News » Society » Plastic surgery ban looms for minors
News » Society » Plastic surgery ban looms for minors |
- Plastic surgery ban looms for minors
- Guangzhou is set to ban minors from having cosmetic surgery under draft rules aimed at tackling the growing obsession with appearances.
- Curb on new N-plants
- China's economic miracle
- Hainan to expand its duty-free shopping
- One civil servant vacancy draws 9,470 applications
- Plant safe, officials tell protesting villagers
- Tainted frogs removed from food market
- Jaywalkers fined 5 to 50 yuan
- Man seen showing off monkey carcass sought
- China Vanke Says Third-Quarter Profit Doubles as Sales Recover
- China Cosco Chief Says Shipping to Expand as Economy Picks Up
- Laos Says China to Finance Rail Link
- Have You Heard…
- As China tensions simmer, Japan pulls back from "world’s factory"
- Beijing Shakes Up Military Leadership
- Romney Fails the Confucian Test
- Tibetan self-immolates in China
- Blast rips through fireworks factory in south China
- China strives to develop new, renewable energy: white paper
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| Hainan to expand its duty-free shopping Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:15 AM PDT THE southernmost Hainan Province will increase travelers' duty-free shopping quota, lower their age limit and expand its duty-free goods catalog next month, China's Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Duty-free shopping quota will be raised from 5,000 yuan (US$800) to 8,000 yuan, and travelers are allowed to make duty-free purchases if they are over 16 years old, instead of 18 now. "Relaxing duty-free quota restriction will significantly expand tourists' choices of products, thus release their shopping desire effectively and boost the sales of tax-free goods with high prices, which are slack at present," Liu Pingzhi, director of the provincial department of finance, said yesterday. More than 60 percent of single duty-free products priced above 5,000 yuan that tourists buy at present fall between 5,000 and 8,000 yuan, and the increase on purchase limit will allow the majority of goods with high prices sold at designated shops to be covered, Liu said. The province will also add beauty gadgets such as electric shavers and health care equipment, tableware, kitchenware, and toys (including baby carriages) to the duty-free catalog, bringing the number of goods categories to 21 from the current 18. Those who use fake identity cards or passports will be banned from making duty-free purchases on the island for three years, while duty-free shops found to have broken rules, such as selling products to Hainan residents or extra pieces to tourists, will get warnings, according to customs regulations. The initiative is aimed at boosting tourism in the island province. |
| One civil servant vacancy draws 9,470 applications Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:14 AM PDT A SINGLE vacancy in one of the National Bureau of Statistics's offices in Chongqing City attracted 9,470 qualified applicants as of yesterday, the last day for applying to sit for China's annual civil servant exams. The application deadline was 6pm but the number is expected to set a new high record as the qualification review work will last until tomorrow. According to initial statistics, more than 1.37 million candidates passed the qualification review to register and apply for the exam, which is to be administrated in November, according to the China Central Television. The number of candidates is 60,000 higher than last year and is predicted to reach 1.5 million after all the qualification review work finishes. This year, the country opened nearly 3,000 more positions compared to last year. National-level government agencies, their affiliated public institutions and local branches will recruit 20,839 civil servants in 2013. Hong Xiangyang, founder of xycareer.com, a career planning website, said applicants' enthusiasm indicated a grim employment environment in China. "Many graduates told me they are feeling growing pressure from deteriorating employment and wish to secure a stable position in the government offices. Civil servant posts, which the public considers to be decent and stable, have become the most sought-after jobs," Hong said. Hong said it has become a trend that many students start to prepare for the civil servant exam from the time they are enrolled into universities. "The students are blind and have no idea what kind of job to pursue. Many of them were born in the 1980s and 1990s. They live in a comparatively good environment due to the one-child policy and don't want to try hard jobs. "Even their parents encourage them a lot to sit for the exam no matter what majors they study in universities," Hong said. Hong said the growing popularity of the exam also reflected inferior education quality and poor teaching resources in Chinese universities. "Why don't students choose a job related to their major? Because they learned nothing from their majors," Hong said. Hong said it is not positive for graduates to see the exam as a big source of jobs. Though the applicants rose this year, it doesn't mean all of them will take the exam. Last year, 1.33 million people applied but only two-thirds actually took the test. "Many students applied for a try but some stepped back at the last minute," Hong said. |
