29th of December 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
China, Russia hold talks over Korean tensions
MOSCOW - Visiting Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin here on Tuesday, exchanging views with the Russian side on the current situation of the Korean Peninsula.
The two sides reached consensus on the issue, saying both China and Russia urged the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to jointly mitigate tensions on the peninsula and to resume direct dialogue at an early date.
China's crude oil self-sufficiency 45% in 2010
BEIJING -- China's self-sufficiency in crude oil is expected to be 45 percent in 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the nation's top economic planner, said Tuesday.
China likely to set up rare earth trade body
BEIJING - China is considering establishing an industry association and a government unit for the rare earths industry to gain more control over the precious metals, senior officials said Tuesday.
The rare earths industry association is likely to be launched in May and will assist companies in exports and international cooperation, Wang Caifeng, a former official of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), who is setting up the group, said at a forum.
"We will be on the frontlines leading price talks with foreign buyers. Our role will be similar to that of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA)," she said.
Chinese industry associations have served as agents through which companies negotiate with foreign suppliers and buyers, such as CISA representing Chinese steelmakers in talks with global miners on iron ore prices.
Military must be self-reliant: minister
Beijing - China's military buildup will correspond with the rapidly developing economy and enhanced national power, Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said.
In a recent interview with the Chinese media, Liang also said that China's armed forces could only depend on themselves, not others, to ensure modernization and the development of equipment.
"In the next five years, our economy and society will develop faster, boosting comprehensive national power. The developments will provide an even more stable material base to our defense and military buildup," Liang said at the headquarters of the Chinese military in Beijing.
"We'll take the opportunity and speed up modernization of the military according to plans already made," he said.
Land boom may boost prices
Local govt reliance on property market could prove harmful
SHANGHAI - Local governments' excessive reliance on land-sale revenues will not only catapult already-prohibitive house prices to new highs, but also dissuade industrial entrepreneurs from expanding production, and lead them to speculate on property to make fast money, said experts.
At a recent land auction, a plot in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, was sold for 3.7 billion yuan ($559 million), or 37,000 yuan a square meter (sq m) by gross floor area, becoming one of the most expensive plots of land in the country.
However, in the eyes of Zhou Dewen, president of the Wenzhou Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Development Association, it is an anomaly.
"The land-bidding spree is a prelude to sidelined industrial production, but the bubble will burst in the housing market," Zhou said.
According to him, there is growing concern that more manufacturers will move from their businesses to join the housing stockpile, which provides higher and quicker returns. "This is very dangerous, because the sustained development of the national economy cannot be dependent on the housing boom and speculation, or we will have to pay a high cost, just like our neighbor Japan did," he noted.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
Top 10 farm produce with soaring prices
A number of commodities saw price hikes in 2010. Among these, soaring prices of agricultural commodities pushed the consumer price index (CPI), the major gauge of inflation, to a record high of 5.1 percent. While some prices have moderated due to government regulatory measures, others are expected to remain high for a longer period.
Stabilizing prices to be put in prominent position
BEIJING -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, reaffirmed Monday that it would give more prominence to stabilizing prices, and implementing a prudent monetary policy during the next year.
Further, China will make its monetary policies more targeted, flexible, and effective, employing multiple monetary tools to control liquidity and guide the credit growth back to a normal level, said an online statement summarizing a meeting of the PBOC's monetary policy committee.The statement came one day after the 25-basis-point interest rate hikes went into effect on Sunday.
More credit should be channeled into the real economy, especially into programs concerning agriculture, the countryside, farmers, and medium-sized and small enterprises, to help promote the strategic and economic restructuring, the statement said.
Those attending the meeting also agreed to further improve the yuan exchange rate formative mechanism, and to keep the yuan exchange rate "basically stable at a reasonable level."
An upward momentum in China's economy has been further consolidated, but the country also faces tough tasks in controlling credit and liquidity growth as well as warding off financial risks.
New ROK drills add to tension on peninsula
BEIJING - The announcement by the Republic of Korea (ROK) of naval drills, starting on Monday, has again escalated tension on the Korean Peninsula.
The ROK military plans to stage live-fire drills at 23 locations off its coast from Dec 27 to Dec 31, the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday.
DPRK threatens 'holy war', raises nuclear specter
BEIJING - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) warned on Thursday of a "holy war" using its nuclear deterrent against the Republic of Korea (ROK) as Seoul vowed a "merciless counterattack" if its territory is attacked again.
"To counter the enemy's intentional drive to push the situation to the brink of war, our revolutionary forces are making preparations to begin a holy war at any moment necessary based on nuclear deterrent," DPRK's official KCNA news agency quoted Minister of Armed Forces Kim Yong-chun telling a rally in Pyongyang.
ROK to hold 'largest drill'
BEIJING - The Republic of Korea (ROK) announced land and sea military exercises on Wednesday, described by its military as the largest-ever live-fire drill, near the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) just as tension on the peninsula was showing signs of easing.
A boat sails past an ROK naval supply base off Yeonpyeong Island near the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea on Wednesday.
Kaixin Oped - As noted below, Kaixin wonders just who is making this puppet dance.
China urges Korean Peninsula dialogue
BEIJING -- China Thursday urged the two sides on the Korean Peninsula to value people's safety and regional peace, and resume dialogue and negotiation at an early date.
"The situation on the Korean Peninsula remains complicated and sensitive," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular press conference.
Kaixin OpEd - China is probably urging the North to hold talks with the South. The question is ... whether Washington is urging the South to hold talks with the North.
ROK, China defence chiefs to meet in Feb
SEOUL - Defence ministers from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and China will hold talks in Beijing in February amid growing regional tension sparked by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear programmes and hostile acts, ROK's defence ministry said on Sunday.
US defense chief to visit China in Jan
BEIJING - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit China from January 9 to 12 next year, the Chinese Defense Ministry said Monday.
"Gates will make the visit as guest of Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Liang Guanglie," according to a statement from the Foreign Affairs Office of the ministry.
Wen: We are beating inflation
BEIJING - The government will be able to keep inflation in check, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday, after the central bank raised interest rates for a second time in just over two months.
Premier Wen Jiabao answers questions during a live broadcast by China National Radio on Sunday. During the program, Wen discussed issues which people are most concerned about, including reconstruction in earthquake-hit areas and property prices.
More people covered by social security network
BEIJING - More people enduring poor living conditions have been covered by China's social security system, according to the country's Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Various figures disclosed during a national working conference held Monday by the Ministry in Beijing showed that as of November, about 75 million people had been provided with minimum living allowances, an increase of 5.4 percent from the same period of last year.
In terms of medical services, 8.58 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) were spent in to aid nearly 60 million people in need in the first nine months of the year, up 28 percent than the same period last year.
