by Vanity Fair
December 11, 2009, 5:40 PM
Following her 46th birthday this week, Japan's troubled Crown Princess Masako vowed to continue efforts to overcome her stress disorder. "Under the guidance of my doctor, I have been doing my best, step-by-step, to regain my health, mentally and physically," the Princess announced in an official statement. Before marrying into the Japanese royal family, in 1993, the Princess, then Masako Owada, was a decidedly modern career woman. Since wedding Crown Prince Naruhito, she's had difficulty adjusting to the rigid, conservative lifestyle enforced by the Japanese Imperial Household. According to some reports, in an effort to have the Princess focus her attentions on conceiving a male heir, court officials have limited her travel and restricted phone use. She gave birth to a daughter, Princess Toshi, in 2001 and in recent months has made more public appearances, which supporters interpret as a sign of improvement.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
JAPAN: Rap and manga - new roads to Nirvana in Japan
by Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
Wed Dec 9, 1:44 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) – They rap sutras, use manga characters and serve beers -- some of Japan's Buddhist monks are turning to decidedly unorthodox means to boost the appeal of their ancient faith.
The new breed of holy men worry that Buddhism is slowly losing its shine as a generation raised in a consumer society turns its back on prayer and seeks solace in material rather than spiritual remedies.
Buddhism is still Japan's main religion, along with the animist Shinto faith, but hundreds of temples have been shuttered and monks say they struggle to be heard above the buzz of modern life.
With prayer beads in one hand and a microphone in another, robed and bespectacled monk "Mr. Happiness" flicked on a boom box one recent afternoon and, under the placid gaze of a Buddha statue, rapped lyrics that roughly translated to this:
"This is a story from a long time ago /
He gets in my dreams, he's my cosmic idol /
Yeah yeah, who ya talkin' about bro? /
I'm talkin' about the Buddha yo."
His lyrics, sung in modern Japanese, are inspired by ancient Sanskrit scriptures about compassion, pain and suffering, said the monk, the latest in a line of family patriarchs to head the 400-year old Kyouyoji Temple.
"There was a lot of controversy when I started this," said the monk, whose real name is Kansho Tagai.
"But I think a monk's role is to spread the teachings through a wide variety of performances. With more than 2,500 years of history, I think we should be able to choose ways to adapt Buddhism to every age.
"Buddhism has the substance ... to respond to people's needs, but monks need to get closer to the people," said Tagai, who on his website describes his temple as "Your Heart's Clinic."
Elsewhere in Tokyo, the suburban Ryohoji temple attracted hundreds of people for last month's autumn festival by drawing on the power of manga comics and the quirky youth cult of Cosplay, or costume-play.
Girls sporting frilly maid uniforms and sets of fluffy cat-ears -- the latest in comic-inspired costuming and usually a more common sight in Tokyo's geeky manga cafes -- greeted visitors to the 16th century temple.
Benzaiten, the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts, was depicted as a doe-eyed cartoon character on a sign at the temple, which also offered short cellphone video downloads of chief monk Shoko Nakazato chanting prayers.
"I came over because this temple has been the talk of the Net," said software programmer Mitsutaka Adachi, 26. "I was a bit surprised to see this, but it's fun. This can motivate people to come here."
Ryohoji's abbot Nakazato, 45, said he is part of the manga generation himself, having grown up on a diet of big-eyed cartoon figures and robo-cats, and sees nothing wrong with using the genre to attract newcomers.
"I have little resistance to manga ... I wanted to tell the people that temples are a fun place to visit," he said.
In another Buddhist temple, monks and nuns have even staged a fashion show to promote the faith, strutting down a catwalk to hip-hop music at Tsukiji Honganji Temple and showcasing their colorful Tokyo Bouz ("monk") Collection.
The fashion-monks from several different sects wore colourful robes and rapped sutras under a shower of confetti shaped like lotus petals.
Yet another monk, hipster Kaku Aoe with a goatee and a shaved head, has organised monthly 'dinners in the dark,' where blindfolded guests play a guessing game about the food but also get a taste of a monk's life.
"There are few opportunities for monks and people to connect," he said during a recent dinner. "Through a fun concept like this, people will be more open and eager to learn about Buddhism."
While some detractors dismiss the monks' business ventures as marketing gimmicks, the debate underscores real worries over the faith's future.
Japan is home to 75,000 temples and 20,000 monks, but hundreds of the religious sites are shuttered each year.
Although temples and religious festivals remain popular, many Japanese see them as tourist magnets that do a roaring trade in lucky charms and expensive funerals but have little connection to their lives.
Others resent the idea of ascetics seeking enlightenment in the comfort of their tax-free temples at a time when a severe recession has caused massive layoffs, a spike in suicides, and worries over a bleak future.
Hoping to take his spiritual message into the earthly realm of the Japanese office worker, another monk has ventured into the inner sanctum of the salaryman, the after-hours beer bar.
Working the counter of a cozy music club one recent night, monk Hogen Natori was serving drinks, yelling orders, joking with customers -- and chanting traditional ancient sutras.
Hogen began performing with two junior monks six years ago, experimenting with jazz and other styles. In the end they decided to stick with the original -- unembellished and ancient chants.
The monks explained their message before dimming the lights. Then, one struck a chime and a hush descended over the 12-seat bar. The trio began to hum in low voices that swelled into chants as candles flickered.
After their performances, the monks engaged the guests in dialogue.
"Japan's youth have very few opportunities to run into Buddhism," Natori said. "They think monks are boring, that they just sit in their temples and say they pray for people without even coming out to listen to them."
Natori is unashamed about his nocturnal forays into Tokyo nightlife in his bid to bring enlightenment to the people.
"We need to actively guide people about how to live," he said. "But we also need to make monks fun ... If they can't come to us, we need to go to them, like a delivery service."
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved
Wed Dec 9, 1:44 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) – They rap sutras, use manga characters and serve beers -- some of Japan's Buddhist monks are turning to decidedly unorthodox means to boost the appeal of their ancient faith.
The new breed of holy men worry that Buddhism is slowly losing its shine as a generation raised in a consumer society turns its back on prayer and seeks solace in material rather than spiritual remedies.
Buddhism is still Japan's main religion, along with the animist Shinto faith, but hundreds of temples have been shuttered and monks say they struggle to be heard above the buzz of modern life.
With prayer beads in one hand and a microphone in another, robed and bespectacled monk "Mr. Happiness" flicked on a boom box one recent afternoon and, under the placid gaze of a Buddha statue, rapped lyrics that roughly translated to this:
"This is a story from a long time ago /
He gets in my dreams, he's my cosmic idol /
Yeah yeah, who ya talkin' about bro? /
I'm talkin' about the Buddha yo."
His lyrics, sung in modern Japanese, are inspired by ancient Sanskrit scriptures about compassion, pain and suffering, said the monk, the latest in a line of family patriarchs to head the 400-year old Kyouyoji Temple.
"There was a lot of controversy when I started this," said the monk, whose real name is Kansho Tagai.
"But I think a monk's role is to spread the teachings through a wide variety of performances. With more than 2,500 years of history, I think we should be able to choose ways to adapt Buddhism to every age.
"Buddhism has the substance ... to respond to people's needs, but monks need to get closer to the people," said Tagai, who on his website describes his temple as "Your Heart's Clinic."
Elsewhere in Tokyo, the suburban Ryohoji temple attracted hundreds of people for last month's autumn festival by drawing on the power of manga comics and the quirky youth cult of Cosplay, or costume-play.
Girls sporting frilly maid uniforms and sets of fluffy cat-ears -- the latest in comic-inspired costuming and usually a more common sight in Tokyo's geeky manga cafes -- greeted visitors to the 16th century temple.
Benzaiten, the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts, was depicted as a doe-eyed cartoon character on a sign at the temple, which also offered short cellphone video downloads of chief monk Shoko Nakazato chanting prayers.
"I came over because this temple has been the talk of the Net," said software programmer Mitsutaka Adachi, 26. "I was a bit surprised to see this, but it's fun. This can motivate people to come here."
Ryohoji's abbot Nakazato, 45, said he is part of the manga generation himself, having grown up on a diet of big-eyed cartoon figures and robo-cats, and sees nothing wrong with using the genre to attract newcomers.
"I have little resistance to manga ... I wanted to tell the people that temples are a fun place to visit," he said.
In another Buddhist temple, monks and nuns have even staged a fashion show to promote the faith, strutting down a catwalk to hip-hop music at Tsukiji Honganji Temple and showcasing their colorful Tokyo Bouz ("monk") Collection.
The fashion-monks from several different sects wore colourful robes and rapped sutras under a shower of confetti shaped like lotus petals.
Yet another monk, hipster Kaku Aoe with a goatee and a shaved head, has organised monthly 'dinners in the dark,' where blindfolded guests play a guessing game about the food but also get a taste of a monk's life.
"There are few opportunities for monks and people to connect," he said during a recent dinner. "Through a fun concept like this, people will be more open and eager to learn about Buddhism."
While some detractors dismiss the monks' business ventures as marketing gimmicks, the debate underscores real worries over the faith's future.
Japan is home to 75,000 temples and 20,000 monks, but hundreds of the religious sites are shuttered each year.
Although temples and religious festivals remain popular, many Japanese see them as tourist magnets that do a roaring trade in lucky charms and expensive funerals but have little connection to their lives.
Others resent the idea of ascetics seeking enlightenment in the comfort of their tax-free temples at a time when a severe recession has caused massive layoffs, a spike in suicides, and worries over a bleak future.
Hoping to take his spiritual message into the earthly realm of the Japanese office worker, another monk has ventured into the inner sanctum of the salaryman, the after-hours beer bar.
Working the counter of a cozy music club one recent night, monk Hogen Natori was serving drinks, yelling orders, joking with customers -- and chanting traditional ancient sutras.
Hogen began performing with two junior monks six years ago, experimenting with jazz and other styles. In the end they decided to stick with the original -- unembellished and ancient chants.
The monks explained their message before dimming the lights. Then, one struck a chime and a hush descended over the 12-seat bar. The trio began to hum in low voices that swelled into chants as candles flickered.
After their performances, the monks engaged the guests in dialogue.
"Japan's youth have very few opportunities to run into Buddhism," Natori said. "They think monks are boring, that they just sit in their temples and say they pray for people without even coming out to listen to them."
Natori is unashamed about his nocturnal forays into Tokyo nightlife in his bid to bring enlightenment to the people.
"We need to actively guide people about how to live," he said. "But we also need to make monks fun ... If they can't come to us, we need to go to them, like a delivery service."
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved
HONG KONG: Tattoos and Hong Kong women
11/12/2009 02:34:00 Ed Jones
Spurred-on by celebrity style or simply looking for a new way to stand out in a city of seven million, Hong Kong women are increasingly taking to tattoos – an art form long considered taboo.
Hidden demurely behind blouses and stockings during office hours, the walking, talking, body-art galleries are flaunted at the beach or in Hong Kong’s trendy nightspots.
“Most women here who want tattoos are between 20 and 40 years old,” says tattooist Joey Pang, who went a step further than most and opened her own parlour, the Tattoo Temple.
“At first they want smaller tattoos, more for beauty, more feminine designs. For their first one, most of the female customers want lower back tattoos, very popular.
“We educate them; they can have more choice, but they still don’t want to show off.”
Historically a firm favourite with male-dominated triad gangs, tattoos have been slow to gain popularity among women in the southern Chinese territory.
But with the ancient art now flashed on the pampered skin of a range of celebrities from movie star Angelina Jolie to party girl Paris Hilton, Pang says there has been a sharp rise in female customers eager to “get inked”.
Tattooist Kenny Chin of Solo tattoo agrees that the old stigma attached to body-art is fading.
“Some men in Hong Kong do not accept their girlfriends having tattoos,” he said. “But people are more open now – the tattoo is loosing the bad-guy status it once had.”
For young women the decision to go under the gun now revolves more around the reaction of their parents than touchy gangsters – something Hong Kong student and apprentice tattoo artist Jeyers knows well.
