Kite Festival Turns Deadly

To Americans, kite-flying seems like a leisurely, child-like activity. Pakistanis, however, take their kite-flying seriously. Apparently, so serious that deaths result when kites hit the air. After authorities lifted a ban from a festival that resulted in deaths just last year, eleven were killed in another festival just a few days ago. Two died after their throats were cut by metal wire intended to damage rival kites. Five died from gun shot wounds from celebatory gun fire. Two fell from roofs and two more were killed by electrocution as they tried to untangle their kites from electrical lines.

This story seems somewhat unreal to me. How can so many die from such an innocent activity? Authorities should reinstate their ban on kite-flying and educate the people about kite-flying saftey. What is obvious to me (don't climb roofs or untangle string from electrical wire) is clearly not obvious to the Pakistanis.

China- Religion

Chinese religion tended to be centred on the family and the local community. Even religions with well developed philosophies, like Taoism and Buddhism, were organized primarily in monasteries which had relatively little connection with each other. Religious believers seldom formed institutions, certianly nothing to compare with the powerful Christian churches of the West. The imperial state therefore kept a watchful eye on religious groups, and sometimes suppressed those for example, underground sects, which overstepped boundaries. Every district had its own particular traditions, but practices connected with gods, ghosts and ancestors were especially prominent. Gods included the spirits of deceased heroes, versions of Taoist or Buddhist deities and local spirits. I believe that ancestor worship was done before Buddhism or Taoism existed China.

I found an interesting article on China's attempts to blind the US with a laser. China has fired high-power lasers at U.S. spy satellites flying over its territory in what experts see as a test of Chinese ability to blind the spacecraft, according to sources. It remains unclear how many times the ground-based laser was tested against U.S. spacecraft or whether it was successful.
But the combination of China’s efforts and advances in Russian satellite jamming capabilities illustrate vulnerabilities to the U.S. space network are at the core of U.S. Air Force plans to develop new space architectures and highly classified systems, according to sources. According to experts, lasers — depending on their power level — could blind electro-optical satellites like the giant Keyhole spacecraft or even interfere with radar satellites like the Lacrosse. Blinding, one source said, is different than disabling given the enormous power required to shoot a laser through the dense lower atmosphere and reach a fast-moving satellite in space. The hardware on the spacecraft can’t be changed given they’re in orbit, but software changes can help them weather disruptive attacks. I thought that this article was very interesting, especially in light of all of our attention that has been given to overseas threats.

Shi Mian Mai Fu or House of Flying Daggers (2)

Part Two

There are cultural influences taken from Chinese literature and musical tradition. One such example is the title of the movie. Shi mian mai fu is a Chinese idiom meaning “ambush from ten sides, or all sides.” The title is also taken from a piece of Chinese music by the same title. It was written about the battles between the Chu and Han forces before the founding of the Han dynasty in 206 BC. Zhang Ziyi, who played Mei, learned Chinese ethnic dances when she was 11, she learned for six years, and the first two she had a dance teacher. Mei’s sings a famous Chinese song in the Peony Pavilion. It goes,

A rare beauty in the North.

She's the finest lady on earth.

A glance from her, the whole city goes down.

A second glance leaves the nation in ruins.

There exists no city or nation

That has been more cherished

Than a beauty like this.”

The song was originally a poem, which was later set to music. It was written about an Imperial Concubine by her brother and addressed to the emperor. It was meant as a warning to the emperor against overindulgence in beauty. These are some very important cultural influences upon the film.

