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News » Society » Can US jobs be brought home from China? |
- Can US jobs be brought home from China?
- Naval patrols legitimate, says defense ministry spokesman
- Japan's premier 'obstinate and wrong' over Diaoyu
- Additive in another kids' cheese raises questions
- Officers trying evil eye to get rid of vendors
- 2 die, 7 hurt in chemical plant blast after gas leak
- All-Chinese jets to serve on nation's first carrier
- Baosteel Unit Halts Output as Economic Slowdown Spreads
- China’s Fine Wine Counteroffensive
- Have You Heard…
- New Labor Attitudes Fed Into China Riot
- Dispute Tests Japanese Brands
- Noda vows no compromise as Japan, China dig in on islands row
- Doubts raised over Heywood death
- AUDIO: Mogul's $64m offer to woo daughter
- VIDEO: Dalai Lama hopeful of Chinese change
- Beijing denies reports about China's second aircraft carrier
- China slams Japanese PM for remarks on Diaoyu Islands
- At least 7 seriously injured in Guangxi chemical plant blast
- Taiwan's SEF elects new top negotiator for cross-strait affairs
| Can US jobs be brought home from China? Posted: 27 Sep 2012 05:13 PM PDT How to bring American jobs back from China |
| Naval patrols legitimate, says defense ministry spokesman Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:23 AM PDT
Yang was answering questions about reports in the Japanese media last week that two Chinese naval frigates had been navigating in waters off the islands. Yang said the Diaoyu Islands had been an inseparable part of Chinese territory since ancient times and it was legitimate for Chinese naval ships to carry out patrols and training for military readiness in the waters under Chinese jurisdiction. He said the Chinese military had the responsibility of safeguarding national territory and state sovereignty as well as its maritime rights and the safety of its people. "Chinese troops perform a duty of military readiness to quickly react to maritime and airspace emergencies and closely work with the departments of maritime surveillance and fishery administration to provide security for the country's maritime law enforcement, fishery production as well as oil and gas development," he said. Asked to comment on a call by some Japanese politicians that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces be upgraded to normal national defense forces, Yang pointed out that the war of aggression by Japanese militarists had brought severe disasters to Asian people. "Japan should learn from history and strictly keep to a purely defensive policy to build trust with its neighboring countries and the international society," he said. Yang also said that China's use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, over Huangyan Island, the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters was "justified and legal," and said China was opposed to any military provocation in the South China Sea. He was responding to comments by a Philippine Department of National Defense spokesman that Chinese drones may be shot at if they entered those islands' airspace. China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island, the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters, Yang said. "Therefore, Chinese aircraft flying in the airspace in question is justified and legal." On Sunday, the State Oceanic Administration said that China would promote the use of drones to strengthen the nation's marine surveillance, and step up efforts to enhance its surveillance of islands including Diaoyu and Huangyan. |
| Japan's premier 'obstinate and wrong' over Diaoyu Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:21 AM PDT China yesterday called Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda obstinate and wrong for saying Japan won't compromise in the Diaoyu Islands dispute, as Japanese lawmakers and business leaders visited Beijing with hopes of mending ties. Relations between the two countries are at their lowest in years after Japan "purchased" the islands from a so-called private owner early this month. Noda said in New York on Wednesday that the islands were an "inherent part of our territory, in light of history and international law." He told the UN General Assembly that issues should be resolved peacefully according to rule of law. In response, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said yesterday: "China is strongly disappointed and sternly opposes the Japanese leader's obstinacy regarding his wrong position." Qin added: "Japan seriously challenges the postwar international order, but tries to take the rules of international law as a cover. This is self-deceiving." China scrapped the reception due yesterday to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations between the countries. Instead, China's top political adviser Jia Qinglin met members of the Association for the Promotion of International Trade yesterday. Jia reiterated China's position on the Diaoyu Islands, and said Japan's actions had "pushed China-Japan relations to an unprecedented grim phase." Japan's erroneous action has seriously infringed on China's sovereignty, touched on the historical pain endured by the Chinese people and aroused their strong indignation and firm opposition, Jia said. "Japan should realize the seriousness of the current situation, squarely face the disputes over the Diaoyu Islands and correct its mistake as soon as possible, so as to avoid further damaging China-Japan ties," Jia said. Yohei Kono, a former Japanese Speaker of the House of Representatives and president of the Association for the Promotion of International Trade, referred to the strife when he told Jia he had come to Beijing "this time with a heavy heart." Jia called on all Japanese people to work with the Chinese side to return China-Japan ties to the track of sound development. "I hope Japanese people from all walks of life will take the general situation of bilateral ties into consideration, overcome current difficulties and work with the Chinese side to put the ties back on a track of sound development," said Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Additive in another kids' cheese raises questions Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT
The questions arose yesterday after Shanghai's dairy giant Bright Dairy had recently had a cheese product for babies with the additive pulled off the shelves. The ingredient was printed on the package of Mengniu's "Weilaixing" cheese product designed for children. The product did not say which age group the product was for, according to yesterday's Huaxi Metropolis Daily based in Sichuan Province. Neither did it say the product should not be given to babies. No government action had been taken against the company as of late yesterday, and the company had not removed the product from shelves. The Inner-Mongolia-based dairy giant denied any wrongdoing. "All of Mengniu's products that contain milk mineral are not for babies and in line with the national standard," it said. Mengniu said, however, that it started changing the package on its product on Friday as it came off the production line, without specifying the change. It can be purchased at about 1 million sales outlets nationwide. Shanghai Daily visited some local supermarkets and did not find the products available. But it is still sold online. The additive, milk mineral, is not allowed for babies according to regulations issued by the Ministry of Health in 2009 as it is a newly extracted compound with unproven effects on babies. Mengniu did not explain why it included the additive in its products, while experts said it may cut costs by using the mineral, which is difficult for babies to digest, to replace milk calcium suitable for babies. "Newly born babies have an immature digestion system and kidneys, thus China has strict requirements on the content of dairy products for babies," said Wang Dingmian, director of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association. |
| Officers trying evil eye to get rid of vendors Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT CHINA'S chengguan officers, or urban management officers, have been drawn into a fresh controversy after staring down illegal vendors in central China's Hubei Province. A squad of 20 chengguan officers stared in silence at illegal vegetable vendors along a road in Wuhan, provincial capital of Hubei, last week, forcing the vendors to leave out of a sense of embarrassment and fear. The novel way of executing their duties has sparked heated debate online, where photos of the officers standing in a line, fixing their eyes on the vendors, have been widely circulated. Some Chinese Internet users joked about the "horrible stares" and "killing eyes," but others voiced their support. "(They were using) eyes instead of fists. This means of law enforcement is creative and marks new progress," "chenyongzhonglushi" wrote in a posting on Weibo. "But it would be better if the officers turned to legal procedures," the Internet user whose Weibo username roughly translates as "Lawyer Chen Yongzhong" added. Some, however, called the new method "emotional abuse." Internet user "Shenglixingshibai" called it "cold violence," saying, "It is more important to improve the vendors' awareness of obeying the law." About 60 percent of the total 2,000 respondents to an online opinion poll launched by Sina Weibo voiced their approval for the "horrible stare" law enforcement tactic, saying it is better than the officers resorting to violence. "When I saw people's comments of support online, I was so happy," said Sha Xianqing, a chengguan officer in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province. "Most of the time, we have no choice. We have to carry out our duties, but we also want to do them in a better way," said Sha, who has been working as a chengguan officer for over 20 years. It was not the first time that chengguan officers have turned to "silent enforcement." Fifty officers used such tactics in Wuhan in 2009, effectively staring down vendors who had refused to move their roadside stalls. China's chengguan officers are no strangers to controversy, as they are often criticized for sometimes violent methods for tackling low-level, urban, non-criminal regulation violations. Experts said the "horrible stares" show that the officers are actively exploring non-violent law enforcement tactics. "They are directly facing conflicts at the grassroots level," said Wang Kaiyu, a renowned sociologist in Anhui. "They are making a good effort, at least." |
| 2 die, 7 hurt in chemical plant blast after gas leak Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT TWO people died and seven others were injured at noon yesterday in a chemical plant blast in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A preliminary investigation showed coal gas leaked at a Hechi Chemical Industrial Group Company purification workshop in Hechi City and triggered the deadly blast, Xinhua news agency reported. Witnesses reported seeing body parts at the scene. Rescuers said the huge blast smashed the windows of a five-story building, heavily damaged two vehicles parked nearby and lifted 10 iron sheets off the factory's roof. The injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment and their injuries are not life-threatening, said Li Chunqi, deputy general manager of the company. No one was found to be trapped inside the factory. An investigation is under way but officials said there is no indication that the environment in the area was contaminated. The company, a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Chemical Corporation, or ChemChina, mainly produces fertilizer with an annual production value of 800 million yuan (US$127 million), according to information on the company's website. |
