2nd July 2010

The Lion Awakes 

News at a Glance

今天的中国新闻

A compilation of Headlines + Brief Summary from Chinese & International Publications relating to China.

Just 5 Minutes each day to be up-to-date on the News of China

Combined with Kaixin’s boutique SITE SEARCH ENGINE, it is a unique source of knowledge about China"

China News Archive

From 2008

China Daily

Strive for emancipation of mind

Many scholars have praised the book and its author for an insightful account, which they say has never before been attempted by others.

That is not quite correct.

The well-known Chinese thinker and scholar Lin Yutang touched upon precisely this topic in his book, My Country and My People, which was published sometime in the 1930s.

Chu is essentially right in claiming that something is shackling the Chinese mind. It is imperative that our educational system is overhauled to encourage creative and independent thinking.

Our thinking is much more pluralistic when compared to what it was three decades ago, yet the space for creative and independent thinking is being squeezed out to make room for the will of power.

Gradual political reforms are needed to create an environment conducive to creative thought.

Kaixin: See the Dialogue Series - 30 Years of the New Long March  "Emancipation of the Mind"

China Daily

Trial launched to converge TV, web and phones

BEIJING - Authorities on Thursday launched a major pilot project in 12 cities nationwide to help converge the telecommunications, Internet and broadcast networks, the State Council said in a statement on the government's website.

The project aims to make the three sectors compatible in the country to allow users to make telephone calls, surf the Net and watch television through one cable or wireless gateway.

Big mainland delegation arrives in Taiwan after ECFA signed

TAIPEI -- A delegation from southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region arrived in Taiwan Thursday, becoming the first mainland delegation after the two sides signed an economic pact in Chongqing Tuesday.

The delegation, with more than 1,000 members, is led by Guo Shengkun, chief of Guangxi regional committee of the Communist Party of China.

"We can be regarded as the earliest beneficiary of ECFA. We are here to feel the vibe brought about by its signing," Guo told the press at the Taoyuan Airport in Taipei.

'Made with China' ad on BBC boosts products' image

BEIJING - China is broadcasting a 30-second-long "Made with China" TV advertisement in Europe and Asia to boost the image of the country's products.

The ad, which shows goods labeled with a "Made with China" tag being manufactured with the help of top foreign firms, started showing on BBC World News, Eurosport, and Eurosport 2 on June 28. It will air about 400 times before Aug 8, said the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, one of the four industry groups who commissioned it along with the Ministry of Commerce

A trip to Kaxhi, Xinjiang

Guangzhou cleans up 121 waterways

GUANGZHOU - The capital of Guangdong province has nearly completed renovating 121 waterways since the project, aimed at preventing floods and improving the quality of water, kicked off at the end of 2008, local authorities said on Thursday.

"More than 95 percent of the renovation work has already been completed," Liang Guosheng, an official with the Guangzhou Water Invest Group, told reporters at a press conference.

Photos: Moments before graduation

A bed sheet with Chinese characters that say "There are still legends about her although she is not in Room 323 any longer,”hangs from a window at Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics in this undated photo. (China Daily)

Kaixin - The world over

Global Times

China No. 1 in high-speed rails

A high-speed rail service linking Shanghai and Nanjing - one of China's most developed economic zones - opened to passengers Thursday, making China the world leader in terms of total high-speed rail lines.

The total length of rail lines in the country is currently about 6,920 kilometers.

But while the mammoth project trumpets China's ambitious 2-trillion-yuan ($293 billion) effort to speed up the country's railway system and boost the regional economy, it also raises concerns of whether it will become another white elephant if the service costs too much for travelers.

Long-term effects of new cross-Straits pact go beyond business world

Top negotiators from the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation officially signed ECFA at their fifth round of talks on Tuesday. The term ECFA, due to its high exposure in the media, has even sneaked its way into the chatter of old men playing chess in Beijing's hutong and grandmothers selling vegetables in Taipei. However, most of them probably do not know what exactly ECFA means.

There is nothing mysterious about ECFA, which stands for the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. In 2005, Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Lien Chan, then-chairman of the Kuomingtang Party in Taiwan, jointly issued a declaration of "common aspiration and prospects for cross-Straits peace and development," which included the establishment of a cross-Straits economic cooperation mechanism.

International News Sources

Caixin Online

Currents of the G-20

The forum that has helped steer countries away from rocky waters is more important than ever

A product of the global financial crisis, the G-20 has already convened four times in just two years. Now that the crisis has settled down, does the world still need the G-20?

The Wall Street Journal   China RealTime Report

Polishing the Yuan

China may be considering another step toward opening its capital markets to the outside world, a move that could help make the yuan an international currency.

Coal Caps a Downer

Share prices of Chinese coal companies are declining amid a wider market slump in the wake of a government announcement that essentially caps domestic coal prices.

China Learns From Robin Hood

China’s income tax system is coming under growing scrutiny from academics and other commentators worried about the country’s widening wealth gap.