Kaixin OpEd – This was Deng Xiaoping’s vision.
To use capitalism to generate wealth for China, then use that wealth for socialist ends – a fair society, all sharing in the wealth of China.
Deng Xiaoping was not into labels. He didn’t care if you called him a capitalist, a communist or a camel’s backside. His prime interest was in what worked for China, what benefited the Chinese people.
So far, so good ….
See Kaixin’s - ''Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious.'', Deng Xiaoping 邓小平
New rules to protect water, soil
BEIJING - Companies and individuals working on uncultivated land must control the loss of water and soil -- or pay the cost of government conservation on the project, the country's top legislature has proposed.
Penalties for the loss of soil and water must also be included in land-use contracts with local governments, according to a revision of the Law on Water and Soil Conservation.
The revised law, approved on Saturday, goes into effect on March 1.
China vows to tame housing prices
BEIJING - Policies launched this year to tighten the rise in housing prices have not been well implemented, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday, though the central government will continue its efforts to maintain prices at a reasonable level.
He made the remarks while taking questions from netizens while visiting China National Radio, according to a report on the station's website.
"I made a promise to the Chinese people last year that I would try to keep housing prices at a reasonable level during my tenure, and I won't shrink from the goal," Wen said.
The government will work to increase the supply of affordable housing and will strictly control speculation in the property market next year, he said.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
China boosts land supply in 2010
China increased land supply this year and stepped up the scrutiny of real estate investments by foreign companies as it rolls out more measures to contain 18 months of gains in property prices, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
China's land supply rose 48 percent to 128,200 hectares in the first 11 months, while sites for residential developments surged 51 percent, the Land and Resources Ministry said in a statement.
The Commerce Ministry ordered local authorities to halt the approval of some foreign property investments to curb speculative buying, it said in a Nov 22 statement.
Home prices in 70 Chinese cities climbed 7.7 percent in November from a year earlier, even after the government raised borrowing costs for the first time in three years, suspended mortgages for third-home purchases and pledged to introduce a property tax, the report said, adding that sales volume also jumped 15 percent. "The pace for land acquisitions in the private sector will slow next year," the report cited Johnson Hu, a Shanghai-based property analyst at UOB Kay Hian Investment Co. "The government is tightening lending on one hand, but on the other, it's launching new land supplies," Hu said.
Real estate should not be pillar industry
Real estate should be a fundamental, but not a pillar, industry in China, the Shanghai Securities News reported Wednesday, citing Yun Xiaosu, vice minister of the Ministry of Land and Resources.
Chinese government has rolled out a series of measures to curb skyrocketing housing prices since April. China’s real estate prices in 70 major cities rose at a slower pace since April. However, 70 percent of Chinese residents believe home prices are too high, according to a report released by the People’s Bank of China.
License quotas to control gridlock in Beijing
Beijing announced a package of detailed rules on Thursday to ease its growing traffic gridlock, the rumors of which had caused frenzy car buying this month.
The city will only allow 240,000 vehicles to be registered next year, said Zhou Zhengyu, vice-secretary general of the Beijing municipal government.
The quotas will be divided among organizations and individuals every month, as part of a new policy to ease traffic pressure in 2011, according to a chinanews.com.cn report on Thursday.
South Africa joins BRIC as full member
BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi Thursday said BRIC has accepted South Africa as a full member of the group, which currently includes Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Yang, during a phone conversation with his South African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, said Chinese President Hu Jintao would issue an invitation letter to South African President Jacob Zuma, inviting him to attend the third BRIC leaders' meeting to be held in Beijing next year.
China tougher on foreign property investment
BEIJING - China is tightening regulation on foreign investment in the real estate sector to crack down on speculation, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Thursday.
The ministry urges local authorities to increase checks and supervision on property investment that involved foreign investors and strengthen risk controls on the sector, said the statement posted on the MOC website.According to the statement, foreign-funded developers are not allowed to make profits through buying and reselling real estate projects, which will be strictly monitored by the MOC along with the Ministry of Land and Resources and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
The ministry also required local authorities to tighten scrutiny over foreign-funded investment companies and not to allow those companies to enter the real estate businesses, while closely examining the exact amount of foreign funds used in new real estate projects.
White paper with Africa on economic co-op unveiled
BEIJING -- The Chinese government Thursday released a white paper on China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, highlighting achievements and a bright future for China and African countries to boost their growth.
It was China's first-ever white paper on its economic and trade cooperation with Africa.
"Practice proves that China-Africa economic and trade cooperation serves the common interests of the two sides, helps Africa to reach the UN Millennium Development Goals, and boosts common prosperity and progress for China and Africa," said the white paper.
The 29-page white paper, released by the State Council Information Office, introduced facts of trade development, investment expansion, infrastructure construction collaboration and other fields of cooperation between China and Africa.
China-Africa economic and trade cooperation plays a significant role in promoting the establishment of a fair and rational new international political and economic order, according to the white paper.
China's top banker sees rate rises: Xinhua
SHANGHAI/BEIJING- China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) Chairman Guo Shuqing said he expects the government to raise interest rates and lift bank required reserve ratios (RRR) further next year.
Obama to host Hu in state visit on Jan 19
WASHINGTON - The White House has finalized Jan 19 as the date for Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States.
"President Hu's visit will highlight the importance of expanding cooperation between the United States and China on bilateral, regional and global issues, as well as the friendship between the peoples of our two countries," the White House said in a statement issued Wednesday.
Hu's visit with US President Barack Obama will include a state dinner in the evening.
Benefits of country life back in fashion
As housing and land prices soar, villagers grow reluctant to surrender rural status. Wang Yan in Beijing reports.
As a child, Ji Wengang remembers most people in his village "going crazy" for the chance to become "real city folk".
It was 1992 and many farmers were spending from 4,000 yuan ($600) to as much as 20,000 yuan to swap their hukou (housing registration) from rural to urban. The nationwide frenzy was only ended by an urgent notice from the Ministry of Public Security.
Now 29, Ji is witnessing the complete opposite.
"Those who paid big money back in the 1990s must be regretting it now," said Ji at his home in Yiwu, a city in East China's Zhejiang province.
With rising house prices in urban centers, for many people, the benefits of having rural hukou - free land and yearly subsidies - now far outweigh anything cities have to offer.
Kaixin OpEd – This is an almost un-imaginable change in China.
It clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of the government policy to focus on rural China.
This focus will unlock the huge reserves of natural and human capital in rural China.
It will drive domestic consumption will into the 21st century.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA & INSIGHTS INTO CHINA
Little room for bikes in traffic plan, critics say
BEIJING - The municipal government's call for people to swap steering wheels for handlebars has appeared halfhearted to many.
