The 57-year-old also made money by having companies buy his"Shou Shi Bu Yuan," a health guide, which he was not licensed to publish or sell, The Beijing News reported yesterday. Zhang and Liao Hongbing, a Beijing entrepreneur, published a total of 43,000 books, raising more than 16 million yuan. The court also heard that Zhang instructed Liao, Yang Jun and Pan Jingping, to send more than 1,300 letters to central authorities containing false accusations against his boss at the FDA, in an attempt to gain promotion. Liao was sentenced to six years while Yang and Pan received jail terms of 20 months. Zhang became deputy director of the administration in 2003. In a 2010 crackdown against prostitution, gambling and drugs, Beijing police busted the notorious Heaven on Earth nightclub and seized footage showing Zhang's involvement in some steamy scenes. He was accused of leading an indecent life and placed under investigation before being sacked. Zhang's downfall led to the arrest of three other officials - Li Bingchun, former township Party secretary in Beijing's Shunyi District, Zhang Bao, former deputy head of the district's Land and Resources Bureau, and Zhang Bo, former head of the Northern Printing Industry Zone. Meanwhile, it was revealed yesterday that more than 60 officials at ministerial and provincial level were punished for discipline violations since the Party's last national congress. They were among 600,000 people who faced punishments since the 17th National Congress of Communist Party of China in 2007, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said. |
| 2 charged over Neil Heywood death Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:39 AM PDT Gu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun were recently charged with murdering a British man by the municipal prosecutors office in the east China city of Hefei, Xinhua news agency learned from authorities yesterday. The municipal prosecuting body filed the charges with the Hefei Municipal Intermediate People's Court. Gu is the wife of Bo Xilai, who was dismissed earlier this year as Party chief of Chongqing, and Zhang was their home aide. The prosecuting body informed the two defendants and family members of the victim of their litigation rights during the investigation period. The prosecuting body also interrogated the two defendants and heard the opinions of the defense team. Investigation results showed that Gu and her son, Bo Guagua, had been in conflict with British citizen Neil Heywood over economic interests. Worried about a threat to her son's personal security, Gu, helped by Zhang, is alleged to have poisoned Heywood. The facts of the two defendants' crime are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable and substantial, prosecutors said. Therefore, the two defendants should be charged with murder. The court is to hold a trial on a day yet to be decided. |
| US software'not used' in China's helicopters Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:38 AM PDT CHINA'S Ministry of Defense yesterday denied that the country's most advanced attack helicopter used pirated US technology. According to media reports, a Canadian subsidiary of Connecticut-based military contractor United Technologies Corp pleaded guilty in June to federal charges that it helped China develop the Z-10 attack helicopter's engine. However, Yang Yujun, a defense ministry spokesman, told reporters: "China's attack helicopters and their engines are all self-developed, and have proprietary intellectual property rights." Yang said the development of China's military equipment had always followed the principle of independent innovation, and relied on its own capabilities in research and production. The so-called piracy "is far from the truth," he said. The Canadian subsidiary, Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp, violated the Arms Export Control Act by providing the Chinese with 10 engines to power Z-10 helicopters in 2001 and 2002, according to foreign media, citing an announcement by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. Export violations Technology for the engines, the US authorities said, had originally been created for US military helicopters. Pratt & Whitney Canada pleaded guilty on June 28 to illegally exporting to China the American military software used to operate the engines. It also agreed to pay more than US$75 million in fines in connection with export violations and for providing misleading information to the US government. The Z-10 is China's first modern military attack helicopter and considered its most advanced attack helicopter. It seats two people and is designed mainly to attack tanks, armored vehicles and other ground forces. The helicopter can be equipped with weaponry including machine guns, cannons, rockets and missiles, according to pictures released by Xinhua news agency. Meanwhile, Yang said China's refitted aircraft carrier won't be commissioned on China's Army Day, August 1. But he said that the carrier had "attained the anticipated objectives" during its nine sea trials and would be carrying out more scientific experiments as scheduled. |
