A new memorial for WWII veterans of China’s Expeditionary Force is unveiled this week in Longling County, Yunnan. Activists and local historians have struggled to gain officials acknowledgement for the CEF’s contribution to Japan’s defeat in Burma as well as recognition for those who died and fought in the bloody battles in the upland border areas between Burma and China’s Yunnan province. ExSE ran a translation of a story on local efforts to memorialize the CEF here in June. Photo courtesy of 163.com.
CHINA
China’s state asset regulator and Zhou Yongkang protege under corruption probe | South China Morning Post China is investigating Jiang Jiemin, head of the national assets regulator, for “serious discipline violation”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday, in what would appear to be another step in Beijing’s widening anti-graft campaign. Jiang, who became head of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) in March, was previously chairman of top energy group China National Petroleum Company, or CNPC.
China Graft Inquiry Sweeps Up Billionaire Oil Entrepreneur – NYTimes.com The entrepreneur, Hua Bangsong, 47, is “now assisting the relevant authorities in the P.R.C. in their investigations,” according to a filing made late Monday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by Mr. Hua’s company, Wison Engineering Services. A crackdown on corruption in China has intensified in recent weeks, focusing on the oil industry. Mr. Hua’s company is one of the largest nonstate contractors to the oil and gas industry in China, and counts the China National Petroleum Corporation, or C.N.P.C., as one of its biggest customers.
Xinhua Insight: Why the CPC’s third plenary session is important. – Xinhua | English.news.cn Chi Fulin, director of the China Institute for Reform and Development, told Xinhua that the discussion of reform in Tuesday’s meeting showed the Party has a sober and profound view of the country’s situation. It also showed the Party’s determination and courage to succeed. The meeting proposed innovation in theory, system, science, technology and culture with wholesale reform across the board. “Besides the economic sector, the Third Plenary Session will promote administrative reform, ” Chi added. “It is quite clear that the session will map out the route for all-encompassing, deepened reform, with major breakthroughs in significant fields,” Chi said.
Eurasian nations focus on Net | China Daily How to effectively regulate content on the Internet and manage new media have become major issues for China and other Eurasian countries, the director of the State Council Information Office said on Sunday. “With the emergence of new media, profound changes are taking place in the traditional ways of spreading information. China’s 300 million micro-blogging service users can actively express their opinions on the Internet and enjoy a rich online life,” said Cai Mingzhao, director of the State Council Information Office during a forum of Eurasian ministers responsible for information. “At the same time, we have come to realize that the Internet has also affected social stability to such an extent that it can’t be ignored.”
China asserts clout in Central Asia with huge Turkmen gas project | Reuters The start of production from the Galkynysh field was also a major development for Turkmenistan, the world’s fourth-largest holder of gas reserves, which seeks new export routes for the fuel to minimize its dependence on pipelines to Russia, which resells the gas. Xi and his Turkmen counterpart, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, simultaneously pressed two symbolic start buttons – two globes the size of basketballs decorated with national flags – to ignite flares at a gas processing plant that towered over the surrounding landscape of sun-baked desert and sand dunes.
Sinopec to Acquire $3.1 Billion Stake in Apache Egypt Assets – Bloomberg China Petrochemical Corp., Asia’s largest refiner, agreed to pay $3.1 billion for a 33 percent stake in Apache Corp. (APA)’s Egyptian oil and gas business, marking the state-owned company’s biggest purchase in the Middle East. Buying the stake in the operations located in the Western Desert, away from the centers of political unrest in Egypt, will increase the company’s annual production by about 9 percent, according to Bloomberg calculations. The deal, which coincides with a potential move by PetroChina Co. (857) into Iraq, signals China’s increasing investment in the region as it secures energy investments.
Chinese, U.S. presidents hold second meeting in three months – Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama met here Friday for talks on bilateral ties and other issues of common concern…”China and the United States have been working closely to implement the consensus reached at the summit,” Xi said, citing the achievements made at the fifth round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue in July. China-U.S. relations have maintained sound development momentum, the Chinese president said, noting that the two countries have improved their military ties and kept communication and cooperation on major global and regional issues.
The Trial of the Century–Sinica Podcast This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy host two guests: Ed Wong from the New York Times and James Miles of The Economist for a closer look at what some Chinese commentators are calling China’s “trial of the century”. Join us for an in-depth discussion to the trial which looks not only at what this means for media transparency in China, but also extends to historical comparisons with previous political purges, including the famous case against Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four following the Cultural Revolution.