The Beijing government issued a package of detailed rules on Thursday to address its traffic gridlock, including measures to improve infrastructure for cyclists, pedestrians and public transport.
Bridge reaches across the sea off Qingdao
Photo taken on Dec 8 shows an aerial view of the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge under construction. The main section of the bridge was joined up on Dec 22. The bridge links the main urban area of Qingdao city, East China’s Shandong province, with Huangdao district, straddling the Jiaozhou Bay sea areas (located on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula). With an overall length of 42.58 kilometers, the bridge will be open to traffic in the first half of 2011. The route between Qingdao and Huangdao will be shortened by 30 kilometers, cutting the travel time by 20 minutes at 80 kilometers per hour.
China's most-difficult-to-build railway to open
YICHANG, Hubei - A railway touted as the most difficult to build in the country that cuts through southwestern China's rugged mountains with hundreds of bridges and tunnels, will open this week.
The maiden train journey will leave Yichang city, central Hubei province, Wednesday morning and arrive in Wanzhou district, Chongqing, two hours later. The Yichang-Wanzhou Railway will become fully operational on Jan 11, 2011, said Guo Bing, an official with the Yichang section of the Wuhan Railway Bureau.
It used to take 22 hours to travel by train from Chongqing to Wuhan, but when the new line opens it will only take five hours. Travel time from other central or eastern Chinese cities to Southwest China will also be greatly reduced, railway officials said.
Engineers and work crews took seven years to complete the 377-kilometer railway on a stretch of mountains on the eastern edge of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. In the most extreme case, it took nearly six years to drill a tunnel through Qiyue Mountain along the route.
The railway includes 159 tunnels and 253 bridges.
The Yichang-Wanzhou Railway is also China's most expensive railway in terms of cost per kilometer. It cost about 60 million yuan to build each kilometer of the railway, compared to 29 million yuan ($4.37 million) for each kilometer of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
The Post 80's Generation in China (Multimedia Presentation)
Don't call me Laowai (foreigner): Elyse's American dream in China
It's been 8 years Elyse Ribbons lives in Beijing. Elyse came to China unexpectedly and fell in love with Beijing, so decided to come here after her graduation. "There is a really good Chinese word yuan fen, that explains how I ended up in China.
Love Relay Concert - VIDEO
2010 Music Radio's "Kappa 1200: Love Relay Concert" was held in Beijing Yuetan Stadium Monday night. The event was organized by the Music Radio of Central People's Radio and the China Children and Teenagers Foundation, and cosponsored by Kappa. All profits from the event will be donated to the China Children and Teenagers' Foundation and will be used to support three years' worth of living expenses for impoverished children.
Last night, Fish Leong, Yoga Lin, Hebe, Zhang Jie, Bibi, Shang Wenjie, Yu Quan, Li Xiaoyun, Su Xing, Li Yifeng, Olivia, and Jiang Yuheng performed for the audience.
The 2010 Music Radio "Kappa 1200: Activity to Assist the Impoverished Students" has been going on for four months. Participants have experienced two in-depth face to face visits, three "smile collections," two golf tournaments, six road shows of love in different cities, and today they have finally come to the 2010 Love Relay Concert. The whole process has attracted the strong support of all walks of life. Everyone passed on his own love, and infected other peoples.
SLIDESHOW: Exhibition of "Charm of Ancient Chinese Music" opens in Beijing (1/51)
Post-80s in China-E06 - VIDEO
E06:"I'm ma ma"
Post-80s is a special word in China, which refers to people born in the 1980s.
Winter wonderland at Bird's Nest - VIDEO
The Bird's Nest, China's landmark Olympic stadium in Beijing, is hosting a snow festival which attracted thousands to enjoy a wide variety of winter activities.
Mounds of artificial snow, mini ski slopes and skating rinks were crowded with snow lover bundled up like Eskimos. Located in one of Beijing's most popular tourist spots, residents and visitors looking for a little winter fun don't have to travel far.
This is the festival's second year. Last year was the first time the event was held at the 526-million-dollar arena, and the representatives say they look forward to continuing to celebrate this new winter tradition.
The winter wonderland provides a fun, interesting snow world for locals and tourists to explore during the Christmas and the Chinese New Year period.
Tea culture comes to live at Wuyutai - VIDEO
Wuyutai is a name known to almost every tea lover in Beijing. First established in 1887, Wuyutai enjoys fame as one of the Time-Honored Brands of China, and is well-known for its high-quality tea products and hospitable service.
The history of the teahouse is encapsulated in its name. Wu Xiqing, its founder, came from Anhui province to open a tea store in Beijing during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Wu named the shop Yutai, which was later updated to include his family name.
Wuyutai is most famous for its secret jasmine tea recipe - a sought-after mixture of green tea and jasmine that rings the right note for tea lovers. And it is in the process of applying to make jasmine tea part of Beijing's intangible cultural heritage.
After over a century's development, Wuyutai Tea House, which was renamed Beijing Wuyutai Tea Co in 2005, has more than 190 chain stores, two tea houses and two stylish tea cuisine restaurants.
For over 120 years, Wuyutai has been holding up its traditional tea producing methods and has won high reputation and credibility among generations of tea lovers.
People in Beijing like to go to tea houses. In olden days, they used to be the center of social activity. Nowadays, tea houses are still considered an ideal venue for socializing. The preparation of tea is an important part of the Chinese tea culture. Different kinds of tea require different methods of preparation. Offering tea is considered a sign of respect, courtesy and gratitude.
Along with Wuyutai's renowned traditional tea products, the company has developed various new products to expand its market share; namely, tea-flavored moon cakes, ice cream, candy and cuisines.
At the end of 2006, Wuyutai recovered an old tea cuisine recipe that belonged to Wu Xiqing, who was also a gourmet cook and was keen on introducing tea elements to traditional Chinese cuisines.
At the Refreshments and Cuisine of Wuyutai Court (Wuyutai Nei Fu Dishes), you can not only enjoy tea beverages, but also taste tea-related cuisines. Wuyutai advocates a healthy and natural way of eating. The dishes on its menu are mouthwatering and creative.
For instance, Puer Tea with Natural Fried Chrysanthemum is cooked so delicately from fresh chrysanthemum flowers without losing the natural shape or color of the flower. And the Puer tea on the side neutralizes the flower's coolness with its warmth.
Fresh Shrimps with Biluo Tea is quite fun to eat. The teapot alongside the shrimp is an automatic dark-red enamel pot, which pours tea automatically as soon as a cup is placed on the base.
And the "brushes" on this pallet are not made for Chinese calligraphy but for your stomach. This snack is made of wheat flour mixed with cubilose, shark's fin, snow clam and papaya. The ink-like stuff on the inkstone is actually blueberry sauce. You can also choose chili sauce if you prefer.
