Strong rain to soak S. China

Strong rain to soak S. China
How China became the US election bogeyman
Smuggled iPhone 5s are pricey but sold out
Police chief investigated
A smile and luxury watches topple official
Xi tells Asian neighbors disputes must be resolved by negotiation
Anniversary 'ruined' by illegal isles purchase
Gang boss admits his part in 13 murders
3 children killed, 13 injured in ax attack
Tourist body cancels visit to Japanese trade fair
Scenic-spot price cuts fail to excite
Smaller SIM cards to be available
Cancer-causing additive found in chili products
Diamond Demand Slows in China
China Molybdenum raises less-than-expected $95 million in share sale
U.S. Says Disputed Islands Covered by Japan Defense Treaty
China’s Xi seeks to reassure Southeast Asia on sea dispute
Have You Heard…
'Three die in China axe attack'
VIDEO: China facing one child policy dilemma

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 07:41 PM PDT

WIDESPREAD rainfall forecast for the next three days will sweep across most parts of southern China, with some regions expecting rainstorms, the national observatory said today.

Strong rainfall will pelt some parts in Tibet Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian from Saturday to Monday, the Central Meteorological Station forecast.

Light to moderate rain is forecast for parts of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions in the coming three days, it said.

Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to drop by up to 8 degrees Celsius as a cold front will chill northwestern and northern regions, including Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, the observatory forecast.

How China became the US election bogeyman

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:12 PM PDT

How China replaced Japan as US election bogeyman

Smuggled iPhone 5s are pricey but sold out

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT

IT took little more than five hours for the first Apple iPhone 5s to go on sale on the Chinese mainland after being smuggled across the border from Hong Kong, but supplies were short and prices high.

In a crowded building in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, a salesman stood by as shoppers scrambled to take photos of three shiny new iPhones on display in his glass cabinet.

"The stock is so limited that people are treating these iPhone 5s like gems," said another salesman, surnamed Lin. "I pre-ordered online and got quite a few people to do the same but I could only get a few."

New Apple products are typically rolled out later on the mainland than in Hong Kong, creating a thriving "grey market" for enterprising traders. According to media reports, the iPhone 5 is expected to go on sales on the mainland soon.

Vendors such as Lin also make a year-round living exploiting the price difference between Apple and other popular brands in Hong Kong, a free port near Shenzhen with zero-duty on many electronics imports, and on the Chinese mainland.

At the iPhone 5's debut in Hong Kong earlier in the day, small groups of people carrying rucksacks filled with cash waited outside the city's flagship store hoping to snap up phones for resale.

For anyone able to secure one, the new phone cost HK$5,588 (US$720), or the equivalent of around 4,545 yuan, at the Hong Kong Apple store, while they were selling for between 7,500 yuan and 9,000 yuan in the litter-strewn building in Shenzhen where fake and smuggled phones are often hawked.

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Police chief investigated

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 10:06 AM PDT

A top police official in Guangzhou City in south China has been suspended from his post for alleged bribery.

The city's discipline inspection commission confirmed that an investigation into He Jing, the city's deputy police chief, had begun. He allegedly has been taking bribes since 2003 when he was a district police chief.

He is also accused of having affairs and possessing huge amounts of property.

A smile and luxury watches topple official

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 10:06 AM PDT

A government official in northwest China with a penchant for luxurious accessories who was seen smiling broadly at the scene of a fatal bus crash has been stripped of his post due for seriously violating Party discipline.

A photograph of Yang Dacai, Shaanxi Province's work safety chief, smiling by the burnt-out double-decker sleeper bus on August 26 caused public indignation. The bus crashed into a methanol tanker on a highway and 36 people died in the inferno.

Angered by his smile, Internet users began to investigate and uncovered photographs showing him wearing at least 11 different luxury watches, including a Rolex and an Omega, and several different pairs of designer glasses.

Among the 11 watches is a Vacheron Constantin worth about 400,000 yuan (US$63,400). He was also spotted wearing a pair of German-made Lotos glasses, a top eyewear brand whose frames alone sell for at least 138,000 yuan.

In an early response to the criticism, Yang said that he had been "unprepared" at the time the photo was taken and he was smiling as he tried to calm down his subordinates.

He also insisted he only owned five expensive watches but used his "legal income" to buy them over a 10-year period. "The most expensive one cost me 35,000 yuan and the rest cost me 10,000 to 20,000 respectively," he said.