| Beijing toll now 77 after days-old figure updated Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:56 AM PDT Authorities in Beijing yesterday updated the death toll from its heaviest rain in six decades to 77 after questions were raised over the days-old tally of 37. Beijing's flood control headquarters said last night that 66 of the victims had been identified. Five of them had died while carrying out rescue work, Pan Anjun, a spokesman for the headquarters, said. Of the other 61 - 36 men and 25 women - 46 drowned, five were electrocuted, three died in housing collapses, two in mudslides, two from traumatic shock, two after they were hit by falling objects and one was struck by lightning, Pan said. He said a further sharp increase in the death toll was unlikely because the search for missing persons was drawing to an end. Most of the bodies were found in suburban districts, including 38 recovered in the hardest-hit Fangshan District, he said. The list of the victims includes an eight-month-old girl who drowned. In explaining why it had taken several days for the authorities to update the death toll, Pan said mudslides triggered by the heavy rains hindered rescuers' searches for bodies. Identifying victims required repeated investigation and verification, he said, adding that search efforts were ongoing. On behalf of the flood control headquarters, Pan expressed deep condolences to the deceased and their families and promised to draw lessons from the tragedy and improve the capacity to handle similar disasters in the future. An article in yesterday's People's Daily, flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, said that though the city government had pledged no cover-up of the rainstorm death toll, public concern would remain until the final figure was released. A swift release of authoritative information was the way to crush untrue rumors, the article said. "Information disclosure is a dynamic process rather than a static product," it said. "Only by responding to public concerns through various channels in a timely manner, can we better guarantee people's right to know and to a larger extent win the recognition and support of people from all walks of life." The Beijing government raised the death toll to 37 on Sunday night, a day after the torrential rain battered the Chinese capital. But no updates were released until last night despite online speculation that the figure could be much higher. At a press briefing on Wednesday night, city officials said the rainstorm had inflicted direct economic losses of 11.6 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion). But they did not provide any update on the death toll. On Weibo.com, microbloggers raised the point that it should have been easier to count the number of dead than it was to estimate economic losses. City authorities had pledged not to repeat their opaque handling of the deadly SARS outbreak in 2003. The then health minister and Beijing's mayor were sacked due to the lack of information and even deliberate cover-ups during the epidemic. It was claimed that the city's response then led to more deaths and the public's trust in the government had been eroded. |
| Journalist in dramatic submerged car tests Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:56 AM PDT A JOURNALIST and a diver tested tactics to escape from a flooded car yesterday amid widespread fears triggered by the death of a Beijing driver on Saturday in the heaviest rains to hit the capital in decades. Luo Yanyan, formerly a professional swimmer and now a journalist with Information Daily, a newspaper in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, had planned to conduct the test alone, but local authorities insisted she be accompanied by a diver. The survival test began at 9am in the Ganjiang River, witnessed by a crowd of reporters and curious residents. Luo, 28, sat in the front passenger seat of a Volkswagen Santana, and Cao Dongjun, a diver with the local fire brigade, took the driver's seat. They had life vests, emergency hammers, a cell phone, a pair of high-heel shoes and a can of oxygen. Two other divers stood by on a speedboat as a crane lowered the car into the water. Kicked door open When the lower half of the car was underwater, Luo and Cao could still easily open the doors. However, when the car was three-quarters submerged, Luo could not open the door using only her hands. "I tried, and eventually kicked it open," she said. In the final test, the whole car was submerged. Cao tried to break the window, first with the cell phone and then with the shoes, but failed. "I was suffocating and had to take the oxygen bottle," he said. He tried the hammers and broke one window. In a further test, he removed the headrest from the car seat to break open another window using the two pins underneath - a "golden rule" that has spread quickly on the Internet recently but which many drivers had not known about. The two escaped from the broken windows and swam to the bank to loud applause. "Without the oxygen bottle, breathing would have been difficult when three-quarters of the car was underwater," said Cao. "In such cases, one would be too weak to force the window open." In case of flooding, he said drivers should force open the door as soon as possible. "If the door doesn't open, you need to break open the window with sharp objects instead of waiting to be rescued." On Taobao.com, nearly 1,600 orders have poured in for an emergency hammer that costs 32 yuan (US$5). |