Syrian Strikes Would Battle-Test Chinese Radars | Defense News | defensenews.com If the US strikes Syria, China would get to see just how well some of its radars and electronic warfare (EW) emitters perform in combat. Among the Chinese systems deployed by the Syrian military are the JYL-1 3-D long-range surveillance radar, Type 120 (LLQ120) 2D low-altitude acquisition radar, and JY-27 VHF long-range surveillance radar, according to Richard Fisher, a senior fellow with the US-based International Assessment and Strategy Center.
U.S. briefs China on chemical weapons use evidence in Syria “The U.S. side briefed China on what evidence the U.S. had in relation to the use of chemical weapons by the relevant party in Syria as well as the relevant decision by the United States,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, told a daily news briefing. He did not elaborate on what China thought of the evidence it had been shown.
China Agrees to Give 41% of $100 Billion BRICS Reserve Pool – Bloomberg China will contribute $41 billion to a $100 billion pool of currency reserves the BRICS countries are forming to guard against financial shocks, the nations’ leaders said. Russia, India and Brazil will each add $18 billion to the pool, while South Africa will provide $5 billion, according to a statement following an informal meeting today of the countries at the Group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Chinese executive who wants to build Nicaraguan trans-ocean canal has spotty global record – The Washington Post …an examination of those claims by The Associated Press around the world paints a different picture. While at least some of Xinwei’s domestic enterprises appear to be successful, outside of China, promises to build revolutionary new telecom networks have yet to materialize. And deals with local partners have been marred by false starts and poor performance. In 12 of the 20 countries where Wang’s Xinwei Telecom Enterprise Group and associated companies say they’ve done business, the AP found no evidence of a successful, large-scale project up and running.
How the Chinese Government Profits From the One-Child Policy – Yueran Zhang – The Atlantic Despite the demographic challenges presented by the three-decade old policy, local governments depend on child birth penalties to balance budgets and boost the income of politicians.
Horror on high seas: Deadly tale told at China trial–USA Today– Frightened for their lives, four Chinese fishermen caught on a boat gone mad with mutiny dropped a home-made raft in the Pacific 1,000 miles from Japan. To their horror, the currents swept them back alongside the hull of the Lurongyu 2682 and the waiting mutineers. All four jumped into the sea rather than accept a horrible fate. Three disappeared under the water, never to be seen again, but Song Guochun was pulled back aboard. On deck, the ringleaders told two men who had yet to kill anyone to tie Song up, weigh him down and sink him in the deep.
How to Make China More Honest | ChinaFile — Derek Scissors Official Chinese economic statistics, from unemployment to arable land, are controlled by the Communist Party and therefore cannot be trusted. The prevailing American and global view of China as a rising, if presently troubled, economic superpower is based on this unreliable data. Evaluation of selected economic, financial, and sociopolitical indicators shows them to be inconsistent and most likely inaccurate, so that American and global decision making is badly informed. A sustained effort to compile more accurate data on China would clarify China’s global economic role and improve the basis for U.S. policy-making and limit taxpayer exposure.
China, Russia a Step Closer on Gas Supply-Caijing Under a memorandum of understanding the two energy giants signed in March, Russia will supply 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually from 2018. The volume is expected to increase to 60 billion cubic meters in following years. An energy expert who declined to be named said that although the framework agreement is not legally binding, “the signing of the document, when price remains the only problem, signals the possibility of a breakthrough on the price negotiations.” Gazprom said in March that the price discussions are expected to be finished before the end of the year and lead to a long-term deal.
Is China Occupying 640 km of Indian Territory? | Flashpoints | The Diplomat According to reports in the Hindustan Times and Headlines Today, Chinese military forces have gradually assumed control over an aggregate of 640 km across three sectors along the border in Depsang, Chumar and Pangong Tso. The media reports also said that after a PLA incursion into Indian territory on April 15, Indian forces have been prevented from patrolling the Depsang Bulge.
China settles record amount of its trade in yuan – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun The amount of trade paid for in renminbi reached 2.05 trillion yuan (33 trillion yen, or $334.9 billion) between January and June, up 64 percent from the same period the previous year and a record for a half-year period, according to the People’s Bank of China. If the trend continues, the figure is expected to top 4 trillion yuan for the full year. The ratio of trade settled in yuan to China’s overall trade during the first six months of the year was also a record 16.4 percent.
