 |
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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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North Korea- Six-Party
Talks
Mongolia
^ top ^
|
| Foreign
Policy |
| German chancellor to
visit China, Japan in late August (People's Daily)
2007-08-03
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will start to visit China and
Japan on Aug. 26, the German government press office said Thursday.
(…)Merkel has said she expected to talk with the leaders
of the two Asian countries about issues including climate change,
nuclear security and the role of emerging economies like China
on the global stage. (…). ^ top ^
Hu stresses value of Sino-US dialogue (People's
Daily)
2007-08-02
President Hu Jintao reiterated the importance of maintaining
stable and mutually beneficial Sino-US economic relations, urging
the two sides to make full use of the strategic economic dialogue
(SED) to address issues of common concern. Hu said the development
of bilateral economic ties have not only brought tangible benefits
to the people of both countries but have also been engines of
global growth. (…) Calling Paulson an old friend of China,
Hu said the two sides should ensure that the SED is coordinated
well with other Sino-US negotiation mechanisms to promote cooperation.
(…) Paulson joined other top Bush aides in a letter on
Tuesday to congressional leaders to head off several trade-focused
bills that are aimed at pressuring China to revalue the currency
to ease the trade imbalance. (…). ^ top ^
Six nations gather for war games in Urals
(SCMP)
2007-08-02
Mainland and Russian fighter planes, tanks and troops will take
part in military exercises next week in a display of power that
Moscow and Beijing say is directed against terrorism in Central
Asia. But State Duma deputy and Russian Defence Committee member
Andrei Golovotyuk said Russia also wanted to counterbalance
Nato and US influence in the region, adding credence to international
speculation that the war games are a sabre-rattling exercise.
[…]. ^ top ^
China welcomes UN resolution on deploying
"hybrid" force in Darfur (Xinhua)
2007-08-02
China on Thursday said it welcomes the United Nations Security
Council resolution on deploying a UN-African Union (AU) hybrid
peacekeeping force in Sudan's western region of Darfur, and
expects concerned parties will "smoothly" implement
the resolution. "China welcomes the Resolution 1769 unanimously
adopted by the UN Security Council, which authorized the deployment
of a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur," said
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao in response to press.
(…). ^ top ^
U.S. lawmakers unveil legislative package
to expand engagement with China (Xinhua)
2007-08-02
A group of U.S. lawmakers from the House of Representatives
on Wednesday unveiled a bipartisan legislative package designed
to expand U.S. engagement with China and increase American competitiveness
in the global marketplace. The package, U.S.-China Competitiveness
Agenda of 2007, comprises of four bills which propose legislation
to expand America's diplomatic infrastructure in China, boost
support to small- and medium-sized American businesses exporting
to the China market, increase funds for Chinese language instruction
in the United States and build new cooperative energy ties between
the U.S. and China, the lawmakers said at a press conference
held in the Capital Hill. (…). ^ top ^
Eurasia regional groups to promote cooperation:
official (People's Daily)
2007-08-01
The CIS Collective Security Agreement Organization (CSTO) and
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will soon sign an
agreement to promote cooperation, a senior official said on
Tuesday. "Both the CSTO and the SCO have a wide range of
activities, and security issues should be resolved together,"
the Interfax news agency quoted CSTO Secretary General Nikolai
Bordyuzha as saying. The pact will specify all areas of cooperation
between the two regional groups, including cooperation in security,
Bordyuzha said. He added the two organizations should work together
in rebuilding Afghanistan and preventing the Taliban from retaking
power. (…). ^ top ^
Iran urges cooperation within SCO (PressTV.ir)
2007-08-01
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister has called on the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization's observer members to expand their cooperation.
