 |
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| SCHWEIZER
BOTSCHAFT IN BEIJING
EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND IN BEIJING
AMBASSADE DE SUISSE EN CHINE |
Der wöchentliche
Presserückblick der Schweizer Botschaft in der VR China
The Weekly Press Review of the Swiss Embassy in the People's Republic
of China
La revue de presse hebdomadaire de l'Ambassade de Suisse en RP
de Chine |
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| Table of
contents |
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Beijing Olympics
^ top ^
|
| Foreign
Policy |
| Hu urges global effort
to resolve Darfur issue (China Daily)
2007-07-20
President Hu Jintao yesterday called on the international community
to "seize the favorable opportunity" to solve the
Darfur issue. He made the remarks while meeting Sudanese First
Vice-President Salva Kiir Mayardit in Beijing. Hu urged greater
international efforts to help the Sudanese government improve
the humanitarian and security situation in the Darfur region.
(…) He welcomed the agreement reached among the Sudanese
government, the United Nations and the African Union on sending
a hybrid force to the Darfur region. "Facts show that the
trilateral talks are an effective mechanism to solve the Darfur
issue," said Hu (…). ^ top ^
Ex-diplomat says spies abducted Chinese
national in New Zealand (SCMP)
2007-07-20
A former mainland diplomat claims Beijing spies kidnapped a
Chinese national from her home in New Zealand two years ago
and took her back to the mainland by ship. Chen Yonglin, who
defected from Beijing's consulate in Sydney in 2005 because
of his sympathy for the Falun Gong, said he would ask New Zealand
authorities to investigate the alleged abduction. Mr Chen claimed
earlier that Beijing ran a vast spy network in Australia. Beijing
has denied the allegation. Mr Chen said he contacted New Zealand's
security intelligence service and expected to speak to a staff
member before leaving the country today. He said his information
was from a "reliable source" inside the mainland's
Ministry of Public Security. ^ top ^
Vatican to be tested by Beijing's new bishop
- Pope's letter unheeded in choice of new leader (SCMP)
2007-07-19
The mainland's official Catholic church has nominated a candidate
to lead the Beijing diocese in a move described by an observer
as a test of the Vatican's ability to appoint bishops in the
nation. The nomination follows a vote at the capital's diocese
on Monday and comes at a sensitive time, just three weeks after
Pope Benedict expressed his hope in a letter to mainland Catholics
that the Vatican and Beijing could agree on a way to appoint
bishops. Father Joseph Li Shan , 42, from Beijing's St Joseph's
Church, was chosen after receiving 74 of 93 votes from a group
of priests, nuns and laymen. (…) Father Li's predecessor,
Bishop Fu, was not recognized by the Vatican as a legitimate
bishop because he was unilaterally ordained by the patriotic
association in 1979. The mainland's eight to 12 million Catholics
are split between the government-sanctioned church and an underground
church loyal to Rome. ^ top ^
China's special envoy meets with Israeli
FM (People's Daily)
2007-07-19
Visiting China's special envoy on Middle East issues Sun Bigan
met in Jerusalem with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on
Wednesday. During the meeting, the two exchanged views on bilateral
ties and the situation in the Middle East. Sun expressed his
hope that Israel and the Palestinians could restart the peace
talks based on relative UN resolutions and the principle of
"land for peace" as soon as possible, thus to advance
the Middle East peace process. For her part, Livni expressed
her appreciation of the development of Israeli-Chinese relations
and the important role China has played in promoting peace in
the Middle East as well as other international issues. Sun arrived
in Israel earlier on Wednesday, starting his second visit to
Israel in three months. He is also expected to meet with Israeli
President Shimon Peres on Thursday. On Friday, Sun will travel
to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet with the Palestinian
National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. ^ top ^
China willing to push international cooperation
for Internet IPR protection (People's Daily)
2007-07-19
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi expressed the hope that China wishes
to improve the cooperation with other countries and learn from
their advanced experience to promote the protection of IPR (intellectual
property right) on the Internet. (…) The Chinese government
has always paid great attention to the IPR protection work and
has achieved great progress in recent years, Wu said in the
letter. "Better IPR protection will not only enhance China's
international competitiveness as well as economic and technological
power, but also help create a sound environment for China's
opening up and international exchanges," Wu said. ^ top ^
Cape Verde recognizes China's market economy
status (Xinhua)
2007-07-17
Cape Verde on Monday recognized China's market economy status
and pledged to boost economic and trade ties with China. Chinese
Vice Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo and Cape Verde Minister
of Economy, Development and Competition Jose Brito signed a
memorandum of understanding on Cape Verde recognizing China's
market economy status in the country's capital Praia. (…).
