Category Archives: NEWS DIGEST

by | March 9, 2014 · 10:32 pm

Roundup of 3.01 Train Station Attack News Coverage

In addition to our usual news digest, this week ExSE has compiled a list of articles covering the 3/1 terrorist attack at the Kunming train station. The links are ordered chronologically by publication date, and include both Western media sources and English-language Chinese state media links.

March 9

The Kunming Train Station Attack: A Hypothesis | East by Southeast — In answering the question “Why was Kunming chosen as the site of last Saturday’s attack?” consider the following […] – See more at: http://www.eastbysoutheast.com/kunming-train-station-attack-hypothesis/#comments

March 8

Xinjiang Party Secretary Talks Terrorism After Kunming Attack |Diplomat — On Thursday, Xinjiang’s Party Secretary Zhang Chunxian led the Xinjiang delegation’s meeting at the National People’s Congress in Beijing. In the wake of the deadly March 1 attack in Kunming, Zhang faced a barrage of questions about the rise of terrorism within China and the government’s response.

The two-faced stance of US on terrorists | China Daily — Many Chinese are indignant at the slow and reluctant response from the United States in condemning last Saturday’s terrorist attack at the railway station in Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan province. The US’ reluctance to condemn the terrorists is obvious since neither President Barack Obama nor Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken out and deplored the attack.

A week later, prayers, paper cranes, heightened security in Kunming | China Daily — According to Zhang Guibai, a member of the armed police in Yunnan, about 6,600 officers have been working on the investigation of the case and maintaining social stability. Police are deployed in and around public places, including parks, schools and train stations. Armed police units also have been strengthened near Yunnan’s borders with neighboring countries.

UN human rights body calls for “thorough investigation” over terrorist attack in China | Global Times — The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on Friday for “thorough investigation” over the appalling terrorist attack in Kunming, southwest China, which claimed at least 29 lives and left over a hundred others wounded.

March 7

Chinese Governor Signals Crackdown on Separatists | NYT — The remarks by the governor of Xinjiang signaled that the Communist Party would tighten security throughout the region in reaction to a knife attack that killed 29 civilians.

Chinese police arrest 45 for ‘spreading rumours’ online after knife attack | Guardian — Chinese police have arrested 45 people for “spreading rumours” online in the wake of Saturday’s horrific knife attack at a Chinese train station.

China warns influential commentators to stick to party line on Kunming attack | Daily Telegraph — Chinese police have named and threatened some of the country’s most influential journalists and commentators for questioning the party line on a terror attack in Kunming.

Terror attack: Dark day | Economist — A brutal knife attack shocks China and raises questions about its policy towards ethnic minorities

Terrorist Attacks ‘part of trend’ | Global Times — About 90 percent of violent terrorists use means such as VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to circumvent the Great Firewall and the increasing amount of terrorist attacks is part of the international trend, the top leader of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region said on Thursday.

March 6

China imposes censorship on reporting of knife attack | Guardian — After the knife attack on Chinese people in Kunming last Saturday, in which 29 people were hacked to death, the state council information office issued the following directive: “Media that report on the knife attack incident that occurred March 1 at the Kunming railway station must strictly adhere to Xinhua News Agency wire copy or information provided by local authorities.”

Implications of the Kunming Terrorist Attack | Diplomat — The Diplomat speaks with Dr. Sean Roberts about the implications of the Kunming knife attack.

Details slowly emerge in Kunming knifing investigation | GoKunming — As people across China attempt to come to terms with the deadly knife attack on civilians at Kunming’s train station, details of the tragedy are beginning to come to light. Although no clear motive has been announced, high-ranking officials have given statements detailing some actions of the group responsible for the assault. More importantly, many of those injured at the station are reported to be convalescing in local hospitals.

Don’t label terrorism as ‘ethnic’: adviser | China Daily — Cases like the deadly attack in Kunming should be handled in a way that avoids linking a terrorist assault with an “ethnic issue”. Zhu Weiqun, head of the committee on ethnic and religious affairs under China’s top political advisory body, made the remark on Wednesday in an interview with China Daily.

March 5

Chinese Officials Seek to Shift Attention From Rampage | NYT — Days after knife-wielding assailants killed 29 people and injured 143 at the train station in Kunming, Chinese authorities appeared eager to change the subject.

Attack prompts strengthened anti-terrorism legislation | China Daily — Legislators and political advisors have proposed improving legislation to counter terrorism following the deadly terrorist attack that killed 29 civilians and injured 143 others.

Opposing Narratives in Piecing Together Kunming Attackers’ Motives | NYT — Were the assailants who slashed to death 29 people and wounded 143 others at a train station in southwestern China last Saturday aspiring jihadists or would-be refugees seeking to flee the country?

China knife massacre culprits wanted to wage jihad abroad, official says | Guardian — The group behind Saturday’s gruesome knife attack at a Chinese train station turned to violence after failing to leave the country “to participate in jihad”, a senior Communist party official was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Kunming: A New Phase of Terrorism in China | Diplomat — The deadly weekend attack, which killed 29 civilians, could mark a new era for security in China.

Kunming knife gang ‘tried to leave China’ before attack | Daily Telegraph — Attackers who launched a brutal mass knifing at a Chinese train station acted in desperation after a failed attempt to leave the country and become jihadists overseas, a Chinese official was Wednesday quoted as saying.

Officer tells of fight with terrorists | China Daily –Kunming SWAT team officer Zhang Jun (not his real name) went on his first real crisis response mission on Saturday at Kunming Railway Station and came face to face with a gang of knife-wielding terrorists slashing and stabbing people at random. He was the only member of the four-man team armed with an automatic rifle.

Uygur community tries to regain trust after incident | China Daily — Three days after a deadly terrorist attack by eight people from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the biggest Uygur community in Kunming, Yunnan province, is trying to recover from the shock. In Dashuying, which has the biggest community of Uygurs in Kunming, people from different ethnic groups are trying to build trust.

Journalists see bias in Western coverage | China Daily — On Monday, the All-China Journalists Association condemned major Western media outlets, including CNN and AP, for “turning a blind eye” to the terrorist attack at a Kunming railway station, where 29 people were killed and 143 injured.

Xi calls for strong ethnic unity to guide nation after rampage | China Daily — Qin Guangrong, Party secretary of Yunnan province and a deputy to the National People’s Congress, said on Tuesday that police tracked the three suspects who fled Kunming to the Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture in southern Yunnan and arrested them in Shadian, a largely Muslim township in the prefecture, 40 hours after the attack. Qin was the first Yunnan deputy to the NPC to make an official statement on the massacre.

March 4

Report: suspects apprehended in Kunming mass stabbing case | GoKunming — Chinese state-run media is reporting all suspects believed to have taken part in a brutal attack on civilians at the Kunming railway station have been arrested or killed. Initial reports put the number of perpetrators at ten or more, but that number has been scaled back to eight.

Kunming terrorist attack suspects captured | Xinhua — Chinese police said Monday three suspects involved in the terrorist attack in the southwestern city of Kunming had been captured. The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that the terrorist gang led by Abdurehim Kurban was responsible for the attack.

After Prodding, U.S. State Department Labels Kunming Attack ‘Terrorism’ | NYT — Questioned by reporters, a State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, called the deadly attack in Kunming a terrorist attack, after the Chinese state news media accused overseas news agencies of failing to do so.

Train Station Rampage Further Strains Ethnic Relations in China | NYT — Relations have never been easy between the Han majority and Uighurs, but after an attack on Saturday, many Chinese are saying the mood is worsening.

Kunming massacre: Has the global jihad reached China? | Daily Telegraph — No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for last Saturday’s attack. But some fear it may be the start of a new cycle of violence as China becomes a target for radicals trained or influenced by Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The state media called the attack “China’s 9-11”: the moment when Islamic terrorists began to target Chinese civilians.

Is the Kunming Knife Attack China’s 9-11? | The Diplomat — The deadly attack in Kunming may forever change the way China thinks about and deals with terrorism.

Terror in Kunming | The Economist — Chinese police announced the capture on Monday of three suspected participants in a gruesome attack by a knife-wielding gang that killed 29 people in the main train station of Kunming, a major city in China’s south-west.

Security tightened at railway stations, airports in major cities | China Daily — Police in Kunming, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other provincial capitals, including Xi’an, Shaanxi province, and Changsha, Hunan province, have stepped up police forces at transport hubs and public areas such as shopping malls and schools, authorities said.

Western Media Coverage of Kunming’s Terror Attack Shows Sheer Mendacity and Heartlessness | People’s Daily Online — While China grieved and expressed its outrage following the savage stabbing of innocent civilians by Xinjiang separatists at the crowded railway station in southwest China’s Kunming Saturday night, some Western media organizations, including CNN, Associated Press, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, were already presenting their audiences and their readership with a distorted view of events.

US: Train depot attack ‘terrorism’ | China Daily — On Monday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US acknowledged that China has characterized the incident as a terrorist act.

Impact of terror attack on Yunnan tourism limited | China Daily — The terrorist attack in southwest China’s Kunming on Saturday has had and will have a limited impact on tourism in Yunnan province, the provincial tourism authority said on Tuesday.

Media innuendos unjustified | China Daily — Most media organizations worldwide covered the incident in a professional manner in line with the principle of humanity, however, a handful of Western news organizations have rubbed salt into the wounds, says a Xinhua commentary.

Kunming Train Station Attacks: The Media’s Response | East by Southeast — More than a day has passed since Kunmingers and the rest of the world awoke to news of Saturday night’s terrorist attack at the Kunming Railway Station. In that time, local residents, concerned citizens, the media and the world at large have begun the process of digesting what happened and what it all means.

Kaiser Kuo: On Radicalization and Chinese Policy | via East by Southeast –While I’ve noted elsewhere how it bothers me profoundly that many Anglophone commentators offer a merely perfunctory nod to the monstrousness of the knife attacks that claimed 29 innocent lives and sent 160 or more people to the hospital with stab and slash wounds before moving on to the “real” issue of Chinese repression of Uyghur rights, I do believe the desire on the part of some people to use the Kunming massacre to talk about underlying issues is well-intentioned and appropriate.

March 3

Video Said to Be of Kunming Attack Aftermath Appears Online | NYT — Video has emerged on a Chinese video-sharing service that apparently shows scenes from the knife attack in the Kunming train station on Saturday that left at least 29 people dead.

U.N. Security Council Condemns ‘Terrorist Attack’ in Kunming | NYT — As the United Nations Security Council condemned the attack in China’s Kunming train station that left at least 29 dead, the authorities moved to delete social media posts that called on leaders to allow open discussion of the situation in Xinjiang, where tensions are running high.

China Train Station Attackers May Have Acted ‘in Desperation’ | Radio Free Asia — A group of knife-wielding attackers who went on a weekend slashing spree at a train station in China’s southern Yunnan province may have been disgruntled ethnic minority Uyghur asylum seekers who felt “trapped” between violence in their Xinjiang homeland and the inability to flee across the border into Laos, sources say.

Report People From Xinjiang, Police Say After Deadly Attack | NYT — A police station in the southern region of Guangxi has called on citizens to report any people from Xinjiang in their midst, after attackers believed to be from the far western region killed at least 29 people on Saturday.

Kunming in the aftermath of the train station attack | GoKunming — n the wake of the attack on the Kunming Train Station, in which official sources say at least 29 people lost their lives and 143 were injured, I went to sniff around the city for stories and reactions. People are stoic, supportive of their fellow citizens and have seemed to steer clear of any racial or religious violence.

Kunming restores order after deadly terror attack | China Daily — At the train station where the attacked happened, train arrivals resumed on Sunday after three trains with 3,000 passengers were affected on Saturday night, said station officials. Meanwhile, 60,000 passengers are expected to leave the station on Sunday, higher than the 59,000 on Saturday.

China Focus: Legislators, advisors urge US to abandon terrorism double standard | People’s Daily Online — China’s legislators and political advisors have urged Washington to condemn Saturday’s deadly attack in southwest China as terrorist activity after the U.S. downplayed its severity. “The U.S. definition of terrorist activities hinges on its own political interests,” Yin Zhuo, director of the Expert Consultation Committee of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, told Xinhua on Monday.

Uygur general: PLA backs Xinjiang’s counter-terrorism efforts | People’s Daily Online — The counter-terrorism efforts in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have the strong backing from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said a senior military commander here Monday. “Counter-terrorism arrangements are in place to prevent serious incidents in Xinjiang,” said Saimati Muhammat, major general and deputy commander of the Xinjiang Military Area Command, in an interview with Xinhua.

March 2

China Blames Xinjiang Separatists for Stabbing Rampage at Train Station | NYT — Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, officials on Sunday described the killings as an act of terrorism planned and perpetrated by separatists from Xinjiang, where members of the Uighur minority are increasingly at odds with the government.

Attackers With Knives Kill 29 at Chinese Rail Station | NYT — A group of assailants, dressed in black and wielding knives, stormed into a train station in Kunming in southwestern China, slashing employees and commuters.

Horrific Knife Attack in China Leaves 33 Dead | Diplomat — Authorities vow justice as a group of men it says are Xinjiang separatists attack a crowd in Kunming.

Attack leaves dozens dead at Kunming Train Station | GoKunming — A coordinated assault by at least ten people at the Kunming Train Station has left more than 20 people dead and more than 100 injured. Police reportedly killed four of the attackers and arrested another, while five others remain at large.

Foreigners cautious in Kunming | China Daily — Kunming has for many years been a favored destination for foreign travelers, and it has a bubbling expat community. Foreigners in Kunming were shocked by the attack, especially those who witnessed it.

Migrants use hookahs to fight terrorists | China Daily — At around 9:30pm, Wang Dezhu, a migrant worker from Baoshan city in Yunnan, and some companions were preparing to take the train to Hebei province when the terrorists attacked. He said the migrant workers wielded bamboo hookahs – long, bamboo water pipes used in rural areas – as a weapon to protect themselves.

Social media users condemn attacks, pray for the dead | China Daily — On Sina Weibo, netizens are spreading the word of stopping the circulation of bloody photos on the Internet.

At least 29 dead, 130 injured in Kunming violence | China Daily — Twenty-nine civilians were confirmed dead and more than 130 others injured Saturday in a railway station attack in Southwest Chinese city of Kunming, authorities said. Police have shot dead at least four attackers whose identities are yet to be confirmed and are hunting for the rest. It was an organized, premeditated violent terrorist attack, according to the authorities.

Deadly Kunming Knife Attack Leaves 33 Dead, 130+ Wounded | East by Southeast — The Spring City’s reputation was irrevocably changed on the evening of Saturday March 1 as a group of five to ten knife-wielding attackers entered the Kunming Railway Station and engaged in a stabbing rampage that killed 28 passengers and wounded more than 100. The Chinese government is labeling the assailants as a Uyghur separatist terrorist group although very little is known of the actual identities of the assailants and their motives.

March 1

Police confirm injuries in Kunming railway station | China Daily — A group of unidentified armed men on Saturday stormed into a railway station in Kunming, capital of Southwest China’s Yunnan province, causing injuries, said the city police. Casualties have been under investigation, according to the police.

China’s ‘Blurred Lines’ on Security Threats | Diplomat — Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party is purposely conflating external and domestic security threats. /This was published the day of the attack at the train station, apparently before news had emerged, however it’s unfortunate timing by The Diplomat./

 

 

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by | March 1, 2014 · 10:45 pm

Regional Roundup for the Week of 3.1.14

This week’s top news included increased criticism of how China’s government has handled recent severe pollution, heightening concerns that the poor air quality and slow response for a solution will have lasting long-term impact on the economy as well as the environment. There have been reports that more and more elite and educated Chinese are choosing to move away from developed urban coastal cities in favor of less-polluted areas, including Kunming and Dali in Yunnan Province. Aside from the problem of visible air pollution and the dangers of micro particles like PM2.5, a growing concern is water and earth pollution, which may prove even more challenging to reverse. This should be of great concern to officials here in Yunnan Province, home to the Three Parallel Rivers National Park that includes the upper reaches of the Mekong, Yangtze and Salween Rivers.

Political unrest in Thailand continues, with some speculation that the protests are losing steam and even as violence has escalated recently. Protesters agreed to remove blockades from major intersections, a decision that came after a speech by the head of Thailand’s army that distanced himself from the protest movement. However, political deadlock remains weeks after elections and will likely persist into the spring until an agreement is reached between the government and political opposition.

ExSE FOCUS

Party chief: Yunnan ’embracing a new era of environmental protection’ | GoKunming — The most powerful government official in Yunnan, Party Secretary Qin Guangrong (秦 光荣), delivered a speech last week in which he at times bluntly addressed many of the environmental concerns facing the province. Although Qin was, perhaps expectedly, speaking in broad terms, he did mention specific goals and characterized environmental issues as the top priority currently facing the province.

Water Pollution: More Difficult to Fix Than Dirty Air? | ChinaFile — Although China’s air pollution keeps making headlines, its water pollution is just as urgent a problem. One-fifth of the country’s rivers are toxic, while two-fifths are classified as seriously polluted. In 2012, more than half of China’s cities had water that was “poor” or “very poor.” Last week, China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection announced a trillion-yuan (U.S.$320 billion) plan to start dealing with this urgent issue.

Protesters Say They’ll End Blockades in Bangkok | NYT — The leaders of the campaign apologized for blockades of major intersections and promised a new strategy for the protests.

Thailand’s Army Chief Cautions Antigovernment Protesters | NYT — The head of Thailand’s army, after months of neutrality, tells government opponents to “ask yourselves whether this would end peacefully.”