Mahdi Safari made the remark at a meeting with SCO Secretary
General, Bolat Nurgaliev, in Beijing, IRNA reported. The Iranian
official called on SCO observer members to broaden their cooperation
within the framework of specialized committees. (…) Iran
is prepared to share its experience in campaign against drugs,
terrorism and extremism as well as its technological know-how
with the SCO member states, the official added. (…). ^ top ^
China, Australia hold dialogue on human
rights (People's Daily)
2007-07-31
China and Australia held the 11th dialogue on human rights here
on Monday, which covered the issues of human rights protection
and the rights of ethnic groups, women and children. During
the dialogue, the two sides also announced to continue their
decade-long technical cooperation under the Australia-China
Human Rights Technical Cooperation program since 1997, which
aims at improving human rights in China at a practical level.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei, who co-chaired
the dialogue with his Australian counterpart Peter Grey, said
the dialogue was conducted in a "positive", "candid"
and "constructive" manner which helps improve the
further exchange and cooperation in the field. (…). ^ top ^
Peru, China to negotiate FTA early 2008
(Xinhua)
2007-07-28
Peru and China will begin negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) in the first months of 2008, Peru's Foreign Trade and
Tourism Minister Mercedes Araoz announced on Friday. (…)
Since technical committees from both countries have already
held talks, "the possibilities to sign an FTA with China
are very high," Araoz added. (…). ^ top ^
|
| Domestic
Policy |
| Delegates chosen for
17th Party Congress (SCMP)
2007-08-03
The Communist Party has completed its election of more than
2,000 delegates to this autumn's 17th Party Congress, which
will see a major reshuffle of top officials and set the stage
for development over the next five years, state media reported
yesterday. (…) According to names published by Xinhua
last night, there were some familiar faces among the delegates
including Deng Pufang and Deng Nan, the son and daughter of
late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. But former president Jiang
Zemin was not among the delegates listed by Xinhua. In an editorial
to be published today, the party mouthpiece People's Daily hailed
the election as a triumph of "democracy within the party".
(…). ^ top ^
Subsidies to plug widening pay gap - Pre-congress
flow of benefits pledged (SCMP)
2007-08-03
Beijing has rolled out more policies to appease low-income groups
overwhelmed by the widening wealth gap, with all government
apparatus busy orchestrating a "harmonious atmosphere"
to ensure success at the 17th Communist Party Congress this
autumn. A State Council meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao
pledged yesterday to loosen purse strings to provide affordable
housing for urban low-income groups as well as raise monthly
pensions for retired state-owned enterprise staff in the next
three years. Spending more to assuage the grievances of the
ordinary people struggling to meet basic needs such as housing,
medicine, education and food has become a policy priority because
the government hopes it will help paint a rosy picture for the
party congress. (…). ^ top ^
Nearly 2,000 Chinese officials confess
wrongdoings (Xinhua)
2007-08-02
Nearly 2,000 officials have confessed their wrongdoings since
China's disciplinary watchdog urged officials to own up to their
misconduct on May 30, China's disciplinary watchdog confirmed
on Thursday. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
(CCDI) of the Communist Party of China issued a set of regulations
targeting official corruption that took effect on May 30, urging
officials who have traded power for money to confess their crimes
before the end of June in return for leniency. During the one-month
period, 1,790 persons voluntarily reported their misconduct,
involving 77.89 million yuan (10.2 million U.S. dollars), Gan
Yisheng, CCDI spokesman, said at a press conference. (…).
^ top ^
Official: China 'prudent' in using death
penalty (China Daily)
2007-08-02
China is very prudent in its use of the death penalty to punish
economic criminals, the Communist Party of China's disciplinary
watchdog said on Thursday. "We are very prudent in using
the death penalty to execute perpetrators of economic crimes
and the number of death penalties handed down to economic criminals
is very small," Gan Yisheng, spokesman for the Central
Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist
Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said at a press conference.
(…) Gan's remarks came when a journalist from Agences
France Presse questioned the severity of the punishment given
to Zheng Xiaoyu, who was executed on July 10 for corruption
during his tenure as director of China's State Food and Drug
Administration. (…) "The fact that China keeps the
death penalty is due to its national conditions and cultural
background. There is nothing to be criticized," he said.