^ top ^
CNPC to import 30 bln cubic meters of natural
gas annually from Turkmenistan (People's Daily)
2007-07-18
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the country''s
largest oil producer, announced Tuesday that it will import
30 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year through the
planned Central Asia Gas Pipeline for 30 years from Turkmenistan.
Witnessed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting Turkmenistan
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, CNPC signed the Amudariya
River gas production sharing contract and gas sales and purchase
agreement with The State Agency For the Management And Use Of
Hydrocarbon Resources of Turkmenistan and Turkmengas here on
Tuesday (…). ^ top ^
EU official to visit China for cooperation
on consumer product safety (People's Daily)
2007-07-18
EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva will travel
to China next week for closer cooperation on consumer product
safety, her spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Helen Kearns told reporters
that it is both in Europe''s and in China's interests to improve
cooperation on consumer product safety, while stressing the
safety issue is not for compromise from the EU's perspective.
Kearns said Kuneva's visit is intended to ensure the current
cooperation framework is functioning well, but she downplayed
the possibility of any new deal to be signed. (…) Since
2006, the EU has been relaying information to China of unsafe
products of Chinese origin which were reported on the European
market under the bloc''s alert system. The EU wants China to
use the information to take corrective action at the source,
addressing the responsible manufacturer directly, it said (…).
^ top ^
Belarusian leaders meet Chinese finance
minister on economic ties (Xinhua)
2007-07-17
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Prime Minister
Sergei Sidorsky met separately with Chinese Minister of Finance
Jin Renqing in Minsk on Monday to discuss bilateral economic
ties. According to a member of the Chinese delegation, they
explored ways to further enhance the Chinese-Belarussian friendship
and to deepen trade and economic cooperation. Sidorsky and Jin
also attended a signing ceremony of two inter-governmental agreements,
under which China will provide preferential loans to Belarussia,
especially for the reconstruction of the Minsk 2nd Power and
Heating Plant.. ^ top ^
Schwarzenegger favors proposal for non-stop
flights to China (People's Daily)
2007-07-18
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that
he favored a proposal for non-stop air services to China from
two major Californian cities. Schwarzenegger made the remarks
after United Airlines submitted an application to the U.S. Department
of Transportation Monday to add daily, non-stop services from
San Francisco and Los Angeles to China in 2008 and 2009. "China's
more than 1 billion citizens represent an important market for
Californian products and services," Schwarzenegger said
in a statement e-mailed to Xinhua. (…). ^ top ^
China writes off debt of 2 million USD
for Zanzibar (China Daily)
2007-07-14
The Chinese government on Friday wrote off for the Zanzibar
government a debt of 15 million RMB (about 2 million U.S. dollars).
Signing the debt write-off note were Zhang Hongtie, Chinese
consul-general in Zanzibar, and Khamis Mussa Omar, principal
secretary in the Zanzibar ministry for finance and economic
affairs. (…) China has been assisting the Indian Ocean
archipelago in such fields as agriculture, infrastructure, tourism,
education, public health, housing, information, culture and
sports. ^ top ^
|
| Domestic
Policy |
| CPC recruits almost 12
mln members in 5 years (Xinhua)
2007-07-16
The Communist Party of China (CPC) recruited 11.85 million members
from 2002 to 2006, an average of 2.37 million per year, according
to the organization department of the CPC Central Committee
Monday. (…) Statistics from Shandong University showed
that 91.9 percent of undergraduates had applied for Party membership,
of whom 13.5 percent were admitted. Meanwhile, 40 percent of
graduates were admitted. (…) Figures from the organization
department indicate that 2.86 million employees or employers
of private enterprises and 810,000 self-employed people had
been recruited by the end of 2006. (…) The CPC also started
to establish a migrant member network both in urban and rural
areas to improve the management of "migrant" Party
members. The CPC has more than 70 million Party members. (…).
^ top ^
Old guard criticises Beijing's reforms
(SCMP)
2007-07-17
Retired senior cadres and old-school Marxist scholars have published
an open letter to Beijing's top leadership, attacking the country's
reforms as having gone badly off track - in a sign of escalating
ideological warfare between the Communist Party's liberal and
conservative camps ahead of a key party congress this autumn.