“I had to hide my first tattoos because my parents are pretty traditional – and especially because they work in the medical field,” she says, asking for her full identity to be withheld.
“They still don’t know that in my spare time I work as an apprentice tattoo artist,” she adds, recalling that when her mother found out about the first tattoos she initially wanted them removed by laser.
The 25-year-old, whose collection of body-art includes a hand-sized portrait of her surgeon father at work, located on her left shoulder, feels that mass media has played an important role in the rise of the female tattoo.
“Ten years ago tattoos were more underground; you didn’t see a lot of tattoos on the streets, so I didn’t know much about them.”
But she says she saw more and more tattoos popping up in magazines and on the internet, and was attracted to them immediately.
“Before, there was not much choice, but it has evolved a lot more now,” Jeyers says. “There are portraits, colour works, Japanese works, all kinds of styles, and I am so amazed by the work that you can put on people’s skin.”
AFP
Spurred-on by celebrity style or simply looking for a new way to stand out in a city of seven million, Hong Kong women are increasingly taking to tattoos – an art form long considered taboo.
Hidden demurely behind blouses and stockings during office hours, the walking, talking, body-art galleries are flaunted at the beach or in Hong Kong’s trendy nightspots.
“Most women here who want tattoos are between 20 and 40 years old,” says tattooist Joey Pang, who went a step further than most and opened her own parlour, the Tattoo Temple.
“At first they want smaller tattoos, more for beauty, more feminine designs. For their first one, most of the female customers want lower back tattoos, very popular.
“We educate them; they can have more choice, but they still don’t want to show off.”
Historically a firm favourite with male-dominated triad gangs, tattoos have been slow to gain popularity among women in the southern Chinese territory.
But with the ancient art now flashed on the pampered skin of a range of celebrities from movie star Angelina Jolie to party girl Paris Hilton, Pang says there has been a sharp rise in female customers eager to “get inked”.
Tattooist Kenny Chin of Solo tattoo agrees that the old stigma attached to body-art is fading.
“Some men in Hong Kong do not accept their girlfriends having tattoos,” he said. “But people are more open now – the tattoo is loosing the bad-guy status it once had.”
For young women the decision to go under the gun now revolves more around the reaction of their parents than touchy gangsters – something Hong Kong student and apprentice tattoo artist Jeyers knows well.
“I had to hide my first tattoos because my parents are pretty traditional – and especially because they work in the medical field,” she says, asking for her full identity to be withheld.
“They still don’t know that in my spare time I work as an apprentice tattoo artist,” she adds, recalling that when her mother found out about the first tattoos she initially wanted them removed by laser.
The 25-year-old, whose collection of body-art includes a hand-sized portrait of her surgeon father at work, located on her left shoulder, feels that mass media has played an important role in the rise of the female tattoo.
“Ten years ago tattoos were more underground; you didn’t see a lot of tattoos on the streets, so I didn’t know much about them.”
But she says she saw more and more tattoos popping up in magazines and on the internet, and was attracted to them immediately.
“Before, there was not much choice, but it has evolved a lot more now,” Jeyers says. “There are portraits, colour works, Japanese works, all kinds of styles, and I am so amazed by the work that you can put on people’s skin.”
AFP
S. KOREA: South Korea markets demilitarized zone bottled water
Published: 2009/12/10 16:49:19 GMT
Designer water connoisseurs can try a new tipple, directly sourced from the military zone between the two Koreas.
The water is called DMZ 2km and is bottled near the buffer zone separating North and South Korea.
It comes from an area unspoilt for decades, enclosed by razor wire fences, filled with land mines and monitored by more than one million armed soldiers.
The zone is a wildlife haven but also boasts one of the world's largest concentrations of weapons.
In spite of its name, the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) is the world's most heavily armed frontier.
It is a 4km (2.5-mile) thick ribbon that has divided the Korean peninsula since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The two Koreas are still technically at war.
But the makers of the drink hope it will appeal to those who do not think of the area in geo-political terms.
"We decided on water from the DMZ because it's different, and the environment there is untouched, so many people thinks it's clean," brand spokesman Lee Sang-hyo says.
The bottler draws the water from a plant close to the South Korean end of the DMZ, from a spring that flows directly under it.
"Getting the water is not dangerous at all. We worked it all out with the military," Mr Lee added.
© BBC MMIX
Designer water connoisseurs can try a new tipple, directly sourced from the military zone between the two Koreas.
The water is called DMZ 2km and is bottled near the buffer zone separating North and South Korea.
It comes from an area unspoilt for decades, enclosed by razor wire fences, filled with land mines and monitored by more than one million armed soldiers.
The zone is a wildlife haven but also boasts one of the world's largest concentrations of weapons.
In spite of its name, the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) is the world's most heavily armed frontier.
It is a 4km (2.5-mile) thick ribbon that has divided the Korean peninsula since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The two Koreas are still technically at war.
But the makers of the drink hope it will appeal to those who do not think of the area in geo-political terms.
"We decided on water from the DMZ because it's different, and the environment there is untouched, so many people thinks it's clean," brand spokesman Lee Sang-hyo says.
The bottler draws the water from a plant close to the South Korean end of the DMZ, from a spring that flows directly under it.
"Getting the water is not dangerous at all. We worked it all out with the military," Mr Lee added.
© BBC MMIX
JAPAN: And the best Japanese films of 2009 were . . .
The Japan Times: Friday, Dec. 11, 2009
BEST FILMS OF 2009
By MARK SCHILLING
Staff Writer
1. "Fish Story":
Can a punk-rock song, recorded in 1975, save the world from a comet on course to destroy the planet in 2012? In his 10th film, Yoshihiro Nakamura answers this question with four radically different stories in four different periods — and ties them up in a glorious final five-minute sequence that is pure cinematic satori.
2. "Dear Doctor":
The most promising director of her thirtysomething generation, Miwa Nishikawa hits a new peak with this finely layered character study of a phony doctor in a rural village. Tsurube Shofukutei deserves every acting award out there for his shape-shifting performance as the kindly-seeming, but deeply devious doc.
3. "Summer Wars":
Mamoru Hosoda assumes the title of Japan's premier animator with this human-scaled but stunningly imaginative film about an online "war" between a rogue AI program and a boy math prodigy, aided by a large, rambunctious family in rural Nagano.
4. "Villon no Tsuma":
Based on a story by Osamu Dazai, Kichitaro Negishi's unsparing, finally cathartic portrait of a troubled marriage features career-peak performances by Takako Matsu as the plucky, self-realizing wife and Tadanobu Asano as the alcoholic, unfaithful, but somehow sympathetic, writer husband.
5. "Zero no Shoten":
Isshin Inudo's mystery about a woman's search for her missing newlywed husband in Kanazawa in the dead of winter channels the stylistics of Alfred Hitchcock, while echoing the social-mask-vs.-true-face themes of Douglas Sirk.
6. "Nankyokyu Ryomin":
Shuichi Okita's dramady, centering on the gung-ho cook (Makoto Sakai) for a Japanese research team in Antarctica, offers up big helpings of wry humor, likable characters and absolutely scrumptious-looking chow.
7. "Live Tape":
Tetsuaki Matsue's docudrama of singer-songwriter Kenta Maeno's New Year's Day stroll through Kichijoji unfolds in one 74-minute take that amuses, surprises, entertains — and finally moves, as the too-cool Maeno reveals his own insecurities and regrets, summed up in a stirring final number dedicated to his dead father.
8. "Instant Numa":
Satoshi Miki's comedy about an endearingly flaky woman's search for her eccentric antique (i.e., junk) dealer dad is packed with small comic gems, delivered in Miki's trademark dry style of spot-on timing and blithe disregard for logic.
9. "Symbol":
Hitoshi Matsumoto's man-in-a-room comedy takes inspiration from the final sequence of "2001: A Space Odyssey," but the silly, inspired slapstick gags are pure Matsumoto.
10. "Ultra Miracle Love Story (Bare Essence of Life)":
Satoko Yokoyama's drama about a mentally challenged man's crush on a new kindergarten teacher in his rural Aomori town is a bold, original blend of the real and fantastic, comic and dramatic.
(C) All rights reserved
BEST FILMS OF 2009
By MARK SCHILLING
Staff Writer
1. "Fish Story":
Can a punk-rock song, recorded in 1975, save the world from a comet on course to destroy the planet in 2012? In his 10th film, Yoshihiro Nakamura answers this question with four radically different stories in four different periods — and ties them up in a glorious final five-minute sequence that is pure cinematic satori.
2. "Dear Doctor":
The most promising director of her thirtysomething generation, Miwa Nishikawa hits a new peak with this finely layered character study of a phony doctor in a rural village. Tsurube Shofukutei deserves every acting award out there for his shape-shifting performance as the kindly-seeming, but deeply devious doc.
3. "Summer Wars":
Mamoru Hosoda assumes the title of Japan's premier animator with this human-scaled but stunningly imaginative film about an online "war" between a rogue AI program and a boy math prodigy, aided by a large, rambunctious family in rural Nagano.
4. "Villon no Tsuma":
Based on a story by Osamu Dazai, Kichitaro Negishi's unsparing, finally cathartic portrait of a troubled marriage features career-peak performances by Takako Matsu as the plucky, self-realizing wife and Tadanobu Asano as the alcoholic, unfaithful, but somehow sympathetic, writer husband.
5. "Zero no Shoten":
Isshin Inudo's mystery about a woman's search for her missing newlywed husband in Kanazawa in the dead of winter channels the stylistics of Alfred Hitchcock, while echoing the social-mask-vs.-true-face themes of Douglas Sirk.
6. "Nankyokyu Ryomin":
Shuichi Okita's dramady, centering on the gung-ho cook (Makoto Sakai) for a Japanese research team in Antarctica, offers up big helpings of wry humor, likable characters and absolutely scrumptious-looking chow.
7. "Live Tape":
Tetsuaki Matsue's docudrama of singer-songwriter Kenta Maeno's New Year's Day stroll through Kichijoji unfolds in one 74-minute take that amuses, surprises, entertains — and finally moves, as the too-cool Maeno reveals his own insecurities and regrets, summed up in a stirring final number dedicated to his dead father.
8. "Instant Numa":
Satoshi Miki's comedy about an endearingly flaky woman's search for her eccentric antique (i.e., junk) dealer dad is packed with small comic gems, delivered in Miki's trademark dry style of spot-on timing and blithe disregard for logic.
9. "Symbol":
Hitoshi Matsumoto's man-in-a-room comedy takes inspiration from the final sequence of "2001: A Space Odyssey," but the silly, inspired slapstick gags are pure Matsumoto.
10. "Ultra Miracle Love Story (Bare Essence of Life)":
Satoko Yokoyama's drama about a mentally challenged man's crush on a new kindergarten teacher in his rural Aomori town is a bold, original blend of the real and fantastic, comic and dramatic.
(C) All rights reserved
CHINA: Chinese car market overtakes that of United States
Associated Press
By ELAINE KURTENBACH and DEE-ANN DURBIN , 12.10.09, 05:10 PM EST
SHANGHAI --
China has overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest market for automobiles, the first time any other country has bought more vehicles than the nation that produced Henry Ford, the Cadillac and the minivan.
Now that the Chinese buy more cars and trucks than Americans, the shift could produce ripples for the environment, gas prices and even the kinds of cars automakers design.
More than 12.7 million cars and trucks will be sold in China this year, up 44 percent from the previous year and surpassing the 10.3 million forecast in the U.S., according to J.D. Power and Associates.
China has long been expected to overtake the U.S. since its population of 1.3 billion is more than quadruple that of the United States. But the increase in sales happened much faster than anyone expected because of China's tax cuts, its stimulus program and a depressed American market.
Two years ago, J.D. Power predicted China would pass the U.S. in 2025. Earlier this year, it forecast 2009 sales of just 9 million vehicles for China.
After a sharp slowdown in auto sales late last year, the Chinese government cut taxes on small cars and spent $730 million on subsidies to encourage sales of SUVs, pickups and minivans. A big stimulus program also boosted truck sales by pumping money into construction.
