News » Politics » Glow of success: Mo Yan to speak for fancy cigarette brand?
News » Politics » Glow of success: Mo Yan to speak for fancy cigarette brand? |
- Glow of success: Mo Yan to speak for fancy cigarette brand?
- A New China Chill for Japanese Companies
- Beijing Leadership Displeased With Hong Kong Chief
- Leopard-skin shoes help Chinese fugitive get spotted in Taiwan
- 50% of world's illegal money transfers come from China: report
- Economist predicts stronger growth in China next year
- 14 Chinese provinces have rickety pension funds
- CPC Corp to explore natural gas off southwestern Taiwan
- "Break the Silence" Campaign for Tibet
- Billions for Beijing’s 798
- Doomsday perk: Wuhan firm to extend New Year break if world survives
- Mining companies vie for Gansu coal exploration rights
- Contaminated cooking oil discovered in Hong Kong
- Taiwan congratulates South Korea's first woman president-elect
- World Bank projects 4% GDP growth for Taiwan in 2013
- Taiwan should be part of regional economic bloc: experts
- China's 'New Area' programs gain momentum
- Appril fools: Smartphone app adds UFOs to unwitting users' pics
- Lounge bars a hit among China's white collar workers
- China's state-planned railway age outdoes Britain and America's | David Turner
| Glow of success: Mo Yan to speak for fancy cigarette brand? Posted: 20 Dec 2012 05:35 AM PST A rumor that Nobel Prize-winning author Mo Yan has agreed to endorse Taishan Buddha cigarettes, a deluxe Shandong-based brand, has gone viral on China's internet, Wuhan's Changjiang Weekly reports. T... |
| A New China Chill for Japanese Companies Posted: 19 Dec 2012 09:45 PM PST China, once the beacon of business opportunity to Japanese firms, is losing its shine. |
| Beijing Leadership Displeased With Hong Kong Chief Posted: 19 Dec 2012 08:28 PM PST  Protesters call Hong Kong's new executive chief Leung Chun-ying a liar, after it was revealed that he was not upfront about illegal structures in his home. The new leadership in China has begun to display its dissatisfaction towards Hong Kong's chief executive Leung Chun-ying. (Sung Pi Lung/The Epoch Times) NEWS ANALYSIS The new leadership in China has begun to display its dissatisfaction towards Hong Kong's chief executive Leung Chun-ying. On Dec. 7, Leung and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) head Xi Jinping both visited separate parts of Guangzhou Province, which connects Hong Kong to the mainland. However, they did not meet up, according to Hong Kong news reports, and Leung returned to Hong Kong later that day. Hong Kong's Apple Daily quoted China analyst Willy Lam as saying that historically, whenever Hong Kong's chief executive and any CCP leader visited Guangdong Province at the same time, they would arrange to meet as a form of courtesy. Insiders said that although Leung had wanted to meet with Xi, the CCP leader avoided him, a sign that the communist leadership is displeased with several of Leung's recent actions. The sources also said that ever since Leung took office, instead of listening to the previous leaders Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, or current leaders Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, all of whom are broadly part of the same faction, Leung was at the beck and call of Zeng Qinghong, a once powerful apparatchik of the faction headed by former Party leader Jiang Zemin. Zeng assisted Leung's rise through the Party ranks, a fact that reportedly troubles Xi. Leung's Actions Anger BeijingJust months before the CCP's 18th National Congress in November, Leung introduced the controversial National and Moral Education course in Hong Kong, as directed by Zeng, according to widely held views among political observers in Hong Kong. Hong Kong residents widely regarded this as "brainwashing classes" for children by Beijing, and the proposal was eventually shelved after two months of protests and opposition by angry residents.
