March 31st 09

The Australian

Beijing lifts ban on Tibet travel

BEIJING: Tibet will reopen to foreign tourists on Sunday, in a sign that Chinese authorities may ease a crackdown imposed for the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile. State news agency Xinhua quoted Tibet's head of tourism, Bachug, as saying tourist arrivals had been suspended in March "for the sake of travellers' safety" but would resume on April 5.

British fear of Chinese cyberwar

BRITISH intelligence chiefs have warned that China might have gained the capability to shut down the country by crippling its telecommunications and utilities. Intelligence officials have told ministers of their fear that equipment in a new communications network installed by Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant, for BT, the main British telco, could be used to halt critical services such as power, food and water supplies.

The Age

China pushes for 40% cut in iron ore prices

Chinese steelmakers, the world's largest buyer of iron ore, have asked suppliers to temporarily cut prices by 40% until an annual contract price agreement is reached, the China Iron and Steel Association said. Some mining companies have agreed to the demand, Shan Shanghua, secretary general of the association, said today in a phone interview, without naming the producers or giving details.

Asia Times Online

US cries Chinese wolf

On March 25, the United States Department of Defense released the 2009 unclassified edition of its annual report "Military Power of the People's Republic of China" to Congress. As a description of the ongoing development of China's military forces it is a reasonably informative document. But if it was supposed to be an alarm about the threat posed by Chinese military forces it failed badly. For this we should be grateful. Ever since the demise of the Soviet Union many members of America's politico-military-industrial sector have been looking for another country as a replacement, if only to justify the huge military and security expenditures the United States appropriates annually.