A chronology of key events in the new millenium:
2000 March - Chen Shui-bian wins presidential elections, ending the Nationalist (Kuomintang) Party's 50-year monopoly of power.
2000 May - Chen Shui-bian says in his inaugural speech that he will not declare independence as long as China does not attack. He says he won't call for a referendum on independence, nor abolish Taipei's official blueprint for an eventual reunion with mainland China.
China responds by accusing him of insincerity, and by saying he had evaded the key question of whether he considered Taiwan part of China.
2000 August - President Chen Shui-bian stops over briefly in the United States before starting a two-week tour of Central America and Africa. He gets no official welcome.
2000 October - Government halts work on the construction of a nuclear power plant, sparking a major political row. It argues that the facility - approved and started under the previous government - would not be a safe source of energy.
2000 October - Chang Chun-hsiung sworn in as prime minister. He replaces Tang Fei, from the main opposition Nationalist Party, who stepped down amid disputes with President Chen, over issues including the scrapping of the nuclear plant.
2001 April - The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, meets President Chen during a visit which draws strong opposition from China.
2001 April - US says it will go ahead with sales of submarines, warships and anti-submarine aircraft, but not the requested naval combat radar system Aegis. China protests and President George W Bush pledges to help Taiwan should China invade.
Sabre-rattling
2001 June - Taiwan test-fires Patriot anti-missile defence system bought from US, as China carries out military exercises simulating invasion of island.
2001 November - Taipei lifts a 50-year ban on direct trade and investment with China.
2001 December - Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) party loses its parliamentary majority for the first time.
2002 January - Taiwan officially enters the World Trade Organisation, only a few weeks after China.
2003 May - Dramatic rise in cases of the pneumonia-like Sars virus.
2003 July - Taiwan is the final country to be removed from the WHO's list of countries which were badly affected by the Sars virus.
2003 November - Taiwan unveils the 508-metre Taipei 101 building, which it says is the world's tallest.
2003 November - Parliament approves bill to allow referendum on declaring independence should China attack. Referendums on sovereignty and changing country's name are not sanctioned.
Second term for Chen
2004 March - President Chen Shui-bian wins a second term by a slender margin. His win follows an apparent assassination attempt against him on the eve of elections.
2004 November - Court rejects opposition challenge that President Chen Shui-bian won March's presidential election unfairly.
2005 January - Aircraft chartered for the Lunar New Year holiday make the first direct flights between Taiwan and China since 1949.
2005 March - Taiwan condemns a new Chinese law giving Beijing the legal right to use force should Taipei declare formal independence.
2005 April - National Party (KMT) leader Lien Chan visits China for the first meeting between Nationalist and Communist Party leaders since 1949.
2005 June - Reform requiring future constitutional amendments to be put to a referendum arouses China's concern that it will be easier for activists to promote moves towards independence.
2005 July - National Party (KMT) elects mayor of Taipei Ma Ying Jeou as its new leader.
President under pressure
2005 December - Opposition KMT triumphs in municipal elections. The result is interpreted as a mid-term vote of no confidence in President Chen Shui-bian.
2006 February - Taiwan scraps the National Unification Council, a body set up to deal with reunification with the mainland. China says the decision could bring "disaster".
2006 June - Under pressure over corruption allegations against a family member, President Chen cedes some of his powers to the prime minister.
2006 October - President Chen survives an attempt by parliament to force a referendum on his rule - the second in four months. His opponents and supporters take to the streets.
2006 December - An earthquake off Taiwan cuts undersea cables, cutting off or limiting telecommunications across the region.
China highlights Taiwan as security threat in plans to upgrade military.
2007 January - Taiwan defends school history textbooks which refer to China. Beijing accuses Taipei of introducing independence ideologies into the classroom.
Chen Shui-bian's election ended 50 years of one-party rule
Born to poor family in 1951
President from 2000 to 2008
Separatism angered China
Charged with corruption in 2008
2007
March - Newspaper reports that Taiwan has test-fired cruise missile capable of hitting Shanghai or Hong Kong.
2007 March - Taiwanese government begins removing statue of Chiang Kai-shek from Kaohsiung, sparking protests.
2007 April - China and Taiwan clash over route of Olympic torch relay ahead of 2008 Beijing games.
2007 August - The country attempts to join the UN for the first time under the name Taiwan, rather than the official title of Republic of China. The application is rejected.
2008 January - Opposition KMT wins landslide victory in parliamentary elections, beating President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Mr Chen steps down from post of DPP chairman.
Nationalists back in power
2008 March - Presidential elections. Ma Ying-jeou of the opposition Kuomintang Party is elected president.
2008 June - First formal talks with China since dialogue was suspended in 1999.
2008 July - President Ma apologises for the killing and imprisonment of tens of thousands of political dissidents in the 1950s and 60s - a period known as the white terror. The violence took place when martial law was imposed by the Kuomintang party after its leaders fled to the island in 1949 at the end of the Chinese civil war.
2008 November - The highest ranking Chinese official to visit Taiwan in more than half a century holds talks in Taipei on improving relations. The visit of Chen Yunlin, China's top negotiator on Taiwan, was met with protests by pro-independence supporters.
Former President Chen Shui-bian arrested and charged with money laundering, bribery and embezzlement of government funds. Mr Chen said the allegations were politically motivated.
2008 December - Gift of two giant pandas by China seen as a further improvement in relations.
Cross-Straits detente
2009 March - Former President Chen Shui-bian goes on trial on charges including taking bribes, money laundering and extortion.
2009 April - China drops longstanding objections to Taiwan's participation in World Health Organisation. Taiwanese government announces it will lift ban on investment from China.
2009 May - Chinese President Hu Jintao and the chairman of Taiwan's governing Kuomintang (KMT) party, Wu Po-hsiung, agree to launch talks on a wide-ranging trade pact.
2009 July - The leaders of China and Taiwan exchange direct messages for the first time in more than 60 years, in a sign of warming ties.
President Ma Ying-jeou is elected head of the island's ruling party - the Kuomintang, in a vote by party members.
2009 August - Typhoon Morakot hits southern Taiwan, leaving hundreds dead in floods and mudslides.
2009 September - Taiwan's premier Liu Chao-shiuan resigns in the wake of heavy criticism of the government's response to Typhoon Morakot.
Published: 2009/09/09 15:54:00 GMT
© BBC MMIX
Monday, December 7, 2009
TAIWAN: Taiwan elections hint at unease over closer China ties
By Cindy Sui
BBC News, Taipei
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has ordered a thorough look at what went wrong in local weekend elections.
These showed his ruling party, which favours closer ties with China, losing ground to the opposition which supports formal independence from China.
Cross-straits ties have only recently improved since Mr Ma became president after decades of tensions.
A slow reaction to a deadly typhoon in August and the global recession also hurt the ruling Kuomintang.
The elections for county magistrates and city mayors are being widely seen in Taiwan as a setback for President Ma and the Kuomintang.
Dependency fears
Although the party won a majority of the seats, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party gained nearly as big a percentage of votes, the largest percentage it has ever gained in local elections, narrowing the gap between the two parties.
The president's focus on opening Taiwan to Chinese investment and signing a landmark free-trade agreement with China next year are believed to have affected the election.
Some voters fear this would hurt Taiwan's industries, cause job losses and threaten the island's sovereignty, making it too dependent on China.
Analysts have said that if this voting trend continues, it could threaten President Ma's chances of re-election in 2012.
It could also hurt his efforts to bring Taiwan and China closer economically and to eventually bring an end to the military tensions between the two former rivals.
China has 1,500 missiles targeting Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to take back the island, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.
Published: 2009/12/07 09:14:13 GMT
© BBC MMIX
BBC News, Taipei
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has ordered a thorough look at what went wrong in local weekend elections.
These showed his ruling party, which favours closer ties with China, losing ground to the opposition which supports formal independence from China.
Cross-straits ties have only recently improved since Mr Ma became president after decades of tensions.
A slow reaction to a deadly typhoon in August and the global recession also hurt the ruling Kuomintang.
The elections for county magistrates and city mayors are being widely seen in Taiwan as a setback for President Ma and the Kuomintang.
Dependency fears
Although the party won a majority of the seats, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party gained nearly as big a percentage of votes, the largest percentage it has ever gained in local elections, narrowing the gap between the two parties.
The president's focus on opening Taiwan to Chinese investment and signing a landmark free-trade agreement with China next year are believed to have affected the election.
Some voters fear this would hurt Taiwan's industries, cause job losses and threaten the island's sovereignty, making it too dependent on China.
Analysts have said that if this voting trend continues, it could threaten President Ma's chances of re-election in 2012.
It could also hurt his efforts to bring Taiwan and China closer economically and to eventually bring an end to the military tensions between the two former rivals.
China has 1,500 missiles targeting Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to take back the island, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.
Published: 2009/12/07 09:14:13 GMT
© BBC MMIX
JAPAN: 4,000 pages of Imperial Navy officers' private testimonials to be published
December 7, 2009
A large collection of testimonials from former Imperial Japanese Navy admirals that are held by an organization of former naval officers will be published next spring.
The records are made up of statements by so-called "silent admirals," such as Shigeyoshi Inoue, made privately in interviews with younger officers following World War II, and promise to shed light on the inner workings of the former Imperial Navy.
The testimonials -- originally collected from around 1956-1961 by former Vice-Adm. Tomiji Koyanagi and others and dubbed the "Koyanagi materials" -- are held by the Suikokai, a foundation run by former Japanese sailors. The materials take up about 4,000 pages of 400 character note paper in 44 books.
