To add to m_bose
Scotch Whisky-> Whiskey. Note the extra 'e" in the 'key'. 'ky' is also trademarked.
PRC Political News & Discussions
Pkakkar, Dont get me wrong but this IMFL stuff is not that great. What is needed is to create Indian brandnames- feni and arrack before they get hijacked. Why dont entreprenuers try o bottle feni and arrack in fancy crystal and create a new brand name?
BTW I feel your pain. But if the 'Red Scot' lawyer didnt make the arguement how can the judge on his own come up with it? I think the 'Red Scot' makers also want closure to this case. Only thing is this shoudlnt become a precedent.
BTW I feel your pain. But if the 'Red Scot' lawyer didnt make the arguement how can the judge on his own come up with it? I think the 'Red Scot' makers also want closure to this case. Only thing is this shoudlnt become a precedent.
pkakkar, Scotland is famous for its whisky and it is just protecting its business interests. India and Indians should do that too -- we have a lot to protect. Note how basmati, curry, yoga and other indian "brands" are being co-opted by the sharks in the west (now there is "christian yoga" rearing its head in western countries, whatever the hell that means, but do not see any Indian groups fighting it...that is our problem, not those who stole the concept and refuse to give credit to the hindu roots of that practise).
This is nothing new, BTW. California vineyards used to sell "champagne" until the district of Champagne in France sued them and forced the california vineyards to label their produce as "sparkling wine". So if you see "sparkling wine" on sale, it is basically champagne, but it cannot be called so, unless produced by vineyards in the district of Champagne.
This is nothing new, BTW. California vineyards used to sell "champagne" until the district of Champagne in France sued them and forced the california vineyards to label their produce as "sparkling wine". So if you see "sparkling wine" on sale, it is basically champagne, but it cannot be called so, unless produced by vineyards in the district of Champagne.
-
abhischekcc
- BRF Oldie
- Posts: 4277
- Joined: 12 Jul 1999 11:31
- Location: If I can’t move the gods, I’ll stir up hell
- Contact:
Take a look at the differences in the Chinese google and the India/International version of google for the words 'Tiananmen Square'.
Note the absence of violent imagery in the Chinese version.
Chinese Version
Real Version
Interesting!
Note the absence of violent imagery in the Chinese version.
Chinese Version
Real Version
Interesting!
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsAr ... 060425.XML
Morocco visit highlights China's Africa ambitions
Rye,
Not to suggest that India be passive on authorship claims of products and ideas used elsewhere, but the 'Christian Yoga' thing is to reassure fundamentalist Southern Baptist types who are nervous about letting their children read Harry Potter because its about magic, which is of course satanic! So just as they prescribe CS Lewis as an alternative 'Christian' children's fantasy that will not cause 'spiritual confusion', they are trying to produce something that does not threaten or challenge their narrow religious views. I highly doubt that it will ever threaten mainstream yoga and its inherent ties to Indian philosophy, only introduce the techniques to people who would have avoided them in the first place.
Morocco visit highlights China's Africa ambitions
Trade between China and Africa has surged in recent years, with China exporting billions of dollars of finished goods in exchange for the energy and minerals its economy craves.
For Morocco, which has no oil, the commercial relationship with China has been a largely one-sided affair.
The value of exchanges has tripled over four years to around $1.5 billion but most that is due to a flood of Chinese finished goods into the North African kingdom.
...But Loukili said Morocco had unexploited export opportunities that could help make the relationship less one-sided, pointing to Morocco's huge Atlantic fisheries.
"China needs fish and that is one area that can serve as a basis for redressing the commercial balance," he said.
Chinese officials have said they will work to reduce the commercial deficit between the two countries by boosting investment in Morocco.
Seven agreements were signed on Monday covering trade, tourism, culture and scientific research as well as the sale of fertilisers and construction materials.
Media said the Chinese also offered to train Moroccan textile workers to help support an industry that counts for more than a third of the country's exports and is still smarting from China's aggressive push into its vital European market.
As some Moroccan commentators have played up the idea of a mutually beneficial relationship in which China shares expertise in exchange for access to markets and political support, Moroccan media have also reported a sudden surge in interest in learning Mandarin among Moroccan business people.
Rye,
Not to suggest that India be passive on authorship claims of products and ideas used elsewhere, but the 'Christian Yoga' thing is to reassure fundamentalist Southern Baptist types who are nervous about letting their children read Harry Potter because its about magic, which is of course satanic! So just as they prescribe CS Lewis as an alternative 'Christian' children's fantasy that will not cause 'spiritual confusion', they are trying to produce something that does not threaten or challenge their narrow religious views. I highly doubt that it will ever threaten mainstream yoga and its inherent ties to Indian philosophy, only introduce the techniques to people who would have avoided them in the first place.
Johann, Yoga was probably a bad example, since I doubt if it is patentable. But I see what you are saying w.r.t. the "christian yoga" crowd also fearing Harry Potter -- nothing surprising given their religious chauvinism, but I am not so sure that this "christian yoga" is restricted just to southern baptists.
http://www.icainstitute.org/china.html
CHINA
General Information
China Facts and Figures, 2002: An official Chinese government source
A Country Study: China: Information from the Library of Congress
General Information of the People's Republic of China
Chinese Cities and Provinces
China Maps: Detailed information about China through maps
The World Factbook: China: Factual summary of China ranging from geography to history
Country Briefings: China: Brief information from The Economist with some news
Government
Concise Political History of China
China's Political System : Detailed description of the Chinese governmental structure
China Leadership Monitor: From the Hoover Institution, offers authoritative assessments of trends in Chinese leadership politics
General Publications
Beijing Scene: A Chinese-based online magazine, focusing on culture and lifestyle
That's: Shanghai: Online resource for expatriates in China and other Asian countries
Xinhua News Agency
South China Morning Post
China Internet Information Center
China Daily
People's Daily Online
Agriculture and Food Sciences
Government Agriculture Plans: Information on the numerous agricultural projects in China
China: Agriculture in Transition: A U.S. report on Chinese agriculture
Agriculture and Agricultural Trade: Review by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
China Agriculture News
Education
Education: Facts, Figures and Links
Overview of Government Education Plans
China Education and Research Network: Comprehensive information on education in China
Wah Ching Centre of Research on Education in China: Hong Kong - based center dedicated to improving education in China
Education in China: Brief description from TravelChinaGuide.com
History of the Educational System of China: Written by a professor from Kansas State University
Education Statistics
Energy
China: Environmental Issues: Analysis of China's environmenal prolems by the U.S. Department of Energy
China Institute of Atomic Energy: The birth place of China's nuclear research.
IEA Energy Statistics: China: From the International Energy Agency
2001 Energy Balances: Statistics from the IEA
Developing China's Gas Market: A publication from the IEA
Oil for the Lamps of China: A detailed analysis of China's future energy needs by the National Defense University
Health and Life Sciences
WHO Country Overview: China
HIV & AIDS in China: Information from AVERT, an international AIDs charity organization
Information and Commmunication Technology
China Internet Demographics
China Tech News: A technology news portal
National Science and Technology Achievement Spreading Program: A government plan to advance China's tech. pedigree
Science Parks: A list of China's hi-tech centers
Ministry of Science and Technology
Government IT Planning
Sci-Tech News: Updates on events involving the scientific community
China Internet Statistics
SMS and Wireless Service news
U.S. Information Technology Office
Technology Statistics
Manufacturing
Trade Directory of China Products, Manufacturers, Suppliers & Exporters
China Trade Directory
The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong
Security
China Military Guide: From Global Security
Embassy of People's Repulic of China in the United States of America
China WMD Database: Produced by Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Proliferation News and Resources: China: From Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Wikipedia Encyclopedia: People's Liberation Army
Central Military Commission: Analagous to the U.S. Department of Defense (brief description from Wikipedia)
Trade and Finance
U.S. Commercial Service: Guide to Doing Business in China
Investment in China FAQ
Government Planning for Trade: Introduction to China's trade bureaucracy and trade policies.