In the latest example, a senior official at the government-backed Chinese Academy of Social Sciences wrote in an essay this week that the government should “steal from the rich and give to the poor” to improve income distribution

China’s Troops Lose a Love Connection

Life in the People’s Liberation Army just got lonelier for single soldiers, after a series of classified leaks via the Internet prompted a ban on online dating, the state-run China Daily reported.

Tibetans Had ‘Fastest Genetic Change Ever’ in Humans

Ethnic Tibetans split off from the Han Chinese only 3,000 years ago and quickly developed their extraordinary physical adaptations to the high-altitude hardships of low oxygen, according to a new study published in the July issue of Science.

Manufacturing Growth Slows in Asia

Manufacturing growth in China and much of the rest of Asia slowed for a second straight month in June, adding to market fears that the global economic recovery might be running out of steam.

The Australian

Britain and US preferred by China students

THE best student recruiters in China are switching to the US and Britain as destinations, says agent John Findley.

"All agents [in China] are fed up with our current government's attitude to migration," said Mr Findley, who has just attended this month's Beijing International Education Expo. China is Australia's biggest market.

The Age

China's lama finds support among Tibetan monks
JOHN GARNAUT, SHIGATSE

A Communist Party-picked religious leader has gained endorsement.

TIBETAN Buddhists all agree that Tashilhunpo temple is the home of the 11th Panchen Lama, their second most important religious leader.

The problem is that nobody can agree on who that Panchen Lama is.

Kaixin - See 'China and Tibet - Xi Zang'

China fears overlook the drive for harmony

Almost half of Australians think China will be a military threat within 20 years, according to this year's Lowy Institute foreign policy poll. Such concern is caused by inadequate understanding of the Chinese culture and China's foreign policy.

Some people question China's military transparency, yet true transparency is transparency of strategy. China's strategic intention has been clear: peaceful development and a defensive defence policy. China will not seek hegemony, will not pursue an arms race, and will not be a military threat to any country, now or in the future, no matter how prosperous it becomes.

Hu Shan is the Chinese consul general in Sydney.

Kaixin - Over the last four years my knowledge of China has been somewhat exponential. Before that I probably would not have much to say and would have gone along with the chattering masses most of whom it seems have very little knowledge about China. Essentially, China has heeded Sun Tzu and not engaged in far away wars. There is a long history between China and Tibet, also Taiwan. That is a fact; the nuances of that history are an ongoing matter of discussion. The animosity between Japan and China is centuries old and is not just a result of the barbarity shown by Japan in the 1930’s and early 1940’s. If you follow the news about China, as I do (both from Chinese and international sources), you will see that China has been using soft power very skilfully to build up alliances all over the world. Africa, Russia and BRIC are prime examples. There has been significant progress with Japan and Taiwan. South Korea is a bit tricky because of the relationship with North Korea. As to internal China. Most people commenting probably haven’t been there and are relying on the Western Media for their information. Bit unreliable that. For the present, China wants to concentrate on trade and building up its wealth. Conflict is not on the agenda. What will happen over this century is yet to be seen. China will become one of the great powers. What China will do with that power is also yet to be seen. If history is any guide, they will stick with soft power unless directly threatened.

Asia Times Online
    
Europe's crisis is China's opportunity
By Antonaeta Becker

LONDON - When China designed the 2010 Universal Expo in Shanghai as a showcase for its new public diplomacy, it probably did not envision the exhibition would play a much bigger role as a magnet for recession-hit European businesses.

A series of trade missions has traveled to Shanghai in the past two months, wooing Chinese investors in an attempt to boost Europe's weakened economies.

China smarts at US slap
By Peter Lee

As the People's Republic of China absorbs the impact of a resounding slap to the face administered by United States President Barack Obama in Toronto, it may have to rethink its attempts to form a win-win relationship of equals between China, North and South Korea, Japan and the US in North Asia.

US stays mum on China-Pakistan nuke deal
By Eli Clifton

WASHINGTON - Last week's meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) in New Zealand brought statements of concern over China's planned nuclear deal with Pakistan, but United States State Department officials avoided taking a strong position when pressed.

China's proposed sale of two nuclear reactors to Pakistan would, in theory, stand in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) - of which China is a signatory - but the Barack Obama administration's finalization in March of an agreement to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from India could face similar criticism.

Exam fatigue stumps Chinese students
By Mitch Moxley

BEIJING - In Chinese education, the examination is paramount. Students must memorize vast amounts of information to pass major tests, with the biggest determining factor in who attends elite universities and who does not being the gaokao, a grueling entrance exam.

This focus on exam-based education is the biggest contributor to China's dropout rate, education experts say. According to a report published in May, the dropout rate in some rural areas was as high as 40% (although official Ministry of Education estimates are 5% in urban areas and 11% in rural areas).

THEMES

A selection of News and OpEd reflecting the main themes for

contemporary China starting from August 2008

Green China  

Insights into China

Economic China

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Yuan Revaluation & Internationalisation

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