Currency of China Continues to Decline | NYT — The value of China’s currency, the renminbi, continued to slide against the United States dollar on Friday, rattling investors by falling to its lowest level in nearly a year before closing higher

A Border City on the Edge of the Law | NYT — Mong La, Myanmar, draws Chinese over the border to gamble, as well as buy ivory and other animal parts, despite official disapproval of the casinos in China.

Burma tells Medécins Sans Frontières to leave state hit by sectarian violence | Guardian — Médecins Sans Frontières has been ordered by Burma’s government to suspend all operations in a conflict-riddled state because of what officials described as a lack of impartiality in medical treatment.

China Accused of Firing Water Cannons at Filipino Fishermen | NYT — The Philippine military said the Chinese Coast Guard tried to drive away Filipino fishing vessels at the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Yunnan province increasingly feeding China’s hungry north | GoKunming — Last year, 8.5 million tons of produce grown in Yunnan was shipped to boomtowns in China’s north and east, nearly equaling totals of the previous two years combined. The largest consumers of crops grown south of the clouds, respectively, are Beijing, Tianjin, Xi’an, Xianyang, Hohhot, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou. These cities and six others have established wholesale markets specializing in selling Yunnan produce.

CHINA

China’s President Will Lead a New Effort on Cybersecurity | NYT — President Xi Jinping is presiding over a working group on security, a sign that the Communist Party views the issue as a pressing strategic concern.

In Beijing, Complaints About Smog Grow Louder and Retaliation Grows Swifter  | NYT — Anger is rising over the government’s inability to protect the nation from pollution that has made places like the capital “unsuitable for human habitation,” as a prominent think tank stated this month in a study that was swiftly censored.

Citizen Sues Local Government for Failing to Curb Air Pollution | ChinaFile — Although residents in Northern China are no strangers to dirty air, a man from the smog-enshrouded Hebei province has decided to take the local environmental authority to court for failing to control air pollution.

LinkedIn Goes to China | NYT — The social network for business is creating a Chinese-language site. LinkedIn says it may have to practice self-censorship on its growing publishing platform.

How the Internet and Social Media Are Transforming China | ChinaFile — “The Internet has radically transformed China,” said Emily Parker, author of the book Now I Know Who My Comrades Are: Voices from the Internet Underground, in a public discussion at Asia Society in New York on February 19.

Chinese authorities bust child-trafficking ring – video | Guardian — Chinese police have detained 1,094 people and rescued 382 babies in a crackdown on four online baby trafficking rings, state media reported

Many in China Can Now Have a Second Child, but Say No | NYT — A relaxing of the one-child policy will allow two children in a family when just one parent is an only child, but the cost of child-rearing has given some couples pause.

REGION

Asian Giants Look to the Arctic | Diplomat — After a lengthy courtship, China and India formalized their relationship with the Arctic Council in May 2013 by gaining admission as official observer states. China’s Academic Battle for the South China Sea | Diplomat — Beijing supports increased research on South China Sea issues as part of a soft power push for control.

BRUNEI

Brunei’s Royal Partiers May Have To Curb Their Enthusiasm | Diplomat — The introduction of Sharia Law will put an end to the alcohol-fueled soirees enjoyed by Brunei’s rich.

CAMBODIA

Getting Stares on the Streets of Cambodia: Buses for the Masses | NYT — Phnom Penh is experimenting with a public transportation system, beginning with 10 buses, in a program underwritten by the Japanese government.

Minimum maximum | SEA Globe — Recent violence in Cambodia linked to protests over wage levels underlines the struggle between workers, governments and business owners

Treasured islands | SEA Globe — Beauty and a burly sea captain await passengers sailing Cambodia’s Koh Rong archipelago

INDONESIA

Indonesia’s South China Sea Options | Diplomat — Indonesia has the potential to defend its maritime interests, but for now it will need a partner.

Climate Change Could Lead to the Disappearance of 1,500 Indonesian Islands | Diplomat — Rising seas could swallow as many as 1,500 of Indonesia’s islands by 2050, according to a report from the Maplecroft Climate Change Vulnerability Index. It stated that Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport could be underwater as soon as 2030 if the current rate of global warming persists.

Oscar-Nominated Documentary Scrapes at Raw Wound in Indonesia | Irrawaddy — A chilling documentary about one of the worst massacres since World War Two is up for an Academy Award this weekend. If it does win, don’t expect the Indonesian co-director to go on stage to receive an Oscar: he’s worried for his life.

MALAYSIA

‘Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick’: What is Malaysia Playing At? | Diplomat — Malaysia and China have had maritime run-ins with mixed results. What is Malaysia’s endgame in the South China Sea?

Malaysian Prime Minister: One in 10 Citizens Pay Their Taxes | Diplomat — Prime Minister Najib Razak announced yesterday that only one out of every 10 Malaysians pay their taxes. Najib, who is also the country’s finance minister, warned that lost tax revenue could force the government to borrow money to pay a steadily increasing number of civil servants.

MYANMAR/BURMA

Myanmar’s Census Controversy | Diplomat — Myanmar is scheduled to hold a census next month but local and international monitoring groups are worried that it could inflame ethnic and religious tensions in the country.

At the mercy of the winds | SEA Globe — Artisans fear their skills won’t survive the onslaught of time and increasing modernity in Myanmar

PHILIPPINES

Gimme shelter | SEA Globe — Plans for a purpose-built hamlet envision opportunity, equality and recognition for the little people of the Philippines

SINGAPORE

Fears over pace of climate change as Singapore, Malaysia battle drought | SCMP — Singapore and Malaysia are grappling with some of the driest weather they have ever seen, forcing Singapore to boost supplies of recycled water while its neighbour rations reserves amid disruptions to farming and fisheries.

Lee Hsien Loong on What Singapore Can—and Can’t—Teach China | ChinaFile — The transformation of Singapore in recent decades can offer valuable lessons to China as it reforms. In an exclusive interview with Caixin in early February, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong discussed his expectations for Singapore’s future and challenges confronting the country.

THAILAND

Bangkok Turmoil and Thailand’s Deep South | Diplomat — Prospects for peace in South Thailand recede as Bangkok plunges into political turmoil.

Thailand Headed for a Violent Ending | CFR Asia Unbound — Clashes in Thailand between anti-government protestors and security forces have intensified. This past weekend, unidentified gunmen sprayed bullets at anti-government protestors in eastern Thailand and killed a five-year-old girl, and someone apparently launched two grenade attacks in Bangkok. Since this current round of demonstrations started last November, 21 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Thailand. The country has basically functioned without an effective government now for months, the once-teflon economy is sputtering, and Thais are preparing for the violence to get worse. Crash That Kills Schoolgirls Highlights Thai Road Dangers | NYT — A bus accident that killed 15 people provides a grim corroboration for a study finding that Thailand has the world’s second-highest road fatality rate.

VIETNAM

Project blends Rotterdam knowhow with Ho Chi Minh City street smarts | Guardian — Rotterdam, with long experience in flood management, is advising Ho Chi Minh City on the development and implementation of a climate adaptation plan to help the Vietnamese city avoid disaster as sea levels rise and the frequency and severity of storms increases.

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by | February 24, 2014 · 11:36 am

Regional Roundup for Week of 2.23.2014

Just links this week – and lots of them…

EXSE FOCUS

Gunmen Wound at Least 35 at Rally in Thailand – AP Assailants in a pickup truck attacked the antigovernment rally held by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee in the province of Trat, about 180 miles east of Bangkok.//much more on the unfortunate news coming out of Thailand below

 Behind Pattern of Global Unrest, a Middle Class in Revolt – Asia Unbound For months now, protesters have gathered in the capitals of many developing nations—Turkey, Ukraine, Thailand, Venezuela, Malaysia, and Cambodia, among others—in demonstrations united by some key features. In nearly all of these places, protesters are pushing to oust presidents or prime ministers they claim are venal, authoritarian, and unresponsive to popular opinion. Nearly all of these governments, no matter how corrupt, brutal, and autocratic, actually won elections in relatively free polls. And in nearly all of these countries the vast majority of demonstrators hail from cosmopolitan areas: Kiev, Bangkok, Caracas, Istanbul, and other cities. The streets seem to be filled with very people one might expect to support democracy rather than put more nails in its coffin. // Kurlantzick’s book Democracy in Retreat is a must read.  Thankfully someone is looking through a classist lens at the perils and effects of globalization

 Kerry Implores Indonesia on Climate Change Peril – NYT Secretary of State John Kerry said Indonesia’s failure to act would jeopardize its resources, damage its economy and put much of the capital under water.

Assessing John Kerry’s Visit to Jakarta – Asia Unbound Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit this weekend (U.S. time) to Jakarta was brief, packed into his whirlwind Asia trip. His short stay in Jakarta was understandable—I think Kerry, despite criticism that he has focused too much on the Middle East, has put in enough of the face time in Asia to justify his claim that he has continued the administration’s policy of re-engagement with Southeast Asia. The fact that Kerry chose to give a speech in front of an audience of students at a cultural center highlighted some of the American embassy in Jakarta’s soft power efforts in the archipelago. And I certainly would agree with most of what Kerry said in his speech on climate change and the threat of global warming—that climate change is a near-apocalyptic threat to the world, that the science about global warming is settled, that Indonesia is one of the developing nations most likely to be affected by climate change, that global warming could prove a death blow to many parts of the archipelago.

Chinese Ask Kerry to Help Tear Down a Firewall – NYT Meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry, a group of Chinese bloggers appealed to the United States to take up the cause of Internet freedom.

 McDonald’s Opens in Vietnam, Bringing Big Mac to Fans of Banh Mi – NYT The fast-food giant is opening its first restaurant in the country, which some see as one of Asia’s last consumer markets with significant untapped potential.

After Winding Odyssey, Tibetan Texts Find Home in China – NYT An American scholar’s trove of 12,000 Tibetan-language texts has a new home, a lavishly decorated library on the campus of the Southwest University for Nationalities in Chengdu, China.

 The Red Chains of Bureaucracy That ‘Torment’ Chinese – NYT A politician in the southern city of Guangzhou has listed more than 100 documents the average citizen needs in a lifetime, arguing that China’s bureaucracy is too tortuous. His proposal for streamlining has been met with approval.

Yes, cats and dogs are special – they deserve our protection in China – The Guardian Pets are still being stolen and slaughtered for their meat, but old ideas are changing. There’s no welcome like it when To Zhai and Muppet come hurtling towards me, after I return home to our bear rescue centre in Chengdu, Sichuan province. These incredibly sociable and outgoing dogs have, thankfully, forgotten that they were both once destined for the dinner table in China.

 PLA Officer: China Must Establish South China Sea ADIZ – The Diplomat A Chinese military officer has said that establishing a South China Sea ADIZ is necessary to China’s national interest.

 China Is Not 1914 Germany – The Diplomat Some critical differences render any comparison badly flawed.

 Japan, ASEAN Discuss Defense Exports, Disaster Relief Cooperation – The Diplomat Japanese and ASEAN officials met to discuss potential Japanese defense exports.

Try Procrastination and Prevarication – Banyan NEGOTIATIONS for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which enter a crucial phase this weekend with a ministerial meeting in Singapore, seem to take place in two parallel universes. In one, the 12 countries pursuing this ambitious “21st-century” plurilateral free-trade agreement, including America and Japan (but not China) and representing 40% of the world’s GDP and one-third of its trade, came tantalisingly close to meeting their deadline of finalising the deal last year, and are now one last big push—perhaps in the next few days—away from success. In the other, TPP talks are bogged down in intractable disagreements on the most fundamental issues. The notion that it might be signed—let alone implemented—in the near future seems a delusion.

Chinese Netizens (Still) Love ‘House of Cards’ – TLN “Everyone in China who works on this level pays who they need to pay.” Mild spoiler alert: These are the words of the fictitious Xander Feng, an influential Chinese billionaire on the Netflix series “House of Cards,” a show that follows the machinations of U.S. Representative (and later Vice President) Frank Underwood to agglomerate power and crush whoever stands in his way. The phrase is also now viral on the Chinese Internet, which has proven surprisingly hospitable to the show’s second season, which debuted on February 14. Despite having its arguably Sinophobic moments—in addition to Feng-as-villain, the show depicts a Stateside Chinese businessman hiring both male and female sex workers, and a U.S. casino laundering Chinese money to fund a Congressional SuperPAC—the show has Chinese social media users applauding what they believe is a largely accurate depiction of Chinese palace politics

China in ‘House of Cards’ – ChinaFile China figures heavily in the second season of the Netflix series House of Cards, but how accurately does the show portray U.S.-China relations? Steven Jiang, a journalist for CNN in Beijing, binged-watched all thirteen recently-released web-only episodes over the weekend. Donald Clarke, professor of Chinese law at George Washington University, responded to our query saying we’d reached his “inner nerd.” Jiang and Clarke started us off putting the lie to Hollywood’s portrayal of U.S.-China relations, and were followed by Kaiser Kuo, Director of International Communications for Chinese search engine Baidu and co-host of the Sinica Podcast, and by Evan Osnos, staff writer at The New Yorker.

Chinese Censors Have Kept Their Hands Off ‘House of Cards’ – NYT The absence of censorship for the Chinese broadcast of the series is somewhat surprising, and it may indicate a more relaxed approach toward the newer medium of online television show imports.

Chinese thriller wins best film and best actor prizes at Berlin festival – The Guardian Asian films take limelight with best actor and best actress prizes but Richard linklater wins best director for Boyhoo

 Party chief: Yunnan ’embracing a new era of environmental protection’ – GoKunming The most powerful government official in Yunnan, Party Secretary Qin Guangrong (秦光荣), delivered a speech last week in which he at times bluntly addressed many of the environmental concerns facing the province. Although Qin was, perhaps expectedly, speaking in broad terms, he did mention specific goals and characterized environmental issues as the top priority currently facing the province. His opening remarks set the tone for a surprisingly frank monologue.//Believe it when we see it.

 Dawei Awaits Its Destiny – Irawaddy U Aung Myint, a community leader from Mudu village, stands next to a meter-long, gold-colored footprint with 108 Buddhist signs that was carved on a large boulder many centuries ago. “We believe that the Buddha visited here and that this is his left footprint,” he said. The relic, around which a pagoda has been constructed, is part of the heritage of the ethnic Dawei people, who have lived in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region since the 8th century. The ancient artifact gave the cluster of villages on this remote coastal plain its local name: Nabule. “The Pali word for left foot is Nabule,” U Aung Myint explained.//The Dawei port is a game changer in geo-politics, trade routes and regional relations.  It’s a way for Burma to wean itself further from China and for Thailand to emerge as a stronger regional player.

Overshooting in Emerging Markets – Project Syndicate In the last few years, investors, policymakers, and businesses have been devoting considerable attention to the so-called “middle-income trap.” As a result, emerging markets’ downside risks are increasingly shaping the consensus forecast – a poor basis for investment and policy decisions.

 

ON THE DALAI LAMA’S VISIT TO THE WHITE HOUSE

What Can the Dalai Lama’s White House Visit Actually Accomplish? – ChinaFile On February 21, the Dalai Lama visited United States President Barack Obama in the White House over the objections of the Chinese government. Beijing labels the exiled spiritual leader a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who seeks to use violence to free Tibet from Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959, disavows the use of violence and says he only wants autonomy for Tibetans. He and Obama previously met in February 2010 and July 2011.

On Lamas in the White House… – The Granite Studio Most Chinese are well aware of the “Western” perspective on Tibet and are understandably prickly about the kinds of epithets used to describe Chinese control over the region. I’m not advocating that we (as in the “West”) need to sugarcoat what is happening in Tibet so that our Chinese friends can feel warm and fuzzy, but the habit of talking AT the Chinese about Tibet is likely no less productive in the long run than the Chinese PR ‘strategy’ outlined in this article.

 China denounces Barack Obama’s meeting with Dalai Lama – The Guardian Beijing says White House meeting is ‘gross interference in Chinese politics’ and will damage China-US relations. Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House on Friday, despite objections from China, which has warned that the meeting would inflict grave damage on Sino-American relations.

 China denounces Barack Obama’s meeting with Dalai Lama – The Guardian Beijing says White House meeting is ‘gross interference in Chinese politics’ and will damage China-US relations. Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House on Friday, despite objections from China, which has warned that the meeting would inflict grave damage on Sino-American relations.

Obama Walks Tightrope With Dalai Lama Meeting – The Diplomat Obama did just enough to avoid retaliation by Beijing for his meeting with the Dalai Lama.

China Criticizes Obama Over Visit by Dalai Lama – NYT In contrast to previous meetings, the White House seemed unruffled by the diplomatic repercussions of the meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader.

 

CHINA

Beijing Official Detained in Investigation of Former Security Chief – NYT The investigation, centered on the former head of law and order policy, reaches a secretive realm in China’s leadership.

Chinese Officials Widen Campaign Against Vices – NYT The operation appears intended to send a message similar to the so-called anticorruption campaign promoted by President Xi Jinping

Manufacturing Activity Contracts Again in China – REUTERS The slowdown at factories has unsettled markets, although the decline may have reflected in part the annual Lunar New Year holiday.

China Investigating Qualcomm’s Pricing – REUTERS The American chip maker is suspected of overcharging and abusing its market position, the Chinese anti-monopoly regulator said.

Nobel Winner’s Frank Advice to China’s Leadership – NYT To make the transition to a high-income economy, A. Michael Spence calls for bolstering domestic demand and exposing state firms to more market pressure

Taiwan and China Edge Ever Closer – NYT But many Taiwanese prefer the status quo over future unification.