China Business Information Center: A newsletter dedicated to Chinese business
People's Republic of China and the IMF: IMF and China-related events
China Council for the Promotion of International Trade: An organization dedicated to promoting trade
World Bank China Update, Nov. 2004
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vina
- BRF Oldie
- Posts: 6046
- Joined: 11 May 2005 06:56
- Location: Doing Nijikaran, Udharikaran and Baazarikaran to Commies and Assorted Leftists
Surviving a Tibetian Gulag ..
Check this out.. The Communist Chinese rule is really brutal.. This country has the largest number of executions in the world. Allegations of organs being harvested from excecuted prisoners. A society that is cowed and just beaten into submission.
Check this out.. The Communist Chinese rule is really brutal.. This country has the largest number of executions in the world. Allegations of organs being harvested from excecuted prisoners. A society that is cowed and just beaten into submission.
More, by way of email:
Friday, 31 March 2006
Investigative Report of Human Organ Harvesting from Alive
Abducted Falun Gong Practitioners at the Sujiatun
Concentration Camp
(Part II)
March 30, 2006
Introduction
The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun
Gong (WOIPFG) has confirmed in their investigations that the
Sujiatun District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in
Shenyang City, also known as the Liaoning Province Thrombosis
Treatment Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine
(the Thrombosis Hospital for short, below) had set up an
unlawful crematorium to burn the bodies and destroy evidence.
The existence of a huge live human organ bank in the Shenyang
City area has been verified. The live harvesting of organs for
transplants from unlawfully detained Falun Gong practitioners
were found in not only at the Sujiatun area but also at many
other places throughout Mainland China.
I. It is Confirmed Again that the Hospital Boiler at the
Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital Used as Crematorium
As an eyewitness pointed out, the Thrombosis Hospital was the
place where organs of Falun Gong practitioners were harvested
while they were still alive [1]. According to our
investigation, although a funeral parlor exist in the Sujiatun
District [2], human bodies indeed have been cremated inside
the hospital boiler. Some people involved in this gruesome
process of burning bodies have collections of rings and other
belongings from the corpses [3]. According to the 1997-issued
Interment Management Regulation from the Chinese State
Council, funeral work was managed by the civil administration
department at each level. No one is authorized to build a
crematory facility without approval [4]. The Thrombosis
Hospital dares to openly violate state regulations to cremate
human bodies using a private boiler; this implicates them for
having potentially dealt with a large number of corpses, to
hide their actions from public scrutiny.
II. A Huge Live Human Organ Bank Exists in Shenyang City
Shenyang is one of few cities in the nation where organ
transplants are performed on an extremely large scale
We have discovered that as many as ten hospitals in Shenyang
City have performed organ transplants. In 2005, 250 kidney
transplants and 70 liver transplants were reported. By January
2006, the General Hospital for the Shenyang Military Region
(whose Urology Department is the military region’s kidney
transplant center) has performed over 1,500 kidney
transplants. [5] The No. 463 Hospital of the Chinese People’s
Liberation Army (an Air Force hospital) in Shenyang City has
topped the Shenyang area in Liaoning Province in terms of the
numbers of homogeneous foreign body kidney transplants
performed. By 2005, over 600 kidney transplants and 120 liver
transplants have been performed in the No. 1 Adjunct Hospital
of the China Medical University. [6] Due to the
characteristics of the organ transplant surgeries, the
large-scale development of organ transplants could only be
feasible in area where supply is ample.
Organ Supply Sources
For traditional cultural ethics, Chinese people have always
been conservative regarding the issue of organ donations.
Thus, organ donors are rather scarce in China. According to
widely circulated international reports and witness accounts,
the customary source of transplant organs in Mainland China
were those from death-row prisoners. [7] This is an undisputed
fact in the international community. Due to the general
practice of organ transplants in various areas in China, the
organs from the death-row prisoners could only be used by
local hospitals near the execution site of the prisoners, with
a few exceptions. According to an Amnesty International
report, about 2,000 prisoners were executed annually in China,
[8] and the number of highest estimate could be as high as
10,000 per year. According to our medical experts, the donor
match of live kidney transplants between direct-related family
members is 50%, but the possibility of a complete match
between two non-family members is one out of several million.
[9] So, considering factors such as tissue type matching, even
in an incomplete match, the actual rate of utilization of
organs from death prisoners is rather low.
Applying the numbers to such a city like Shenyang, even if all
usable organs from death- row prisoners that match the tissue
type are utilized, the availability still cannot satisfy the
annual quantity needed for actual transplant operations in
that city. Yet, Wu Gang, associate professor of Organ
Transplant Department in the No. 1 Adjunct Hospital of China
Medical University stated, “At present, we have completely
sufficient kidney sources in Shenyang!â€
Friday, 31 March 2006
Investigative Report of Human Organ Harvesting from Alive
Abducted Falun Gong Practitioners at the Sujiatun
Concentration Camp
(Part II)
March 30, 2006
Introduction
The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun
Gong (WOIPFG) has confirmed in their investigations that the
Sujiatun District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in
Shenyang City, also known as the Liaoning Province Thrombosis
Treatment Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine
(the Thrombosis Hospital for short, below) had set up an
unlawful crematorium to burn the bodies and destroy evidence.
The existence of a huge live human organ bank in the Shenyang
City area has been verified. The live harvesting of organs for
transplants from unlawfully detained Falun Gong practitioners
were found in not only at the Sujiatun area but also at many
other places throughout Mainland China.
I. It is Confirmed Again that the Hospital Boiler at the
Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital Used as Crematorium
As an eyewitness pointed out, the Thrombosis Hospital was the
place where organs of Falun Gong practitioners were harvested
while they were still alive [1]. According to our
investigation, although a funeral parlor exist in the Sujiatun
District [2], human bodies indeed have been cremated inside
the hospital boiler. Some people involved in this gruesome
process of burning bodies have collections of rings and other
belongings from the corpses [3]. According to the 1997-issued
Interment Management Regulation from the Chinese State
Council, funeral work was managed by the civil administration
department at each level. No one is authorized to build a
crematory facility without approval [4]. The Thrombosis
Hospital dares to openly violate state regulations to cremate
human bodies using a private boiler; this implicates them for
having potentially dealt with a large number of corpses, to
hide their actions from public scrutiny.
II. A Huge Live Human Organ Bank Exists in Shenyang City
Shenyang is one of few cities in the nation where organ
transplants are performed on an extremely large scale
We have discovered that as many as ten hospitals in Shenyang
City have performed organ transplants. In 2005, 250 kidney
transplants and 70 liver transplants were reported. By January
2006, the General Hospital for the Shenyang Military Region
(whose Urology Department is the military region’s kidney
transplant center) has performed over 1,500 kidney
transplants. [5] The No. 463 Hospital of the Chinese People’s
Liberation Army (an Air Force hospital) in Shenyang City has
topped the Shenyang area in Liaoning Province in terms of the
numbers of homogeneous foreign body kidney transplants
performed. By 2005, over 600 kidney transplants and 120 liver
transplants have been performed in the No. 1 Adjunct Hospital
of the China Medical University. [6] Due to the
characteristics of the organ transplant surgeries, the
large-scale development of organ transplants could only be
feasible in area where supply is ample.
Organ Supply Sources
For traditional cultural ethics, Chinese people have always
been conservative regarding the issue of organ donations.
Thus, organ donors are rather scarce in China. According to
widely circulated international reports and witness accounts,
the customary source of transplant organs in Mainland China
were those from death-row prisoners. [7] This is an undisputed
fact in the international community. Due to the general
practice of organ transplants in various areas in China, the
organs from the death-row prisoners could only be used by
local hospitals near the execution site of the prisoners, with
a few exceptions. According to an Amnesty International
report, about 2,000 prisoners were executed annually in China,
[8] and the number of highest estimate could be as high as
10,000 per year. According to our medical experts, the donor
match of live kidney transplants between direct-related family
members is 50%, but the possibility of a complete match
between two non-family members is one out of several million.