Former Adm. Shigetaro Shimada, one of the "silent admirals," is said never to have responded to information requests from outside the military, but did speak to Koyanagi.
After reporting to the Diet following the surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 8, 1941, Shimada told Koyanagi that after seeing the legislators put on a show of rejoicing he thought, "It's going to get difficult from now on. I felt like I was carrying a heavy load on my shoulders, and something was caught in my throat."
Furthermore, Inoue -- who was close to Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto -- criticized Yamamoto, saying, "If he said that he had no confidence in the strategy against the United States, then even if it meant risking his job, he ought to have objected to the Pacific War."
Former Adm. Shigetaro Shimada. (Mainichi)Another contributor to the records was former Vice-Adm. Takeo Kurita, who was the commander of the Japanese fleet at the disastrous defeat at Leyte Gulf in 1944. Why Kurita first pressed forward with a bombardment of a U.S. supply ship flotilla but then withdrew has long been one of the great mysteries of naval history. In the documents, the vice-admiral is quoted as saying that, faced with daily air raids sent from the U.S. task force, "It was impractical to fight a naval battle when the enemy had complete air superiority." Furthermore, Kurita recalled the supporting air units in the Philippines turned out to be far weaker that he had anticipated.
The Suikokai foundation, which held the documents privately, decided to have them published as a resource for future research. Copies of the materials have been made public by the Defense Ministry's National Institute for Defense Studies one piece at a time since about 2001.
"They felt secure speaking to their own," says non-fiction writer and Showa-era history specialist Masayasu Hosaka, "so these former military men who never talked to people from the outside were startlingly voluble. These materials will shape the entire impression of the Japanese navy."
A large collection of testimonials from former Imperial Japanese Navy admirals that are held by an organization of former naval officers will be published next spring.
The records are made up of statements by so-called "silent admirals," such as Shigeyoshi Inoue, made privately in interviews with younger officers following World War II, and promise to shed light on the inner workings of the former Imperial Navy.
The testimonials -- originally collected from around 1956-1961 by former Vice-Adm. Tomiji Koyanagi and others and dubbed the "Koyanagi materials" -- are held by the Suikokai, a foundation run by former Japanese sailors. The materials take up about 4,000 pages of 400 character note paper in 44 books.
Former Adm. Shigetaro Shimada, one of the "silent admirals," is said never to have responded to information requests from outside the military, but did speak to Koyanagi.
After reporting to the Diet following the surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 8, 1941, Shimada told Koyanagi that after seeing the legislators put on a show of rejoicing he thought, "It's going to get difficult from now on. I felt like I was carrying a heavy load on my shoulders, and something was caught in my throat."
Furthermore, Inoue -- who was close to Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto -- criticized Yamamoto, saying, "If he said that he had no confidence in the strategy against the United States, then even if it meant risking his job, he ought to have objected to the Pacific War."
Former Adm. Shigetaro Shimada. (Mainichi)Another contributor to the records was former Vice-Adm. Takeo Kurita, who was the commander of the Japanese fleet at the disastrous defeat at Leyte Gulf in 1944. Why Kurita first pressed forward with a bombardment of a U.S. supply ship flotilla but then withdrew has long been one of the great mysteries of naval history. In the documents, the vice-admiral is quoted as saying that, faced with daily air raids sent from the U.S. task force, "It was impractical to fight a naval battle when the enemy had complete air superiority." Furthermore, Kurita recalled the supporting air units in the Philippines turned out to be far weaker that he had anticipated.
The Suikokai foundation, which held the documents privately, decided to have them published as a resource for future research. Copies of the materials have been made public by the Defense Ministry's National Institute for Defense Studies one piece at a time since about 2001.
"They felt secure speaking to their own," says non-fiction writer and Showa-era history specialist Masayasu Hosaka, "so these former military men who never talked to people from the outside were startlingly voluble. These materials will shape the entire impression of the Japanese navy."
JAPAN: Osaka governor's comments on relocating Futenma base to Kansai airport stir controversy
December 7, 2009
Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto's remarks that he would accept the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Kansai International Airport have stirred controversy.
The government is paying close attention to his comments. "We'd like to listen to his opinions," said Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.
However, relocation of Futenma base to the offshore airport in Osaka Prefecture is widely viewed as unfeasible.
Moreover, Osaka residents who are from Okinawa Prefecture have voiced grave concern that the governor's remarks could make Okinawa residents overly optimistic that Futenma functions will be accepted at Kansai International Airport.
Hashimoto made the remarks on Nov. 30. "If we receive a request from the national government, we'll be receptive to such discussions," he told reporters.
Mentioning the fierce Okinawa ground battle at the end of World War II, Hashimoto said, "Okinawa was forced to shoulder a heavy burden, we residents of Honshu Island must remember this."
At a news conference on Wednesday, Hashimoto said he will raise the issue at an upcoming meeting of the National Governors' Association.
House of Representatives member Mikio Shimoji, who serves as chief policymaker of ruling coalition partner People's New Party (PNP), visited Hashimoto at his office on Wednesday and expressed gratitude for his offer. Shimoji, elected from Okinawa Prefecture, is a staunch advocate for the relocation of U.S. bases out of the prefecture.
The central government also welcomed the offer. "I'm really grateful," said Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara, who has jurisdiction over the airport.
Nevertheless, an overwhelming majority of national government officials regard relocation of any U.S. military facility to Kansai International Airport as unrealistic.
"Military drills are impossible at Kansai International Airport, which isn't designed for such purposes," said a senior official of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry.
When asked what the governor wanted to imply by his remarks, a high-ranking official of the Osaka Prefectural Government said they have no specific plan in mind.
Yoshikatsu Maeda, 73, a tour guide who lectures about the Okinawa battle to schoolchildren before they visit the prefecture on school trips, expressed displeasure with the governor's remarks.
"I have mixed feelings as a native of Okinawa and an Osaka Prefecture resident," said Maeda, who moved to Osaka Prefecture with his family when he was 18.
"I understand his enthusiasm about making people understand the situation of Okinawa. But since the governor said he will 'consider' the move, people tend to hope that Osaka will actually host a substitute base," he said. "If he made the remarks without seriously considering it, then it could hurt Okinawa residents' feelings."
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday he will make a final decision on the relocation of Air Station Futenma at an early date. "I think the time will come soon for the government to notify the Untied States of its final decision."
However, he declined to say whether a final decision will come by the end of this year.
Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto's remarks that he would accept the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Kansai International Airport have stirred controversy.
The government is paying close attention to his comments. "We'd like to listen to his opinions," said Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.
However, relocation of Futenma base to the offshore airport in Osaka Prefecture is widely viewed as unfeasible.
Moreover, Osaka residents who are from Okinawa Prefecture have voiced grave concern that the governor's remarks could make Okinawa residents overly optimistic that Futenma functions will be accepted at Kansai International Airport.
Hashimoto made the remarks on Nov. 30. "If we receive a request from the national government, we'll be receptive to such discussions," he told reporters.
Mentioning the fierce Okinawa ground battle at the end of World War II, Hashimoto said, "Okinawa was forced to shoulder a heavy burden, we residents of Honshu Island must remember this."
At a news conference on Wednesday, Hashimoto said he will raise the issue at an upcoming meeting of the National Governors' Association.
House of Representatives member Mikio Shimoji, who serves as chief policymaker of ruling coalition partner People's New Party (PNP), visited Hashimoto at his office on Wednesday and expressed gratitude for his offer. Shimoji, elected from Okinawa Prefecture, is a staunch advocate for the relocation of U.S. bases out of the prefecture.
The central government also welcomed the offer. "I'm really grateful," said Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara, who has jurisdiction over the airport.
Nevertheless, an overwhelming majority of national government officials regard relocation of any U.S. military facility to Kansai International Airport as unrealistic.
"Military drills are impossible at Kansai International Airport, which isn't designed for such purposes," said a senior official of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry.
When asked what the governor wanted to imply by his remarks, a high-ranking official of the Osaka Prefectural Government said they have no specific plan in mind.
Yoshikatsu Maeda, 73, a tour guide who lectures about the Okinawa battle to schoolchildren before they visit the prefecture on school trips, expressed displeasure with the governor's remarks.
"I have mixed feelings as a native of Okinawa and an Osaka Prefecture resident," said Maeda, who moved to Osaka Prefecture with his family when he was 18.
"I understand his enthusiasm about making people understand the situation of Okinawa. But since the governor said he will 'consider' the move, people tend to hope that Osaka will actually host a substitute base," he said. "If he made the remarks without seriously considering it, then it could hurt Okinawa residents' feelings."
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday he will make a final decision on the relocation of Air Station Futenma at an early date. "I think the time will come soon for the government to notify the Untied States of its final decision."
However, he declined to say whether a final decision will come by the end of this year.
RUSSIA: Russia Quietly Creates Leaner, More Modern Military
by Anne Garrels
December 7, 2009
Morning Edition Transcript
The transformation of Russia's military may be the most successful of President Dmitry Medvedev's modernization programs, but it's not something he talks about much publicly because it is so controversial.
The huge project involves painful cuts and dismantling deep-vested interests that have thrived on bloated, Soviet-style armed forces.
Vitaly Shlykov, a 75-year-old former intelligence officer, has been fighting the military establishment for nearly 20 years, but at last he believes real change is here to stay. He is chairman of a public commission advising the defense ministry.
'Completely New Mission'
"What we have now is the creating of a completely new kind of army with a completely new mission," Shlykov says.
For centuries, Moscow's armed forces have been organized for emergency mass mobilization. Military analyst Alexander Goltz says Russia has now rejected this model in favor of a leaner, smarter force.