| Rains avoid capital city but batter its neighbor Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:55 AM PDT A DOWNPOUR expected to hit Beijing yesterday bypassed the capital but battered neighboring Tianjin, flooding many downtown streets and vehicles. By 11am yesterday, the maximum precipitation had exceeded 300 millimeters, Tianjin's meteorological center said. It said the city proper received an average rainfall of 147mm, while the outer Xiqing District, one of the worst-hit areas, received 309.8mm. There were no deaths reported as of yesterday afternoon but four people suffered from electric shocks due to the flood and were receiving treatment in hospital, according to the Tianjin Emergency Medical Center. The local fire prevention bureau sent 190 fire engines and 1,140 personnel to help rescue vehicles and pedestrians stranded by flooding. The rain had largely stopped by noon, but the center was warning residents of another rainstorm expected to hit Tianjin last night. Torrential rain is also expected to hit the city tonight, bringing an estimated precipitation of 40 to 70mm, said Zhao Gang, the city meteorological bureau's chief forecaster. Yesterday morning's downpour flooded many roads, paralyzing traffic in the downtown area. Dozens of vehicles were stranded after their engines died in the flood. Many pedestrians complained they had to wade through knee-deep water. In some sections of Xianyang Street, floodwater was waist deep. On the badly flooded Friendship Road in Hexi District, five workers kept watch next to sewage wells where manholes had been removed to allow faster drainage. The rain disrupted air traffic but railway services were largely unaffected, including the express railway linking Tianjin with Beijing, the city's railway authorities confirmed. Vegetable prices rose at the city's major wholesale markets yesterday. "Each kilo is at least 0.4 yuan - about 30 percent - more expensive than yesterday," Cui Hongqing, a wholesaler at Hongqi Market, said yesterday. Cui predicted further price rises today as the rain devastated crops and increased transport costs. Beijing had been on guard against heavy rain, fearing a repeat of Saturday's disaster. Saturday's downpour, which the weather bureau described as the "heaviest in 61 years," killed 77 people, including some who drowned in private cars. Many office workers were allowed to go home early on Wednesday out of concern for their safety, and city authorities bombarded mobile phone subscribers with text message warnings of an imminent downpour. The much expected rain, however, did not fall in the capital. The central weather bureau has forecast rain in seven northern China provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, over the next few days. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:18 AM PDT Bus and cars wade through a flooded street in Tianjin, north China, yesterday. Heavy rainfall hit the municipality from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Professor quits, credentials turn out to be faked Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:13 AM PDT A RENOWNED university in southeastern Xiamen City has fired a full-time professor who fabricated her study experience in a US Ivy League school after the fraud was publicized by Fang Zhouzi, a self-proclaimed fighter against pseudoscience and academic fraud. Xiamen University in the coastal city confirmed Fang's accusations against Fu Jin, saying "she never studied for a doctorate degree in Columbia University," describing it as "a malicious fraud." Fu has admitted faking the degree and has been ordered to make a public apology while the university has also apologized for an error for damaging the school's reputation, Xiamen Daily reported yesterday. The medical professor was found on July 20 to have lied about her educational background, and Fang, China's famous science cop, soon confirmed it after his investigation. According to a letter from the National Student Clearing House, the US system for degree verification, Columbia University was unable to locate either a degree or enrollment record for Fu. Xiamen University remained silent at first, saying it needed time to check the authenticity of the allegations. Records showed Fu was invited to lecture at the university between 2004 and 2008, and she applied to be a full-time professor in 2009. "She severely violated academic morality and was dishonest," the university said. Fang is well known for unmasking bogus research and academic frauds in China, including the cases of Li Yi, a Taoist priest in Chongqing Municipality, and Tang Jun, former president of Microsoft China. Tang, once dubbed "the emperor of wage-earners," was found in July 2010 to have fabricated his American study experience when he was the president and chief executive officer of the Newhuadu Industrial Group Co. Tang claimed he had a degree in computer science from the California Institute of Technology. However, he later admitted he did not have a degree from Caltech, and asserted he had never claimed to have received a degree there, but only conducted research at the university. He also admitted he had not been awarded a degree by Japan's Nagoya University. Tang was discredited in media reports since then and apologized last month over the degree scandal. |