Leung also permitted 14 Hong Kong activists to land on the Senkaku Islands using Hong Kong fishing vessels in August. This provocative act was not approved by the top leadership in Beijing, and placed pressure on then Party leaders Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao in the runup to the congress. Sources said that Hu later ordered Leung not to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) meeting, and hinted that Leung could soon be replaced. This forced Leung to further ally himself with Zeng, believing he had no one else to turn to. The recent actions of a group called the Hong Kong Youth Care Association (HKYCA) were also masterminded by Zeng and carried out by Leung, according to sources who spoke with The Epoch Times. The group has been publicly harassing, intimidating, and trying to incite hatred against practitioners of the Falun Gong meditation discipline in Hong Kong. The objective of the attacks was to demonstrate the ongoing power of Jiang's faction, while also implicating Hu and Xi with the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong, so that the members of the Jiang faction might escape future charges. Hong Kong Residents to Demonstrate Against LeungMany Hong Kong residents have already been upset by Leung's plans to introduce "brainwashing classes", his unauthorized building scandal, and for inciting attacks against Falun Gong through the HKYCA. Up to 70 Hong Kong grassroots groups, with an estimated 50,000 participants, have expressed their intent to participate in a Jan. 1 demonstration against Leung, organized by the Hong Kong-based Civil Human Rights Front. Read original Chinese article. The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 20 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
 Click www.ept.ms/ccp-crisis to read about the most recent developments in the ongoing crisis within the Chinese communist regime. In this special topic, we provide readers with the necessary context to understand the situation. Get the RSS feed. Who are the Major Players? |
| Leopard-skin shoes help Chinese fugitive get spotted in Taiwan Posted: 20 Dec 2012 05:03 AM PST A Chinese fugitive who escaped the country with the help of his Taiwanese mistress has been arrested in central Taiwan, with her leopard-print shoes playing a role in the manhunt, reports Want Daily, ... |
| 50% of world's illegal money transfers come from China: report Posted: 20 Dec 2012 05:03 AM PST About 150 developing countries were the source of illicit financial outflows amounting to nearly US$859 billion in 2011, with China accounting for almost half of this amount, according to a report by ... |
| Economist predicts stronger growth in China next year Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:39 AM PST China's A-share market will perform better in 2013 than it has this year, with the market expected to bottom out soon, Ba Shusong, chief economist at the China Banking Association, said at a financial... |
| 14 Chinese provinces have rickety pension funds Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:27 AM PST An official report reveals that the pension funds of 14 provinces in China failed to make ends meet last year. Officials expressed their concerns since some of provinces have already begun borrowing m... |
| CPC Corp to explore natural gas off southwestern Taiwan Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:27 AM PST Taiwan's state-run oil company CPC Corporation signed an agreement with Canada's Husky Energy Tuesday to jointly explore natural gas reservoirs in a deep-water basin off southwestern Taiwan. CPC of... |
| "Break the Silence" Campaign for Tibet Posted: 19 Dec 2012 06:04 PM PST Tibetan group, Students for a Free Tibet, has started a new campaign, "Break the Silence", to urge a multilateral approach towards the Chinese regime's suppression in Tibet. |
| Posted: 19 Dec 2012 08:00 PM PST Beijing wants to turn its 798 arts district into a tourism wonderland, but the cost and potential disruption worry local artists. |
| Doomsday perk: Wuhan firm to extend New Year break if world survives Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:15 AM PST A culture communication company in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, has announced that it will expand its New Year vacation period from three to six days if the world survives Friday'... |
| Mining companies vie for Gansu coal exploration rights Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:15 AM PST The province of Gansu in northwestern China has lately become one of the country's leading producers of coal, with several enterprises competing for development rights in the region, Shanghai's China ... |
| Contaminated cooking oil discovered in Hong Kong Posted: 20 Dec 2012 03:43 AM PST The Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department last week discovered that four cooking oil samples from the companies Beidahuang and Kuiyong Yongxing contained levels of the carcinogenic compo... |
| Taiwan congratulates South Korea's first woman president-elect Posted: 20 Dec 2012 03:43 AM PST President Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday congratulated Park Geun-hye on winning the presidential election in South Korea, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Park, the candidate of the ruling New... |
| World Bank projects 4% GDP growth for Taiwan in 2013 Posted: 20 Dec 2012 03:43 AM PST The World Bank projected Wednesday that Taiwan's economy in 2013 will show the highest growth among the Four Asian Tigers, rising to 4% from a projected 1.2% for this year. Taiwan's economic grow... |