| Plant safe, officials tell protesting villagers Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:11 AM PDT A DISTRICT government in the east China city of Ningbo yesterday assured the public that a petrochemical plant it plans to expand meets "the most stringent discharge standards," two days after local villagers protested over pollution concerns. Zhenhai District said it would keep relocating residents who live near the plant after 200 residents took to the streets to protest over possible health hazards. The new complex is planned to be built in the Ningbo Petrochemical Economic and Technical Development Zone in the district with a combined investment of nearly 55.8 billion yuan (US$8.8 billion). Villagers gathered in the district government building on Monday and displayed banners saying, "We want to survive." The plant, run by Zhenhai Refining & Chemical, is a producer of paraxylene, or PX, a carcinogenic petrochemical used to create raw materials for polyester film, packaging resin and fabrics. Health experts say it also can cause fetal abnormalities. The Zhenhai government has spent 6.4 billion yuan building 13 residential complexes and 10 shelters, totaling 2 million square meters, for relocated villagers. More than 9,800 households have moved to their new homes. The protesting villagers, however, have not yet been relocated. During the protest, some villagers blocked an intersection, but they left after the local government issued a written response promising to address their problems. The local government said, however, that those who stirred up public fury to disturb the social order would be punished. The district has spent 3.6 billion yuan to reduce pollution from the plant, according to local authorities. But Internet users pointed out that the project violates the rules because the plant was established only 15.5 kilometers away from the downtown while it should have been set up 100 kilometers away. Similar protests have erupted in recent years. In 2007, thousands of people in southeast China's city of Xiamen protested the construction of a PX plant over health concerns. The plant was eventually relocated. Last year, authorities in Dalian in northeast China ordered a PX chemical plant shut down after local residents took to the streets to demand that the plant be relocated. |
| Tainted frogs removed from food market Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:28 AM PDT FARMED bullfrogs, a delicacy in China, were found to have been fed an antibiotic, banned for use in animals, during regular market inspections in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province. A total of five batches of bullfrogs in the Mawangdui wholesale market were found last month to contain furazolidone, a cheap anti-bacterial that can damage the nervous system and cause liver necrosis if used improperly, a food safety official said. The exact number of bullfrogs tested was unclear but all the frogs in the market were removed from sale, officials said. The Shanghai Food Safety Office said their checks have not turned up any such problems in locally sold bullfrogs. Most of the contaminated frogs found in Changsha weren't raised there but came from southeast China's Fujian and Guangdong provinces, which are big bullfrog producers for other areas, including Shanghai. Some growers feed the frogs, which are vulnerable to intestinal and liver disorders, with furazolidone because of the drug's quick effectiveness and low price, Changsha Evening News reported yesterday. A frog supplier in Changsha surnamed Chen told the newspaper he earns only 1 yuan (16 US cents) by raising and selling 1 kilogram of frogs. He said the meager profit drives some suppliers to take such measures to ensure as many frogs as possible survive. The suppliers can get the medicine in pharmacies but apparently do not realize improper use can risk the health of the people who eat the frogs, the paper said. Medical experts said one big concern is that if animals are fed such antibiotics improperly, the drugs will lose effectiveness because microbes will develop immunity to them. In Shanghai, the trade in bullfrogs reached its peak in 2011, when Sichuan and Hunan cuisines were trendy, with 30,000 to 40,000 kilograms of frogs sold by markets every day. But local consumption was lowered following food safety scares. In the biggest case, in June 2011, more than 400 kilograms of bullfrogs were removed in local markets after they were suspected of containing cholera bacteria. The frogs tested negative for the bacteria, officials said. |
| Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:28 AM PDT A NEW campaign initiated by the government of Shijiazhuang City, capital of north China's Hebei Province, will make pedestrians think twice about jaywalking. Fines of 5 to 50 yuan (80 US cents to US$8) will be levied on people who cross pedestrian walkways when the light is red as part of a two-month traffic safety campaign initiated by the city's civilization office and traffic management bureau on Tuesday. It is common for pedestrians in most Chinese cities to ignore traffic regulations, with large crowds of people crossing against red lights on a regular basis. One of the city's traffic monitors recently reported that about 600 people jaywalked within one hour at one of the city's intersections. Wu Ruiqi, director of the traffic management bureau, said the first three people within a given group of jaywalkers at major intersections will be fined, while entire groups of jaywalkers at smaller intersections will be fined. Traffic police, coordinators and volunteers have been sent to 400 intersections across the city to enforce the new rule, Wu said. Those who cannot afford the fines will be able to volunteer to guide traffic and pedestrians or receive related education instead, Wu said. Some people have been skeptical of the new rule, while others have given it some praise. "The first three people in a group? How many police officers and volunteers do they need to keep watch along the streets? It's a waste of manpower and resources," said Beijing university student Li Bo. |
| Man seen showing off monkey carcass sought Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:26 AM PDT A MAN caught on camera smiling while he displayed the carcass of a skinned, bloody monkey sparked outrage on the Internet and is being investigated, according to forestry police in Xichang City in Sichuan Province. Online posts said the young man killed the monkey, removed its skin and fur and showed off the carcass at Lushan Mountain, chanting, "Come and see! It's so exciting! Let's photograph it!" A picture showed the man lifting the monkey by an iron wire around its neck. It triggered a public outcry. "The lack of awe for life results in such horrible behavior," one microblogger wrote. Internet users have called for a search for the man. Several people came forward to confirm the authenticity of the online picture. Pictures indicated the monkey was about the size of a very small child. A woman surnamed You said she saw the man flaunting the carcass around 2pm on Monday, the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper reported yesterday. "Some visitors tried to stop him while some shouted, 'Bravo,' " she added. Local residents said they don't know the man and doubt he is a local. Xichang Public Security Bureau launched an investigation when it learned of the case. Police said they first were confirming that the Internet story was real, and then would investigate to see if any laws were broken. "In recent years, more monkeys are descending from the hills to find food or play with people. We don't exclude the possibility that some are hunted by poachers," said a forestry official in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Xichang. "If the monkey in the picture is from Lushan Mountain, then it is very likely to be a rare species under state protection, and thus the man would be punished by law," he added. |
| China Vanke Says Third-Quarter Profit Doubles as Sales Recover Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:24 AM PDT  Source: Bloomberg News China Vanke Co. (000002), the biggest developer by market value traded on the nation's exchanges, said third-quarter profit more than doubled as it started selling more residential projects to tap a recovery in home sales. China's new home prices rose for a fourth month in September after the central bank cut interest rates to stem an economic slowdown and some local authorities eased restrictions as land-sale revenues fell, according to SouFun Holdings Ltd. (SFUN) Vanke's sales by area climbed 8 percent in the first nine months from a year earlier even as it marketed fewer new apartments, the company said. "In light of a rebound in transaction volume in the market, the company launched more projects during the second half," it said in the statement. "Given that the number of projects to be launched in the fourth quarter will be relatively large, the company will undoubtedly achieve growth in sales." The company's shares have climbed 12 percent in Shenzhen trading this year, matching the gain in the gauge tracking property stocks within the Shanghai Composite Index. (SHCOMP) The company, which has 33.3 billion yuan of cash, may seek more sites, it said. Vanke acquired land to build 5.87 million square meters (63.2 million square feet) of space in the first nine months, the company said. |
