‘House Sister’ in China Whereabouts Unknown

‘House Sister’ in China Whereabouts Unknown:

Prices for new homes in Beijing and other cities in China have been skyrocketing. Apartments in buildings like this one, photographed in June 2011, sold for 300,000 yuan (46,000 USD) per square meter. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A Chinese Communist Party official in Shaanxi Province, recently exposed as the owner of more than 20 properties in a handful of cities, is nowhere to be found.

Gong Aiai was given the moniker “house sister” after her real estate holdings were revealed. The case shows the immense corruption that is possible at even low levels in China.
After the case stirred up a storm on the Internet, the police in her hometown reportedly took her brother into custody for questioning.

Reporters attempting to interview Gong Aiai failed to find her in Shenmu, her place of residence, and so far, there has been no information on where she has gone or been taken, or whether she has gone into hiding to avoid publicity.


Gong Aiai’s ownership of Beijing and Shaanxi property registered under different names is worth over 10 billion yuan (over $160 million), it is estimated. The vast amount of money involved strongly suggests that foul play is afoot.

Gong, a member of Yulin Municipal People’s Congress, and also former deputy president of the Shenmu County Rural Commercial Bank, is the most recent Party official to be exposed by Internet whistleblowers.

The intense publicity prompted a widespread investigation in Shaanxi involving the Beijing police and Ministry of Public Security, which brought to light her four illegal residential registrations and resulted in arrests of several local officials. In China, each person is issued only one household registration, or hukou, and cannot legally own property under other registrations.

So far, investigations have uncovered personal assets of 28 properties. Eight of them in Beijing, occupying more than 2,000 square meters; two in Xi’an with around 400 square meters; and two in Shenmu with 620 square meters. She also owned businesses in those cities.

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In an interview with Chinese media, Gong attempted to explain her family business operations: “My family is a big family and we have coal and other enterprises,” she said. “I together with my brothers have taken care of the coal business for years and we have a high income.” Chinese following the case online did not appear to be convinced.

Read the original Chinese article. 
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Lack of trust clouds strategies of China, Japan and the US in East Asia

Lack of trust clouds strategies of China, Japan and the US in East Asia:

The world watches in bewilderment as two of its largest economies inch ever closer to war. It's all the more puzzling given that the countries have become close trading partners in recent years and the arguments between them seem trivial.

Their economies are so interdependent that any confrontation - let alone a full-scale war - would surely bring ruin to all.

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Outgoing South Korean president pardons former aides

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The pardons for 55 people included Lee's long-time confidante and former minister Choi See-joong and friend and businessman Chun Shin-il - both serving prison terms for bribery. Former parliamentary speaker Park Hee-tae and an ex-senior political affairs aide to Lee were also pardoned. Both were convicted last year for their roles in a vote-buying scandal in Lee's ruling conservative party.

Singapore's policy of raising population carries risk

Singapore's policy of raising population carries risk:

Have more babies to build the ranks of Singaporeans and get set for a construction boom, but accept heavier congestion and more foreign workers as the crowded metropolis grows its population by 30 per cent.

That is the vision for Singapore set out yesterday by its long-ruling government, just days after it lost a seat in parliament in a by-election defeat that reflected rising discontent at soaring costs and an influx of immigrants.

Genetics may explain why flu hits Asians more

Genetics may explain why flu hits Asians more:

Nearly a quarter of ethnic Chinese have a tiny genetic variant that boosts sixfold their risk of falling gravely ill when infected with flu, a study published yesterday said.

Less than one per cent of Caucasians are thought to have the gene alteration, which has previously been linked to severe influenza. Yet about 25 per cent of Chinese people have the gene variant, which is also common in Japanese and Korean people.

Chinese Web Erupts With Widespread Calls for Change as Beijing Endures Airpocalypse 2.0

Chinese Web Erupts With Widespread Calls for Change as Beijing Endures Airpocalypse 2.0:

Beijing on January 19, with an Air Quality Index reading of 415. (©A/Flickr)

Beijingers are choking on their air — again. Just seventeen days after Chinese cyberspace erupted with complaints about air so bad that it was “beyond index,” denizens of the Chinese capital awoke once again to a city blanketed with smog. Over the past 24 hours, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has released readings showing an air quality index — which measures fine particulate matter particularly hazardous to the lungs — peaking at 526. Readings above 300 are considered “hazardous,” and anything above 500 is literally off the charts, or “beyond index.”