[9] So, considering factors such as tissue type matching, even
in an incomplete match, the actual rate of utilization of
organs from death prisoners is rather low.
Applying the numbers to such a city like Shenyang, even if all
usable organs from death- row prisoners that match the tissue
type are utilized, the availability still cannot satisfy the
annual quantity needed for actual transplant operations in
that city. Yet, Wu Gang, associate professor of Organ
Transplant Department in the No. 1 Adjunct Hospital of China
Medical University stated, “At present, we have completely
sufficient kidney sources in Shenyang!â€
[quote]
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Four decades on, Cultural Revolution leaves indelible imprint on China
By Peter Harmsen
Forty years on, China’s experiment with turning society upside down and inside out forms an eerie presence in the everyday lives of the nation’s 1.3 billion citizens, in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways
ZHAO Zilao was only two when the Cultural Revolution started in 1966. The sounds and colors of the decade of upheaval have been with him ever since.
Forty years on, China’s experiment with turning society upside down and inside out forms an eerie presence in the everyday lives of the nation’s 1.3 billion citizens, in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
“I admire the spirit of that time. The people worked hard, not for themselves, but for the future,â€
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Four decades on, Cultural Revolution leaves indelible imprint on China
By Peter Harmsen
Forty years on, China’s experiment with turning society upside down and inside out forms an eerie presence in the everyday lives of the nation’s 1.3 billion citizens, in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways
ZHAO Zilao was only two when the Cultural Revolution started in 1966. The sounds and colors of the decade of upheaval have been with him ever since.
Forty years on, China’s experiment with turning society upside down and inside out forms an eerie presence in the everyday lives of the nation’s 1.3 billion citizens, in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
“I admire the spirit of that time. The people worked hard, not for themselves, but for the future,â€
Mao-era mark is passed in silence
FORTY years ago today...the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was launched
Historians now say Mao launched the Cultural Revolution because he was losing his sole grip on economic policy following the Great Leap Forward, which he initiated in 1958.
By then 72, and lacking a capacity to win his case within the party hierarchy by debate, he pursued a simple political solution: the denigration, incarceration and death of his rivals through smear.
While Beijing-based writer Jasper Becker has convincingly established that the Great Leap caused 30 million to die by starvation, the numbers killed or hounded to suicide during the Cultural Revolution remain uncertain, and are estimated by academics at anything from two million to 20 million.
But today there will be no mention of the subject in China, whose leaders maintain a rigorous silence on the Cultural Revolution
China computer chip scandal just the start
Cindy Sui
The scandal of a Chinese scientist who lied about his inventions is just the tip of the iceberg in an academic environment where, analysts say, incentives to cheat are great and the risk of being found out is small.
Professor Chen Jin, dean of the microelectronics school at the prestigious Shanghai Jiaotong University, was fired after a government investigation found he had faked research on his Hanxin series of digital signal processing chips, authorities announce.
The research was seen as an important step in helping China wean itself off reliance on foreign technology.
But a two-month investigation found Chen's chips could not perform the functions he claimed, according to the Xinhua news agency. And he used another company's research and claimed it as his own.
The case was discovered only after a colleague blew the whistle and after Chen, 37, had received large grants from the government and was praised as one of the country's top young scientists.
Analysts say the case shows there are many pitfalls as the government strives to encourage its top schools and industries to come up with their own technological inventions to help the country catch up with the West.
Pressure on scientists and academics is also intense, leading some to take shortcuts, analysts say.
"In the past, academics were evaluated through a long process of monitoring their work. Nowadays ... there is pressure to show results quickly," says Dr Fan Peilei, a Chinese postdoctoral fellow at the UN University in Yokohama, Japan, who specialises in China's high-tech industries.
Cindy Sui
The scandal of a Chinese scientist who lied about his inventions is just the tip of the iceberg in an academic environment where, analysts say, incentives to cheat are great and the risk of being found out is small.
Professor Chen Jin, dean of the microelectronics school at the prestigious Shanghai Jiaotong University, was fired after a government investigation found he had faked research on his Hanxin series of digital signal processing chips, authorities announce.
The research was seen as an important step in helping China wean itself off reliance on foreign technology.
But a two-month investigation found Chen's chips could not perform the functions he claimed, according to the Xinhua news agency. And he used another company's research and claimed it as his own.
The case was discovered only after a colleague blew the whistle and after Chen, 37, had received large grants from the government and was praised as one of the country's top young scientists.
Analysts say the case shows there are many pitfalls as the government strives to encourage its top schools and industries to come up with their own technological inventions to help the country catch up with the West.
Pressure on scientists and academics is also intense, leading some to take shortcuts, analysts say.
"In the past, academics were evaluated through a long process of monitoring their work. Nowadays ... there is pressure to show results quickly," says Dr Fan Peilei, a Chinese postdoctoral fellow at the UN University in Yokohama, Japan, who specialises in China's high-tech industries.
Today theme; PLA Military Diplomacy
Liang Guanglie wraps up visit to India
http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/ne ... 216678.htm
Chinese chief of general staff meets Indian defense minister
http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/ne ... 214073.htm
Liang Guanglie wraps up visit to Bangladesh
http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/ne ... 212202.htm
PLA Daily 2006-05-16
Ge Zhenfeng holds talks with Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff
http://jamestown.org/publications_detai ... id=2371022
PACOM delegation in China
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/internation ... 2027&GRP=D
Chinese military good-will delegation visits Cuba and Mexico
http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/ne ... 217703.htm
Liang Guanglie wraps up visit to India
http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/ne ... 216678.htm
Chinese chief of general staff meets Indian defense minister
http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/ne ... 214073.htm
Liang Guanglie wraps up visit to Bangladesh
http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/ne ... 212202.htm
PLA Daily 2006-05-16
Ge Zhenfeng holds talks with Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff
GENERAL CAO’S ASIAN TOUR [Korean Peninsula & SE Asia]　　Ge Zhenfeng, deputy chief of general staff of the PLA, held talks with visiting Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff Moeen U Ahmed yesterday in Beijing.
　　Ge Zhenfeng said that there exists traditional friendship between China and Bangladesh. Along with constant development of ties between the two countries, the exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries in various fields and at different levels have been steadily expanded and deepened. To develop friendly ties between China and Bangladesh and between their two militaries is not only in the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but also conducive to regional peace, stability and development. Finally Ge Zhenfeng expressed the hope that the two sides would make common efforts to keep the current good momentum of exchange going.
　　Moeen U Ahmed said that thanks to the concern of the leaders of the two countries, the friendship between Bangladesh and China has been deepened steadily. Since the advent of the new century, the ties between the two countries and two militaries have become closer than ever before. He said that the Bangladesh government, people and army would firmly stick to the one-China policy.
　　Before the talks, Ge Zhenfeng held a welcome ceremony for Moeen U Ahmed.
http://jamestown.org/publications_detai ... id=2371022
PACOM delegation in China
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/internation ... 2027&GRP=D
Chinese military good-will delegation visits Cuba and Mexico
http://english.chinamil.com.cn/site2/ne ... 217703.htm
lizard wants F-16 engines? For the Thundaaaar?
China broadens espionage operations
Posted 5/17/2006 11:57 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print |
By John Diamond, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — China is running aggressive and wide-ranging espionage operations aimed at stealing U.S. weapons technology that could be useful against U.S. forces, according to the nation's top spy-catchers.
U.S. counterintelligence officials have also detected an expansion of spy networks run by Russia, Cuba and Iran targeting the U.S. government and, in the case of Iran, U.S. military technology, according to Timothy Bereznay, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.