| All-Chinese jets to serve on nation's first carrier Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT CHINA'S first aircraft carrier will be equipped with aircraft developed from fighters made in China, Ministry of Defense spokesman Yang Yujun said yesterday. At one time it had been thought Russia's Su-33 fighter might be used on the Liaoning. However, domestic military officials and analysts are predicting that Chinese J-15 fighters, which they say are a match for US F-18 Hornet fighters, will be used as many photographs had been published showing the plane on the Liaoning's deck. The current weak point of the J-15, also known as the Flying Shark, is its Russia-made Al-31 engines which are less powerful than those of the American F-35 fighter, said Hu Siyuan, a professor with the National Defense University PLA China. "However, the J-15 will be more competitive with the F-35 in future when the Chinese jet is equipped with made-in-China engines because the US jet has only a single engine," he said. The twin-engined Chinese fighter made its maiden flight in 2009 in northeastern Shenyang. China's J-31 stealth fighter may also be used on the carrier in future, analysts said. The J-31 attracted wide public attention in June when some online pictures showed the cutting-edge fighter fully wrapped but with its futuristic shape still discernible. "Both fighters have twin engines and will have great potential to upgrade weapons load and fighting ability in future," said military analyst Qu Yanbing. Qu said the Liaoning would have about 40 fixed-wing aircraft on board. Though the carrier could be combat ready at any time, it will continue to be used for scientific research and experiments as well as military training, Yang told a regular press conference in Beijing yesterday, two days after the Liaoning had been officially commissioned in its home port of Dalian. "Aircraft carriers can be used for both attack and defense as well as to safeguard the peace and for rescue works in disasters, but, for the Liaoning, experiments and training are its major task," he said. The carrier is a milestone in China's military history and a major achievement in the nation's naval development, Yang said. "But this is only the first step of our aircraft carrier development. We still have a long way to go," he said. When asked to confirm reports that the Chinese Navy will create an aircraft carrier formation in the future and build an aircraft carrier base in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, Yang said: "The formation is generally made up of the aircraft carrier itself, escort vessels, submarines and aircraft. China will study the issue in accordance with the development and real needs of the aircraft carrier." Yang dismissed media reports that a second aircraft carrier was being built in Shanghai for launch later this year. "Such reports are inaccurate," he said. As for the Liaoning's impact on China's surrounding areas, Yang stressed that the country adheres to the path of peaceful development, independent foreign policy and pursues a defensive national policy. |
| Baosteel Unit Halts Output as Economic Slowdown Spreads Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:36 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal By Chuin-Wei Yap BEIJING—Baoshan Iron & Steel Ltd. suspended production at a plant making products for the shipbuilding and oil industries, a sign of the pressure that China's economic slowdown is putting on the world's largest steel sector. Sharply falling steel prices have triggered widespread output cuts and a string of dismal earnings at mills. Most of the slowdown has stemmed from government efforts to cool the property market, which pushed down prices for low-end steel used in construction. Baoshan's move showed that softness in other industries is affecting other segments of the steel industry as well. "The company has temporarily stopped production to avoid more operational losses," Baoshan said Thursday, blaming the halt on "poor downstream demand." "Industrial restructuring" in the Shanghai Baoshan area, where the plant is located, hurt the facility's competitiveness and led to large cash-flow losses, the company said. Baoshan, the listed unit of Baosteel Group Corp., didn't disclose further details about the plant or say when it might reopen. The closure reflects the difficulties faced by producers as they try to abide by the government's call to move up the value chain. Baoshan once had showcased the plant's technology as an energy-efficient alternative to traditional smelting. But analysts said it turned out to be expensive and unreliable. Luojing was designed to produce as much as three million metric tons of steel—around 7% of Baosteel's total capacity—but analysts estimated that it hadn't produced at full capacity since it was commissioned in 2007. "The Luojing plant was always start-again, stop-again for Baosteel…and this [slowdown] is the worst period for companies to not be producing at capacity," said Henry Liu, the head of research at Mirae Asset Securities. The closure mirrors the troubles of China's steel industry, the world's largest in terms of production. Baosteel Chairman Xu Lejiang in May said the company may relocate large parts of its Shanghai operations, which are now seen as a pollution nuisance rather than symbolizing China's industrial strength, as they once did. The Luojing complex's woes stretch back years. Its former owner, Pudong Iron & Steel Corp., was forced out of Shanghai's commercial and financial hub of Pudong in 2007 and 2008 to make way for the 2010 World Expo. The Luojing complex reported monthly losses of up to 100 million yuan, or about $15 million, even as the rest of the industry boomed in 2010 and much of last year, analysts said. Baoshan mothballed the first of Luojing's two furnaces in July of last year, Mr. Liu said. China's steel mills this year have suffered their worst year since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Steel prices have fallen as much as 26% from their peak this year in mid-April. Angang Steel Co. last month said it swung to a net loss of 1.98 billion yuan in the first half, and Wuhan Iron & Steel Co.'s net profit fell 89% for the same period. Baoshan posted an 89% increase in first-half net, primarily