But his words failed to dismiss the doubts as critics argued that a public servant could not possibly afford the watches when Yang had claimed that his family's annual income was 170,000 to 180,000 yuan a year.

On September 1, Liu Yanfeng, a Hubei Province college student, filed an application to the Shaanxi financial department, demanding that Yang's salary from last year be made public. "Yang should publish his income to prove he can afford all those expensive watches," said Liu, a student at the China Three Gorges University.

His request was rejected.

The public pays for government officials and thus their income should be made public, Liu said.

In sharp contrast to the Internet campaign to shine a spotlight on Yang's taste for luxury, the authorities largely stayed silent, Xinhua news agency reported.

But such was the online anger that the province's discipline authorities launched a corruption investigation.

Yang has been dismissed from his position as member of the provincial Party discipline agency, as well as head and Party chief of the provincial work safety administration. A further investigation of Yang is under way, Xinhua news agency said.

The Internet is playing an increasingly important role in bringing hidden conflicts to the surface, said Professor Yu Guoming, director of the Institute of Public Opinion of Beijing-based Renmin University of China.

"Yang's case is not just the problem of an individual official," Yu told Xinhua.

"It should be taken as a warning to all government employees."

Xi tells Asian neighbors disputes must be resolved by negotiation

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:56 AM PDT

CHINA reiterated yesterday that it would resolve differences concerning land and sea territories and maritime rights and interests peacefully through friendly negotiations.

In southwest China's Nanning City, where the ninth China-ASEAN Expo opened yesterday, Vice President Xi Jinping said China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations must work more vigorously to advance connectivity.

This is a measure of strategic importance that will promote regionwide economic integration and enhance regional competitiveness, thus contributing to sustained and steady growth in the area, Xi said.

"China is ready to establish all-dimensional, in-depth and strategic connectivity with the ASEAN," Xi said. "Currently, we are actively preparing for the establishment of the Chinese Committee on China-ASEAN Connectivity and will in due course set up interaction and institutionalized exchanges with relevant ASEAN agencies."

With a theme of "Win-win cooperation for common development," the expo is set to draw more than 2,000 domestic and overseas enterprises, and consolidate its place as an important platform to promote China-ASEAN trade. China is the largest trading partner of the ASEAN, while the ASEAN ranks as China's third-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade surged from US$7 billion in the early days of relations to US$362.8 billion last year, registering an average annual growth of over 20 percent.

China and ASEAN nations have not only developed robust trade relations, but have also seen two-way investment growing steadily, with investment between the two sides totaling nearly US$100 billion by the end of July this year.

Despite booming trade ties, disputes between China and some ASEAN countries remained, Xi said.

"We are firm in safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and are committed to resolving differences with neighbors concerning territorial and maritime rights and interests peacefully through friendly negotiations," the vice president said.

"We will never seek hegemony, nor behave in a hegemonic manner," he vowed, adding: "By peaceful development, we mean to develop ourselves by upholding world peace and upholding world peace through our own development."

The association comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Anniversary 'ruined' by illegal isles purchase

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:55 AM PDT

NEXT week's 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan has been ruined by Japan's illegal purchase of the Diaoyu Islands, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

"Previously, all concerned in China and Japan hoped that through this (anniversary) they could further advance relations between the two countries," ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing.

"But due to Japan's erroneous action of illegally buying the Diaoyu Islands, many plans have been ruined, and currently many activities have been affected. The culpability lies entirely with Japan."

When asked about current China-Japan economic and trade relations, Hong said that obviously economic ties had been affected.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who was re-elected ruling party leader and government chief yesterday, said Japan needed to act firmly but maintain calm in dealing with security challenges.

"Unfortunately there are concerns with regard to security and diplomatic issues. The important thing is to assert ourselves firmly from now on and make no concessions," Noda told ruling party lawmakers before the vote without specifically mentioning the islands.

"At the same time we will steer diplomatic policy calmly and with a comprehensive view, without provoking or responding to provocation."

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Gang boss admits his part in 13 murders

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:53 AM PDT

NAW Kham, the principal suspect in the murders of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year, pleaded guilty last night at his trial in southwest China.

The trial of Naw Kham and five others opened on Thursday at the Intermediate People's Court of Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, and ended yesterday, one day ahead of schedule.

Naw Kham, the head of an armed drug gang from Myanmar, expressed his penitence to the victims and their families in court, hoping for leniency.