And one appetizer is made from French goose liver and green tea pudding. There's a piece of Kuding tea leaf on each cube of pudding. The appetizer combines the bitterness of Kuding tea with the scent of green tea, as well as the creamy texture of goose liver.
Eating at the Wuyutai theme restaurant is more than just a tea banquet. While you are dinning here, you can also feel the traditional Chinese tea culture and see how it was rejuvenated under Wuyutai's business philosophy.
Kaixin's - Chinese green tea -Tie Guan Yin’s story 铁观音
Kaixin's - The story of the Pu'er Tea 普洱茶 the famous red tea of China.
Kaixin's - Magic Tibetan Tea - Po Cha 'Tibetan Butter Tea'
The Guangzhou Asian Para Games
Slideshow: Asian Para Games ends in Guangzhou
Floating ice brings danger for North China city
A general view of the sheets of ice float in the Wuhai section of Yellow River in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
Building Big - The Top 10
China has a tradition of building big. Tracing back to the Great Wall and the splendid imperial palaces, the ancient Chinese were addicted to the massive impact created by building gigantic constructions.
China never stopped constructing, especially after the government injected four trillion yuan to the market to stimulate the economy two years ago. The country's people decided to let the tradition continue by building new construction wonders in the cradle of civilization.
Following are 10 examples of how Chinese people endured the great legacy in the passing year:
1. Beijing-Shanghai in four hours 3. Disneyland comes to Shanghai 5. 15-story hotel built in six days 6. Asian Games Town ready for sports gala 7. Nuke power firm fuels mega investment plan
A Li ethnic minority with tattoos on her face poses for a photographer in Baoting Li and Miao autonomous county, Hainan province Dec 9, 2010. Li women tattoo their skin as part of traditional customs but it is a tradition that the young don't follow nowadays. There are about 1,000 aging women who still wear such traditional tattoos in Baoting.
The man who was Mao's hero
The Bruce Lee legend never fades but it might surprise some to learn that among his legion of fans was Chairman Mao, who called him a hero.
Chairman Mao Zedong (1893-1976) and Bruce Lee the martial arts legend (1940-1973) both declared - in their unique ways - that the Chinese people had "stood up".
Mao made this proclamation on the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Oct 1, 1949, Lee said it in a cinematic way that needed no translation when he kicked and smashed a wooden panel bearing the words: "Chinese and dogs not allowed", one of the iconic scenes steeped in fiery nationalism from Fist of Fury.
The words are supposedly from notices at the entrance of public parks in colonial Shanghai, and have come to symbolize the country's humiliation.
It turns out the Great Helmsman was a huge fan of the kungfu legend.
Vote for China's Top 10 Cultural Events in 2010
China's Economy by Numbers
Top 10 New Investment Ideas in China
Special Coverage: Beijing, I have a dream
A special coverage on people’s dreams in Beijing under its This is Beijing program, and this is the third part of five people's dreams.
The 16th United Nations Climate Change Conference
Global Times
S.Korea's reunification plan hardly realistic
The South Korean Ministry of Reunification is going to submit a peninsula reunification plan to President Lee Myung-bak Wednesday, in which 2011 will be set as the first year to start preparing for unifying the two Koreas. South Korean media have interpreted the move as signifying a "reunification by absorption" policy by Seoul toward the North.
Peninsula reunification requires collaboration by both Koreas. This plan, which is proposed by the South while it carries out a military drill and includes a strategy which sets preparations in motion for the collapse of the North Korean regime, will hardly enhance ties between the two sides.
The Korean Peninsula is now plagued by the idea of a violent reunification. South Korea is adopting moves that go against its wider goals. The South hopes to see stability, but fails to patiently address its actions that undermine that very stability. It chooses to provoke the North with frequent military drills, which accrues suspension and hatred across the 38th parallel.
There are no credible reasons for China to instigate turmoil. China would like to help promote both Koreas in working toward peaceful reunification, a process which will help slowly dissipate historical quarrels.
China's history is filled with bitterness, and the nation deeply understands the pain of the Koreans. To say the least, China will not impede the peninsula's peaceful reunification. Therefore, it is peculiar that South Korea does not even consider China's advice.
From the perspective of the Chinese public, South Korea is behaving like a bull in a china shop.
Closely watching dynamics on the peninsula, we are able to see that South Korea's declarations about its reunification plan have created more tensions in the region.
The two Koreas agreed in 1972 on three principles: independence, peaceful reunification and national unity. The dangerous idea of gaining reunification through violence was directly rejected decades ago.
At the moment, what South Korea needs most is to remain calm. In the Hollywood blockbuster Inception, the main character uses a spinning top to judge whether he is in a dream or in reality. Now the spinning top for South Korea poses a series of question: Will its actions help reduce tensions? Will its policy help address issues with the North? Will its decisions facilitate cooperation among powers like China, Russia and the US? If the answers are yes, then South Korea is in reality. Nevertheless, if the answers are negative, South Korea is dreaming.
S.Korea playing by dangerous cliff
Without letting the world breathe a sigh of relief after North Korea showed restraint following South Korea's artillery drill on Monday, the South moved on with an even larger display of military exercises.
The North's firing back in November that left four South Koreans dead was an overreaction but the South's continuous bombast is putting it at a disadvantage that will draw international criticism.
The Korean leaders, military and think tanks appear to be trapped in their triumph after their Monday live-fire drill near the North Korean border. Many believe that if they try to be nice, Pyongyang will never stop; and if they play tough, the other side will back off.
But the two Koreas are not street hoodlums, nor bullies in the schoolyard.
Northeast Asia is one of the most prosperous regions in the world, though the DMZ still slashes the Korean Peninsula in two. It is unacceptable for regional interests that any side threatens the other with war, whatever the purpose may be.
South Korean leaders may have an illusion that they suffered a lot from the North's "provocation." But do they understand that the North Koreans also had to swallow bitter pills when the South launches military exercises with the US time and again? With the relighting of a Christmas tree along the border that has been associated with past propaganda wars, how will North Korea be expected to react?
China has always tried to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. When the North Korea tested nuclear bombs, China stood with the international community, voiced its condemnation and supported sanctions against the North.
But when the South loses its temper and insists on provocative military maneuvers along the border, China will not be siding with the South. The international community should also be clear about the situation, as it needs to pull the South back from the edge of the cliff.
If South Korea makes a wrong move that leads the two Koreas to war, the international communities can also consider applying sanctions against South Korea. Economic sanctions will also hurt the bustling South Korean economy.
No matter how strongly the South Korean military vows to retaliate should the North directly fire at the military or civilian targets in the South, we believe the two Koreas do not want a war. Neither side can afford an all-out military confrontation. The peninsula will never be a place for a school bully.