The group's open letter, addressed to President Hu Jintao and
the party's Central Committee, was published on the conservative
website Mao Zedong's Flag yesterday, one day after the liberal-leaning
journal Yanhuang Chunqiu ran a cover story calling for political
liberalization. Among the 17 party members who put their names
to the letter were former ministers, retired diplomats and army
officials, and academics from the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, the State Council Development Research Centre and
top universities and think-tanks. ^ top ^
Lin Biao included in celebration of military
(People's Daily)
2007-07-18
Marshal Lin Biao, who was handpicked by late Chairman Mao Zedong
to succeed him as China's leader, but who died a "traitor",
has been resurrected as a military hero in a new exhibition
at Beijing's Military Museum. Lin's portrait is included among
the "10 Marshals" who are lauded as the founders of
the Chinese armed forces in the exhibition to celebrate the
80th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Lin,
officially denounced for his "treacherous" plot to
overthrow Mao, is shown with his nine peers in a display rarely
seen since his death in September 1971. Jiang Tingyu, a senior
researcher at the Chinese People's Revolution Military Museum,
said: "With objective thinking, we decided to put the picture
of Lin Biao together with the other nine marshals. We have to
show history as it was." (…). ^ top ^
CPC promotes democracy by open elections
(People's Daily)
2007-07-18
About 15,000 members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) ascended
to leading positions through open elections from 2003 to 2006,
according to the Party's central organization department. More
than 390 were prefectural-level cadres and about 3,800 worked
at leading positions at county level, revealed the Organization
Department of the CPC Central Committee. It showcased the Party's
endeavors to build a permanent in-house democracy mechanism,
said the department. The Party (…) had granted non-Party
members of the public a say in the elections, the department
said. Other methods, including door-step surveys and publication
of survey results, appraisals of work performances in probation
and secret voting by all members of local Party committees,
had also been employed and promoted in the elections for better
assessment of the candidates, it said. (…). ^ top ^
One gets death in kiln slavery scandal
(People's Daily)
2007-07-18
One man was sentenced to death, another to life imprisonment
and 27 were given jail terms from 18 months to nine years yesterday
for their role in the Shanxi kiln slave labor scandal. Shanxi
Provincial High People's Court officials held a televised press
conference to announce the verdicts a day after 95 local Party
and government officials were punished for dereliction of duty
in the same scandal. (…) Some law experts, however, see
the punishments as "lenient" compared to the heinous
nature of the crimes and severe violation of human rights and
human dignity. "The courts have failed to punish all the
evil doers for their roles," said Wu Ge, chairman of human
rights committee under the All-China Lawyers Association. (…).
^ top ^
Chinese official urges foreign media to
stick to truth in reporting (People's Daily)
2007-07-19
China's top quality control chief urged foreign media to stick
to the truth in reporting during an interview with CCTV on Wednesday,
a second time in a few days for him to lash out at some foreign
media exaggerating China's food safety problems and stirring
consumer panic. Li Changjiang, minister of the General Administration
of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine also stressed
again that Chinese exports, especially food exports, are absolutely
well guaranteed in terms of safety. His remark came after a
Chinese rubber company was cleared of the accusation of producing
unsafe tires exported to the United States, which were previously
held responsible for a traffic accident that killed two in Pennsylvania
last August. (…) However, he also acknowledged that there
were problems in the country's food safety, and some enterprises,
small ones in particular, were found to have used food additives
or non-food materials. Food safety problems actually exist in
many countries, and we need more cooperation from other countries
to improve the food safety, Li said. ^ top ^
Party leaders to be more media savvy (People's
Daily)
2007-07-17
Party leaders of the future will be better equipped to face
the media, well versed in international affairs and more efficient
managers, thanks to an enhanced training program, a senior official
said yesterday. The program is part of the Communist Party of
China's three-year focus on "governance capability and
global vision" of its promising leaders, said Li Peiyuan,
director of the bureau of senior officials training of the CPC's
Organization Department. Officials in some schools are getting
considerable "public relations training" to be more
media savvy. Cadres will be trained in psychology, too, to help
them better cope with stress. (…) According to the 2006-10
National Cadre Education and Training Plan released earlier
this year, the country wants to train 500 provincial-level,
8,800 department-level and about 100,000 county-level officials
every year . (…). ^ top ^
Beijing: Classrooms for migrant children
(SCMP)
2007-07-18
The education commission will provide classrooms for children
of migrant workers in a move to narrow the disparity between
the urban and rural population, Xinhua reports. Classrooms will
be built for 63 registered schools for migrant children. The
policy was to rectify last year's effort to shut down substandard
private schools for migrant children and move them to government-funded
schools. That plan backfired due to a lack of space. ^ top ^
Lifting of 50b Yuan in debts gives rural
schools fresh start (SCMP)
2007-07-19
The central government will free the country's rural schools