The court will pick a date for sentencing following a review of the case.

Naw Kham denied plotting the attack when he appeared in court on Thursday. However, the five other defendants all testified that he was the gang's ringleader and mastermind behind the attack.

All six had been charged with murder, drug trafficking, kidnapping and hijacking.

The crime ring was busted earlier this year in a joint operation by police from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand after the murders of the Chinese sailors triggered an outcry in China.

The 13 sailors were killed after two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were hijacked on October 5 on the Mekong River.

3 children killed, 13 injured in ax attack

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:52 AM PDT

THREE children were killed, and another 13 injured yesterday by a man wielding an ax in Pingnan County in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said.

At 2:06pm, local police received a report that a man had rushed into a residence and attacked 16 children with an ax used for chopping wood, according to a statement by the county government.

All the injured were taken to hospital but three of the children died after emergency treatment failed, the statement said.

The suspect, surnamed Wu, has been arrested by police and the reasons behind the incident are under investigation.

Tourist body cancels visit to Japanese trade fair

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:51 AM PDT

CHINA'S National Tourism Administration has canceled plans to attend an international travel fair in Japan. The event, held by the Japanese Association of Travel Agents, is one of the biggest travel and tourism events in Asia.

In a separate statement issued late yesterday, the administration warned of safety risks to Chinese tourists who are planning to go to Japan or are there already.

If their safety is threatened, tourists should report to Japanese police and the Chinese Embassy for help, it said.

Scenic-spot price cuts fail to excite

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT

CHINA'S top economic planner yesterday announced a list of 80 scenic spots, including two in Shanghai, which will lower admission prices before the National Day holiday.

However, the goodwill move by the National Development and Reform Commission drew a raft of complaints and criticism, with many saying popular tourist spots had not been included in the list and the price cuts, ranging between 2 yuan and 35 yuan (US$5.6), were too small.

"I have never heard the names of most scenic spots on the list and I am not interested in them, either," said Zhang Liqiu, a librarian working at a Shanghai university.

There should have been some eye-catching attractions on the list, he said, mentioning the Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest China's Sichuan Province which he planned to visit. Entry fee there is 80 yuan. "Tickets of many popular tourist spots are overpriced," he complained.

A netizen, identified as "Hill_song," said he was not excited about the price cuts.

"The price reduction move is not sincere as those places usually have few visitors, while admission fees for popular spots keep going up when festivals approach," he said.

Many forest parks, museums, zoos and memorial sites are on the list but most are unknown or lesser known.

The two spots listed in Shanghai are in suburban districts.

The Shanghai Earthquake Museum in the suburban Songjiang District, which charges 5 yuan, will provide free admission while the Fuquanshan Ancient Culture Ruins in Qingpu District, a mound containing a massive number of elaborate tombs, will have its entry fee cut to 8 yuan from 10 yuan.

"I think the two scenic spots are not popular, and there will still be very few visitors despite the price cuts," Wu Zhichao, a local media worker, said.

The NDRC said it will soon announce the second batch of about 100 tourist spots that will slash entry prices.

Smaller SIM cards to be available

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT

MOBILE phone companies on China's mainland are ready to provide a new smaller SIM card used in the iPhone 5, which went on sale worldwide yesterday but isn't yet available on the mainland.

Both China Mobile and China Unicom say they can provide the nano-SIM cards for customers who have bought the phone overseas.

It might be around three months before the iPhone 5 officially goes on sale on the mainland, industry insiders said. By then, all carriers will have to provide better services to keep their existing customers and attract new ones, according to analysts.

Cancer-causing additive found in chili products

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT

THE trade watchdog of Changsha, capital of the central Hunan Province, has found a cancer-causing industrial dye in several brands of chili pepper products during a 100-day crackdown, it said yesterday.

Several supermarkets and plants, including unlicensed workshops, have been severely punished for making and selling chili paste and red chili powder dyed with chemical compound Rhodamine B, a banned food addictive.

The Changsha Industrial and Commercial Bureau revoked the license of a company while a dealer who just earned 16 yuan (US$2.5) was fined tens of thousands of yuan, Sanxiang City Express reported.

The dye was added in order to improve the appearance of the pepper, officials said.

Characterized by its liberal use of chili pepper, Hunan cuisine is known for being dry-hot, as distinct from the numbing-hot flavors of Sichuan cuisine, with which it is often compared. However, both provinces have been hit by the dyed pepper scandal.