China, however, has emerged as the leading espionage threat, Bereznay and Stephen Bogni, a senior investigator for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said in separate interviews.
China has "put out a shopping list" of weapons and components it is seeking to arms dealers and middlemen, Bogni said. These middlemen, often ethnic Chinese, operate out of shell companies in the USA, he said. The list includes night-vision gear, radar-evading and radar- and communications-jamming equipment, missile-guidance systems and torpedoes.
On Wednesday, one accused Chinese spy, Taiwanese businessman Ko-Suen "Bill" Moo, pleaded guilty to charges he tried to buy military parts and weapons, including an F-16 fighter jet engine and cruise missiles.
ESPIONAGE: A growing business
ICE officials said Moo attempted to buy from undercover agents an AGM-129 cruise missile, which can carry nuclear warheads 2,300 miles.
The possibility of a U.S.-Chinese military confrontation over Taiwan looms in the background of the espionage, said Ronald Guerin, the FBI's East Asia section chief.
In a nightmare scenario, China could use U.S. technology to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier positioned to block a Chinese move against Taiwan, Guerin said. "We have to really worry about our technology being used against our (own) warfighter. That's a losing proposition," Guerin said. "This is a threat to the national security of the United States."
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy did not return a call seeking comment.
Counterintelligence is a highly secret sector of intelligence and law enforcement, involving criminal investigations and classified or sensitive information. Bereznay and other officials said they were willing to discuss it on the record to draw attention to what they regard as an emerging national security threat.
The FBI has arrested 25 Chinese nationals or Chinese Americans in cases involving the targeting of U.S. technology in the past two years, an unprecedented level of espionage compared to prior years, Guerin said. Most of the cases involve alleged theft of sensitive technology. ICE has initiated more than 400 investigations since 2000 involving illicit export of U.S. arms and strategic technology to China, according to agency statistics.
The emerging espionage threat involves business people, trade representatives and academics in the USA ostensibly for legitimate purposes, Bereznay said. Sometimes the technology they target is highly sensitive but not yet classified, requiring the government to prosecute export violations rather than espionage
"Foreign collectors don't wait until something is classified," Bereznay said. "They're targeting it at the R&D (research and development) phase."
China broadens espionage operations
Posted 5/17/2006 11:57 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print |
By John Diamond, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — China is running aggressive and wide-ranging espionage operations aimed at stealing U.S. weapons technology that could be useful against U.S. forces, according to the nation's top spy-catchers.
U.S. counterintelligence officials have also detected an expansion of spy networks run by Russia, Cuba and Iran targeting the U.S. government and, in the case of Iran, U.S. military technology, according to Timothy Bereznay, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.
China, however, has emerged as the leading espionage threat, Bereznay and Stephen Bogni, a senior investigator for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said in separate interviews.
China has "put out a shopping list" of weapons and components it is seeking to arms dealers and middlemen, Bogni said. These middlemen, often ethnic Chinese, operate out of shell companies in the USA, he said. The list includes night-vision gear, radar-evading and radar- and communications-jamming equipment, missile-guidance systems and torpedoes.
On Wednesday, one accused Chinese spy, Taiwanese businessman Ko-Suen "Bill" Moo, pleaded guilty to charges he tried to buy military parts and weapons, including an F-16 fighter jet engine and cruise missiles.
ESPIONAGE: A growing business
ICE officials said Moo attempted to buy from undercover agents an AGM-129 cruise missile, which can carry nuclear warheads 2,300 miles.
The possibility of a U.S.-Chinese military confrontation over Taiwan looms in the background of the espionage, said Ronald Guerin, the FBI's East Asia section chief.
In a nightmare scenario, China could use U.S. technology to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier positioned to block a Chinese move against Taiwan, Guerin said. "We have to really worry about our technology being used against our (own) warfighter. That's a losing proposition," Guerin said. "This is a threat to the national security of the United States."
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy did not return a call seeking comment.
Counterintelligence is a highly secret sector of intelligence and law enforcement, involving criminal investigations and classified or sensitive information. Bereznay and other officials said they were willing to discuss it on the record to draw attention to what they regard as an emerging national security threat.
The FBI has arrested 25 Chinese nationals or Chinese Americans in cases involving the targeting of U.S. technology in the past two years, an unprecedented level of espionage compared to prior years, Guerin said. Most of the cases involve alleged theft of sensitive technology. ICE has initiated more than 400 investigations since 2000 involving illicit export of U.S. arms and strategic technology to China, according to agency statistics.
The emerging espionage threat involves business people, trade representatives and academics in the USA ostensibly for legitimate purposes, Bereznay said. Sometimes the technology they target is highly sensitive but not yet classified, requiring the government to prosecute export violations rather than espionage
"Foreign collectors don't wait until something is classified," Bereznay said. "They're targeting it at the R&D (research and development) phase."
Pentagon wins gold for Games stupidity
By Augustine Tan
By Augustine Tan
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/HE26Ad01.htmlThe US Defense Department's annual report to Congress on the Chinese military contains a curious statement: "If Beijing chooses to use force against Taiwan prior to the 2008 Olympics, China would almost certainly face a boycott or loss of the games."
If the Chinese Communist Party's politburo members in their enclave in Zhongnanhai are screaming for doctors to treat their laughter-induced bellyaches, it is entirely understandable. This pious declaration from Pentagon hawks is too priceless for words.
To compare the Olympics to Taiwan shows a mind-boggling lack of understanding of China, its people and the whole mainland-Taiwan issue altogether. How can one compare Taiwan, a self-governing island of 22 million people, to two weeks of running, jumping and shooting?
while we are busy in TSP bashing, our red neighbour is sharpening his hitech claws. Military wise, they are talking in terms of countering any other force of the world, while India's approach is still lethargic and majorly TSP centric. we are trying to kil a bug, and here there is a dinasaur growing in vicinity.China seeks high-tech army
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorest ... y&id=88373
Friday, May 26, 2006 (Shanghai):
China will step up improvements in weaponry and technology used by its 2.3 million-strong People's Liberation Army, state media reported on Friday.
The announcement comes a day after Beijing angrily rejected a Pentagon report describing China as a potential military threat.
A 15-year military technology plan calls for developing high-tech industries for both military and civilian purposes, the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily reported.
It also aims to further develop manufacturing technology for military industries, a move likely intended to lessen China's dependence on Russia for high-tech weaponry.
Ambitious project
The projects include development of large aircraft, pressurised-water nuclear reactors and high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations, along with manned space missions and lunar probe programmes.
The technologies will also have applications for the space industry, aviation, ship and marine engineering, nuclear energy and fuel and information technology, the People's Daily said.
It said top experts would be recruited to conduct related research.
The plan was approved by President Hu Jintao and issued by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence on Thursday.
Defence purposes
China has consistently vowed to boost the technological capabilities of its army, but lags decades behind those of the US and other major powers in terms of technology and reach.
Despite double-digit increases in military spending in recent years, Beijing insists its military is focused solely on defence.
The Pentagon report issued on Tuesday accused China of seeking to extend its military reach with more long-range aircraft and weapons that would allow it to compete with the US, and potentially pose a threat to other countries. (AP)
The original newsitem is in Chinese 9or taiwanese, if you will) and hence, am linking directly to the translation I found on another forum.
China: 'Tank Man', the Tiananmen Hero...Alive in Taiwan(All Hail to Tank Man!)
Yup, dassright. The steelballs guy in the pic, exhibit A in courage in modern times, protesting a totalatarian monster w/o the benefit/backing of constitutional protections, legal niceties and such.... is apparently alive and well.
Yup, I guess, like the headline says..."All hail the tank man!":))
China: 'Tank Man', the Tiananmen Hero...Alive in Taiwan(All Hail to Tank Man!)
Yup, dassright. The steelballs guy in the pic, exhibit A in courage in modern times, protesting a totalatarian monster w/o the benefit/backing of constitutional protections, legal niceties and such.... is apparently alive and well.