Kaixin OpEd - But what if that bully is our teenager friend, America ...
US destructive role in Northeast Asia
The protracted US backing of a vindictive South Korea has pushed the peninsula to the brink of war.
The reaction from the North, when faced with a live-fire artillery drill by South Korean forces on Yeonpyeong island, is predictable. Should the South proceed, a major military conflict cannot be ruled out.
This would spell out the worst scenario resulting from poor political judgment and lack of restraint from both sides. Apart from aimless bravado that may win plaudits from domestic supporters, there is nothing to gain for either side from a confrontation in which millions would suffer.
The US is thus not playing a responsible role. Despite its special envoy being sent to Pyongyang for dialogue, its support of these drills are only pushing North Korea to the edge.
While claiming to be standing guard for the South Korea, the US in fact will do the greatest harm to the South.
The escalation of the Korean crisis is bad news for China or Russia. However, tensions on the peninsula will provide the US, which is to blame for worsening intra-Korean relations, with a perfect excuse to "return to Asia."
It is time to take a closer look at the damaging power of the US role in Northeast Asia. At this critical moment of war and peace, Asian countries need to escape a Cold War mentality and maintain regional interests at heart.
US President Barack Obama has won a Nobel Peace Prize. If a second Korean war should break out during his second term in office, a war he did nothing to prevent, would his aura of peace be shattered?
No matter what China and the US do, the most important objective of all is for South Korea to keep a clear head. Should war break out, the biggest losses would be borne on the South. Despite support from the US and Japan, and sympathy from China and Russia, nobody would take those losses for South Korea. No matter what happens, it is impossible for South Korea to reunite the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea should also be mindful that a war will never fix the country's difficult straits. No matter how objectionable it may view negotiating and building a rapport with other countries, the North has to take this path.
As for China, it does not want to see any major crisis on the Korean Peninsula. But China is never going to bend to any challenge from outside. Should the troubled waters of the peninsula wet China's feet, somebody else may already be drowning.
Applause for North Korea's restraint
North Korea's reaction to the South's military drill Monday let the world see its calmness and restraint. The North's international image is being quietly altered, whereas the South is labeled by some observers as threatening the status quo.
There are also voices deriding North Korea's timidity in the face of the South's hard-line stance. North Korea should not heed them. No matter what motive it had, North Korea didn't retaliate Monday, which preserved the fragile peace on the peninsula.
Consequently, North Korea deserves the applause of the region for its diplomatic response. Those who laugh at North Korea's "cowardice" are actually onlookers seeking to extract their own interests from the chaos on the peninsula.
Before Monday's military drill, South Korea had also been restrained. It had tried to cast North Korea in the role of agent provocateur. However, this has not been the case at least in the past couple of days. Has South Korea itself slipped into that role? This question should be mulled over thoughtfully by its authorities.
Dialogue
A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
Inter-Korean tension grows
The Republic of Korea has resumed its scheduled live-fire drills near the disputed border island. The DPRK, its northern neighbor vows to shell their enemy harder than before. The two sides have been trading tough talk and gearing up for an open confrontation. Russia has called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to find a restraining solution.
But the US refuses to cooperate in what looks like a repeat of the Cold War. The US assumes the rotating presidency of the Security Council. The Whitehouse says that South Korea’s scheduled military maneuvers are unprovocative and routine.
China warns that the hostilities could spill over into the neighboring countries and must be prevented. But, Beijing is accused of not exercising sufficient pressure on its alleged ally, the DPRK, to stop the provocations.
International News Sources
The Wall Street Journal - China RealTime Report
The Wall Street Journal
Pictures of China
Slideshows
Brazil, Russia, India, China + South Africa = BRICSA
It’s official. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that Brazil, Russia, India and China have agreed to invite South Africa to join their grouping of emerging economies, referred to as BRIC.
Kaixin OpEd – Do we detect a patronising tone in the article. Perhaps Kaixin is getting too sensitive …
Kaixin suggests that this is a highly significant move.
Africa has huge untapped reserves of natural and human resources. To date the ‘west’ has ignored Africa. China has always held out an open hand. A point derided by the 'west' as self-serving.
Probably.
Still, a helping hand never-the-less.
And Africa remembers …
Did someone mention colonialism??
A Traffic Death Exposes Government Credibility Crisis
On Christmas Day, Qian Yunhui, a villager in eastern Zhejiang province with a long history of petitioning against alleged abuses by local government, was crushed to death under the wheels of a heavy truck. That much is fact. Gruesome pictures of his mangled body circulated widely on the Internet within hours of his death.
But the online uproar that followed – and the response of local officials — offers a window into a new political reality in China, one that has profound implications for how this country is governed.
...
Stung by the online reaction, local authorities held a press conference on Monday afternoon to discuss the case. It was a rare gesture by Chinese officialdom, an acknowledgement that public opinion is important and that the government is both sensitive to criticism and willing to respond.
Kaixin OpEd – Kaixin calls this tech-democracy.
As Kaixin consistently points out, China is not grey; there is colour and light – uneven at times, but certainly insistent.
Kaixin does not know what happened and makes no comment.
Kaixin sees it as but one example of the people demanding demanding to be heard. It is a new model for China, one the authorities will has to adapt to.
The ‘west’ wants to impose its model, its concept, of democracy on China.
Perhaps the ‘west’ should be patient and allow China to evolve its own form of democracy.
The people’s voice being heard is surely the first green shoots.
China’s War on Dissent and Activism
Stanley Lubman, a long-time specialist on Chinese law, teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and is the author of “Bird in a Cage: Legal Reform in China After Mao,” (Stanford University Press, 1999).
The ferocity of the Chinese party-state’s war on protesters, dissenters and activists will continue in the near future, and recent events demonstrate that it is increasingly determined to seek international support for its domestic actions.
Kaixin OpEd – This is a complex issue and one 'western' & Chinese Kaixin discuss often. See below for a more detailed comment on this issue.
A first-hand account of how China's police treats the citizens it's supposed to serve and protect.
By TENG BIAO
Beijing
On Dec. 23, the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons From Forced Disappearance came into force. China has declined to accede to this convention. My experience that same day is just one of many examples of how the authorities continue to falsely imprison Chinese citizens.
Kaixin OpEd – On the surface, the police officers have damaged China’s ‘ face’ on an international level. This is now a lead story in the western media. It is a story that confirms many people’s opinion of China.
It is not that simple.
Kaixin does not dispute that it happened as Teng Biao describes. Kaixin certainly does not condone such heavy-handed behaviour.
Chinese Kaixin comes from the grass-roots of China, she represents the voice of the average Chinese person on the street.
Mr Teng Biao comes from the intellectual elite of China. Does he represent their voice or the voice of the average person?