United we choke

Sina Weibo, China’s most popular micro-blogging platform, has once again became a forum for citizens of all stripes to air their grievances. Among Sina’s list of the ten “hottest” Weibo posts, four currently bemoan the state of Beijing’s air, with each author representing a different slice of Chinese society.
Among them was a heartfelt cry from actress Song Dandan (@宋丹丹). She wrote, “I was born and raised in Beijing and have lived here for over 50 years. The flood of emigration and every other type of temptation were not enough to get me to leave this lovable city. Today, this thought keeps circling in my mind: ‘Where will I go to spend my later years?’” Television host Zhang Quanling (@张泉灵), also in the top ten, went for humor. “I really don’t understand people who smoke outdoors. They really don’t know how to be thrifty! Right now in Beijing, you can smoke for free anywhere you go by taking two breaths of air,” she wrote.

Weibo user Song Dandan shared this recent image of Beijing. (Via Weibo)

Financial columnist Ding Chenling (@丁辰灵) rose to second place when he posted an infographic discussing the origin of China’s air pollution and comparing it to the United States. Ding commented, ”China and the U.S. are the same [geographic] size; China has 100 million cars, the U.S. has 285 million. Why is China’s air so bad? It’s because of relaxed standards for low quality fuel. China’s petrol has 500% of the sulfur content of U.S. fuel, and 1,500% the sulfur content of European fuel.”

Anger and frustration at the quality of Beijing’s air was not limited to bloggers of one political persuasion. Conservative commentator Hu Xijin (@胡锡进) complained,”I was just having lunch with the Pakistani ambassador to China in the Jingcheng building, on about the 50th floor. I pointed to the beautiful scene outside and said to the ambassador: Look at the strange picture that economic development paints — hazily enchanting.”

Hu later added, “Chinese people should not tolerate and endure too much environmental pollution just for the sake of enrichment…in an age of globalization, this will add to the opportunities for conflict between China and other countries. Even if we may be the ultimate victors…it may not be enough to cover what we’ve lost in the present.”

It’s not us, it’s you

A number of prominent Weibo users pointed a finger in the direction of China’s government. Real estate developer Pan Shiyi (@潘石屹) started an online poll that reads more like a petition to Chinese authorities. It  simply reads, “Call for legislation: Clean Air Bill.” 98.8% of those responding have expressed support thus far.

Angel investor and widely-followed Weibo user Charles Xue (@薛蛮子)’s widely-read post was perhaps the most urgent. Xue wrote, “China’s air pollution has already worsened to an intolerable point. I hope the Chinese assembly will take this opportunity to call a meeting, and put out a clean air bill. For every old person, for every child, for the health of every citizen, we need to control environmental pollution!”

While some Web users are pining for new legislation, others are thinking about smaller measures. The third-most trending Weibo hashtag is a discussion of whether Beijing traffic cops should be allowed to wear masks to protect themselves from the pungent air. Fang Lifen (@王利芬 ), Founder and CEO of Umiwi Technology, had another entrepreneurial idea:

On a morning stained with poison air, here’s a suggestion: Aside from allowing the normal operation of public transportation, all other vehicles should be stopped, and the production of all [vehicles] with non-conforming emissions should also be stopped. Both the plebeians and the leading cadres (however important they may be) should be squeezed together on public transportation so public servants can get closer [to their constituents].

North Korea's Kim dashes early hope but U.S. still seeks change: Clinton

North Korea's Kim dashes early hope but U.S. still seeks change: Clinton:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's missile tests and menacing rhetoric have disappointed U.S. expectations that young leader Kim Jong-un would be different than his father but Washington still hopes to persuade Pyongyang to change course, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.

Deadly Rainstorms Ravage Eastern Australia

Deadly Rainstorms Ravage Eastern Australia:

At least four people have died and thousands more have been displaced across Australia’s east coast by the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Oswald.

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City running out of water:


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S.Korea, U.S., Japan Must Help China Hold N.Korea in Check

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Google in N Korea mapping push:

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Rescuers battle Australia floods

Rescuers battle Australia floods:

Australia is battling flooding in two states, with the inundated Queensland city of Bundaberg at the heart of the crisis.