because it had unloaded unprofitable stainless-steel and special-steel units. The Luojing's potential customers, shipbuilders, are hurting, however. China Cosco Holdings Co. clocked a first-half loss of 4.87 billion yuan. And Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd. said last month that it had canceled eight shipbuilding contracts in the second quarter because customers failed to pay. Steelmakers have begun to cut output after initially trying to export their way out of their troubles. Daily average crude-steel production fell for in July and August. But while most of the output cuts so far have been relatively brief suspensions that mills typically characterize as "maintenance periods," Baoshan's stoppage at Luojing suggests a plan to scrap capacity outright. "It's not economic to run the facilities anymore," North Square Blue Oak analyst Frank Tang said. Analysts said Baosteel was unlikely to transplant the unprofitable unit elsewhere as that would continue to weigh on the company's balance sheet. "In other cases, an output suspension can mean restarting a furnace later and recovering costs," Mr. Liu said. "But for Baosteel, this effectively means a scrapping of capital expenditure." Baoshan said Thursday that it hadn't decided on the Luojing plant's fate.   |
| China’s Fine Wine Counteroffensive Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:37 AM PDT  Source: Bloomberg Businessweek By Bruce Einhorn On the outskirts of Yinchuan, a sleepy provincial capital near the Gobi Desert, workers put the finishing touches on Château Changyu Moser XV, a vast building with white stone walls and black-tiled mansard and domed roofs. If it weren't for the cast-metal statues of Chinese lions guarding the main gate, it could pass as a classical château found in the cradle of France's Loire Valley. When it opens soon, the 150-acre estate will serve as local headquarters for Changyu Pioneer Wine, a Chinese vintner that already has ersatz châteaux in other parts of China. This summer the company announced plans to spend $950 million on a "wine city" in eastern China's Shandong province, complete with two châteaux and a European-style village. Ma, 47, is one of the growing number of Chinese oenophiles who want the wine world to look beyond hyperreal European settings and start thinking of made-in-China cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir without laughing. That's not easy, since the country has no winemaking tradition of its own. In China, people who wanted a drink traditionally downed shots of baijiu—fierce, clear booze made from sorghum that remains a staple at Chinese banquets. When they tried to make wine, the product was barely drinkable. Shao Xuedong, chief winemaker at Cofco Junding Winery, a state-owned company that operates a Napa-inspired winery in Shandong, remembers when he first started in the business in the 1990s. Back then, "at least 95 percent" of Chinese wine wasn't real, he says. "It was just some blend of water, sugar, and grape juice." Emma Gao, 36, is the winemaker at Silver Heights, a family winery in Yinchuan that produces some of China's most admired vintages. Gao, who studied at La Faculté d'Oenologie de Bordeaux, says many of her neighbors don't understand what she's trying to accomplish. "Here, people think a good wine shouldn't give you a headache the next morning," she says. Even so, Gao and other serious vintners see huge potential. Chinese bought 156 million cases in 2011, making the country the world's fifth-largest wine market, and purchases should hit 250 million by 2016, according to London-based market research group International Wine & Spirit Research. "Before, people would just buy wine to show off, but that's changing," says Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai. "Younger Chinese are drinking it at home." Given the poor track record of native wines, it's not surprising that Chinese first looked abroad. Buyers from China have become major investors in Bordeaux. The official China Daily newspaper estimated in August that Chinese have purchased at least 25 estates in the past year. China is also the world's biggest importer of Bordeaux wines, accounting for 35 percent of that region's exports. California wines are popular, too. After retiring from the Houston Rockets, Chinese basketball star Yao Ming launched Yao Family Wines in November. The company produces a cabernet sauvignon in Napa Valley, with French beverage maker Pernod Ricard (RI) distributing it in China. The emphasis may be on imports, but local wine is improving. More Chinese are going overseas to study winemaking, and critics have noticed: A cabernet red blend by Helan Qingxue, a winery in Yinchuan, last year won the "Best Red Bordeaux Varietal Over £10 International Trophy" at the Decanter World Wine Awards. China's boutique winemakers hope the plaudits will attract more experts to China to nurture its winemaking culture. France's Castel Group and Rémy Cointreau (RCO) have both teamed up with Chinese winemakers. Perhaps the biggest name in Bordeaux, Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), has staked its flag in China, with vines planted and a winery under construction in Shandong. Working with state-owned local partner Citic, the famed French winemaker had a groundbreaking ceremony in March for the 4.3-acre winery. Overseeing the project is General Manager Gerard Colin, a Frenchman with more than 50 years of wine-producing experience who has lived in China since 1997. "I think we can make a wine with balance and complexity," he says. Before teaming up with the Rothschilds, Colin helped out a winery just down the road called Treaty Port. At the center of its 52 acres is an imitation 17th century Scottish castle, a stone fortress complete with a Union Jack flying on the flagpole at the top. Finished in 2009, the castle has six bedrooms and a large wood-paneled hall. Don't expect any European gimmicks from Lafite's first Chinese operation, however. Colin vows no cheesy castle this time. "We are in