I would like to travel to China after graduating this semester. I have never traveled outside of America before. Can anyone give me some advice on either traveling to another country or general information about what to do in China. What areas of China would be good to see and important land marks are there for tourists. I haven't made my final plans yet so i can travel to a different location from everyones suggestions. Thanks

Shi Mian Mai Fu or House of Flying Daggers

Part One

Shi mian mai fu (Ambushed From Ten Directions) was directed by Yimou Zhang and released in 2004. It is also known by its English title, House of Flying Daggers. The movie is the second martial arts movie by Yimou Zhang; the first was Hero. Zhang describes it as a “tragic love story.” It is a Chinese film about beauty, love, and deception. The movie is set during the collapse of the Tang dynasty, around 859 AD. I will discuss the cultural influences upon the script and the film’s representation, or lack there of, of religious practices, ethnic relations, and moral values in China. Let me premise this discussion with an apology. I do not mean to speak for the nation of China and its views of the world as a whole. I can only base my observations upon the limited exposure I have to Chinese culture. It is with this limited exposure that I attempt to explain how the movie Shi mian mai fu does or does not correctly represent several facets of Chinese culture.

EU Losing Billions in China

According to a new article in the International Herald Tribune published today, the European Union is losing billions of dollars that it could be collecting in China due to barriers in trade relations between the two entities.

The biggest loss for European companies is in the so-called 'Green Technologies' niche, environmentally friendly energy resources. This is considered by many speculators in the industry to be the next big thing in China, and many Eurpean companies specialized in this industry, but are unable to export their goods and services due to trade disputes between the EU and China.

I personally am no fan of globalization and hope China is able to keep Europe out of its backyard for as long a possible and create its own energy solutions without entangling itself in foreign treaties and negotiations.

Brandon J

brandon gaddis blog 4

Just days after discussing in class about how China doesn't actually want the role of world superpower that the United States possesses, Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert dedicated an entire show to talk, in gest mostly, about the imminent rise of China and why Americans should be fearful.

He discussed, at length, their economy, political system, population, etc. and explained why they wil be the most powerful nation in about a decade. However, with all jokes aside, he went on to warn the Chinese about the responsibility that they would inherit. With a mixture of sarcasm and seriousness, he told them about the financial obligations to the UN and many other organizations, the military support that must always be given, and the spotlight on all decision-making.

In short, he repeated exactly what was disussed a week or so ago in class about how the Chinese are aware of the inherent responsiblities and how even though they are on the rise even they know that the limelight is somethin that they want to avoid.

Chinese auto industry takes off, suffers losses

The Chinese automobile industry made approximatly $10 billon in 2006, up 46 percent from 2005, according to figures released today by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

China's auto industry also increased the number of auto vehicles sold by 25 percent, selling 7.22 million auto vehicles in 2006. The CAAM report predicts that the auto market demand will reach 8 million this year.

China now surpasses Japan to become the world's second largest auto market, behind the United States.

However, the report also said that about 40 percent of auto dealers in China suffered heavy losses, with 700 out of 1800 car companies in the red.

Nonethless, car companies will continue invest in China. And by next year, analyst estimated that the first Chinese manufactured cars will hit the U.S.

Source: Zee News International Edition, "China`s automakers earn USD 10 bn ‘06." 2007 Feb. 19.

Criminals Flee to China/Case Closed

In mid-month mainland Chinese authorities arrested Lee-han Yang and his alleged accomplice and younger brother, Lee Chin-sang. And Taiwan's National Police Agency Director General Hou Yu-ih told reporters that the mainland authorities planned to extradite Lee back to Taiwan to stand trial. This was an unusual example of cross-strait cooperation in criminal investigations. More often, a Taiwanese criminal who manages to get to China disappears into the vast mainland, as if he had been sucked into a black hole. Because of this ambivalent attitude, it is estimated that more than 500 wanted Taiwanese fugitives or suspects are comfortably residing in mainland China. So far, the mainland has gained the reputation as Taiwanese criminals' "Bermuda Triangle", for the section of the Atlantic where ships are lost never to return. I thought this was interesting because I am a Justice Administration minor. Basically whenever suspects flee to China the case is closed. Intending to resolve the worsening problem, the two sides' criminal-investigation authorities pragmatically developed some back-door channels, including a semi-official annual conference on a joint crackdown on crime in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. I am going to continue to see how this plays out for China.