| China Cosco Chief Says Shipping to Expand as Economy Picks Up Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:28 AM PDT  Source: Bloomberg News China Cosco Holdings Co., the nation's largest listed shipping company, said the industry will expand as Chinese economic growth picks up momentum. The government this month announced tax and financial support for local shipping lines after China Cosco and China Shipping Container Lines Co. both posted wider first-half losses amid falling freight rates. A pick-up seen in Asia's largest economy after seven quarters of slowing growth may also help boost freight demand. China Cosco's general manager Ma Zehua said earlier this month that 2013 will be a bit better for the industry than this year because of improvements in the global economy. Still, a full recovery for the sector isn't probable in the next two to three years, he said. The shipping line has forecast a nine-month loss as rising capacity in the global fleet and slowing trade sapped cargo rates. The Baltic Dry Index (BDIY), a benchmark for commodity-shipping costs, has plunged 52 percent in the past 12 months. Reports showed last week that industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment in China accelerated in September. |
| Laos Says China to Finance Rail Link Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:33 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen | Photo: Bangkok Post Laotian official said China has agreed to finance a $7 billion railway link in Laos that will ship raw materials to the Chinese border. Laos's Energy and Mining Minister Soulivong Dalavong said in an interview that under the new agreement, which is expected to be signed within days, Chinese banks will provide financing to build a 418-kilometer rail link from the capital Vientiane to the Chinese border. Beijing is seeking to secure raw materials from neighboring countries to feed massive infrastructure investment and its manufacturing industry. Other projects already built, under construction or planned include twin oil and gas pipelines from nearby Myanmar, a crude pipeline from eastern Siberia and a railway project to bring in coal from Mongolia. A revival of the railway link would come amid uncertainty over a $15 billion bid by China's state-owned energy giant Cnooc Ltd. to take over Nexen Inc., one of Canada's largest independent energy producers, prompted by the Canadian government's ruling last week against Malaysian national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd.'s acquisition of Progress Energy Resources Corp., and worries in some Western countries about the scale of Chinese investments globally in energy and mining assets. In return for financing the project, China will secure supply of around 5 million tons a year of mineral resources, mainly potash, by 2020, along with other raw materials such as timber and agricultural products that may be shipped to China, Mr. Dalavong said. The link, which will be built mainly by Chinese contractors, is also expected to serve as a passenger route, Mr. Dalavong said. The minister said the railway will run north through the towns of Phonhong, Vangvieng, Luang Prabang Oudomxay and Luang Namtha before reaching the Chinese border. It is unclear which Chinese banks will provide the financing. An article by the Vientiane Times posted on the Laos government's website quoted Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad as saying the credit line will be provided by state-owned Export-Import Bank of China. Exim Bank did not respond to requests for comment. The move to more closely tie Laos to China comes as neighboring Myanmar is moving in the opposite direction—cutting some economic links with China and opening itself to investment from Western countries by instituting a series of political reforms. "Everyone is selling to China, so why shouldn't we do the same," Mr. Dalavong said, saying the country has limited opportunities for exports due to its land-locked geography and infrastructure. "I think we have to sell to China," he said. Laos—a small Southeast Asian country locked between China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand—has gained some attention in recent years due to its significant untapped mineral resources. Although now mainly a producer of copper and gold, it has 10 mines under development that will produce potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer production, along with other minerals like iron ore, zinc and lead. Total production is expected to reach close to 7 million tons a year, with most of this destined for China via the planned railway. The long-discussed project, which was approved by the Laotian parliament last week, was originally presented as being jointly owned with the Chinese government. But according to the Vientiane Times, the Laotian government has now assumed sole ownership of the project, which it considers central to the future development of the nation. Initial plans envisaged a high-speed railway, but due to the mountainous terrain extending through about two-thirds of the route, the link will carry passenger trains at a speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour and freight trains at 120 kilometers per hour, the energy and mining minister said. The link is expected to be complete