from the weight of their massive backlog of debts so they can
have a fresh start to implement the programme that provides
students with nine years of free schooling, the Ministry of
Education said in an online statement. According to a government
report, the schools have amassed a staggering 50 billion yuan
in debts since the late 1980s in efforts to realise the free
education programme. But experts say that the figure could actually
turn out to be much higher. National People's Congress Standing
Committee vice-chairman Lu Yongxiang said in a report late last
month that the debt had been incurred mainly through bank loans,
unpaid construction bills, unpaid wages to teachers and money
borrowed "from society", according to the Beijing
News. (…) Experts say some of the reasons for the high
drop-out rate are impoverished schools, the need for children
to help their families, students' inability to catch up after
poor early education in villages and long commutes for rural
students. ^ top ^
Activist held over Xiamen rallies (SCMP)
2007-07-19
Mainland police have arrested Xiamen resident and Diaoyu Islands
activist Li Yiqiang on suspicion of organising last month's
white-collar demonstrations against a planned toxic chemical
plant in the city, his family said yesterday. Li is the first
person known to have been arrested over the June 1 and 2 protests,
despite the government's later decision to put a "temporary
halt" to the project. (…) His family received the
formal police arrest warrant a month later but has been unable
to bail him out of jail. (…). ^ top ^
Openness urged on pollution death toll
(SCMP)
2007-07-18
A senior US lawmaker has urged World Bank president Robert Zoellick
to release mortality figures on the effects of pollution on
the mainland. In a letter to Mr Zoellick made public on Monday,
Barney Frank, the Democrat chairman of the House Financial Services
Committee, applauded the bank's efforts to investigate the effects
of the mainland's pollution problems. But he said he had been
troubled to read that mainland officials had suppressed estimates
of the number of deaths caused by pollution each year. […].
^ top ^
Villagers killed in clash over medicinal
fungus (SCMP)
2007-07-18
At least six people were killed and more than 100 injured in
an armed conflict between two Tibetan groups over the right
to collect a valuable medicinal ingredient in Sichuan, a rights
group and local people said yesterday. The incident happened
on Friday when villagers from Dengpo and Sangdu in Daocheng
county clashed over the collection of Chinese caterpillar fungus
on a bridge in the county after the local government refused
to mediate in their dispute, the Hong Kong-based Information
Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said. It said some villagers
in Dengpo had attacked Sangdu residents with semi-automatic
rifles and hand grenades and caused six deaths and 110 injuries.
More than 1,000 Sangdu villagers had gathered outside the county
government office on Saturday to demand officials catch those
responsible for the attack, the rights group said. (…)
Because the boundaries of the two villages are not clear, both
sides have complained to the county government about fungus
poaching by the other side in the past. The rights group said
farmers from the two villages had visited the county government
office again on Friday to seek its help in solving their dispute,
but their pleas had been rejected. (…). ^ top ^
Pig disease remains a big challenge (China
Daily)
2007-07-16
Blue-ear pig disease remains a severe challenge to China's Yangtze
River valley although the outbreak has been basically put under
control, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) warned in an emergency
notice. Latest MOA figures revealed that 39,455 pigs or 27.5
percent of infected animals in 586 epidemic areas died by July
10. Since the start of this year, the outbreak had hit 25 provinces
on the mainland. "With temperature and humidity staying
high during the season, it's impossible to rule out the possibility
of aggravation in some areas," the notice said. (…)
Huang Hai, assistant Minister of Commerce, said on Saturday
that the price of pork would hover on a high level in the latter
half of the year, because short supplies could hardly be eased
in a short period of time. (…). ^ top ^
China punishes 1,500 officals involved
in land misuse (People's Daily)
2007-07-13
The Chinese government has punished 1,488 officials involved
in illegal land development affairs, the Ministry of Supervision
said in Beijng Friday. At a briefing on nationwide actions to
combat land use malpractice connected with industrial parks,
the ministry said that 927 of them had been given Party disciplinary
sanctions and 561 administrative penalties. About 22,300 cases
of illegal land use have been identified and so far half of
them have been dealt with, the source said. Inspectors found
that 24,900 sq km of land had been illegally allocated to various
industrial parks, almost two thirds of the total land given
to them. Keen to notch up impressive economic development and
revenue figures, some local governments were happy to give land
to developers, ignoring the central government's policy to slow
down investment in fixed assets. (…). ^ top ^
Chinese sentenced to six months in prison
for burning national flag (People's Daily)
2007-07-16
A Chinese man has been sentenced to six months in jail in northwest
China's Qinghai Province, for burning the national flag. The
man, surnamed Zhao, got into a fight with two students in a
middle school in Datong County on April 5. When Zhao chased
the two students into their dormitory building, he was driven
out of the school by teachers. Bearing a grudge against the
teachers, Zhao returned to the dormitory building, entered the
teachers' room and destroyed a number of objects there. He then
went to the school playground, lowered the national flag and
burnt it. Zhao was sued by the school and sentenced to six months
in prison by a local court for insulting the national flag.