(…). ^ top ^
Chinese Army issues rules on attracting
scientists, technicians (People's Daily)
2007-07-03
The Authorities recently issued the regulations on attracting
and preserving high-level scientists and technicians to serve
in the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), as part of the
current military personnel reform. The document, which was approved
by Hu Jintao, chairman of China's Central Military Commission
(CMC), contains 17 measures aiming at attracting top scientists
and technicians. (…). ^ top ^
PLA budget to rise with the economy: President
Hu (People's Daily)
2007-08-02
China will increase defense spending progressively and commensurate
with the growing economy, President Hu Jintao said yesterday.
"We will gradually increase input in national defense as
the economy grows, and continue to modernize national defense
and the armed forces in a way that serves the interests of our
national security and development," said Hu, also chairman
of the Central Military Commission. He was speaking at a grand
rally marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese
People's Liberation Army (PLA) at the Great Hall of the People
in Beijing. (…). ^ top ^
Ousted Shanghai boss 'is not immune' -
Chen Liangyu awaits his fate 'in good health' (SCMP)
2007-08-03
The ousted Communist Party boss of Shanghai, Chen Liangyu, was
in jail awaiting trial on corruption charges and his health
was good, a top disciplinary official said yesterday, a week
after Chen was removed from all party and government positions.
In September, Chen was removed from his position as the top
leader of the mainland's commercial capital and his seat in
the all-powerful Politburo of the ruling Communist Party for
his role in the embezzlement of more than 3 billion yuan from
Shanghai's pension fund. More than 20 government and state company
officials were implicated. […] Analysts see the ousting
of Chen, a key member of the "Shanghai faction" headed
by former president Jiang Zemin , as part of a power struggle
within the top echelons of the party ahead of this autumn's
17th Party Congress. President and party chief Hu Jintao had
used the anti-corruption campaign to get rid of Jiang loyalists
and promote his own men to fill vacancies. (…). ^ top ^
TV watchdog clamps down on commercials
with sexual content (SCMP)
2007-08-03
The mainland's TV watchdog has banned commercials with sexual
content in an effort to tighten control over the small screen
and "create a healthy environment" ahead of National
Day and this autumn's 17th Party Congress. The decree from the
State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft) follows
a series of orders in the past year banning illegal, fake and
vulgar commercials, and called for harsher treatment of TV commercials.
[…]. ^ top ^
Vow of media freedom `not met' (SCMP)
2007-08-02
Beijing has failed to live up to its pledge to ensure full media
freedom ahead of next year's Olympics, with harassment of foreign
reporters still common, a survey of foreign journalists found.
But despite the problems, the situation is better than before
January 1, when the government relaxed reporting regulations,
the Foreign Correspondents Club of China said. Of 163 respondents
to its survey, 95 per cent said they did not think reporting
conditions met international standards. ^ top ^
Censors clamp down on food safety reports
- Stick to sports and lifestyle, newspapers told (SCMP)
2007-07-31
Mainland censors are tightening their grip on the media and
limiting negative news reports, especially on food safety, following
the punishment dished out to Beijing Television for a bogus
report about the sale of cardboard-stuffed buns. The Publicity
Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, the city's
top censorship body, has ordered a popular tabloid, the Beijing
Daily Messenger, to scrap its political and social pages and
instead cover entertainment and lifestyle stories. […]
Other newspapers under the control of the Beijing propaganda
authorities like Beijing Youth Daily and Beijing Evening News
have also been warned against running negative news, even negative