Rhodamine B was first detected in hotpot seasonings in Chongqing, a municipality near Sichuan, in March 2011.

Diamond Demand Slows in China

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:19 AM PDT

Source: Wall Street Journal By Jason Chow and Laurie Burkitt

HONG KONG—Demand for diamonds is slowing in China, according to the distribution arm of mining giant De Beers, the latest company in the luxury sector to suggest the meteoric growth rates in the world's No. 2 economy are leveling off.
China jumped to become the world's second-largest diamond consumer last year, buying up 10% of the world's production. It ranks behind the U.S., which buys 38% of the world's diamonds.

"Last year, China grew over 20%. This year, it will be up around 10%," said Varda Shine, chief executive of the Diamond Trading Company, the De Beers subsidiary that distributes rough diamonds, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

De Beers is among a number of luxury companies experiencing slowing growth in China this year. Auto maker Daimler warned Thursday that Mercedes-Benz division would miss its profit target this year and that demand will weaken next year for its Porsche division. Among the reasons given was stiff competition in the Chinese market.

U.K. luxury giant Burberry Group PLC warned investors earlier in September of slower sales and lower profits due to sliding demand in Asia-Pacific, driven largely by China.

Sales of jewelry in China in the first quarter grew 20%, compared with 59% a year earlier, according to the most recent data available from brokerage CLSA and China's National Bureau of Statistics. Similarly, watchmakers' sales rose 15% in the first quarter of this year, slowing from 40% in the first quarter of 2011, according to the most recent data available from U.S. consulting firm Bain & Co.

Not all luxury brands are forecasting gloom in China. French luxury company Hermès International SCA announced in late August that it would raise its growth target after sales of its Birkin bags, silk scarves and other products in China climbed 25% in the company's second quarter, up from the same period a year earlier.

De Beers started marketing diamonds in China in 1994, a time when few in the country could afford such luxuries. But since then, the gems have been adopted as a marriage custom: Today, four out of five newlywed couples in China's largest cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have diamond engagement rings, according to Ms. Shine. She added that growth in China's less-developed cities in central and western China is outpacing those of the major centers.

Chinese consumers are often the most discerning and consuming "the better quality" gems of the highest grade, she added.

Ms. Shine expects India and China to continue to the fastest-growing markets for diamonds since they are already the leading consumers of gold in the world, and have a long tradition of wearing and gifting the precious metal. "Diamonds fit well into that culture," she said.

DTC, which Ms. Shine leads, sells rough diamonds to so-called listed sightholders, or buyers, who polish the stones and cut them for use in jewelry. Currently, the company counts two major buyers from Hong Kong—Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Co. and Chow Sang Sang Holdings Ltd.—though none from mainland China. She said the company is "eager to see who will become the first mainland Chinese sightholder" but added that many Chinese jewelry manufacturers already team up with existing clients from other countries to procure their gems.

China Molybdenum raises less-than-expected $95 million in share sale

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:23 AM PDT

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) – China Molybdenum Co Ltd (3993.HK), a major Chinese producer of tungsten and molybdenum, raised a much less-than-expected 600 million yuan ($95 million) through a share offering in Shanghai, reflecting slack demand for resource-related firms amid a slowing economy.
China Molybdenum sold 200 million shares at 3 yuan apiece, it said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange late on Thursday.

It had said it was planning to raise 3.65 billion yuan by selling no more than 542 million shares to build new projects.

The sluggish performance of China's stock market has dented investor appetite for new share issues, forcing a number of companies, including China Communications Construction Co Ltd (1800.HK) (601800.SS) and CITIC Heavy Industries Co (601608.SS), to either postpone offerings or downsize their deals.

China Molybdenum recorded a net profit attributable to shareholders of 720.7 million yuan in the first half of this year, it said. Its profit rose 9.6 percent in 2011 to 1.12 billion yuan, it said, but gave no breakdown for the first half of 2011.

The producer of molybdenum and tungsten, which are used in steel products, is the latest Chinese firm to tap mainland investors for funds after initially going public in Hong Kong.

Essence Securities and BOC International (China) Ltd were the underwriters for the deal, while UBS and CCB International acted as financial advisers. ($1 = 6.3038 Chinese yuan)

U.S. Says Disputed Islands Covered by Japan Defense Treaty

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:27 AM PDT

Source: Bloomberg News

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said islands at the heart of a dispute between Japan and China fall under an American defense pact with Japan, while urging the sides to resolve the standoff via diplomacy.
"We want to focus more on issues associated with the maintenance of peace and stability and less on the particular details of this very complex and challenging matter," Campbell told a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's East Asian and Pacific Affairs subcommittee yesterday. He said the islands fall under a treaty which obligates the U.S. to defend Japan if it's attacked.