Hunter Gross: What Did China and Taiwan’s Historic Talks Accomplish? Asia Unbound The four-day visit between Zhang Zhijun, director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) and Wang Yu-chi, chairman of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), has been described as “historic,” “a turning point in relations,” and “unimaginable.” But the meeting is not unprecedented. In recent years, several encounters between Chinese and Taiwanese representatives have led to this moment. This meeting, however, serves as a symbolic affirmation of the relatively stable status quo that benefits both Beijing and Taipei. To be sure, from a diplomatic standpoint, this is the first official meeting between China and Taiwan since the end of the civil war in 1949. Despite the media hype, however, this is unlikely to bring about any substantial changes in cross-strait relations, and a dramatic change was not necessarily the goal.

China’s Fear Strategy – Project Syndicate Not long ago, China was a soft-power juggernaut, seemingly content to allow its own example of success to speak for itself. Today, China, like many large countries, is allowing its internal political battles to shape how it interacts with others, especially with neighbors whose sensitivities it seems entirely willing to ignore.

China vows to hunt down officials who sheltered Liu Han’s ‘mafia gang’ – The Guardian Authorities to punish Sichuan officials who protected former mining tycoon Liu Han and his gang during ’10-year crime spree.’ Chinese authorities will hunt down the officials who gave protection to a “mafia-style” gang run by a former mining magnate charged with crimes ranging from murder to gun-running.  Liu Han – the former chairman of Hanlong Mining, which attempted to take over Australia’s Sundance Resources Ltd – led his gang on a crime spree for more than a decade in China’s south-western province of Sichuan, state media said.

Chinese government sacks Dongguan police chief over prostitution scandal – The Guardian Yan Xiaokang removed from posts of police chief and vice mayor following televised report into underground sex industry. The Chinese government has sacked the police chief of Dongguan following a report by the main state broadcaster,China Central Television (CCTV), on the underground sex industry there, the Xinhua news agency has reported.

China Will Have to Face a Stronger US-Japan Alliance – The Diplomat Despite its wish for a new type of relationship with the US, China will face a stronger US-Japan alliance in coming years.

China: The Insecure Global Power – The Diplomat Faced with growing expectations, China’s foreign policy is actually becoming more insecure.

Local-government debt: Bridging the fiscal chasm – The Economist CHINA’S provincial administrations are often referred to as “local” governments. But the phrase does not do them justice. The province of Guangdong, for example, boasts more than 105m people and a GDP worth more than $1 trillion. Only 11 countries (including China itself) have a bigger population and only 15 have a larger economy.Equally impressive is the scale of provincial debts. At the end of 2013 China’s national auditor revealed that the liabilities of local governments had grown to 10.9 trillion yuan ($1.8 trillion) by the middle of last year, or 17.9 trillion yuan if various debt guarantees were added.

Academic freedom: Don’t think, just teach – The Economist A MOTTO of Peking University, one of China’s leading academic institutions, is “freedom of thought and an all-embracing attitude”. But in recent months it was not all-embracing enough to allow Xia Yeliang, an outspoken economics professor, to keep his job. Economics was not the subject on which Mr Xia was most forthright. He was a signatory of Charter 08, a petition drawn up in 2008 that called for sweeping political change, and he was known for his liberal political views.

 Pollution Tax Suggested for Wealthy Chinese Fleeing for Greener Pastures – ChinaDialogue Environmental problems have become an important factor causing the rich to leave China—but one academic has now suggested that they should first pay an environmental levy. Chen Guoen, a professor at Wuhan University, said that some Western investment-for-citizenship schemes are tempting China’s rich to emigrate and enjoy cleaner air. According to Chen, China should respond by imposing an environmental restoration levy on those leaving—their accumulation of wealth will have had environmental consequences, and they should not be allowed to take that money and run.

Yunnan province increasingly feeding China’s hungry north – GoKunming China’s ever-growing cities need food, massive amounts of it, and are often unable to grow enough locally. One of many attempts to address this problem was implemented in 2011, when a program designed to send produce grown in the country’s less populated west to teaming cities elsewhere in China was instituted. An article originally published in the Spring City Evening News, and then redistributed nationally by Xinhua, reports the initiative has proved successful enough to warrant further expansion and investment.

 

REGION

Asylum Fraud in Chinatown: Industry of Lies – NYT More Chinese immigrants seek asylum than any other immigrant group in the country, and most of them apply from New York, where federal officials regard the applicant pool with suspicion.

U.S. Army Seeks Better Ties With China’s Military – NYT As tensions rise between China and other Asian nations, a top U.S. general is working on improving contacts with China’s military.’ v:shapes=”_x0000_i1026″>

 Ecuador pursued China oil deal while pledging to protect Yasuni, papers show – The Guardian Negotiations took place while the country sought funds to forgo oil exploitation in pristine forest under the Yasuni-ITT scheme. The Ecuadorian government was negotiating a secret $1bn deal with a Chinese bank to drill for oil under the Yasuni national park in the Amazon while pursuing a high-profile scheme to keep the oil under the ground in return for international donations, according to a government document seen by the Guardian.

Wealthy Chinese buyers are making Sydney’s housing problem worse – The Guardian Last year median house prices in Sydney rose by 15%, and in some suburbs by up to 27%. Cash pouring in from foreign investors is one of the drivers of this change.

 A U.S.-China Summit Diplomacy Rivalry – The Diplomat With a new summit this year, the U.S. can begin to compete with China for influence in Africa

China Offers To Finance 30 Percent Of Indian Infrastructure Spending Through 2017 – The Diplomat The offer would see $300 billion of Chinese funding flow into India through 2017.

 America and China’s Perception Problems – The Diplomat Around the world China is increasingly seen as the bully while the U.S. seems more and more irresolute.

Closing the Distance: Investing in the Pacific Transport Sector – ADB Island countries in the Pacific need a strong transport sector to support economic growth. ADB’s transport strategy in the region focuses on improving access to markets and social services and building integrated transport systems.

Lee Hsien Loong on What Singapore Can—and Can’t—Teach China – Caixin As one of the Four Asian Tigers, Singapore is known for its strong economy and orderly society. The city-state, with its population of 5.3 million people, is listed by the World Bank as fourth in the world in terms of per capita income. As a regional business hub, it is lauded for its sound business reputation and the transparency of its government. Singapore has also been something of an example for China over the past three decades. A visit by Deng Xiaoping in 1978 provided inspiration for China’s reform and opening up.

Asia’s New Security Trifecta – Project Syndicate Winter is India’s diplomatic high season, with the cool, sunny weather forming an ideal backdrop for pageantry. But this winter has been particularly impressive, with leaders from Japan and South Korea joining Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to advance the cause of security cooperation in Asia.

A Clear Case for Golden Rice – Project Syndicate In some environmental circles, blanket opposition to genetically modified organisms is like taking a loyalty oath – dissidents are regarded as traitors in league with the evil biotech industry. It is time to move beyond such a narrowly ideological stance.

The Davos Apocalypse – Project Syndicate At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos last month, leading participants called for a rapid shift to cleaner energy to tackle climate change. There was something unsettling about the global power elite jetting into an exclusive Swiss ski resort and telling the rest of the world to stop using fossil fuels.

India’s disappearing glaciers – The Third Pole The base camp of the Chhota Shigri glacier –  one of the few glaciers monitored regularly in the Indian Himalayas –  stands amidst stones, where once ice flowed 50 metres thick.  The Chhota Shigri glacier is one of three glaciers that has been monitored regularly in the Indian Himalayas over the past decades. (Photo by Ranvir Singh). The Chhota Shigri base camp offers a breath-taking view of the northern ridge of the Pir Panjal range in the Indian Himalayas that reach up to 6,500 metres (21,325 feet). Lateral moraines, the accumulation of boulders and stone deposited by a glacier, form parallel ridges about 50 metres high and 170 metres wide.

 

CAMBODIA

Cambodians board Phnom Penh’s first public buses in more than a decade – The Guardian Authorities hope road users will swap motorbikes taxis for buses to ease congestion on city’s traffic-clogged roads. Motorcycles, cars, tuk-tuks and the humble rickshaw dominate its traffic-clogged roads, but Phnom Penh has a new weapon in the fight against chronic congestion – its first public buses in more than a decade. Cambodia’s transport system lags behind many of its south-east Asian neighbours, which long ago resorted to public vehicles to ease gridlocked roads in major cities.

Getting Stares on the Streets of Cambodia: Buses for the Masses – NYT Phnom Penh is experimenting with a public transportation system, beginning with 10 buses, in a program underwritten by the Japanese government.’ v:shapes=”_x0000_i1030″>

 Mending hearts – SEA Globe At SL Factory in Phnom Penh, young women sort through piles of blue jeans; their colourful clothes strike a contrast against the steel tables and grey walls. Down a corridor, geysers of steam erupt from massive steel washing machines. Pairs of young men wheel plastic carts of soggy garments, some eventually to be sold in Gap and H&M stores around the world, to the drying room. A man stares into the distance, his mind thick with imagination. Behind him, sheets of scalding water begin to leak from the metal hatch of his washing machine. He jumps and hits a button to release the pressure.

 

LAOS

Young Laotians Learn Chinese to Improve Job Prospects – NYT Many Chinese schools have sprung up in towns along the Laos-China border, and the schools in Vientiane are gaining popularity.

Tomorrow’s Women Water Leaders in Lao PDR – ADB Scholarships for young women in Lao People’s Democratic Republic are helping today’s students become tomorrow’s water leaders.

 

MYANMAR/BURMA

Myanmar: Signs of Unrest Raise Alarms – REUTERS

Burmese Refugees in Thailand Are Running out of Options – Irawaddy Win Myint and his two younger sisters fled Burma in June 2011, after months of harassment by plainclothes officers because of a documentary about the Burmese army featuring their exiled younger brother, a former soldier who later spent 15 years in jail for his pro-democracy activism. The officers accused them of distributing the film and warned them they could be jailed. “They told us not to go anywhere overnight. They also followed me to places I gave tuition. They accused our younger brother of trying to break the unity of the armed forces,” said Win Myint, speaking by phone from Umpiem Mai refugee camp in northern Thailand. “We didn’t feel safe,” said Myint, a 63-year-old former teacher and a Muslim.

At the mercy of the winds –  SEA Globe Artisans fear their skills won’t survive the onslaught of time and increasing modernity in Myanmar. Hpan Myay Hman Myay can’t quite remember his age. “More than 60, but not yet 70,” he says, sitting in the shade of a rust-ravaged roof. In the more than 1.5 hectares that surround him, the fruits of his labour for more than 60, but not yet 70 years, are scattered, piled high on the damp soil and half-hidden under leaf litter and sprouting shrubs encroaching on this hidden treasure. It is here, on the outskirts of Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, that Hpan Myay Hman Myay joined his father in Myanmar’s first hand-blown glass factory.

Poppy replacement in Shan State will take time, money – DVB In eastern Burma, efforts are underway to hamper opium production in Shan State, which, combined with adjacent parts of Laos and Thailand, produces a staggering 18 percent of the world’s opiates. Crop substitution schemes currently being implemented in three townships are unlikely to spread to other areas without a cash injection.

Anti-corruption commission to be formed – DVB President Thein Sein proposed on Thursday that a commission be formed to begin tackling corruption in Burma. In a letter to the Chairman of the Union Parliament, Thein Sein recommended 15 members; five were selected by the president, five by the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) and five by the Amyotha Hluttaw (upper house).

Development needed to ensure peace: KPC – DVB Brig-Gen Timothy Laklem of the Karen National Union Peace Council (KPC), an offshoot of the Karen National Union (KNU), has said that peace with Naypyidaw will only be possible once poverty has been reduced in Karen State. “Ethnic leaders are much more likely to sign the [nationwide ceasefire] agreement if there is a guarantee for people’s development,” Timothy Laklem said at a press conference in Rangoon on Thursday.

 Govt urged to settle land grab claims by September – DVB The Burmese Parliament on Thursday called on relevant government bodies to implement settlement claims over land confiscation cases by September at the latest, though the number of cases remains disputed.

From Jade Land to a Wasteland – Irawaddy “They eat up the hills like they’re devouring cakes. Hills three or four hundred feet high are completely flattened, or even turned into holes 300 feet deep. Where there used to be mountains, now there are lakes,” said U Cho, a resident of Hpakant, a town in Kachin State famed for its jade mines. Like many others in the area, U Cho is a jade dealer. But even he struggles to comprehend the scale of the destruction wrought by the jade mines here.

Manufacturing Could Start in Burma’s Thilawa Zone in Mid-2015 – Irawaddy RANGOON — About 40 foreign manufacturers are interested in setting up in the Thilawa economic zone being developed with Japanese help outside Burma’s main city, Rangoon, and commercial operations could start in mid-2015, a Burmese official said. Burma has opened up since a quasi-civilian government took office in 2011 after decades of military dictatorship and foreign firms are looking to benefit from cheap labor and a virgin market in thriving Southeast Asia.

 

MALAYSIA

Malaysian Restaurants Busted for Putting Endangered Species on the Dinner Menu – The Diplomat Special Valentine’s Day courses offered flying fox, civet and pangolin meat among others.

 

THAILAND

Court in Thailand Limits Crackdown on Protesters – NYT The Bangkok court barred the authorities from dispersing protesters one day after violent clashes left five people dead.

Economic Growth in Thailand Cools to 0.6% – NYT The unrest that has shaken Thailand since November is taking a potentially lasting toll on the country’s economy, just when regional growth over all is facing headwinds.

Thailand unrest: court prohibits use of force against protesters – The Guardian Two government orders deemed unconstitutional as violent protests continue against PM Yinluck Shinawatra. A Thai court has ordered the government not to use force against anti-government protesters after clashes between riot police and demonstrators left five dead and nearly 70 wounded.

Four killed as Thai police clash with protesters in Bangkok – The Guardian Reports of multiple gunshots from both sides as authorities attempt to clear protest sites around government offices. Four people have been killed and more than 60 injured in Bangkok after a gun battle erupted between police and anti-government protesters who have spent the past month calling for an end to the current regime.

Thailand protesters besiege temporary government HQ – The Guardian Hundreds of protesting rice farmers breach perimeter of military compound used by Yingluck Shinawatra’s mobile government. Thai opposition demonstrators have surrounded government offices – including a compound used as a temporary headquarters by the prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra – in defiance of authorities who have vowed to reclaim key state buildings.

Protests in Thailand: Stagnant revolution – The Economist AS ARMED police moved in to clear an opposition protest site in central Bangkok on February 18th, it appeared that the gridlock that has paralysed the city for three months might be reaching a dénouement. Four protesters and one policemen were killed and dozens injured in the clashes that followed. But carnage did not lead to catharsis. Just a day later, a civil court ruled that police could not break up any more demonstrations.On the same day the election commission cancelled polls that had been rescheduled for April after a widespread opposition boycott of a general election on February 2nd.

Last gatekeepers – Banyan A HANDWRITTEN piece of paper affixed to one of the entrance gates of Government House reads: “Get out (of) this land”. There, sandbags and a barricade of rubber tyres fortified with razor wire protect the young men who, bucketful by bucketful, are raising a cement wall. They are sealing off the office of the prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, so that she cannot return “in this life or the next”. The arrival of food, energy drinks and more cement bags suggests that they are serious. No one will rule Thailand from here, or from anywhere else for that matter, at least for a while.

 

PHILIPPINES 

The Philippines social workers who are still battling typhoon Yolanda – The Guardian Rory Truell, secretary-general of the International Federation of Social Workers, visits Filipino social workers who put their personal losses aside to support their community. The peoples of the Philippines know about hardship, surviving poverty and resilience. Despite enduring the same terrible conditions as other survivors, the social workers in Tacloban carried on doing their jobs – supporting people in restoring their lives.

15,000 Donated Boats to Replace Those Lost in Philippine Super Typhoon – The Diplomat Also: Husband joins search for missing Japanese diver in Bali, peat fires rage in Malaysia.

 

VIETNAM

UK warned that aid to Vietnam inadvertently supports death penalty – The Guardian Charities link British funding for UN anti-heroin initiatives with executions for drug-smuggling in the country. The UK’s decision to send millions of pounds in aid to Vietnam has been called into question after the country confirmed that it is to execute 30 heroin smugglers.

Bird feeders – Banyan LAPPY BIRD is a wildly popular game played on smartphones. As well as being compulsively playable, it is also frustratingly difficult: the bird has a habit of dying at the slightest slip of the index finger. To cap it all, this month its Vietnamese creator, Nguyen Ha Dong, suddenly withdrew the game from download sites such as Google Play and Apple’s App Store. Vietnam’s budding tech industry has come a long way in the last decade, but the withdrawal points to how far it still has to go.

Hyper-super hype? – Banyan ON FEBRUARY 8th Vietnam’s first McDonald’s opened with great fanfare in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s business capital. The event was rich in both saturated fat and historical irony: the outlet, a potent symbol of American capitalism, sits in a city that was, until 1975, a key outpost in America’s struggle against communism. The company’s local franchisee, a Harvard-educated, Vietnamese-American tech tycoon, is the son-in-law of Nguyen Tan Dung, the prime minister, who presides over a nominally communist nation.

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Filed under Current Events, NEWS DIGEST, SLIDER, Uncategorized

by | February 18, 2014 · 3:11 pm

Regional Roundup for Week of 2.14.14

Happy Valentine’s Day from East by Southeast! Just links this week.

ExSE FOCUS

China to Reward Localities for Improving Air Quality | NYT — The financial incentives illustrate how difficult it has been for China’s leadership to get companies and government officials to comply with environmental regulations.

Pollution making Beijing hazardous place to live, says Chinese report | The Guardian — Severe pollution in Beijing has made the Chinese capital “barely suitable” for living, according to an official Chinese report, as the world’s second largest economy tries to reduce often hazardous levels of smog caused by decades of rapid growth.