Auto sales were expected to rise with China's stimulus, but they have far exceeded expectations, said Jeff Schuster, J.D. Power's executive director of automotive forecasting.
Most experts think the top-sales title will shift back and forth between China and the United States for the next several years, with China ultimately prevailing.
Improving sales of autos and other big-ticket items is key to Beijing's strategy to promote stronger domestic consumption and lower dependence on exports.
"The government has sent a very clear message that they will not let the auto industry weaken, especially in 2010," say Jia Xinguang, chief analyst at China National Automotive Industry Consulting & Developing Corp.
Meanwhile, U.S. sales hit a 26-year low in early 2009 and remain well below the 17 million average from earlier this decade.
China's growing auto market is sure to affect the industry worldwide. Some key factors are:
_ CHINA'S CAR POLLUTION: It's gotten worse. China's fleet is newer, and big cities have imposed emissions standards that exceed those in the U.S., but lax enforcement of standards is a major problem. Vehicles may meet standards at first but then degrade over time.
On top of that, the number of vehicles on China's roads is soaring, although it's still a fraction of the U.S.
_ FUEL DEMAND: Global demand for oil is rising, fueled by China and India. Most energy experts agree that demand for crude has peaked in the U.S. Meanwhile, China's demand for oil used in transportation could more than double between 2007 and 2020, according to the World Energy Outlook, a joint study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency.
At home, China struggles both with the amount and quality of its fuel supply. A study by Harvard researchers found that refiners were not supplying fuel that was good enough to meet the country's rising emissions standards.
The cost of oil is prompting China to encourage a shift to cars and trucks that are more fuel efficient or run on batteries and alternative fuels. The government has raised taxes on gas guzzlers. China is the world's No. 3 net importer after the U.S. and Japan.
_ VEHICLE DESIGN: The Chinese will have more influence over vehicle design as they buy more cars. GM had its Chinese team design the 2010 Buick LaCrosse because the brand sells better in China than in the U.S. Buick is considered a luxury car in China.
The designers included sumptuous back seats for executives with drivers. They also used Feng shui principles and swooping designs based on Chinese art.
Chinese automakers will emerge stronger from the sales boom. BYD Co. aims to overtake Toyota as the global auto leader by 2030. Among BYD's backers is billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
China's sales may grow so large that cars designed for Chinese tastes are sold globally, the way U.S. vehicles are now. But some experts doubt that will happen until Chinese automakers become competitive on style and quality.
Meanwhile, as China's middle class expands, Chinese car shoppers are developing tastes similar to those of drivers in the U.S. and other wealthy nations.
"I talk to my friends in Beijing," says Crystal Jiang, a professor at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., who studies globalization. "I drive a Subaru, they also drive a Subaru."
Durbin reported from Detroit. AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By ELAINE KURTENBACH and DEE-ANN DURBIN , 12.10.09, 05:10 PM EST
SHANGHAI --
China has overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest market for automobiles, the first time any other country has bought more vehicles than the nation that produced Henry Ford, the Cadillac and the minivan.
Now that the Chinese buy more cars and trucks than Americans, the shift could produce ripples for the environment, gas prices and even the kinds of cars automakers design.
More than 12.7 million cars and trucks will be sold in China this year, up 44 percent from the previous year and surpassing the 10.3 million forecast in the U.S., according to J.D. Power and Associates.
China has long been expected to overtake the U.S. since its population of 1.3 billion is more than quadruple that of the United States. But the increase in sales happened much faster than anyone expected because of China's tax cuts, its stimulus program and a depressed American market.
Two years ago, J.D. Power predicted China would pass the U.S. in 2025. Earlier this year, it forecast 2009 sales of just 9 million vehicles for China.
After a sharp slowdown in auto sales late last year, the Chinese government cut taxes on small cars and spent $730 million on subsidies to encourage sales of SUVs, pickups and minivans. A big stimulus program also boosted truck sales by pumping money into construction.
Auto sales were expected to rise with China's stimulus, but they have far exceeded expectations, said Jeff Schuster, J.D. Power's executive director of automotive forecasting.
Most experts think the top-sales title will shift back and forth between China and the United States for the next several years, with China ultimately prevailing.
Improving sales of autos and other big-ticket items is key to Beijing's strategy to promote stronger domestic consumption and lower dependence on exports.
"The government has sent a very clear message that they will not let the auto industry weaken, especially in 2010," say Jia Xinguang, chief analyst at China National Automotive Industry Consulting & Developing Corp.
Meanwhile, U.S. sales hit a 26-year low in early 2009 and remain well below the 17 million average from earlier this decade.
China's growing auto market is sure to affect the industry worldwide. Some key factors are:
_ CHINA'S CAR POLLUTION: It's gotten worse. China's fleet is newer, and big cities have imposed emissions standards that exceed those in the U.S., but lax enforcement of standards is a major problem. Vehicles may meet standards at first but then degrade over time.
On top of that, the number of vehicles on China's roads is soaring, although it's still a fraction of the U.S.
_ FUEL DEMAND: Global demand for oil is rising, fueled by China and India. Most energy experts agree that demand for crude has peaked in the U.S. Meanwhile, China's demand for oil used in transportation could more than double between 2007 and 2020, according to the World Energy Outlook, a joint study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency.
At home, China struggles both with the amount and quality of its fuel supply. A study by Harvard researchers found that refiners were not supplying fuel that was good enough to meet the country's rising emissions standards.
The cost of oil is prompting China to encourage a shift to cars and trucks that are more fuel efficient or run on batteries and alternative fuels. The government has raised taxes on gas guzzlers. China is the world's No. 3 net importer after the U.S. and Japan.
_ VEHICLE DESIGN: The Chinese will have more influence over vehicle design as they buy more cars. GM had its Chinese team design the 2010 Buick LaCrosse because the brand sells better in China than in the U.S. Buick is considered a luxury car in China.
The designers included sumptuous back seats for executives with drivers. They also used Feng shui principles and swooping designs based on Chinese art.
Chinese automakers will emerge stronger from the sales boom. BYD Co. aims to overtake Toyota as the global auto leader by 2030. Among BYD's backers is billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
China's sales may grow so large that cars designed for Chinese tastes are sold globally, the way U.S. vehicles are now. But some experts doubt that will happen until Chinese automakers become competitive on style and quality.
Meanwhile, as China's middle class expands, Chinese car shoppers are developing tastes similar to those of drivers in the U.S. and other wealthy nations.
"I talk to my friends in Beijing," says Crystal Jiang, a professor at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., who studies globalization. "I drive a Subaru, they also drive a Subaru."
Durbin reported from Detroit. AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
CHINA, RUSSIA & US: China charges US, Russian steel dumpers in tense time for trade
Created: 2009-12-11 1:46:23
Author:Wang Yanlin
CHINA will from today start levying charges on United States and Russian companies that export steel used in electrical apparatuses and dump it on the domestic market after receiving government subsidies.
It is another sign that trade tension is a part of life, at least in the short term.
An announcement yesterday by the Ministry of Commerce on imported flat-rolled electrical steel - used in transformers, rectifiers and reactors - said the US companies were dumping the product in China with a rate of 10.7-25 percent after they received subsidies ranging from 11.7-12 percent.
The ministry said the Russian flat-rolled steel producers were dumping with a rate from 4.6-25 percent.
China would collect cash deposits from the US and Russian steel producers of varying percentage amounts starting from today, the ministry said.
It was the first time China unveiled results of an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation, which started in June.
The decision is preliminary and a final ruling is expected before next June.
The decision followed a US ruling last month that imposed countervailing tariffs on China-made pipes used in oil wells.
"It could be a coincidence that the Chinese announcement came just after the US decision but trade disputes are escalating," said Sun Lijian, an economics professor at Fudan University. "Although the sector involved is relatively small in the total trade spectrum, it will deepen people's fears about a full-blown trade war."
The US and Russia exported a combined US$602 million of the targeted steel products to China last year, compared with China's steel imports of US$23.4 billion during the same period.
China's overall imports totaled US$1.13 trillion in 2008.
"It seems China has learned fromthe global experience and is using countervailing duties to protect the interests of its domestic industry," said Wang Feng, a steel analyst at Guotai Jun'an Securities Co.
"US and Russian imports have hurt companies like Baosteel Group Corp and Wuhan Iron and Steel Group."
Trade tussles continued to hit headlines in China after the US decided to levy special tariffs on imports of Chinese tires in September.
China started an investigation into American exports of chicken and auto parts in October.
The agony deepened last month after the US Commerce Department issued a final ruling allowing the imposition of countervailing duties ranging between 10.36 and 15.78 percent on the China-made oil well pipes.
These duties will affect more than US$2.7 billion worth of products, making it the biggest trade conflict between the two countries in terms of value.
"Although the affected sectors are limited, investors and exporters are in fear they could be the next victim," said Xue Jun, a CITIC Securities Co analyst.
"It threatens the process of the global economic recovery, which is just showing signs of improvement."
Copyright © 2001-2009 Shanghai Daily Publishing House
Author:Wang Yanlin
CHINA will from today start levying charges on United States and Russian companies that export steel used in electrical apparatuses and dump it on the domestic market after receiving government subsidies.
It is another sign that trade tension is a part of life, at least in the short term.
An announcement yesterday by the Ministry of Commerce on imported flat-rolled electrical steel - used in transformers, rectifiers and reactors - said the US companies were dumping the product in China with a rate of 10.7-25 percent after they received subsidies ranging from 11.7-12 percent.
The ministry said the Russian flat-rolled steel producers were dumping with a rate from 4.6-25 percent.
China would collect cash deposits from the US and Russian steel producers of varying percentage amounts starting from today, the ministry said.
It was the first time China unveiled results of an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation, which started in June.
The decision is preliminary and a final ruling is expected before next June.
The decision followed a US ruling last month that imposed countervailing tariffs on China-made pipes used in oil wells.
"It could be a coincidence that the Chinese announcement came just after the US decision but trade disputes are escalating," said Sun Lijian, an economics professor at Fudan University. "Although the sector involved is relatively small in the total trade spectrum, it will deepen people's fears about a full-blown trade war."
The US and Russia exported a combined US$602 million of the targeted steel products to China last year, compared with China's steel imports of US$23.4 billion during the same period.
China's overall imports totaled US$1.13 trillion in 2008.
"It seems China has learned fromthe global experience and is using countervailing duties to protect the interests of its domestic industry," said Wang Feng, a steel analyst at Guotai Jun'an Securities Co.
"US and Russian imports have hurt companies like Baosteel Group Corp and Wuhan Iron and Steel Group."
Trade tussles continued to hit headlines in China after the US decided to levy special tariffs on imports of Chinese tires in September.
China started an investigation into American exports of chicken and auto parts in October.
The agony deepened last month after the US Commerce Department issued a final ruling allowing the imposition of countervailing duties ranging between 10.36 and 15.78 percent on the China-made oil well pipes.
These duties will affect more than US$2.7 billion worth of products, making it the biggest trade conflict between the two countries in terms of value.
"Although the affected sectors are limited, investors and exporters are in fear they could be the next victim," said Xue Jun, a CITIC Securities Co analyst.
"It threatens the process of the global economic recovery, which is just showing signs of improvement."
Copyright © 2001-2009 Shanghai Daily Publishing House
CHINA: China Detains Three In New Toxic Milk Scare
December 10, 2009
By REUTERS
Filed at 8:26 a.m. ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have detained three people suspected of selling milk powder tainted with melamine, state media said on Thursday, the industrial chemical involved in a massive toxic food scandal last year.
The three were detained in northwestern Shaanxi province on December 2, before tainted goods reached stores, the official Xinhua news agency said.
It named the three as Liu Ping, general manager of Shaanxi Jinqiao Diary Company, and two of the firm's employees and said they were detained for "the suspected crime of producing and selling toxic food."
The report, citing police, said they sold 5.25 tons of melamine-laced milk powder to Nanning Yueqian Food Additive Company, based in the southern region of Guangxi.
The powder was seized on November 18, so did not make its way into the market, Xinhua added.
China executed two people last month for their role in a huge melamine-tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and further sullied the made-in-China brand.