(…). ^ top ^
ADB offers 200 mln USD loan for road project
in SW China (People's Daily)
2007-07-19
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Wednesday that
it will offer loans of 200 million U.S. dollars to fund a road
project in southwest China. The loan will fund part of the Eastern
Sichuan Roads Development Project, which is estimated to cost
1.42 billion U.S. dollars. According to the ADB, the project
will serve the poverty-stricken areas in the mountainous periphery
of Sichuan province by connecting two major cities, Chongqing
and Xi'an. It will involve the construction of a 143-kilometer
four-lane toll expressway across mountainous terrain and upgrading
of 430 kilometers of local roads that serve poor counties and
townships. (…). ^ top ^
Unauthorized Protestant Bible school raided,
US group says (SCMP)
2007-07-20
Authorities in Jiangsu have raided a holiday Bible school organized
by an unauthorized Protestant church group, detaining 10 people,
an overseas monitoring group said. About 150 children were attending
the "Harmony Express" camp in Jianhu on July 11 when
county officials, police and representatives of the official
church arrived, the China Aid Association reported. Police broke
up classes, while two underground church workers were treated
for concussion and cuts to their heads, the US-based association
said. It said the children were allowed to leave, but church
property, including computers and video equipment, was removed.
^ top ^
Students to dance without partners: SGAS
official (China Daily)
2007-07-15
The State General Administration of Sports (SGAS) has planned
to re-compose the group dances, which will be introduced into
schools this September, to calm the parents who have been worried
that the dances would encourage young love, a Shanghai-based
newspaper reported. Yin Guochen, a SGAS official in charge of
the mass sports was quoted by the Oriental Morning Post as saying
that the new dances would let students dance by themselves or
in large groups. (…). ^ top ^
Worst thunderstorm in 115 years hits Chongqing
(SCMP)
2007-07-19
More than a dozen provinces and municipalities have been hit
by torrential rains in the past few days, with at least 44 people
dead or missing in the southwestern city of Chongqing, state
media reported. Chongqing has seen its worst thunderstorm in
the past 115 years, with more than 40,000 lightning strikes,
serious flooding and landslides. Air, road and rail traffic
have been brought to a halt, Xinhua said. […]. ^ top ^
Chinese Premier Wen inspects flooded areas
(Xinhua)
2007-07-14
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao asked the nation to be prepared for
a further worsening of the flood situation as the country enters
the main flood season. Wen, accompanied by Vice Premier Hui
Liangyu, flew to seriously flooded Fuyang of Anhui Province
in east China early Saturday morning to inspect disaster-relief
work. Over the past two weeks, the whole valley of China's Huaihe
River has been hit by the most serious floods since 1954, with
heavy losses to life and property. (…) He expressed thanks
to the villagers for their contribution and promised that the
government will compensate villagers in the buffer zone for
their losses. (…). ^ top ^
Official fired for not fighting floods
in E.China (China Daily)
2007-07-15
A Party official in east China's Anhui province has been removed
from office after absenting himself from the fight against floods,
sources with the local government said Sunday. Zhang Yunbin,
former Party secretary of Zhenxing Village, Runhe Township of
Yingshang County, was deprived of his post, after county discipline
officials found him "not directing work at the flood front,"
an official with the county discipline inspection committee
said. On Thursday night, discipline officials went to the village,
where they saw the village deputy Party secretary directing
farmers to stack sand bags to prevent flooding. Zhang was absent
and his cell phone was turned off. (…). ^ top ^
|
| Tibet |
Tibet region head
accused of interference (SCMP)
2007-07-18
A veteran Tibetan communist has accused regional-government
hawks of closing the door on talks with the Dalai Lama and misleading
Beijing about the exiled Buddhist leader's influence, sources
said. Phuntso Wangye, who led Chinese troops into Tibet in 1951,
wrote to the State Council noting that Premier Wen Jiabao said
in March the door for dialogue was "always open" as
long as the Dalai Lama recognised Tibet and Taiwan were inalienable
parts of the mainland, and abandoned "splittist" activities.