reports reprinted from newspapers in other regions. […]
Reporters with New Beijing News and Beijing Times, the only
two newspapers in Beijing not controlled by the municipal propaganda
department, said they had not received an official notice but
had been lectured about safeguarding the authenticity of news
reports. […]. ^ top ^
Websites asked to crack down on 'fake news'
(SCMP)
2007-08-02
A top propaganda official asked more than 20 major mainland
websites to make positive coverage of this autumn's key party
congress their top priority, Xinhua reported. Speaking at a
Chinese Internet Association conference yesterday in Beijing,
Cai Mingzhao , a deputy director of Information Office under
the State Council, urged internet media to crack down on "fake
news" to create a sound environment for the 17th Party
Congress. "Good publicity for the party congress is the
primary task for all internet media," Mr Cai told representatives
from top domestic news portals, including sina.com, sohu.com
and baidu.com. To gear up for "the most significant event
for the country and the Chinese people", internet media
should organise their staff to study President Hu Jintao's keynote
speech at the central party school in late June to "strengthen
their political sense". (…) The Propaganda Department
also issued a circular warning news organisations that they
would be "harshly dealt with" if found to carry fake
news. ^ top ^
China completes construction of second
highway in Xinjiang desert (People's Daily)
2007-08-02
China completed on Wednesday the construction of a second blacktop
highway across the Taklamakan Desert in the northwestern Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region. The 424-km highway runs from Aral,
a city in central Xinjiang, and ends in the Hotan prefecture
in the south of the region, traversing the Taklamakan Desert.
Construction of the road began in June 2005 with an investment
of 790 million yuan (105 million U.S. dollars). Around 180 km
was built by the People's Armed Police Force. (…) It is
the world's longest desert highway at 522 kilometers. The Taklimakan
Desert, China's largest desert, is in the center of the Tarim
Basin, south of the Tianshan Mountains. (…). ^ top ^
Another 31 people, including four gov't
employees, jailed in China's forced labor scandal (Xinhua)
2007-08-02
Thirty-one people have got sentences ranging from one year and
a half to five years imprisonment in a forced labor scandal
disclosed in early June in north China's Shanxi Province. Four
government employees in Hongtong County and Yongji City were
sentenced to two to three years in prison after local courts
convicted them of power abuse and dereliction of duty, according
to the Shanxi Provincial Higher People's Court. The four included
two local industrial and commercial department employees, one
policeman and one labor and social security worker. Twenty-seven
others, including brickyard managers and foremen, were sentenced
to up to five years in prison for using child labor and beatings,
the higher court said. (…). ^ top ^
600 Guilin tour guides held after protest
over pay (SCMP)
2007-07-31
More than 600 tour guides from the Guangxi tourism destination
of Guilin have been detained for demonstrating to demand government
help to improve their working conditions. […] The protesters
urged the government to intervene, cancel all cheap tours offered
at less than cost price and to insist travel agents pay the
guides basic salaries. Several thousand regular and city police
used force to break up the protest at 11pm, the protester said.
[…] Guilin's propaganda office and police declined to
give details about the protest or the detentions. […].
^ top ^
Rally highlights how scams keep the travel
industry ticking along (SCMP)
2007-07-31
The Guilin protest has exposed one of the dark sides of the
mainland travel industry, which often survives by offering travellers
heavily discounted tours at the expense of their guides. Most
tour guides in Guilin receive no basic wages, but need to pay
up to 40 per cent of the cost of a package as a fee to the travel
agency to make up for the agency's discounts to the traveller.