In all societies there are issues to do with the police and the State.
In all societies it is the role of the intellectual elite to question the status quo.
This is healthy and brings about change.
Mr Teng Biao has taken on the role of questioning the status quo on China, an important role for the intellectual elite.
The status quo in any country wants to maintain just that, the status quo.
Just ask Mr Julian Assange, who is in fear of his life if thrown into an American jail.
Mr Teng Biao also challenges the status quo of a very powerful government.
There are bound to be issues.
Chinese Kaixin’s response is to say that the police are not stupid. They would not have acted that way without authority from further up. Note that the police made many calls. It is unlikely they were to their mothers. It is more likely they were to people much higher up.
Why were the actions of the police on the ground sanctioned?
Mr Teng Biao handed over his ID card very early on. The police on the ground, and those higher up, would have known of Mr Teng Biao’s background, his capacity to reach outside China.
It is interested to ponder why it was allowed to evolve as it did. Kaixin has no answers, but it is an interesting question.
Mr Teng Biao did as would have been expected. He bought the issue to the attention of the international media with the obvious consequences – first page headlines confirming China’s perceived penchant for violating human rights.
Chinese Kaixin asked why Teng Biao did not handle the matter within China.
Western Kaixin pointed out that most people in the west do not believe that the Chinese government would have addressed the issue. They would have suppressed it would be the opinion in the west. Therefore, this was a way of shining a light on the issue.
Chinese Kaixin points out that the average person on the street is not in fear of the government. They have a very good life, one that has been steadily improving for the last thirty years under the Communist Party.
The average person sees no reason to dissent. Their voice is getting stronger and they question the government, but they do not want to change it.
Kaixin believes that Mr Teng Biao represents a tiny minority in China.
He has highlighted an issue, but is it a big issue in China or just a consequence of the intellectual elite challenging the status quo.
Kaixin suspects that within the small world of the intellectual elite it is a big issue, but within the real world of the average Chinese it is a very small issue.
Kaixin sees, time and time again, how the average person use their collective voice in China through tech-democracy to bring about effective change from the government.
If Mr Teng Biao has exposed a big issue then it will be taken up. If not, it will wither on the vine and the average people in China will go about their business.
China Said to Move Closer on 'Carrier Killer'
BEIJING—China is moving closer to deploying a ballistic missile designed to sink an aircraft carrier, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command said in newspaper interview published Tuesday.
Kaixin OpEd – Considering the U.S parks an aircraft carrier within nuclear bombing range of Beijing at regular intervals … in effect sticking one right up China’s nose.
It is perhaps not surprising that China will eventually sneeze.
Rising property prices and a torrid pace of lending are signals of an inflationary bubble.
Last week I sold an apartment in Beijing for more than 2.5 times what I paid for it five years and three months ago. When I asked the buyer why he was optimistic about real estate, he explained that land was limited in Chinese cities and government policies would keep the market going up.
So far that argument has proven right. Understanding government policy has long been the key to making money in China's property and stock markets. The atmosphere at the Beijing tax and land bureaus brought to mind California during the gold rush.
Kaixin OpEd – An informed article, which gives Kaixin some pause for thought.
Kaixin is thinking about purchasing a unit in China. It has been recommended to us to wait until some time next year. The government policies to cool the market must kick in some time and there will be distressed sales to cherry-pick from.
However, this will not be wholesale rout. Our advice that is that it will be an adjustment, which is seen as good.
As the article points out, the gearing in China is low. Distressed sales will not be common as in the over-geared west during the GFC.
Still, the dragon is growing up and must be getting harder to wrestle.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
Timberland's Green China Campaign
Amid Stiff Competition Among Makers of Outdoor Gear, Company's CEO Is Stressing His Environmental Goals
Chinese demand for outdoor gear is enticing global brands to add local staff and open thousands of shops on the mainland. Timberland Co. of the U.S. has 110 stores in China, and President Jeffrey Swartz sees enough potential there to more than double that number in the next three years.
No Easy Ride for Yuan Through Hong Kong
When is a yuan not a yuan? When it is in Hong Kong.
Bankers are giddy with excitement over the recent liberalization of trading in the Chinese currency in Hong Kong, even raising notions that a flood of yuan into the city will erode the logic behind the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the greenback.
It is unlikely the territory's vaunted peg—in place since 1983—is going anywhere soon. Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Norman Chan has four criteria before Hong Kong will switch currency allegiances. These include an open capital account in China, a freely convertible currency, a mature ...
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
China Raises Rates Amid Inflation Fight
BEIJING—China raised interest rates for the second time in slightly over two months, signaling the authorities' resolve to combat rising inflation.
Beijing's latest move also suggests the world's second-largest economy may be entering a relatively formal monetary tightening cycle and that policy-makers may have been convinced that the weapons used so far, such as credit rationing and artificial price controls, have failed to cool politically sensitive consumer price pressures.
Economists React: Christmas Rate Hike
The People’s Bank of China on Saturday announced an increase of 0.25 percentage point to interest rates on benchmark one-year loans and deposits, the second hike since late October. Economists weigh in:
Huawei, Tencent to Offer HiQQ Phones
China’s biggest telecom equipment maker, Huawei Technologies, and one of its biggest Internet companies, Tencent, are teaming up to offer smartphones based on Google’s Android software preloaded with Tencent applications.
New Insight On Offshore Yuan Demand
Beijing isn’t taking any chances with its new offshore yuan market and is keeping control of how much of the currency it allows to flow overseas. New data from the Bank for International Settlements may give an indication of why.
Zuckerberg in China: Huzzahs from Users, Hush from Alibaba
Officials at Baidu, Sina and China Mobile have been less sheepish about their meetings with Mr. Zuckerberg, whose visit has generated much excitement among Internet industry executives and enthusiasts in China. Indeed, while the government blocks access to Facebook from within China, many Chinese Internet users have welcomed Mr. Zuckerberg, whose wealth (and his Chinese-American girlfriend) have helped make him famous among China’s urban youth.
Who’s Who in Taiwan’s History?
As part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China next year, Taiwan’s official history archive, Academia Historica, launched an online poll earlier this month to pick the 100 most influential people in Taiwan’s history.
Although the idea sounds innocuous enough, the results were no doubt far from what the museum expected.
China’s North Korea Shift Helps U.S. Relations
The United States and China seem to finally be on the same page regarding the North.
WASHINGTON — Few debates have strained relations between the United States and China more this year than how to handle an unruly North Korea. But after a tense week, when the threat of war hung over the Korean Peninsula, the Obama administration and Beijing seem finally to be on the same page.