Much to the chagrin of many prospective American parents, China has decided to make it more difficult to adopt Chinese orphans. But is it holding back the prospects of millions of orphaned girls finding homes because it is embarrassed by a pernicious side-effect of the one-child policy? I personally don't understand how tightening the rules for adopting a child from China will help China in any way. It will only make more orphaned children in China which is awful. Since the government-run China Center of Adoption Affairs briefed international adoption agencies on the changes before the new year, US agencies have been overwhelmed by anxious calls and e-mails from people who now find themselves shut out of China's adoption picture for reasons they regard as discriminatory. The new regulations, which are expected to take effect on May 1, will disqualify those who are single, older than 50, or obese (defined as having a body-mass index of 40 or higher). Anyone with a criminal record or an illness such as AIDS or cancer is also excluded. In addition, there are new educational and financial requirements: couples must have a high-school diploma, a minimum net worth of US$80,000, and an income of at least $10,000 per person, including the adopted child. I agree that having a criminal record might be something that would be legtiimate to exclude you as an adoptive person. However I think the other requirements are sad and downright ridiculous. My aunt and uncle are adoptive parents from China who most likely do not make over 80,000 dollars per year. They are excellent parents and their daughter's teacher told my aunt that she was the smartest girl in her class. This is awful news.

China blog

The new blogger seems much better than the old one. I wonder if they have any blogs in China with all the government control. I think it would be hard to use a comuter in China too. They have symbols that mean words so how does their keyboards work. Do they use letters to spell words out like most countires? Have computers made it easier to retreive information like in America?

Good Weekend For Chinese Cinema

Berlin Film Festival of this year was very proud to announce that the top award goes to Wang Quan'an who produced the movie “Tuya’s Marriage”. This was yet another success for China following their victory in September, in Venice, where “Still Life”, another Chinese title had won. Chinese producers and directors were very proud of the award although they wish they had more audience at home, in China. Both of these movies were low budget dramas, highlighting the environmental and human cost of the country's rapid economic expansion, but it is unlikely that either will fill Chinese movie theatres or fly off the shelves in the DVD stores. The producer believes that romantic comedies and blockbuster is the obstacle to serious life dramas that they are creating. Several directors believed that now was a really good time to be making movies in China, despite the dare of finding a home audience and ongoing brawl with the censors. He said censorship decisions were not motivated so much by politics, but by how the generations thought differently about violence, gambling and other manners.

China lets Aids Activist Visit US

On February 5, 2007 I posted a blog about a women named Gao Yaojie a doctor from China was was under house arrest in an attempt to keep her from traveling to the United States to accept an award for the work she has done for her country on the topic of Aids. As stated in my previous post Gao Yaojie a doctor exposed a commercial blood operation in the Henan province. The operation was often ran by officials of the province and many farmers who donated their plasma to the operation in the early 1990's contracted the HIV virus. It should also be noted that this is the first time Gao has been placed under house arrest. It has happened to her at least two other times. After much pressure from human rights groups throughout the world Bejinng lifted the house arrest of Gao and will be allowing her to travel to the United States to accept this award.
Personally, I think its horrible that a women who is trying to save others lives could be looked upon as such a threat that it warrants house arrest. It appalls me that the Chinese government could allow an innocent woman to be treated like a criminal. I do however feel that at the same time it is noble of the government to lift the ban and allow her to come to the United States because them now allowing her to come is the equivalent of admitting that they handled the situation wrong.

Cover up of Detention of AIDS Doctor

This article proves that economic liberalization doesn't necessarily mean political liberalization. The Communist Party enjoys their position of power and will stop at nothing to prevent threats to their power. The article illustrates the lengths Chinese officials will go to make the country appear stable. The actions of the Party are going to intensify as the 2008 Olympics approach. These days the Party seems to be one big public relations campaign. Dr. Gao's story shows that Chinese officials will even go against the health of the Chinese people to maintain their power. Dr. Gao isn't interested in political ideology. She is a doctor interested in helping people. Her political presence simply stems from this interest. The fact that see might talk to Hillary Clinton and possibly portray the Party contrary to the image they have produced strikes fear into the government. It is because of this fear that they put an 80 yr old women who was trying to help those infected by a deadly disease on house arrest.

