Did China cause the Mekong River droubt?

When will China realize that a lesson it learned during the 2003 SARS crisis has broad applicability?

Continued...

Team China at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver

中国运动员进军冬奥会的在温哥华开幕式。
Chinese athletes march into the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Comparison: China's high speed rail plans Vs Obama's for America

Here's one critical difference between the US and China -- and Obama touched on it in his "State of the Union" speech:  Whereas increasingly, the infrastructure of China is sparkling and new, the infrastructure of the United States is crumbling and old. 

What has China been up to with respect to high-speed rail?  And how does Obama plan to close the "rail gap"? 

The answer might astound you.

Google and China-US relations

James Fallows, having recently returned from China after a long stay, has blogged a particularly interesting post concerning Google's decision to pull out of China.  Fallows points to a string of recent developments that give the appearance that China is entering a particularly antagonistic -- but not threatening -- phase with respect to its relations with the outside world:

But there are also reasons to think that a difficult and unpleasant stage of China-US and China-world relations lies ahead. This is so on the economic front, as warned about here nearly a year ago with later evidence here. It may prove to be so on the environmental front -- that is what the argument over China's role in Copenhagen is about. It is increasingly so on the political-liberties front, as witness Vaclav Havel's denunciation of the recent 11-year prison sentence for the man who is in many ways his Chinese counterpart, Liu Xiaobo. And if a major U.S. company -- indeed, Google has been ranked the #1 brand in the world -- has concluded that, in effect, it must break diplomatic relations with China because its policies are too repressive and intrusive to make peace with, that is a significant judgment.

I should add that Fallows recent posts concerning the Copenhagen negotiations have provided rare glimpses of the Chinese leadership in action.  The accounts were weird enough to make me wonder whether China might be experiencing some serious internal conflicts.  Of course, no one seems to be talking this way.  But as Xiao Qiang asked some journalists gathered in Helsinki, what makes us so sure the experts have China right?

Will consumer demand in China rescue the world economy in 2010?

No says Roubini in a recent interview. "The total consumption of 2.2 billion Chindians is $1.6 trillion—only 1/6th that of the U.S. It's just not enough."

More here.

China's postition at the Bangkok Climate Change Talks

From the Guardian:

Yu Qingtai, China's special representative on climate talks, said rich countries should not desert the Kyoto agreement, which all industrialised countries except the US signed up to and was ratified in 2002 after many years of negotiations. It contains no requirement for developing countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions, as both their current and historical emissions are low in most cases.....

"The Kyoto protocol is not negotiable. We want [it] to be strengthened. We don't want to kill Kyoto. We really want a revival, a strengthening of the treaty. That can only be done by Annex I [industrialised] countries having a target of 40% cuts by 2020," said Yu.

More about the impasse here.

How many Muslims live in China?

There are more Muslims in China (22 million) than either Malaysia or Syria.

According to a recent Pew report, "There are Muslims in every province of China, but the highest concentrations are in the west, primarily in Xinjiang, Ningxia and Gansu, with other significant populations in Henan, Qinghai, Yunnan, Hebei and Shandong. Xinjiang is the only Muslim-majority province of China, with Muslims accounting for approximately 53% of the total population."

Map: Minority population regions of China

Counties in China where at least half the population is non-Han Chinese. NYT via Fallows.

China and US global warming politics

I recently blogged about a legislative issue in the US that concerns precisely the point where the world's number one policy issue intersects with the world's most important bilateral relationship: Climate change on one hand, and US-China relations on the other.

Should the US should take a carrot or a stick approach to China? Even among those who agree on global warming policy, there are differences of opinion concerning tactics by which various countries -- especially China -- might be brought on board. Case in point: Although journalist James Fallows and economist Paul Krugman both share similar views on a range of issues (both stand in agreement that climate change action is of the utmost importance), they have expressed quite different views on the question of means. That is, the manner by which a global agreement can best be reached.

A few weeks ago James Fallows, based in China, expressed disapproval of a column Krugman wrote in his NT Times after a visit to China. This line gives you an idea of the tone of the Krugman article:

Each time I raised the issue during my visit, I was met with outraged declarations that it was unfair to expect China to limit its use of fossil fuels. . . .

Fallows responded: "I've heard that Chinese response too many times to count. But it's mainly a throat-clearing prelude to talking-turkey discussions about what the country will and can do, and under what circumstances." Fallows says many Chinese he has spoken to are not nearly so intransigent on the issue of climate change as Krugman believes:

While his conclusion -- that China has to be part of global efforts to control carbon emissions -- is obviously correct and important, his premise -- that no one in China admits this -- does not square with my observation over these past three years. . . .

If blunt-instrument outside pressure like this column makes it more likely that Chinese authorities will keep making progress, then as a pure matter of power-politics I say: fine. But my guess and observation is that it is just as likely to get their back up -- and encourage the ever-present victimization mentality that makes it less rather than more likely that Chinese authorities will behave "responsibly" on the international stage.