The U.S. doesn't take a position on the sovereignty of the islands, known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese, Campbell said. His comments echoed those of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said in 2010 that the islands fall under "mutual treaty obligations" with the Japan government.

Japan's purchase last week of the islands triggered protests and attacks on Japanese businesses in China, straining ties between Asia's two biggest economies. In a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta this week, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said his government reserves the right to take further action in the worst diplomatic crisis between the two countries since 2005.

"We have stated very clearly that we want this issue to be resolved peacefully through dialogue between Japan and China," Campbell said. The U.S. is concerned "by recent demonstrations, and frankly the potential for the partnership between Japan and China to fray substantially in this environment," he said.

Competing Claims

China claims that it's owned the islands for centuries, while Japan argues it took administrative control of them in 1895, lost control of them after World War II and had the islands returned to it by the U.S. in 1972. The dispute sparked demonstrations across China, including at the Japanese embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Shanghai. Japanese retailers yesterday reopened stores in China as protests waned.

China is committed to solving disputes over territory and maritime rights peacefully, Vice President Xi Jinping said in a speech at the China-Asean Business and Investment Summit in southern China today.

At the same time, China will defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Xi said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said today the country must be firm "without being provocative or being provoked" on territorial issues.

Trips Canceled

Chinese tourists canceled between 30 and 40 percent of trips to Japan last week, Citigroup analyst Vivian Tao said in a note. Cancellations may rise during the week-long holiday in China that starts Oct. 1, and the impact on airlines is "negative, but manageable," Tao said in the note.

"China-Japan business relations have obviously been affected by Japan's purchase of the Diaoyu Islands," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in Beijing today. "Japan should face squarely the realities and correct its mistakes."

Panetta said Sept. 19 in Beijing that China must move beyond the "deep wounds" caused by Japan in World War II in addressing present-day issues such as the island dispute. He also said the Japan-U.S. alliance shouldn't be viewed by China as American support for the Japanese point of view on the island standoff.

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a Chinese- speaking former diplomat, today during a visit to Singapore said he is concerned about "the capacity for escalation" in the dispute.

"Calm heads are necessary, restraint is necessary and I'm optimistic that leaders on both sides in Tokyo and Beijing will be able to manage this," Rudd told reporters.

China’s Xi seeks to reassure Southeast Asia on sea dispute

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) – China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping sought to reassure Southeast Asian leaders on Friday that his country wanted only peaceful relations with them, following months of growing tensions over the strategically located South China Sea.
Speaking at the opening of a trade fair in southern China for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, Vice President Xi said China's own prosperity could only be guaranteed by having good relations with its neighbors.

"The more progress China makes in development and the closer its links with the region and the world, the more important it is for the country to have a stable regional environment and a peaceful international environment," Xi said.

"Having gone through numerous vicissitudes in modern times, we are deeply aware of the importance of development and how valuable peace is," he added, according to state media.

Beijing's assertion of sovereignty over a vast stretch of the South China Sea has set it directly against Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also lay claim to other parts of the region, making it Asia's biggest potential military troublespot.

At stake are potentially massive offshore oil reserves. The seas also lie on key shipping lanes.

Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is one of the ASEAN leaders attending the trade fair, held in the city of Nanning.

Xi said China – currently also involved in a dispute with Japan over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea -wanted the peaceful resolution for its diplomatic arguments.

"We are firm in safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and are committed to resolving differences with neighbors concerning territorial land, territorial sea and maritime rights and interests peacefully through friendly negotiations," he said.

"China's sustained development and prosperity offer an important and lasting window of opportunities to its neighbors, and promise important development opportunities to countries around the world, ASEAN countries included," Xi added.

China has resisted proposals for a multilateral code of conduct for the South China Sea, preferring to try to negotiate disputes with each of the far less powerful individual claimants.

It has also stepped up activity in the region, including establishing a military garrison on one of the disputed islands, and accused Washington of seeking to stir up trouble far from home.

Unprecedented arguments over the sea prevented an ASEAN summit in July from issuing a joint communiqué, the first time this had happened in the 10-member bloc's 45-year history.