Nearly 300,000 children fell ill in that scandal last year after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, a toxic industrial compound that can give a fake positive on protein tests, sold mainly in that case by the now bankrupt Sanlu Group.
The case was the latest in a string of food safety failures, but the Sanlu milk scandal was also one of the worst and prompted an outpouring of public anger.
Melamine, which can cause kidney stones, is meant to be used in making plastics, fertilizers and even concrete. Its high nitrogen content allows protein levels to appear higher when it is added to milk or animal feed.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Paul Tait)
Copyright 2009 Reuters Ltd.
By REUTERS
Filed at 8:26 a.m. ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have detained three people suspected of selling milk powder tainted with melamine, state media said on Thursday, the industrial chemical involved in a massive toxic food scandal last year.
The three were detained in northwestern Shaanxi province on December 2, before tainted goods reached stores, the official Xinhua news agency said.
It named the three as Liu Ping, general manager of Shaanxi Jinqiao Diary Company, and two of the firm's employees and said they were detained for "the suspected crime of producing and selling toxic food."
The report, citing police, said they sold 5.25 tons of melamine-laced milk powder to Nanning Yueqian Food Additive Company, based in the southern region of Guangxi.
The powder was seized on November 18, so did not make its way into the market, Xinhua added.
China executed two people last month for their role in a huge melamine-tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and further sullied the made-in-China brand.
Nearly 300,000 children fell ill in that scandal last year after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, a toxic industrial compound that can give a fake positive on protein tests, sold mainly in that case by the now bankrupt Sanlu Group.
The case was the latest in a string of food safety failures, but the Sanlu milk scandal was also one of the worst and prompted an outpouring of public anger.
Melamine, which can cause kidney stones, is meant to be used in making plastics, fertilizers and even concrete. Its high nitrogen content allows protein levels to appear higher when it is added to milk or animal feed.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Paul Tait)
Copyright 2009 Reuters Ltd.
RUSSIA: Putin: Yes, I May Run Again. Thanks for Asking
Wednesday, Dec. 09, 2009
By Simon Shuster
When Vladimir Putin took to the airwaves on Dec. 3 for his annual call-in show on state-run television, the questions and Putin's answers appeared natural and unprompted. But as with many high-profile political campaigns in the West, little is left to chance at the upper echelons of Russia's leadership, especially when the Prime Minister's image makers want to send a message to the public. Which is why, says Andrei Kryukov, a student who asked Putin about his plans for the 2012 elections, he had been steered by Putin's press service and coached for two days before the live show went on the air. Putin's answer to Kryukov's question and one other was clear and direct. Yes, he told the millions of viewers watching the show, he would think about running for President again. And no, nobody should hold their breath for his giving up power.
If the Q&A session is anything to go by, Russia's democracy will probably stay tightly choreographed. "It was very well organized," says Kryukov of the rehearsals for the show. "They gathered together people from various institutes across the country, and one of those was our institute," he says, referring to the St. Petersburg State Mining Institute, which he has studied at since 2005.
Kryukov, a graduate student in open pit mine development, says he and four classmates caught a train to Moscow and were housed at a resort outside the capital that is owned by the Russian State Technology University. "That's where all the students were taken. They treated us really well. We didn't pay for any of it," he says. Rehearsals for the program lasted two days and were organized by Putin's press service and producers from the state-owned Vesti television channel. "We had other questions, ones that were more relevant to us, about mining, about the education system and so on," Kryukov says. "Then it was decided that the question should be more general, more significant. So that's how it came out."
In a statement to TIME, Putin's press service said it had helped state TV producers organize the event and rehearsals but had not helped select questions. "Of course we did not help them formulate their questions. People asked their questions on their own and chose what questions they would ask," the statement said.
Putin's answer was hardly surprising. In 2008, with the constitution barring him from running for a third four-year term, Putin stepped down as President, chose ally Dmitri Medvedev as a successor and then took the post of Prime Minister for himself. Widely regarded as a placeholder President, Medvedev has no political power base of his own, little charisma and a rather awkward habit of trying to imitate Putin's macho demeanor. Many of his key advisers once worked on Putin's staff.
Indeed, just hours after Putin made his remarks about the 2012 vote, Medvedev chimed in with his support. "Prime Minister Putin said he doesn't rule out this possibility [of seeking re-election], and I also say I don't rule it out," Medvedev said. "We will be able to agree how not to elbow each other, but to make a reasonable decision for the nation," he told a press conference in Rome, where he had traveled to meet the Pope.
Political analysts in Russia say the transition plan is clear. "What they are signaling is that in 2012, they will not compete with each other for the presidency. They will sit down and decide in an orderly fashion which of them will be the next President. If Putin wants it, he will take it, and the public will then legitimize this decision at the polls," says Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Center for Political Technologies, a think tank in Moscow. "There's no room here for Western ideas of plurality, debate or political struggle. Nobody wants that here. The public wants to know exactly what's coming and whom they should vote for well in advance."
Some pundits, pointing to Putin's wish to regain full control of the Kremlin as soon as possible, believe he may return to the presidency next year by asking Medvedev to take the fall for the financial crisis and resign. That would trigger a snap election, which Putin would be sure to win. His approval ratings are still around 65%, despite a year that saw an economic recession, spiking unemployment, a sharp currency devaluation, the murder of several human-rights activists and persistent terrorist attacks.
"Changing places too suddenly would create dissonance in the dance they've created," says Makarkin, who believes Putin will avoid a hasty or obvious power grab ahead of the 2012 vote. Instead, he could use the next few years to pass messy reforms, which would then be associated not with his reign but with Medvedev's. One of these is a constitutional amendment that is expected to pass this month; announced in Medvedev's first state-of-the-nation address last year, it would extend the presidential term from four to six years and would go into effect, of course, only after the next election. This would allow the next President to hold the post until 2024.
"All the levers are in their hands for enacting this change," says Lilya Shibanova, director of Russia's only independent election watchdog, Golos, or Voice. Putin's political party, United Russia, has enough seats in the parliament to change the constitution single-handedly. "So far in the political arena, there is no competition to the tandem of Putin and Medvedev," Shibanova says. "And to think that Medvedev could in any way compete with Putin is quite frankly naive."
That means United Russia will probably field Putin, its chairman, as the favored candidate. Now 56, Putin would then be free to legally hold the presidency until the ripe old age of 72. As student Kryukov (whose name was given as Kurikov in the transcript of the show that was posted on the government's website) puts it, "He said what I expected him to say."
By Simon Shuster
When Vladimir Putin took to the airwaves on Dec. 3 for his annual call-in show on state-run television, the questions and Putin's answers appeared natural and unprompted. But as with many high-profile political campaigns in the West, little is left to chance at the upper echelons of Russia's leadership, especially when the Prime Minister's image makers want to send a message to the public. Which is why, says Andrei Kryukov, a student who asked Putin about his plans for the 2012 elections, he had been steered by Putin's press service and coached for two days before the live show went on the air. Putin's answer to Kryukov's question and one other was clear and direct. Yes, he told the millions of viewers watching the show, he would think about running for President again. And no, nobody should hold their breath for his giving up power.
If the Q&A session is anything to go by, Russia's democracy will probably stay tightly choreographed. "It was very well organized," says Kryukov of the rehearsals for the show. "They gathered together people from various institutes across the country, and one of those was our institute," he says, referring to the St. Petersburg State Mining Institute, which he has studied at since 2005.
Kryukov, a graduate student in open pit mine development, says he and four classmates caught a train to Moscow and were housed at a resort outside the capital that is owned by the Russian State Technology University. "That's where all the students were taken. They treated us really well. We didn't pay for any of it," he says. Rehearsals for the program lasted two days and were organized by Putin's press service and producers from the state-owned Vesti television channel. "We had other questions, ones that were more relevant to us, about mining, about the education system and so on," Kryukov says. "Then it was decided that the question should be more general, more significant. So that's how it came out."
In a statement to TIME, Putin's press service said it had helped state TV producers organize the event and rehearsals but had not helped select questions. "Of course we did not help them formulate their questions. People asked their questions on their own and chose what questions they would ask," the statement said.
Putin's answer was hardly surprising. In 2008, with the constitution barring him from running for a third four-year term, Putin stepped down as President, chose ally Dmitri Medvedev as a successor and then took the post of Prime Minister for himself. Widely regarded as a placeholder President, Medvedev has no political power base of his own, little charisma and a rather awkward habit of trying to imitate Putin's macho demeanor. Many of his key advisers once worked on Putin's staff.
Indeed, just hours after Putin made his remarks about the 2012 vote, Medvedev chimed in with his support. "Prime Minister Putin said he doesn't rule out this possibility [of seeking re-election], and I also say I don't rule it out," Medvedev said. "We will be able to agree how not to elbow each other, but to make a reasonable decision for the nation," he told a press conference in Rome, where he had traveled to meet the Pope.
Political analysts in Russia say the transition plan is clear. "What they are signaling is that in 2012, they will not compete with each other for the presidency. They will sit down and decide in an orderly fashion which of them will be the next President. If Putin wants it, he will take it, and the public will then legitimize this decision at the polls," says Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Center for Political Technologies, a think tank in Moscow. "There's no room here for Western ideas of plurality, debate or political struggle. Nobody wants that here. The public wants to know exactly what's coming and whom they should vote for well in advance."
Some pundits, pointing to Putin's wish to regain full control of the Kremlin as soon as possible, believe he may return to the presidency next year by asking Medvedev to take the fall for the financial crisis and resign. That would trigger a snap election, which Putin would be sure to win. His approval ratings are still around 65%, despite a year that saw an economic recession, spiking unemployment, a sharp currency devaluation, the murder of several human-rights activists and persistent terrorist attacks.
"Changing places too suddenly would create dissonance in the dance they've created," says Makarkin, who believes Putin will avoid a hasty or obvious power grab ahead of the 2012 vote. Instead, he could use the next few years to pass messy reforms, which would then be associated not with his reign but with Medvedev's. One of these is a constitutional amendment that is expected to pass this month; announced in Medvedev's first state-of-the-nation address last year, it would extend the presidential term from four to six years and would go into effect, of course, only after the next election. This would allow the next President to hold the post until 2024.
"All the levers are in their hands for enacting this change," says Lilya Shibanova, director of Russia's only independent election watchdog, Golos, or Voice. Putin's political party, United Russia, has enough seats in the parliament to change the constitution single-handedly. "So far in the political arena, there is no competition to the tandem of Putin and Medvedev," Shibanova says. "And to think that Medvedev could in any way compete with Putin is quite frankly naive."
That means United Russia will probably field Putin, its chairman, as the favored candidate. Now 56, Putin would then be free to legally hold the presidency until the ripe old age of 72. As student Kryukov (whose name was given as Kurikov in the transcript of the show that was posted on the government's website) puts it, "He said what I expected him to say."
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
JAPAN: Japan to Give U.S. a Plan on Air Base
December 10, 2009
By MARTIN FACKLER
TOKYO — Japan’s prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, said Wednesday that he wants to present concrete proposals to President Obama next week in hopes of ending a growing rift between his new government and Washington over an American military air base in Okinawa.
Mr. Hatoyama did not disclose the content of the proposals, which he and members of his cabinet appeared to be still working out at the prime minister’s residence. Mr. Hatoyama said he may seek a meeting with Mr. Obama during the climate change conference in Copenhagen to relay the proposals directly to him.
In particular, it remained unclear if the proposals would seek to significantly alter a 2006 deal to relocate the Marine Corps air station at Futenma, which sits in the center of a city, to a less populated part of Okinawa. Mr. Hatoyama, who took office three months ago, is under political pressure in Japan to fulfill campaign pledges to move the base off Okinawa or out of Japan altogether. But Washington has adamantly opposed changing the current deal, which is part of a broader, laboriously negotiated agreement to move some 8,000 Marines to Guam.
The discord over the base’s relocation has emerged as the most contentious topic in the countries’ increasingly tense relationship. However, recent comments by some Japanese cabinet members seem to reflect a growing sense of urgency to prevent the Futenma issue from causing a serious rupture in the relationship with the United States, Japan’s longtime protector.