| Heroes get priority for houses Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:12 AM PDT GOOD Samaritans recognized by the government who have poor housing will be granted priority in applying for budget homes, according to a new regulation announced by the State Council yesterday. The Cabinet has released the new rules for local governments to boost assistance as a reward for the bravery of good Samaritans who struggle financially. Local governments in China officially acknowledge people who risk their own lives helping others through fighting crimes or saving others from danger and harm. Cities nationwide also reward heroes in different ways, such as with cash prizes or providing government subsidies to support their families in cases when such heroes are killed or disabled during their brave deeds. The State Council called on local governments to improve assistance to this group and specified in the regulation that their housing difficulties should be addressed. It ruled that needy families of acknowledged good Samaritans should be put atop waiting lists to get an affordable house as long as they meet standards. The country is building budget housing to sell or rent to needy families at lower-than-market prices to improve their living conditions. Shanghai government has officially acknowledged and honored more than 1,500 good Samaritans, aged from 14 to 86 years old, in the past decade. The city has been rewarding these heroes mainly through monetary prizes. The government said it had offered local good Samaritans cash prizes up to 40 million yuan (US$626,458) over the decade. |
| Massive wooden bridge dates back 2,000 years Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:12 AM PDT CHINESE archaeologists said they believe a 2,000-year-old wooden bridge unearthed in Shaanxi Province, home of the Terracotta Army, could have been the world's biggest at that time. The bridge, whose pier remnants were found in a suburb of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, is estimated to have been 300 meters long and 20 meters wide, said Li Yufang, a researcher at the China Academy of Social Sciences. Li said the bridge could date back to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), when it spanned the Wei River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River, to link two imperial palaces in the ancient capital of Xianyang. The Qin Dynasty was among the most powerful in early Chinese history, which saw many major projects, including the Great Wall and the Mausoleum of the first Emperor of Qin Dynasty. Its capital was near the modern-day city of Xi'an. The bridge site was first discovered in April, when sand-digging farmers reported finding huge wooden piles in their farms. An initial probe revealed the longest wooden pile to be 9 meters long, and one pier measured 18.5 meters in width. Archaeologists also found chunks of stone that had been used to strengthen the wooden piers. "It's the first time a wooden bridge of this size and age has been found, and it is of great value to the study of ancient bridge architecture and transportation," Li said. Researchers also found a smaller "twin bridge" west of the large one. The two bridges continued to operate in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), with the bigger one a key line to the then capital of Chang'an. |
| Piper Jaffray to Exit Hong Kong Market Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:36 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal By Brett Philbin Piper Jaffray Cos said Wednesday it would close its Hong Kong business as mounting losses from the mid-sized brokerage's Asia operations contributed to a 36% plunge in its second-quarter profit. The firm said it expects to realize $13 million to $18 million in net cash proceeds from its exit of the business, primarily related to a U.S. tax benefit. "Losses through the second quarter, year-to-date and in 2011 [in the Hong Kong business] have been significant," Piper Jaffray Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew Duff said on a conference call with analysts. In 2011 alone, the firm posted a $10.9 million loss from its Asian operations as high market volatility and concerns about the global economy weighed on Piper Jaffray's ability to establish a strong foothold in the region. Big banks, such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS +1.62%and Morgan Stanley, as well as smaller players such as Renaissance Capital Group Inc. and Asia-focused CLSA Asia-Pacific Capital Markets have all trimmed staffs in Asia, cutbacks that reflect somewhat tempered expectations for a market in which they had more immediate, higher hopes. During the conference call, Mr. Duff said his firm "doesn't have the financial resources to build out the business [in Hong Kong] to a more sustainable platform." He said that Asia, however, presented a long-term growth opportunity. The Minneapolis company posted a profit of $6.85 million, or 37 cents a share, down from a year-earlier profit of $10.7 million, or 55 cents a share. Investment-banking revenue fell 25% from a year earlier to $50.3 million. Piper Jaffray's institutional brokerage