Yup, I guess, like the headline says..."All hail the tank man!":))
The whereabout of the man who blocked tank (column) during Tiananmen Democracy Protest in 1989 and had become the symbol of the democracy movement has been finally uncovered. His name is Wang Weilin .
Ming-bao of Hong Kong reported on June 4th that Wang escaped to Taiwan fleeing from Chinese authorities' dragnet at the time, and is currently an adviser (on ceramic artifacts and antiques to) Taiwan's National Palace Museum in southern Taiwan.
On June 5, 1989, Wang stood in front of (a column of) 4 tanks entering Tiananmen Square, blocking its advance, whose photo turned himself into a symbol of the uprising, but had disappeared since then, his whereabout remaining a mystery.
The world media which published the photo all lauded his courage, calling him the great hero of 20th century.
There has been a rumor that Jiang Zemin who inherited power after the Tiananmen Uprising gave confidential order to track down Wang Weilin and executed him in secret, but it turned out to be false in the end.
Guardian reporting on the anniversary...
People's Army turns against the people
People's Army turns against the people
But in China it is the People's Army turned against the people: shooting them indiscriminately in Tiananmen Square, on the streets, on their doorsteps, crushing them beneath tanks. A bankrupt, desperate, geriatric government, an edifice of ideology and aspiration, flaking and toppling before our eyes. We have been confronted, this week-end, by one of the great punctuation marks of 20th-century history.
China Bans 'Code' After Warning From Catholics
Chinese authorities ordered theaters nationwide to stop showing "The Da Vinci Code" today after Chinese Catholics warned that the film could threaten social stability.
Well, even chicoms did one step better than the 7 Indian states which banned, shame on them!But protests by China's official Catholic Patriotic Association and a small-scale demonstration involving a few dozen Catholics in Hebei province were cited as evidence that the film was becoming a political risk, according to people involved in the decision to stop showing it. .
That the film was allowed to run for 22 days before today's order removing it from theaters suggested that a political compromise had been struck between Chinese Catholic leaders and the China Film Corporation, the state-owned company that imported and distributed the film.
CHINA BRIEF
Volume 6, Issue 12 (June 07, 2006)
HU AND THE PLA
By Willy Lam
[quote]In its recently published report on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Pentagon focused on the lack of transparency of the PLA’s budget, as well as the generals’ shift of emphasis from merely tackling Taiwan separatism to also targeting U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines in the Pacific. Yet, worrisome as the rapid modernization of PLA weaponry may be, the fundamental problem of China’s military remains that it reports solely to the dominant faction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and is not subject to even “Chinese-styleâ€
Volume 6, Issue 12 (June 07, 2006)
HU AND THE PLA
By Willy Lam
[quote]In its recently published report on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Pentagon focused on the lack of transparency of the PLA’s budget, as well as the generals’ shift of emphasis from merely tackling Taiwan separatism to also targeting U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines in the Pacific. Yet, worrisome as the rapid modernization of PLA weaponry may be, the fundamental problem of China’s military remains that it reports solely to the dominant faction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and is not subject to even “Chinese-styleâ€
Last edited by Johann on 10 Jun 2006 02:38, edited 1 time in total.
From the same issue. Posting in full because of its importance. See my related post on PRC military diplomacy earlier on this page.
Ref note:
Chengdu Military Region adjoins Nepal, NE India and Myanmar.
Lanzhou MR adjoins Ladakh, Pakistan and Central Asia.
Chengdu, Lanzhou and Guangzhou MRs all adjoin each other.
THE PLA’S NEW CALCULUS FOR FORCE POSTURE
By Martin Andrew
[quote]“All warfare is based on deception,â€
Ref note:
Chengdu Military Region adjoins Nepal, NE India and Myanmar.
Lanzhou MR adjoins Ladakh, Pakistan and Central Asia.
Chengdu, Lanzhou and Guangzhou MRs all adjoin each other.
THE PLA’S NEW CALCULUS FOR FORCE POSTURE
By Martin Andrew
[quote]“All warfare is based on deception,â€
-
JYang
[quote="Johann"]From the same issue. Posting in full because of its importance. See my related post on PRC military diplomacy earlier on this page.
Ref note:
Chengdu Military Region adjoins Nepal, NE India and Myanmar.
Lanzhou MR adjoins Ladakh, Pakistan and Central Asia.
Chengdu, Lanzhou and Guangzhou MRs all adjoin each other.
THE PLA’S NEW CALCULUS FOR FORCE POSTURE
By Martin Andrew
[quote]“All warfare is based on deception,â€
Ref note:
Chengdu Military Region adjoins Nepal, NE India and Myanmar.
Lanzhou MR adjoins Ladakh, Pakistan and Central Asia.
Chengdu, Lanzhou and Guangzhou MRs all adjoin each other.
THE PLA’S NEW CALCULUS FOR FORCE POSTURE
By Martin Andrew
[quote]“All warfare is based on deception,â€
I am reading a biography of Mao by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday. This book has loads endorsements from the UK media. I find this book a little suspect, not because I do not believe all the scheming that Mao did but simply due to the lack of references to events. Does anyone here has some background information on the author and views on their views?
-
George J
It's nice to see pandapokers benefiting from BRF now you have them drones rattling off misspelled Latin quotes...which is ironic since they can barely converse in english.
But I do agree with the sentiment expressed by the pandapoker while they make their toothbrushes in peace they sure are preparing for war with everyone while we on BRF argue the terminological inexcatitudes of political correctness for these dregs.
But I do agree with the sentiment expressed by the pandapoker while they make their toothbrushes in peace they sure are preparing for war with everyone while we on BRF argue the terminological inexcatitudes of political correctness for these dregs.
Shaurya, you might have heard of Jung Chang's famous "Wild Swans". Definitely worth reading to understand the many different horrors Mainland Chinese experienced in the 20th century. She was from a loyal communist family and participated in the cultural revolution. Like many others she lost faith, and like any disillusioned believer she writes with a lot of bitterness. She's an expat who hates teh CPC but still loves China. Her husband Halliday is a Soviet historian.ShauryaT wrote:I am reading a biography of Mao by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday. This book has loads endorsements from the UK media. I find this book a little suspect, not because I do not believe all the scheming that Mao did but simply due to the lack of references to events. Does anyone here has some background information on the author and views on their views?
My problem with the book is somewhat similar to yours - it doesnt really explore in depth how Mao succeeded. Why did the Party do better once Mao took charge, particularly given their military disadvantage against the Nationalists 1945-49? What the Chinese people want? How did the system work?
It works better when you read it side by side with Ross Terrill's "Mao" and Macfarquhar's "The Politics of China". I think Terrill does a good job in looking at the wierd combination of abstact philosophy, creative artistic impulses, and utter disregard for individual human life that motivated Mao. "The Politics of China" shows how Mao always maintained support within the Party, PLA and the country, and Jung is an exploration of Mao's deviousness.
The definitive single volume bio of Mao has yet to be written.
Chinese Students Riot Over Diploma Changes
Seems like China is pretty much a 3rd world country like India, despite the stiff upper lip and the lapdog media.
Seems like China is pretty much a 3rd world country like India, despite the stiff upper lip and the lapdog media.
Expect more media and web crackdowns now, I guess. Such news spreading from one town to another, much less across provinces and even international boundaries, is damaging to China's image.The Zhengzhou riots appeared to reflect the massive pressure Chinese students face in an increasingly competitive job market.
Many families go into massive debt to send children to a university, and a huge expansion in higher education has led to white-hot competition for jobs, making a degree's prestige ever more important.
Students said they entered Shengda, a private college, after recruiters promised they would get diplomas from the better-known Zhengzhou University, which Shengda is affiliated with.
However, while students graduating this year will receive Zhengzhou degrees, those graduating next year will only receive Shengda degrees, said students who e-mailed The Associated Press and posted comments on an online school bulletin board that was later shut down.