Concerning global climate change policy, should the US take a leading-by-doing approach, or adopt a more coercive approach to getting countries like China to cooperate?

My perspective.
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* ----> Recommended reading: Technology and innovation: Climate change Rx?.

China scholars: Tibet riots rooted in valid complaints

NY Times (via CDT):

A group of prominent Chinese lawyers and legal scholars have released a research report arguing that the Tibetan riots and protests of March 2008 were rooted in legitimate grievances brought about by failed government policies — and not through a plot of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

... The research paper was quietly posted last month on Chinese Web sites, and an English translation was released this week by the International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group based in Washington.

Bondage-themed ads for English Schools in China

James Fallows investigates.

How to thwart the Great Firewall

A Malaysian blogger lists ten ways to thwart the legions of state Internet censors in China -- the so-called "Great Firewall."

Chinese American to serve as Obama's Energy Secretary

Fallows applauds Obama's decision to bring Steven Chu into his administration:

Identity politics is a second- or third-order aspect of this nomination. Mainly his choice says something about the role of real science in public life, about America's commitment to retain its leadership as a research power, and about the redoubling of scientific/technical efforts to deal with energy and climate problems. But in karmic terms it doesn't hurt that Chu, who was born in St. Louis of Chinese parents, will head the very department that, under then-secretary Bill Richardson, was involved in the Wen Ho Lee imbroglio in the late 1990s. (In brief: Lee, who was born in Taiwan and who worked at Los Alamos, was accused of massive theft of U.S. nuclear secrets on China's behalf. The NY Times loudly trumpeted this story. Eventually nearly all the charges were dropped, and the presiding federal judge apologized to Lee for government excesses.) Again, this is not a reason to have chosen him, but it's worth noticing.

More about Steven Chu here.

Chinese bloggers pick up BOBs Awards in Berlin

In 2007 JOTMAN.COM won the Reporters "Without Borders Award" in the BOBs competition for reports relating to the monks' protests in Burma and the 2006 coup in Thailand. This year the same prize was awarded to Chinese blogger Zeng Jinyan. Zeng is the wife of imprisoned human rights champion Hu Jia.

Journalist Chi-Viet Giang of Deutsche Well, the German broadcaster that sponsors the international Best of the Blogs competetion, reports on Zeng Jinyan's prize and Chinese participation in this year's blog competition:

The jury for the Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards -- The BOBs -- announced the winners in all 16 of the competition's categories on Thursday in Berlin. There were three Chinese among them.

The official jury was filled by selected international bloggers and experts who are respected in their respective blogospheres. But not all invited jurors were able to come to Berlin to attend the event hosted in Berlin. The nominated juror Zhou Shuguang from China was prevented by local authorities from leaving the country prior to his flight to Germany. The 35 year-old citizen journalist and well known blogger Zhou uses his blog to write regularly about social injustice that the state-run media conceals. Using the pen-name of Zola he is one of the first and most famous citizen journalists in China.

Obstacles by Chinese authorities

"On November 21 I wanted to cross the border to Hong Kong at Shenzhen and showed my passport. After the officials saw my data on the computer screen, they took me to a room. I had to give them my passport, other documents and my cell-phone. Two policemen were watching me. After half an hour they said that I was not allowed to leave the country," Zhou told Deutsche Welle by telephone.

After a second failed attempt to leave the country Zhou asked security authorities at his home province for the reason. There he was told that it was for national security reasons. Deutsche Welle and the German Federal Foreign Office were also in contact with Chinese authorities. But their efforts to arrange Zhou’s departure were not successful.

Activist's wife honoured with "Reporters Without Borders" award

25-year-old Zeng Jinyan, who is under house arrest, uses "her blog to provide a moving example of living life under the constant surveillance of the Chinese authorities", the jury found. Zeng's husband, the human activist Hu Jia was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in April this year. While fighting with Chinese authorities for the release of her husband, she still tries to live a normal life with her infant child. The award is the result of a cooperative project with "Reporters Without Borders"designed to recognize bloggers who use the platform to highlight, promote and further the advancement of the freedom of opinion throughout the world.

Best Blog Award in Chinese language goes to lawyer

Liu Xiaoyuan is a self-educated lawyer. He has been writing his blog for three years and helps people with their legal problems, telling them how to fight against unfairness in the system. Liu Xiaoyuan appeals for transparency in the legal process and, along with other experts in China, is dedicated to building a just legal system. Questioned about the case, Liu was indignant about the Chinese authority’s approach and offered Zhou legal assistance. He says he has to confront Chinese authorities often enough:

"I temporarily had more than 20 blogs at the same time because Chinese authorities censored or blocked my reports. I spend a lot of time in front of my computer to keep my blogs up to date."