Ants Lead to Man's Death

Okay, maybe the title is a little misleading. Ants did not directly result in a Chinese man's death, but were part of the scheme that led to the ruling of his death sentence.

The Chinese business executive, Wang Zhendong, was sentenced to death for swindling $385 million from investors in a fake ant-breeding scheme, a court official said Thursday. Zhedong served as chairman of the Yingkou Donghua Trading Group Company and had promised returns of up to 60 percent for buying kits of ants and breeding equipment from two companies he set up. Ants are often used in Chinese traditional medicine remedies. Between 2002 and 2005, Mr. Zhedong drew more than 10,000 investors into his company.

This article was interesting because I was not aware of China's capitol punishment policies. The article states that death is usually reserved for violent criminals in the country, but it is also issued in crimes involving large sums of money or ones that are deemed to have a "pernicious social impact." This does not surprise me; China's number one priority seems to be its economy and is yet the source of such social unrest in the country. Fake investments and pyramid investment schemes are becoming quite common in China as the country tries to transition from a planned economy to a free market. Many people probably do not realize the strategies, planning, and loopholes involved in such schemes.

Water in China

Water has been a major concern of China's people and rulers for centuries, but

perhaps never more so than now. Urban water supply per capita in China as a

whole is about half that of advanced countries, and demand from industry

and households is increasing rapidly. Cities such as Beijing, Tianjing,

Taiyuan, Xi'an and others are critically dependent on groundwater for

domestic, industrial, and suburban farming usage, and this has

led to serious depletion in local watertables. Furthermore these sources of water

often contain dangerous levels of pollutants.

** HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! YEAR OF THE PIG!!!!!!!*****

Different Morality?

There is no word in the Chinese language for "dignity", "integrity" or "hypocrisy". As Americans we judge people buy these words or the way they conduct themselves. Just because there is no word for integrity or hypocrisy
in Mandarin Chinese, doesn't mean that people don't act these ways. I began thinking from a Chinese persons view point: The person that i am dealing with treats me a certain way, it is either good or bad. And to me that is how i will remember that person. I think that people in China accept themselves and others for who they are easier than Americans. It seems that Chinese people are more defined in who they are and can live with it. In America, there's always something more, something driving us to be people who we aren't.

China forbids to import poultry from Britain

According to chinanews.cn, starting January 13, China will not import any more poultry and poultry products from Britain since it might contains H5N1 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in a turkey, also knows as “bird flu”. China is a big country and if the virus does spread then population might drop between 5 million and 150 million. China will return all the imported poultry and poultry products back to Britian. If any poultry or poultry products from Britain found in China, it will be destroy by the Chinese. This is a bad case for Britain but it is the law and regulation that they have to followed. In any case, it is a good thing that China clear out this issue before it add another major problem for their people.

China Seeks End To Space Weapon Escalation

Tensions increased between United States and Chinese diplomats last month when Chinese Military Scientists test fired an anti-satellite missile that U.S. officials said is capable of attacking U.S. intelligence, military, and commercial satellites in orbit. Conservatives in America fear that China would pocess the ability to disable communication methods used by the U.S. military and effectively 'blind' our forces.
Chinese officials today announced that they did not intend to test fire any more of the anti-satellite missiles, in an apparent effort to calm rising tensions between the U.S. and China, according to the Tehran Times news agency.
It looks to me to be the happy result of some behind the scenes bartering and diplomacy between the two countries. Diplomacy, something rarely attempted by the United States these days, seems to have given both nations the upper hand in this situation and hopefully calmed any fears that may have been raised by the test firing incident.