China," he explains. "We don't do Versailles." That's what Ma likes to hear. Ma splits his time between Shanghai and Los Angeles, where he's dean of the architecture school at the University of Southern California. He operates a winery and resort near his hometown of Xi'an, in central China, and he's adding three new buildings, all of them inspired by the simple brick homes of the nearby villages. He's started a wine-themed feed on Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, and his company sponsors wine-tasting teams at Chinese universities. Ma has also launched a consulting business. One client, Star China Investment & Development, hopes to develop a winery and resort in Fangshan, near Beijing, without imitating winemakers from overseas. "Wine is not necessarily something American, French, or Australian," says Han Yanchang, Star China's deputy general manager. "It's also something Chinese." What sort of building does Han have in mind? "I think it must have a Chinese flavor or style," he says quickly. "If it doesn't, then Professor Ma will criticize us."  Changyu spokesman Gu Dezhou says there's good reason to build faux châteaux. "Wines are from the West," he says in an e-mail. "We use this style to show the culture." Ma isn't convinced. Peering though the Yinchuan château's front gate, he can't contain his anger. "I hate it," he says. "This place is a serious joke." Down the street from the castle is a Changyu office building with fake wine barrels as part of its façade. "Kitsch," Ma says with a sigh. "Kitsch to its maximum vulgarity."   |
| Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:32 AM PDT Have You Heard…   |
| New Labor Attitudes Fed Into China Riot Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:41 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal by Paul Mozur TAIYUAN, China—The pressures threatening China's status as the world's factory floor have been laid bare by a riot this week at a factory that makes parts for Apple Inc. and other electronics companies, a clash that workers said was sparked by onerous security and repressive living conditions. The riot raises questions about the sustainability of China's vaunted manufacturing machine. And it poses a challenge to the government that is struggling to satisfy the soaring expectations of a new generation of Chinese workers who came of age in an era of double-digit economic growth and are less willing than their parents to make personal sacrifices for their country. Dozens of workers questioned on Wednesday said the rioting on Sunday, which caused 40 injuries and led to the mobilization of some 5,000 police, was in part the result of growing tensions as guards severely enforced strict rules on the campus. One worker said a drunken fight between two workers sparked a violent attack from a number of security guards seeking to control the situation. The scene of the guards beating the workers led their friends to call others for help, and before long a full-blown confrontation between guards and workers had broken out. Hon Hai's Foxconn arm, which operates the factory, said it has no evidence to suggest security guards violated company policy, but added "appropriate actions" would be taken if violations are found in a police investigation now under way. Three eyewitnesses said more workers joined in the fray and eventually smashed windows and set fires on the campus in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, that employs 79,000 people—the size of General Motors' total workforce in the U.S. One witness, a 28-year-old who declined to be named but showed identification to prove he served in China's People's Liberation Army, said he was incensed when he saw guards attacking the workers. "They're just kids; it's only natural for some fights to break out, but to come in and beat them, it's unbelievable," he said. He added that since the violence, workers haven't been directly informed about the issue at all, allowing rumors to spread across the campus. He said police and guards targeted workers who were attempting to photograph or record the incident with their mobile phones. Foxconn said it will report to employees about the event after the law-enforcement investigation is carried out. Although little known in the West until a spate of factory suicides in 2009 brought the company notoriety, Foxconn makes components, parts and assembles devices for many of the world's largest electronics companies including Hewlett-Packard Co. Sony Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple. The Taiwanese company was founded in 1974 by Taiwan businessman Terry Gou for $7,500 and turned in net profit of more than $900 million in the first half of 2012. Foxconn employs roughly 1 million people in China. Sunday's fracas was one of the largest outbreaks of unrest in the company's almost 40-year history. Many workers said they had previous problems with security forces, and though the confrontations varied in severity from simple scoldings to violence, they indicate China's new generation of laborers is less tolerant of the rigid, military-style of management used on earlier generations of more pliant migrant workers in China's largest factories. A tight labor market in China as the working-age population peaks also means they will be more able to pick and choose jobs. "There's no sense of safety here," said a 24-year-old worker surnamed Wang, who has been with Foxconn for two years. To plug labor shortage gaps and train workers, Foxconn has brought in a number of workers from a plant in Shenzhen, in southern China, and another in the central city of Zhengzhou, it said. Mr. Wang, who moved up from Shenzhen in May, said the attitude of the guards at the plant is threatening. One night, when he was caught playing poker in his room, against the rules, he said the guards brought him and his friends to the bottom floor of the dorm and threatened to fire them. "In Shenzhen that would never happen. The guards have character," he said, adding, "if they were really upset, you