"All conventional forces are oriented to local or regional wars. We are not going to prepare our conventional forces to fight NATO, China. All deterrence of these big adversaries lays now on nuclear forces," Goltz says.
Pavel Zolotarev with the Russian Academy of Sciences says this radical change is not without opposition.
"Many think Russia cannot forget about the NATO threat or our huge border with China. Then there are the officers who worry about their future. For those being let go, the government is not fulfilling its promises to provide benefits and apartments," Zolotarev says.
But the reorganization of the military is well under way. The man leading the transformation is Anatoly Serdiukov, a skilled manager and the first civilian defense minister in Russian history.
That fact alone, says Shlykov, the former intelligence officer, is a stunning change.
"Until now, each new minister of defense lobbied for his own branch to the point where the military was almost destroyed," he says.
Officer Corps Trimmed
Under Serdiukov, the overall size of the armed forces is being cut by one-quarter, with the officer corps taking the biggest hit. Already, 50,000 have been forced to retire. Another 150,000 will be pushed out in the next few years.
For those left, education and salaries are to be improved dramatically. Military units are being streamlined and, finally, there will be professional sergeants — the first 250 are being trained. Until now, first-year draftees have been controlled by second-year conscripts; among the results have been brutal, often deadly hazing, poor morale and poor training.
Providing this new army with up-to-date equipment is perhaps the biggest challenge now. Last year's war in Georgia laid bare a host of problems. Russian unmanned drones could not provide instant targeting information. Lacking radios, soldiers resorted to using their personal, unsecured mobile phones.
Russia's defense industry has done little more than upgrade versions of weapons first designed 30 years ago. Goltz, the defense analyst, says the defense ministry is clearly fed up.
"For the first time, we hear generals say, 'Guys, we are here to buy good equipment. We don't want to buy the rubbish you produce,' " he says.
And the so-called rubbish is expensive. For the first time, Russia's defense ministry has gone abroad for weapons. Zolotarev with the Russian Academy of Sciences says the government has so far failed to modernize the Russian defense industry.
Until the current inefficient, corrupt system is totally changed, Zolotarev says, Russia will not have quality weapons and could well lose its position in the world as a major arms supplier.
December 7, 2009
Morning Edition Transcript
The transformation of Russia's military may be the most successful of President Dmitry Medvedev's modernization programs, but it's not something he talks about much publicly because it is so controversial.
The huge project involves painful cuts and dismantling deep-vested interests that have thrived on bloated, Soviet-style armed forces.
Vitaly Shlykov, a 75-year-old former intelligence officer, has been fighting the military establishment for nearly 20 years, but at last he believes real change is here to stay. He is chairman of a public commission advising the defense ministry.
'Completely New Mission'
"What we have now is the creating of a completely new kind of army with a completely new mission," Shlykov says.
For centuries, Moscow's armed forces have been organized for emergency mass mobilization. Military analyst Alexander Goltz says Russia has now rejected this model in favor of a leaner, smarter force.
"All conventional forces are oriented to local or regional wars. We are not going to prepare our conventional forces to fight NATO, China. All deterrence of these big adversaries lays now on nuclear forces," Goltz says.
Pavel Zolotarev with the Russian Academy of Sciences says this radical change is not without opposition.
"Many think Russia cannot forget about the NATO threat or our huge border with China. Then there are the officers who worry about their future. For those being let go, the government is not fulfilling its promises to provide benefits and apartments," Zolotarev says.
But the reorganization of the military is well under way. The man leading the transformation is Anatoly Serdiukov, a skilled manager and the first civilian defense minister in Russian history.
That fact alone, says Shlykov, the former intelligence officer, is a stunning change.
"Until now, each new minister of defense lobbied for his own branch to the point where the military was almost destroyed," he says.
Officer Corps Trimmed
Under Serdiukov, the overall size of the armed forces is being cut by one-quarter, with the officer corps taking the biggest hit. Already, 50,000 have been forced to retire. Another 150,000 will be pushed out in the next few years.
For those left, education and salaries are to be improved dramatically. Military units are being streamlined and, finally, there will be professional sergeants — the first 250 are being trained. Until now, first-year draftees have been controlled by second-year conscripts; among the results have been brutal, often deadly hazing, poor morale and poor training.
Providing this new army with up-to-date equipment is perhaps the biggest challenge now. Last year's war in Georgia laid bare a host of problems. Russian unmanned drones could not provide instant targeting information. Lacking radios, soldiers resorted to using their personal, unsecured mobile phones.
Russia's defense industry has done little more than upgrade versions of weapons first designed 30 years ago. Goltz, the defense analyst, says the defense ministry is clearly fed up.
"For the first time, we hear generals say, 'Guys, we are here to buy good equipment. We don't want to buy the rubbish you produce,' " he says.
And the so-called rubbish is expensive. For the first time, Russia's defense ministry has gone abroad for weapons. Zolotarev with the Russian Academy of Sciences says the government has so far failed to modernize the Russian defense industry.
Until the current inefficient, corrupt system is totally changed, Zolotarev says, Russia will not have quality weapons and could well lose its position in the world as a major arms supplier.
CHINA: Car sales and output pass the 12 million mark in China
Chinese car sales and production both exceeded 12 million between January and November, state media has said.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers expects car sales and output to top 13 million for the full year, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
China has never produced more than 10 million cars in one year before.
State incentives have boosted car sales, and the government has reiterated its plans to continue economic stimulus measures next year.
World leader
Despite the downturn and falling sales at most global carmakers, demand for cars in China is booming.
In November alone, sales reached 1.35 million units, according to the preliminary figures.
The country's largest carmaker, Shanghai Automotive Industry, sold 2.44 million cars in the year to the end of November, a rise of more than 50% compared with the same period a year earlier, Xinhua said.
State incentives, such as tax cuts on small cars, have boosted sales in China.
Like many other governments around the world, China has also introduced subsidies to trade in older vehicles.
Previously, only the US and Japan had produced 10 million cars in a single year.
Domestic Chinese car sales overtook those in the US for the first time in December of last year.
Domestic demand
The government said it would continue to stimulate the economy after its annual economic policy meeting on Monday, Xinhua reported.
"We must maintain the continuity and stability of our macro economic policy," said Beijing.
The government also reiterated its plans to introduce measures to persuade Chinese consumers to spend more.
China is an export-led economy and the government wants domestic demand to contribute more to overall economic activity.
"While seeking to expand domestic demand, we must especially lay importance on increasing consumer demand of the people," said the government.
There had been concerns that the government may look to clamp down on rising property and share prices by cutting back on stimulus measures.
Leading Chinese shares rose slightly on the news that the measures would stay in place. The Shanghai Composite index rose by 15 points, or 0.5%, to 3,331.9.
"The outcome of the meeting certainly has bolstered the market. It resolved investors' uncertainties," said Yu Haifeng, at Debon Securities.
ANALYSIS
By Jorn Madslien, Business reporter, BBC News
China's car sales have soared this year, aided by tax cuts and other incentives aimed at promoting low-emission cars.
Sales in China are set to storm ahead next year too - though the growth rate is set to slip back to a more measured 10-15% from 40-50% growth in 2009.
Rapid growth at home has helped create large Chinese companies, which are now eyeing the world.
A notable demonstration of this came late last week when Shanghai General Motors said it is not only expanding into India.
In addition, Shanghai Automotive Industries (SAIC) has taken majority control of the venture, with its partner GM taking a back seat.
For established carmakers in the West, China will not only offer millions of new customers in the years ahead, but also fierce competition both on their home turf and in emerging car markets.
Published: 2009/12/07 11:10:00 GMT
© BBC MMIX
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers expects car sales and output to top 13 million for the full year, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
China has never produced more than 10 million cars in one year before.
State incentives have boosted car sales, and the government has reiterated its plans to continue economic stimulus measures next year.
World leader
Despite the downturn and falling sales at most global carmakers, demand for cars in China is booming.
In November alone, sales reached 1.35 million units, according to the preliminary figures.
The country's largest carmaker, Shanghai Automotive Industry, sold 2.44 million cars in the year to the end of November, a rise of more than 50% compared with the same period a year earlier, Xinhua said.
State incentives, such as tax cuts on small cars, have boosted sales in China.
Like many other governments around the world, China has also introduced subsidies to trade in older vehicles.
Previously, only the US and Japan had produced 10 million cars in a single year.
Domestic Chinese car sales overtook those in the US for the first time in December of last year.
Domestic demand
The government said it would continue to stimulate the economy after its annual economic policy meeting on Monday, Xinhua reported.
"We must maintain the continuity and stability of our macro economic policy," said Beijing.
The government also reiterated its plans to introduce measures to persuade Chinese consumers to spend more.
China is an export-led economy and the government wants domestic demand to contribute more to overall economic activity.
"While seeking to expand domestic demand, we must especially lay importance on increasing consumer demand of the people," said the government.
There had been concerns that the government may look to clamp down on rising property and share prices by cutting back on stimulus measures.
Leading Chinese shares rose slightly on the news that the measures would stay in place. The Shanghai Composite index rose by 15 points, or 0.5%, to 3,331.9.
"The outcome of the meeting certainly has bolstered the market. It resolved investors' uncertainties," said Yu Haifeng, at Debon Securities.
ANALYSIS
By Jorn Madslien, Business reporter, BBC News
China's car sales have soared this year, aided by tax cuts and other incentives aimed at promoting low-emission cars.
Sales in China are set to storm ahead next year too - though the growth rate is set to slip back to a more measured 10-15% from 40-50% growth in 2009.
Rapid growth at home has helped create large Chinese companies, which are now eyeing the world.