Western banks still betting on China | beyondbrics The main area banks are persisting in, despite continued poor returns and shrinking market share, is securities dealing and investment banking. Citigroup formed a JV with Orient Securities only last year, joining Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS, some of whom have operated such businesses in China for more than a decade. Banks like JPMorgan have also been busily building Trust Companies with partners. These businesses are non-bank institutions that manage investment funds and private equity and make loans to companies.
Interview: Economic ecologist Yi Zhuangfang|GoKunming Yi Zhuangfang (依庄防) has been immersed in the story of rubber in Xishuangbanna for more than half her life. Her parents own a small rubber plantation and after earning a bachelor’s degree in physical geography from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou she returned to Yunnan to begin her PhD studies at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, under the supervision of tropical ecologist, Dr Charles H Cannon.
REGION
Pentagon analyzes potential China-India tensions The Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment is continuing its focus on China as one of the nation’s primary future trouble spots, and it has commissioned two studies of Chinese relations and intentions, military contract records show… In recent weeks, the office has commissioned studies on “Mining the Gaps in Chinese Strategic Discourse” for $199,800 from a Georgia company called Joint Management Services, which is run by Georgia Tech professor Michael Salomone, and a $220,000 contract to the Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington think-tank, for a study on issues in the strategic contest between China and India….The Hudson Institute, which contains several ONA alumni, has a long record of viewing China’s activities with concern and skepticism.
Is China Occupying 640 km of Indian Territory? | Flashpoints | The Diplomat According to reports in the Hindustan Times and Headlines Today, Chinese military forces have gradually assumed control over an aggregate of 640 km across three sectors along the border in Depsang, Chumar and Pangong Tso. The media reports also said that after a PLA incursion into Indian territory on April 15, Indian forces have been prevented from patrolling the Depsang Bulge.
Manila: China set impossible conditions for visit – AP Philippine President Benigno Aquino III canceled a trip to a Chinese trade fair after Beijing demanded that he first withdraw a legal complaint over disputed territories in the South China Sea, Filipino officials said on Sept. 2. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and two other diplomats relayed conditions for Aquino to attend the annual China-ASEAN Expo, which opens on Sept. 3 in the southern city of Nanning, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told a news conference.
Philippines says China expanding territory before code takes effect | Reuters The Philippines believes China has jeopardized peace and stability in Southeast Asia with its latest incursion, said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, and he urged Southeast Asian neighbors to speed up talks on a binding code of conduct (CoC) that will govern behavior in the sea. The Philippines will be filing a diplomatic protest against China after it discovered concrete blocks on the Scarborough Shoal which Chinese ships have been occupying since April last year, he said.
China rebuts Philippine accusation over Huangyan Island – Xinhua Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Wednesday rejected the Philippine accusations that China has begun fortifying Huangyan Island, saying “what the Philippine side said is not true.”
China, Russia a Step Closer on Gas Supply-Caijing Under a memorandum of understanding the two energy giants signed in March, Russia will supply 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually from 2018. The volume is expected to increase to 60 billion cubic meters in following years. An energy expert who declined to be named said that although the framework agreement is not legally binding, “the signing of the document, when price remains the only problem, signals the possibility of a breakthrough on the price negotiations.” Gazprom said in March that the price discussions are expected to be finished before the end of the year and lead to a long-term deal.
Premier Li Keqiang says China wants South China Sea solution | South China Morning Post China is serious about wanting a peaceful resolution to the bitter dispute over the South China Sea, Premier Li Keqiang told Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday, but he signalled it was in no rush to sign a long-mooted accord…Separately to Li’s comments, Philippines Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin accused China of violating the informal DoC by building new structures in the Scarborough Shoal, part of the area disputed by Beijing and Manila
Taiwan’s Power Grab in the South China Sea | Flashpoints | The Diplomat Taiwan has announced it will invest 3.37 billion New Taiwan Dollars (US$106.5 million) over three years to build a wharf on Taiping Island in the disputed Spratly Archipelago to increase its naval presence in the area, a move that is likely to irritate other claimants to the region.
Xinhua Insight: Li Keqiang vows China-ASEAN “diamond decade” – Xinhua Bilateral trade between China and the ASEAN amounted to 400.1 billion U.S. dollars last year, nearly six times that of 10 years ago. In the first half of 2013, the bilateral trade surged to 210.56 billion U.S. dollars, representing a 12.2-percent increase year on year. On Tuesday, Li said that China and the ASEAN could consider holding discussions on further lowering tariffs, and the Chinese side is willing to expand imports from the ASEAN and boost free trade and investment. China is willing to join hands with the ASEAN to advance talks of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and discuss exchanges and interactions with frameworks such as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, so as to create an open, inclusive and mutually beneficial climate to “make the two wheels of regional and global trade roll together,” according to the premier.