Political analysts have said the dispute highlights the lack of communication between Tokyo and Washington after an election victory in August by Mr. Hatoyama’s Democratic Party ended a half-century of leadership by Japan’s pro-American Liberal Democrats.
Fears of a rupture seemed to increase this week, after Japan’s foreign minister, Katsuya Okada, announced Tuesday that talks over the Futenma issue had been suspended. A Japanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak with the press, said American negotiators had become irritated by Mr. Hatoyama’s delays in making a decision on the Futenma issue.
When asked by reporters on Wednesday if the Futenma issue was hurting the alliance, Mr. Hatoyama replied that that was not the message he was getting from the Obama administration. Some in the United States “may state such an opinion, but that is not a remark made in formal negotiations,” he told reporters.
Earlier, a government spokesman said that Tokyo may ask Washington to ease the burden on Okinawa, where many of the 50,000 American military personnel in Japan are based. The spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, also said there may be delays in implementing the broader plan to relocate the 8,000 Marines to Guam, now set to take place by 2014.
Reports in major Japanese newspapers have said that Tokyo may propose an immediate relocation of the Marine helicopters at Futenma to another base, as well as steps to clean up environmental damage on many of the American bases. The noise and danger from Futenma’s low-flying helicopters have become a symbol here of the burden placed on Okinawans, who have held large protests in recent weeks calling for removal of the base from the island.
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
By MARTIN FACKLER
TOKYO — Japan’s prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, said Wednesday that he wants to present concrete proposals to President Obama next week in hopes of ending a growing rift between his new government and Washington over an American military air base in Okinawa.
Mr. Hatoyama did not disclose the content of the proposals, which he and members of his cabinet appeared to be still working out at the prime minister’s residence. Mr. Hatoyama said he may seek a meeting with Mr. Obama during the climate change conference in Copenhagen to relay the proposals directly to him.
In particular, it remained unclear if the proposals would seek to significantly alter a 2006 deal to relocate the Marine Corps air station at Futenma, which sits in the center of a city, to a less populated part of Okinawa. Mr. Hatoyama, who took office three months ago, is under political pressure in Japan to fulfill campaign pledges to move the base off Okinawa or out of Japan altogether. But Washington has adamantly opposed changing the current deal, which is part of a broader, laboriously negotiated agreement to move some 8,000 Marines to Guam.
The discord over the base’s relocation has emerged as the most contentious topic in the countries’ increasingly tense relationship. However, recent comments by some Japanese cabinet members seem to reflect a growing sense of urgency to prevent the Futenma issue from causing a serious rupture in the relationship with the United States, Japan’s longtime protector.
Political analysts have said the dispute highlights the lack of communication between Tokyo and Washington after an election victory in August by Mr. Hatoyama’s Democratic Party ended a half-century of leadership by Japan’s pro-American Liberal Democrats.
Fears of a rupture seemed to increase this week, after Japan’s foreign minister, Katsuya Okada, announced Tuesday that talks over the Futenma issue had been suspended. A Japanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak with the press, said American negotiators had become irritated by Mr. Hatoyama’s delays in making a decision on the Futenma issue.
When asked by reporters on Wednesday if the Futenma issue was hurting the alliance, Mr. Hatoyama replied that that was not the message he was getting from the Obama administration. Some in the United States “may state such an opinion, but that is not a remark made in formal negotiations,” he told reporters.
Earlier, a government spokesman said that Tokyo may ask Washington to ease the burden on Okinawa, where many of the 50,000 American military personnel in Japan are based. The spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, also said there may be delays in implementing the broader plan to relocate the 8,000 Marines to Guam, now set to take place by 2014.
Reports in major Japanese newspapers have said that Tokyo may propose an immediate relocation of the Marine helicopters at Futenma to another base, as well as steps to clean up environmental damage on many of the American bases. The noise and danger from Futenma’s low-flying helicopters have become a symbol here of the burden placed on Okinawans, who have held large protests in recent weeks calling for removal of the base from the island.
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Epidemic Of Addiction Threatens Russia's Future
by Anne Garrels
December 8, 2009
Transcript
Russia has long grappled with alcoholism among its population. Now, a second plague is afflicting the country: intravenous drug use. Officials say addiction — whether it's drug or alcohol dependency — is threatening the country's future.
Heroin use is a relatively new phenomenon in Russia. It first exploded in the 1990s, when the country was in post-Soviet turmoil and uniquely unprepared to cope with the problem, and it has spread like wildfire. Alcoholism, long Russia's bane, is also rising, especially among young people.
Officials acknowledge the country will have difficulty resolving its demographic crisis if it does not do more to confront these problems. Russia's population has been falling since the mid-1990s, the result of higher death rates and lower birthrates.
The rate of drug-related deaths, at 80 a day, is among the world's highest. Researchers say alcohol is the cause of more than half of all deaths of people ages 15 to 54 — often from accidents, violence or alcohol poisoning.
One group is trying to make a difference at a rehabilitation program in remote western Siberia.
The largely abandoned village of Gerasimovka lies a good hour from Tyumen, the nearest town. It is a risky trip by dirt roads covered with a layer of slick ice.
In a ramshackle house, 30-year-old Natasha Ustiuzhanina sits at the head of the dinner table on a recent evening. The other five people at the meal look to this petite woman for inspiration.
Ustiuzhanina has been through it all. A good student from a prosperous family, she got hooked on heroin. After five years, she finally broke the habit in a 12-step program run by a private agency in Gerasimovka. She now runs it.
Ustiuzhanina is also a leading figure in Russia's association for those living with HIV. Like the majority of intravenous drug users who come to Gerasimovka for help, she is HIV-positive.
This young woman says she is a classic member of what's often called Russia's lost generation
"Nine years ago, heroin became really fashionable. We sat in the best hotels, the best restaurants and sniffed it. We knew nothing about the dangers. Eventually, I started shooting up," she says.
She wants to make sure the next generation is not as ignorant as she was. She also hopes this 12-step program can do what the government has not done: provide effective help for addicts.
Dr. Aleksei Salenko, with the Tyumen government narcotics center, says most addicts who go though government rehab programs suffer a relapse because there is not adequate therapy or post-treatment support.
He says nongovernmental groups like Ustiuzhanina's organization Pokoleniye — which means "generation" — are essential, and he believes there need to be many more of them
At the rehab clinic, the day for recovering addicts begins with a race through the Siberian wind to a pump where they are required to douse themselves with freezing water.
After work, study and therapy sessions, the day ends with an intense sweat in the banya — the traditional Russian steam bath. The staff supervising the four-month program includes former addicts who volunteer their time
Denis Prokin, 32, has been hooked on heroin for 15 years. He finally turned to Pokoleniye after hearing about its success rate. Ustiuzhanina says about 50 percent of addicts treated through her program stay drug free — a high rate compared with most programs worldwide.
"The government programs I went through just isolate you and pump you full of pills. I didn't learn anything about myself. I got out and immediately started shooting up again. I know a lot more now, and when I finish here, I know where to find support groups," Prokin says.
Heroin from nearby Afghanistan has flooded the country, turning Russia into the world's top consumer.
Russia's leading drug enforcement official, Viktor Ivanov, blames the U.S. for this. He says the military is not doing nearly enough in Afghanistan to eradicate poppy production. He says it is notable that while the U.S. funds aerial eradication programs in South America, where drug production is a direct danger to Americans, Washington seems totally indifferent to Afghanistan's threat to Russia.
"Given the damage by Afghan heroin, we have to call it a weapon of mass destruction, selectively attacking the young, the future of our country," Ivanov says.
The Russian government has largely relied on education and healthy living campaigns to fight drug abuse. There is no government money for needle exchange programs to stem the explosion of drug-related HIV. Private agencies rely on foreign funds for this, but after threats of legal action, Ustiuzhanina is afraid to continue Pokoleniye's needle project.
Methadone, widely used in the West to wean people off heroin, is illegal in Russia, and Ustiuzhanina believes the country is currently ill-prepared to handle methadone correctly.
"I know there are successes with it elsewhere, but Russia is so corrupt, supplies would end up on the streets. And it would be misused by incompetent doctors. However I do think the government should encourage discussion about this. Now, there is none," she says.
According to experts in Russia, heroin use may have peaked, though officials say the number of intravenous drug users — an estimated 2.5 million people, or about 2 percent of Russia's population of 142 million — remains a national security threat.
Prokin, the addict seeking treatment at Pokoleniye, believes heroin is losing its appeal as young people see the effects. But he and others say it's being replaced by a wave of new disco drugs, including methamphetamine and ecstasy, and strong narcotics that are distilled from easily obtained over-the-counter, codeine-based medications.
Undermined by a combination of synthetic drugs, 26-year-old Katya Indrulenas has come thousands of miles from Moscow for treatment in Gerasimovka. She says these new drugs are everywhere, along with pressure to try them.
"My friends still don't understand that club drugs are just as addictive and dangerous," Indrulenas says.
Denis Driagin is at the clinic to deal with serious alcoholism. He managed to kick his heroin habit in part because of social pressure. He says he had become a pariah. So instead he turned to beer and vodka because it was socially acceptable.
Salenko, of the Tyumen narcotics center, says rising alcoholism among young people is even more deadly than drugs in the long run. Russians consume roughly 4.75 gallons of pure alcohol a person annually, more than double the level that the World Health Organization considers a health threat and twice the consumption figure for the U.S.
In addition to its anti-drug campaign, the government is launching yet another anti-alcohol campaign. But Salenko isn't optimistic that the modest measures proposed — such as stiffer penalties for the sale of alcohol to minors and a ban on beer sales at kiosks — will have any effect.
He says the government gets too much income from alcohol sales and that entrenched Russian habits and the alcohol lobby are "formidable adversaries."
December 8, 2009
Transcript
Russia has long grappled with alcoholism among its population. Now, a second plague is afflicting the country: intravenous drug use. Officials say addiction — whether it's drug or alcohol dependency — is threatening the country's future.
Heroin use is a relatively new phenomenon in Russia. It first exploded in the 1990s, when the country was in post-Soviet turmoil and uniquely unprepared to cope with the problem, and it has spread like wildfire. Alcoholism, long Russia's bane, is also rising, especially among young people.
Officials acknowledge the country will have difficulty resolving its demographic crisis if it does not do more to confront these problems. Russia's population has been falling since the mid-1990s, the result of higher death rates and lower birthrates.
The rate of drug-related deaths, at 80 a day, is among the world's highest. Researchers say alcohol is the cause of more than half of all deaths of people ages 15 to 54 — often from accidents, violence or alcohol poisoning.
One group is trying to make a difference at a rehabilitation program in remote western Siberia.
The largely abandoned village of Gerasimovka lies a good hour from Tyumen, the nearest town. It is a risky trip by dirt roads covered with a layer of slick ice.
In a ramshackle house, 30-year-old Natasha Ustiuzhanina sits at the head of the dinner table on a recent evening. The other five people at the meal look to this petite woman for inspiration.
Ustiuzhanina has been through it all. A good student from a prosperous family, she got hooked on heroin. After five years, she finally broke the habit in a 12-step program run by a private agency in Gerasimovka. She now runs it.
Ustiuzhanina is also a leading figure in Russia's association for those living with HIV. Like the majority of intravenous drug users who come to Gerasimovka for help, she is HIV-positive.
This young woman says she is a classic member of what's often called Russia's lost generation
"Nine years ago, heroin became really fashionable. We sat in the best hotels, the best restaurants and sniffed it. We knew nothing about the dangers. Eventually, I started shooting up," she says.
She wants to make sure the next generation is not as ignorant as she was. She also hopes this 12-step program can do what the government has not done: provide effective help for addicts.
Dr. Aleksei Salenko, with the Tyumen government narcotics center, says most addicts who go though government rehab programs suffer a relapse because there is not adequate therapy or post-treatment support.
He says nongovernmental groups like Ustiuzhanina's organization Pokoleniye — which means "generation" — are essential, and he believes there need to be many more of them
At the rehab clinic, the day for recovering addicts begins with a race through the Siberian wind to a pump where they are required to douse themselves with freezing water.