Phuntso Wangye accused Qiangba Puncog, chairman of Tibet's regional
government, of trying to close the door on dialogue, sources
close to him said yesterday. Qiangba Puncog had dismissed Phuntso
Wangye's call for the Dalai Lama to return home. Phuntso Wangye
wrote that thousands of Tibetans each year risked death crossing
the Himalayas to see the spiritual leader in India, the sources
said. (…). ^ top ^
China to invest 20b yuan for eco-protection
in Tibet (Xinhua)
2007-07-15
China plans to invest more than 20 billion yuan (about 2.63
billion U.S. dollars) to protect the eco-system on the Tibet
plateau, said a local official on Sunday. The plan covers a
dozen projects listed under the 2006-2003 program on protection
and construction of eco-system on the Tibet plateau, a main
part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, dubbed the "roof of
the world", said the official with the development and
reform commission of the Tibet Autonomous Region. These projects
include construction of nature reserve, protection of natural
forest, restoration of grassland and pasture, harnessing and
prevention of desertification and prevention of geological disasters.
The plan, to be approved soon, will last for about 20 years.
(…). ^ top ^
|
| Taiwan |
Beijing 'can't control
war with Taiwan' (SCMP)
2007-07-19
Beijing appears to have too much confidence in its ability to
manipulate the scale of a war with Taiwan, a US intelligence
officer says. Lieutenant-Colonel Lonnie Henley, a specialist
on East Asia for the office of the Director of National Intelligence,
told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace that mainland officials were increasingly studying the
concept of "war control" to evaluate scenarios if
fighting were to break out with Taiwan. "Their confidence
in their ability to modulate the intensity, scope and pace of
the conflict is probably misplaced, and that is dangerous for
all concerned," Colonel Henley said. Beijing has threatened
war if the island tries to move towards formal independence.
While Washington shifted its recognition from Taipei to Beijing
in 1979, it has pledged defensive weapons for Taiwan and has
hinted it would provide military backing if the island were
attacked by the mainland. Colonel (…). ^ top ^
Amnesty sees 10,000 go free early in Taiwan
(SCMP)
2007-07-17
Taiwan has freed about 10,000 prisoners under a controversial
clemency bill that critics say is aimed at winning votes in
the legislative and presidential elections early next year.
Those freed yesterday were mostly drug users, burglars and other
petty criminals who had already served at least half of their
jail terms, meeting the requirements of a clemency bill signed
by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, according to Vice-Interior
Minister Lee Chin-yung. (…) The opposition KMT questioned
the pardon's timing, saying it was yet another election gimmick
by Mr Chen to sway voters ahead of the legislative election
set for January and March's presidential poll. […].
^ top ^
|
| Economy |
| Tightening expected
on surging economy - Economists say 11.9pc growth in the second
quarter, an 11-year high, will prompt more controls from Beijing
(SCMP)
2007-07-20
Economists expect the imminent announcement of a fresh round
of economic tightening measures following yesterday's release
of stronger-than-expected data for the first half of the year.
The mainland's annual economic growth rate surged in the second
quarter to an 11-year high of 11.9 per cent, while the inflation
rate rose to a near three-year high of 4.4 per cent last month,
according to the National Bureau of Statistics. […]. ^ top ^
Food price rise a major driving force for
1st-half CPI (China Daily)
2007-07-19
Price hike for foodstuff, mainly grain, meat and fowl and eggs,
contributed significantly to the rise of China's consumer price
index (CPI) in the first half of this year, Li Xiaochao, spokesman
with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), told a press conference
Thursday. The major inflation indicator rose 4.4 percent in
June compared with a year ago, or up 0.4 percent on the previous
month. This helped jack up CPI for the first half of this year
by 3.2 percent on the same period of last year. (…) According
to Zhuang Jian, a senior economist with the China office of
Asian Development Bank, continuous CPI rises at a high level
will have little influence on rich people, but affect low-income
earners. Zhuang believed the central government will take strong
measures to maintain economic and social stability (…).