SE Asia Governments Appear to Squelch Social Media Commentary－－VOA Amid the surge in commentary on social media, governments in the region, according to Shawn Crispin, Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, are seeking to emulate China’s success with controlling online discourse. “Many of these Southeast Asian countries — and we’re talking about the likes of Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia — are increasingly copying some of China’s techniques and methods to suppress online freedoms and increasingly into social media spaces, as well,” said Crispin.
Deadly Accidents in Malaysia and Philippines Expose Weak Transport Systems|The Diplomat On August 21 an express bus crashed 60 meters down a ravine in Malaysia’s Genting Highlands, killing 37 people and injured 16 more. It was Malaysia’s deadliest road accident on record. Initial reports revealed that the bus company had already been placed on a blacklist with the Road Transport Department before the crash took place. Further, while the bus had a capacity of only 44 seats, it was transporting 53 passengers at the time of the crash.
Tony Abbott Poised to Become Australia’s PM|The Diplomat Tony Abbott is poised to become Australia’s 27th prime minister after a botched presidential-style election campaign from incumbent Kevin Rudd. Known for his “selfies” photos on social media, the Labor leader has instead suffered from overexposure of a haphazard strategy for the September 7 poll. Reinstalled in June by the center-left party for his reported campaigning prowess, Rudd’s comeback initially helped Labor reach level terms with Abbott’s conservative Liberal-National Coalition. However, the honeymoon soon ended and the opinion polls progressively worsened for Rudd’s party during the five week official campaign, with the latest predicting around a 10 to 15 seat majority in the Lower House for his opponent, nicknamed the “mad monk”.
Damming the Mekong: Fish-friendly?|The Economist ALONG the banks of the Mekong in Laos, the forest has been stripped and the mountainside gouged out. Construction of the Xayaburi dam, the first on the lower Mekong, is in full swing.The dam, which will cost $3.5 billion, is being built by Ch. Karnchang, a Thai construction company, and financed by Thailand’s four largest banks. Over nine-tenths of the electricity from the 1,300-megawatt dam will supply Thailand. But WWF, an environmental NGO, has warned that the dam will contribute to the extinction of the endangered Mekong giant catfish, and put many other fish species at risk.After Xayaburi, eight more dams in Laos are planned for the Mekong, including one at Don Sahong which would block the only channel for fish migration close to the spectacular Don Khone waterfalls on the border with Cambodia.
CAMBODIA
Cambodian Protests Expected to Focus on China|The Diplomat China has emerged as a major focus ahead of protests by Cambodia’s rowdy opposition scheduled for this Saturday. Prominent politicians are warning that the government has given too much ground to Beijing, which they fear is threatening to overrun the tiny Southeast Asian nation. Opposition heavyweight Son Chay led the attack by the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), accusing China of exploiting and cheating Cambodians, in an interview published in the latest issue of the Southeast Asia Globe.
Cambodia’s Vietnamese community finds voting is not necessarily a right | The Guardian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s party, which emerged out of a Vietnamese-installed regime in the 1980s, is seen as cosy with Hanoi. This relationship vexes many Cambodians and has long been exploited for political gain by opposition leader Sam Rainsy, whose pre-election return from self-exile was accompanied by a resurgence in his party’s anti-Vietnamese rhetoric. “Numerous ethnic Vietnamese have Cambodian ID documentation and have integrated well into society – however, it is true that others continue to live at the margins of society and face difficulties substantiating their legal status,” says Lyma Nguyen, an international civil party lawyer representing ethnic Vietnamese victims at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
INDONESIA
Indonesia’s 2014 elections: Let the games begin|The Economist Some parties have already nominated their presidential candidate. The nominations of the two most prominent candidates, Prabowo Subianto and Aburizal Bakrie, were foregone conclusions. Mr Subianto, after all, heads the party he founded, Gerindra; Mr Bakrie, a dominant businessman, is both chairman of the Golkar party and a chief financier of it. Both are well-known. Mr Subianto is a former special-forces commander who contested the vice-presidency in 2009.