Several Australian Towns Flooded, 4 People Killed

Several Australian Towns Flooded, 4 People Killed:

(BRISBANE, Australia) — Thousands of Australians huddled in shelters Tuesday as torrential rains flooded cities and towns in the northeast, killing four people and prompting around 1,000 helicopter evacuations. With floodwaters expected to peak in most of the worst-hit areas later Tuesday, officials were rushing to move those in the highest-risk areas to safety. (MORE: Welsh Tourist Wrestles Shark To Save Children In Australia) In the hard-hit city of Bundaberg, 385 kilometers (240 miles) north of Brisbane, rescue crews plucked 1,000 people to safety after the river that runs through town broke its banks, sending fast-moving, muddy water pouring into streets and homes. Around 1,500 residents fled to evacuation centers, while patients at the local hospital were being airlifted to Brisbane as a precaution. “Listen to the roar of the water — that’s not helicopters,” Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said. “You see a lot of locations where there are literally sort of rapids. There’s white water out there, so it is very dangerous.” Queensland residents and officials were being particularly cautious, after floodwaters from heavy rain in late 2010 and early 2011 left much of the state under water in the worst flooding Australia had seen in decades. The 2010-2011 floods killed 35 people, damaged or destroyed 30,000 homes and businesses and left Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city, under water for days. The current flood crisis was not as severe, though some areas in northern New South Wales were hit by more than half a meter (about 20 inches) of rain, State Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Steve Pearce said. Four people have died, including a 3-year-old boy who was hit by a falling tree in Brisbane. “We’re expecting flash flooding, we’re expecting trees to be brought down, wires to be brought down by these winds,” Pearce said. “We’re expecting a very challenging 24 hours in front of us.” (PHOTOS: Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs) In the New South Wales city of Grafton, 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Sydney, 2,500 people were ordered to leave their homes as the Clarence

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China is apparently minded to send officials to North Korean to dissuade the renegade country from conducting another nuclear test.

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China, Japan scholars seek way out in Diaoyu islands row:

As fears grow over a simmering island dispute between China and Japan, scholars from both nations are hoping to lower the temperature with expansive talks in Washington in search of common ground.
The academics acknowledged that Tokyo and Beijing have major differences over the territories in the East China Sea but they saw one fundamental point in common – neither side wanted the conflict to escalate into war.

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North Korea's Rhetoric And Nuclear Capabilities:

Responding to tightened sanctions and a new United Nations Security Council resolution condemning their December rocket launch, North Korea has threatened a new nuclear test, explicitly warning that the North Korean weapons program will target the United States.

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Bo Trial 'After Parliament'

Bo Trial 'After Parliament':



China's state-run media moved to end "speculation" on Monday about the imminent trial of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, with a paper linked to the ruling Chinese Communist Party indicating it won't happen until after parliamentary meetings in early March.

The Global Times tabloid, which has ties to Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, quoted official sources as saying that Bo's trial would begin only after the annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) in early March.

Next-generation Party chief Xi Jinping, who was appointed at a Party Congress last November, will formally take over from outgoing president Hu Jintao at that time.

"The information in terms of the date and location for the trial will certainly be made public in advance, and it's unnecessary to make speculations," the paper quoted the official as saying.

According to the official, the trial might be very complicated and last up to 10 days.

"Due to the complexity, the case is likely to be heard after the annual two sessions," the official was quoted as saying.

The report follows claims made by the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao newspaper, which also has links to the Party, that Bo's trial would open at the southwestern city of Guiyang's Intermediate People's Court on Monday, sending reporters flocking to the city. 

Factional fighting?

Beijing may need more time to prepare the cases against Bo although the authorities want to move quickly on the issue despite talk of factional fighting within the Party, analysts said.

Yao Jianfu, a former researcher at a State Council think-tank, said it had taken some time to prepare corruption cases against former Beijing mayor Chen Xitong and Shanghai mayor Chen Liangyu.

"It wouldn't be surprising if it took a while to come to trial," Yao said. "Both Chen Xitong and Chen Liangyu were also Politburo members, and it took more than a year for their trials to begin."

But he said the new leadership may also wish to move more quickly than that.

"If they resolve this sooner rather than later, Hu Jintao will bear responsibility for it, and the burden of sorting out the Bo Xilai issue won't fall to Xi Jinping," he said.

Political affairs commentator Gao Xin said that the delay in Bo's criminal trial suggested continuing factional strife behind the scenes at the highest levels of the Communist Party between the second generation heirs of Party elders, known as princelings, liberal reformers and the Maoist left wing.

"If these charges had been leveled against another Party member who wasn't also a member of the princelings faction, then Bo Xilai, given that his crimes have already been announced, would have been sacrificed on the altar of Xi Jinping's...anti-graft campaign by now," Gao said in a commentary broadcast on RFA's Mandarin service.