Chinese villagers attack factory after reports of polluting | The Guardian — Residents of Baha, a village in Yunnan province, said they had grown increasingly angry over a local metalwork factory that had been coughing up black smoke and discharging polluted wastewater into the rural area. After the factory’s boss refused to meet with villagers last week, they smashed cars, equipment, offices and dormitories.

DealBook: U.S. Targets Buyers of China-Bound Luxury Cars | NYT — Federal prosecutors in six states have filed actions against businesses that buy luxury cars at domestic dealerships and then send them to China.

The Limbo of Asian Markets | NYT — The global currency crisis has forced markets to confront weak commodity exports before strong domestic demand can help them recover their balance.

China’s Trade Growth Beats Forecasts | NYT — Chinese exports handily beat expectations in January, rising 10.6 percent from a year earlier, while imports jumped 10 percent.

A shot in the dark | SEA Globe — A ceasefire agreement between ethnic rebels and the government has paved the way for tourists to enter the isolated Karen state in Myanmar.

CHINA

UBS Suspends 2 Bankers in China Hiring Investigation | NYT — UBS has placed two bankers on leave as it investigates its hiring the daughter of the chairman of a Chinese chemicals company that is considering a share sale the bank has sought a role in.

As U.S. Aims for Energy Independence, China Heads the Opposite Way | NYT — China’s reliance on imported oil is rising fast, according to a new study by a government research institute.

China’s Big Overseas Spending Spree | The Diplomat — While the Chinese government uses its vast financial resources to secure Beijing’s interests abroad, wealthy private Chinese citizens and corporations are on an international buying frenzy.

World Briefing: Earthquake Strikes Remote Area of China | NYT — A mountainous part of the Xinjiang region in far western China was hit by an intense earthquake on Wednesday, but officials said the area was isolated and thinly populated and there were no initial reports of deaths.

In Restive Remote China, Uighurs’ Piety and Peace | NYT — A photographer ventured to Xinjiang Province, where tensions seethe between the Muslim Uighur minority and the majority Han Chinese, and made pictures only a quiet, unobtrusive observer could.

China’s Lunar Rover Reported to Be Malfunctioning | NYT — The moon mission carries important symbolic significance for China, and was seen by space experts as a precursor to more ambitious lunar operations by a country that also seeks to have a small space station afloat within a decade.

Tapping Into a Growing Trend in China | NYT — The market for private jets is increasing as regulations ease and wealth spreads.

A Breathtaking View from Above Shanghai | NYT — A pair of Russian thrill-seekers climbed to the top of the Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China, and shot this video.

REGION

Nanjing Meeting Leads to Pledge of Cross-Strait Communications | NYT — The chief outcome of the meeting between officials of Taiwan and mainland China, the first since 1949, was an agreement to set up a mechanism for regular communications between the two sides.

US Challenges China’s Nine-Dash Line Claim | Diplomat — In a clear policy shift, Washington is now challenging the basis of China’s claim to most of the South China Sea.

Dengue Fever on the Rise in Southeast Asia | Diplomat — Malaysia could experience its worst ever outbreak as the region explores a honey-based treatment.

Singapore Braces for Haze Ahead of Indonesian Burn | Diplomat — Indonesia will begin its slash-and-burn campaign ahead of schedule this year, prompting warnings from both the Singaporean government and Asia’s second-largest pulp and paper producer.

Why Rice Is Heating Up Politics in Thailand and the Philippines | Diplomat — A failed farming subsidy and rice smuggling have led to political discontent in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam and China: A Dangerous Incident | Diplomat — A new Chinese documentary offers startling revelations from a 2007 confrontation in the South China Sea.

CAMBODIA

Fears over human rights in Cambodia as crackdown on protests continues | The Guardian — After months of protests, which were largely tolerated by the government, human rights in Cambodia have deteriorated rapidly this year. A ban on public assembly has been implemented in the capital, Phnom Penh, and enforced by untrained “public order officers”, who are armed with batons and electric cattle prods.

Mending hearts | SEA Globe — Cambodia’s garment factories are synonymous with hard work, long hours and low wages. But among the assembly lines and dusty backstreets, couples are falling in love.

INDONESIA

Indonesian Arms Industry Seeks to Drum Up Business | NYT — President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has vowed to modernize the country’s military and has nearly quadrupled the state arms budget.

Mount Kelud Eruption: Indonesian Authorities Rush to Evacuate More Than 200,000 | Diplomat — Two eruptions on Thursday hurled ash and rock at densely populated villages in Java.

LAOS

International Education: Young Laotians Learn Chinese to Improve Job Prospects | NYT — Many Chinese schools have sprung up in towns along the Laos-China border, and the schools in Vientiane are gaining popularity.

MALAYSIA

Power Struggle in Malaysia | Diplomat — The “Allah” crisis is masking a nuanced and historic racial debate in Malaysian politics.

Malaysia Cracks Down on Political Satire | Diplomat — Comedians are coming under fire in Malaysia, where the government has decided to get tough on those who post political satire videos on the Internet.

MYANMAR/BURMA

Fair Pitches US Universities to Burma’s Young People | Irrawaddy — Representatives from more than 30 institutions of higher learning were in Burma this week for the US University Fair in Rangoon, where participants sought to lure more Burmese students to study in the United States.

No Clean Bill of Health Yet for Burma’s Anti-Money Laundering Drive | Irrawaddy —  Burma looks set to get a new law to counter money laundering soon, but the country still faces numerous challenges in curbing financial crimes.

US Exim Bank Raises Hopes in Burma With Credit Offer | Irrawaddy — Local businesses are hoping for more foreign investment in Burma, after the Export and Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) began offering credit for trade with the country last week.

PHILIPPINES

US Admiral: ‘We Would Help’ Philippines Against China | Diplomat — A U.S. admiral’s security assurance to the Philippines was not as firm as recent commitments to Japan and South Korea.

SINGAPORE

Special Report: Aviation: Covetous Scrutiny for Military Hardware in Singapore | NYT — Facing increasingly assertive Chinese territorial claims, Asian air force chiefs will be taking a close look at the military hardware on display at the Singapore Airshow.

Unaffordable cities: Singapore workers tread water on millionaires’ island | The Guardian — With 17% of city state’s residents worth S$1m, those who serve, drive and treat them may as well live on another planet.

THAILAND

Thai police arrest senior protest leader | The Guardian — Thai police made their first arrest of a senior leader of anti-government protests for violating the country’s emergency law on Monday as government officials promised to apprehend other leaders of the movement.

VIETNAM

Vietnam’s Flappy Bird Developer: It Was ‘An Addictive Product’ | Diplomat — Dong Nguyen removed the top-ranked game on Sunday, provoking death threats.

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by | February 3, 2014 · 1:17 pm

Regional Roundup for Week of 2.2.2014

Happy Spring Festival from East by Southeast!  Just links in this week’s digest.  ExSE’s writers are either off celebrating the Year of the Horse, stealthily checking polling places in Bangkok, or on visa runs to the US.

EXSE FOCUS

Thai voters prevented from casting ballot by anti-government protesters – Guardian Boycotts, blockades and violence lead to disruption or closure of polling booths, affecting about six million voters across Thailand. Tens of thousands of Thais were unable to cast their ballots on Sunday after anti-government protesters blockaded roads and commandeered polling booths in what has become an increasingly tense political standoff. //More links to Thai protests and elections analysis below – by far the biggest story in Asia this week. 

Red-shirts ‘ready to resist’ Thai army coup, set up capital in Chiang Mai – SCMP The embattled Thai government’s hardline “red-shirt” supporters in the country’s north say they are ready to resist any attempt by the military to stage a coup. Some supporters say they also expect popularly elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to retreat to Chiang Mai and set up government there if the army tries to take power in Bangkok amid ongoing anti-government demonstrations. //by ExSE contributor Tom Fawthrop

Climate change could worsen Mekong Delta woes – Third Pole Scientists say climate change will have grave impact on Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, a region already battling pollution, salinity and flooding. Vietnamese scientists say climate change will probably exacerbate existing ecological problems in the Mekong delta, such as water pollution, salinity intrusion, loss of aquatic biodiversity and rising susceptibility to flooding. Their concerns echo a 2006 warning by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that the Mekong River Delta and two others — the Ganga and the Nile — are particularly susceptible to rising sea levels.

Chinese New Year: Increasingly Traditional, Increasingly Global – The Diplomat Spring Festival celebrations in China and around the world represent the twin pulls of modernization and tradition.//Out with the snake, in with the horse. 

Chinese new year – in pictures – Guardian People around the world gather to see in the year of the horse

China Sentences Xu Zhiyong, Legal Activist, to 4 Years in Prison – NYT The case against Mr. Xu, who campaigned against corruption and injustice, was seen as a barometer of how China’s new leadership would respond to organized calls for reform.

White House Urges China to Act on Journalists’ Visas – NYT The statement was the latest public effort on behalf of reporters for Bloomberg and The New York Times thwarted in their work by visa delays.

China Appears Set to Force Times Reporter to Leave – NYT Austin Ramzy would be the second Times correspondent obliged to leave mainland China in 13 months because of an unprocessed visa application.

China denies ‘deporting’ New York Times journalist Austin Ramzy – Guardian China hits back at ‘unjustifiable accusations’ after White House press secretary said US deeply concerned by restrictions faced by foreign journalists

 Obama’s Asia rebalancing turns into a big foreign policy heachache – Guardian US effort to deepen relations with both China and its traditional Asian allies is creating a host of new problems. China and Japan are not talking any more, and the US is hardly being listened to.

On 35th Anniversary of Diplomatic Ties With U.S., China Tries to Soften Image – NYT China has moved to expand friendly cultural exchanges with the United States and promote a series of prominent collaborations in music, dance and education, particularly in New York.

Obama and G.O.P. Facing Opposition to Trade Pacts – NYT President Obama, supported by many Republicans and business groups, has met opposition from labor and many Democrats on his push for fast-track approval of trade deals with Pacific Rim nations and Europe.

Fragile economies under pressure as recovery prompts capital flight – Guardian So far this year $12bn of foreign money has fled the stock markets of emerging economies, and last week’s Fed decision will accelerate that. We look at how further loss of western funds could affect six vulnerable countries. The decision by the US Federal Reserve to further slow its programme of bond buying last week gave a clear signal of confidence in the world’s largest economy. But the scaling down of monthly purchases, by a further $10bn to $65bn, put emerging market economies under renewed pressure: currency falls and a flight of foreign capital have already placed them on the “at risk” list.

Official proposes reopening Wujiaba Airport – GoKunming Two news stories with quite different visions for Kunming’s defunct airport were published in the Yunnan press this week. One discloses initial plans for a sprawling redevelopment project on the site of Wujiaba Airport while the other reports a provincial official has proposed the now unused runways and terminals be reopened.//upcoming post on this issue soon.  Kunming’s 5th largest airport in the world has become the laughing stock of China, rife with problems in addition to expected levels of  bureaucratic idiocy

The White-haired Man-Asia Literary Review THE WHITE-HAIRED MAN cruised along the emptying thoroughfare as the falling sun swam in red over the neighbouring nation. He enjoyed the push of wind through his hair and the dampish chill of the December air on his hands as he drove his open sided wartime jeep. His wife had gone ahead in the far more modern family car.//Essay on Sombat Somphone by writer Melody Kemp

 

CHINA

China’s Communist party expels disgraced former mayor of Nanjing – Guardian Ji Jianye had earlier removed from city mayoralty amid accusations of sweeping corruption//another one bites the dust, likely one of many mayoral level/provincial head levels to lose power this year

The Chinese Military’s Toughest Opponent: Corruption – The Diplomat Is Xi Jinping willing to bring his anti-corruption drive to bear on the People’s Liberation Army?

China sets new world record for solar installations – Guardian China installed more solar energy than any other country in the world in 2013. China installed a record 12GW of solar power in 2013, doubling its rate of solar installations, according to preliminary figures. This is more than has ever been installed by any country in a single year and means that China installed three times more solar energy in 2013 than the total UK solar capacity.//Solar power can be produced by private owners and sold to the grid in China (along with wind power) but infrastructure is unstable and regulatory roadblocks prevent efficiency.

China becomes biggest market for red wine, with 1.8bn bottles sold in 2013 – Guardian Boom attributed to new urban affluence – and to Chinese fondness for lucky colour. The Chinese appear to have beaten the French at one of their own favourite pastimes – quaffing red wine. China’s drinkers knocked back 1,865bn bottles of vin rouge last year, an increase of 136% over five years, making the country the leading market for red wine.//when will we see the same report for coffee 2015? 2018?

In China, ‘Once the Villages Are Gone, the Culture Is Gone’ – NYT As village life in China disappears and its traditions fade, some fight to maintain the country’s rural cultural heritage.

Look: The Empire State Building in Ice – NYT Photos from the Harbin Ice Festival

Hong Kong Paper Ousts Top Editor, Stirring Concern – NYT Ming Pao’s history as a serious, independent paper has given it outsize influence, but it might be the latest victim of the mainland’s effort to rein in the media here.

Getting Away: A return to Shaxi – GoKunming A trip to the Yunnan countryside is often seen by tourists as a chance to see China as it once was. But rural villages attempting to bill themselves as rustic travel destinations often run up against a common problem: how can a place preserve its cultural roots and often fragile ancient architecture while at the same time accommodating an influx of camera-toting visitors?//Get there while you can, top Yunnan destination

 

REGION

Asian Markets Slip After Fed’s Decision on Stimulus – NYT Key stock indexes in Japan, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong dropped after the Federal Reserve’s announcement to continue to roll back bond purchases.

Preparing for a dengue fever vaccine: why Brazil’s ahead of the game – Guardian Six dengue vaccine candidates are in various stages of clinical development but developing countries will not receive the benefits if planning does not start now. Dengue fever is now endemic in more than 125 countries. Six vaccines are currently in clinical development and policymakers and global health leaders need to be ready for when they come on the market

US foreign policy in Latin America leaves an open door for China – Guardian  America’s ‘pivot’ to Asia along with decades of heavy-handed policy give China an opportunity to rebalance global powers

France’s truffle farmers aim to stop inferior Chinese fungi getting a sniff – Guardian Scientists use their noses to help distinguish between highly prized black truffles and cheap Chinese imports. When is a black truffle not a €1,000-a-kilo rare French fungus? When it fails the smell test.

International Ocean Drilling Expedition Heads For South China Sea – The Diplomat An international scientific ocean drilling expedition could raise the stakes in the South China Sea disputes.

The New Age of Nationalism – The Diplomat The 21st century will be defined by nationalism; not religion or culture.

Hard times for soft shells – SEA Globe Editorial Hunted for their meat or sold on to Vietnam, giant turtles cling to existence in the north of Cambodia

 

INDONESIA

Death Toll Climbs After Major Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia – NYT Toxic clouds of hot ash hampered teams looking for more victims from Saturday’s eruption at Mount Sinabung, which killed at least 15 people.

 

MYANMAR/BURMA

UN urges Burma to investigate Rohingya deaths after latest violence – Guardian UN human rights agency says it has information of 48 Muslims killed in Rakhine by Buddhist mobs, the deadliest in a year. At least 48 Muslims were killed when Buddhist mobs attacked a village in an isolated corner of western Burma earlier this month, the United Nations has said, calling on the government to carry out a swift, impartial investigation and to hold those responsible accountable.

18 Kachin villagers captured by Burmese army in Mansi – DVB Burmese government forces launched an assault on the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the village of Nam Gau in Mansi Township on Thursday, according to a mobile team of the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), which supplies medical support in the area.

Burma’s emerging women leaders – DVB Kay Thi Win was forced to drop out of high school when her father died in order to help support her mother and siblings. “I told my mother that I got a job in a factory on the Thai-Burmese border and I was going to work there,” she said. “I ended up working as a sex worker.”

Crossing the Indo-Burmese Border on Motorcycle – The Irrawaddy MOREH/TAMU — After a long and thorough inspection of our documents and various exchanges with colleagues in Naypyidaw, the white-suited immigration officer finally laid down the phone, turned towards us, broke into a huge smile, and said: “Welcome to Myanmar. We have been expecting you.”

 

PHILIPPINES

Typhoon Haiyan Communities Gradually Recovering – ADB Just over 2 months after Super Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, devastated the central Philippines, survivors in the affected areas have started the process of rebuilding their lives and their homes, as they await longer term support from the government and donors.

 

THAILAND

Thailand’s political crisis: The show staggers on – Economist IN FRONT of the Royal Thai Army Club the rump of a people’s revolution gathered to collect their reward. Inside, the prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was locked in talks with the election commission over whether to suspend a snap poll which she had called for February 2nd. Before the meeting, the commission had cited disruption and the risks of violence as reasons for delaying the poll by four months.

A symbolic exercise – Economist SO ENTRENCHED are positions on either side of Thailand’s divided polity that the outcome of the election held on February 2nd was clear long in advance. The governing Pheu Thai party of Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister, would win, if only because of a boycott by the main opposition party, the Democrats. In fact, it would win anyway. Parties loyal to Miss Yingluck’s brother, the self-exiled Thaksin Shinawatra, prime minister from 2001 until he was deposed in a coup in 2006, have won five successive elections (in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011).

Thai Voting Is Disrupted by Protesters – NYT Opposition forces vowed to contest the results of Sunday’s election, in which their efforts to block polling sites mostly affected Bangkok and areas surrounding it.

Thailand’s Democratic Way Out – NYT The only way forward is to strike a more viable balance between the majority and the minority.