After work, study and therapy sessions, the day ends with an intense sweat in the banya — the traditional Russian steam bath. The staff supervising the four-month program includes former addicts who volunteer their time
Denis Prokin, 32, has been hooked on heroin for 15 years. He finally turned to Pokoleniye after hearing about its success rate. Ustiuzhanina says about 50 percent of addicts treated through her program stay drug free — a high rate compared with most programs worldwide.
"The government programs I went through just isolate you and pump you full of pills. I didn't learn anything about myself. I got out and immediately started shooting up again. I know a lot more now, and when I finish here, I know where to find support groups," Prokin says.
Heroin from nearby Afghanistan has flooded the country, turning Russia into the world's top consumer.
Russia's leading drug enforcement official, Viktor Ivanov, blames the U.S. for this. He says the military is not doing nearly enough in Afghanistan to eradicate poppy production. He says it is notable that while the U.S. funds aerial eradication programs in South America, where drug production is a direct danger to Americans, Washington seems totally indifferent to Afghanistan's threat to Russia.
"Given the damage by Afghan heroin, we have to call it a weapon of mass destruction, selectively attacking the young, the future of our country," Ivanov says.
The Russian government has largely relied on education and healthy living campaigns to fight drug abuse. There is no government money for needle exchange programs to stem the explosion of drug-related HIV. Private agencies rely on foreign funds for this, but after threats of legal action, Ustiuzhanina is afraid to continue Pokoleniye's needle project.
Methadone, widely used in the West to wean people off heroin, is illegal in Russia, and Ustiuzhanina believes the country is currently ill-prepared to handle methadone correctly.
"I know there are successes with it elsewhere, but Russia is so corrupt, supplies would end up on the streets. And it would be misused by incompetent doctors. However I do think the government should encourage discussion about this. Now, there is none," she says.
According to experts in Russia, heroin use may have peaked, though officials say the number of intravenous drug users — an estimated 2.5 million people, or about 2 percent of Russia's population of 142 million — remains a national security threat.
Prokin, the addict seeking treatment at Pokoleniye, believes heroin is losing its appeal as young people see the effects. But he and others say it's being replaced by a wave of new disco drugs, including methamphetamine and ecstasy, and strong narcotics that are distilled from easily obtained over-the-counter, codeine-based medications.
Undermined by a combination of synthetic drugs, 26-year-old Katya Indrulenas has come thousands of miles from Moscow for treatment in Gerasimovka. She says these new drugs are everywhere, along with pressure to try them.
"My friends still don't understand that club drugs are just as addictive and dangerous," Indrulenas says.
Denis Driagin is at the clinic to deal with serious alcoholism. He managed to kick his heroin habit in part because of social pressure. He says he had become a pariah. So instead he turned to beer and vodka because it was socially acceptable.
Salenko, of the Tyumen narcotics center, says rising alcoholism among young people is even more deadly than drugs in the long run. Russians consume roughly 4.75 gallons of pure alcohol a person annually, more than double the level that the World Health Organization considers a health threat and twice the consumption figure for the U.S.
In addition to its anti-drug campaign, the government is launching yet another anti-alcohol campaign. But Salenko isn't optimistic that the modest measures proposed — such as stiffer penalties for the sale of alcohol to minors and a ban on beer sales at kiosks — will have any effect.
He says the government gets too much income from alcohol sales and that entrenched Russian habits and the alcohol lobby are "formidable adversaries."
CHINA: American Woman Seeks Justice, Chinese Style
by Anthony Kuhn
December 8, 2009
Despite more than a quarter century of legal reforms and institution building, China still has holdovers from centuries of its own unique legal tradition. One of these is the practice of petitioning higher authorities to overturn local government decisions.
But China's opening to the outside world — and the influx of foreigners that has followed — seem to have produced an odd first: a petitioning foreigner.
Julie Harms is an American woman who lives in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. For the past year, she has gone on a Chinese-style quest for justice on behalf of her Chinese fiance.
Harms, a tall, blond, 30-year-old Texan and Harvard graduate, stands out among the petitioners in line at the Police Ministry complaints office, tucked away in a downtown alleyway in Beijing.
Many fellow petitioners praise her fluent Mandarin. Others seek her help, trying to hand her their sheaves of legal documents, but she insists that she is as helpless as they are.
She is appealing the case of her fiance, who was arrested on charges of trespassing on his neighbor's property and faces three years in jail if convicted.
The institution of petitioning has survived into the present day, almost as feudal — and futile — as before.
In ancient China, a petitioner would bang on a drum to signal that he or she sought an audience with a judge or magistrate to protest some injustice. Unfortunately for the petitioners, the process seldom got the desired results. And the judge could interrogate the petitioner using torture.
Harms is trying to use the modern version of the process.
Harms met her fiance, Liu Shiliang, in eastern Anhui province in 1998 while she was majoring in East Asian studies and international relations at Harvard. In 2007, her fiance got into a fight with a neighbor.
"The neighbor was put in jail for beating up the fiance," explains Liu Jiali, the chief of the fiance's village in Anhui. "But the neighbor demanded that the fiance be arrested. The fiance was the victim in this; why should he have been arrested?"
Harms says there were many flaws in the handling of her fiance's case. One was that local authorities demanded a bribe in a message passed to her fiance's lawyer.
The gist of the message, Harms says, was that if Liu would admit guilt and pay a bribe, the courts would give him a three-month sentence and the case would be concluded.
Harms' fiance and his family refused the demand.
Inside The Legal Labyrinth
On a recent afternoon, Harms stands in line at the Police Ministry complaints office, tucked away in a downtown alleyway in Beijing. A policewoman recognizes Harms from previous visits and brings her to the front of the line, despite Harms' polite refusal to cut in.
Harms has to mentally translate from Chinese into English to describe the action. "A female officer who was just here said that if we don't mind waiting for a little while, that there's a lingdao, a leader inside who will officially hear my case," she explains.
Harms goes past guards and beeping metal detectors and into a starkly lit waiting room, where a paramilitary police officer guards a swinging metal gate, and police officers call out the names of petitioners whose turn it is to speak to police case officers.
After filling out some forms, Harms is called into an inner office, where she speaks with a policewoman familiar with her case. The officer points out that the family of Harms' fiance has a long-running feud with the neighbors in which both sides bear some responsibility.
After about 50 minutes, the policewoman concludes with a standard official line: Please trust China's authorities to handle your case fairly. Harms purses her lips and glances down at her Chinese law books with a quiet look of skepticism.
In ancient China, petitioners would try to get officials' attention by intercepting the sedan chairs in which they were carried. Harms tried to get a letter to President Obama on his visit to China in November. But local police detained her as she waited for the president's motorcade outside the American Embassy in Beijing.
"I simply wrote a short, one-page letter to him," Harms recalls, "expressing my support for his concern about universal rights, and then very simply explaining why this issue was important to me."
The Symbolic Value Of Petitioning
Some legal experts say that the petitioning system is incompatible with the rule of law and should be abolished. Petitioners traditionally do not seek procedural justice or the aid of legal institutions. Instead, they hope for the personal intervention of an honest official — a situation characteristic of the rule of man, not the rule of law.
Beijing University of Technology professor Hu Xingdou says that petitioning resolves very few cases. But it still may have a symbolic use, he says.
"It's to show that there's still some place to which you can appeal an injustice. It gives people a glimmer of hope," Hu says.
Harms' stint as a petitioner seems like the ultimate insider's experience in China, even if she has been spared some of the abuses reported by Chinese petitioners at the hands of authorities. It is hard to imagine other foreigners in China with grievances following her example.
Her petitioning also appears to have given her fiance's case a higher profile. But of course that doesn't mean it will get him justice. The case has attracted the attention of China's police minister. But he merely referred the case back to local officials, whose handling of the case launched Harms onto the long, hard road of petitioning in the first place.
December 8, 2009
Despite more than a quarter century of legal reforms and institution building, China still has holdovers from centuries of its own unique legal tradition. One of these is the practice of petitioning higher authorities to overturn local government decisions.
But China's opening to the outside world — and the influx of foreigners that has followed — seem to have produced an odd first: a petitioning foreigner.
Julie Harms is an American woman who lives in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. For the past year, she has gone on a Chinese-style quest for justice on behalf of her Chinese fiance.
Harms, a tall, blond, 30-year-old Texan and Harvard graduate, stands out among the petitioners in line at the Police Ministry complaints office, tucked away in a downtown alleyway in Beijing.
Many fellow petitioners praise her fluent Mandarin. Others seek her help, trying to hand her their sheaves of legal documents, but she insists that she is as helpless as they are.
She is appealing the case of her fiance, who was arrested on charges of trespassing on his neighbor's property and faces three years in jail if convicted.
The institution of petitioning has survived into the present day, almost as feudal — and futile — as before.
In ancient China, a petitioner would bang on a drum to signal that he or she sought an audience with a judge or magistrate to protest some injustice. Unfortunately for the petitioners, the process seldom got the desired results. And the judge could interrogate the petitioner using torture.
Harms is trying to use the modern version of the process.
Harms met her fiance, Liu Shiliang, in eastern Anhui province in 1998 while she was majoring in East Asian studies and international relations at Harvard. In 2007, her fiance got into a fight with a neighbor.
"The neighbor was put in jail for beating up the fiance," explains Liu Jiali, the chief of the fiance's village in Anhui. "But the neighbor demanded that the fiance be arrested. The fiance was the victim in this; why should he have been arrested?"
Harms says there were many flaws in the handling of her fiance's case. One was that local authorities demanded a bribe in a message passed to her fiance's lawyer.
The gist of the message, Harms says, was that if Liu would admit guilt and pay a bribe, the courts would give him a three-month sentence and the case would be concluded.
Harms' fiance and his family refused the demand.
Inside The Legal Labyrinth
On a recent afternoon, Harms stands in line at the Police Ministry complaints office, tucked away in a downtown alleyway in Beijing. A policewoman recognizes Harms from previous visits and brings her to the front of the line, despite Harms' polite refusal to cut in.
Harms has to mentally translate from Chinese into English to describe the action. "A female officer who was just here said that if we don't mind waiting for a little while, that there's a lingdao, a leader inside who will officially hear my case," she explains.
Harms goes past guards and beeping metal detectors and into a starkly lit waiting room, where a paramilitary police officer guards a swinging metal gate, and police officers call out the names of petitioners whose turn it is to speak to police case officers.
After filling out some forms, Harms is called into an inner office, where she speaks with a policewoman familiar with her case. The officer points out that the family of Harms' fiance has a long-running feud with the neighbors in which both sides bear some responsibility.
After about 50 minutes, the policewoman concludes with a standard official line: Please trust China's authorities to handle your case fairly. Harms purses her lips and glances down at her Chinese law books with a quiet look of skepticism.
In ancient China, petitioners would try to get officials' attention by intercepting the sedan chairs in which they were carried. Harms tried to get a letter to President Obama on his visit to China in November. But local police detained her as she waited for the president's motorcade outside the American Embassy in Beijing.
"I simply wrote a short, one-page letter to him," Harms recalls, "expressing my support for his concern about universal rights, and then very simply explaining why this issue was important to me."
The Symbolic Value Of Petitioning
Some legal experts say that the petitioning system is incompatible with the rule of law and should be abolished. Petitioners traditionally do not seek procedural justice or the aid of legal institutions. Instead, they hope for the personal intervention of an honest official — a situation characteristic of the rule of man, not the rule of law.
Beijing University of Technology professor Hu Xingdou says that petitioning resolves very few cases. But it still may have a symbolic use, he says.
"It's to show that there's still some place to which you can appeal an injustice. It gives people a glimmer of hope," Hu says.
Harms' stint as a petitioner seems like the ultimate insider's experience in China, even if she has been spared some of the abuses reported by Chinese petitioners at the hands of authorities. It is hard to imagine other foreigners in China with grievances following her example.