Another award which went to China was the "People's Choice Award" in the category of "Best Weblog". The group blog named "Science Guru" is dedicated to bring the latest scientific news to a large audience by using a plain language.

Zeng Jinyan's blog
Liu Xiaoyuan's blog
"Science Guru"
Official website of the BOBs

Congratulations to Zeng Jinyan, Liu Xiaoyuan, and the Science Guru bloggers!
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Photo shows the son of Zeng Jinyan and imprisoned human rights advocate Hu Jia.

Loulan Beauty scandal

New Dominion blogs:

Some of you may have noticed about a week ago an article in the New York Times by correspondent Edward Wong titled, “The Dead Tell a Tale China Doesn’t Care to Listen To,” about the famous preserved corpse uncovered in the Tarim Basin and dubbed the “Loulan Beauty.” So the Loulan Beauty looks European and this doesn’t jive well with the continual and enthusiastic insistence on behalf of the Chinese government that Xinjiang has always been a part of Chinese territory. Like almost all the articles written about Xinjiang in mainstream media outlets there was nothing strikingly new about the content and the article itself relied mostly on the “wow” factor. . .

The post goes on to explain how some people in China have manufactured a conspiracy theory that claims the Times article is proof of a an American plot to take back Xinjiang (or some such absurdity).

China: new rules restrict practice of Islam

NY Times reports that China tightened visa controls and religious practice rules for its Muslim population, particularly in Xinjiang:

To be a practicing Muslim in the vast autonomous region of northwestern China called Xinjiang is to live under an intricate series of laws and regulations intended to control the spread and practice of Islam, the predominant religion among the Uighurs, a Turkic people uneasy with Chinese rule.

The edicts touch on every facet of a Muslim’s way of life. Official versions of the Koran are the only legal ones. Imams may not teach the Koran in private, and studying Arabic is allowed only at special government schools.

Two of Islam’s five pillars — the sacred fasting month of Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca called the hajj — are also carefully controlled. Students and government workers are compelled to eat during Ramadan, and the passports of Uighurs have been confiscated across Xinjiang to force them to join government-run hajj tours rather than travel illegally to Mecca on their own.

Government workers are not permitted to practice Islam, which means the slightest sign of devotion, a head scarf on a woman, for example, could lead to a firing.Many of the rules have been on the books for years, but some local governments in Xinjiang have publicly highlighted them in the past seven weeks by posting the laws on Web sites or hanging banners in towns.

The article describes China's Muslim population:

Uighurs are the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang, accounting for 46 percent of the population of 19 million. Many say Han Chinese, the country’s dominant ethnic group, discriminate against them based on the most obvious differences between the groups: language and religion.

The Uighurs began adopting Sunni Islam in the 10th century, although patterns of belief vary widely, and the religion has enjoyed a surge of popularity after the harshest decades of Communist rule. According to government statistics, there are 24,000 mosques and 29,000 religious leaders in Xinjiang. Muslim piety is especially strong in old Silk Road towns in the south like Kashgar, Yarkand and Khotan.

More posts about the Uighurs here.

Blogger visits one of China's Black Jails

This account stands out as a prime example in which new media has helped citizens expose human rights abuses.

China-based blogger Black and White Cat has translated three extraordinary blog posts penned by a professor who visited one of China's notorious black jails. The local governments have been throwing petitioners into these jails. After reading the posts, Cat personally visited the neighborhood in which the jail was located and took photos. Cat explains:

When Custody and Repatriation was abolished, the so-called black jails sprang up to replace them as makeshift detention centers for petitioners. Officially, they don’t exist. Below, is my translation of three blog posts about one of these places written by Xu Zhiyong, a young professor at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. In 2003, he was elected as an independent deputy to the Haidian District People’s Congress.

If you’re wondering why there’s no action in the photos at the top and bottom of this page, that’s because they were taken by me about a week after Xu Zhiyong’s first two posts. Once you’ve read his account, I think you might understand why I had no great desire to attract more any more attention than necessary while I was taking the pictures.

Xu Zhiyong made several visits to the jail, getting physically abused on one occasion. By way of background concerning the black jails, Xu Xhiyong explains:

• One of the groups of people who were detained through the abuse of the Custody and Repatriation system were petitioners. All Chinese citizens have the legal right to petition the authorities if they feel they have been wronged. Government departments have offices of Letters and Visits - at local, provincial and state levels. Officials at lower levels have a strong interest in preventing people from embarrassing them by petitioning at a higher level, so they frequently intercept petitioners, take them home, and often take revenge.

• After 2003, the custody and repatriation centers didn’t exist anymore, and the black jails sprang up to take their place.

• There are at least four black jails in Beijing where Henan province locks up petitioners: the Youth Hotel, the Fenglong Youth Hostel, the Juyuan Hotel and the Jingyuan Hotel. These black jails are just like the custody and repatriation centers of the past and they’ve become an industry.. . .
  