Continuing Unrest Could Undermine Thailand’s Economy – NYT Companies are reconsidering investments in light of the protests and political gridlock the economy has normally shrugged off in past years.//Vietnam, Indonesia, and Myanmar will emerge as the winners of political unrest in Thailand

The colour of GDP – Economist THAILAND’S fraught political struggle invites oversimplification. The colour-coded protests suggest a crude split between the yellow-shirted rich and the red-shirted poor. Or at least, they once did: since then the red shirts have taken to wearing white and the yellows now tend to wear the national tricolour of red-white-and-blue. And on a deeper level, the divisions themselves are somewhat more subtle.

Drip, Drip, Drip: The Impact of Thailand’s Political Chaos on the Thai Economy (and the World) – Asia Unbound For months now, even as Thailand’s political crisis has escalated from street protests into daily violence, the disintegration of state institutions, and the threat of a coup, most Thai businesspeople, foreign investors, and analysts of the Thai economy have maintained a relatively positive outlook for the Thai economy this year and next. After all, as several long-time investors in Thailand have told me, the country’s economy has over decades proven extraordinarily resilient, surviving nineteen coups and attempted coups, natural disasters, the Indochina wars, and many Bangkok street protests that ended in bloodshed.

Thailand Endgame – Asia Unbound Over the weekend, Thailand’s political crisis moved closer to the ultimate endgame, which is a complete takeover by anti-government forces, both in the street and in institutions in Bangkok. Primarily pro-government Thais came out to polls across the country to vote in advance balloting, which went on without incident in much of the North and Northeast. In these places, one might have thought a normal election was proceeding. In Bangkok and parts of the South, the demonstrators blocked many polling booths, and the level of anger and violence went up a notch, if that was even possible. The Economist this weekend essentially suggests that Thailand is going to break apart. I think that’s extreme, but the situation is deteriorating out of control quite quickly.

 

VIETNAM

Zone 9, deep-sixed – Economist “WE’LL never find out what the real story was,” Nguyen Qui Duc said. In Vietnam, he explains, you never learn the real story in situations like this. Exactly one month ago, the day before I spoke with Mr Duc, city authorities had closed down Tadioto, his gallery-bar-and-performance space, along with the 60-odd other studios, galleries, boutiques, restaurants and nightclubs that made up the arts district known as Zone 9. Were the reasons political, bureaucratic

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by | January 24, 2014 · 6:32 pm

Regional Roundup for the Week of 1.24.14

This week, new reports of wealthy, well-connected Chinese stashing assets abroad contrasted with the trials of anti-corruption activists Hou Xin and Xu Zhiyong. Documents uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists traced offshore companies and investments based in the Caribbean to major figures in China’s economy and government, including state oil companies. Xi Jinping has made anti-corruption a centerpiece of new reforms introduced last fall but these new disclosures may be all the more embarassing in the context of the prosecution of members of the New Citizen’s Movement, a group which pushes for greater transparency and financial asset disclosures from officials.

A 60 day state of emergency was declared in Bangkok on Wednesday, and tensions remain high with continued violence, although general elections are still scheduled to proceed on February 2. Thailand is a popular destination for Chinese traveling abroad, especially during the upcoming Lunar New Year, but with current political unrest it seems highly likely that tourism will decrease significantly over the holiday.

ExSE FOCUS

Thai court defers decision on election postponement as protests continue | Guardian — Thailand’s constitutional court has deferred a ruling on whether a general election scheduled for 2 February can be postponed, as protesters keep up pressure on the government to step down. The prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, declared a 60-day state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas from Wednesday, hoping to prevent an escalation in the protests now in their third month.

A Leader of Pro-Government Faction Is Shot in Thailand | NYT — Kwanchai Praipana, who runs a group that supports the government, was shot a day after Thailand’s prime minister declared emergency rule.

Thai Leaders Declare State of Emergency in Bangkok | NYT — The emergency decree gives the government broad powers against protesters, but Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra seemed to be moving cautiously.

Retailers want answers from Cambodian PM over factory shootings | Guardian — Dozens of the world’s biggest clothing brands, including Adidas, Nike, H&M, Primark, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Wal-Mart, have demanded Cambodia’s prime minister explain the use of “deadly force” against striking factory workers.

Vietnam sentences 30 people to death for drug trafficking | Guardian — A Vietnamese court has sentenced 30 people to death for trafficking in heroin at the conclusion of a mass trial. State media reported the 21 men and nine women were convicted on Monday of being part of a ring that smuggled nearly two tonnes of heroin from Laos into Vietnam and then on to China.

Gone: Fishing | SEA Globe Editorial — Millions of people fish Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake and 3S (Sesan, Srepok and Sekong) rivers every day to feed their families and the nation, but mooted dam projects along the Mekong River could devastate livelihoods and threaten food security in Cambodia. The country’s next major hydropower project will be the Lower Sesan 2 dam, which will be located near the confluence of the 3S rivers and the Mekong.

China To Build World’s Largest Marine Surveillance Ship | Diplomat — China plans to build a 10,000 ton marine surveillance vessel, passing Japan’s Shikishima for the title of world’s largest.

Northeast India Anticipates Seaport | Diplomat — Come 2015, the people of northeast India will be able to use a seaport in Myanmar for transport and trade. The Sittwe port in the Bay of Bengal is expected to link Mizoram in the far east of India to the ocean through riverine transport and roadways. Construction work for jetties and other port facilities, which started in December 2010, is expected to be completed this year.

Out of the Dark Room | ChinaFile — Photographers document China’s breakneck development in fractions of a second every single day. Yet the work of Chinese photojournalists remains largely unseen outside their homeland. Of the thousands of images of the country illustrating the pages of international websites, newspapers, and magazines, most are made by photographers who come from someplace else.

CHINA

A Manufacturing Slowdown Carries Over to 2014 in China | NYT — The manufacturing sector contracted in January for the first time in six months as new orders declined, according to a preliminary survey.

Beijing to spend £76bn to improve air quality | Guardian — In an attempt to clean up the smoggy air in the Chinese capital, Beijing’s authorities have introduced a new set of measures to cut emissions and allocated 760 billion yuan (£75.8 billion) to improve the city’s air quality by 2017. The new measures will cut coal burning, limit car emissions and set yearly quotas for local governments and individual polluters. There will also be bigger fines for those found to be in violation of air pollution standards.

Real-time Air Quality Data Due from 179 Chinese Cities | ChinaFile — More than 170 cities in China have now joined a real-time air quality disclosure scheme, initiated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Launched in 2012, more than sixty cities had started publishing data from their monitoring stations by the end of that year. By January 2, 2014, 179 cities were giving real-time disclosure of air quality levels, according to a report published by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE).

Another Rights Advocate, Hou Xin, Is Tried in Beijing | NYT — Hou Xin, a former journalist who participated in a protest against official corruption, is one of at least eight activists in China being tried this week.

Report Says China’s Elite Use Offshore Companies | NYT — Leaked documents show that thousands of wealthy, well-connected Chinese have set up companies in tax-haven countries to hold assets, an investigative reporting group says.

China’s top hotels shed stars to woo austerity-hit customers | Guardian — Most luxury hotels seek to lure in new guests with the lustre of their star ratings but a clutch of Chinese establishments are hoping to win back customers by downgrading. More than 50 of the country’s five-star properties have asked to have a star removed, according to a leading hotelier, apparently due to the austerity drive that has forced officials to shun the high life.

Xinhua: China Approves 12 More Free Trade Zones | Diplomat — Xinhua, China’s state run news agency, reported Wednesday that China’s central government has approved 12 additional free trade zones (FTZs), after the initial zone opened in Shanghai in late September last year. Citing “a source with knowledge of the approval,” Xinhua said that two of the new zones will be located in the city of Tianjin and in Guangdong Province.

Shanghai Test Scores and the Mystery of the Missing Children | NYT — China’s restrictions on internal migration serve to drive migrant children out of the city as early as primary school, statistics show, and critics say that skews testing results indicating its education system’s equity and superiority.

A Popular Chinese Social Networking App Blazes Its Own Path | NYT — Weixin, a fast-growing app from the Chinese Internet company Tencent, is no mere copy of any existing service, and its success may thwart Facebook’s ambitions in China.

China Exports Pollution to U.S., Study Finds | NYT — Emissions from China’s export industries are carried across the Pacific and contribute to air pollution in the Western United States, according to a paper.

China could lose millions of hectares of farmland to pollution | Guardian — Millions of hectares of agricultural land in China could be withdrawn from production because of severe heavy-metal pollution, according to a Chinese agriculture official.

Chinese Internet Traffic Redirected to Small Wyoming Building | NYT — On Tuesday, a large portion of Internet traffic in China was redirected to a small 1,700-square-foot house in Cheyenne, Wyo.

When Chinese TV Rips Off The Colbert Report | The Atlantic — He may be an award-winning satirist in the United States, but in China, even Stephen Colbert is not beyond parody: A provincial TV channel in the country has produced a show that borrows rather liberally from the popular American program.

REGION

Japan’s Leader Compares Strain With China to Germany and Britain in 1914 | NYT — The blunt remarks, which concurred with others made recently by prominent historians, provoked an angry response from Beijing.

Indonesia sentences militant over Burma embassy plot | Guardian — An Indonesian court has sentenced an Islamist militant to seven-and-a-half years in prison for masterminding a plot to attack the Burmese embassy in Jakarta.

Who are the new middle classes around the world? You’d be surprised how poor some are | Paul Mason | Guardian — The International Labour Organisation has identified a rapid growth of ‘the developing middle class’ – a group earning between $4 and $13 a day. When a million people swarmed on to the streets of Brazil last June there was consensus that the protest was a phenomenon of the “new middle class” – squeezed by corruption and failing infrastructure. As the Thai protests continue, these too are labelled middle class: office workers staging flashmobs in their neat, pressed shirts. But what does middle class mean in the developing world? About 3 billion people earn less than two dollars a day, but figures for the rest are hazy.

INDONESIA

World Briefing | Asia: Indonesia: Leader Expresses Support for Abused Maid | NYT — President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono joined thousands of Indonesian migrant workers abroad and at home on Tuesday in expressing outrage at the alleged torture of an Indonesian maid by her Hong Kong employer.

Popular Indonesian Twitter Users Can Get Paid to Tweet Ads | Diplomat — Jakarta is not only the capital of Indonesia – it has also been named the “world’s tweet capital.” The social network’s popularity has led to some lucrative opportunities for Indonesia’s most followed users. “Anyone with more than 2,000 followers can get paid at least $21 to tweet during rush hour, when most Indonesians are stuck in traffic and (apparently) glued to their mobiles,” said Quartz.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia’s Kangkung Meme | Diplomat — Prime Minister Najib Razak’s gaffe involving the humble green veggie has become a rallying cry for the opposition.

MYANMAR/BURMA

U.N. Says Muslims Were Massacred in Tense Myanmar Region | NYT — Human rights groups say that with this latest round of anti-Muslim violence, Myanmar’s government appears to be trying to cover up the problem.

Myanmar Stumbles on Press Freedom | Diplomat — A little over a year after the much-heralded lifting of censorship for Myanmar media, journalists worry that murky intimidation tactics have replaced the censorship board, with true press freedom remaining elusive.

BarCamp Organizers Hope for Another Record Turnout in Burma | Irrawaddy — The fifth BarCamp Yangon, a forum about technology and the Internet that encourages participant involvement, is set to take place next month, and organizers are hopeful that the crowd this year will exceed the large turnouts seen in previous years. BarCamp is an international network of so-called “unconferences” that began as a meeting mainly of web developers in California’s Palo Alto. The user-generated events are primarily focused around technology and web, but take in other topics too.

PHILIPPINES

Philippines: Typhoon Haiyan Aftermath Part I | Diplomat — A photographer returns to the devastated city of Tacloban, as it begins the process of rebuilding.

Philippine Police: Sinaloa Cartel Hitmen Have Targeted Arrested Members | Diplomat — Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa drug cartel – the United States’ largest supplier of illegal narcotics – recently surfaced in the Philippines, with a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raid on Christmas Day breaking up an alleged trafficking ring in Lipa City.

THAILAND

Thai Royalty Becomes More Openly Involved in Politics | Asia Unbound — Despite officially being a constitutional monarchy and supposedly no different than the monarchies of Britain, the Netherlands, or modern-day Japan, Thailand’s royal family has, during the reign of King Bhumibhol Adulyadej, always been far more closely involved in Thai politics than any constitutional monarch would be.

VIETNAM

Lessons from the Battle of the Paracel Islands | Diplomat — Forty years on, the battle has enduring lessons for Vietnam’s naval modernization.

The price is not right | SEA Globe Editorial — The massive Trans-Pacific Partnership deal could cause drug prices to soar in Vietnam, devastating people with life-threatening illnesses.

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by | January 20, 2014 · 11:16 am

Regional Roundup for 1.19.14

It’s been a tense week in southwest China and Southeast Asia.  On Saturday January 11 residents and storekeepers in Yunnan’s Zhongdian prefecture, also known as Shangri-la were awakened by a major fire that ripped through its old town.  More than 1/3 of the old town’s structures were destroyed including several popular restaurants like the Compass and the Arro Khampa Bistro along with the town’s popular dancing square and surrounding structures.  What’s worse many of the buildings were more than 200 years old.  Rumor has it that a local guesthouse owner Tang Ying is being arraigned on charges of negligence which led to the fire.  Sources are conflicted on whether a faulty electrical socket or a unattended heating device started the fire.  No one is pointing fingers in the right direction on this issue however – the town’s fire hydrants were frozen shut and unusable and city planners (much of the old town is actually new circa 2004) failed to build roads wide enough to allow fire trucks to enter the old town.  Despite the best efforts of more than 1000 locals in putting out the fire, damage is still quite extensive and the old town will never return to its pre-fire state.

In Bangkok, the opposition is trying to shut down the city.  Colleagues of EXSE are participating in the opposition’s protests despite our own protests to them to go home and allow democratic processes to take their course.  Our colleagues’ response is to bring about reform before the elections in February and stem corruption.  But how can a caretaker government bring about reform especially when the opposition party required for democratic policy making won’t go back to work?

EXSE FOCUS

Blast at Antigovernment March Raises Tensions in Bangkok | NYT — An attack on antigovernment protesters in Bangkok on Friday, most likely with a grenade, killed one person and injured more than 30, intensifying tensions in the city as a dwindling but dedicated core of protesters continues to block access to a number of government buildings and major intersections. The explosion occurred in broad daylight in central Bangkok as the protesters were marching down a street, leaving people dazed and bleeding.

Seven Injured in Thai Protest Shooting, Capital Beefs Up Security | NYT — Seven people were wounded after gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on anti-government protesters in Bangkok, heightening fears of worsening violence when protesters attempt to “shut down” the capital next week in a bid to overthrow the government.

Thai anti-corruption agency to investigate PM’s rice subsidy | Guardian — A Thai anti-corruption agency said on Thursday it would investigate a rice subsidy programme that has fuelled opposition to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, as protesters marched through the capital demanding she resign.

Coastal Province’s Fishing Rules Alarm US | NYT — New fishing regulations issued by a Chinese province along the South China Sea have once again focused international attention on a complex territorial dispute and raised the question of what kind of power China will become.

Fire Ravages China District Said to Inspire Shangri-La | NYT — Fire blazed through an ancient Tibetan neighborhood in southwest China on Saturday, destroying hundreds of wooden homes and shops that have drawn tourists to an area casting itself as the inspiration for mythic Shangri-La.

Slowly, Asia’s Factories Begin to Turn Green | NYT — Western multinationals — and in some cases, their Asian suppliers — have in the last five years started to build more environmentally sound factories in developing countries, green-building experts say.

China surpasses US as world’s largest trading nation | Guardian — China became the world’s largest trading nation in 2013, overtaking the US in what Beijing described as “a landmark milestone” for the country. China’s annual trade in goods passed the $4tn (£2.4tn) mark for the first time last year according to official data, after exports from the world’s second largest economy rose 7.9% to $2.21tn and imports rose 7.3% to $1.95tn.

CHINA

China’s status as world’s largest trader built on dense cobweb of links | Guardian —  Soya beans from Brazil are the fuel that Chinese workers need to see them through the day making the flatscreen TVs watched in the favelas of São Paulo. It’s one element of China‘s dense cobweb of trade links that has propelled the world’s second largest economy to be crowned the world’s biggest trading nation.

Even as Wages Rise, China Exports Grow | NYT — China’s export machine has continued to run even as blue-collar wages have soared between fivefold and ninefold in dollar terms in the last decade. China’s exports, while growing more slowly than a few years ago, are still far from stalling despite the disappearance of its advantage in labor costs. Chinese exporters say they have been able to keep prices low and retain overseas customers because factories are becoming more productive.

14 Killed in Stampede in Northwest China | NYT — Fourteen people were trampled to death in northwest China on Sunday as a crowd rushed to take offerings of traditional fried flat bread, the official news agency Xinhua reported Monday. The stampede occurred outside the Beida Mosque in Xiji County in the Ningxia region, a part of northwest China dominated by members of the Hui ethnic group, a Muslim people who share some traits and cultural links with the country’s Han Chinese majority. Residents of the area were commemorating a religious figure associated with the mosque, Xinhua said.

Beijing brushes off US criticism of its tough new fishing rules | Guardian — The Chinese are demanding foreign crews get permits before fishing the South China Sea, upsetting neighbouring countries. China has hit back after the US, Philippines and Vietnam criticised new fishing rules that require foreign crews to request Chinese permission to work in much of the South China Sea, bolstering Beijing’s claims over disputed waters. The US said the regulations are provocative and potentially dangerous.

This could be the year we start to save, not slaughter the shark | Guardian — The gruesome practice of shark finning – sawing the fins off live sharks in order to make a gourmet soup – appears to be declining following growing western revulsion and a Chinese government crackdown on corruption and extravagant consumption. Six months after China banned the soup from all official banquets, the price of fins has fallen by 20-30% in Hong Kong, Macau and other major fishing markets.