could get them some cigarettes and it would be OK." A 23-year-old female employee named Zhang Mingyang who has been at the plant for a month said she had already received a citation for letting her friend in through a campus gate using her own identification card. The two were walking together and she said it was easier to swipe one card and hold the gate open for her friend. Regulations require that each person swipe their card, and even though her friend showed the guards her own card, the two had to sign their names on a report about the incident. Other workers described being yelled at or physically intimidated, and two workers said there had been previous attacks by guards on the campus. Foxconn has been in front of most other factories with wage increases to make sure it doesn't face labor shortages as it ramps up production for products, like the iPhone 5, that are critical to the success of its customers. Several employees said they were thinking about leaving the plant, pointing to the "ferocity" of the guards, and a number of other grievances that fostered an environment in which a small dispute became a 2,000-person riot. They said pressures from working long hours—shifts of 10 to 12 hours are common—on assembly lines, recent transfers of large groups of workers from other locations and discontent about a lack of overtime work during the approaching weeklong National Day holiday were all likely contributing factors to the violence. Like a number of employees, Mr. Wang said he was frustrated because he has already spent five months in Taiyuan, and still has no certainty about when he can return to the boom town of Shenzhen, which he prefers to the more provincial, industrial city of Taiyuan. Foxconn said workers who agree to move to a different location are given clear timetables for when they will return to their original factory, but labor-rights groups say the company often gives only vague schedules, and many workers are forced to stay longer than they planned. Others said the sheer scale of the factory—which is smaller than the ones in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou—made outbursts impossible to avoid. "It's such a big place, anything could happen," said Liu Wenbing, a 19-year-old worker who left school when he was 13 to take up jobs fixing cars around the country. Employed by Foxconn for less than a month, he said he felt "deceived" coming to work there as deductions from his salaries meant he wouldn't make as much as he wanted. He said in addition to deductions for room and board, pay is sometimes docked for other reasons. "If it stays chaotic, I'll leave," he said, adding that he could find work elsewhere. Mr. Liu said he spends most of the money he usually makes to take care of himself and do other leisure activities, like shooting pool or singing karaoke. Like many of the younger workers at the facility, Mr. Liu had only a flagging commitment to working grueling hours at the factory. Others were less fortunate than Mr. Liu, who has experience repairing cars, and conceded Foxconn was the best option they had since it is well known and reliably pays wages on time. Almost all employees, most of whom were under 24, harbored goals they hoped to achieve by moving to bigger cities or saving money. Many said they would like to become entrepreneurs, or find work that gave them more independence. One 20-year-old, surnamed Zhou, said he came up to the Foxconn plant from a Sony factory in Shenzhen, but he hoped to return to start a business in trading once he had saved enough money. Originally from Shanxi, he said his motive for coming back from Shenzhen was in part to be closer to home, but said he would rather go back south. "It's a lot more expensive, but it's good, there are lots of different people, and more places to go out," he said.   |
| Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:48 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal By Laurie Burkitt and Juro Osawa China's tough stance against Japan in a continuing territorial dispute may have no bigger backer than Yao Xin, a 23-year-old legal assistant who says she refuses to buy Japanese products. Ms. Yao made her vow while standing in a Uniqlo store, a retailer owned by Japan's Fast Retailing Co., in Beijing's Japanese-themed Ginza shopping mall. Informed that the blue-collared shirt she was fingering was being sold by a Japanese company, she said, "Oh, I didn't know." Fast Retailing on Wednesday renewed its pledge to expand in China. Ms. Yao illustrates the complexities behind a nearly four-decade commercial relationship that time and again has bounced back despite occasional diplomatic flare-ups between Tokyo and Beijing. Japanese cars, electronics and clothing have won a reputation for high quality in China, contributing to Japan's $161.47 billion in exports to China last year. At the moment, Japanese brands and businesses in China are suffering as the two sides argue over competing claims to a group of rocky islands in the East China Sea. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 2% Wednesday, its largest daily percentage decline since May. The sharp fall in share prices came after auto makers Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. said they would begin holiday closures of Chinese plants earlier than planned due to softening demand. On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the two nations met at the United Nations but failed to make headway in talks. Campaigns in China against Japanese brands have continued online nearly two weeks after the cessation of protests in a number of cities, in which some Japanese stores and car dealerships were vandalized by demonstrators. "Recommended actions: Make no missteps, absolutely do not buy Japanese products, not even those that were designed in Japan," wrote one Japan critic, Wang Wei , who has 41,000 followers on China's Sina Weibo Twitter-like microblogging service. Auto-industry experts blamed the tensions for a drop in China sales last month for Toyota and Mazda