The guides have to pay the money up front and then try to recoup
the cost through commissions from shops. […]. ^ top ^
69 coal miners rescued after 3 days (China
Daily)
2007-08-01
All 69 Chinese coal miners trapped underground by flood waters
for more than three days emerged in broad daylight blindfolded,
soaked but safe on Wednesday. The miners had been trapped in
the Zhijian colliery in Shanxian county in the central province
of Henan since Sunday morning when a flash flood caused by heavy
rain surged through an old shaft. (…). ^ top ^
Managers covered up deadly mine accident
(SCMP)
2007-07-31
At least nine people drowned in a flooded coal mine in Shanxi's
Xiangning County in an incident that was covered up by mine
managers for nearly a month. The casualties did not come to
light until the Shanxi Provincial Work Safety Administration
received an anonymous tip-off that the Liziping Coal Mine had
been flooded on July 5, Xinhua reported yesterday. Mine managers
did not report the deaths to authorities, but an initial investigation
by the administration revealed that at least nine colliery workers
had died in the incident. […]. ^ top ^
Protesters battle police over brewery's
pollution of water (SCMP)
2007-07-30
Seven people were arrested and 20 injured after clashes broke
out in Shiyuan, Sichuan province , on Friday between armed police
and thousands of protesters angry about a brewery polluting
drinking water, says a Hong Kong-based human rights group. The
Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said yesterday
that residents of Shiyuan fought a "violent and bloody"
battle with police at about 7pm after they took to the streets
demanding that Hong Kong-listed China Resources (Shifang) Breweries
immediately stop releasing effluent into rivers nearby. A local
source confirmed the report yesterday, saying villagers were
angry at both the factory and the local government. […]
The source said she had heard a rumour that the factory had
paid the government "compensation" for polluting local
water sources. So far the local government has made no comment
on this. […]. ^ top ^
China floods kill 652 people, cause loss
of 52.5 bln yuan (Xinhua)
2007-07-30
Floods, landslides and mudflows triggered by torrential rains
have killed 652 people in China by Sunday, according to the
Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
The floods, mainly in south and east China, caused 52.5 billion
yuan (6.9 billion U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses, the
office said. It added that the floods also brought down 452,000
houses, affected 119.15 million people and 7.87 million hectares
of crops. The office said that water levels of the swollen Huaihe
River have been above the warning line for more than 20 days
and the situation would maintain for around a week even with
no more rainfall (…). ^ top ^
|
| Shanghai |
158 countries,
organizations confirmed to attend Shanghai World Expo (Xinhua)
2007-07-31
A total of 158 countries, regions and international organizations
have confirmed their participation in the 2010 World Expo to
be held in Shanghai, China, by Tuesday. Yang Xiong, deputy mayor
of Shanghai and member of the organizing committee for the World
Expo 2010 Shanghai China, told a news conference here Tuesday.
The organizing committee forecast that more than 200 countries,
regions and international organizations are expected to attend
the 184-day event. ^ top ^
|
| Hongkong |
Morale worse than before
the handover, say civil servants (SCMP)
2007-07-30
Nine out of 10 civil servants say staff morale has worsened
since the handover, a trade union survey shows. About a quarter
said the situation of civil servants was "more pessimistic"
than 10 years ago. The Confederation of Trade Unions, which
carried out the survey, attributed the gloom to an increasing
workload arising from management reforms over the past decade.
[…] "Over the past 10 years, the civil service has
shrunk from 190,000 to 160,000. But the demand for public service
has not reduced," he said. With the five-day week requiring
most employees to work longer hours during the week, Mr Lam
said colleagues were more stressed as a result. He also said
recruiting contract staff would affect service quality. ^ top ^
|
| Tibet |
Fifth group of
192 central officials arrive in Lhasa for Tibet service (People's
Daily)
2007-07-31
One hundred and ninety-two officials from China's central government
and state enterprise headquarters have arrived in Lhasa, capital
of Tibet Autonomous Region, to help the region's development.
Together with 661 local officials from 17 provinces and municipalities,
they are the fifth group of officials from elsewhere to serve
in Tibet since the central government started to dispatch central
and local officials to the autonomous region in 1995. (…)
The 853 officials this month include political officials, professional
and enterprise management experts. ^ top ^
Panchen Lama vows to work for harmonious
country, world (People's Daily)
2007-07-30
The 11th Panchen Lama vowed to contribute to a harmonious China
and world while visiting a Tibetan Buddhist center in north
China. The living Buddha and leader of Tibetan Buddhism paid
a four-day visit to Chengde city in Hebei Province from last
Thursday to Monday. (…) "I would like to maintain
the tradition of former Panchen Lamas who loved the country
as well as their faith and worked hard for the unification of
the country and harmony among the people," he said. (…).