^ top ^
China's pork prices soar 74.6% (Xinhua)
2007-07-16
The wholesale price of pork in China surged 74.6 percent in
June compared with the same month last year, the Ministry of
Agriculture (MOA) announced on Monday. The ministry, however,
did not provide the average wholesale price last month. The
wholesale prices polled by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) in
36 large and medium-sized cities averaged 18.57 yuan per kilogram
on July 11, up nearly 30 percent from the 14.25 yuan on May
11. The average retail price for lean pork has exceeded 22 yuan
per kilogram. The price hikes in feedstuff and the outbreaks
of the blue ear disease are mainly blamed for the pork price
surge. According to the MOA, the prices of rice, wheat and corn
rose 7.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year.
Meanwhile,39,455 pigs or 27.5 percent of the pigs that contracted
blue ear disease in 586 epidemic areas, had died by July 10.
(…). ^ top ^
Corn won't be used for bio-fuel in 5 years
(Xinhua)
2007-07-17
China will shift its dependence from corn to sorghum, cassava
and sweet potato plants to make bio-fuel in the next five years.
Part of the government's efforts to develop bio-fuel without
harming general food supply and security, the shift will ensure
a healthy supply of corn both as food and fodder. Cassava and
sweet potato both are high-yield plants, and though edible,
they are not used as staple food. So their use as raw material,
as opposed to that of corn, won't create any artificial shortage
of food products. (…) Considering the rising prices of
corn and the threat to food security, the State Council, or
the country's cabinet, ordered the bio-fuel industry to shift
from food to non-food material in mid-June. (…). "The
country will gradually replace petroleum with ethanol as the
main fuel for its chemical industry," Xiong said. (…).
^ top ^
Gulf group to build $5bn city near Beijing
(China Daily)
2007-07-18
A consortium led by Gulf Finance House, the Bahraini Islamic
investment bank, unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a residential
and industrial city in China worth up to $5bn. China Energy
City will be developed on 13 sq kms in Yanjiou, near Beijing,
offering facilities such as a branch of a planned Qatar-based
energy exchange, a science park for energy education courses
and a Sino-Arab business school, offering business education
in English, Chinese and Arabic. Esam Janahi, chief executive
of GFH, said growing demand in China for Gulf crude oil was
a key factor in his company's decision to invest. With more
than 50 per cent of that oil supply expected to come from the
Middle East, China is an attractive commercial opportunity for
Middle East energy companies, said Mr Janahi, who is partnering
with GFH sister company Gulf Energy and China's Long Juan Co.
(…). ^ top ^
Overseas firms 'can bid' in the largest
gold mine (People's Daily)
2007-07-18
Domestic, as well as overseas, companies can bid for the exploration
rights of China's largest potential gold mine. The gold deposit
in Yangshan, Gansu Province, has at least 160 tons in proven
reserve, Xiong Bilin, deputy director of National Development
and Reform Commission's industry department, said yesterday.
The company with the latest and best technology that can ensure
minimum wastage of the precious metal is likely to win the bid.
(…) The gold deposit could be more than 200 tons, said
a People's Daily report earlier, and is in a convenient area
with a national highway passing near it. The NDRC website says
gold deposits, with 50 or more tons of reserves, have also been
discovered in Zhaishang in Gansu and Damoqujia and Jinchang
in Shandong and Heilongjiang provinces. China produces 224 tons
of gold a year, but last year it consumed more than 400 tons.
(…). ^ top ^
US meat products banned (China Daily)
2007-07-16
China has suspended the import of tainted meat products from
seven US companies, including Tyson Foods Inc, the world's largest
meat processor. The products that included the main ingredients
of some Chinese delicacies such as pig ears and chicken feet
contained salmonella, feed additives and veterinary drugs, says
the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection
and Quarantine (AQSIQ) website (www.aqsiq.gov.cn). The other
US companies on the ban list are Sanderson Farms Inc, Intervision
Foods, AJC International Inc, Cargill Meat Solutions Corp, Van
Luin Foods USA Inc and "Thumph Foods", which most
likely is Missouri-based Triumph Foods. (…) In late June,
the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would not
allow three types of farm-raised fish, as well as shrimp and
eel, from Chinese suppliers to enter its market till the companies
prove they didn't contain any harmful residue. AQSIQ chief Li
Changjiang called the move "unacceptable", saying
China, too, detects many substandard food products from the
US every year. (…). ^ top ^
Expert urges against buying luxury sedans
(China Daily)
2007-07-15
Stop buying foreign luxury sedans! An auto industry expert told
the Chinese people Saturday, worrying about a blind, extravagant
trend in car purchasing and ignorance to more economical, homegrown
brands. Many Chinese people are considering cars as a symbolic
of their social status and vying for buying luxury, especially
foreign-made sedans, said Guo Konghui, honorary dean of the
Automobile Engineering College of Jilin University, at a forum
at an on-going international auto fair held in the northeastern
Chinese city of Changchun, a major base of China's auto industry.