and asset-management businesses also sagged. Sandler O'Neill + Partners analyst Devin Ryan said the decision to close the Hong Kong operations "will remove a substantial drag on earnings," although it was "a little bit of a black eye for Piper Jaffray." Shares of Piper Jaffray climbed 5% to $20.54. The stock though, has fallen 35% over the past 12 months. On the call, Mr. Duff said the Hong Kong exit will allow the firm to "significantly reduce risk, immediately improve our financial performance" and allow the company to focus on higher-margin, higher-return businesses, such as asset management, public finance and corporate advisory. Like its larger Wall Street peers, Piper Jaffray has faced choppy demand for investment-banking transactions in recent quarters as clients have pulled back their activities amid economic turmoil.   |
| Bo Xilai Wife Charged in Poisoning Death of U.K Citizen Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:39 AM PDT  Source: Bloomberg News China unveiled formal charges against the wife of ousted Politburo member Bo Xilai over the alleged murder of a U.K. businessman, in a case that's shaken the Communist Party months before a leadership transition. "The facts are clear and the evidence is firm and adequate," Xinhua said. Gu, 53, and her son had a financial conflict with Heywood, which led her to believe he was a threat to her son's safety, Xinhua said. The prosecution pushes forward the Chinese Communist Party's case against Bo, 63, whose ouster was the most serious upheaval in the country's top ranks since Party General SecretaryZhao Ziyang was purged in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The challenge for China's leaders will be to convince the public that the incident is an aberration and not a symptom of deeper problems within the system, said June Teufel Dreyer, a professor of political science at the University of Miami who focuses on China. "Now you have a really cynical and alienated population," Dreyer said in a telephone interview. In China "it plays into a larger sense of malaise — our leaders are not looking out for us." Demonize Gu One way the party may seek to do that in the coming weeks and months, Dreyer said, is to demonize Gu, portraying her as evil, extravagant and adulterous. Gu may get a death sentence that will be suspended indefinitely, she said. Bo was removed as Chongqing party secretary in March, and in April was suspended from the Politburo and accused of serious violations of Communist Party discipline after the allegations about his wife were revealed. He hasn't been seen in public since the National People's Congress in March. Prosecutors interrogated Gu and Zhang, and "heard the opinions of the defense team," Xinhua said. A trial will be held at at an undecided date, it said. Gu's alleged involvement in Heywood's death was exposed after Bo's former police chief in Chongqing, Wang Lijun, went to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu in February bearing evidence she and Zhang had Heywood killed, according to U.S. officials briefed on the matter. Chinese investigators had initially told U.K. authorities that Heywood died of alcohol poisoning. The indictment is a sign that the country's leadership has reached a consensus about Bo's fate at summertime meetings in the beachside resort of Beidaihe and that Bo will "very soon" be charged as well, said Huang Jing, a professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. Kicked Out Huang said the details in Gu's indictment suggest the charges against Bo may be very narrow, focused on attempts to obstruct justice to protect his wife. That will keep the focus away from broader corruption charges that could stain other leaders, Huang said in a telephone interview from Chengdu, Sichuan province. Cheng Li, a scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said in a telephone interview that Gu's indictment signals that Bo will probably be kicked out of the Communist Party in the coming days or weeks. Gu is the youngest of five daughters of a People's Liberation Army general, according to a Chinese-language website affiliated with the Communist Youth League. She rose from a butcher's assistant during the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution to become a lawyer who won a lawsuit in the U.S. and went on to write a book about the experience. Gu's Sisters Bo's family has become an embodiment of the political influence and wealth that can accrue to relatives of China's top leaders. Bo is a so-called princeling because his father, Bo Yibo, was one of the founding revolutionary leaders of the People's Republic. Gu's sisters controlled a web of businesses from Beijing to Hong Kong to the Caribbean worth at least $126 million, regulatory and corporate filings show. Bo Guagua, Gu and Bo's son, fueled further speculation about the family's wealth for attending Britain's elite Harrow School and Oxford University, and then Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Seeking to dispel claims that he lived an extravagant lifestyle, Bo Guagua sent a letter to Harvard's Crimson newspaper in April saying that his education was funded partly by his mother's "generosity from the savings she earned from her years as a successful lawyer and writer." Speaking at a briefing at the National Party Congress in March, Bo said his wife had quit her law practice and mostly did housework. "I am very moved of her sacrifice," Bo said. The Communist Party has portrayed Bo's downfall as an isolated incident. "The criminal case shall not be interpreted as a political struggle," the Xinhua News Agency said in an April commentary. "China's development will not be hindered by these separate incidents, and the overall state of the country will not be affected by human influence."   |
