23rd October 2010
The Lion Awakes
Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China
Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007
"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."
China Daily
Savoring the real taste of rural life
Farmers in Sichuan province's Luojiang county proudly tell visitors how they do not use pesticides and chemical fertilizers on the fruit because it "spoils the taste".
Instead, insects are kept at bay with strips of yellow flypaper hanging from tree branches.
The practice shows just how protective residents are of their land and agrarian way of life - something that has made the village a delicate prototype for the "new countryside" project aimed at bridging the gap between urban and rural residents.
Launched as part of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), the project has involved a fresh round of reforms and construction in China's vast countryside, with a view to boost economies, incomes, culture, democratic governance and the environment.
The government is likely to continue the project in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), as suggested during the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
China to commemorate the 100th anniversary of 1911 Revolution
BEIJING - China's top political advisory body decided Friday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution in 2011.
The ancient Portuguese-Chinese dictionary on display inside the Portugal Pavilion offers more than just words and definitions. It tells a story of Chinese history and social values.
A father and daughter look at an ancient Portuguese-Chinese dictionary inside the Portugal Pavilion
China, Zambia vow to deepen pragmatic cooperation
BEIJING - China and Zambia on Friday pledged to deepen their pragmatic cooperation in various fields to further bilateral ties.
China is willing to work with Zambia "to boost pragmatic cooperation and push forward more development of bilateral ties", said Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in talks with visiting Zambian Vice President George Kunda in Beijing.
China needs to 'forge ahead' in defense
BEIJING – China has no other option but to forge ahead with the development of its national defense or it will "slip behind", a high ranking official of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said on Friday.
"The latest global trend features new forms of operations... and worldwide military expenditure keeps rising. If we do not forge ahead we effectively slip behind. We have no other option," said Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the PLA.
China to add two taxes on foreign firms
Foreign companies operating in China will pay the same taxes as their Chinese competitors starting Dec 1, Securities Daily reported Friday.
According to a notification issued by the State Council, foreign-invested companies will pay two taxes called the Urban Maintenance and Construction Tax and Extra Charges of Education Funds beginning Dec 1.
The two taxes were launched in China in 1985 and 1986 respectively.
In order to boost foreign investment, foreign-owned and foreign-invested companies have been exempted the two taxes since 1994.
Japan plans to mine rare earth metals in Vietnam
TOKYO - Japan plans to mine in Vietnam for rare earth metals used in high-tech manufacturing, officials said Friday.
China's unemployment rate falls to 4.1% in Sept
BEIJING - China's urban unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent at the end of September, with 9.05 million urbanites registered as unemployed, a Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security official said Friday.
Baidu posts robust outlook, e-commerce set to soar
Baidu Inc's results and revenue forecasts beat expectations after China's biggest search company increased its Web traffic and customers, Reuters reported on Friday.
Baidu, whose name is taken from an ancient Song dynasty poem, now commands more than 70 percent of China's search market and is aggressively seeking other revenue streams by diversifying into e-commerce and online video.
China launches own online map service
BEIJING - China has launched its official online mapping service, Map World, as Google Inc has yet to apply for a Web mapping license in the country.
The State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) officially unveiled the free online map service on Thursday.
The service will provide "comprehensive geological data", said Xu Deming, director of the SBSM, at the launch ceremony.
Map World, the government-backed service, will "allow users to fly over mountains and plains around the world and search restaurants and traffic information across the country, free of charge", he said.
Users can enter Map World directly through www.tianditu.cn or www.chinaonmap.cn and search for two and three-dimensional images across the world, without client installations like Google Earth.
The service features images of satellite remote sensing with a resolution of 500 meters but this is enhanced to 2.5 meters for the Chinese map and 0.6 meters for maps of more than 300 Chinese cities.
Chinese Zodiac
Jewellry
Global Times
US tries to trip China at starting line of green energy 
On October 15, the US announced an investigation into China's clean energy industry under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which empowers the US president to take measures against unfair or discriminatory trade practices by other countries.
But this time the investigation is not focused on traditional industries or a single product. It focuses on green technologies, including wind and solar products and high-performance batteries and efficient cars.
It is aimed at the future of an entire industry.
This move may have been prompted by the postponement of the report on China's exchange rate policy, or as a domestic sop for the mid-term elections. It could also be a way to put pressure on China and open the way for US firms to dominate China's highly competitive domestic market.
Challenging China's green development is a misplaced move. First of all, environmental technology should be encouraged worldwide to meet the global challenge of climate change.
China has made efforts to develop clean energy and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. China has increased its use of hydro and nuclear power, as well as improving its wind power capacity from 2.59 million kilowatts in 2006 to 25.58 million kilowatts in 2009, a tenfold increase. This saves 16 million tons of coal a year. China produces 40 percent of the world' solar cells.
The US provides its own subsidies to its energy industry. Compared with the traditional fossil fuels such as coal and oil, clean energy is very limited, with higher early investment and prices, and needs help from the government in the initial stages.
The US provided $25.2 billion in subsidies to renewable energy last year, whereas in China, direct subsidies total less than 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion), although there are also some supportive tax policies.
China will become the world's largest clean energy market. Over the past few years, US companies have obtained a substantial share in the Chinese wind power market.
Dialogue - A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
Inclusive growth of next five years
Beijing vows to keep a lower but steady GDP growth rate in the next five-year plan. The blueprint is compared to a more sustainable strategy of inclusive development.