Brandon J

China in Africa

President Hu's visit to Africa has positive and negative effects. His visit pushed forward the image of China as a power player in international diplomacy. China's interest in the region allows African nations to play the world powers against each other giving African leaders greater polictical influence they might not recieve because of a lack of prospertiy. I see the negative sentiments as a positive sign for democracy in African countries and China. For African democracy, it shows the ability of the people to question the policies of their governments and enhances their power in setting their national agendas. For China, it shows the government the "other" side of stepping up to the international spotlight. It isn't all glory and photo opts. The policies powerful nations pursue affect many people outside of their borders.
The negative effects of the visit center around China's hidden motives. African nations are rightfully weary of Chinese "gifts" because as much as it would be nice to think Chinese officials were doing it out of benevolence all nations have an agenda. For instance, US investment during the Cold War centered on getting UN votes. For China, it is opening new markets and accessing cheap raw materials, i.e. oil, to fund their economic expansion. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. China has every right to look out for its economic interest, but African nation's should beware of international powers' "gifts". The short term benefits of these "gifts" may have long term policies that are determintel to a nation's soverignty

Mao and such

After watching that film on Mao last week and reading about him in the book I've decided that he is without a doubt the most interesting and probably influential character in Chinese culture. When you ask anyone about Chinese history they probably don't know much about ancient culture or common practices or even old leaders, but they have always at least heard of Mao. Although he didn't always have the most positive influence on the Chinese people he was still incredibly profound in all that he did and I don't think that his image should be so marred, especially since he didn't really mess anything up until the end of his reign.
I know that he is the topic of many a Chinese discussion and his story is becoming somewhat trite even amongst our class but I would ask anyone to find someone who had more of an impact on a group of people that are so closely tied to their past.

Avian Flu

New cases of the bird flue were reported in Pakistan and South Korea on Saturday. The discovery is in sync with findings by the United Nations that this season's outbreaks are most likely coming from reared birds instead of migratory breeds. Last year, it is suspected that migratory birds were to blame for the cases as they traveled from Mongolia to China to South Korea.
So far, none of the cases have led to human transfer of the virus. Officials are planning to cull poultry within a two-mile radius of the outbreaks. However, South Korea recently had an outbreak in the same area where poultry was culled earlier this year after a previous outbreak.
I am worried that the method of culling (i.e. killing the birds) may not be sufficient to stop the virus. Sooner or later officials around the world are going to have to come up with a better method of stopping this potentially threatening virus. After the scare in recent years, Americans are more aware of the avaian flu, but how many in the underdeveloped nations are informed about how the virus can pass to humans or what the symptoms are? From my stay in China, I know firsthand that many keep chickens and birds as pets or as a source of food and live with these birds in extremely close proximity. They are also traded at markets and on the street. In today's globalized world there is too much to risk-the flu could go worldwide in no time. Killing them off everytime an outbreak arises is not a safe, definite way of dealing with the virus.

NEO-Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine basically allowed America to grow into a superpower while Britain was the hegemonic policemen of the world. Now, while there exist some major differences, we seem to be seeing the rapid development of China into to next potential superpower. Between their booming economy, the trade situation, the increase of China dollar repositories, the trend in globalization that favor China and recent satellite bombing China seems to be in great position to draft American as a cyclist would those in front of them, using the leader to shield the wind for those behind. And while it is not in China's interest to compete with America as a superpower any time soon, the Chinese will be ready if that changes

Mao

I am surprised how long the Chinese people allowed Chairman Moa to rule over them. Some of the things he did bordered on pure insanity. Having the people kill sparrows because they were hurting the grain production. I guess people like that are necesary to show the worlds leaders how not to act. People say if we dont study history that we are deemed to repeat it. I think more history lessons should be taught on Mao in the US and in China. Just one of his economic reforms cost 70 million chinese their lives; something like that cannot be repeated.

Measuring the Great Wall of China

China will study and measure the Great Wall for the next four years, according to a report by BBC News.

The wall, which is estimated to be 5,000 kilometers long, is the longest man-made structure in the world and can be seen from space. Yet, the announcement marks the first time that the wall will undergo serious scutiny.

The study will examine not only the dimensions but also the conditions of the wall, which is over 2,000 years old.

The study will be conducted by China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.

After lobbying for a survey to be conducted on the wall, archaelogists will finally obtain accurate measurements of the ancient structure.

