Communist Tax Lawyer

A news, research and discussion platform for monitoring the evolution of Communist and ex-Communist countries to market economies

 

China

Mongolia Mulls Casino Proposal for Border Town

May 4th, 2010

Mongolia continues its transition to a free-market economy by making a legal framework for launching casino in one of the country’s Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in the Mongolia-China border town of Zamyn Uud. Members of the Ikh Khural (Parliament) D.Zagdjav and D.Batbayar proposed a draft law for a Limited Casino to speaker D.Demberel.

This is the third try to pass the law on Casino through Ikh Khural. Two other drafts were rejected by the previous Parliament.

“Neighboring regions of neighboring countries don’t have any casinos or gambling centers, which allows such businesses to flourish in Mongolia,” deputies said to Business Mongolia. Law initiators believe that it will contribute to the Mongolian economy and revenue. Read the rest of this entry »

Kazakhstan Enters China’s Grain Market

March 11th, 2010

During the Parliament-session of deputy group ‘Onir’ on Tuesday, Kazakhstan announced that it would begin exporting grain to China.

“I can report that 20 thousand tons of wheat has been exported to the Peoples Republic of China for the first time,” said Kazakhstan’s Vice-Premier Umirzak Shukeev during the meeting. Read the rest of this entry »

China’s U.S. Embassy Issues Statement on Dalai Lama

February 24th, 2010

Below is the statement issued by the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. following the Dalai Lama’s visit to America and his subsequent meeting with President Barack Obama.

What Dalai Lama has said and done in the past decades have fully shown that he is not a pure religious figure, but a political figure in exile who’s long engaged in activities to split China and undermine ethnic unity in China under the cover of religion. While claiming that his visits to foreign countries are aimed at spreading religious teachings, he has never stopped defaming the Chinese Government, selling “Tibet independence” proposals and undermining relations between China and other countries. This is well reflected in his remarks during his current visit, including those he made on CNN’s Larry King Live. Read the rest of this entry »

“China has no Dissidents”

February 15th, 2010

In a session that lasted less than ten minutes, a Beijing court on Thursday upheld an 11-year sentence against popular Chinese human rights activists Liu Xiaobo, co-author of the pro-democracy Charter 08.

After the court decision, US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman called on “the government of China to release him immediately and to respect the right of all citizens to peacefully express their political views and exercise internationally recognized freedoms”.

European Union representatives in Beijing said: “The EU believes that the verdict against Liu Xiaobo – for his role as author of Charter 08 and for publishing articles concerning human rights on the internet – is entirely incompatible with his right to freedom of expression.”

Beijing said the prosecution was in accordance with Chinese law.

“China has no dissidents,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

Taiwan Looking for More

February 9th, 2010

Taiwan’s Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu said over the weekend that Taiwan would continue to try and procure weapons from countries like the United States in an effort to stabilize the region.

“The United States has kept providing Taiwan with defensive weapons according to the Taiwan Relations Act, enabling Taiwan to be more confident in pressing for reconciliation with the Chinese mainland,” Minister Kao said.

“In the future, Taiwan will continue purchasing more weaponry from the United States… so as to build a smaller and leaner deterrent force.” Read the rest of this entry »

China Sends Envoy to North Korea

February 8th, 2010

SEOUL (Reuters) – A senior Chinese envoy was in North Korea to prod the reclusive state back to stalled nuclear talks while the South sent a team across the border on Monday for talks to restart tourism projects halted due to political wrangling.

The North will also host the U.N.’s top political envoy later this week, with analysts saying this engagement may bode well for the dormant six-way disarmament-for-aid talks and could lead to Pyongyang reducing the security threat it poses to the region.

The destitute North is feeling pressure to return to the nuclear talks, where it can win aid to prop up its broken economy, due to U.N. sanctions imposed after its nuclear test in May 2009 and a botched currency revaluation that sparked inflation and rare civil unrest. Read the rest of this entry »

Where’s the Outrage? Military Helicopters to Taiwan from Europe

February 5th, 2010

TAIPEI, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Eurocopter EC-225Taiwan said on Friday it would buy military helicopters from a European manufacturer, a move that could ignite China’s anger toward Europe following a storm over U.S. arms sales to the island that Beijing claims as its own.

The air force will buy EC-225 search-and-rescue helicopters, defense ministry spokesman Martin Yu said without offering details. Read the rest of this entry »

China’s CNNC Purchases Canada’s Khan Resources

February 4th, 2010

To further expand their uranium supply, state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Overseas Uranium Holding Ltd. has come to a purchase agreement with Canada’s Khan Resources worth US$53 million.

Khan Resources is a uranium development company based in Mongolia, with their subsidiary Central Asian Uranium Company Ltd. (CAUC) primarily focused on the Dornod province in the country’s northeast. Read the rest of this entry »

Obama Plans to Meet with Dalai Lama: Add it to the List

February 3rd, 2010

It seems that since China apparently ruined the Copenhagen Summit in December and snubbed U.S. President Barack Obama while doing so, America has been on a mission show Beijing that although the U.S. is a mess, they will not be outmaneuvered in foreign policy.

They have done so by striking at some of the country’s most sensitive topics over the last month, namely: censorship, Taiwan, and the Dalai Lama.

It started with Google’s announcement that it would be leaving the Chinese market after suffering a series of sophisticated cyber attacks originating in China in addition to claiming that censoring their search results went against the company motto, “Don’t be evil.”

Google’s announcement came a week after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a private dinner with some of America’s top executives, including Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Coincidence? Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Taiwan Arms Deal the Right Move for Washington

February 1st, 2010

America’s recent weapons deal with Taiwan was the correct decision, not “the wrong decision,” for the Obama administration. Here’s why:

WASHINGTON (New York Times)— For the past year, China has adopted an increasingly muscular position toward the United States, berating American officials for the global economic crisis, stage-managing President Obama’s visit to China in November, refusing to back a tougher climate change agreement in Copenhagen and standing fast against American demands for tough new Security Council sanctions against Iran.

Now, the Obama administration has started to push back. In announcing an arms sales package to Taiwan worth $6 billion on Friday, the United States leveled a direct strike at the heart of the most sensitive diplomatic issue between the two countries since America affirmed the “one China” policy in 1972. Read the rest of this entry »