The consensus is generated at a landmark conference of the Chinese communist party that comes to a very fruitful conclusion on Monday. The strong visible hand of the central government has helped bail out a big continental economy in times of financial meltdown.
But is the Chinese mode of development healthy enough to sustain a sizable economy that will be based more on its domestic consumption and environmentally friendly manufacturing? How shall we examine the sense of global responsibility for China as its economy continues to pull the world economy out of recession?
CCTV - 9
News for Today
China Business Culture Science & Technology Travel
International News Sources
The Wall Street Journal - China RealTime Report
Fear Mongering 101: Anti-China Campaign Ads
Bashing China for political gain is nothing new. But this year’s election season has seen a stunning increase in the volume – and production quality – of anti-China political messages.
The latest example , from Citizens Against Government Waste (“America’s #1 taxpayer watchdog”), is a slick exercise in Sinophobia that takes the genre to new visual heights.
G-20 Proposal on Curbing Trade Imbalances Faces Opposition
GYEONGJU, South Korea—A proposal among the Group of 20 nations to target curbs on current-account imbalances, meant to avert a "currency war," itself ran into opposition from industrial and developing nations Friday.
U.S. Envoy Hopeful on Climate Deal
BEIJING—The top U.S. climate-change negotiator said Friday after a "constructive" meeting with his Chinese counterpart that "there's a deal to be had" at the November global-warming summit in Mexico.
The New York Times
W.T.O. Rejects Chinese Claims in Dispute Over Duties
WASHINGTON — The United States claimed victory Friday in a trade dispute with China, after a World Trade Organization panel largely upheld tariffs that were imposed on an array of Chinese-made steel pipes, tires and other products during the Bush administration.
Reclaiming the Badges of Cultural Identity
The most surprising displays of extravaganza took place in Hong Kong, where Sotheby’s was selling works of art carefully selected to appeal to the new wave of super-rich Chinese buyers whose eagerness for objects made for past emperors knows no financial limits.
Imperial Jade Seal
Double Gourd Vase
Caixin Online
Villagers Take a Stand on Wrecking Ball Beach
A 'nail house' saga in Beihai between local officials and villagers over seaside development has been nasty, and it's not over
In a sense, seaside calm returned to the scenic Silver Beach area in Beihai on October 8, the day after national holidays ended and an estimated 200,000 tourists packed their bags and went home.
But a festering property dispute reached a new crisis level as the day dawned in this Beibu Bay community, in southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Kaixin OpEd – Xiaosui points out that many of the people who resist development are simply holding out for higher prices. She points out that usually every effort is made to re-locate the people.
Yes, there has been an abuse of process and power at time, but that is generally the exception, not the rule in her experience.
It is distressing if a family is forced to leave its home in any country.
It makes a good story for the media.
However, it happens in all countries. If the government wants your house, it is going to get it.
All too often these reports in the western media sensationalise the issue to make a point against China, while conveniently ignoring similar events in the ‘west’.
Last holdout in downtown Beijing (China Daily 15/7/2010)
A "nail house," the last house in the area, stands in front of a tall building, blocking the road in Beijing's downtown area, July 14, 2010. The house owner Zhang Changfu's family has been living in this condition for seven years while the area was built into a modern community with many high-end residential buildings. Living in Beijing's "hardest nail house," as dubbed by many, Zhang said he was helpless because the family wanted to have their house demolished and move away but didn't know whom to turn to for help. "We feel very sorry for causing so much inconvenience to our neighbors, but we really don't know whom we can turn to for help to solve this problem," Zhang said. [Photo China Daily]
Wikipedia: A nail house (钉子户 dīngzihù) is a Chinese neologism for homes belonging to people (sometimes called "stubborn nails") who refuse to make room for development. The term, a pun coined by developers, refers to nails that are stuck in wood, and cannot be pounded down with a hammer.
The Age
Ties unravel as China turns hostile
John Garnaut Beijing
IN MAY 1986, a diminutive veteran of the long and brutal Japanese occupation of China, then Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang, (said) ''There can be no peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region unless China and Japan are friends,''
Kaixin OpEd – All very academic and detached. What Kaixin does not understand is how a journalist living in China can miss the point so spectacularly. Also, how a senior academic can fail to understand the deep issues between China and Japan.
I am heavily influenced by Xiaosui who represents a mainstream view of ordinary Chinese. She does not like or trust Japan. This is the legacy of generations, not some recent phenomenon.
The feelings from Japan are returned it would seem.
This is not a sound basis for developing a long term relationship. However, perhaps, the 21st century will see some progress, at leas on the economic front if Japan can decide if it is Asian or American.
Perhaps Japan could start by acknowledging its culpability for the atrocity of the Nanking Massacre and stop venerating the perpetrators of that massacre at shrines in Japan.
Asia Times Online
China scholars enter Okinawa fray
By Kosuke Takahashi
Chinese scholars who have laid claim to Chinese sovereignty over the Japanese island of Okinawa by delving into history have found takers for their argument among young protesters fired up by recent tensions between the two nations. At least one Japanese scholar is distinctly unimpressed.
Indian and China hover over Nepal
By Sudha Ramachandran
After four months without a government, there is still no sign of a resolution to the political stalemate in Kathmandu. Many Nepalese blame Indian meddling, but Beijing has been playing its own game in a country that is key to its battle to pacify Tibet
Share Article 
