China and Russia are stepping up communication as relations between the two neighboring countries continues to improve.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang Thursday praised his country’s relations with its giant neighbor, Russia. China is willing to “join hands” with Russia Qin said, especially against the backdrop of what he describes as the “complicated international situation.” Read the rest of this entry »
The release of a top Chinese official’s personal memoirs may shed new light on the political and free-market reforms of the 1980’s in China, as well as the events leading up to the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and subsequent violence on June 4th, 1989.
Zhao Ziyang, the former Chinese Premier from 1980 to 1987 and then Secretary General from 1987 to 1989, was placed on house arrest following the Tiananmen Square incident for his sympathizing with demonstrators; and would remain there until his death in 2005.
During his years in isolation, Zhao managed to relate his personal experiences at the forefront of Chinese politics by recording over cassettes of children’s songs and the Chinese opera.
The tapes were subsequently smuggled out of the country by some of Zhao’s colleagues and are the material for the 306-page book Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang which will be released by Simon & Schuster on May 19th.
No doubt to the consternation of the current Chinese administration, Zhao praises the western system of parliamentary democracy in the last pages of his book as the only way to stamp out corruption and the growing economic inequality among China’s citizens.
5,335 students were killed or remain missing as a result of the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Sichuan Province on May 12th last year, according to government officials. Another 546 students were left disabled.
Parents of the deceased have been demanding answers and accountability from the government for what they claim to be poorly constructed school buildings, but have been met with harassment and imprisonment.
As many as 7,000 schools collapsed during the earthquake, according to state media, with another 14,000 damaged.
Official estimates put the total number of deaths as a result of the earthquake at around 70,000 with another 18,000 missing.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) met last week in Moscow to discuss the possibility of increasing the coalition’s collaboration on military training to combat terrorism, extremism, and separatism.
Although the organization – made up of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – has maintained that it is not a political/military alliance, it seems that they have been moving towards that direction since Russia took the SCO presidency in August 2008.
As part of the SCO’s “Peace Mission 2010,” military exercises will be conducted in Kazakhstan with the bulk of the armed forces participating in the drills hailing from Russia and China.
“Specific anti-terrorism activities will be practiced at drills in Kazakhstan. All previous and upcoming military exercises involving SCO countries are of a counter-terrorist nature,” said Russia’s Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov.
A coalition of Asian nations consisting of China, Japan, South Korea, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to set up a US$160 billion emergency liquidity fund to help combat the global financial crisis.
“Poverty is worsening in many countries. Businesses are struggling. The extremely urgent climate change agenda could be affected,” said Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting in Bali. “If all this goes unchecked, down the road we could see social and political unrest in many countries.”
China, Japan, and South Korea will provide the bulk of the finances with contributions of US$38.4 billion each from China and Japan, and US$19.2 billion from South Korea.
ASEAN members will be responsible for the remaining 20 percent, or US$32 billion.
The fund will target social spending, health, education, credit-guarantees, and clean energy.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso arrived in China yesterday with the hope of improving relations between the two countries which have been strained for quite some time.
In Beijing, Prime Minister Aso met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to discuss the current financial crisis, the North Korean nuclear threat, and other topics that will be better resolved with improved bilateral relations.
“The development of stable, long-term, friendly neighborly Sino-Japan relations meets the fundamental interests of the people of both our nations,” said Premier Jiabao.
Japan’s past actions, dating back to the 1937 Nanjing massacre, have left many in China with Anti-Japanese sentiment.
“Historical issues are sensitive and affect the feelings of a nation’s people. It is hoped the Japanese side can endeavor to handle them properly,” remarked Premier Jiabao.
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Kazakhstan’s state oil company Kazmunaigas have agreed to jointly purchase Kazakh oil company JSC Mangistaumunaigas (MMG) for US$3.3 billion.
This news comes following a US$5 billion loan-for-oil agreement between Chinese and Kazakh officials earlier this month.
“The transaction is an important step to develop long-term strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan. It also helps our overseas expansion,” CNPC said in a statement on their website.
The purchase of MMG includes two oil and gas fields and the licenses to explore and develop 15 others in Kazakhstan and the Caspian region. It also includes all other oil and natural gas assets.
MMG’s crude oil output in 2008 was 40 million barrels and it had 41.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, according to China Daily.
The World Health Organization has issued a report stating that the spread of multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has reached “epidemic” proportions in many ex-Soviet nations and is now widespread in many provinces in China. Data collected during 2002-2007 showed that one in nine patients of the approximately nine million new cases of TB each year failed to respond to at least one anti-TB drug.
Cases of MDR-TB reached between 9%- 22% of all TB infections in ex-Soviet states, while nearly 20% of all cases in Eastern Europe were drug resistant. In countries such as the UK, France, New Zealand the rate is 1% or lower. Cases recorded in China are believed to show an average of 15% all TB infections being MRD-TB.
China released a two-year human rights action plan on Monday in an effort to reinforce some of the civil liberties that have been neglected in recent times.
Among the policies targeted in the document is the right to a fair trial, the right to question government policies, and a call for measures to discourage torture.
The plan has received praise from many world organizations that see this as a step in the right direction, but maintain that China still has a long road ahead.
“It’s a step forward, I think. It’s also good there are some concrete benchmarks with 2010 as a deadline,” said Roseann Rife of Amnesty International, before also adding, “There are very serious abuses omitted from the plan.”
China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi recently discussed his country’s plans regarding Southeast Asia after the ASEAN summit in Pattaya, Thailand was cancelled due to anti-government protests.
Following the failed summit, Yang unveiled Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s plan for a US$ 10 billion investment in infrastructure as well as a US$15 billion line of credit to ASEAN members.
“China plans to establish a US$10 billion China-ASEAN investment cooperation fund to promote infrastructure that connects it to ASEAN nations,” said Yang on the flight back to China, according to state media. “It will also offer a credit of US$15 billion to ASEAN countries, including preferential loans of US$ 1.7 billion for cooperation projects.”
While China is not a member of the ASEAN, it recently appointed its first ambassador to the association and remains a very influential player in the region.