| China flooding gives government another credibility crisis Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:46 AM PDT  Source: By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times Deadly rain that battered the nation's capital over the weekend has left the Chinese government knee-deep in its latest credibility crisis. Authorities are accused of underreporting the number of dead while failing to provide adequate infrastructure to safeguard against flooding in a swiftly modernizing metropolis. Fangshan, a rural district on the southwestern edge of Beijing, was inundated by a torrent of muddy floodwater, raising suspicion that hundreds of dead may still be unaccounted for. A stretch of the G4 expressway leading through the area was under several feet of brown water and dozens of vehicles were submerged. "Who cares about us?" Wang Jianxue told a Hong Kong broadcaster Monday while searching for his brother in a flooded Fangshan ditch. "I called police. No one cared. The next morning I came here myself looking for my brother." When his corpse emerged, police rushed to the scene, stripped to their underwear in front of a crowd of reporters and waded into the water as Wang wailed in anguish. The collective frustration of millions of Chinese is being shared on the country's frenetic Twitter-like microblogging platforms, outpacing the ability of censors to scrub away criticism of the government's response to the rainstorm. China's leaders faced a similar situation a year ago when two high-speed trains collided in the southern city of Wenzhou, killing dozens of people. Then, as now, the public questioned the accuracy of the death toll and the competency of the rescue effort. The government also drew criticism for ignoring safety issues as the nation undergoes rapid modernization. "This catastrophe could surpass the 2003 SARS outbreak in its test of the Beijing leadership, especially as it is now playing out in real time on [microblogs], a service which has become digital sulfuric acid to the government's credibility," Bill Bishop, a widely followed Beijing-based tech consultant, wrote on his blog Wednesday. The city has defended its efforts, saying tens of thousands of rescue workers were deployed. Officials also pledged to upgrade Beijing's sewer system and to disclose any further fatalities. State media reported Wednesday that Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong and Vice Mayor Ji Lin had resigned without explanation. Although some wondered whether the rainstorm response had cost them their jobs, Guo had been tapped for promotion as the city's party secretary this month, suggesting the move was a routine reassignment. Now, acting Mayor Wang Anshun will be responsible for defusing rising anger in the city of 20 million people. Some residents question how urban planners behind one of the world's most modern skylines could neglect to anticipate the threat of flooding. They accused the government of spending freely on vanity projects for the 2008 Olympics while ignoring the city's infrastructure. "The government always talks about urbanization, but once your city has been urbanized you still can't handle a rainstorm?" asked Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor at People's University in Beijing. "This means we have to pay more attention to balanced development and growth. You have to consider the environment and safety." Further infuriating some observers is Beijing's solicitation of donations for a disaster fund. The gesture reinforced long-held criticism that China was unwilling to share its riches with ordinary citizens. "In just one month, China poured $43 billion into the IMF… and pledged $20 billion to Africa," wrote a microblogger named Hailuoying. "But right after they gave out all the money for nothing, they immediately called on people for donations. You really think all Chinese people are fools?" More heavy rain is expected this week across large portions of China; the official nationwide death toll for the storms now stands at 95. On Wednesday, Beijing's city government sent text messages to residents warning of an imminent storm. Some companies sent employees home early. Some residents have begun sharing maps on the Internet aimed at identifying areas of the city prone to flooding. Online sales of a special hammer for breaking automobile glass have soared. The Beijing Times ran a feature testing different methods for escaping from a submerged car. The conclusion: Kicking at a window or stabbing at it with headrest prongs was ineffective. Best to buy a hammer and store it in the car. "I think Chinese people understand you can't rely on gods or an emperor," said Zhou, the sociologist. "You can't trust that a savior will come. You need to rely on yourself."   |