(…) Guo urged the Chinese people to stop the luxury trend
and encouraged them to buy more low-emission, environment-friendly
cars, especially domestic brands, in a bid to build an energy-saving
society. (…). ^ top ^
|
| Beijing
Olympics |
| Time running out
for Olympic-standard air (SCMP)
2007-07-20
Beijing remains under heavy pressure to fulfill its annual air
quality goals, with fewer than half the targeted annual number
of "blue sky days" in the first six months of the
year. Keen to shed its reputation for air pollution before next
year's Olympic Games, Beijing is aiming this year for 245 days
of blue sky, or days with reasonable air quality. But the city
has a lot catching up to do after it recorded only 110 days
in the first six months of the year, according to Beijing Statistics
Bureau spokeswoman Yu Xiuqin. (…) "The clean-up campaign
will now put a priority on the car sector," she said. "We
are going to replace all vehicles with substandard fuel efficiency
or with poor exhaust systems. A fuel recycling plan is also
in the pipeline. […]. ^ top ^
Chinese marine police stage anti-terrorist
drill for Olympics (People's Daily)
2007-07-13
The popular seaside city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong
province was the theater Friday of a maritime anti-terrorist
drill for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The drill, involving more
than 800 marine police and 27 naval vessels, was held in the
closed sailing venue area set aside for the 2008 Olympic Games.
A team of terrorists, riding on a motorboat and armed with guns
and bombs, "hijacked" an oil tanker and two hostages
and tried to break in to the venue. The marine police immediately
dispatched naval vessels to counter and capture the terrorists.
(…). ^ top ^
|
| North
Korea |
| Nuke talks hit snag,
extended by a day (China Daily)
2007-07-20
Chief delegates to the Six-Party Talks on the Korean Peninsula
nuclear issue yesterday failed to set an expected deadline for
Pyongyang's next denuclearization steps, pushing negotiations
into a third day. (…) The six negotiators met in the morning
as well as holding several rounds of bilateral consultations
in the afternoon. However, prospects appeared dim for getting
Pyongyang to commit today to a specific deadline to declare
all its nuclear programs and disable its nuclear facilities.
Washington had said it hoped the DPRK would do so by the end
of the year. Despite that, US chief negotiator Christopher Hill
said that working groups will probably meet next month to discuss
technical details on how to proceed before a deadline is set.
(…) In a further blow to the disarmament process, the
DPRK slammed Japan for raising at the six-nation talks the issue
of Japanese that the country has admitted to abducting - warning
that it could pose "another crisis" in the drawn-out
negotiations. If Japan continues to refuse to participate in
aid being offered for DPRK's denuclearization, "the nuclear
issue on the peninsula will remain unsettled for an indefinite
period," the DPRK Foreign Ministry was quoted by the official
Korean Central News Agency. (…) Despite the apparent setbacks,
Chun Yung-woo, the ROK's chief negotiator, said the countries
reached a "consensus" on sideline meetings for working
groups on technical details of the DPRK's disarmament. Based
on those results, the sides believe a firm deadline for the
declaration and disabling could be established, Chun said. ^ top ^
Baradei says DPRK shuts down all five
nuke facilities (People's Daily)
2007-07-19
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General
Mohamed El Baradei said here on Wednesday that the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had shut down all its five
nuclear facilities, adding it was a very good and positive step.
The IAEA had verified that all the five nuclear facilities had
been shut down and proper measures had been in place, including
sealing some of the facilities, he told reporters after attending
a public lecture organized by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
Yet, the IAEA chief stressed that it was just the first step
and the journey to a comprehensive solution to the nuclear issue
of the Korea Peninsular was still far. (…).^ top ^
|
| Joel Baumgartner
Embassy of Switzerland
|
The Press review is a random selection
of political and social related news gathered from various media
and news services located in the PRC, edited or translated by
the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing and distributed among Swiss
Government Offices. The Embassy does not accept responsibility
for accuracy of quotes or truthfulness of content. Additionally
the contents of the selected news mustn't correspond to the opinion
of the Embassy.
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