^ top ^
|
| Taiwan |
Taiwan plans mass rally
in support of its UN bid (SCMP)
2007-08-03
In defiance of a fresh United Nations snub, Taiwan plans to
stage a massive march next month in support of its bid to join
as "Taiwan" and a referendum on the same issue. The
march comes despite opposition from the United States, which
reportedly plans to punish the island over the referendum by
downgrading transit treatment for President Chen Shui-bian during
his upcoming visit to Central America. The march will be sponsored
by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and held in Kaohsiung
on September 15, three days ahead of the opening of the UN General
Assembly meeting in New York, DPP secretary-general Lin Chia-lung
said yesterday. (…) But Washington is unhappy about the
referendum, saying it will intensify cross-strait tensions as
the mainland viewed it as the first step to an independence
vote. Beijing has said it will attack the island if it declares
independence. (…). ^ top ^
Taiwan rejects reports it may lose ties
with Honduras (SCMP)
2007-08-02
Taiwan yesterday rejected reports that there could be a change
in its relations with Central American ally Honduras, whose
president was said to have expressed interest in diplomatic
ties with the mainland. "We see no possibility at all over
any switch of ties as our relations with Honduras are very firm,"
Foreign Ministry spokesman David Wang Chien-yeh said. The Associated
Press had quoted Wang Xiaoyuan, the mainland ambassador to Costa
Rica, as saying that Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Rosales
was interested in building ties with the mainland. (…).
^ top ^
Taiwanese medical visas for mainland patients
(SCMP)
2007-07-31
Taiwan is to allow mainlanders to apply for medical visas for
treatment on the island beginning tomorrow as part of the government's
efforts to increase medical revenue. According to the Mainland
Affairs Council, mainland patients should contact qualified
Taiwanese hospitals, which will help them apply for permits
to stay for up to three months for five categories of treatment.
[…] The Health Department has designated 10 hospitals
to provide the service. Hospital officials are upbeat about
the new service, seeing it as a way to increase revenue. […]
According to government estimates, the "medical tourism"
programme is expect to attract some 100,000 mainland and overseas
visitors to the island in three years. It is supposed to net
NT$7 billion (HK$1.67 billion) in revenue and create 3,500 jobs.
^ top ^
|
| Economy |
| Paulson: China committed
to yuan reform (China Daily)
2007-08-02
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday he was assured
that China is committed to currency flexibility and more financial
reforms, but Beijing offered no specific changes that could
help assuage US congressional ire over China's huge trade surplus.
(…) Officials said they plan to lift a 10-month-old moratorium
on new Chinese-foreign joint-venture securities brokerages in
early autumn, instead of December as originally planned, Paulson
said. The secretary, Washington's point man on China, is trying
to avert drastic action by congressional critics who are pressing
for punitive measures over Beijing's currency policies and multibillion-dollar
trade surplus with the United States. Also Wednesday, congressional
efforts to pressure Beijing took a step forward when a Senate
committee approved a bill that would require the administration
to pursue currency manipulation cases before the International
Monetary Fund. (…). ^ top ^
China urges accommodation to "emissions
of subsistence" by poor countries (People's Daily)
2007-08-02
"Emissions of subsistence" and "development emissions"
of poor countries should be accommodated while the "luxury
emissions" of rich countries should be restricted, a Chinese
diplomat said Wednesday. "Adapting to climate change is
as important as mitigating climate change," Liu Zhenmin,
China's deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United
Nations, told an informal debate of the UN General Assembly
on climate change. Stressing the principles of equity and "common
but differentiated responsibilities," Liu urged developed
countries to "shoulder in good faith their historical and
present responsibilities." (…) Although the Chinese
economy has maintained a momentum of steady and fast growth
in recent years, over 20 million rural people and over 22 million
urban residents still live in poverty and the development of
rural and urban areas and among different regions is imbalanced.