in 2017, with the ground-breaking ceremony scheduled to take place during the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, that will gather top officials from Europe and Asia in Laos the first week of November. Construction of the rail link was due to have started in early 2011 with completion in 2014, but the project was bogged down in disagreements over land rights along the line and other issues, according to people familiar with the matter. While the railway will provide a much-needed link to the outside world, Mr. Dalavong cautions that current market conditions aren't favorable. "Of course, we have to be competitive. If our potash cannot compete on price, then the Chinese will buy from Canada," he said. "But since we are borrowing from Chinese banks to build the railroad, I think there is a good reason for the Chinese to buy our potash." |
| Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:20 AM PDT Have You Heard… |
| As China tensions simmer, Japan pulls back from "world’s factory" Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT  Source: Reuters By James Topham and Izumi Nakagawa (Reuters) – Almost a quarter of Japanese manufacturers are rethinking their investment plans in China and some may shift future production elsewhere after the spike in tensions between Asia's two largest economies. The concerns suggest the recent rift between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea could mark the end of a boom that has played out over two decades in which Japanese companies have emerged as the most active source of outside direct investment in China after Hong Kong and Taiwan. Since 1990, Japanese companies led by electronics makers like Panasonic Corp (6752.T) and followed by a wave of automakers like Nissan Motor Corp (7201.T) and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and their suppliers have poured almost $1 trillion into Chinese factories, Japanese government statistics show. The investment by over 20,000 firms created over 1.6 million jobs as Japanese companies looked to take advantage of low production costs and then China's potential as a surging market for everything from cars to cosmetics. Now, sentiment has turned. When asked if their attitude toward using China as a production hub over the medium term had changed, 37 percent of Japanese companies surveyed said they had grown more cautious. Almost half of Japanese manufacturers said they expected to see lower sales in the current fiscal year. In response to a separate question, 24 percent said they were considering delaying or reducing planned investment in China. Eighteen percent said they were considering shifting production to other countries. The survey allowed companies responding to pick more than one choice to describe the impact of the China dispute on their business, meaning there could be some overlap between the group of manufacturers considering cutting investment and those looking to other markets outside China as future production hubs. "China is very convenient, but gradually that convenience has been fading," Yoshihisa Ejiri, 65, president of clothing chain Honeys Co (2792.T) told Reuters. The Reuters survey of 400 Japanese companies took place between October 1 and October 17. A month earlier, almost 60 percent of firms in a Reuters survey said they expected little to no fallout from the strains with China. Companies were not asked if they were considering delaying or reducing planned investment in China in that poll. "The level of the anti-Japan demonstrations was different this time and I think that will make it harder for companies that have been successful in China to continue operating there," said Hisayoshi Hashimoto, a professor at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. SOUTHEAST ASIA AN ALTERNATIVE? The 267 Japanese companies that responded to the Reuters Corporate Survey did so on the condition they not be named. In separate interviews, several executives, including Ejiri, the Honeys president, said they expected to point new investment to Southeast Asia and largely untapped markets like Myanmar. Ejiri is determined to reduce his company's reliance on China, where Honeys now sources 90 percent of the clothing it sells. In the first step to diversify, Honeys began making skinny jeans — a hot-selling item this summer — in Myanmar. Tyre maker Toyo Tire & Rubber Co (5105.T) has also said it is considering shifting investment aimed for China to Malaysia, where it is building a plant and owns a local firm. Analysts and executives said the shift from China would come first for low-margin businesses where labor costs are crucial, like clothing and household electrical products. For manufacturers that depend on sales in China, like Japanese car and auto parts makers, there is no choice but to slow production and hope the anti-Japanese sentiment subsides and inventories can be sold down, they said. "Things made in China for the domestic market will stay, but for things made in China to export, the advantages, starting with