"Bo's rap sheet is enough...to get him several death sentences with immediate execution...Are the old guard putting pressure on Xi Jinping not to act? We will have to see!"

Meanwhile, writer and historian Zhang Lifan said the Ta Kung Pao report suggested that there had been a swift change of plan at the highest levels, rather than an error in the paper's journalism.

He said the trial may have been delayed because the feisty Bo was refusing to co-operate.

"There are probably factors to do with the highest levels of leadership, but probably also to do with Bo himself," Zhang said. "If he's not being cooperative, they won't be able to go ahead with a trial."

"If there was a messy situation of the kind seen at the trial of [Mao's wife] Jiang Qing, this would be embarrasing, and wouldn't reflect well on the fairness or authority of the trial," he said.

Rule of law

The speculation over the timing of Bo's trial comes after his successor in Chongqing, Huang Qifan, vowed that the city would shake off the impact of the Bo scandal and uphold the rule of law.

Bo's case was formally transferred to the judiciary earlier this month, marking the beginning of criminal proceedings.

The Party expelled Bo from its ranks in October, following accusations of corruption and sexual misconduct, later also removing his parliamentary privilege and paving the way for a criminal trial.

Bo was judged to bear "major responsibility" in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, for which his wife Gu Kailai was handed a suspended death sentence on Aug. 20, official media reports said at the time.

His former right-hand man and Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun was jailed for 15 years in September for "bending the law for selfish ends," "abuse of power," and "defection," after his Feb. 6 visit to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu brought the murder scandal to public attention.

Reported by Hai Nan for RFA's Cantonese service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Mapping China and the Question of a China-Centered Tributary Trade System

Mapping China and the Question of a China-Centered Tributary Trade System:

Does it make sense to refer to a Chinese “tributary system?” A number of influential Western scholars, including John Wills Jr., James Hevia and Laura Hostetler, have argued that it does not—largely on the grounds that previous China scholars, John K. Fairbank “and his followers” in particular, have over-generalized its historical significance. The result, however, has been that much of Fairbank’s painstaking and valuable research on the structure and function of the tributary system has been ignored. Although Fairbank may well have overestimated the degree to which Chinese assumptions about tribute shaped Qing policy toward foreigners, it seems absurd to suggest that they were of no consequence whatsoever.

Takeshi Hamashita provides a valuable perspective on tribute (gong) that avoids the extremes of both Fairbank and his critics. His China: East Asia and the Global Economy: Regional and Historical Perspectives (2008), makes a powerful case for the existence of a long-standing, vibrant, multifaceted and organically evolved “network of [tributary] relations linking the center and its peripheries, including the provinces and dependencies of the [Chinese] Empire, rulers of native tribes and districts, tributary states and even trading partners.” In other words, the tributary system provided a framework—both land-based and maritime—for economic and other interactions in which multiple actors played multiple roles. It may have been a “Sinocentric” system, as Hamashita avers, but it was certainly not a static or a monolithic one. As Song Nianshen emphasizes in a recent online article (see “Bibliographical Note” below), the tributary system “was an institutional mechanism mutually constructed by both the central and peripheral [East Asian] regimes.”

A balanced analysis of the so-called tributary system requires, then, a historically sensitive appreciation of its assumptions and its institutions, its theories and its practices, its goals and its actual outcomes. This kind of understanding compels us to consider, among other things, exactly how the offering and acceptance of “tribute” were conceived (by all parties; not simply the Chinese), and how much flexibility the system allowed. Clearly any conception of the tributary system that suggests a stagnant, “unchanging China” is hopelessly wrong-headed. Yet to ignore or downplay the importance of the tributary system as an important historical and cultural frame of reference for Chinese emperors and officials would be equally misguided.

Indonesia's Sexual Education Revolution

Indonesia's Sexual Education Revolution:

A movement is under way to teach students about AIDS and contraception.

Abe Talks Tough to Bank of Japan

Abe Talks Tough to Bank of Japan:

In his first policy speech to the parliament, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reminded the Bank of Japan that it's now responsible for achieving 2% inflation.

China media: Anti-corruption drive

China media: Anti-corruption drive:

Newspaper round-up: High-profile anti-corruption campaign continues, as official channels quash speculation over Bo Xilai trial.