China--- Family

From what I've read, traditional Chinese society was family centred, rather than individualist or communitarian. The family dominated most people's economic and social life: sons would usually follow the trade of their fathers, and women would work under the control of male members of the family. Everyday social life was conducted in family settings. If a man was successful, his whole family would gain prestige; his failure likewise would reflect upon his family. Another thing I would like to mention about this topic is that traditional family structure in China is known as the big family or expanded family. The adult sons remain with or very close to their parents. When a man marries, the new bride joins his household and has obligations towards her husband's parents was well as to the husband himself. Daughters leave the parental home when they marry and become a junior member of the groom's family. The big family comprises a father and mother living together with their male children and their wives and offsprings, with unmarried daughters and with surviving members of the older generation. This means that everybody lives under the same house. Compared this to American's culture, when you reach the age of 18, you will be on your own, and out of your parents' house. Chinese family structure is exactly the same as the Vietnamese family structure, where everyone lives under the same house after they got married and have kids.

China and its Iminant Domain Effect

In the past, as new emporors came to power in China, they gradually lost thier cultures do to the overwhelming size in population and the natives own time tested beliefs. As China grows today, we see this effect taking place on our own lives and around the world. Last semester my teacher had everyone in the class take off their shoe's and state where they came from. 30 to 1, was made in China. The very cheap labor and extreme drive to succeed (or survive at that) that China possess, is not to be over looked. The time of being lazy and just getting by is coming to an end. As China's economy grows, it creates compitition for everyone else not willing to work as hard as the Chinese people. America needs to wake up and learn something from China.

Survey finds 300 M China believers

BBC reported today that China may have three times higher number of religious believer than official reports claim. China has been criticized for regulating and controlling unauthorized worship, because the believers are only allowed to visit and pray at government approved religious institutions. The survey was conducted by Shanghai University professors who found that 31.4 % of people in the poll considered themselves religious. A poll consisted of 4500 people. Official figures claimed 100 million but this poll will change the public opinion.
The survey also found that country’s five major religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam. The significant rise was noted in Christianity, counting for around 40 million.
Conductors of research attributed the rise in numbers to growing freedom in the country and rapid social and economic changes. The majority, about 200 million, believers are “Buddhist, Taoists or worshippers of legendary figures such as the Dragon King and God of Fortune.”

Ally or enemy?

A news conference was held in April 2005 by federal law enforcement officials to announce the capture of an Afghan drug lord and Taliban ally. Touted as the Asian counterpart of the notorious Colombian cocaine legend Pablo Escobar, Haji Bashir Noorzai capture was a huge success. Yet details remained murky-why did the Afghan risk arrest by coming to the U.S.?
Mr. Noorzai's trial is set for this year and as it draws near, new details are emerging.

Mr. Noorzai agreed to cooperate with American officials soon after the 2001 American invasion of Afghanistan. Officials believed Noorzai could lead them to hidden Taliban weapons and leaders. According to Mr. Noorzai's American lawyer, the relationship did not last but American officials tried to renew it in 2004. A year later, Mr. Noorzai was secretly indicted and lured to New York. After almost two weeks of talks with law enforcement and counterterrorism officials in a hotel Noorzai was arrested. The shift from U.S. ally to dangerous enemy is aligned with officials' changing views of Afghan druglords and its opium trade.

Originally, military and intelligence officials accepted the opium production and openly worked with the warlords in exchange for information about Al Qaeda. In recent years, however, the poppy seed production has soared and served as a financial jackpot for the Taliban insurgency.

Now officials must decide what is most important: taking on the druglords to crack down on the financing of Taliban insurgents or cooperate with them for possible valuable information. Mr. Noorzai awaits his fate in a New York jail. His trial will probably be widely viewed and set the precedent for future cases. I understand the need for the administration to originally consult with the druglords, but also now realize the problems that can arise. These people are very powerful with plenty of money, connections, and information. Clearly, their number one priority is not to help the fight on terrorism. And while they may provide some information, they do so only with something in return. Officials need to be leary of their intentions and know that by cooperating with them we may be causing a larger mess.