Her petitioning also appears to have given her fiance's case a higher profile. But of course that doesn't mean it will get him justice. The case has attracted the attention of China's police minister. But he merely referred the case back to local officials, whose handling of the case launched Harms onto the long, hard road of petitioning in the first place.
Future Unclear For 'Megatons To Megawatts' Program
December 5, 2009
Ten percent of the electricity in the United States is generated using fuel made from dismantled Russian nuclear bombs, thanks to a 1993 agreement known as "Megatons to Megawatts." Guy Raz talks to Harvard professor Matthew Bunn about how the program began — and how its future is unclear.
Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®.
GUY RAZ, host:
Did you ever wonder where old decommissioned nuclear weapons go to die? Well, there's a good chance they're powering part of your house. About 10 percent of the electricity in the United States - 10 percent - comes from dismantled Russian nuclear bombs.
Now, what helped make those nukes available was the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the U.S. and Russia. It's a treaty that expired last night.
Matthew Bunn, who teaches at Harvard, is an expert on this nuclear recycling project. It's known as Megatons to Megawatts.
Matthew Bunn, welcome to the show.
Dr. MATTHEW BUNN (Associate Professor, Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government): Pleasure to be here.
RAZ: Take us back to the early '90s. How did this idea form to take the uranium from Russian nuclear weapons and convert it into nuclear fuel?
Dr. BUNN: The Soviet Union was falling apart and yet they had this huge amount of nuclear material that was very valuable and that needed to be secured, number one, but also the scientists and the experts working at those huge plants needed to be employed and we needed nuclear fuel for our nuclear power plants.
And so, the fairly simple idea was hatched - let's buy nuclear fuel made from blending down the highly enriched uranium in those Russian nuclear warheads.
RAZ: Now, I understand that half of all nuclear power in this country comes from those decommissioned Russian weapons. Is that true?
Dr. BUNN: That's roughly right. It's a little under half at the moment, but it's in that ballpark.
RAZ: How many bombs have been dismantled this way?
Dr. BUNN: The Russians don't tell us exactly, you know, how many bombs are being disassembled, but the amount of highly enriched uranium that has already been destroyed is enough for over 15,000 nuclear bombs.
RAZ: Fifteen thousand nuclear bombs.
Dr. BUNN: Absolutely, have been permanently destroyed as a result of this deal.
RAZ: Can you take us through the process of how you convert, you know, an ICBM into electricity for my house?
Dr. BUNN: They take the bombs off of the missiles. They disassemble the bombs, which means you take away the outer casing and the explosives from the actual nuclear material. Then you've got a hunk of highly enriched uranium metal, then they chop that up into essentially metal shavings, which they roast in an oven, and then they convert it into a gas form and they put it in a pipe, which then joins with a pipe that has much less enriched uranium and it mixes together and makes uranium with the enrichment that you need for a nuclear power plant, which is much less than the enrichment that you need for a nuclear bomb.
RAZ: Now, what are the economics of the setup? Is it a pretty good deal for the U.S.?
Dr. BUNN: It's been a very good deal for the U.S. And, in fact, ironically, the way the deal has been set up, rather than it being the United States subsidizing Russia, in essence, Russia has been subsidizing inefficient uranium enrichment in the United States.
RAZ: How much do we pay the Russians for this?
Dr. BUNN: So far, the Russians say that they have gotten over eight and a half billion dollars in cash and also nearly $3 billion in natural uranium.
RAZ: So we've paid them, you know, about $11 billion and presumably energy companies in this country have made money off of this?
Dr. BUNN: That's exactly right. So they market it through a U.S. corporation called USEC. It used to be the U.S. Enrichment Corporation, but they're one of those that just changed their name to the acronym officially. And then USEC sells it to U.S. power companies. And USEC has definitely made some good profits from this deal over the course of its lifetime.
RAZ: Now, the Megatons to Megawatts project expires in 2013. Are the Russians interested in extending it?
Dr. BUNN: The Russians are not remotely interested in extending it the way it is. We've managed to set it up in a way that costs them more and profits them less than just making new low-enriched uranium for reactors from scratch. But there are other ways to set it up that would be very profitable for them and would also serve some of their strategic interests in boosting their nuclear exports.
RAZ: What about old American nuclear bombs? Are we using those?
Dr. BUNN: To some degree, not on as large a scale as we're using the Russian nuclear bombs, but there has been many tens of tons of U.S. highly enriched uranium from the military program that has been blended down and used. The Tennessee Valley Authority in particular is using quite a lot of blended down material from the military program and its reactors.
RAZ: Matthew Bunn is an associate professor at Harvard. He joined us from a nonproliferation conference at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Thanks so much.
Dr. BUNN: Thank you.
Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved
Ten percent of the electricity in the United States is generated using fuel made from dismantled Russian nuclear bombs, thanks to a 1993 agreement known as "Megatons to Megawatts." Guy Raz talks to Harvard professor Matthew Bunn about how the program began — and how its future is unclear.
Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®.
GUY RAZ, host:
Did you ever wonder where old decommissioned nuclear weapons go to die? Well, there's a good chance they're powering part of your house. About 10 percent of the electricity in the United States - 10 percent - comes from dismantled Russian nuclear bombs.
Now, what helped make those nukes available was the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the U.S. and Russia. It's a treaty that expired last night.
Matthew Bunn, who teaches at Harvard, is an expert on this nuclear recycling project. It's known as Megatons to Megawatts.
Matthew Bunn, welcome to the show.
Dr. MATTHEW BUNN (Associate Professor, Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government): Pleasure to be here.
RAZ: Take us back to the early '90s. How did this idea form to take the uranium from Russian nuclear weapons and convert it into nuclear fuel?
Dr. BUNN: The Soviet Union was falling apart and yet they had this huge amount of nuclear material that was very valuable and that needed to be secured, number one, but also the scientists and the experts working at those huge plants needed to be employed and we needed nuclear fuel for our nuclear power plants.
And so, the fairly simple idea was hatched - let's buy nuclear fuel made from blending down the highly enriched uranium in those Russian nuclear warheads.
RAZ: Now, I understand that half of all nuclear power in this country comes from those decommissioned Russian weapons. Is that true?
Dr. BUNN: That's roughly right. It's a little under half at the moment, but it's in that ballpark.
RAZ: How many bombs have been dismantled this way?
Dr. BUNN: The Russians don't tell us exactly, you know, how many bombs are being disassembled, but the amount of highly enriched uranium that has already been destroyed is enough for over 15,000 nuclear bombs.
RAZ: Fifteen thousand nuclear bombs.
Dr. BUNN: Absolutely, have been permanently destroyed as a result of this deal.
RAZ: Can you take us through the process of how you convert, you know, an ICBM into electricity for my house?
Dr. BUNN: They take the bombs off of the missiles. They disassemble the bombs, which means you take away the outer casing and the explosives from the actual nuclear material. Then you've got a hunk of highly enriched uranium metal, then they chop that up into essentially metal shavings, which they roast in an oven, and then they convert it into a gas form and they put it in a pipe, which then joins with a pipe that has much less enriched uranium and it mixes together and makes uranium with the enrichment that you need for a nuclear power plant, which is much less than the enrichment that you need for a nuclear bomb.
RAZ: Now, what are the economics of the setup? Is it a pretty good deal for the U.S.?
Dr. BUNN: It's been a very good deal for the U.S. And, in fact, ironically, the way the deal has been set up, rather than it being the United States subsidizing Russia, in essence, Russia has been subsidizing inefficient uranium enrichment in the United States.
RAZ: How much do we pay the Russians for this?
Dr. BUNN: So far, the Russians say that they have gotten over eight and a half billion dollars in cash and also nearly $3 billion in natural uranium.
RAZ: So we've paid them, you know, about $11 billion and presumably energy companies in this country have made money off of this?
Dr. BUNN: That's exactly right. So they market it through a U.S. corporation called USEC. It used to be the U.S. Enrichment Corporation, but they're one of those that just changed their name to the acronym officially. And then USEC sells it to U.S. power companies. And USEC has definitely made some good profits from this deal over the course of its lifetime.
RAZ: Now, the Megatons to Megawatts project expires in 2013. Are the Russians interested in extending it?
Dr. BUNN: The Russians are not remotely interested in extending it the way it is. We've managed to set it up in a way that costs them more and profits them less than just making new low-enriched uranium for reactors from scratch. But there are other ways to set it up that would be very profitable for them and would also serve some of their strategic interests in boosting their nuclear exports.
RAZ: What about old American nuclear bombs? Are we using those?
Dr. BUNN: To some degree, not on as large a scale as we're using the Russian nuclear bombs, but there has been many tens of tons of U.S. highly enriched uranium from the military program that has been blended down and used. The Tennessee Valley Authority in particular is using quite a lot of blended down material from the military program and its reactors.
RAZ: Matthew Bunn is an associate professor at Harvard. He joined us from a nonproliferation conference at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Thanks so much.
Dr. BUNN: Thank you.
Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved
CHINA: What The 'Garlic Bubble' Means For China's Economy
December 5, 2009
Never thought a centuries-old root could finance your new car? Think again. These days, garlic is a better investment than gold in China. One of our producers, Zoe Chace, fills in Guy Raz on what the garlic bubble means for the Chinese economy.
Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®.
TRANSCRIPT
GUY RAZ, host:
But what does that have to do with the price of garlic in China? Well, it turns out over the past few months, garlic prices in one Chinese province have shot up as much as 40 times the going rate.
Mr. THOMAS EASTON (Asia Business Editor, The Economist): Something really odd is going on. You know, price increases like that in a product that really has a history going back, what, 5,000, 10,000 years.
RAZ: That's Thomas Easton. He's the Asia business editor for The Economist magazine. And one of our producers, Zoe Chace, has been looking into this garlic mystery. And Zoe's in the studio here with me.
Hi, Zoe.
ZOE CHACE: Hi.
RAZ: So, what's the story? It sounds like a garlic bubble to me.
CHACE: It is. It actually is. Here's the first thing you need to know about China and garlic: China produces more garlic than any country in the world. It's the biggest producer of garlic.
Last year, when the global economy collapsed, the garlic market collapsed. Nobody's buying. So this year, garlic farmers in China planted about 50 percent less garlic. And think about that in terms of China, that's a lot less garlic.
RAZ: Okay. But I mean, that makes sense. If you're a farmer and the markets down, you're gonna hedge your bets and plant less garlic.
CHACE: Yes. It should balance out.
RAZ: Right.
CHACE: But in 2009, two unexpected things happened. The first is swine flu, which we like to blame for everything.
RAZ: I thought that was El Ni�o.
CHACE: No, it's swine flu. People in China are very, very worried about swine flu. It's a big deal. You know how some people think that garlic can keep you from getting sick?
RAZ: Yeah.
CHACE: Okay. In China, some schools have started ordering garlic by the truckload.
RAZ: Okay, but that still doesn't account for a price increase of 40 times for garlic.
CHACE: True. But remember, a second thing happened.
RAZ: Right.
CHACE: The global economy crashed and the Chinese government pumped its banks full of money, and they wanted to make sure that lending would still be going on and people could still borrow.
RAZ: Uh-huh.
CHACE: But that sort of thing started to go wrong.
Here's Thomas Easton from The Economist again.
Mr. EASTON: The government would like it to go into infrastructure projects and a productive economy. But the problem with money is you're never quite sure where it ends up once you put them into the system.
RAZ: I'm sorry. He's saying the extra money that the Chinese government put into the banks went into garlic?
CHACE: Exactly. And to be fair, it went into other things. I mean, the price of rice is shooting up and real estate is going up in some places. But there's nothing like the garlic bubble. It's basically out of sight.
RAZ: So, how'd it happen?
CHACE: So some smart people saw where this garlic thing was headed. Remember the banks are flush with cash. People go and they get a loan and they buy up as much garlic as they possibly can. Then they rent these warehouses and just stash garlic in it, and then they sit on it. They just sit and they wait for the price to rise, and garlic, you know, keeps basically.
RAZ: It doesn't spoil easily.
CHACE: Right. And then they flip it. Price rises, they sell high. These aren't just buttoned up investors or something. I actually talked to this one reporter from the China Daily. And she told me about this kid. He's in his early 20s. He has a middle school education. He has no job. He flipped his stash of garlic and bought a Toyota.
