9th May 09

The Australian

China, India 'may stir up regional war': army report

AN internal army report has given a more threatening assessment of China's military expansion than was publicly stated in the defence white paper, warning bluntly that it could "destabilise" the region.

The Age

China hopes quake pandas' new home will be a turn-on

GLORIOUS scenery and attentive staff. Freshly prepared meals, delivered twice daily. Even the odd DVD. Nothing to do but eat, snooze and, just occasionally, have sex.

Journey through an earthquake
John Garnaut, Beichuan

IT'S nearly a year since the mountains on each side of Beichuan sheared in half, spilling like a sandcastle over the southern corner of the town and pounding the northern streets with boulders. In a few short minutes, the town of 20,000 people was battered to a tangled mess of apartment block detritus, flattened buses and bodies squashed like insects.

Asia Times Online
China's elite stirs up 'paranoid' petitioners
By Stephanie Wang

CHANGSHA, China - Amid breakneck economic growth and anger over a widening wealth gap, recent controversial comments by China's upper classes have strained the public's tolerance.

China stirs a pot of gold
By John Browne

This week, based on indicators of improving Chinese manufacturing activity, commodity and stock markets surged in the Pacific Rim. It appears that China's recession-fighting policies are being judged successful. The 41% rally in Chinese stocks in 2009 from the 2008 lows dwarfs the single-digit rallies in the US and Europe. With Western economies still sluggish, eyes are turning eastward for solutions to the global economic riddle. As such, recent hints at the direction of Chinese monetary policy should be closely regarded.