| China Shifts Course, Lets Yuan Drop Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:50 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal By Bob Davis and Lingling Wei BEIJING—China's central bank is starting to guide the yuan downward against the dollar after two years of trying to boost its value, reflecting concern in Beijing over China's slowing economy—and risking a political fight with the U.S. The PBOC didn't respond to requests for comment, and it isn't clear whether the trend will continue in coming days and weeks. A similar steering of the yuan to weaken was seen in early May, which was then followed by a return to the usual practice of seeking to let it remain stable or to strengthen against the dollar. On Thursday morning in China, the PBOC appeared to try to limit the yuan's recent fall. Traders and analysts say the shift in the last few days is aimed at helping exporters cope with slowing sales and reducing the chances of major layoffs ahead of a major—and sensitive—once-a-decade Chinese leadership change set to begin later this year. A cheaper yuan makes Chinese goods less expensive in dollar terms. Premier Wen Jiabao last week warned that "the task of promoting full employment will be very heavy and we must make greater efforts to achieve it."  The psychological impact of a weakened yuan "will be strong," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Crédit Agricole senior economist based in Hong Kong. "It creates an impression that Beijing is so focused on minimizing risks to growth that it is ignoring any U.S. pressure." The U.S. Treasury declined to comment. But a fall in the yuan is bound to keep it a political issue in the U.S. during an election year. Treasury Undersecretary Lael Brainard said last week that China should "avoid persistent exchange-rate misalignment," although she credited China with making some progress on the currency front. Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has said he would name China a "currency violator," a designation that could trigger a confrontation with China. Meanwhile, on Wednesday the International Monetary Fund reiterated its contention that China's currency is "moderately undervalued" against a basket of currencies. The IMF didn't specify the degree of undervaluation in its annual assessment of China's economy, but individuals who track the IMF say the yuan is likely to be judged to be undervalued by less than 10%. China's representative to the IMF, Zhang Tao, said the IMF's characterization "is not consistent with the reality." He said the currency is "roughly in equilibrium," meaning it didn't have to rise much more, if at all. Beijing has its eyes trained on not just the dollar. The European Union is China's No. 2 export market after the U.S., and the yuan has appreciated 5.6% against the euro since January. During that time, the dollar has risen 6.9% against the euro. By reducing the value of the yuan against the dollar, the PBOC slows its rise against the euro. That provides some help to Chinese exporters who are feeling the effects of Europe's continuing debt crisis. "We've seen a sharp drop in demand from Europe," said Xu Peng, an official at Huihong International Group, a state-owned textiles company, which has started to take out trade insurance to guard against potential nonpayment from European clients. The PBOC sets a daily rate, called the parity rate, for the yuan's trade against the dollar in the mainland currency market. The central bank then lets the yuan rise or fall by 1% in daily trading. Monday, the PBOC set the parity rate weaker against the dollar than Friday, according to data provider ChinaScope Financial in Hong Kong. It continued that pattern the next two days. On Thursday morning, the PBOC set the daily rate stronger against the dollar than the previous day. With $3.24 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves, the Chinese government has the wherewithal to assure the continuing steady rise of the yuan. But such a move could be interpreted as a signal money is fleeing China. "Authorities certainly don't want to signal any weakness," said Brookings Institution China scholar Eswar Prasad. "So they will intervene very cautiously."   |
| Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:53 AM PDT Have You Heard…   |
| VIDEO: Bo Xilai wife charged with murder Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:17 AM PDT The wife of disgraced Chinese political leader Bo Xilai has been charged with the murder of UK businessman Neil Heywood, state news agency Xinhua says. |
| Bogu Kailai, Zhang Xiaojun charged with homicide Posted: 26 Jul 2012 05:17 AM PDT Bogu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun were recently prosecuted by the Hefei Municipal Procuratorate in Anhui province on charges of intentional homicide, Xinhua learned from Authorities today. The municipal prosecuting body filed the public prosecution with the Hefei Municipal Intermediary People's Court. The prosecuting body has informed the two criminal suspects and the family members of the victim of their litigation rights during the investigation period. The prosecuting body also interrogated the two suspects and heard the opinions of the defense team. |
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