The internet: From Weibo to WeChat | Economist — WeChat, or Weixin in Chinese, is known mostly for private chatting and innocuous photo-sharing among small circles of friends. With more than 270m active users, it has become the star product from Tencent, an internet conglomerate. Some have compared it to WhatsApp, an American messaging service. More quietly, it has become the preferred medium for provocative online discussion—the latest move in China’s cat-and-mouse game of internet expression and censorship.

C. T. Hsia, Who Brought Chinese Literature to the West, Dies at 92 | NYT — C. T. Hsia, a scholar who helped introduce modern Chinese literature to the West in the 1960s, providing close analysis and the first English translations of writers who are now widely recognized, died on Dec. 29 in Manhattan, where he taught at Columbia University for three decades. He was 92.

Run Run Shaw, Chinese-Movie Giant of the Kung Fu Genre, Dies at 106 | NYT — Run Run Shaw, the colorful Hong Kong media mogul whose name was synonymous with low-budget Chinese action and horror films — and especially with the wildly successful kung fu genre, which he is largely credited with inventing — died on Tuesday at his home in Hong Kong. He was 106.

Chinese woman takes out ad promising not to pressure son into marriage | Guardian — A Chinese mother has taken out a front-page advertisement in a Melbourne newspaper imploring her son to return home for the new year holiday with a very public promise not to strong-arm him into finding a wife.

REGION

Power to the people | SEA Globe Editorial — Asean states must invest in their energy infrastructure if they are to ensure strong economic growth. Energy demand in Asean’s ten member states is projected to jump by more than 80% in the period to 2035 – a rise equivalent to current demand in Japan. “Southeast Asia is, along with China and India, shifting the centre of gravity of the global energy system to Asia,” International Energy Agency executive director Maria van der Hoeven said.

Between China and Japan, a Tug-of-War Over Africa | NYT — Diplomatic tensions between China and Japan showed no signs of abating this past week as the two countries traded barbs over Africa. On Thursday, Lu Shaye, head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s African affairs department, defended China’s engagement in the continent. China is “sincere,” Mr. Lu said, “unlike some countries” that he said are driven by self-interest and politics.

China’s Bold $10 Billion Investment in Nigerian Hydrocarbons | The Diplomat — While Western energy firms are reluctant, China is investing big in Nigeria. Will it pay off?

Mint condition: countries tapped as the next economic powerhouses | Guardian — First it was the Brics. For a while the Civets were in vogue. Now the Mints are the ones to watch. Confused? Well, once you know your acronyms it all becomes clear. The Brics are Brazil, Russia, India and China – four emerging economies lumped together in 2001 by Jim O’Neill, then at Goldman Sachs, to show that western investors needed to take notice of what was happening in the post-cold war global economy. Now O’Neill is championing the Mints, a name first coined by the fund managers Fidelity, for what he thinks will be the second generation of emerging market pace-setters: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria andTurkey.

White House declines to back petition to boot Jimmy Kimmel off TV | Guardian — The White House has responded to a petition calling for an apology and the removal of Jimmy Kimmel’s television show by saying the comedian cannot be forced off the air. In its response, the White House noted that ABC and Kimmel have apologised, and that the network has removed the segment from future broadcasts and its online platforms. The White House also noted that the US constitution protects free speech, even when it is offensive.

CAMBODIA

Cambodia: Garment Workers End Strike | NYT — Tens of thousands of garment employees returned to work after a two-week pay dispute, after he authorities used deadly force to quell a strike and thwart a protest seeking a redo of a July election.

Cambodia Steps Up Crackdown on Dissent With Ban on Assembly | NYT — Officials have banned all public gatherings and summoned two opposition leaders for police questioning following a deadly clash in the capital.

Crackdown in Cambodia | NYT — Prime Minister Hun Sen would sooner draw blood than enact reform.

Topping up the rice bowl | SEA Globe — Jaan Bai, a new training restaurant in Cambodia’s Battambang province, enlists international heavyweights to elevate the country’s foodie scene,

INDONESIA

Indonesia indigenous groups fight climate change with GPS mapping | Guardian — Indigenous communities in Indonesia are using GPS technology to demarcate the boundaries of their ancestral lands, a move many believe could also help mitigate the negative effects of climate change.

Indonesia landslides and flash floods death toll rises | Guardian — The number of people killed in landslides and flash floods on Sulawesi island, Indonesia, has climbed to 17. The operational chief of the country’s search and rescue agency, Tatang Zainuddin, said on Friday that rescuers were still looking for about 15 people believed to be buried under a landslide outside Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province.

LAOS

Traditional Laotian Homes Get a Second Life | NYT — Three rosewood structures were used to create a new house along the Mekong.

MALAYSIA

Why the Media are Angry in Malaysia | The Diplomat — Malaysian journalists have recently joined ranks and formed an informal coalition called Gerakan Media Marah (Geramm), or Angry Media Movement, after the government suspended a weekly magazine for allegedly violating its publication permit. Many believe that the magazine was suspended because it made the mistake of publishing a story last November about the spending habits of Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

Malaysia denies censoring BBC report on prime minister’s water spinach speech | SCMP — Malaysia’s internet regulator on Thursday denied accusations that it was blocking access to a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report about netizens in the Muslim-majority nation lampooning the country’s prime minister. Najib Razak’s administration faces public discontent over hikes in government-controlled fuel and power prices.

Malaysia Plans High-Tech Card for Foreign Workers | Irrawaddy — Malaysia’s government said Thursday it will issue high-tech, security-enhanced identity cards to more than 2 million foreign workers to make it easier to find people who entered the country illegally. Home Minister Zahid Hamidi said the cards will be embedded with chips containing the worker’s employment details and biometric thumbprint, and will be color-coded according to sector of work for easy identification.

MYANMAR/BURMA

Myanmar: Signs of Unrest Raise Alarms | NYT — The United States urged Myanmar to investigate reports that security forces and Buddhist mobs attacked members of the Rohingya Muslim minority, killing as many as 60 people.

Burma: government denies Buddhist mob killed Muslim women and children | Guardian — The Burmese government denied on Friday that a Buddhist mob had ripped through a town in an isolated strife-torn corner of the country this week, attacking Muslim women and children. Villagers and a rights group said more than a dozen people may have been killed and hundreds have fled their homes.

PHILIPPINES

Death toll from Philippines storm rises to 40 | SCMP — The death toll from the first storm to batter the disaster-prone Philippines this year has climbed to 40, officials said on Sunday, as forecasters warned more heavy rain was on its way.

Philippines to defy Beijing’s South China Sea fishing rule, defence chief says | SCMP — Philippine fishermen should ignore a ruling by China requiring foreign fishing vessels to secure permission to enter much of the South China Sea, Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said on Thursday.

Shopping spree is a necessity for typhoon-hit city in Philippines | Guardian — Tacloban, in the Philippines, a city of survivors, is also, by extension, a city of shoppers. People here lost almost everything, and now, they’re in a rush to buy it back. Two months after a typhoon mangled it, its shopping scene is perhaps the most encouraging barometer of recovery. Thousands throng downtown streets each day, where makeshift rows of vendors hawk everything from pizza cutters to pork. For $7, you can buy a T-shirt that says, “Tacloban survivor”.

SINGAPORE

Star Wars creator opens visual effects and animation hub in Singapore | SCMP — Star Wars creator Lucasfilm formally expanded its creative universe yesterday by launching its visual effects and animation hub in Singapore, to work on Hollywood blockbusters and bolster marketing efforts in Asia.

Animal abuse cases spur crackdown in Singapore | SCMP — Singapore will impose stiffer penalties for animal abuse, Law Minister K.Shanmugam said yesterday, following a recent spate of high-profile cases including the poisoning of stray dogs and attacks on cats.

THAILAND

Thai Beer Loses Esteem After Heiress’ Remarks | NYT — Voters in rural Thailand have begun boycotting the popular Singha beer brand because of its affiliation to the leader of antigovernment protests. Chitpas Bhirombhakdi, 28, the beer heiress and a major player in the Bangkok protests, was quoted last month in a widely circulated article saying that many Thais lack a “true understanding” of democracy, “especially in the rural areas.”

IFJ pleads with Thai prime minister: let journalists wear body armour | Guardian — The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on the authorities in Thailand to allow journalists reporting in the country to import and use body armour. Under current Thai law it is illegal for journalists – domestic and foreign – to obtain and possess body armour, such as vests and helmet.

308 Thai Officials Face Anticorruption Inquiry | NYT — The anticorruption authorities in Thailand announced Tuesday that they were opening investigations of 308 lawmakers, most of them from the governing party, on suspicion of “malfeasance in office,” in connection with a constitutional amendment that was later ruled by a court to have been enacted illegally. The investigations, which critics called highly political, could destabilize the governing party, Pheu Thai, because of the number of prominent lawmakers involved.

VIETNAM

Rice farming in Vietnam: Against the grain | Economist — Rice cultivation is deeply rooted in the Vietnamese psyche. In September 1945, a day after declaring Vietnam’s independence from France, Ho Chi Minh told his cabinet that dealing with a widespread failure of the rice crop was its priority. He later collectivised the paddies. In the 1980s his successors promoted hybrid seeds and modern irrigation. Today Vietnam’s $4 billion in rice exports (see chart) accounts for more than a fifth of the global total.Party officials trumpet their “rice first” agricultural policies. Yet, more and more, Vietnam’s rice farmers are being left behind.

Protesters at Vietnam hydropower plant demand compensation for damaging houses | Thanh Nien News — More than 50 people held a protest at a hydropower plant in the south central province of Ninh Thuan Wednesday to demand payment of compensation it had promised for damaging their houses or its closure.

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by | January 5, 2014 · 4:56 pm

Regional Roundup for Week of 1.5.2014

Happy 2014 from East by Southeast!  Thanks for your support and readership in our first year of publication.  ExSE hopes that democratizing countries like Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar can stick to their constitutional blueprints (or change it in the case of Myanmar) and avoid political meltdown and further violence in 2014.  We wish China and Vietnam get on the track to balancing their economies and making sustainable decisions for future growth – and lay off the censorship and crackdowns on bloggers.  We thank the warriors out their fighting for the water and fish and the people that rely on the Mekong River for their livelihoods and ask for politicians, hydropower developers, and qualified environmental experts to sit down together and deeply consider the ecological damage that 110 poorly planned dams will bring to the region.  Let’s continue to work together to improve sustainable regional linkages!

As always your suggestions for improvements to the EXSE site are welcome.  Look for more engaging content and analysis to come in 2014 along with the addition of new sections like Country Reports coming later this month.

 

EXSE FOCUS

Cambodia Cracks Down on Protest With Evictions and Ban on Assembly – NYTCambodian police officers on Saturday cleared protesters from a Phnom Penh park that has been the staging ground for antigovernment demonstrations, and organizers canceled a planned Sunday rally.//Sam Rainsey attended a memorial service for the dead today reassuring unity and promising to continue opposition to Hun Sen’s Cambodia People’s Party.  Major protests occur on Saturdays and Sundays in Phnom Penh – keep your eye on the weekends.   

Cambodian police fire on striking garment workers – NYT Human rights groups say four dead during second clash in two days between workers in country’s key industry and police

Workers Face Police Gunfire Amid Unrest in Cambodia – NYT Military police officers killed at least three people, officials said, as protests against the decades-old rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen entered a volatile new phase.

Myanmar’s Leader Backs Change to Constitution – NYT President Thein Sein said he would support changing the Constitution to allow “any citizen” to become president, apparently a reference to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi// Thein Sein continues to impress the world yet the domestic challenges mount.

Thai Election Body Urges Vote Delay as Unrest Flares – NYT After violent clashes in Bangkok, the Election Commission of Thailand called for the postponement of a vote scheduled for Feb. 2, adding to the political uncertainty.//If the February vote won’t calm the storm, what will?  Thailand continues to spiral toward imminent political disaster.

Despite Protests in Thailand, Vote Will Go On, Panel Says – NYT The election commission ignored the demands of antigovernment demonstrators and said elections would go ahead on Feb. 2 despite efforts to sabotage them.

Burma, Thailand push ahead with Dawei SEZ – Bangkok Post After years of uncertainty, the prospects of the massive Dawei project took a recent twist when Thailand and Burma officially tied the knot to push the ambitious scheme forward. With three memoranda of understanding signed by the two countries in November, the Dawei concession was transferred from Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) to Dawei SEZ Development Co (DSEZ), a special-purpose vehicle for the project.// The Dawei project is a game changer for regional logistics but little assessment has been done to consider the social or environmental impact of the new port/SEZ.  The port’s location directly benefits Thailand and Bangkok by linking a road from the Dawei deep water port on the Indian Ocean to Bangkok.  Thai ships will no longer need to pass through the straits of Malacca. 

Economic Costs of Rising Sea Levels in Asia and the Pacific – ADB Teeming with people and economic activity, the coastal areas of Asia and the Pacific are highly vulnerable to storm surges, coastal erosion, flooding, and inundation resulting from sea-level rise and climate change. Here’s a by the numbers look at the economic costs of rising sea levels.

The Year of the Horse: Michael Pettis in Foreign Policy//Concise analysis and predictions for 2014 and the coming decade of economic growth prospects for China.

Global Development and Investment – China File Framing questions: In what ways do the U.S. and Chinese approaches to development and foreign investment differ? Are they evolving, and how? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each approach both to the investing country and the recipient? In what ways are China and the United States competing in third countries? In what ways are their efforts complementary? Would closer coordination be helpful? Is it possible? What role does “soft power” play? How real is “resource competition?” Is there a “China model” of development? What is the American perspective on China’s relationships with human rights-abusing regimes that provide energy and raw materials? What is the Chinese perspective on America’s investments in the developing world?

What Kind of Power Does a Rising China Need? – The Diplomat China has mainly focused on economic power, but other types of reform will shape its continued rise.//The IES Kunming center’s regionalism class asks and answers this question. 

Why China Can’t Rise Quietly – The Diplomat China wants to achieve its goals short of war while reaping the propaganda harvest it would get from war.

Presidential style: A new flavour – The Economist IN A first for a Chinese president, Xi Jinping made a New Year’s Day address to the nation on state television. The content of his speech, mainly good wishes and appeals for people to work together, broke no new ground. But the format, reminiscent of an American president in the Oval Office, hinted at a desire to find new ways for China’s leaders to interact with the people.Mr Xi had already shown such inclinations a few days earlier when he showed up unannounced at a modest Beijing eatery. He queued for a simple lunch of pork buns, fried liver and vegetables, then carried his own tray to sit with astonished diners, the tab coming to 21 yuan ($3.50), which he paid himself.It may prove a good investment.//Now the restaurant is a staging area for public protests. Doubt Xi had that in mind when visiting.  But a big change in style for China’s leadership.  Local officials are mimicking Xi’s everyman presence with similar publicity stunts. 

Divining China’s Direction by What Xi Ate – NYT The Chinese public is digging deep for portents of the Communist Party’s anticorruption campaign in President Xi Jinping’s recent lunch at a popular steamed bun restaurant in western Beijing.

Trapped by change – SEA Globe   Southern Laos’ 4,000 Islands region is often described as a unique and unspoiled microcosm. It is home to grazing water buffaloes, lush green rice fields, Southeast Asia’s largest waterfalls and the nearly extinct Irrawaddy dolphin. Suffice to say, numerous postcards have doubtless been shot in the area. A 30-metre-high, 256-megawatt hydropower dam doesn’t quite fit the picture.// The Don Sahong Dam controversy will continue to be an EXSE focus until the project is shut down.  Can anyone confirm the rumors that construction on Xayaburi has been suspended?

 

CHINA

China’s growth and manufacturing output decline as property prices soar –  The Guardian Data comes after studies showing real estate prices rising and detailing the mounting debts of local authorities

Chinese manufacturing activity declined in December, piling pressure on communist leaders grappling with the slowest economic growth in the country since 1999, amid booming property prices and rising local government debts.//median home prices approaching  600,000 USD in Beijing! And all you get are 1000 square feet, lousy neighbors, bad air – but PM 2.5 makes for great sunsets!

Shrinking Exports Slow Growth for Chinese Manufacturing – Reuters China’s factory activity expanded at the slowest pace in three months in December, according to a private index.//Xi Jinping’s reforms promise continued appreciation of the RMB.

George Soros warns that Chinese slowdown is biggest worry in 2014 – The Guardian Slower growth in Chinese manufacturing could be just the start of a new global economic threat, the financier has warned. George Soros is worried about China, and we should take note. The hedge fund boss, who built his fortune betting on the world’s money markets, is concerned that 20 years of rapid growth is about to run out of steam.

China Says Local-Level Debt Soars, Stirring Fear – NYT A report from the National Audit Office says debt rose 12.7% in six months, which is likely to further raise concerns about China’s borrowing.

How China crashed the Nafta party – The Guardian The negotiators of the ambitious and contentious 1994 free-trade deal failed to anticipate the rise in cheap imports from Asia. According to western tradition, the gift for the 20th anniversary of a union is china. But, two decades on from the trade nuptials enshrined in the the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), China is the uninvited guest that has walked away with many of the gifts.//mainly due to an artificially suppressed RMB

Chinese Businessman Seeking Stake in Times Co. – NYT Chen Guangbiao, who is known for public stunts, said he was leading a group of investors seeking to acquire a large or controlling stake in The New York Times Company.//Perhaps Jon Stewart can interview Chen while he’s in NY – hopefully post denial.