Brandon Gaddis blog #2

I've just finished the book for class, I don't know if I am behind schedule or ahead of schedule or what, but I just wanted to make some brief comments regarding my thoughts.

I was impressed by this book for several reasons. First, when I heard that it is very powerful emotionally I didn't think much of it, but come to find out Wild Swans makes a lot of profound statements that realy took me by surprise. I didn't expect to be so interested in required text for class, but I genuinely was and that adds a little extra to an interesting class.

Second, this book has informed me incredibly on Chinese culture in a way that I didn't think possible. Considering it was written from a female perspective several decades ago I thought that I would be somewhat out of touch with most of what was going on, but again surprisingly, I felt for the characters and thought extensiely about life during this time.

Grenada plays Taiwan anthem, offends China

The rift between China and Taiwan was acidentally aggravated by the tiny nation of Grenada last week. During the inauguration of a reconstructed stadium, which was a gift from Beijing, in Grenada, the police band acidentally played the national anthem of Taiwan.

Onlookers of the ceremony said that the Chinese Ambassador Qian Hongshan and other Chinese nationals who had worked on the stadium looking embarrassed.

China regards Taiwan as a mutinous state, with hopes of regaining control of the small island that sits just east of the mainland.

The government of Grenada quickly issued a public apology to China and visiting Chinese officials.

Prime Minister Keith Mitchell said that it was an "inadvertent error" and promised a full inquiry of the mishap.

"I want to say again, my deepest apology, it has saddened and ached my heart," Mitchell said.

What once used to be a major supplier of aid to Grenada, Taiwan lost its diplomatic relationship in 2005 with Grenada, which exchanged foriegn support for China.

Source: The New Zealand Herald

On Visit To Africa

President Hu Jintao is currently on a 12-day tour of Africa, aimed at improving economic and political ties between China and Africa. While in Sudan, China announced an interest-free loan intended for infrastructural improvements. They also buy most of Sudan's oil. While in Zambia they announced investment of $800 million.
China's Hu Jintao met with Zambia's Levy Mwanawasa where they both claimed that deal is equally beneficial for both countries. The deal consists of creating a special economic zone in Zambia's copper-mining area. Zambia benefits from bringing the investment in the country while China benefits from operating without having to pay import or value added taxes. China also agreed to write off part of Zambia's debt to China. The world has a divided position on this visit, some claim that China is exploiting the workers from these countries or that they should use this visit to pressure these countries on improving their human rights, especially Sudan with their Darfur conflict. Guy Scott, Patriotic Front General Secretary, told Reuters "they are out to colonize Africa economically and also to get Africa's solidarity at the United Nations" while Zambia's president claimed "This will go a long way in boosting economic development in our country,”

China Overview

China as we all know , that it is home to about one fifth of the world's population. It has had a turbulent, bloody history in the twentieth century, and until the late 1970s was regarded as an intractable and radical communist state. Yet in the past two decaded, a wide ranging series of reforms has transformed the economy into a unique hybrid of state control and free wheeling capitalism, and the politcal system into a mix of authoritarian one party rule and local factionalism. Economic growth has been spectacular, but has brought with it equally spectacular problems. Since the late 1970s, the Chinese economy has been growing at an average annual rate of more than 9 percent; which in other words, I would say that the output has more than quadrupled over the last twenty years.