A notable demonstration of this came late last week when Shanghai General Motors said it is not only expanding into India.
In addition, Shanghai Automotive Industries (SAIC) has taken majority control of the venture, with its partner GM taking a back seat.
For established carmakers in the West, China will not only offer millions of new customers in the years ahead, but also fierce competition both on their home turf and in emerging car markets.
Published: 2009/12/07 11:10:00 GMT
© BBC MMIX
S. KOREA: Skepticism Lingers Over Honam KTX Line
12-06-2009 18:55
Skepticism Lingers Over Honam KTX Line
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Almost 20 years after the initial idea was conceived, construction of a high-speed railway stretching 182 kilometers from Osong in North Chungcheong Province to Gwangju finally kicked off last week at the Gwangju-Songjeong Station.
A KTX route linking two of the nation's most underdeveloped regions, Chungcheong and South Jeolla provinces, has been a longtime wish for many residents in the area as well as politicians and business people. When completed in 2014, it will take 90 minutes to ride from Seoul to Gwangju.
Service on the new Honam KTX line is slated for 2014, according to President Lee Myung-bak, who delivered a congratulatory message at the groundbreaking ceremony held Friday.
However, some question the feasibility of the plan. After all, Lee said that he would complete the Honam KTX by 2012 on repeated occasions as a presidential candidate. The launch of the Gyeonbu KTX line, which connects Seoul with Busan, was delayed for six years before it finally opened in April 2004.
During a rare visit to the Jeolla Provinces Friday, often called Honam, he promised his support for the smooth completion of the project by 2014.
"The completion of the Honam KTX is one of my presidential campaign pledges. Depending on budgetary capacity, we will complete it as soon as possible," Lee said during the ceremony. "The construction of the Honam high-speed railway will not only help develop regional industries, but also promote balanced national growth."
President Lee has been criticized for lacking the willingness and attention - compared with some former presidents such as Roh Moo-hyun - to achieve the balanced growth of all provinces.
It was during Roh's presidency that the Honam KTX line got the attention the citizens of South Jeolla Province have long craved.
The Lee administration, on the other hand, has almost halved the 2010 budget for the project, from the initially planned sum of 480 billion won to 250 billion won.
The Ministry of Land, Maritime and Transport has turned a deaf ear to other plans necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the Honam KTX railway.
Some take these to be a sign that the government is not as devoted as it should be to what many consider an instrumental infrastructure to advance the regional economy.
The Honam region has been an industrial underdog for years, especially compared with the Gyeongsang, or Yeongnam, region.
Latest figures show that the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of Honam is 9.7 trillion won, whereas the Yeongnam region recorded 26.6 trillion won in GRDP in 2007.
"Construction of the Honam KTX line has long been delayed," Rep. Lee Yong-sup of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said Friday.
"We urge the President to keep his word by pursuing the completion of the Honam KTX line during his term, by 2012."
Even after taking office, President Lee's Cabinet reiterated that the 2012 completion is valid during parliamentary hearings and in other official meetings.
The former construction and transportation minister also called for more state spending and planning, particularly regarding the second phase of the Honam KTX line from Mokpo to Gwangju.
Authorities still remain undecided about the date of completion and the particulars of the Mokpo-Gwangju route.
Another major concern for the region is linking the KTX Honam service with Muan International Airport, one of the airports in the southwestern region.
Many from the region are adamant that the Honam KTX trains must stop at Muan International Airport to attract more users from Chungcheong and North Jeolla provinces.
"To maximize the economic effect of the the Honam KTX, we believe it is vital that the trains must stop at the airport, but the government reaction has been lukewarm," Rep. Lee added.
South Jeolla Province has asked the government to take the request into account when finalizing the Gwangju-Mokpo route. However, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritimes Affairs is against the idea, citing additional costs.
The Lee administration has been tepid about implementing the previous' government policy commitment on balanced regional development.
During a recent TV appearance, President Lee made it clear that he would alter the Sejong City project, a blueprint completed by the previous Roh administration to ultimately give Korea a separate administrative capital, called Sejong City, in Chungcheong Province.
Despite fervent opposition from residents, the administration has overturned the plan, possibly replacing it with the creation of an industrial belt.
Many are worried that similar projects for regional development - namely the establishment of 11 "Innovation Cities" nationwide by relocating public corporations from the capital region - will also be significantly deterred under Lee's leadership.
The forthcoming Honam KTX services are closely associated with the Gwangju-South Jeolla Innnovation City.
The idea for the Honam KTX was first conceived in 1990 by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlement (KRIHS), which is affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
Nine years later, another research arm of the ministry began to conduct a cost-benefit analysis.
Construction in Osong and Iksan, North Jeolla Province, began earlier this year. The construction of a 48-kilometer-long extended line linking Gwangju to the southern port city of Mokpo will begin next year.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
Skepticism Lingers Over Honam KTX Line
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Almost 20 years after the initial idea was conceived, construction of a high-speed railway stretching 182 kilometers from Osong in North Chungcheong Province to Gwangju finally kicked off last week at the Gwangju-Songjeong Station.
A KTX route linking two of the nation's most underdeveloped regions, Chungcheong and South Jeolla provinces, has been a longtime wish for many residents in the area as well as politicians and business people. When completed in 2014, it will take 90 minutes to ride from Seoul to Gwangju.
Service on the new Honam KTX line is slated for 2014, according to President Lee Myung-bak, who delivered a congratulatory message at the groundbreaking ceremony held Friday.
However, some question the feasibility of the plan. After all, Lee said that he would complete the Honam KTX by 2012 on repeated occasions as a presidential candidate. The launch of the Gyeonbu KTX line, which connects Seoul with Busan, was delayed for six years before it finally opened in April 2004.
During a rare visit to the Jeolla Provinces Friday, often called Honam, he promised his support for the smooth completion of the project by 2014.
"The completion of the Honam KTX is one of my presidential campaign pledges. Depending on budgetary capacity, we will complete it as soon as possible," Lee said during the ceremony. "The construction of the Honam high-speed railway will not only help develop regional industries, but also promote balanced national growth."
President Lee has been criticized for lacking the willingness and attention - compared with some former presidents such as Roh Moo-hyun - to achieve the balanced growth of all provinces.
It was during Roh's presidency that the Honam KTX line got the attention the citizens of South Jeolla Province have long craved.
The Lee administration, on the other hand, has almost halved the 2010 budget for the project, from the initially planned sum of 480 billion won to 250 billion won.
The Ministry of Land, Maritime and Transport has turned a deaf ear to other plans necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the Honam KTX railway.
Some take these to be a sign that the government is not as devoted as it should be to what many consider an instrumental infrastructure to advance the regional economy.
The Honam region has been an industrial underdog for years, especially compared with the Gyeongsang, or Yeongnam, region.
Latest figures show that the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of Honam is 9.7 trillion won, whereas the Yeongnam region recorded 26.6 trillion won in GRDP in 2007.
"Construction of the Honam KTX line has long been delayed," Rep. Lee Yong-sup of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said Friday.
"We urge the President to keep his word by pursuing the completion of the Honam KTX line during his term, by 2012."
Even after taking office, President Lee's Cabinet reiterated that the 2012 completion is valid during parliamentary hearings and in other official meetings.
The former construction and transportation minister also called for more state spending and planning, particularly regarding the second phase of the Honam KTX line from Mokpo to Gwangju.
Authorities still remain undecided about the date of completion and the particulars of the Mokpo-Gwangju route.
Another major concern for the region is linking the KTX Honam service with Muan International Airport, one of the airports in the southwestern region.
Many from the region are adamant that the Honam KTX trains must stop at Muan International Airport to attract more users from Chungcheong and North Jeolla provinces.
"To maximize the economic effect of the the Honam KTX, we believe it is vital that the trains must stop at the airport, but the government reaction has been lukewarm," Rep. Lee added.
South Jeolla Province has asked the government to take the request into account when finalizing the Gwangju-Mokpo route. However, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritimes Affairs is against the idea, citing additional costs.
The Lee administration has been tepid about implementing the previous' government policy commitment on balanced regional development.
During a recent TV appearance, President Lee made it clear that he would alter the Sejong City project, a blueprint completed by the previous Roh administration to ultimately give Korea a separate administrative capital, called Sejong City, in Chungcheong Province.
Despite fervent opposition from residents, the administration has overturned the plan, possibly replacing it with the creation of an industrial belt.
Many are worried that similar projects for regional development - namely the establishment of 11 "Innovation Cities" nationwide by relocating public corporations from the capital region - will also be significantly deterred under Lee's leadership.
The forthcoming Honam KTX services are closely associated with the Gwangju-South Jeolla Innnovation City.
The idea for the Honam KTX was first conceived in 1990 by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlement (KRIHS), which is affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
Nine years later, another research arm of the ministry began to conduct a cost-benefit analysis.
Construction in Osong and Iksan, North Jeolla Province, began earlier this year. The construction of a 48-kilometer-long extended line linking Gwangju to the southern port city of Mokpo will begin next year.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
CHINA: 8 Students Killed In Stampede At China School
by The Associated Press
December 7, 2009
Chinese media say eight students have been killed and 26 others injured in a school stampede in the central province of Hunan.
The reports say the students were charging out of study sessions at 9:10 p.m. Monday at Xiangxiang city's private Yucai Middle School when students began to fall on top of one another in a stampede on the steps.
Leaders of the city 720 miles south of Beijing immediately removed the head of the education bureau and were questioning school officials as part of the investigation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
Such schools tend to have large class sizes but few emergency exits or other safety features. Evening revision sessions are a standard requirement for advancement in China's grueling exam centered education system.