labor costs, are declining," said Isamu Wakamatsu, a Southeast Asia specialist at the government-affiliated Japan External Trade Organisation. For nearly a decade, Japanese business strategists have been talking up a "China Plus One" strategy — a policy of managing risk by locating plants and facilities in China and one other Asian nation. The latest wave of protests in China that broke after Japan nationalized two uninhabited East China Sea islands also claimed by Beijing has made the topic more urgent, analysts and executives say. GO TO CHINA, OR GO BUST? Honeys started production in China in the early 1990s, a time when Japanese firms led by consumer technology leaders like Panasonic, NEC Corp (6701.T) and Sharp Corp (6753.T) were rushing in. "China is vast with a huge population and a strong infrastructure, beginning with the cotton-spinning. It's all there. For Japanese fabric-makers, the choice has been go bankrupt or move to China," said Ejiri. Over time, the world's two biggest economies after the United States grew to complement each other, with China becoming "the world's factory" and Japan supplying many of the components needed for assembly. Two-way trade grew 14 percent to a record $345 billion in 2011. Interest in the "China Plus One" strategy starting picking up after the outbreak of the SARS disease that sharply affected China for several weeks in 2002. It was a regular topic in Japanese business circles in 2005, following a wave of anti-Japan demonstrations in China that year. For Honeys, which has more than 800 outlets in Japan and over 500 in China, rapidly rising wages in China had become a concern even before the recent political tensions. When Honeys started in China in 1991, workers making its clothing made about $65 a month, about one-seventh of what they earn today. The territorial dispute between Japan and China added a new flashpoint. When workers returned to plants run by Canon Inc (7751.T) and Casio Computer Co (6952.T) last month after the factories were shuttered because of the anti-Japanese protests, they also demanded higher wages, company representatives said. "Labour costs (in Myanmar) are one-fifth of what China is," Ejiri said, adding that Myanmar also has no export duties for clothing, unlike China. For 2011, Japanese direct investment in the Southeast Asian region surpassed China by a margin of almost 50 percent, according to data from Japan's finance ministry. Experts and company executives say it will take years before Southeast Asia can compete with China on factors that are harder to measure than payrolls, like a large pool of skilled talent and a developed network of suppliers. Component maker Yamaichi Electronics Co (6941.T) found that out in 2010 when it built a new production line for connectors in the Philippines, to help it hedge its risk in China. "In Shenzhen, all electronics parts are in the area. Japan makers, China makers, everything you need is right there. It's not like that in the Philippines," said a Yamaichi executive who spoke on the condition he not be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. Ejiri, whose Myanmar plant is operating at 60 percent of capacity, agreed. He said he expects it will take a decade for Southeast Asia to match China for efficiency, but he is prepared to be patient. The long-term goal is for Myanmar to account for 20 percent of Honeys' production. "The buttons, the zippers, only China can do that cheaply," he said. "Since the materials are there, the goods end up getting assembled there, and that will take some time to change." The Reuters Corporate Survey was conducted for Thomson Reuters by Nikkei Research. Target companies were split evenly between manufacturing and non-manufacturing with 60 of those in retail and wholesale and another 55 in electronics and precision equipment. Not all companies responded to every question. |
| Beijing Shakes Up Military Leadership Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:41 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal By Jeremy Page BEIJING—Just over two weeks before a Communist Party leadership change, China began a sweeping shuffle of its military top brass that could elevate the status of the air force and navy and determine the political powers of the country's presumptive future leader, Xi Jinping, over the next two years. The spokesman also said Gen. Zhang Yang had been appointed as head of the armed forces' powerful General Political Department—another post that usually comes with a guaranteed seat on the Central Military Commission, known as the CMC. Gen. Zhang was seen as a dark-horse candidate for the job, according to experts on the Chinese military, and his appointment appears to rule out the promotion to the CMC of two generals who were close to Bo Xilai, the ousted party official whose wife was convicted of murdering a British businessman. "This suggests a focus on promoting competent, professional soldiers who'll continue the modernization of the military and who are willing to stay out of politics," said Taylor Fravel, a professor of political science and expert on China's military at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The appointments were the first official indications of who is likely to replace the seven or eight CMC members due to retire in a once-a-decade shuffle of the party leadership that kicks off at the 18th Congress, starting Nov. 8, according to military experts and party insiders. The shuffle comes at a critical point for China's armed forces, which are rapidly developing the air and naval power to challenge U.S. military dominance of Asia, even as the U.S. counters by refocusing its forces on the region, and rebuilding defense ties with Asian allies and partners.  