North Korea Launches Verbal Salvo
SEOUL— North Korea, three days after backing off threats to attack South Korea, turned up the rhetoric late Thursday by promising a "sacred war" if the South or U.S. touched its territory, while South Korean officials tried to address public perception of their handling of North Korea.
Kaixin OpEd – It would all be a bit pathetic, ‘ sacred war’ indeed, like children squabbling in the playground, if it weren’t for the fact that these children are proxies for the USA and China et al.
Yuan's Role Grows in Hong Kong
NEW YORK—Six months after China pledged to increase the flexibility of the yuan exchange rate versus the dollar, there are fresh signs that it is gradually moving closer to a more international role for its currency.
On Thursday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said yuan deposits in the city surged to 280 billion yuan ($42.12 billion) at the end of November from 217 billion yuan in the previous month, a sign of strong demand for the Chinese currency in Hong Kong and of a convergence between the territory's open financial system and the mainland economy. HKMA Chief Executive Norman Chan ...
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
Beijing Imposes Tough Traffic Curbs
BEIJING—Beijing's municipal government Thursday unveiled sweeping measures to curtail the number of cars sold in the city next year, in a bid to ease traffic chaos that could prompt similar moves in other Chinese cities and deepen an expected slowdown for the auto industry.
Vehicles jam the 3rd ring road during the morning rush hour in Beijing
Developers Defy Gravity, Government Policy
Global politicians envious of the power China’s leaders supposedly have to implement economic policy would do well to consider Z15.Local media are reporting that Citic plans to use Z15 as the site for a gleaming 500-meter skyscraper (see artists rendition above). Once built, the tower will be Beijing’s tallest–eclipsing the recently completed China World Trade Center Tower, also in the Central Business district, by 170 meters.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
Old Problems Resurface With China’s Rising Food Prices
The British writer Bruce Chatwin, in his 1989 book “What Am I Doing Here,” ascribed the power of Chinese emperors to nothing more than the authority over agriculture.
“Imperial decrees,” Chatwin wrote, “used to begin ‘The World is based on Agriculture.’”
It’s been more than 20 years since Chatwin wrote and a millennium since the era he evoked.But in China, even the most massive changes in income levels can’t mask the same fault lines that pervade the task of governing this old, big country.
WSJ - Farm Wages Trip Beijing's March Against Inflation
BEIJING—To combat a surge in food prices that is worrying consumers and economists, China's government is reining in bank lending and selling down reserves of grain. But there is one driver of higher food prices that will be harder to get under control: the steady rise in the wages paid to workers on and off the farm.
Kaixin OpEd – There is a massive shift going on in China at the moment.
The first 30 years of China’s economic transformation was driven from the cities, in particular the cities on the coast: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The rural population provided the labour for this phase at a price that allowed China to build its export economy.
This model could not go on forever.
Beijing knew this and the last five years has seen a steady shift in focus from a reliance on low priced exports to America to, among other initiatives, using the wealth that provided to focus on rural China.
Rural China is a vast untapped economic reserve for China.
It will drive growth, through domestic consumption and entrepreneurship for the next fifty years in China, at least.
Deng Xiaoping’s vision, Kaixin believes, was to use capitalism to build wealth for China, then use that wealth for socialist goals – social equality and security.
Along the way there will of course by problems, income disparity is one.
At first the rural population were content to provide their labour for a very low cost. It was still a big improvement on what they had before, particularly through the grey period of Mao’s miss-management of the economy.
It was a vast, almost unimaginable, improvement on what they had endured before Mao.
The first phase of the economic transformation has been achieved. China now has a secure wealth base.
The rural population are better informed and becoming better educated. They want a greater share of the wealth that China is generating.
This will cause problems and required adjustments.
These adjustments be achieved with a different agenda and focus to the ‘western’ models. The ‘west’ likes to think in terms of free enterprise and the devil take the hindmost.
China, Kaixin believes, will focus on the social agenda and try to find a balance.
This will not be achieved overnight. It will take time and there will be mistakes.
However as long as it is the focus, the Chinese people will benefit over time.
Western economists and commentators do not seem to be able to get their collective heads around the notion that China is indeed creating a new economic model. Kaixin wonders, just quietly, whether when or if this is fully achieved China will be awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics. After all, the creators of all the (failed) models in the west were.
The New York Times
Suspicious Death Ignites Fury in China
Gruesome online photos have led to accusations that Chinese officials killed a man to silence his campaign to protect villagers in a land dispute.
Kaixin OpEd - See WSJ OpEd's above
China to Tighten Limits on Rare Earth Exports
The reduction in quotas is the latest in a series of measures by Beijing that has gradually curtailed much of the world’s supply of rare earth minerals.
In China, Social Evenings Are Considered Part of the Business Routine
Never let your guard down during a business dinner -- it's all part of the negotiating process, advisers say.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA & INSIGHTS INTO CHINA
Wal-Mart Moves to Invest in China Online Retailer
SHANGHAI — Wal-Mart and five other companies have agreed to invest $500 million in 360buy.com, one of the fastest-growing online retailers in China, according to the Internet company.
A big investment in online retailing would not be unusual. Many global retailers, including Gap, are expanding aggressively in China and beginning to sell online in the country. Wal-Mart operates more than 200 stores in China.
China Raises Interest Rates Again to Cool Inflation
The move by China’s central bank appears to be part of a long-term campaign to suppress inflation, as ordinary Chinese express discontent with rising prices.
Plan to Ease Beijing Traffic Hits a Bump
A record splurge on new-car purchases by Beijingers, who apparently anticipated that the city was about to tackle its traffic jams by limiting registrations of new vehicles.
China Detains Officials Over Shanghai Fire
Prosecutors in Shanghai said on Friday that they had detained three government officials for their role in a high-rise apartment fire here that killed 58 people.
Record Set for World’s Youngest Chess Champion
Hou Yifan, a 16-year-old chess player from China, became the youngest chess champion on Friday, toppling a record held since 1978.
Multinationals Sit Out China Trade Battles
HONG KONG — Western companies, eager for access to China, are loath to cry foul even amid evidence that Beijing may be flouting international trade laws.
Multiplying Drivers Run Over Beijing Traffic Plan
In the latest match between Beijing’s build-baby-build bureaucrats and its Gordian knot of traffic, more than a few folks are betting on the knot.
U.S. Says China Fund Breaks Rules
Washington asked for World Trade Organization talks after accusing Beijing of granting illegal subsidies.
The Age
The US coughs and the global economy presses on
Paul Krugman
Commodity price rises are not the result of US monetary policy, writes Paul Krugman.
Today, as in 2007-08, the primary driving force behind rising commodity prices isn't demand from the US. It's demand from China and other emerging economies.Right now, rising commodity prices are basically the result of global recovery. They have no bearing, one way or another, on US monetary policy. For this is a global story; at a fundamental level, it's not about us.