LAOS
Plight of Sombath Somphone Back in Focus|The Diplomat The inability of the Laos government to offer a credible explanation for the disappearance of prominent activist Sombath Somphone has again drawn unwanted headlines, with demands for donor nations to think twice before committing taxpayers dollars to the one-party Communist state. The latest swipe comes from Amnesty International, which is raising Somphone’s plight on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance. Somphone was last seen in police custody on December 15, but the authorities insist they have no knowledge of his whereabouts.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia Initiates Another Crackdown on Illegal Immigrants|The Diplomat The Malaysian government has begun another crackdown on illegal immigrants, targeting half-a-million people who have fled conflicts in the Southern Philippines, Myanmar and beyond. The move was not unexpected as a roundup is conducted almost annually with mixed results.The three-month operation will inevitably upset businesses – who have made capitalizing on illegal immigrants as a cheap source of labor an art form – while pandering to the broader majority who feel their country has become overwhelmed by asylum seekers and economic refugees.
MYANMAR/BURMA
Meth drug makers lure children in Thailand with sweet-coated yaba pills|The Guardian “Yaba [producers] are trying to change their product to meet the demands [of] targeted groups,” Dr Viroj Verachai, of the Princess Mother National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment, recently told the English-language daily The Nation. “These flavours help the users take the drug more easily, but it could severely affect their [central] nervous systems.”
Opinion Divided on Merit of Further Rate Cuts for Burma’s Banks|The Irrawaddy Opinions are mixed within Burma’s financial industry when the question of whether or not to lower interest and loan rates arises, with some touting a drop as pro-business, while others warn that lowered earnings on savings deposits could prompt a run on the nation’s banks. Changes to bank rates could have a detrimental impact on the country’s economy, the managing director of the Asia Green Development Bank told The Irrawaddy this week. The comments by the AGDB banker, Ye Min Oo, come as lawmakers reportedly consider tweaking the nation’s monetary policy. “I heard, in one of the parliamentary sessions, that they were discussing reducing current bank interest [rates]. It would have a big impact among the business sector here, because there are many consequences to that,” Ye Min Oo said.
60% of Investment Already Paid for Suspended Myitsone Dam: Chinese Developer|The Irrawaddy The Chinese backer of the Myitsone dam project says more than half the funds to construct the multi-billion-dollar project have already been paid to Burma, although the project was suspended last year. Sixty percent of a total $3.6 billion in investment to build the controversial hydropower dam project in Kachin State has been paid, according to Wang Qiyue, director of China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), who was speaking during an energy investment summit in Rangoon earlier this week. It was the company’s first transparent report about its investment in the project. The Myitsone hydropower dam is expected to supply up to 4,600 megawatts of electricity when it is completed. CPI plans to build the dam in collaboration with Burma’s Ministry of Electric Power as well as Asia World Co., which is owned by a Burmese business tycoon, Steven Law, who is the son of recently deceased drug kingpin Lo Hsing Han.
Thailand
Hit-and-Run Case Seen as Reflection of Inequality in Thailand|NYT After repeated postponements, Thai prosecutors said Monday that the man who has admitted to the hit and run, Vorayuth Yoovidhya, the grandson of the inventor of the Red Bull energy drink and the heir to one of Thailand’s greatest fortunes, failed to show up at an indictment hearing.
Thailand Under Pressure to End Rubber Protest After Violence|The Irrawaddy Thailand is the world’s biggest rubber producer and exporter with around 90 percent of its output heading overseas. The protests have disrupted distribution systems and delayed thousands of metric tons of Thai rubber shipments. Tens of thousands of farmers in the country’s main southern rubber-producing region are demanding greater state support after a slowdown in demand from China and concerns over global economic growth sent prices tumbling to multi-year lows in mid-2012. China accounts for 35 percent of global rubber consumption. They mainly support the opposition Democrat Party and have accused Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of supporting rice farmers in her key north and northeastern constituencies through a rice-buying program, while neglecting rubber farmers in the south of the country.
SINGAPORE
In Singapore, the ‘Economics’ of Defamation| The Irrawaddy In 2002, global business news agency Bloomberg made headlines when it issued a public apology and paid substantial damages for a contributor’s article which suggested nepotism in the appointment of then Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter-in-law Ho Ching as executive director of state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings, Inc. The Bloomberg apology acknowledged that the article implied that then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong put the Lee family’s interests above those of the country in Ho’s appointment, and that her husband Lee Hsien Loong and father-in-law were guilty of nepotism. The apology added that the writer could have implied that Ho’s appointment was made not on merit, “but in order to indulge the interests of the Lee family or for some other corrupt motive.”
Regional Roundup for Week of 9.14.2013