The military succession is also a test of outgoing party chief and President Hu Jintao's commitment to institutionalize a leadership transition process that until a decade ago was often marked by political upheaval, according to party insiders and analysts. Mr. Hu is due to retire as party chief next month and as president in March. But many party insiders and political analysts expect him to remain for another two years in his military post as chairman of the CMC, as his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, did after stepping down as party chief in 2002. That would, in effect, clip the wings of Xi Jinping, who is currently vice president and the only civilian vice chairman of the CMC. It would mean Mr. Xi would have to defer to Mr. Hu on defense issues for the next two years and would have less say in promoting generals to the body, according to party insiders. Mr. Hu has leaned toward retaining his military post in recent months, partly as a result of the scandal surrounding the ousted Mr. Bo, and partly due to concerns about the continuing political influence of former President Jiang, party insiders and analysts say. The Bo scandal disrupted the military succession because he cultivated close ties to senior officers, including at least two generals who are both descended from party leaders and were until recently considered favorites for promotion to the next CMC, according to party insiders. They are Gen. Liu Yuan, the son of a former Chinese president, and Gen. Zhang Haiyang, the son of a former CMC vice chairman. They had both been potential candidates to take over the General Political Department, which oversees ideological education and discipline in the armed forces. Gen. Zhang Yang is an unexpected but far less controversial choice for that post. He was previously serving as political commissar of the Guangzhou Military Region, and appears to have always toed the party line, and avoided domestic political disputes, in his public statements. "The point is that it's not Liu Yuan," said Steve Tsang, professor of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham in Britain. "This also shows that we're at the stage where they're getting into agreement on the new CMC. What we still don't know is whether Hu Jintao will stay on as its head," he said. Gen. Ma, the new air force chief, is also an uncontroversial choice. He was previously deputy chief of general staff, and took part in many recent foreign visits, including to the U.S. He was widely expected to be promoted to his new post, according to military analysts. Among the key issues now for observers of China's military is who will take over from the two uniformed CMC vice chairmen—the most senior military officers in the Communist Party—who both have seats in the Politburo, the party's top 25 leaders. The two uniformed CMC vice chairmen and the defense minister have usually come from the army in the past, but this year, the navy and the air force could account for two of those three posts—a reflection of China's shifting military priorities, analysts say. Gen. Ma's predecessor as air force chief, Xu Qiliang, is a leading candidate for a vice chairmanship, while Adm. Wu Shengli, the navy chief, is among the front-runners for defense minister, according to party insiders and military experts. China's vast military was long dominated by the army and geared toward fighting land wars with its neighbors. But it is now increasingly focused on using air and sea power to defend its territorial claims in waters near its shores, and to protect perceived Chinese national interests in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and beyond. |