Pollution Rising, Chinese Fear for Soil and Food – NYT Anxiety is growing in China about contaminated soil in the country’s agricultural centers and the potential effects on the food chain.

China’s first aircraft carrier completes sea trials – The Guardian The Liaoning has returned to port after 37 days in the South China Sea, according to state media. China’s first aircraft carrier has successfully completed sea trials in the South China Sea, state media has reported. The Liaoning returned to port on Wednesday after a 37-day voyage, the official Xinhua news agency said. Citing an unnamed naval source, Xinhua said the aircraft carrier had tested its combat system and conducted a formation practice and “attained the anticipated objectives”.

China’s military presence is growing. Does a superpower collision loom? The Guardian Who holds the key to the future of East Asia? As US influence recedes, arch-enemies China and Japan are flexing their muscles. Generally speaking, Japanese bureaucrats are not much given to exaggeration. So when a senior government insider in Tokyo, speaking off the record, recently compared the deteriorating security situation in East Asia to Europe in the 1930s amid the rise of fascism, it was time to sit up and take notice.

Erickson and Strange: No Substitute for Experience – Asia Unbound Aside from being the 120th birthday of Mao Zedong, December 26, 2013, marked China’s fifth anniversary of antipiracy operations off the coast of Somalia and is being lauded as a milestone in Chinese naval and diplomatic history. The China Maritime Museum in Shanghai has opened a special exhibit running through March featuring photos and actual items used by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) during escort missions [link in Chinese]. As the PLAN enters year six of its first protracted contribution to international security, what has Beijing learned from its stint in the Gulf of Aden, and which lessons are germane in the broader context of China’s military development?

Robert S. Spalding III: Being Firm With China – Asia Unbound The Air Defense Identification Zone recently announced by the Chinese was most likely not hastily done. The Chinese do not do anything hastily. It is part of a return to preeminence for a nation that feels slighted by history. Assailed on all sides by invaders and conquerors, China has had to bide its time while it rebuilt its devastated economy. While still a work in progress, Beijing now feels sufficiently confident about the future to assert its military rise. It’s important to remember, however, when it comes to its military rise, China is not evil, nor is China good. China is merely pursuing its own national interests.

Coming to Chinese Headlines in 2014 – TLN  Chinese people have spent another year breathing dirty air, fretting about food safety, poking fun at corrupt officials, and complaining about tightening censorship—but as a discerning consumer of international news, you probably knew that already.

One Year Later, China’s New Leaders – China File Nearly a year to the day after seven new leaders ascended to their posts on the Standing Committee of China’s Politburo, the Asia Society held a public conversation withThe New Yorker’s Evan Osnos; Dr. Susan Shirk of the University of California, San Diego; Former Ambassador to China, J. Stapleton Roy; and Orville Schell. The discussion, which you can watch and read below in full, covered China’s leadership transition so far—its successes, shortcomings, and controversies—as well as the future of the China’s political system//Can’t recommend listening to this more.  Wish I were there in the audience to enjoy this.

2013: The Year in Review, part I – Go Kunming The end of the year is a special time in which editors and writers around the world recycle content from the previous twelve months and repackage it as new. We at GoKunming are not above this practice, so here’s our look at the people and events that shaped 2013 in southwest China.

Forest fire near Dali extinguished – Go Kunming A weekend wildfire, thought to have been intentionally set by an arsonist, has burned a large swathe of forest on the Cangshan Mountains (苍山). Emergency firefighting crews eventually extinguished the blaze with help from hundreds of volunteers and the assistance of a helicopter.// To prevent forest fires, most of Yunnan’s mountains are shut down and public access forbidden during the dry season.  Seems like a great inconvenience for those of us who enjoy the hills and hiking, but remember Yunnan is China’s #1 producer of tobacco and top smoking province – all it takes is one dumb butt to ruin Yunnan’s forests (and a few officials political careers – the real issue at stake)

 

REGION

Asian reporters face a death threat even for everyday stories – The Guardian In some parts of the world the ordinary business of exposing corruption remains a deadly one – as the International Press Institute’s list of journalists killed last year shows. It’s grisly to keep count as the International Press Institute’s death watch tots up the number of journalists and media people killed during 2013 in the line of duty: at least 117 of them, the second worst total since records began. There’s Syria, of course, with 16 journalists gone; but Iraq, with 13, most of them shot, somehow seems just as bad. But at least the Middle East, with 38 killed overall, was a region in ferment. What about the 37 who died in Asia, 13 of them in the Philippines, 11 in India, and nine in Pakistan (an old horror story – 66 murdered in a decade)?

Southeast Asian States Deploy Conventional Submarines – The Diplomat Southeast Asian states continue to procure submarines for a variety of strategic goals.

English Remains ASEAN’s Best Policy – The Diplomat Those ASEAN countries that have embraced the language stand to benefit in the coming years.//What is the alternative? Chinese delegations to ASEAN meetings still refuse to speak English.  Does this mean former British colonies stand to benefit over those that weren’t?  Likely – enter Myanmar…

Southeast Asia in 2013: Disasters and Election Protests –  The Diplomat The year 2013 will be remembered in Southeast Asia as one of deadly disasters and massive post-election protests.

 

CAMBODIA

Cambodia: child protection workers call for end to ‘orphanage tourism’ The Guardian Professionals urge volunteers and visitors to stay away, saying their presence damages children and enables exploitation. //Agreed.  As a person who leads study tours to Cambodia, staying away from orphanage tourism is a good idea.  Thanks for the heads up on this Khiri Travel.

The Missing Picture – review – The Guardian Cambodian film-maker Rithy Panh produces a haunting evocation of the Pol Pot era with the aid of clay figures and newsreels. Rithy Panh is a film-maker, historian and survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide who has fashioned a vibrant career out of excavating the past. The Missing Picture follows on from his earlier films, Rice People and S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, in tackling the horrors of the Pol Pot era, although on this occasion the approach is so nakedly personal and so honeycombed with open-ended questions that it amounts to a bewitching form of self-therapy

 

INDONESIA

Small-Scale Gold Mining Pollutes Indonesian Lands – NYT Indonesian villagers use mercury to process the ore from small-scale mines, work that carries risks to themselves and the environment.

 

MYANMAR

World Briefing | Asia: Myanmar: Five Political Prisoners Freed After Pardon – AP President Thein Sein on Monday granted a pardon to people convicted of or charged with a variety of political offenses.

I beg your pardon – amnesty for political prisoners? – DVB President Thein Sein promised amnesty to all political prisoners before the end of 2013, but three days into the new year, only a handful have actually been released. Khin Cho Myint from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma shares her view on the presidential pardon.

Secret shores – SEA Globe Good prospects: a woman sells fruit on Ngapali beach, considered the top beach resort in Myanmar. Staring in awe at the golden Shwedagon Pagoda, ballooning over Bagan and cruising Inle Lake are just the tip of Myanmar’s tourism iceberg. For those wishing to wander off the tourist trail, however, discovering some of the spots that have managed to fly under the package-tour radar is just as important as ticking off the heavy hitters, and there are few better places to start than the country’s beautiful beaches.

Magway’s oil rush – DVB Thousands of farmers in central Burma’s Magway division are selling their land and cattle to join the region’s oil rush.  A huge settlement, home to 100,000 people, has been set up in the Htan Gang oil field, and families are earning much more money as small-time oil drillers, than they did as farmers.

Economic Development Not a Cure-All for Ethnic Conflict: Burma Watcher – The Irrawaddy CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Burmese government officials have expressed hopes that economic development in the country’s resource-rich frontier areas might help bring an end to decades-long civil wars with ethnic armed groups. But that approach could be problematic, according to an independent consultant who meets regularly with the government and armed groups// The national government will have to co-opt ethnic elites into the economic development program to achieve peace.  Both outcomes are a long way off.  Time to think of other strategies.  How will economic development practices based on lowland agriculture benefit ethnic hill peoples?

Karen rivals unite for New Year – DVB At the break of dawn, battalions of unarmed Karen soldiers marched in a parade past hundreds of jubilant visitors at Shwe Kokko Myine in Myawaddy Township as part of the celebrations which marked Karen New Year.

Burma embassy plot – Six killed in Jakarta shoot-out – AP An elite anti-terrorism police squad killed six suspected militants and arrested another during an extended standoff at a house near the Indonesian capital, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

 

SINGAPORE

Singapore Leads Pack as Cities Prepare for an Influx of Fliers – NYT Singapore is unusually forward-looking in its expansion, but passenger demand is forcing airports from Beijing to Seoul to grow.’ v:shapes=”_x0000_i1025″>

 

THAILAND

Thai protester shot dead amid rising tensions in Bangkok – The Guardian Two others wounded in alleged raid by gunmen on protest camp as candidates prepare to register in election

Thai army chief calls for end to violence but fails to rule out coup – The Guardian General Prayuth Chan-ocha says ‘door is neither open nor closed’ to military intervention after two months of protests. Thailand’s army chief has urged both sides in the country’s bitter political dispute to show restraint, but did not explicitly rule out the possibility of a coup. Thailand has been rocked by two months of violent street protests and political tensions pitting the government of the prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, against protesters seeking to remove her from power. The army has staged 11 successful coups in the country’s history; in the current volatile climate, its intentions are being watched carefully.

Journalist accused of defaming navy appeals to Thai state governor – The Guardian  Australian journalist Alan Morison faces up to seven years’ jail if convicted over story about rights abuses against Rohingya refugees.

 

VIETNAM

Vietnam: Back to Organic? – The Diplomat Worried about food safety, Vietnamese look again at small-scale organic farming.

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by | December 19, 2013 · 5:04 pm

Regional Roundup for Week of 12.20.13

Major headlines this week included strong statements from both the U.S. State Department and Asian NGOs regarding the anniversary of the disappearance of Lao civil society activist Sombath Somphone December 15. China became the third country to land a lunar probe, and the first country in 37 years. Tensions remained high in Thailand, as protesters rejected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s proposal for new elections.

ExSE FOCUS

Full text of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks on Sombath’s disappearance —  The United States remains deeply concerned over the fate of Sombath Somphone, one of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s most respected civil society figures, on the one-year anniversary of his abduction. Sombath was abducted on the evening of December 15, 2012, from a Lao police checkpoint in Vientiane. This deplorable event was recorded on Lao Government surveillance cameras. Our thoughts are with Sombath’s family, friends, and the countless others in the international community who have been inspired by Sombath’s exemplary leadership and devotion to his country.

Joint statement posted by International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) by 62 international NGOs on Sombath’s disappearance —  We, the undersigned 62 regional and international organizations, express outrage over the Lao Government’s ongoing failure to shed light on the enforced disappearance of prominent activist and civil society leader Sombath Somphone. December 15, 2013 marks the one-year anniversary of Sombath’s disappearance. Sombath was last seen on the evening of December 15, 2012 in Vientiane. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed that police stopped Sombath’s car at a police post. Within minutes after being stopped, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove away. Analysis of the CCTV footage shows that Sombath was taken away in the presence of police officers. This fact supports a finding of government complicity.

Obama to Nominate Max Baucus as US China Ambassador | The Diplomat — The move signals that the Obama administration will seek to focus on America’s economic relationship with China as the latter attempts to rebalance its economy to give greater weight to domestic consumption. Baucus is the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He is currently serving in his sixth term as a senator from Montana but announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection in 2014.

Lawlessness in Borderlands Taints Myanmar’s Progress | NYT — TACHILEIK, Myanmar — The verdant fairways of the golf course outside this northeastern city in Myanmar might suggest a measure of normalcy and tranquillity — except for the handguns that some of the golfers wear. In a region known for rival ethnic armies and drug-trafficking gangs, many officials find it prudent to carry sidearms even as they play 18 holes. In the city, which sits along the border with Thailand, a picture of barely controlled lawlessness emerges, with at least eight ethnic militias patrolling the streets in different uniforms.

Yunnan Reopens 13 International Border Crossings | GoKunming — Eight years ago, China suspended several overland border crossings into neighboring countries. As of this week, thirteen of those once-popular waypoints have reopened in efforts to increase trade and boost international tourism, People’s Daily is reporting.

In numbers: Something’s fishy | SEA Globe —  Stating that fish are a fixture of Southeast Asian life would be understating their importance to a huge degree. Our aquatic friends are everywhere. They are seen flapping about in ponds, drying out in the sun and being chopped up and added to many a main meal. Whole communities rely on the income generated by bringing in a good catch, while middlemen ramp up their prices when supplying high-end eateries with choice varieties of seafood. Fish is big business here.

Related :

Saving Indonesia’s fisheries: Plenty more fish in the sea? | The Economist — Alor is at the centre of the “coral triangle”, 6m square kilometres of the most biodiverse oceans on earth. These waters contain two-thirds of the world’s coral species, twice the number of species of reef fish found anywhere else, and new species that are still being discovered by scientists in Indonesia. But climate change and warming oceans, overfishing and destructive fishing practices, along with pollution from coastal communities and industries, threaten the fragile ecosystems that support underwater life, as well as millions of traditional fishermen.

CHINA

China Celebrates Lunar Probe and Announces Return Plans | NYT — China’s plan to send an unmanned craft to the moon in 2017 that will land and return with samples suggests that the country will continue the rapid pace of its space program.

Amid China’s Bad Air, a Reminder That Smoking Still Kills | NYT — China has about 350 million smokers, and despite efforts to reduce consumption, tobacco is still widely consumed with about half of adult males smoking regularly, according to surveys.

Fines Won’t Solve China’s Smog Problem | ChinaFile — Eight municipal governments in northeast Liaoning province have together received 54.2 million yuan (U.S.$8.9 million) in fines for failing to reach air quality standards—the first time a provincial government has imposed financial penalties on lower-level governments for pollution. “Something is better than nothing. A meaningful fine is a step in the right direction,” commented Steve Tsang, the Director of the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham. Nevertheless, Professor Tsang said that if the fine is modest compared to the cost saving involved in polluting, the effect of the fine will be minimal.

Africa and the Chinese Way | NYT — Beijing has signed off on rail projects across the continent, from Angola in the South, Ethiopia in the East and Nigeria in the West, heralding an infrastructure-expansion boom on a scale never seen in Africa.

Available online: Dead but not buried | The Economist — What people used to say of Harrods, a London department store, they now say of Taobao, an online Chinese retail platform: you can buy anything there. Perhaps hoping to prove the point, one company recently placed plastinated human bodies (preserved in polymers) for sale on Taobao. The company, which is asking 126,500 yuan ($21,000) per cadaver, says it is targeting medical schools and scientists, but it requires no documentation and will ship the corpse to your door (within China).

Rural Women Stage Innovative Protest for Equality | NYT — The middle-aged farming women forming a human pyramid in front of the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government headquarters in Hangzhou last week constituted a small protest that pointed to a big problem: persistent economic and political discrimination against women in rural China, they said.

Bitcoin Value Sinks After Chinese Exchange Move | NYT — China’s biggest Bitcoin exchange was forced to stop accepting deposits in the Chinese currency on Wednesday, sending the price of the virtual money tumbling in one of its biggest markets globally. The development comes less than two weeks after China’s central bank and four other government agencies that regulate finance and technology issued a joint announcement banning Chinese financial institutions from dealing in the virtual currency.

Foreign correspondents: Personae non gratae | The Economist — The Chinese government has many ways of making life difficult for foreign journalists, but it usually does so without attracting many headlines. That is beginning to change: authorities have halted the annual visa-renewal process for at least two dozen journalists working for American media, after they wrote stories about the wealth accumulated by the families of China’s leaders. The journalists, from the New York Times and Bloomberg, a financial-news service, face being forced out of China when their visas expire this month. A mass expulsion of foreign journalists would be the first since the reform era began.

Welcome to Tchotchke Town | NYT — If it’s small, cheap and made of plastic, it can probably be found in Yiwu, a city in China’s southeastern Zhejiang province. The marketplace there, called China Commodity City, claims to be the world’s largest wholesale market for small goods, and its sprawling buildings house vast quantities of mass-produced trinkets — crafts, Christmas trees, Barbie-doll knockoffs — that are exported from there to hundreds of locations abroad.

REGION

Vietnam, the US, and China: A Love Triangle? | The Diplomat — Beijing often accuses the U.S. of attempting to drive a wedge between China and its neighbors. While the U.S. may not be actively trying to turn countries against China, it’s definitely true that the U.S. has reaped the benefits of other countries’ ambivalence toward the rising power. The U.S. has been able to capitalize on mixed feelings towards China to deepen its relations with ASEAN in general and Vietnam in particular.

Thai Retailer and Chinese Supermarket End Merger Attempt | NYT — A proposed $745 million tie-up between the Chinese supermarket operator Wumart Stores and C.P. Lotus, a retailer in China controlled by the Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont, has fallen apart after the two sides failed to agree on final terms of the deal, both companies said Monday.

U.S. Forging Closer Military Ties With Philippines | NYT — Secretary of State John Kerry said here on Tuesday that the United States would give the Philippines $40 million in maritime security assistance and was negotiating with Manila to rotate more American military forces through the country, the latest signs of the Obama administration’s concerns about mounting pressure from China on its neighbors.

The Senkaku Islands as Cold War Berlin | The Diplomat — The similarities between Berlin during the early Cold War and the Diaoyu/Senkaku Island dispute today seem obvious. To begin with, the crisis has its roots in the shortcomings of the post-WWII agreements. While the San Francisco Treaty demanded that Tokyo return all the territories it had conquered, it did not explicitly name which territories these were. The fact that the U.S. maintained control over the Senkakus during the occupation period suggests that Washington did view these islands as falling under the rubric of territories that Japan had conquered. Obviously, China would disagree.