China One Child Policy and Internet (Posted last week and two weeks ago)

According to what I've read about the internet in China, it said that the internet was established in 1987, and currently there are more than two million teenagers are addicted to it. Reports showed that there were more than 110 million users of internet in China in 2005. The number of internet users are increasing, and more people are using the internet; that means the policy for internet users are very strict. The government in China was afraid that the internet would spread information that they think would be inappopriate to let the people of China read it, so they have restrictions that would banned articles that mentioned anything bad about the government . They have a system called the Great firewall of China, which blocked websites or prevented the flow of information that they think can spread the wrong ideas to the people of China. As we all know that freedom of press is prohibited in China, which means that the media, the newspapers, etc. are under the control of the government. Everything in the newspapers, internet, and media should have the permission of the government before it can be out to the public. In my own opinion, I think that if China wants their country to be better, then they should let everybody's voices be heard. The reason why I think that it's a bad thing for China to restricted freedom of press or speech is , because if the government wants to become a stronger and better country, then they should listen to what the citizens of China want or say. Of course, there are still a lot of changes that could be done to make China a better country, and by listening to what the people want and their opinions are a very useful thing for the government to makes changes.
Posted by Hoa Pham at 4:35 PM 0 comments
Saturday, January 13, 2007


In my own opinion, I think that the China One Child Policy is a good thing for China, even though it has been criticised by many Western religious groups. They think that in general that the one-child policy is against human rights of reproduction. They criticised the China One Child Policy due to the fact that because of this policy that's why most families in China used the method called sex selective abortion, which highly destroyed male-female ratios population. This created the result that there are more male than female. But in the good side the China One Child Policy reduced the problems that come with overpopulation, like epidemics, slums, overwhelmed social services like health, education, law enforcement, the availability of land and more. Even though it has some criticisms, it still has helped China with all the problems that I have mentioned above. In conclusion, I think that with this policy, China's economy has increase tremedously due to the fact that if China doesn't have overpopulation, then there will be enough jobs for every citizens and unemployment rate will be low.
Posted by Hoa Pham at 4:33 PM 0 comments

Chinese Journalists

There was an article that discusses the corruption in journalism in China. I think that this article is overlooking a bigger picture. The reporter, whether he was one or not, was killed. If he was just a swindler that doesnt make it any better for the case of killing him. First of all, its an illegal mine. The mine shouldnt be illegal, then they wouldnt have to pay people off to not print articles about them. I'm not saying that the man had a right to swindle them because they were doing something illegal. I dont believe two wrongs make a right. But I certainly dont believe that three wrongs make a right either. I understand that corruption is a little more tolerated in China, but there needs to be a place to draw a line. And its hard to get the truth out of anybody over this incident to. One guy was reported saying they were trying to get money out of the people, then he was reported saying that he never said that. They need to get some regulation either over the corruption or for the journalists to keep them safe. If the journalists were regulated then maybe people would realize that they are there on business and not beat them up.

I found an interesting article about Criminal Procedure. The Chinese government has repeatedly insisted that it has no intentions of scrapping the death penalty, claiming that the social "conditions" in the country do not allow it to do so.
Even though some Chinese academics say they are against the punishment in principle, they agree that for now, there is a need to keep it as a deterrent against serious crimes. A more realistic goal would be a stricter threshold for the implementation of the death penalty and keeping the number of executions to a minimum, Chen said. Currently, the death penalty in China is applicable to around 68 criminal offences, including violent crimes such as robbery, rape and murder and economic crimes such as corruption and fraud. Activists say the range of crimes punishable by death is too wide and the deficiency of China's legal system means miscarriages of justice are common. In the meeting this week of the World Congress Against the Death Penalty will issue an appeal to Chinese President Hu Jintao to stop capital punishment ahead of the Beijing Games. This is really interesting because I didn't know that they could punish people with the death penalty for things such as robbery, rape, and murder.

criminal procedure

Chinese court sentenced a man to death for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. The man was convicted of luring a 10-year-old girl into a corn field and sexually assaulting her twice. The girl required surgery for injuries sustained in the assault. The man had a one-day closed door trial and was sentenced 20 days later. The report called the man a repeat offender and said he had imprisoned four times between 1979 and 1999 but it did not specify what the earlier convictions were for.
China, believed to carry out more court-ordered executions than all other nations combined, enacted legislation late last year that requires approval from the Supreme People's Court — the country's highest — before putting anyone to death. This article interests me because my minor is Justice Administration. I am interested in the criminal procedure of China. I am going to continue to do some research on this subject. Any feedback anyone finds interesting would be appreciated.