Such deadly stampedes have occurred repeatedly in China's schools, usually as students are rushing to exams or charging out of class down tight corridors and narrow stairwells.
Monday's incident was among the deadliest since the crushing deaths of 21 students in a northern China middle school in 2002 after a railing collapsed as hundreds of children were funneling down a pitch-dark staircase after evening review classes.
In that case, the school principal and three other people were arrested and charged with gross negligence and other crimes.
December 7, 2009
Chinese media say eight students have been killed and 26 others injured in a school stampede in the central province of Hunan.
The reports say the students were charging out of study sessions at 9:10 p.m. Monday at Xiangxiang city's private Yucai Middle School when students began to fall on top of one another in a stampede on the steps.
Leaders of the city 720 miles south of Beijing immediately removed the head of the education bureau and were questioning school officials as part of the investigation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
Such schools tend to have large class sizes but few emergency exits or other safety features. Evening revision sessions are a standard requirement for advancement in China's grueling exam centered education system.
Such deadly stampedes have occurred repeatedly in China's schools, usually as students are rushing to exams or charging out of class down tight corridors and narrow stairwells.
Monday's incident was among the deadliest since the crushing deaths of 21 students in a northern China middle school in 2002 after a railing collapsed as hundreds of children were funneling down a pitch-dark staircase after evening review classes.
In that case, the school principal and three other people were arrested and charged with gross negligence and other crimes.
ABOUT CHINA: China turns to Madison Avenue for an image makeover
The nation plagued by product recalls has hired a Manhattan ad agency to wage a global PR campaign. It's now running a TV spot seeking to boost the reputation of the ubiquitous 'Made in China' label.
By David Pierson
December 7, 2009
Reporting from Beijing
Plagued by recalls of toxic toys, poison pet food and other products, and facing rising trade barriers for its exports, China is taking a page from the American corporate playbook. It has hired a Madison Avenue ad agency to help burnish its image.
In what is believed to be Beijing's first global ad campaign, a television commercial now airing on CNN in the U.S., Asia and Europe portrays satisfied consumers enjoying Chinese-made goods. It also touts the notion that China's manufacturing prowess benefits nations around the globe.
The 30-second spot using Western actors is set against a soft-rock melody and shows the ubiquitous "Made in China" label on a series of products -- with a twist. A jogger laces up running shoes whose tag reads "Made in China with American sports technology." A refrigerator is stamped with "Made in China with European styling." Two teenage girls dance at a bus stop listening to MP3 players labeled "Made in China with software from Silicon Valley." And a model vamps for the camera in a slinky dress that's "Made in China with French designers."
A voice-over in American-accented English ends the ad by saying, "When it says 'Made in China,' it really means 'Made in China, made with the world.' " Not a single Chinese face or factory appears.
The spot was funded by a group of Chinese trade associations and China's Ministry of Commerce, which in a statement said the campaign was designed to promote Chinese goods "objectively." The ministry hired the Chinese arm of DDB, one of the largest multinational ad firms with headquarters in Manhattan, to help craft its message.
DDB and Chinese officials declined to discuss the commercial. But experts said the campaign is an effort to defuse rising trade tension between China and its Western trading partners, many of whom are struggling with high unemployment and idle factories while China's economy hums. Some nations are becoming more aggressive in their efforts to combat what they see as unfair practices that have helped China siphon millions of global manufacturing jobs on its way to becoming the world's factory floor.
The European Union last month asked the World Trade Organization to look at China's export restrictions on key raw materials such as bauxite, which they say raises the prices for foreign buyers and gives Chinese firms a low-cost manufacturing advantage. The United States, whose trade deficit with China was nearly $166 billion through the first nine months of the year, recently slapped tariffs on low-cost Chinese-made tires and steel pipe.
Chinese government officials have publicly criticized such moves as protectionism. But the new ad campaign shows that Beijing is also experimenting with a subtler, softer approach.
It's "a reflection of how the government is beginning to realize the importance of public perception," said James Zimmerman, a Beijing business community leader and partner in the law firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey, which represents multinationals in China. "If the Chinese government retained experts to help manage its message, this is a positive and constructive step."
Others believe the spot is an attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of the "Made in China" label by drawing attention to the heavy involvement of foreigners in Chinese-made products. U.S. and European firms have invested billions setting up low-cost manufacturing operations in China.
Although some Chinese factories have been linked to the production of dangerous toys, melamine-tainted pet food and other shoddy products, many produce high-quality goods for well-known companies, including Apple, Nike and Caterpillar.
"When you talk about products in China, you think of lesser quality than the U.S. and Europe," said Li Fei, a professor of marketing at Beijing's Tsinghua University. "By connecting them internationally, you're saying they're equal."
Still, burnishing the image of Chinese goods won't be easy. Shortly after DDB won the contract to create the campaign in September, China was roiled by a high-profile milk scandal in which dairy producers sickened thousands of children with a chemical additive. A representative of DDB denied reports that the campaign was postponed as a result of the problem.
In the U.S., Chinese drywall is suspected of making U.S. homeowners sick and corroding pipes and wires. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has launched a major investigation after receiving hundreds of complaints from consumers in more than 30 states.
The agency is also scrutinizing Chinese-made all-terrain vehicles over concerns that faulty brakes and sharp handlebars could injure young riders. About 800 have been recalled since last summer.
Some critics say China's ad campaign is misdirected and that the Ministry of Commerce and the trade groups would do better to focus their efforts on improving manufacturing practices in China rather than spending time trying to sway opinion overseas.
"Most people would be pretty cynical about" the campaign, said Paul Midler, author of "Poorly Made in China," a book that examined how Chinese manufacturers' drive for bigger profits often compromised quality. "I'm not sure using PR can turn the tide and change behavior."
Even some Chinese citizens believe the government is wasting its time. Commenting on the commercial, a blogger named Liu Wenxin put it succinctly: " 'Made in China' is not a phrase worth showing off."
Russell Leigh Moses, a political analyst in Beijing, doubts that the marketing effort represents any high-level policy change. News of the ad campaign was relegated mainly to English-language newspapers in China, rather than influential publications read by Communist Party cadres. And no prominent official is leading the effort, which took 14 months to launch.
"I'm not convinced this is a broad new trend," Moses said. "It looks like a group of concerned officials, associations and parts of the bureaucracy finally getting around to doing something they were asked to do a long time ago."
david.pierson@latimes.com
Tommy Yang in The Times' Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
By David Pierson
December 7, 2009
Reporting from Beijing
Plagued by recalls of toxic toys, poison pet food and other products, and facing rising trade barriers for its exports, China is taking a page from the American corporate playbook. It has hired a Madison Avenue ad agency to help burnish its image.
In what is believed to be Beijing's first global ad campaign, a television commercial now airing on CNN in the U.S., Asia and Europe portrays satisfied consumers enjoying Chinese-made goods. It also touts the notion that China's manufacturing prowess benefits nations around the globe.
The 30-second spot using Western actors is set against a soft-rock melody and shows the ubiquitous "Made in China" label on a series of products -- with a twist. A jogger laces up running shoes whose tag reads "Made in China with American sports technology." A refrigerator is stamped with "Made in China with European styling." Two teenage girls dance at a bus stop listening to MP3 players labeled "Made in China with software from Silicon Valley." And a model vamps for the camera in a slinky dress that's "Made in China with French designers."
A voice-over in American-accented English ends the ad by saying, "When it says 'Made in China,' it really means 'Made in China, made with the world.' " Not a single Chinese face or factory appears.
The spot was funded by a group of Chinese trade associations and China's Ministry of Commerce, which in a statement said the campaign was designed to promote Chinese goods "objectively." The ministry hired the Chinese arm of DDB, one of the largest multinational ad firms with headquarters in Manhattan, to help craft its message.
DDB and Chinese officials declined to discuss the commercial. But experts said the campaign is an effort to defuse rising trade tension between China and its Western trading partners, many of whom are struggling with high unemployment and idle factories while China's economy hums. Some nations are becoming more aggressive in their efforts to combat what they see as unfair practices that have helped China siphon millions of global manufacturing jobs on its way to becoming the world's factory floor.
The European Union last month asked the World Trade Organization to look at China's export restrictions on key raw materials such as bauxite, which they say raises the prices for foreign buyers and gives Chinese firms a low-cost manufacturing advantage. The United States, whose trade deficit with China was nearly $166 billion through the first nine months of the year, recently slapped tariffs on low-cost Chinese-made tires and steel pipe.
Chinese government officials have publicly criticized such moves as protectionism. But the new ad campaign shows that Beijing is also experimenting with a subtler, softer approach.
It's "a reflection of how the government is beginning to realize the importance of public perception," said James Zimmerman, a Beijing business community leader and partner in the law firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey, which represents multinationals in China. "If the Chinese government retained experts to help manage its message, this is a positive and constructive step."
Others believe the spot is an attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of the "Made in China" label by drawing attention to the heavy involvement of foreigners in Chinese-made products. U.S. and European firms have invested billions setting up low-cost manufacturing operations in China.
Although some Chinese factories have been linked to the production of dangerous toys, melamine-tainted pet food and other shoddy products, many produce high-quality goods for well-known companies, including Apple, Nike and Caterpillar.
"When you talk about products in China, you think of lesser quality than the U.S. and Europe," said Li Fei, a professor of marketing at Beijing's Tsinghua University. "By connecting them internationally, you're saying they're equal."
Still, burnishing the image of Chinese goods won't be easy. Shortly after DDB won the contract to create the campaign in September, China was roiled by a high-profile milk scandal in which dairy producers sickened thousands of children with a chemical additive. A representative of DDB denied reports that the campaign was postponed as a result of the problem.