China sews up 49% profit growth
CHINESE industrial companies' profits rose 49.4 per cent in the 11 months to November 30, compared with the corresponding period last year, putting pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.
Price rises highlight China food changes
Recent food price surges in China have underscored the supply challenges the country faces, as decreasing arable land is making it harder to maintain farm output, a UN envoy said on Thursday.
China the focus of our fortunes
Problems abound but the outlook for Australia is good, writes Maris Beck.
IN HIS classic Australian history, The Tyranny of Distance, Geoffrey Blainey wrote: ''So far as we know, Australia had only one commodity which was valued beyond its shores towards the end of the eighteenth century - the trepang or sea slug …''
A few centuries later the country is in the throes of a commodities boom - and sea slugs have sunk from export prominence.
As investors position themselves for the year ahead, the mining sector and Australia's largest trading partner, China, are central to their considerations.
Caixin Online
The Liberty of Marriage
By Chen Zhiwu 
What certificates of marriage from the Zhou Dynasty to today can tell us about the sociology of freedom
Despite millennia of autocratic rule in China, folk life has been central to the preservation of traditional forms of expression. One example of this is an early form of documentation for the custom of marriage. The "Zhou Rituals," recorded in the Zhou Dynasty show that marriage represented a civil contract only between individuals. When did the marriage license, a symbol of state authority, appear in China? Below is a marriage certificate in the 11th year of Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1873). The seal says, "A Harmonious Union Lasting for a Hundred Years," and was split in two halves – one side each for the husband and wife to hold as parties to the contract.
See Kaixin's - INSIGHTS INTO CHINA
Regulator Liu Mingkang on No-Worry Bank Risk
In an interview, top bank regulator Liu Mingkang tells how strong supervision will counteract 2011 credit risk
(Beijing) – Despite differences of opinion over China's broad economic outlook for 2011, the market has reached consensus on one key fact about the coming year: Risks loom for the nation's banks.
Hainan Offers Foreign Tourists Tax-Free Shopping
A tax refund policy may boost the tourism industry in China's southernmost province
(Beijing) -- China's southernmost province will offer rebates to foreign tourists for their purchases when they depart the Hainan island starting January 1, according to provincial authorities.
Suddenly, Wind Energy IPOs Drifts in Doldrums
Weak investor support for Chinese wind power companies is deflating stock exchange hopefuls
Datang Renewable Power Co., the wind power unit of China Datang Corp., raised a blustery HK$ 4.8 billion on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in an initial public offering December 17.
On Tiptoes, Lawmakers Try Settling PE Debate
Sensitive and divisive questions about private equity soon may be answered after years of regulatory void
Dust has been brushed off an old question that's long divided financial regulators in Beijing: Which government agency should supervise and regulate private equity funds, including those with foreign and local-government backing, and whose influence has grown dramatically in recent years?
Over the years, agencies from the defunct State Planning Commission to the Ministry of Science and Technology have contributed to the discussion.
Outward Trappings, Inward Decay
Predictable yet ineffective policy moves by the Federal Reserve have sprung a zero interest rate trap
Truth is one of the first casualties of a financial crisis. During times of stress, central bankers embrace a time-honored tradition: They issue anodyne statements that are, as the saying goes, economical with the truth. Central bankers are also prone to seize upon standard "solutions" congealed into a crust of dogma by endless repetition and obeisance.
Kaixin OpEd – As readers of Kaixin would know, Kaixin has very little respect for economists or central w ….. bankers.
Economists are very good at measuring things. Their mathematical brains can see formula and equations in everything. They measure and measure and then put the numbers in a mathematical straightjacket.
Then they predict the future with these ‘magical’ equations. These equations that solve all the economic issues of the time and then some.
They are truly the gods of this new secular age!
They all line up for a Nobel Prize for Economics having solved, once and for all, the question of “What is ..”
The Nobel Committee, displaying its usual ignorance and trendy credentials, award the prize on the basis they simply don’t understand the economics and all those equations must mean something very very important …….. and, pass the chardonnay.
Of course the economic world is full of black swans that like to crap on these economists. The same economists who want to work out how to run the rattly old rust bucket they created without anyone ever having to work.
Kaixin is watching China with interest.
The senior economists in Beijing were probably all trained in America or at Oxford/Cambridge. They have the same academic background, but seem to be thinking outside the square.
Kaixin notes a sense of “Oh, so that’s what they are doing …” creeping into the western press when commenting on the issue of the internationalisation of the Yuan.
Kaixin suspects China will handle the next economic phase of its growth with a new form of economics, economics with Chinese characteristics.
The western economists will all shout in horror, or point to, with a patronising smile, what they call Economics 101. Iron laws.
The Chinese economists will smile politely and suggest that iron can be heated and shaped.
We shall see ….
In the mean time, the west will be flooded with money from helicopters and the rust bucket will chug along belching smoke and tears.
Andy Xie
One could describe the global economy as a race between the U.S. and China, to see who goes down first
The global economy may be coming up for a breach of fresh air in 2011. Fiscal and monetary policies around the world have been highly stimulated for three years. The additional monetary and fiscal stimulus measures by the U.S. could generate an upside surprise to its 2011 growth rate. Most emerging economies continue to grow rapidly. By the middle of 2011, most analysts may declare that the world has finally put the financial crisis behind.
The reality is quite different.
Developers Revive Penchant for Land
During the first half of December, the top ten Chinese developers spent 14.8 billion yuan on land purchases, say analysts
(Beijing) -- As cities have moved to increase land supply toward the year's end, property developers across China have gone on a multi-billion yuan buying spree.
According to Centaline Property Agency Ltd, during the first half of December, the top ten Chinese developers spent 14.8 billion yuan on land purchases, exceeding 70 percent of the total expenditures for the past eleven months.
The Ultimate "Last Nail" of Beijing
Clenched in resistance to the demolition of their homes, Zhang Changfu and his younger brother have held on to a group of drooping houses in the center of Beijing. Surrounded by high-rise buildings in Chaoyang District, the homes are known in China as a "last nail" household. In 2003, Zhang refused a demolition compensation agreement with UHN International Village, an apartment developer. The developer offered 450,000 yuan to each of Zhang's brothers for their home. Over the past seven years, Zhang's actions have attracted much media attention. Some netizens have nicknamed him as the ultimate "last nail" of Beijing. Zhang said he and his family are willing to move away, but only if they reach fair compensation from the real estate developer, which he has said would be around 6 million yuan for the 150 square meter plot.
Zhang's house is located in the Taiyang Gong area in Chaoyang District, between the North 2nd Ring Road and North 3rd Ring Road. Housing prices in that area have skyrocketed in recent years.
Share Article 