"We've been cheated out of three years," said one posting, signed Yvonne, on the online education blog http://www.3ec.cn/ .
Parents, many of them poor farmers, apparently had been willing to pay Shengda's relatively high $1,250 annual tuition because they believed their children would receive Zhengzhou University degrees.
Ex-DIA analyst admits passing secrets to China
Mostly ho hum counter intel stuff but the last para (quoted) got my attention. Definite implications with regards to how certain US policy "think tanks" view Indo-US relations and how they don't necessarily have Indian or American best interests at heart.Montaperto also was part of an influential group of pro-China academics and officials in the U.S. policy and intelligence community who share similar benign views of China. The group, dubbed the Red Team by critics, harshly criticizes anyone who raises questions about the threat posed by Beijing's communist regime.
CHINA BRIEF
Volume 6, Issue 13 (June 21, 2006)
CHINA'S BOOMING ENERGY RELATIONS WITH AFRICA
By Wenran Jiang
Volume 6, Issue 13 (June 21, 2006)
CHINA'S BOOMING ENERGY RELATIONS WITH AFRICA
By Wenran Jiang
An Evolution of Traditional Sino-African Ties
Africa's importance to China is reflected by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's ongoing tour of Africa. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, the seven countries on his itinerary—Egypt, Ghana, the Republic of Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda—have a combined trade volume of over US$20 billion with China, or 50.6 percent of total China-Africa trade last year. Only two months earlier, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited three other African states—Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya—following his trip to the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Such high-profile visits, a recurring practice over the past few years, have aroused speculation that Beijing's pursuit of great power status may include a new grand strategy regarding Africa. After all, top Chinese leaders have done the same extensive tours to Latin American countries since late 2004 when President Hu first visited Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Cuba. China's ties with African countries, however, can be traced back to the 1950s when newly emerging African states declared their independence. From the 1950s to 1970s, China developed close relations with many of these countries based primarily on shared ideological belief and political identity: anti-colonialism, national independence, economic self-reliance and Third World cooperation. Beijing provided substantial aid and other assistance to struggling African states in order to demonstrate that China was on the side of the Third World.
Things changed in the late 1970s. China's economic reforms gradually moved China away from its radical revolutionary worldview of the past. Beijing's open-door policy, primarily designed to attract foreign trade, investment and joint-venture opportunities from Western countries and to facilitate China's entry into the World Trade Organization, moved China much closer to a market economy where profits, not political agendas, drove most of the economic and trade activities. In this process, China's relations with African and other Third World countries have also evolved from anti-colonial brothers-in-arms to economic and trade partners based on market principles. Yet, many things have remained the same. Beijing continues to pay and train young African diplomats in the Chinese Foreign Ministry's prestigious Foreign Affairs University, a practice that has continued for many years; China continues to present itself as a member of the Third World; and since 1991, every Chinese foreign minister's first visit abroad each year has been to an African country. Beijing has even named 2006 the "Year of Africa," and it is getting ready to host a Sino-African summit toward the end of this year. Furthermore, according to Beijing's report to the People's Congress, most of China's foreign aid—totaling 7.5 billion yuan ($950 million) last year—has gone to more than 50 African countries. In fact, Wen claimed that China has offered Africa more than $44 billion in aid over the past 50 years to finance 900 infrastructure projects (AP, June 18). Meanwhile, all signs indicate that China-African relations are entering a new phase centered on energy and raw materials.
The New Focus on Energy
China's relentless pursuit of economic development turned the country into a net petroleum importer in 1993, and by the turn of the new century, its dependency on foreign oil had jumped to about 40 percent of its demand. Beijing's new target is to quadruple its economy again by 2020, as it did from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. To achieve this goal, however, China must rely even more on external energy supplies as the Middle Kingdom already burns through 6.3 million barrels of oil a day. Although still far behind the United States, which consumes some 20 million barrels a day, the International Energy Bureau projects that Chinese consumption will reach a daily level of 10 million barrels within the next two decades or so.
Thus, China's quest for energy and other resources has brought China to Africa with urgency. Chinese customs statistics reveal that from 2001 to 2005, China's trade with Africa increased 268 percent, slower only than the growth of China's trade with the Middle East in the same period (367 percent), but faster than China's trade growth with Latin America (238 percent), ASEAN (170 percent), European Union (184 percent) and North America (163 percent). In the first quarter of 2006, the Ministry of Commerce reported that China's trade with the seven countries on Premier Wen's current African touring list amounted to $6.56 billion dollars, a surge of 168.2 percent. It is not surprising, therefore, that in such a broad economic context, Africa has turned into a major energy supplier to China in recent years. Back in 2003, both President Hu and Premier Wen visited several oil-producing African states with Chinese energy company executives, and since then China has become involved in an increasing number of energy deals on the continent that bear a number of unique characteristics.
Energy Security with Chinese Characteristics
First, Beijing is willing to get into the "troubled zones" with bold investment and aid packages in exchange for energy. When Angola ended its 27-year civil war in 2002, few foreign countries and firms were willing to invest in the country. China, on the other hand, committed a $3 billion oil-backed credit line to rebuild the country's shattered infrastructure. Beijing also made Angola its largest foreign aid destination. Now, Angola is the second largest oil producer after Nigeria in sub-Saharan Africa, producing 1.4 million barrels per day with one-third of its oil exports—13 percent of total Chinese imports—going to China. In the first four months of this year, Angola was also the largest supplier of crude to the Chinese market after Saudi Arabia (AFP, June 20). Similar arrangements have been made with Nigeria and other countries as well.
Second, Chinese energy companies are committing large amounts of funding and labor for exploration and development rights in resource-rich countries. Sudan is one of the earliest and largest overseas energy projects by China's major energy companies. Chinese operations in Sudan include investment, development, pipeline building and a large number of Chinese labor deployments. Today, China has $4 billion of investment in the country. The China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) has a 40 percent controlling stake in Greater Nile Petroleum that dominates Sudan's oilfields. Last year, China purchased more than half of Sudan's oil exports, and earlier this year, China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) announced that it had bought a 45 percent stake in a Nigerian oil-and-gas field for $2.27 billion and also purchased 35 percent of an exploration license in the Niger Delta for $60 million. Chinese companies have made similar investments in Angola and other countries.
Third, Chinese energy companies enter into joint-ventures with national governments, state-controlled energy companies or individual enterprises in order to establish a long-term local presence. It appears that the Chinese companies are often willing to outbid their competitors in major contracts awarded by African governments because their concerns are not in short-term returns but rather in strategic positioning for the future.
Fourth, China does not take into consideration the particular concerns of the United States or other Western countries when selecting energy cooperation partners and has a different set of standards on how to advance political reform and human rights in Africa. Most notoriously, China has been willing to engage in energy deals with the Sudanese government despite the ongoing crisis in Darfur. Likewise, China has just reached an energy and mining deal worth $1.3 billion with Zimbabwe. In exchange for building three coal-fired thermal power stations, Zimbabwe is likely to repay the Chinese investment with its rich deposits of platinum, gold, coal nickel and diamonds (The Guardian, June 16).
From the same issue
COMPETING INTERESTS DIVIDE U.S. CHINA POLICY
By William R. Hawkins
COMPETING INTERESTS DIVIDE U.S. CHINA POLICY
By William R. Hawkins
Events this spring, however, revealed the rivalry within the Bush administration between a "business wing" that favors increased trade and investment ties with China, and a "defense wing" that is very concerned
The Pentagon's Military Power report challenges the arguments of the "business wing" that U.S.-China relations are primarily a function of "win-win" economic integration. China's military buildup supports a foreign policy at odds with the security interests of the United States on many fronts. This is summed up nicely on page 9 of the report: "China continues to dispute sovereignty claims in the South and East China Seas and is preparing for potential conflict over Taiwan. Chinese companies continue to play a negative role in the proliferation of advanced military capabilities, and continue to supply countries such as Iran with critical military technologies. Beijing has refused to join the Proliferation Security Initiative. China has not fully leveraged its close ties with Pyongyang to stem North Korean nuclear ambitions, and continues to maintain or strengthen political, economic and military ties with Iran, Sudan, Burma, Zimbabwe, Cuba and Venezuela, undercutting international efforts to influence those states."