RAZ: He made a killing.
CHACE: Yeah. He's in the main area of garlic production in China, which is Jinxiang, and that's where the garlic frenzy is turning into some kind of gold rush.
RAZ: A garlic rush.
CHACE: Yeah. People are trying to jump on this train before it leaves the station. And some banks in Jinxiang are actually running out of money. They can't keep up.
RAZ: So people better move on this, right, because bubbles obviously burst.
CHACE: That's right, and you don't want to be the one holding the bag or a garage full of garlic. And even when this bubble pops, because it will, you know, there's going to be other bubbles just like this in China for a while.
Here's Thomas Easton from The Economist again.
Mr. EASTON: I think the government is really at a quandary because I think it's worried that if it actually clamps down, the economy will sputter. After all, there isn't a lot of economic demand for exports from places like the United States and Western Europe. So they need to stimulate their own economy. But on the other hand, if they keep stimulating, a lot of money is going to go into these kinds of silly things and a lot of damage is going to be done.
(Soundbite of bread crunching)
RAZ: Well, Zoe, thanks for bringing this $40 garlic bread for me.
CHACE: It's like a giant edible gold brick from here on out.
RAZ: That's our producer Zoe Chace.
Zoe, thanks so much.
CHACE: Thank you.
(Soundbite of bread crunching)
(Soundbite of music)
Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved.
Never thought a centuries-old root could finance your new car? Think again. These days, garlic is a better investment than gold in China. One of our producers, Zoe Chace, fills in Guy Raz on what the garlic bubble means for the Chinese economy.
Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®.
TRANSCRIPT
GUY RAZ, host:
But what does that have to do with the price of garlic in China? Well, it turns out over the past few months, garlic prices in one Chinese province have shot up as much as 40 times the going rate.
Mr. THOMAS EASTON (Asia Business Editor, The Economist): Something really odd is going on. You know, price increases like that in a product that really has a history going back, what, 5,000, 10,000 years.
RAZ: That's Thomas Easton. He's the Asia business editor for The Economist magazine. And one of our producers, Zoe Chace, has been looking into this garlic mystery. And Zoe's in the studio here with me.
Hi, Zoe.
ZOE CHACE: Hi.
RAZ: So, what's the story? It sounds like a garlic bubble to me.
CHACE: It is. It actually is. Here's the first thing you need to know about China and garlic: China produces more garlic than any country in the world. It's the biggest producer of garlic.
Last year, when the global economy collapsed, the garlic market collapsed. Nobody's buying. So this year, garlic farmers in China planted about 50 percent less garlic. And think about that in terms of China, that's a lot less garlic.
RAZ: Okay. But I mean, that makes sense. If you're a farmer and the markets down, you're gonna hedge your bets and plant less garlic.
CHACE: Yes. It should balance out.
RAZ: Right.
CHACE: But in 2009, two unexpected things happened. The first is swine flu, which we like to blame for everything.
RAZ: I thought that was El Ni�o.
CHACE: No, it's swine flu. People in China are very, very worried about swine flu. It's a big deal. You know how some people think that garlic can keep you from getting sick?
RAZ: Yeah.
CHACE: Okay. In China, some schools have started ordering garlic by the truckload.
RAZ: Okay, but that still doesn't account for a price increase of 40 times for garlic.
CHACE: True. But remember, a second thing happened.
RAZ: Right.
CHACE: The global economy crashed and the Chinese government pumped its banks full of money, and they wanted to make sure that lending would still be going on and people could still borrow.
RAZ: Uh-huh.
CHACE: But that sort of thing started to go wrong.
Here's Thomas Easton from The Economist again.
Mr. EASTON: The government would like it to go into infrastructure projects and a productive economy. But the problem with money is you're never quite sure where it ends up once you put them into the system.
RAZ: I'm sorry. He's saying the extra money that the Chinese government put into the banks went into garlic?
CHACE: Exactly. And to be fair, it went into other things. I mean, the price of rice is shooting up and real estate is going up in some places. But there's nothing like the garlic bubble. It's basically out of sight.
RAZ: So, how'd it happen?
CHACE: So some smart people saw where this garlic thing was headed. Remember the banks are flush with cash. People go and they get a loan and they buy up as much garlic as they possibly can. Then they rent these warehouses and just stash garlic in it, and then they sit on it. They just sit and they wait for the price to rise, and garlic, you know, keeps basically.
RAZ: It doesn't spoil easily.
CHACE: Right. And then they flip it. Price rises, they sell high. These aren't just buttoned up investors or something. I actually talked to this one reporter from the China Daily. And she told me about this kid. He's in his early 20s. He has a middle school education. He has no job. He flipped his stash of garlic and bought a Toyota.
RAZ: He made a killing.
CHACE: Yeah. He's in the main area of garlic production in China, which is Jinxiang, and that's where the garlic frenzy is turning into some kind of gold rush.
RAZ: A garlic rush.
CHACE: Yeah. People are trying to jump on this train before it leaves the station. And some banks in Jinxiang are actually running out of money. They can't keep up.
RAZ: So people better move on this, right, because bubbles obviously burst.
CHACE: That's right, and you don't want to be the one holding the bag or a garage full of garlic. And even when this bubble pops, because it will, you know, there's going to be other bubbles just like this in China for a while.
Here's Thomas Easton from The Economist again.
Mr. EASTON: I think the government is really at a quandary because I think it's worried that if it actually clamps down, the economy will sputter. After all, there isn't a lot of economic demand for exports from places like the United States and Western Europe. So they need to stimulate their own economy. But on the other hand, if they keep stimulating, a lot of money is going to go into these kinds of silly things and a lot of damage is going to be done.
(Soundbite of bread crunching)
RAZ: Well, Zoe, thanks for bringing this $40 garlic bread for me.
CHACE: It's like a giant edible gold brick from here on out.
RAZ: That's our producer Zoe Chace.
Zoe, thanks so much.
CHACE: Thank you.
(Soundbite of bread crunching)
(Soundbite of music)
Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved.
CHINA: China economic triumph story of decade
Created: 2009-12-9 1:09:38
Author:Belinda Goldsmith
THE rise of China as an economic superpower was the most read news story of the past decade, surpassing the Iraq War and the attacks of September 11, according to an analysis by a United States-based media tracking group.
The Global Language Monitor, which uses an algorithm to search printed and electronic media and the Internet for trends in word usage, said there was strong interest in the Asian powerhouse, the world's third-biggest economy.
"The rise of China to new economic heights has changed - and continues to challenge - the current international order," said Paul J. J. Payack, president of the Global Language Monitor.
"It is with little surprise that its ongoing transformation has topped all other news stories in a decade bespotted by war, economic catastrophe, and natural disasters."
He said the list was compiled based on the number of citations over the course of the decade on the Internet, the blogosphere, including social media, as well as the top 50,000 print and electronic media sites.
The China story topped news about the 2003 Iraq War, the September 11, 2001 attacks, the ensuing war on terror, and the sudden death this year of Michael Jackson at the age of 50.
Also highly rated were the election of Barack Obama to the US presidency last year, the global recession of 2008-9, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 and the war in Afghanistan.
Copyright © 2001-2009 Shanghai Daily Publishing House
Author:Belinda Goldsmith
THE rise of China as an economic superpower was the most read news story of the past decade, surpassing the Iraq War and the attacks of September 11, according to an analysis by a United States-based media tracking group.
The Global Language Monitor, which uses an algorithm to search printed and electronic media and the Internet for trends in word usage, said there was strong interest in the Asian powerhouse, the world's third-biggest economy.
"The rise of China to new economic heights has changed - and continues to challenge - the current international order," said Paul J. J. Payack, president of the Global Language Monitor.
"It is with little surprise that its ongoing transformation has topped all other news stories in a decade bespotted by war, economic catastrophe, and natural disasters."
He said the list was compiled based on the number of citations over the course of the decade on the Internet, the blogosphere, including social media, as well as the top 50,000 print and electronic media sites.
The China story topped news about the 2003 Iraq War, the September 11, 2001 attacks, the ensuing war on terror, and the sudden death this year of Michael Jackson at the age of 50.
Also highly rated were the election of Barack Obama to the US presidency last year, the global recession of 2008-9, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 and the war in Afghanistan.
Copyright © 2001-2009 Shanghai Daily Publishing House
CHINA: Population officials head off boy ploy
Created: 2009-12-9 1:09:12
Author:Cai Wenjun
SHANGHAI population officials are optimistic about controlling the boy-heavy imbalance among newborns of migrant people and are already seeing an improvement.
To keep the gender ratio random, the city government has a ban on checkups on fetus sex and abortions for women pregnant for 27 weeks or more for non-medical reasons.
Policies like enhanced education, subsidies and more training opportunities for girls have been introduced to encourage migrants from rural areas to have daughters.
Officials said they had noticed more migrants starting to give up the traditional boy mentality for two reasons - increased education and the fact they are mirroring the behavior of Shanghainese.
The gender ratio between newborn boys and girls among the registered population in Shanghai is balanced, while the ratio for migrant newborns is 120 to 124 boys against 100 girls.
The natural range is 103 to 107 boys against 100 girls, Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission officials told city-based consuls at its annual demographic briefing yesterday.
According to the commission, the city's population is continuing its upward trend.
Shanghai had 6.42 million migrant people last year, with 5.17 million of them staying for six months or more.
The city's overall population in 2008 was 18.88 million, including the registered population and those staying for six months or more.
The growth rate last year was 1.64 percent, higher than the nation's 0.53 percent.
About 152,100 foreigners stayed in the city for more than six months last year, 18,800 more than 2007, commission officials said.
About 165,000 babies are expected this year, similar with last year's 166,600.
"The focus has shifted from just birth control to an integrated solution to population issues like how to improve population quality, enhance guidance on early education to children below three and better reproductive services to migrant people," said Xie Lingli, commission director.
She said Shanghai faced many challenges on population management, including the newborn gender ratio, a growing gray-hair population and rising migrants.
The government invested 490 million yuan (US$71.76 million) in reproductive services last year, a 32 percent increase from 2001.
Copyright © 2001-2009 Shanghai Daily Publishing House
Author:Cai Wenjun
SHANGHAI population officials are optimistic about controlling the boy-heavy imbalance among newborns of migrant people and are already seeing an improvement.
To keep the gender ratio random, the city government has a ban on checkups on fetus sex and abortions for women pregnant for 27 weeks or more for non-medical reasons.
Policies like enhanced education, subsidies and more training opportunities for girls have been introduced to encourage migrants from rural areas to have daughters.
Officials said they had noticed more migrants starting to give up the traditional boy mentality for two reasons - increased education and the fact they are mirroring the behavior of Shanghainese.
The gender ratio between newborn boys and girls among the registered population in Shanghai is balanced, while the ratio for migrant newborns is 120 to 124 boys against 100 girls.
The natural range is 103 to 107 boys against 100 girls, Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission officials told city-based consuls at its annual demographic briefing yesterday.
According to the commission, the city's population is continuing its upward trend.
Shanghai had 6.42 million migrant people last year, with 5.17 million of them staying for six months or more.
The city's overall population in 2008 was 18.88 million, including the registered population and those staying for six months or more.
The growth rate last year was 1.64 percent, higher than the nation's 0.53 percent.
About 152,100 foreigners stayed in the city for more than six months last year, 18,800 more than 2007, commission officials said.
About 165,000 babies are expected this year, similar with last year's 166,600.
"The focus has shifted from just birth control to an integrated solution to population issues like how to improve population quality, enhance guidance on early education to children below three and better reproductive services to migrant people," said Xie Lingli, commission director.
She said Shanghai faced many challenges on population management, including the newborn gender ratio, a growing gray-hair population and rising migrants.
The government invested 490 million yuan (US$71.76 million) in reproductive services last year, a 32 percent increase from 2001.
Copyright © 2001-2009 Shanghai Daily Publishing House
Monday, December 7, 2009
TAIWAN: Timeline: Taiwan
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
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
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
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