CAMBODIA

Disputed Statue to Be Returned to Cambodia | NYT — An ancient statue of a Hindu warrior, pulled from auction two years ago because of assertions that it had been looted from a temple deep in the jungles of Cambodia, will be returned to that country under an agreement signed on Thursday by Sotheby’s, its client and federal officials.

Cambodia’s garment workers needled by low wages and poor conditions | The Guardian —  Growing discontent among workers generating huge profits for scant return threatens to derail Cambodia’s garment industry. Cambodia’s garment industry is now worth $1.5bn, employing almost 400,000 workers – 90% of them young women – in more than 400 factories nationwide. The country has a reputation for fair treatment of workers, based on its labour laws, the presence of workers’ unions and a minimum wage. Most of the garment companies are contract manufacturers for overseas firms. However, according to David Welsh, Cambodia programme director for the Solidarity Centre, employees are becoming increasingly agitated that they are not profiting fairly from the spoils of their work.

INDONESIA

To catch a queen | SEA Globe — Recent corruption scandals have ignited the debate about dynastic politics in Indonesia. But even experts are unsure of how to address this world of clandestine meetings and mystical martial-arts clans. Clan politics hold sway in dozens of Indonesia’s provinces and regencies. Siblings and spouses trade posts to skirt term limits; parents purchase elections for their children; cousins and in-laws follow their brethren into office. “They use their money and power to mobilise the people,” said Jacklevyn Manuputty, a peace activist from Maluku province.

Indonesian Cave Gives Researchers a Glimpse of Tsunami History | The Diplomat — Deep inside a limestone cave on the Sumatran coast, a team of researchers have unearthed a natural timeline of the biggest tsunamis to hit the region over the last 7,500 years. They hope that the discovery will shed light on the frequency of major disasters like the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that left more than 200,000 dead in 14 countries.

LAOS

Concerns in Laos That Burma’s Opening Could Slow Tourism Growth | The Irrawaddy — Businesses in Laos, itself a nascent tourist draw, are concerned that growth in the sector could be stalled by Burma’s recent opening-up, which could see some visitors opting for one country over the other when planning holidays.

Missing Sombath Still Dogging Laos | The Diplomat — Just over a year ago, community development worker Sombath Somphone was plucked from the streets of Vientiane by police. He has not been heard of since, despite overwhelming evidence linking his disappearance to the government and its dictatorial internal security apparatus. Sombath’s disappearance has ensured human rights groups like Amnesty and HRW will be paying much closer attention to the country’s human rights record while pushing for more information on his whereabouts.

MYANMAR/BURMA

Burma frees 41 political detainees | The Guardian — Release leaves another 40 in prison with 230 still facing charges, according to campaign group. Burma has freed 41 political detainees, a government spokesman said, bringing the country close to fulfilling a pledge by President Thein Sein to release all prisoners of conscience by the end of the year. Their release leaves about 40 political detainees in prison, according to estimates by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The organisation said another 230 people still face charges over their political activities.

Myanmar’s Big Sister Leads in HIV Fight | The Diplomat  — An organization formed by sex workers for sex workers is making strides in reducing the rate of infections. Myanmar may have grabbed the world’s eye by opening its borders and ushering in a foreign investment surge, but one story has slipped quietly under the radar. The country has also significantly reduced the rate of HIV infections in its sex worker population from its previous high of 40 percent in females 2005, according to Population Services International (PSI) down to less than 10 percent today.

 

THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippines and Typhoon Haiyan: The winds of change | The Economist — A month after Haiyan, the other worst-affected coastal areas remain desolate. Much of the land around Tacloban, the town that bore the brunt of the storm surge, resembles old photographs of a first-world-war battlefield: hundreds of broken trees; craters of mud and debris where houses once stood; upended cars and vans.

US announces further $25m aid to Philippines after typhoon Haiyan | The Guardian — The US is to provide nearly $25m (£15.2m) in additional humanitarian aid to help the Philippines deal with the devastation wrought by typhoon Haiyan last month, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, said after touring the worst-hit region. Kerry flew to central Tacloban city, where he visited a food distribution centre and talked with officials and survivors. The new food aid, shelter materials, water and other supplies he announced bring the total US assistance package to $86m for one of its closest Asian allies.

SINGAPORE

Singapore: Trouble in Little India | The Economist — THEIR impeccable city is supposed to be so law-abiding that policemen are rarely seen on patrol. Imagine the shock, then, when Singaporeans woke up on December 9th to learn of running street battles in the city centre the night before. Singapore had not seen a riot since 1969.

 

THAILAND

News Analysis: In Thailand, Standing Up for Less Democracy | NYT — In a world now accustomed to democratic upheavals, including the Arab Spring and the Saffron and Orange Revolutions, the weeks of political upheaval in Thailand stand out for one main peculiarity. Protesters massing on the streets here are demanding less democracy, not more.

Trial of an Ex-Premier Raises Tensions in Thailand Further | NYT — Abhisit Vejjajiva, a former prime minister, was charged Thursday in a Bangkok criminal court with premeditated murder in a case connected to a military crackdown on protesters in 2010. Mr. Abhisit was released on bail and is not due to appear in court again until March, but the case has raised political tensions in the country amid a new round of protests in Bangkok.

Bangkok Shopping Mall Is Instagram’s Most Photographed Location for 2013 | The Diplomat —  Instagram, a Facebook-owned photo sharing app boasting more than 150 million monthly active users, recently shared its third annual top ten list of the most photographed places in 2013. In a world full of natural and man-made wonders, like the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China, it might come as a surprise that 2013’s top location was a monument to consumerism – the Siam Paragon shopping and entertainment complex in the heart of Bangkok.

 VIETNAM

To Lower Tariffs, Vietnam Pushes for Easing Trade Rules | NYT — Executives from companies that own brands like Nike, Levi’s and Zara gathered here last month in a hearing room operated by the European government, for a public briefing on the status of trade talks between Vietnam and the European Union, which began last year. For clothing and shoe companies, the negotiations between Europe and Vietnam are being watched with especially close care. Part of the reason is Vietnam’s role as an assembly line for much of the apparel worn in the Western world. Another is that Vietnam’s population also recently topped 90 million. Because the number of young people in the country is rapidly increasing, it has become an attractive growth market for apparel makers.

John Kerry returns to Vietnam to bolster US ties with south-east Asia | The Guardian —  Forty-four years after first setting foot in the country, as a young naval officer, John Kerry returned to Vietnam on Saturday, this time as America’s secretary of state, offering security assurances and seeking to promote democratic and economic reform. Making his 14th trip to the south-east Asian nation since the end of the war that profoundly influenced his political career and foreign policy thinking, Kerry is trying to bolster the remarkable rapprochement with a former US enemy that he encouraged and helped to engineer as a senator in the 1990s.

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by | November 17, 2013 · 11:57 am

Regional Roundup for Week of 11.15.13

The devastation of Typhoon Haiyan upon the Philippines made major headlines this week. The Third Plenum also concluded this week with somewhat tepid responses from the media concerning lack of clarity over proposed reforms. Among expected  measures included changes to China’s one-child policy, however the full details of Third Plenum reforms have yet to be released.

ExSE FOCUS

Asia Rivalries Play Role in Aid to the Philippines | NYT — The outpouring of foreign assistance for the hundreds of thousands left homeless and hungry by Typhoon Haiyan is shaping up to be a monumental show of international largess — and a not-so-subtle dose of one-upmanship directed at the region’s fastest-rising power, China. /China upped its initial donation of approximately $100,000 USD to $1.6 million after criticism of stinginess even within state media…offering aid and relief assistance could have been an opportunity to promote Chinese soft power and improve the relationship between China and Philippines, especially in light of recent South China Sea disputes. It’s still less aid than Swedish retailer IKEA pledged ($2.7 million through a charitable foundation)./

Lessons from the Haiyan Typhoon Tragedy | The Diplomat — Haiyan proved once more that the Philippines are extremely vulnerable to the harsh impact of climate change. But it also exposed the sorry state of the country’s infrastructure, chaotic land zoning system, pre-modern weather facilities, unreliable communication facilities, and inadequate disaster preparedness programs.

Disappointment With Third Plenum Is Premature | The Diplomat — Most of the disappointment over the Third Plenum is over the lack of specifics contained in the Third Plenum’s communiqué (English translation here, courtesy of China Copyright and Media). For example, the Wall Street Journal article cited above notes of the communiqué, “the details [about how China will reform] were almost completely missing, even though the document ticked off many of the items that appear on standard lists of reform objectives for China.” But this opinion, which has been widespread since the Plenum ended, seems to have a mistaken view of what the purpose of the communiqué is.

China Tackles One-Child Policy, Death Penalty, & Labor Camps | The Diplomat — China has released the resolution detailing the CCP Central Committee’s major decisions at the Third Plenum, which was held from Saturday to Tuesday. Interestingly, initial reports from the state media highlight mostly social reform issues, some expected some less so. One of the expected decisions is that China has decided to ease its one-child policy, which since the early 1980s has restricted urban couples to one child while allowing some rural couples have two children.

JPMorgan’s Fruitful Ties to a Member of China’s Elite | NYT — A contract between JPMorgan Chase and a consulting firm run by the daughter of the former prime minister points to the bank’s strategy to build its influence in China. /A story to watch, coverage so far has been very careful to note that J.P. Morgan has not been accused of any wrongdoing (yet) but is part of a wider bribery investigation…/

CHINA

China Elected to United Nations Human Rights Council | NYT — Saying it would “oppose pressure and confrontation” on the United Nations Human Rights Council and advance the cause of human rights, China was elected to it for a three-year term along with Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Russia. /Saudi Arabia actually rejected its seat, a surprising move that has been interpreted as an expression of anger at the United States./

Israel Increasingly Courting China as an Ally | NYT — Israeli officials hope to win China to their side in dealings with Iran, Syria and the Palestinians. /Prompts speculation on China’s increased international role beyond strong regional presence in Asia…although Iran’s relationship with China as its third-largest supplier of crude oil could very likely complicate Sino-Israeli relations./

Colorful History of a Power Hotel in Beijing | NYT — The Jingxi Hotel, where Chinese leaders met this week, has a colorful history hosting some of the most important gatherings in modern Chinese history. /Adds another layer to a Chinese joke that there’s no “people” in the Great Hall of the People — major policy decisions are made in the conference rooms of hotels like the Jingxi, which hosted the recent 3rd Plenum./

China’s One-Day Shopping Spree Sets Record in Online Sales | NYT — On Monday, China’s biggest online shopping company processed more than $5.75 billion in its online payments system — a record for a single day anywhere in the world, surpassing by two and a half times the total for American retailers last year on so-called Cyber Monday.

China’s children may become the drivers of environmental change | The Guardian — With growing media coverage of the harmful effects of PM2.5, personal attitudes to its impact are also rapidly changing, and many are taking the necessary precautions. Well-to-do families, young white-collar workers and those who are internationally minded are becoming increasingly unsettled about the long-term effects of living in such an unhealthy environment, and at the heart of these concerns is often the lasting damage to children’s health. Many are questioning how viable it is to raise a family in heavily polluted cities, and people speak of “hatching plans to escape Beijing” by emigrating abroad for the sake of their offspring.

Would You Like Fries With Those Spicy Pork McBites? | NYT — With competition heating up in China’s $174 billion dollar fast-food market, McDonald’s is seeking to up its game by capitalizing on the country’s increasingly voracious appetite for pigs. The result? Spicy Pork McBites. The new pork treat is in line with the overall global strategy of Western chains tailoring their menus to local tastes. 

REGION

Cyclones and climate change: The new normal? | The Economist — Regardless of its precise position in the historical hierarchy, Haiyan—like Katrina—has provoked discussion about the effects of global warming on tropical storms. Naderev Sano, the Philippines’ representative at a climate summit in Warsaw, was unequivocal, daring doubters to visit his homeland. “The trend we now see is that more destructive storms will be the new norm,” he said.

Can Myanmar and North Korea Say Goodbye? | The Diplomat — Myanmar and North Korea were long the Asia-Pacific’s odd couple. Prior to Thein Sein’s era of reform in Myanmar, the two states shared a close diplomatic relationship, often finding common ground in their shared status as militarized pariah states in the greater Asia-Pacifc region. With Myanmar having taken concrete steps away from its isolated past and towards greater global integration, will their bilateral relationship survive? Will North Korea and Myanmar continue to cooperate?

UN court awards Cambodia sovereignty in border dispute | The Guardian —  Cambodia, not Thailand, has sovereignty over a disputed promontory around a 1,000-year-old temple, the UN’s highest court ruled on Monday in a unanimous decision on a long-simmering border dispute. The international court of justice said a 1962 ruling by its judges gave Cambodia sovereignty over the Preah Vihear promontory. Thailand will have to withdraw any military or police forces stationed there.

Maid in Singapore: will Cambodian domestic workers be better protected? | The Guardian —  400 women are taking part in a pilot scheme that is sending Cambodian domestic workers to Singapore. There are more than 200,000 foreign domestic workers on the island, and if the trial goes well it could open the way for a new source of labour to sate the affluent city-state’s appetite for household help. Cambodia’s government says its workers will be shielded from abuse, but doubts linger over key welfare issues.

BRUNEI

Brunei to Release First Commercial Film | The Diplomat — With live music and alcohol banned, there’s not much to do in the tiny sultanate – except to visit one of its five movie theaters. Hollywood blockbusters, as well as films produced in Indonesia and Malaysia, dominate the screens – but that could change in 2014 with the release of Brunei’s first commercial feature film. The country’s last film, made in the 1960s, was a guide on how to be a good citizen produced by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

CAMBODIA

Global Fund halts contracts over bribes for bednets in Cambodia | The Guardian — Investigation finds two international companies paid Cambodian officials for deals to supply anti-malaria bednets.  The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has suspended contracts with two international firms that supplied mosquito bednets over “serious financial wrongdoing” in Cambodia.

LAOS

U.S. Offers Reward in Wildlife-Trade Fight | NYT — Taking a page from the battle against international drug cartels, the United States announced on Wednesday a $1 million reward for information to help dismantle one of Asia’s largest wildlife-trafficking syndicates. In what officials said was the first time such a reward had been offered, the State Department said it was targeting a syndicate based in Laos. Investigators say the syndicate is headed by a Laotian businessman, Vixay Keosavang, who was the subject of an article in The New York Times in March.

MYANMAR/BURMA

Naypyidaw Authorities Block NLD Poll on Constitutional Reform | Irrawaddy — Authorities in Burma’s capital Naypyidaw are preventing Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) from conducting a public opinion poll on the need for constitutional reform, a NLD lawmaker said on Friday.

Police Open Fire, Injure 7 Protesters at Burma’s Letpadaung Mine | Irrawaddy — Seven protesting farmers were injured Thursday evening as police opened fire into a crowd at the controversial Chinese-backed copper mining project in Letpadaung, Sagaing division, witnesses said. Villagers say they were attempting to set up a second protest camp to oppose the restarted mining project, which they fear will cause damage a Buddhist structure in the same area.

Myanmar: 69 Political Prisoners Freed | NYT — Myanmar’s president on Friday pardoned 69 political prisoners as part of a promise to free all such detainees by the end of the year. Most of those newly freed are members of ethnic minorities, said Ye Aung, who is on the government’s political prisoner scrutiny committee.

PHILIPPINES

The horror after Haiyan | The Economist — A picture of the amount of death and destruction caused began to emerge only after the storm had swept out over the South China Sea, heading towards Vietnam. Witnesses spoke of corpses littering the wrecked city of Tacloban, on the east coast, which felt the full force of the storm. They spoke of dazed survivors wandering streets strewn with debris, begging for help. “From the shore and moving a kilometre inland, there are no structures standing. It was like a tsunami,” said the interior secretary, Manuel Roxas, after inspecting the destruction from a helicopter. “I don’t know how to describe what I saw.”

Death After the Typhoon: ‘It Was Preventable’ | NYT — During five days in a Philippine hospital, a 27-year-old farmer and family breadwinner received virtually no care and died, in essence, of a broken leg.

SINGAPORE

Anonymous Could Be Caned in Singapore | The Diplomat — Six members of Anonymous face hefty fines, jail and in some cases a possible caning after being arrested and charged in Singapore for defacing websites, including one linked to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and spray-painting graffiti identifying the international hacking and protest group.

THAILAND

Banyan: Blowing the whistle | The Economist — To the shrill peeps of ubiquitous whistles, protesters have yet again crowded Bangkok, the capital, brandishing portraits of Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand’s long-serving king, revered but frail. What has so far been a peaceful movement earlier this month seemed to threaten the survival of the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister. Her tactical retreat has probably saved it. But the political divide looks as unbridgeable as ever, and as dangerous to Thailand’s stability.

Jammin’ in the Jungle: An “Elephant Orchestra” Performs in Thailand | The Diplomat — At a conservation center in Lampang, Thailand, one American musician has taken the role of conductor for a very special musical ensemble – an “elephant orchestra” that makes music with specially designed instruments tailored to their large size. The elephants play a variety of instruments using their trunks – from giant drums and xylophones to customized harmonicas.

VIETNAM

Vietnam’s Disappointing New Constitution | The Diplomat — The repercussions of poor governance in Vietnam are such that the system of governance and constitutional structure need to be fundamentally changed. The challenge is great, and any transformation will depend entirely on the political willingness of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).

First Wild Saola Sighting in 15 Years Gives Conservationists Hope | The Diplomat — One of the world’s rarest animals was caught on camera in Vietnam earlier this week, sparking excitement and optimism in conservation circles around the world. The saola, which resembles an antelope despite being more closely related to oxen, wasn’t discovered until 1992. Until this week, a living specimen hadn’t been spotted in the wild in 15 years.

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