Motor Corp., though Honda Motor Co. saw a 15% rise from a year earlier. Branding experts say the road back for Japanese brands has been complicated by the rise of social-media services in China, which have given anti-Japanese activists greater ability to rally large numbers of Chinese consumers. "Complaints now spread quicker and harder," said Nicole Fall, head of trends at Asia-focused consumer research firm Five by Fifty. Panasonic Corp. said that one TV station in Shanghai earlier this month stopped running commercials for Japanese wares and also suspended programs sponsored by Japanese companies. It's very difficult to predict whether and how much the political tensions might affect Japanese businesses in China this time, said Toshihiko Shibuya, a Panasonic spokesman based in Beijing. Past flare-ups include anti-Japan demonstrations in China in 2005 following visits by Japanese leaders to a controversial Tokyo war shrine that Chinese officials say honors World War II war criminals. In 2010, the detention of a Chinese fishing-boat captain involved in a collision with Japanese patrol boats in waters near the islands led to reports that China had cut off exports of key manufacturing minerals known as rare earths. But business over that period rose unabated, as Japanese exports to China more than doubled between 2005 and 2011. This year's furor has occasionally reached violent levels. Police in China have turned to social media for help in tracking down a man who last week allegedly hit in the head a man driving a Toyota in the western Chinese city of Xi'an, leaving him hospitalized. Still, Japanese brands have a considerable cushion in China. Prior to the recent dispute, Japanese car-brand dealers ranked the highest in perception of best service, according to a survey of nearly 15,000 Chinese vehicle owners from market research company J.D. Power. There's also confusion in China, where Japanese restaurants and stores are staffed—and sometimes owned—by Chinese. Online critics of the anti-Japanese push have pointed at China-owned businesses like sushi joints that have to put pro-China signs in their windows. "Many recognize that this is perceived as a loss of dignity," said Tom Doctoroff, North Asia area director and Greater China CEO of ad agency JWT. "It will die down, and [Chinese consumers] will reassert their pragmatism." On Wednesday, Fast Retailing Chief Executive Tadashi Yanai said his company has no plans to slow its China expansion. "If possible we would like to open 100 stores in China annually and we have prospect of opening 80 stores this year," he said. Ban Lu, 30, said Uniqlo sells some of the best clothing she can find in Beijing, and her government's standoff with Japan has had no effect on her shopping habits. "It's up to me what I want to buy, and quality is what I want to buy," said Ms. Ban, a native of China's northeastern Hebei province, as she shopped at Uniqlo in Beijing's Ginza mall. The issue has also sparked attempts at humor on China's Internet. One popular joke—tweaking the well-known taste of China's officials for luxurious foreign brands and sometime confusion over what is a Japanese brand as opposed to a different import—has one government functionary protectively asking his assistant whether anything he owns is Japanese. No, the assistant replies: His watch is Swiss, his clothing Italian, his car German and his mistresses Chinese. "In that case, let's unite the people and boycott Japanese goods!" he says.   |
| Noda vows no compromise as Japan, China dig in on islands row Posted: 27 Sep 2012 09:50 AM PDT  Source: Reuters By Chris Buckley and Paul Eckert (Reuters) – Japan will not compromise on the islands at the heart of a dispute with China as Tokyo already has sovereignty over them, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Wednesday after China's foreign minister angrily declared the islets were "sacred territory." "There are no territorial issues as such. Therefore, there cannot be any compromise that represents a retreat from this position," he told a news conference in New York after attending the U.N. General Assembly. Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese state media said China had claimed the uninhabited and remote islands in the East China Sea as its "sacred territory since ancient times" in talks between the two countries' foreign ministers in New York. Sino-Japanese relations have deteriorated sharply since Japan bought the islands from their private owner, hurting bilateral trade ties and tourism while sparking protests across China. In hour-long talks on the sidelines of the United Nations on Tuesday night, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba urged China to exercise restraint over the dispute. Japanese diplomats described the meeting as "tense," as Gemba endured a stern lecture from Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. Noda noted that Taiwan also claimed the islands – believed to be located in waters rich in natural gas deposits – which Japan has administered since 1895. He said Tokyo would handle the dispute carefully to protect relations with its neighbors. "We will make sure that these cases will not affect adversely our bilateral relationship. We shall maintain reason and try to resolve the issues calmly and make sure there is good communication between us," he added. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference in Tokyo the two sides had agreed to keep talking. "There is no magic bullet in foreign diplomacy. We need to hold talks through various channels taking into account of broad perspective," he said. Noda voiced frustration that he had "repeatedly explained to China our reason for purchasing the islands, but regrettably this has to this day not been accepted by China," and instead led to attacks on Japanese citizens and businesses in China. "I must say clearly to China that there is no excuse for violence and strongly urge China to protect Japan's citizens and business," Noda said. Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Suzuki are curtailing production in China as a result of the protests, which have forced the shuttering of dealerships and darkened their sales prospects in the world's top car market. China's meetings with Japanese diplomats – both at the United Nations and in Beijing – suggest that Beijing does not want the row over the island chain to lead to a rupture in relations, in what has been dubbed the Year of Japan-China Friendship. However, patrol vessels from Japan and China have been playing a tense game of cat-and-mouse in the waters near the disputed islands, raising concerns that an unintended collision or other incident could escalate into a broader clash. And the unyielding tone of China's published remarks suggests the dispute is far from over. "The Japanese move is a gross violation of China's territorial integrity and sovereignty, an outright denial of the outcomes of victory of the world anti-fascist war and a grave challenge to the post-war international order," China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Foreign Minister Yang as saying. RETREAT DIFFICULT Sino-Japanese ties have long been plagued by China's bitter memories of Japanese military aggression in the 1930s and 40s, as well as its present rivalry over regional resources and influence. The current row coincides with domestic dynamics that make it hard for either side to retreat. While China undergoes a once-in-a-decade leadership change, Noda's ruling party faces a drubbing in an election expected within months. The Japanese prime minister is under fire from the main opposition party, which picked former prime minister and security hawk Shinzo Abe as its new leader on Wednesday. Abe has been most vocal of the candidates in urging Tokyo take a tougher line in territorial disputes with both China and South Korea, but on Wednesday he struck a balanced tone. "We must show our will to firmly protect our territorial waters and Senkaku amid China's movements," he told a news conference after being elected party chief. But Abe added: "Even if our national interests clash, we should acknowledge that we need each other and control the situation while thinking things strategically. My stance on this has not changed." Japan, which says the purchase of the islands was intended to fend off a more provocative bid by the nationalist governor of Tokyo, is trying to keep channels of communication open. China has postponed a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties with Japan, but an official at the Japan-China Economic Association said Toyota Motor Chairman Fujio Cho and Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japanese business lobby Keidanren, and other representatives of friendship groups, would attend an event on Thursday in Beijing.   |
| Doubts raised over Heywood death Posted: 27 Sep 2012 08:26 AM PDT A Chinese forensic scientist casts doubt on the official version of the death of Briton Neil Heywood, which triggered a huge political scandal. |
| AUDIO: Mogul's $64m offer to woo daughter Posted: 27 Sep 2012 07:27 AM PDT A Hong Kong billionaire has offered HK$64m to the man who can woo and marry his daughter, following reports that she had married her long-term female partner. |
| VIDEO: Dalai Lama hopeful of Chinese change Posted: 27 Sep 2012 03:28 AM PDT Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, says he hopes for a new Chinese approach to Tibet when new leaders are appointed in Beijing. |
| Beijing denies reports about China's second aircraft carrier Posted: 27 Sep 2012 01:47 AM PDT THE Ministry of Defense today denied foreign media reports that China was building its second aircraft carrier in Shanghai. "The reports are inaccurate," ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a press conference in Beijing today, two days after the country's first aircraft carrier Liaoning was officially commissioned. Yang said China will plan its aircraft carrier projects by taking into account the country's economic and social conditions as well as the needs of its national defense and army building. Some foreign media claimed that China was building its second aircraft carrier on Changxing Island off Shanghai and the ship was 100 percent Chinese-made and was expected to leave the shipyard by the end of this year. However, no satellite images proved the claim. Major General Luo Yuan, a researcher with the PLA's Military Science Academy, also said: "It is entirely possible for China to build more aircraft carriers based on the nation's economic power." But the spokesman said, "The first aircraft carrier Liaoning will continue to conduct scientific research and experiment as well as military training. Its future use has yet to be confirmed." Yang said the Defense Ministry is going to form an aircraft carrier fleet that will consist of aircrafts, submarines and frigates, adding that the new aircraft carrier can assume the combat role whenever necessary. China's newly developed 052D missile destroyers are most suitable to escort the aircraft carrier, said Hu Siyuan, a professor with the National Defense University in Beijing. |
| China slams Japanese PM for remarks on Diaoyu Islands Posted: 27 Sep 2012 12:52 AM PDT CHINA was outraged by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's remarks to reporters at the UN General Assembly, and has urged Japan to cease immediately all actions that infringe China's territorial integrity and sovereignty. |
| At least 7 seriously injured in Guangxi chemical plant blast Posted: 27 Sep 2012 12:45 AM PDT AT least seven people have been seriously injured today in a chemical plant blast in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, police said. |
| Taiwan's SEF elects new top negotiator for cross-strait affairs Posted: 27 Sep 2012 12:39 AM PDT THE Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) today formally accepted the resignation of its Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and elected Lin Join-sane as its new head. |
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