Xu Zhiyong explains the circumstances that led to his first visit to a black jail:

... Early in the morning of September 21, I received an SMS from a petitioner from Henan saying they were locked up in a black jail in an alley behind the Youth Hotel on Taiping Street near Taoranting park.

After his first attempt to visit, Xu Zhiyong blogged on 22 September 2008:

I will go back. This isn’t meddling in other people’s business. Black jails are a tumor on Beijing. They’re a tumor on China. In the broad light of day, that there should be such dark and ugly corners. As a Chinese man, I have a duty to rise up in indignation.

Determined to returned once again to the jail, Xu Zhiyong blogged:

Yesterday I received an SMS from a petitioner from Henan called Wang Jinlan. She was illegally locked up in a black jail run by a local government at the Youth Hotel on Taiping Street near Taoranting park.

It’s in no way an exaggeration to call this a black jail. Dozens of petitioners are locked up there and the government has put hired thugs in charge of them. What makes this different from a regular jail is that the petitioners who are imprisoned here are completely innocent. They were petitioning in a normal way when they were taken from the State Bureau for Letters and Visits, the Supreme People’s Court and other letters and visits departments, and brought here to be locked up without any legal process.

I plan to expose these black jails. Today, I went there again. I hadn’t got far down the alley to the south of the Youth Hotel, when I saw a tall guard from the black jail sitting on a stool chatting with some others. Almost at the same time, they recognized me.

Xu Zhiyong reflects:

I’m wondering if I should try to understand them more. When the tall guy told me that if I had the ability I should take the civil service exam, become an official and change the situation, I can understand that he wasn’t happy with this system. But when I think of so many innocent and weak people being beaten up, sometimes to the point of being crippled, I just can’t take standards of human dignity so low. In some ways, this is far more terrible than the black kilns. It has to change.

What is a black kiln?! Xu does not say. On October 5, 2008 Xu Zhiyong blogs about his return to a black jail:

At midday on October 5, I set off with Zhou Shuguang and Zhang Yadong. Before that I received a phone call from a petitioner and agreed to meet her at one o’clock outside the entrance to the Youth Hotel. A netizen called Zuoqio also phoned, saying they were already at the Youth Hotel. This time I was prepared for the worst and prepared quite well.

The first person I saw was the woman. She’s from Henan. She believes the police didn’t investigate the killer in a murder case, so she started petitioning. Because of her petitioning, she spent a year doing reeducation through labor. I suppose she felt petitioning was difficult and dangerous, so this time she brought the children with her, trying to get the higher authorities to take it seriously. Presumably the children carried banners, so the police sent them here.. . . .

The entire atmosphere was completely different to the last two times I went there. On the previous two occasions, the guards started hitting people immediately. This time the attitude was unusually mild and the hired thugs were nowhere to be seen. The words I wrote on my blog probably had some effect. Perhaps it’s because I announced that I was going to go there today that they hastily took the children away.

Blogger Cat mentions notes that Human Rights Watch published a useful study of the abuse of petitioners in 2005 (Summary; full report). The UK's Channel 4 has published a video report of a correspondent's search for a black jail.

China tries to block Radio Free Asia

First to break the Tibet story in March was Radio Free Asia, Reports the WSJ. The article gives some background about this important Asian broadcaster.

RFA broadcasts from the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean and about a dozen undisclosed locations. It relies on shortwave radio because a single transmitter can broadcast to an entire continent, depending on weather conditions, time of day and bursts of energy from the sun. The technology was developed in the 1920s and was used throughout the British Empire to relay messages between London and its far-flung colonies.

The Chinese government jams RFA broadcasts by broadcasting Chinese opera, funeral music, gongs, static or other interference on the same frequency, effectively boxing out the RFA transmission. China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television didn't respond to questions about jamming RFA.

The station's Web site, which is also blocked in China, features a recipe for how to modify a radio's antenna so that the jamming doesn't completely drown out RFA's broadcast. Necessary supplies include four cup hooks, two rubber bands or string, two sheets of tinfoil, two small wires and a piece of wood. "Plywood or a similar material is OK," the instructions read.

RFA was created by Congress in 1994. It runs under the aegis of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which also runs Voice of America. . . .

Torch relay's impact on South Korea - China relations

Throughout the torch relays in Asia, There have been recurring reports of pro-China people attacking small groups of pro-Tibet demonstrators in several cities, including Kuala Lumpur, Canberra, and Tokyo. The same thing happened in Seoul.

More at Jotman.com.

Impact of Taiwan election on the semiconductor industry

With Hsieh, the process of opening up shop in China would be slower and steadier; but "if KMT's Ma wins, look for more dramatic decisions in a shorter period of time." More here.