The report continues by discussing the roles that businesses and economic growth have played in Beijing's rise to world power, noting, "The extraordinary economic success of the PRC is a central factor in its emergence as a regional and global power, and is the basis for China's increasingly capable military. The Party has also relied on the successful transformation of the economy as a primary source of legitimacy." This last sentence questions the claims of those who have argued that prosperity will promote liberalism and tame the Communist Party.
Rather than shifting toward political liberalization, states the report, Beijing has utilized foreign companies to build its strength: "Most of China's defense industries rely on foreign procurement and development. The exceptions are few, e.g., ballistic missiles and some space and aviation programs." The report continues, "Foreign investment in physical plants, management, technical and marketing expertise in some basic manufacturing sectors, such as strategic metals and electronics, has increased the prospect for spin-off with military and dual-use industries." Quoting Hu Jintao himself, the report documents China's strategy to "build an innovative system of defense science and technology...to create a good structure under which military and civilian high technologies are shared and mutually transferable."
To prevent Beijing from exploiting U.S. technology successfully to modernize its military, last year the Bush administration proposed new export controls to limit the transfer of "dual-use" technology that could be used to strengthen Chinese capabilities. Certain items would be prohibited, while special licenses would be needed for other products. In addition, there would be more stringent background checks and oversight of transactions. While the international business community has publicly stated its commitment to bolstering national security, its actual behavior has been to oppose any new barriers to trade or investment. As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce admits in its 2005-2006 Policy Priorities, it seeks to "contain the proliferation of counterproductive sanctions against incoming foreign investment, as well as new restrictions on U.S. exports, that may be miscast as homeland security or national security imperatives" [2].
While China has protested U.S. export controls, and President Hu raised the issue at the April summit, former U.S. Ambassador to Beijing James Sasser has pointed out that "The Chinese really don't do any lobbying." Instead, Sasser argues, "The heavy lifting is done by the American business community" (Bloomberg, December 9, 2003). The computer, aerospace and machinery industries have all lobbied the Commerce Department for less restrictive rules and a shorter list of controlled products. Among the items that were taken off the export control list were aircraft engines, ball bearings, machine tools and virtual-reality systems (Bloomberg, May 3). These new regulations were drafted in May and are currently being circulated through the interagency review process. Given these realities, it seems that the original concerns for national security have been lost. Acknowledging that the current draft restricts only approximately 40 items as opposed to the hundreds of items listed in earlier proposals, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security David McCormick told the Wall Street Journal, "The policy I've described is a very different approach than was being discussed just six months ago. There are some philosophical shifts here" (Wall Street Journal, May 23).
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) disclosed that "the current export control system has not effectively slowed China's ability to obtain billions of dollars worth of advanced semiconductor equipment as part of its national strategy to modernize its semiconductor industry" (GAO, September 2005). The GAO found that licenses were routinely approved with inadequate, if any, follow up inspections by U.S. officials to verify promises by China's Commerce Ministry that items would not be used for military purposes.
In China, President Hu's system is already in place. In The Outline of the Development Program of Science and Technology for National Defense for 2006 to 2020, the Chinese government readily admits to their intent to share technology between military and civilian institutions and businesses (Xinhua, May 25). Furthermore, one-third of the economy is still in the hands of the government and much of the private sector is run by elites with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Foreign firms are locked into joint ventures with Chinese partners [3]. The Commerce Department's notion of a large "legitimate" commercial sector to which technology can be safely sold seems mistaken. As the Pentagon's report declares, "China continues a systematic effort to obtain dual-use technologies through trade, commercial transactions and joint ventures, particularly in the areas of software and integrated circuits industries that are vital for information-based, network-centric warfare." A recent study by the RAND Corporation corroborates the Pentagon's suspicions over joint ventures and other commercial technology transfers aiding the Chinese military. The study stated that although not officially classified as part of the weapons industry, Beijing's IT establishment "is probably the most organizationally innovative and economically dynamic producer of equipment for China's military" [4].
In a separate report, the GAO also found that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the institution responsible for policing foreign acquisitions of U.S. assets that have security implications, has a "reluctance to initiate an investigation due in part to concerns about potential negative effects on the U.S. open investment policy" (GAO, September 2005). Last year, China's state-owned China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) attempted to purchase the American-owned Unocal oil company, setting off a furor in Congress over whether CFIUS would sign off on the acquisition. The House of Representatives intervened in the process and passed a resolution that deterred the deal. The incident also spurred Senate action to strengthen the CFIUS process, as Beijing's enormous dollar reserves allow it to make strong bids for any number of U.S. firms. It is doubtful that CFIUS's performance will improve substantially, however, as the proposed "Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2006" still leaves Treasury as the CFIUS chair, something strongly favored by corporate lobbyists (The Hill, October 18, 2005).
While its own policy has become more assertive, Beijing has capitalized upon the competing worldviews and interest group coalitions to play the two wings against one another and to prevent the formulation of a resolute U.S. policy. When a Chinese interceptor collided with a U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane over international waters in April 2001, the Chamber of Commerce was in the middle of its own private diplomacy project, "A National Conversation with the Chinese Ambassador," a 10-city tour for Beijing's ambassador to the United States, Yang Jiechi. The tour's planned stop in Chicago on April 25 continued, giving Beijing another forum to explain its side of the dispute. After the crisis was resolved, the Chamber's president, Thomas Donahue, revealed his ranking of the issues, declaring, "We must strive to see the day when an occurrence like the spy plane incident last spring doesn't unravel our entire relationship" [5].
On his trip to the United States this April, President Hu did not get a state dinner at the White House. He did, however, have two lavish dinners held in his honor by the business community, first in Seattle before the summit, and then in Washington DC after the summit. The Chinese Foreign Ministry referred to the Washington dinner as an event hosted by "12 friendly organizations" led by the Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC). As USCBC President John Frisbie remarked afterwards, "The high turnout for the dinner demonstrates the strength of support for advancing U.S.-China relations through engagement" [6].
2. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, International Trade and Investment Priorities for 2005-2006.
3. For a study of how family, clan and cultural norms reinforce formal organization in the of spread technology across sectors in China see: George T. Haley, Usha C. V. Haley and Chin Tiong Tan, The Chinese Tao of Business: The Logic of Successful Business Strategy (John Wiley and Sons, 2004).
4. Evan Medeiros, Roger Cliff, Keith Crane and James Mulvenon, A New Direction for China's Defense Industry, (RAND Corporation, December, 2005), p. viii.
5. Statement by Thomas Donahue, July 2001.
6. Press Release, U.S.-China Business Council, April 20, 2006.
X-posting from India-China thread....
http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/2000/9/12_2.html
http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/2000/9/12_2.html
The British were reluctant to shoulder military responsibilities north
of the Karakoram, and hence deliberately ignored the persistent claim
of the Kashmir Darbar to Sahidulla, north of the Karakoram. But lest
the Russians occupied the land and threatened the Indian frontier, the
British actively encouraged the Chinese to expand southward and occupy
the land up to the Karakoram. Thus British imperialism boosted Chinese expansionist designs in High Asia, a fact never admitted by the Chinese. this may have been unintentional result as Chinese were viewed to be the lesser evil between russian and chinese expansion
So Olaf Caroe was playing two roles in South Asia, siding with Pakistan when it came to stopping the Soviet Union but also trying to warn India, without success of the emerging Chinese threat. Nehru's unsuccessful visit to the NWFP in 1946 led to frosty relations between them. Also the fact that Nehru was a Sinophile in the 50s did not help matters.Against the powerful current that seemed to sweep nearly everyone away,
a few lone voices could still be heard, though the prevalent din made
them almost inaudible. One of these was that of Sir Olaf Caroe, Deputy
Secretary in the Foreign Department in the early 1930s. In a letter to
The Times (London) in November, 1954, he pinpointed in particular the
problem of north-eastern frontier and underlined the fact that China's
absorption of Tibet now makes the location of this frontier a matter of
direct international dispute between China and India
Is anyone surprised? 