"To improve the living standards of its 1.3 billion people,
China's 'development emissions' may inevitably increase,"
Liu said. (…). ^ top ^
Mainland bull run of records 'unstoppable'
(SCMP)
2007-07-31
Shanghai shares scaled new heights yesterday, boosted by investor
confidence that higher corporate earnings would support resurgent
stock prices. The jump in mainland stocks came as markets across
Asia-Pacific recovered from a United States-triggered fall last
week. The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 95.41 points or 2.2
per cent from Friday's record close to 4,440.77. The Shenzhen
Composite Index climbed 28.48 points or 2.29 per cent to 1,274.93,
shy of its record high of 1,275.26 set on June 19. […].
^ top ^
China's top economic planner initiates
food price probe (People's Daily)
2007-08-03
China's top economic planning agency said Thursday it has ordered
local pricing authorities to launch investigations into prices
of major food products. The probe came after recent price increases
at some fast food restaurants and of instant noodles triggered
consumers' complaints. The investigations will mainly cover
grain, edible vegetable oil, pork, beef, mutton, and poultry,
the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in
a circular. (…) Analysts said the probe indicated the
government's intention to maintain price stability. (…).
^ top ^
Fast food catches up with pork's rising
price (SCMP)
2007-07-31
Mainlanders are in for another round of food price rises next
month, when some domestic fast-food chains increase their menu
prices to cover the rising costs of pork and other ingredients.
The news came as the National Development and Reform Commission
called on local governments yesterday to refrain from raising
price limits for the rest of the year. […] Mao Shoulong
, a political science professor at Renmin University, said adjustments
in food prices were normal given the mainland's robust economic
growth. But the issue had become a political matter because
of its potential to cause grass-roots discontent. Professor
Mao said food-price inflation, always a political issue on the
mainland, would be on top of the government's agenda in the
run-up to the 17th Party Congress in October. ^ top ^
Measures urged to boost pig farming (China
Daily)
2007-07-28
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called for measures to boost
pig farming as short supply has led to continued pork price
hikes, causing concerns among consumers and the government over
a possible spillover effect on inflation. Wen urged local governments
to leave no stone unturned in enhancing the enthusiasm of pig
breeders when addressing an executive conference of the State
Council on Wednesday. The country's pig production fell dramatically
in recent months on pig breeders' dampened enthusiasm due to
rising feedstuff costs and low price in past few years, and
also the massive pig culling after the outbreak of blue-ear
disease in some regions. The short supply of live pigs kept
driving the pork price higher. (…) Wen said it's of great
importance to increase pig production, which would help stabilize
the pork price and satisfy the meat demand of the public. (…).
^ top ^
Illegal charges add fuel to house prices
(China Daily)
2007-07-29
Land authorities in six Chinese cities including Beijing have
illegally charged 1.1 billion yuan (US$146.7 million) on enterprises
so far this year, adding fuel to the nation's soaring housing
prices. This was discovered by the National Development and
Reform Commission, China's top planning body, during examinations
of charges on businesses in Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Jinan, Guangzhou,
Chengdu and Xi'an, the Beijing News said Saturday. (…).
^ top ^
Asian firms worried over low export orders
(SCMP)
2007-07-30
A clouded outlook for export orders and a tight market for skilled
labour are the key growth constraints worrying mainland and
Hong Kong companies. In a survey by accounting firm Grant Thornton
of about 7,200 companies from 32 countries - including 300 on
the mainland and 250 in Hong Kong - 50 per cent of mainland
companies identified a shortage of export orders as the factor
that worried them most while 36 per cent of Hong Kong respondents
voiced the same concerns. Grant Thornton's principal and head
of risk management Patrick Rozario said mainland companies were
concerned that overseas buyers may cut down orders as a result
of increasing production prices. "The yuan has risen 8
to 10 per cent against the US dollar, while the costs of land,
labour, raw materials and energy are also rising," Mr Rozario
said. […]. ^ top ^
FDI grows 50% in western China (China Daily)
2007-07-27
In the first half this year, growth in overseas investment accelerated
significantly in central and western China and especially in
the western areas, with an 51.93 percent increase in actually
utilized foreign direct investment (FDI), 39.76 percent higher
than the national average, said Ma Xiuhong, Deputy Minister
of Commerce, at the 4th International Investment Promotion Forum.