| Romney Fails the Confucian Test Posted: 24 Oct 2012 08:16 AM PDT First, let me stipulate: all politicians evade and dissemble and lie. And that happens in all regime types: democratic and authoritarian. But within that broad reality, and focusing here on the American political experience, Mitt Romney is setting a new standard for - how shall we say? - insincerity, in the current US presidential race. And that, from a Confucian point of view, is a failure of the first degree. Romney's basic problem is that his earlier political experience, as Governor of my state, Massachusetts, yielded policies and decisions that are labeled "moderate" in the American lexicon. Health insurance legislation; a ban on assault weapons; an effectively pro-choise stance on abortion: all of these things suggested a kind of centerist, moderate, perhaps even pragmatic, Republican. And all of that meant he would not fare well with the national, southern-dominated, GOP, which is much more conservative. But Romney wants to be President, and he wants that so badly he is quite willing to not only disavow his earlier positions but to try to claim that he was never really a moderate to begin with. Thus his implausible reinvention as a "severe conservative." And, so, as the Rebuplican primaries unfolded, we were presented, time and again, with the spectacle of Romney trying to find whatever words would work to attract conservative voters. He went beyond flip-floppping to etch-a-sketching. It was, and continues to be, obvious that he will say anything, anytime, regardless of what he has said or done in the past, to please whatever audience he happens to meet. It is, therefore, not at all surprising that he has shape-shifted again during the debates with President Obama. His performances have been veritable festivals of lies and distortions and prevarications. In subsequent TV ads he has gone bilingual in his fabrications. He is the very definition of insincere. And that's a problem for Confucius. Analects 1.8, contains a passage (which is very closely paraphrased as a stand alone passage in 9.25) that reads: ...above all else, be loyal and stand by your words. Never befriend those who are not kindred spirits. And when you're wrong, don't be afraid to change. Romney gets all of this wrong. He is not loyal to his words: he says stuff that he does not mean and he does things that are contrary to his words. He obviously works very hard to befriend people who do not believe what he believes - or, at least, that is what his courting of conservatives appears to be. But it's hard to know because of his consistent insincerity. And, as suggested by his flipping and flopping and flipping on health insurance legislation, he has changed his views and pronouncements when we was right. What a mess! For Confucius, matching words and actions is very important. Indeed, actions speak louder than words. Idle promises and post hoc rationalizations, in which word and deed are mismatched, are to be avoided. The Master said: "The ancients spoke little. They were too ashamed when their actions fell short of their words." (Analects, 4.22) Adept Hsia asked about the noble-minded, and the Master said: "Such people act before they speak, then they speak according to their actions." (Analects 2.13). Again, this is a problem for most politicians. But Romney, in his denial of his actions as Massachusetts Governor, seems especially shameless in this regard. Romney, however, probably doesn't care what a Confucian perspective might reveal. He is, after all, at something of a disadvantage in Confucian terms. As a life-long, successful, and fairly ruthless businessman, he does not cut a figure that a Confucian would necessarily respect at first encounter: The Master said: "If profit guides your actions, there will be no end of resentment." (Analects 4.12) Humane government is not like a business and experience in business has little to do with what is necessary to be a noble-minded political leader. A Confucian would not vote for him. |
| Tibetan self-immolates in China Posted: 24 Oct 2012 03:25 AM PDT A Tibetan farmer has died after setting fire to himself near an influential monastery in north-western China, according to human rights groups. |
| Blast rips through fireworks factory in south China Posted: 24 Oct 2012 02:10 AM PDT AN explosion ripped through a fireworks factory in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region this afternoon, according to local government sources. Rescuers are unable to reach the workshop in Hepu County where the blast happened for fear of another explosion. Casualties are unknown. |
| China strives to develop new, renewable energy: white paper Posted: 24 Oct 2012 01:21 AM PDT CHINA will make unswerving efforts to develop new and renewable energy to protect ecological environment and achieve sustainable development, according to a white paper released today. Vigorously developing new and renewable energy is a key strategic measure for promoting the diversified and clean energy development and for fostering new strategic industries, said a white paper on China's energy policy released by the Information Office of the State Council. The country will actively develop hydropower, solar power and wind power generation, seek safe and efficient way of developing nuclear power, as well as utilize biomass energy and other types of renewable energy, according to the white paper. China plans to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to 11.4 percent and increase that of installed generating capacity from non-fossil fuels to 30 percent by the end of 2015, the white paper says. |
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