In the U.S., Chinese drywall is suspected of making U.S. homeowners sick and corroding pipes and wires. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has launched a major investigation after receiving hundreds of complaints from consumers in more than 30 states.
The agency is also scrutinizing Chinese-made all-terrain vehicles over concerns that faulty brakes and sharp handlebars could injure young riders. About 800 have been recalled since last summer.
Some critics say China's ad campaign is misdirected and that the Ministry of Commerce and the trade groups would do better to focus their efforts on improving manufacturing practices in China rather than spending time trying to sway opinion overseas.
"Most people would be pretty cynical about" the campaign, said Paul Midler, author of "Poorly Made in China," a book that examined how Chinese manufacturers' drive for bigger profits often compromised quality. "I'm not sure using PR can turn the tide and change behavior."
Even some Chinese citizens believe the government is wasting its time. Commenting on the commercial, a blogger named Liu Wenxin put it succinctly: " 'Made in China' is not a phrase worth showing off."
Russell Leigh Moses, a political analyst in Beijing, doubts that the marketing effort represents any high-level policy change. News of the ad campaign was relegated mainly to English-language newspapers in China, rather than influential publications read by Communist Party cadres. And no prominent official is leading the effort, which took 14 months to launch.
"I'm not convinced this is a broad new trend," Moses said. "It looks like a group of concerned officials, associations and parts of the bureaucracy finally getting around to doing something they were asked to do a long time ago."
david.pierson@latimes.com
Tommy Yang in The Times' Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
ABOUT JAPAN: 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor far from forgotten
By William Cole, The Honolulu Advertiser
PEARL HARBOR — Harold O'Connor, 88, was a Navy Fireman First Class on the USS Thornton, a destroyer seaplane tender, in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked.
"All the torpedo planes were coming right off our fantail," O'Connor recalls. "I watched the West Virginia go up from two torpedoes that were dropped. All hell was breaking loose. I saw the bombs that hit the Arizona."
That's just one of O'Connor's World War II stories from the Pacific. The Hawaii man was again on the Thornton in 1942 taking Marines to Palmyra Atoll, when the ship ran aground on New Year's Eve. There he saw two torpedoes streaming toward where he stood.
"I said, 'Goodbye world,' and I hit the deck," O'Connor said. "Nothing happened. I got up, and here come two more torpedoes. They came right under where I was standing."
O'Connor's recollections go beyond Japan's 1941 attack on Oahu and so will the new $58 million Pearl Harbor center under construction for the USS Arizona Memorial here, says Daniel Martinez, chief historian for the emerging World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.
President George W. Bush set that change in motion last year when he proclaimed the Arizona Memorial and visitor center part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which includes nine sites: five in Hawaii, three in Alaska, and one in California at the Tule Lake Segregation Center, which was where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II.
The challenge for the National Park Service, which runs the Arizona Memorial, is to expand its exhibits to incorporate the new Pacific mandate, Martinez says.
"We're at the beginning of trying to interpret how we're going to carry this out," Martinez said. "There are other ways to communicate this story besides traditional exhibits, so we're looking at ways to do it on the Web, we're looking at ways to do it through interpretive programs, we're looking at ways to do it through education."
A visitor center had been planned long before Bush's announcement. The existing facility, which was built in 1980, was sinking. It was too small to accommodate the more than 1.3 million people who visit the state's No. 1 tourist attraction each year.
Visitors who arrive today at the center for the boat ride to Kilo pier on the Pearl Harbor Navy base — where a commemoration ceremony will be held —will be greeted by a circuitous path of 12-foot chain-link fences covered in black fabric batting, a construction barrier separating older buildings still in use at the visitor center from their new replacements.
The new facility will occupy 24,000 square feet and have nearly double the current museum exhibition space, according to the Arizona Memorial Museum Association. The campuslike design spreads new buildings and shaded walkways over a much larger area than before.
"You feel kind of confined here," said visitor Shannon Howland, 50, of Seattle, who was waiting last week in the visitor center courtyard for the movie and boat trip to the memorial. "The more open they make it, the better it will be — just for the flow of people on a busy day."
Construction began about a year ago, and the first phase, which includes an education center, restrooms, a bookstore and snack shop, is scheduled to open around Feb. 16, project director Tom Fake said.
The exhibits Road to War, Oahu 1941, and Attack and Aftermath will be part of the second phase, which is to be completed by Dec. 7, 2010.
The "attack" gallery will have an 18-foot mural depicting Battleship Row off Ford Island on Dec. 7, 1941. A one-third scale model of a banking Japanese torpedo plane will be hung overhead, and the roar of passing enemy planes will be heard in the exhibit, Martinez said.
An anti-aircraft gun that came off the sunken USS Utah, a 5-foot-by-9-foot riveted slab of the USS Arizona's superstructure, and an oscilloscope showing the radar picture before the attack, also are included in the exhibit plan, he said.
Today's events for the expected 2,000 people in attendance, will include a moment of silence, a "missing man" flyover, wreath presentations, featured speakers, a rifle salute and taps. The 7:55 a.m. attack killed 2,390 people.
PEARL HARBOR — Harold O'Connor, 88, was a Navy Fireman First Class on the USS Thornton, a destroyer seaplane tender, in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked.
"All the torpedo planes were coming right off our fantail," O'Connor recalls. "I watched the West Virginia go up from two torpedoes that were dropped. All hell was breaking loose. I saw the bombs that hit the Arizona."
That's just one of O'Connor's World War II stories from the Pacific. The Hawaii man was again on the Thornton in 1942 taking Marines to Palmyra Atoll, when the ship ran aground on New Year's Eve. There he saw two torpedoes streaming toward where he stood.
"I said, 'Goodbye world,' and I hit the deck," O'Connor said. "Nothing happened. I got up, and here come two more torpedoes. They came right under where I was standing."
O'Connor's recollections go beyond Japan's 1941 attack on Oahu and so will the new $58 million Pearl Harbor center under construction for the USS Arizona Memorial here, says Daniel Martinez, chief historian for the emerging World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.
President George W. Bush set that change in motion last year when he proclaimed the Arizona Memorial and visitor center part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which includes nine sites: five in Hawaii, three in Alaska, and one in California at the Tule Lake Segregation Center, which was where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II.
The challenge for the National Park Service, which runs the Arizona Memorial, is to expand its exhibits to incorporate the new Pacific mandate, Martinez says.
"We're at the beginning of trying to interpret how we're going to carry this out," Martinez said. "There are other ways to communicate this story besides traditional exhibits, so we're looking at ways to do it on the Web, we're looking at ways to do it through interpretive programs, we're looking at ways to do it through education."
A visitor center had been planned long before Bush's announcement. The existing facility, which was built in 1980, was sinking. It was too small to accommodate the more than 1.3 million people who visit the state's No. 1 tourist attraction each year.
Visitors who arrive today at the center for the boat ride to Kilo pier on the Pearl Harbor Navy base — where a commemoration ceremony will be held —will be greeted by a circuitous path of 12-foot chain-link fences covered in black fabric batting, a construction barrier separating older buildings still in use at the visitor center from their new replacements.
The new facility will occupy 24,000 square feet and have nearly double the current museum exhibition space, according to the Arizona Memorial Museum Association. The campuslike design spreads new buildings and shaded walkways over a much larger area than before.
"You feel kind of confined here," said visitor Shannon Howland, 50, of Seattle, who was waiting last week in the visitor center courtyard for the movie and boat trip to the memorial. "The more open they make it, the better it will be — just for the flow of people on a busy day."
Construction began about a year ago, and the first phase, which includes an education center, restrooms, a bookstore and snack shop, is scheduled to open around Feb. 16, project director Tom Fake said.
The exhibits Road to War, Oahu 1941, and Attack and Aftermath will be part of the second phase, which is to be completed by Dec. 7, 2010.
The "attack" gallery will have an 18-foot mural depicting Battleship Row off Ford Island on Dec. 7, 1941. A one-third scale model of a banking Japanese torpedo plane will be hung overhead, and the roar of passing enemy planes will be heard in the exhibit, Martinez said.
An anti-aircraft gun that came off the sunken USS Utah, a 5-foot-by-9-foot riveted slab of the USS Arizona's superstructure, and an oscilloscope showing the radar picture before the attack, also are included in the exhibit plan, he said.
Today's events for the expected 2,000 people in attendance, will include a moment of silence, a "missing man" flyover, wreath presentations, featured speakers, a rifle salute and taps. The 7:55 a.m. attack killed 2,390 people.
ABOUT JAPAN: Pearl Harbor mini-submarine mystery solved?
Researchers think they have found the remains of a Japanese mini-submarine that probably fired on U.S. battleships on Dec. 7, 1941.
By Thomas H. Maugh II
December 7, 2009
The remains of a Japanese mini-submarine that participated in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor have been discovered, researchers are to report today, offering strong evidence that the sub fired its torpedoes at Battleship Row.
That could settle a long-standing argument among historians.
Five mini-subs were to participate in the strike, but four were scuttled, destroyed or run aground without being a factor in the attack. The fate of the fifth has remained a mystery. But a variety of new evidence suggests that the fifth fired its two 800-pound torpedoes, most likely at the battleships West Virginia and Oklahoma, capsizing the latter. A day later, researchers think, the mini-sub's crew scuttled it in nearby West Loch.
The loch was also the site of a 1944 disaster in which six tank landing ships preparing for the secret invasion of Saipan were destroyed in an ammunition explosion that killed 200 sailors and wounded hundreds more.