Regional disparity has hindered China's sustainable development.
Some studies suggested that central and western China have lagged
behind eastern areas by eight years in terms of economic development
and 10 years in terms of living standards. (…). ^ top ^
|
| North
Korea |
| Japan, China discuss
North Korean nuclear disarmament (China Daily)
2007-08-01
Foreign ministers from Japan and China discussed ways to achieve
further progress in North Korea's nuclear disarmament but remained
far apart in settling a territorial dispute in the East China
Sea, an official said Wednesday. (…) The two foreign ministers
are in Manila to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia's largest
security conference. Both China and Japan are participants in
six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program.
But American negotiator Christopher Hill's visit to North Korea
in June opened a separate direct channel between Pyongyang and
Washington, complicating the roles of other participants in
the negotiations. Still, China and Japan will continue to make
important contributions to the six-party process as it moves
into a new stage following last month's shutdown of North Korea's
Yongbyon reactor, Sakaba said. (…) He said Chinese and
Japanese leaders would meet in Sydney, Australia, later this
year, but that there was still no final decision on plans for
a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Beijing by
the end of 2007, and a reciprocal visit by President Hu Jintao
to Tokyo in the spring of 2008. (…). ^ top ^
|
| Mongolia |
Swiss vice president
visits Mongolia (Mongol Messenger)
2007-07-25
On July 16, Prime Minister, M.Enkhbold received Swiss vice president
and Minister of Interior Pascal Couchepin, during his official
visit to Mongolia by invitiation of the Health Minister D. Tuya.
The vice president said the completed Swiss Development Cooperation
leadership programs implemented in Mongolia had been more successful
than other countries. As Swiss environment minister, he was
also interested in the impact of global warming on Mongolia's
climate and natural resources. ^ top ^
Troops Train to Keep Peace (UB Post)
2007-08-02
The 4th annual military training exercise, jointly sponsored
by the Mongolian Armed Forces and the U.S. Pacific Command,
began on August 1 at the Tavan Tolgoi (Five Hills) Training
Camp, 60 km west of Ulaanbaatar and will conclude on August
16. (…) Over 1,000 military personnel from nine countries,
Mongolia, Bangladesh, Tonga, South Korea, Brunei, Sri Lanka,
Indonesia, Cambodia, and the USA, are taking part in the field
exercise. Russia, China, Malaysia and Japan are participating
as observer states. (…).
The ins and out -government survives
(Mongol Messenger)
2007-08-01
Although the MPRP-led government has managed to survive, government
resignation–related events continue. On July 25, the Democratic
Party council in parliament made a statement that they would
not support any issues submitted by the government, because
they considered the government, led by M. Enkhbold, had resigned.
Prior to the day the DP statement was released, the Government
had survived, because the DP Council's proposal to dismiss the
Government was rejected in a ballot by 46 of the 73 members,
or by 63 percent of the MPs present at the plenary session on
July 24. The DP Council, whose 28 members submitted the resolution
bill, considered that there were enough grounds to dismiss government,
including the April Mi-8 helicopter crash; the November 2006
train crash; the 15 ministers overspending their 2006 state
budget; the Fuel and Energy Minister's misuse of funds for solar
energy units for herders and the earlier Mi-8 helicopter crash
where MPRP MP, Ts. Bataa abused his position during the flight.
However, the MPRP group in Parliament and cabinet members considered
the government should continue activities normally without being
targets for politicization. (…)
|
| 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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