Shanghai licence plates 'precious as gold,' says vice mayor

Shanghai licence plates 'precious as gold,' says vice mayor:

If scoring a licence plate for your car in Shanghai means winning an auction, getting one for your car in the future will be akin to winning the lottery.

Li Na Finishes Second in Australian Open

Li Na Finishes Second in Australian Open:

“She's battered, she's bruised and she's quite possibly buggered," the MC announced in Li Na’s introduction to a packed Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne as she accepted the runners-up prize at the 2013 Australian Open.

Li may not have taken a second major title, but she won the hearts of Australian fans with her skill, humor and fighting spirit.

Pam Shriver, a former American tennis player and present day commentator, said on ESPN: “I’ve never seen anything like this in a major final in my 35 years. This is one of the most dramatic finals we have ever witnessed.''

The Chinese star gave everything on Saturday in the final against the world’s number one ranked Victoria Azarenka. Despite taking the first set 6-4, Li lost the last two sets to the Belarusian and for the second time in three years finished second in the tournament Down Under.

But that was not the full story. Li injured her ankle and also fell and banged her head during the match, calling a medical time out.

"I was worried when my head hit the floor because for two seconds I couldn't see anything,” said Li afterwards.

ESPN commentator and legendary former number one ranked American tennis player Chris Evert said that she couldn’t remember seeing anyone bang their head on a tennis court like Li did in the final.
Cheered on by the Aussie crowd, the 30 year-old battled on, but was unable to prevent her opponent from successfully defending her title.

Until the end, Li received the support of the local fans who cheered her every move, partly due to Azarenka’s choice to take a controversial medical timeout in her semi-final win over Sloane Stephens. Many felt she used the rule to gain an unfair advantage when she was struggling. Azarenka herself said she had a locked rib and was struggling to breathe.

"It was necessary thing for me to do,'' she said. "I just regret that I didn't take it earlier. … It got to the point that it was pretty much impossible for me to breathe and to play.
She continued, "The timing, yeah, it was my bad. The game before that, when I lost my service game, it kept getting worse. I thought I would have to play through it and keep calm. But it just got worse. You know, I had to do it."

One positive for Li to take away from this year’s Australian Open is the reminder that when she lost the 2011 Australian Open final to Kim Clijsters, she went on to win the next major tournament on the international circuit that year–the French Open.

After an indifferent 2012, Li certainly looks as if she means business in 2013. And it looks as if she enjoyed the Australian Open and the Australian Open enjoyed having her.

Randy Bish, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Randy Bish, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:


PUBLICATION DATE: Mon, 28 Jan 2013

Japan Ex-China Envoy: Tokyo Erred on Islands Row

Japan Ex-China Envoy: Tokyo Erred on Islands Row:

(TOKYO) — Japan’s former envoy to China says his country erred in choosing to buy islands claimed by both Japan and China last fall, infuriating Beijing, and now both sides have no choice but to allow the issue to cool. Uichiro Niwa, a former trading house executive who served as ambassador to Beijing from mid-2010 until late last year, told reporters on Monday that the purchase of the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea by Japan’s central government was poorly timed and seemed driven by factors he could not explain. (MORE: Ready or Not, Japan to Ease Rules on Foreign Intervention) “They may have had access to information that I didn’t know,” Niwa said at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. “But from my personal point of view the timing was bad.” Niwa, the first private sector figure to be chosen as ambassador to China, found himself at odds with the Japanese government, especially after then-Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pushed ahead with a plan to buy several of the islands from their private owner. The purchase was apparently aimed at pre-empting a plan by outspoken Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara to not only buy the islands but develop them, but Beijing was outraged. The islands, known as the Diaoyu in China and the Senkakus in Japan, have been under Japanese control for decades, but Beijing says they have been Chinese territory for centuries. Taiwan also claims them. The purchase prompted sometimes violent anti-Japanese protests in China and hammered exports to Japan’s biggest overseas market. “The Japanese government should have taken into account the possibility that this may have been a point of contention,” Niwa said. At the very least, he said, Japan needed to provide “a better explanation to China and to the international community.” Niwa, whose former company Itochu Corp. has extensive interests in China, faced criticism from some in Japan for not being tough enough toward China regarding the disputed islands, which are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of gas, oil and other undersea resources.

Japan erred on Diaoyus, says former China envoy

Japan erred on Diaoyus, says former China envoy:

Japan’s former envoy to China said on Monday that the purchase of the Diaoyu Islands by Japan’s central government was poorly timed.