Mystery Deepens on Possible Avian Flu Case in China in 2003
China bird flu goof-up uncovered
[quote]HONG KONG: Long-held suspicions that Chinese authorities either covered up or overlooked an early human infection of the killer avian flu have now been confirmed.
Eight researchers and doctors from mainland China have, in a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a prestigious scientific publication, reported that a 24-year-old man in Beijing, who had pneumonia and respiratory distress and died in November 2003, was in fact the earliest victim of the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus, which has claimed nearly 140 human lives across the world.
Their statement, which they unsuccessfully tried to retract at the last minute, contradicts China’s official claims that the man died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom (SARS); it also sets the clock back for the earliest human infection of the deadly bird flu virus. Officially, China reported its first human infection to the World Health Organisation (WHO) only in November 2005.
The eight researchers - who come from scientific institutions in Beijing, from the People’s Liberation Army Hospital and the State Key Laboratory of Pathogens and Biosecurity - had said in their letter that genetic sequencing of H5N1 samples taken from the dead man’s lungs showed it to be a mixed virus that could be traced to the 1996 Guangdong goose virus; this admission is significant because it is from the Guangdong goose virus that the H5N1 virus was first isolated in 1996. If the researchers’ statement is true, it means that the current understanding that the first human infections in Vietnam occurred in December 2003 needs revision.
It would also confirm that Beijing knew of the earliest human infection, but did not report it to the WHO. Again, it would cast doubts about the integrity of scientific research disclosures in the mainland in an atmosphere where research depends on funding from the government.
Another twist to the controversy was added when editors at the Journal said the researchers wished to withdraw their letter at the last minute, without assigning any reason. But that request came too late, and the letter was published in Thursday’s edition.
The WHO’s office in China is understood to be seeking clarifications from China’s health ministry. “We want more information on exactly what happened, who this case was, what the possible source of infection was, where he was infected, the treatment - all the standard questions,â€
Mystery Deepens on Possible Avian Flu Case in China in 2003
China bird flu goof-up uncovered
[quote]HONG KONG: Long-held suspicions that Chinese authorities either covered up or overlooked an early human infection of the killer avian flu have now been confirmed.
Eight researchers and doctors from mainland China have, in a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a prestigious scientific publication, reported that a 24-year-old man in Beijing, who had pneumonia and respiratory distress and died in November 2003, was in fact the earliest victim of the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus, which has claimed nearly 140 human lives across the world.
Their statement, which they unsuccessfully tried to retract at the last minute, contradicts China’s official claims that the man died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom (SARS); it also sets the clock back for the earliest human infection of the deadly bird flu virus. Officially, China reported its first human infection to the World Health Organisation (WHO) only in November 2005.
The eight researchers - who come from scientific institutions in Beijing, from the People’s Liberation Army Hospital and the State Key Laboratory of Pathogens and Biosecurity - had said in their letter that genetic sequencing of H5N1 samples taken from the dead man’s lungs showed it to be a mixed virus that could be traced to the 1996 Guangdong goose virus; this admission is significant because it is from the Guangdong goose virus that the H5N1 virus was first isolated in 1996. If the researchers’ statement is true, it means that the current understanding that the first human infections in Vietnam occurred in December 2003 needs revision.
It would also confirm that Beijing knew of the earliest human infection, but did not report it to the WHO. Again, it would cast doubts about the integrity of scientific research disclosures in the mainland in an atmosphere where research depends on funding from the government.
Another twist to the controversy was added when editors at the Journal said the researchers wished to withdraw their letter at the last minute, without assigning any reason. But that request came too late, and the letter was published in Thursday’s edition.
The WHO’s office in China is understood to be seeking clarifications from China’s health ministry. “We want more information on exactly what happened, who this case was, what the possible source of infection was, where he was infected, the treatment - all the standard questions,â€
Well, these are areas that India is actually putting a lot of work in similar areas wrt Pakistan since Kargil- computer network enabled C3, rapid mobilisation, realistic high level combined arms and joint exercises with an emphasis on relatively short operations in high value areas, but with a focus .JYang wrote: This is simply defense modernization. I may be mistaken, but most NATO armies should already have such capabilities and this is bringing the PLA up to par to reflect more contemporary warfighting doctrine.
Qui desidarat pacem, prae paret bellum
So it is of course of real interest that the PLA is conducting such work in Chengdu MR, bordering India despite all the Sino-Indian diplomatic efforts. and the apparant easing of relations.
The other factor is of course, Taiwan. Not many people outside the PRC want to see the PRC comfortably able to cow the island in to unification on Beijing's terms.
It will also be interesting to see if such efforts extend to Lanzhou MR, which would enhance the PRC's ability to intervene in Pakistan (deterring Indian action in the Northern Areas that would jeopardise the KKH highway or proposed Gwadar pipeline) and Central Asia.
p.s. J Yang, I think everyone here would appreciate it if you edited your post to avoid quoting the entire article in repetition. It needlessly lengthens the thread. Thanks.
Communist Party undergoes reforms
New methods to improve party democracy
BEIJING: While large-scale re-elections of local leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are proceeding at provincial, municipal, county and township levels, some new methods have been employed to improve party democracy in the process.
Most noteworthy is the introduction of a new cadre appraisal system characterised with more democratic features, involving public opinion poll, political achievements analysis, face-to-face talk and comprehensive assessment before the officials are elected or appointed.
Sources with the party organisation departments said the 2006-2007 re-elections, a major political event before the convening of the 17th national congress of the CPC, underscored guarantee of ordinary party members' right to know, to participate, to select and to supervise.
Say in the campaign
Meanwhile, grassroots people outside the party have also been granted a say in the campaign through public opinion polls.
As a new test, the CPC provincial committee of the booming Jiangsu in east China has ordered all the local party committees at township level to adopt an open candidate selection system.
Various means, including questionnaire-based survey, door-step investigation, online research and symposium are being employed in Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces to invite ordinary people to assess cadres' performance, the sources said.
Under a cadre achievement hearing system in Donghai County in Jiangsu, eight persons were scored low and have been accordingly removed from leading posts.
Founded in 1921, the CPC now has 70.8 million members and 3.52 million grassroot organisations. Its whole regime came into being in the past revolution era and it had for decades followed the Soviet model.
A highly centralised leadership with the worship of the former Chairman, Mao Zedong, had served as a key element bringing China into the chaotic Cultural Revolution between 1966-76, with tens of thousands of people including many loyal party members being persecuted.
As China has entered a new epoch for creating an economic miracle, the party is faced with various problems such as corruption, low efficiency and bureaucracy and thus a self-improvement is being urged.
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee in 2004 pointed out that developing democracy within the party was an important part of political restructuring and building of political civilisation in China. ``The CPC would push forward China's political restructuring through reform and improvement of democracy within the party, '' said Li Junru, vice-president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee. — Xinhua
China media face disaster fines
China is considering imposing financial penalties on media outlets which report emergency incidents without prior government agreement.
World's highest railway
"China plans to use the railway to transport Chinese migrants directly into the heart of Tibet in order to overwhelm the Tibetan population and tighten its stranglehold over our people," he said on a Free Tibet Campaign statement.
"The railway line itself is not a cause of concern for the Tibetan people," his spokesman, Thupten Samphel, said. "How it will be used is the main concern."