When the Navy scooped up the remains of the so-called LSTs and dumped them outside the harbor to protect the secrecy of the invasion, it apparently also dumped the mini-sub's remains, which were mingled with the damaged U.S. ships.
"It's not often that a historian gets a chance to rewrite history," said marine historian and former Navy submariner Parks Stephenson, who pieced together the evidence for the television program "Nova." "The capsizing of the Oklahoma is the second most iconic event of the attack. If one submarine could get in in 1941 and hit a battleship, who knows what a midget sub could do today. Iran and North Korea are both building them. It's very worrying."
Stephenson and his colleagues have put together a convincing chain of circumstantial evidence, but it is just circumstantial, said Burl Burlingame, a journalist at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and author of "Advance Force: Pearl Harbor."
"There is a good chance that this is the Pearl Harbor midget, but I don't think the case is closed on it," Burlingame said. "At this point, it is not hard evidence."
The two-man, 80-foot-long sub in question does not have a name of its own. Each of the five subs in the attack was carried by a conventional submarine and took its name from the mother boat. It is thus called the I-16-tou -- tou being Japanese for boat. Powered by a 600-horsepower electric motor, the sub could reach underwater speeds of 19 knots, twice as fast as many of the U.S. subs of the day.
The three pieces of the sub were found during routine test dives between 1994 and 2001 by Terry Kerby, chief pilot of the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's submersibles Pisces IV and Pisces V. But Kerby and others assumed they were a part of a war trophy that had been captured by allied forces at Guadalcanal or elsewhere, towed back to Hawaii and scuttled.
Stephenson got involved in 2007 because he was looking for the fifth Japanese mini-sub.
In 1941, a crewman on the I-16 had received a radio call from the I-16-tou at 10:41 p.m. on Dec. 8 reporting the success of its mission. That indicated to Stephenson that the mini-sub had found a calm place in the harbor and hidden until the next night before surfacing and sending the call.
The crew members would have then scuttled the craft because they could not get it out of the harbor. The West Loch would have been a good location to hide, but researchers could find no trace of the boat there.
A diver who had been looking for the mini-sub suggested that Stephenson talk to Kerby, who sent him pictures of his find.
"As soon as I saw the bow section with the distinctive net cutter, I knew that we had found the fifth midget sub," Stephenson said. The Japanese navy modified net cutters on the subs for specific missions, and the one on the wreck was identical to those on the other mini-subs.
No torpedoes were found on the wreck, and evidence suggests that they were not present when the boat was sunk. A newly declassified photograph taken by a Japanese plane during the attack appeared to show a mini-sub firing a torpedo into Battleship Row. A report to Congress in 1942 by Adm. Chester W. Nimitz describes an unexploded 800-pound torpedo recovered after the battle. That's twice the size carried by the torpedo bombers.
That torpedo was apparently a dud that missed the West Virginia.
But an examination of the remains of the Oklahoma shows that it apparently had underwater damage much larger than that associated with aerial torpedoes. An underwater blast would have caused it to capsize, Stephenson said. "Otherwise it would have settled to the bottom upright," like the other sunken ships.
The 1944 disaster at West Loch occurred on May 21 as the Navy was preparing to invade the Mariana Islands in Operation Forager. The Navy clamped a top-secret classification on the incident to keep it from the Japanese, and few records are now available. What is known is that it was crucial to clear out the debris because the loch was by then the site of an ammunition dump.
Records from the salvage ship Valve showed that it was brought into the loch during the cleanup and its 250-ton crane was used for an undisclosed reason. Stephenson thinks it lifted the I-16-tou, but there are no records to confirm that.
The remains of the mini-sub were then dumped three miles south of Pearl Harbor along with those of the LSTs, to be found by Kerby 50 years later.
Bulkheads on the wreck are sealed, so researchers don't know whether the mini-sub crew was trapped. But a map taken from one of the other mini-subs showed the location of a safe house in Pearl City, Hawaii, suggesting the crew might have scuttled the boat and escaped.
The "Nova" episode describing the search for the I-16-tou will air Jan. 5.
By Thomas H. Maugh II
December 7, 2009
The remains of a Japanese mini-submarine that participated in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor have been discovered, researchers are to report today, offering strong evidence that the sub fired its torpedoes at Battleship Row.
That could settle a long-standing argument among historians.
Five mini-subs were to participate in the strike, but four were scuttled, destroyed or run aground without being a factor in the attack. The fate of the fifth has remained a mystery. But a variety of new evidence suggests that the fifth fired its two 800-pound torpedoes, most likely at the battleships West Virginia and Oklahoma, capsizing the latter. A day later, researchers think, the mini-sub's crew scuttled it in nearby West Loch.
The loch was also the site of a 1944 disaster in which six tank landing ships preparing for the secret invasion of Saipan were destroyed in an ammunition explosion that killed 200 sailors and wounded hundreds more.
When the Navy scooped up the remains of the so-called LSTs and dumped them outside the harbor to protect the secrecy of the invasion, it apparently also dumped the mini-sub's remains, which were mingled with the damaged U.S. ships.
"It's not often that a historian gets a chance to rewrite history," said marine historian and former Navy submariner Parks Stephenson, who pieced together the evidence for the television program "Nova." "The capsizing of the Oklahoma is the second most iconic event of the attack. If one submarine could get in in 1941 and hit a battleship, who knows what a midget sub could do today. Iran and North Korea are both building them. It's very worrying."
Stephenson and his colleagues have put together a convincing chain of circumstantial evidence, but it is just circumstantial, said Burl Burlingame, a journalist at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and author of "Advance Force: Pearl Harbor."
"There is a good chance that this is the Pearl Harbor midget, but I don't think the case is closed on it," Burlingame said. "At this point, it is not hard evidence."
The two-man, 80-foot-long sub in question does not have a name of its own. Each of the five subs in the attack was carried by a conventional submarine and took its name from the mother boat. It is thus called the I-16-tou -- tou being Japanese for boat. Powered by a 600-horsepower electric motor, the sub could reach underwater speeds of 19 knots, twice as fast as many of the U.S. subs of the day.
The three pieces of the sub were found during routine test dives between 1994 and 2001 by Terry Kerby, chief pilot of the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's submersibles Pisces IV and Pisces V. But Kerby and others assumed they were a part of a war trophy that had been captured by allied forces at Guadalcanal or elsewhere, towed back to Hawaii and scuttled.
Stephenson got involved in 2007 because he was looking for the fifth Japanese mini-sub.
In 1941, a crewman on the I-16 had received a radio call from the I-16-tou at 10:41 p.m. on Dec. 8 reporting the success of its mission. That indicated to Stephenson that the mini-sub had found a calm place in the harbor and hidden until the next night before surfacing and sending the call.
The crew members would have then scuttled the craft because they could not get it out of the harbor. The West Loch would have been a good location to hide, but researchers could find no trace of the boat there.
A diver who had been looking for the mini-sub suggested that Stephenson talk to Kerby, who sent him pictures of his find.
"As soon as I saw the bow section with the distinctive net cutter, I knew that we had found the fifth midget sub," Stephenson said. The Japanese navy modified net cutters on the subs for specific missions, and the one on the wreck was identical to those on the other mini-subs.
No torpedoes were found on the wreck, and evidence suggests that they were not present when the boat was sunk. A newly declassified photograph taken by a Japanese plane during the attack appeared to show a mini-sub firing a torpedo into Battleship Row. A report to Congress in 1942 by Adm. Chester W. Nimitz describes an unexploded 800-pound torpedo recovered after the battle. That's twice the size carried by the torpedo bombers.
That torpedo was apparently a dud that missed the West Virginia.
But an examination of the remains of the Oklahoma shows that it apparently had underwater damage much larger than that associated with aerial torpedoes. An underwater blast would have caused it to capsize, Stephenson said. "Otherwise it would have settled to the bottom upright," like the other sunken ships.
The 1944 disaster at West Loch occurred on May 21 as the Navy was preparing to invade the Mariana Islands in Operation Forager. The Navy clamped a top-secret classification on the incident to keep it from the Japanese, and few records are now available. What is known is that it was crucial to clear out the debris because the loch was by then the site of an ammunition dump.
Records from the salvage ship Valve showed that it was brought into the loch during the cleanup and its 250-ton crane was used for an undisclosed reason. Stephenson thinks it lifted the I-16-tou, but there are no records to confirm that.
The remains of the mini-sub were then dumped three miles south of Pearl Harbor along with those of the LSTs, to be found by Kerby 50 years later.
Bulkheads on the wreck are sealed, so researchers don't know whether the mini-sub crew was trapped. But a map taken from one of the other mini-subs showed the location of a safe house in Pearl City, Hawaii, suggesting the crew might have scuttled the boat and escaped.
The "Nova" episode describing the search for the I-16-tou will air Jan. 5.
'Fake fingerprint' Chinese woman fools Japan controls
Japan 'fake fingerprints' arrest
A Chinese woman managed to enter Japan illegally by having plastic surgery to alter her fingerprints, thus fooling immigration controls, police claim.
Lin Rong, 27, had previously been deported from Japan for overstaying her visa. She was only discovered when she was arrested on separate charges.
Tokyo police said she had paid $15,000 (£9,000) to have the surgery in China.
It is Japan's first case of alleged biometric fraud, but police believe the practice may be widespread.
Japanese police suspect Chinese brokers of taking huge sums to modify fingerprints surgically.
Local media reports said Ms Lin had undergone surgery to swap the fingerprints from her right and left hands.
Skin patches on her thumbs and index fingers were removed and then re-grafted on to the matching digits of the opposite hand.