| Taiwan should be part of regional economic bloc: experts Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:59 AM PST Taiwan plays a critical role in the Asia-Pacific economy and should be included in regional cooperation and trade agreements, local and foreign experts said at a symposium Tuesday. "We now live in ... |
| China's 'New Area' programs gain momentum Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:59 AM PST National level comprehensive development zones or "New Areas" are expanding robustly across China despite sluggish global economic conditions. The State Council, the country's cabinet, approved pla... |
| Appril fools: Smartphone app adds UFOs to unwitting users' pics Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:55 AM PST With rumors of an approaching doomsday going viral in China, a number of people have heightened the already freaky mood on the country's internet by posting pictures of UFOs they claim to have capture... |
| Lounge bars a hit among China's white collar workers Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:55 AM PST Lounge bars have become the new hangout for white collar workers in China looking to let off some steam, reports Want Daily, our Chinese-language sister newspaper. Offering drinks and dancing, lou... |
| China's state-planned railway age outdoes Britain and America's | David Turner Posted: 19 Dec 2012 09:59 AM PST  Our 19th-century economies benefited hugely from railway investment – but China's planned approach is more efficient In 1825, William George Allen, council to Britain's first inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester, predicted that railways might "prove of the greatest advantage to our trade and commerce; and which, if we do not adopt it, will be adopted by our rivals." He was not wrong, and in the 19th century the spread of railways across Britain and America contributed to both nations' transformation into industrial world powers. Indeed, recent estimates have suggested that without the quicker and cheaper travel provided by the railways, British GDP would have been 14% lower in 1912. The current thinking of the Chinese government is strikingly similar to Allen's. Over the past 20 years it has invested heavily in the railways to enable them to be a supporter and facilitator of economic development. However, in the last six, investment levels have reached new highs. An investment programme worth about £80bn has grown the country's network from 78,000km at the end of 2007 to an estimated 110,000km at the end of this year. This was supplemented by the announcement in 2008 of a further £74bn to enable the network cope with increased traffic until 2020. This investment has generally considered to have served its purpose. Similar to most railway development, some expenditure has been on prestige projects, such as the world's longest high-speed line between Beijing to Guangzhou, which is due to open on 26 December. However, the Chinese network's primary role has not been to ferry business people, but to enable the easy movement of goods and labour. Indeed, passenger numbers increased by 4.6% in November, and while in 2011 China's railway network only constituted 6% of worldwide route mileage, it carried 25% of its workload. Therefore, further investment in railways will very likely continue to facilitate China's economic development; just like in Victorian Britain and America. There is, however, a good possibility that China's railway will be built to do this more efficiently than those in 19th-century Britain and America. In these countries the planning of routes was almost completely left to the private companies, with very little state interference. Consequently, by 1880 Britain could claim to have a largely comprehensive network; but because of competition and speculative building it was considerably over-capitalised and possessed excessive route mileage. Indeed, Mark Casson has estimated that if the state had planned Britain's railways, by 1914 they would still have been able to comprehensively serve the nation's needs for 25% less cost and with a route mileage 7,000 miles shorter than the real total of 20,000 miles. Yet, because the Chinese government determines when and where a line is constructed, it is likely to avoid such problems. Its railway planners are not encumbered by competitive line building, speculative bubbles, struggles over territory or unrealistic expectations of profit; factors that shaped Britain and America's haphazard railway network. Rather, it can theoretically link two cities, ports or factories when required, providing quickly and cost-effectively a network that is shaped to the needs of the economy, rather than private interests. But furthermore, the high engineering standards of modern railways, combined with the nation's mixed terrain and vast distances between cities, mean that only the government has the resources to speedily and adequately augment China's railway network to support the nation's quickly growing economy. While total investment in Britain's railways between 1825 and 1910 would be worth approximately £110bn today; this is far less than the sums expected to be invested in Chinese railways in only 12 years between 2008 and 2020. Thus, had the Chinese government not chosen to invest staggering amounts in its railways, this may have considerably held back the nation's economic progress. Therefore, state planning and investment may mean that by 2020 China will possess a railway system that contributes more to growing and supporting its economy than those Britain and America developed in the 19th century. guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds |
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