Japanese newspapers said police had noticed that Ms Lin's fingers had unnatural scars when she was arrested last month for allegedly faking a marriage to a Japanese man.
The apparent ability of illegal migration networks to break through hi-tech controls suggests that other countries who fingerprint visitors could be equally vulnerable - not least the United States, according to BBC Asia analyst Andre Vornic.
Published: 2009/12/07 18:27:01 GMT
© BBC MMIX
A Chinese woman managed to enter Japan illegally by having plastic surgery to alter her fingerprints, thus fooling immigration controls, police claim.
Lin Rong, 27, had previously been deported from Japan for overstaying her visa. She was only discovered when she was arrested on separate charges.
Tokyo police said she had paid $15,000 (£9,000) to have the surgery in China.
It is Japan's first case of alleged biometric fraud, but police believe the practice may be widespread.
Japanese police suspect Chinese brokers of taking huge sums to modify fingerprints surgically.
Local media reports said Ms Lin had undergone surgery to swap the fingerprints from her right and left hands.
Skin patches on her thumbs and index fingers were removed and then re-grafted on to the matching digits of the opposite hand.
Japanese newspapers said police had noticed that Ms Lin's fingers had unnatural scars when she was arrested last month for allegedly faking a marriage to a Japanese man.
The apparent ability of illegal migration networks to break through hi-tech controls suggests that other countries who fingerprint visitors could be equally vulnerable - not least the United States, according to BBC Asia analyst Andre Vornic.
Published: 2009/12/07 18:27:01 GMT
© BBC MMIX
Was Russian secret service behind leak of climate-change emails?
FSB accused of paying hackers to discredit scientists after stolen correspondence traced to server in Siberia
By Shaun Walker
Monday, 7 December 2009
The news that a leaked set of emails appeared to show senior climate scientists had manipulated data was shocking enough. Now the story has become more remarkable still.
The computer hack, said a senior member of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, was not an amateur job, but a highly sophisticated, politically motivated operation. And others went further. The guiding hand behind the leaks, the allegation went, was that of the Russian secret services.
The leaked emails, which claimed to provide evidence that the unit's head, Professor Phil Jones, colluded with colleagues to manipulate data and hide "unhelpful" research from critics of climate change science, were originally posted on a server in the Siberian city of Tomsk, at a firm called Tomcity, an internet security business.
The FSB security services, descendants of the KGB, are believed to invest significant resources in hackers, and the Tomsk office has a record of issuing statements congratulating local students on hacks aimed at anti-Russian voices, deeming them "an expression of their position as citizens, and one worthy of respect". The Kremlin has also been accused of running co-ordinated cyber attacks against websites in neighbouring countries such as Estonia, with which the Kremlin has frosty relations, although the allegations were never proved.
"It's very common for hackers in Russia to be paid for their services," Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, the vice chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, said in Copenhagen at the weekend. "It's a carefully made selection of emails and documents that's not random. This is 13 years of data, and it's not a job of amateurs."
The leaked emails, Professor van Ypersele said, will fuel scepticism about climate change and may make agreement harder at Copenhagen. So the mutterings have prompted the question: why would Russia have an interest in scuppering the Copenhagen talks?
This time, if it was indeed the FSB behind the leak, it could be part of a ploy to delay negotiations or win further concessions for Moscow. Russia, along with the United States, was accused of delaying Kyoto, and the signals coming from Moscow recently have continued to dismay environmental activists.
When Ed Miliband, the Secreatary of State for Climate Change, visited Moscow this year, he had meetings with high-level Russian officials and pronounced them constructive. But others doubt that Russia has much desire to go green.
Up in the far northern reaches of Russia, there are stretches of hundreds of miles of boggy tundra; human settlements are few and far between. Often, the only inhabitants are indigenous reindeer herders, who in recent years have reported that their cyclical lifestyle is being affected by the climate: they have to wait until later in the year to migrate to winter camps, because the rivers do not freeze as early as they used to. In spring, the snow melts quickly and it becomes harder for reindeer to pull sleds.
Much of Russia's vast oil and gas reserves lie in difficult-to-access areas of the far North. One school of thought is that Russia, unlike most countries, would have little to fear from global warming, because these deposits would suddenly become much easier and cheaper to access.
It is this, goes the theory, that underlies the Kremlin's ambivalent attitudes towards global warming; they remain lukewarm on the science underpinning climate change, knowing full well that if global warming does change the world's climate, billions of dollars of natural resources will become accessible. Another motivating factor could be that Russia simply does not want to spend the vast sums of money that would be required to modernise and "greenify" Russia's ageing factories.
But global warming also brings with it a terrifying threat for Russia, the melting of permafrost, which covers so much of the country's territory. Cities in the Siberian north such as Yakutsk are built entirely on permafrost, and if this melts, are in danger of collapsing, along with railways and all other infrastructure.
But many in Russia's scientific community are deeply sceptical of the threat from global warming. And only 40 per cent of Russians believe climate change is a serious threat, a survey shows
Russia's commitments ahead of Copenhagen have been modest. In June, the President, Dmitry Medvedev, said Russia would reduce emission levels by 10 to 15 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. But what this actually means is a whopping 30 per cent rise from the present levels. Using the 1990 figures as a benchmark is a way to gain extra leeway, because emissions in Russia have tumbled since the Soviet Union collapsed and much of its polluting industrial complex went down with it.
Of course, Russia is not alone in falling short on climate commitments. But nor does it have a track record for openness for dismissal of the claims against the FSB to be straightforward. The Tomsk hackers in the message along with their leak, wrote of their hopes that the release would "give some insight into the science and the people behind it". Similar insights into the hackers themselves look extremely unlikely.
By Shaun Walker
Monday, 7 December 2009
The news that a leaked set of emails appeared to show senior climate scientists had manipulated data was shocking enough. Now the story has become more remarkable still.
The computer hack, said a senior member of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, was not an amateur job, but a highly sophisticated, politically motivated operation. And others went further. The guiding hand behind the leaks, the allegation went, was that of the Russian secret services.
The leaked emails, which claimed to provide evidence that the unit's head, Professor Phil Jones, colluded with colleagues to manipulate data and hide "unhelpful" research from critics of climate change science, were originally posted on a server in the Siberian city of Tomsk, at a firm called Tomcity, an internet security business.
The FSB security services, descendants of the KGB, are believed to invest significant resources in hackers, and the Tomsk office has a record of issuing statements congratulating local students on hacks aimed at anti-Russian voices, deeming them "an expression of their position as citizens, and one worthy of respect". The Kremlin has also been accused of running co-ordinated cyber attacks against websites in neighbouring countries such as Estonia, with which the Kremlin has frosty relations, although the allegations were never proved.
"It's very common for hackers in Russia to be paid for their services," Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, the vice chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, said in Copenhagen at the weekend. "It's a carefully made selection of emails and documents that's not random. This is 13 years of data, and it's not a job of amateurs."
The leaked emails, Professor van Ypersele said, will fuel scepticism about climate change and may make agreement harder at Copenhagen. So the mutterings have prompted the question: why would Russia have an interest in scuppering the Copenhagen talks?
This time, if it was indeed the FSB behind the leak, it could be part of a ploy to delay negotiations or win further concessions for Moscow. Russia, along with the United States, was accused of delaying Kyoto, and the signals coming from Moscow recently have continued to dismay environmental activists.
When Ed Miliband, the Secreatary of State for Climate Change, visited Moscow this year, he had meetings with high-level Russian officials and pronounced them constructive. But others doubt that Russia has much desire to go green.
Up in the far northern reaches of Russia, there are stretches of hundreds of miles of boggy tundra; human settlements are few and far between. Often, the only inhabitants are indigenous reindeer herders, who in recent years have reported that their cyclical lifestyle is being affected by the climate: they have to wait until later in the year to migrate to winter camps, because the rivers do not freeze as early as they used to. In spring, the snow melts quickly and it becomes harder for reindeer to pull sleds.
Much of Russia's vast oil and gas reserves lie in difficult-to-access areas of the far North. One school of thought is that Russia, unlike most countries, would have little to fear from global warming, because these deposits would suddenly become much easier and cheaper to access.
It is this, goes the theory, that underlies the Kremlin's ambivalent attitudes towards global warming; they remain lukewarm on the science underpinning climate change, knowing full well that if global warming does change the world's climate, billions of dollars of natural resources will become accessible. Another motivating factor could be that Russia simply does not want to spend the vast sums of money that would be required to modernise and "greenify" Russia's ageing factories.
But global warming also brings with it a terrifying threat for Russia, the melting of permafrost, which covers so much of the country's territory. Cities in the Siberian north such as Yakutsk are built entirely on permafrost, and if this melts, are in danger of collapsing, along with railways and all other infrastructure.
But many in Russia's scientific community are deeply sceptical of the threat from global warming. And only 40 per cent of Russians believe climate change is a serious threat, a survey shows
Russia's commitments ahead of Copenhagen have been modest. In June, the President, Dmitry Medvedev, said Russia would reduce emission levels by 10 to 15 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. But what this actually means is a whopping 30 per cent rise from the present levels. Using the 1990 figures as a benchmark is a way to gain extra leeway, because emissions in Russia have tumbled since the Soviet Union collapsed and much of its polluting industrial complex went down with it.
Of course, Russia is not alone in falling short on climate commitments. But nor does it have a track record for openness for dismissal of the claims against the FSB to be straightforward. The Tomsk hackers in the message along with their leak, wrote of their hopes that the release would "give some insight into the science and the people behind it". Similar insights into the hackers themselves look extremely unlikely.
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