CHINA – POLITICS

China releases first national pollution census

China releases its first national pollution census on Feb 9. Zhang Lijun, vice-environmental minister said “China has taken a different growth path from developed countries so it is very likely that our pollution peak will come earlier.” The peak could occur when the country’s GDP per capita reaches US$3000, he said.

The Beijing News says Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission said at the winter Davos that China’s GDP per capita is US$3600. “Pollution emission may have already peaked”, the newspaper says.

According to AP, the survey, which took two years and 570,000 staff to complete, has mapped nearly 6mln sources of industrial, residential and agricultural waste. The central government will use the census results to shape its next five-year environmental protection plan.

This is the first time China has factored agricultural sources into its pollution studies. “Many challenges China faces in terms of water quality come from organic pollution rather than from chemicals.” Deborah Seligsohn, principal adviser for the World Resources Institute on China’s climate and energy issues told AP.

Sexual repression of migrant workers’ left-behind wives

Sexual repression among migrant workers is increasingly a concern to officials, academics and the public. A recent survey on the sexual habits and reproductive health of Guangdong’s migrant workers showed that up to 36% of married men have experienced severe sexual repression, China Daily says.

But not many people are paying equal attention to the same problem the left-behind wives are facing. According to statistics announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, till 2009, there are 130 mln migrant workers in China. Sociologists say, if 50 mln of them are married men, then there are at least 20 mln left-behind wives also suffering from sexual repression.

A few rural clinic doctors told Southern Rural they are seeing more and more women patients with sexual repression. Some of them are suffering from injuries or infection when masturbating with improper tools like glass bottles. Some asked about the availability of medicine to lower their sex drive.

The article also says some women are prostituting themselves; not for money, but for fun. A pimp in Guangdong said quite a few left-behind wives came to her out of loneliness. One of her girls Li said, “It’s so unfair that men can stay out for fun and women can only face the empty houses by themselves. There’re lots of women like me in the neighbourhood, we just feel sad when sit together. We can’t live like this for the rest of our lives.”

But not many women would take the step says Li, as prostitution is illegal in China and there’s high risk of STD. Some social workers suggest when those women eventually become more financially independent, they will likely solve the problem by buying sexual services from male prostitutes. This seems pretty advanced in China because rural women still hold a very conservative attitude toward sex, plus, it’s unlikely economically. As Li said, “Spend a thousand kuai on a male prostitute? Why don’t I take a train to Shenzhen to see my husband?” 

It’s illegal and unsafe to prostitute, too expensive to buy sexual service, therefore, to develop one-night affairs becomes the most common way for those lonely left-behind wives. A kara-oke manager said some married rural women come to his place and “sing with one guy tonight, dance with another guy tomorrow night, stay when they get tired.” Chen Chunxia’s husband went to Jiangxi to work in the furniture business three years ago and only comes home twice a year. Chen persuaded her parents-in-law to let her work in a restaurant in town a year ago. Since then, she started going out with some of the customers when they showed interest.

A judge who used to work in a Guangdong primary court told Southern Rural that outside marriage relationship is no more rare in Guangdong villages and it’s shaking the base of rural families.

Huang Guangyu’s indictment

China’s once richest man Huang Guangyu was charged with running illegal operations, bribery and insider trading. Huang is the founder of China’s largest consumer electronics chain, Gome Electrical Appliances. He will be the highest-profile case yet involving a private entrepreneur in the country.

Huang has been in detention since November 2008. After his detention, authorities took action against former deputy public security minister Zheng Shaodong and former deputy Shanghai police chief Zhu Ying, among hundreds of other officials.

“The official networks that sustain many private businesses in China are rooted in a culture of corruption and feed off deep-seated political disdain for entrepreneurs, even though entrepreneurs have been formally embraced by the Communist Party. The networks are held together by a kind of mutually assured destruction: each member ties his fate to the fortunes of all the others.”

Foreign media are inclined to take this case as another example of the uncertain risks businessmen have to face in China. As Times magazine reports: “The case underscores the risks faced by private entrepreneurs in a system controlled by envious and greedy Communist Party officials.”

The most well-know independent China-watching blog, Danwei.org, also quoted The Independent as saying the case “will be watched closely by China’s business community because it highlights the risks of operating in the Communist state.”

While Chinese media mainly focus on the details of the case: how it was exposed, how those detained officials and Huang connected, and why is Huang on the very front row of the series of scandals, etc. Xinmin Weekly’s in-depth report answered lots of the questions. “A Huang Guangyu can have such big capability? This complicated network that contains officials, businessmen and brokers had existed when Huang entered the system. He only pushed into it for a protective umbrella and networked harder with his money and guanxi.”

Both domestic and foreign media suggest there’s a bigger political sub-story behind Huang’s indictment and now we are only seeing the start of the drama.

Before his arrest, Huang had been one of the wealthiest people in China. In 2003 Forbes magazine estimated his wealth then at US$2.7bln, in 2008 he topped Hurun Report for US$6.3bln.

Rumors: true or false

• Earthquake rumor in Shanxi. Tens of thousands of residents in a few Shanxi cities believed they were about to be hit by a 6.0 earthquake. They fled to streets and parks for security at about 3 am on Feb 21. In some areas villagers are waken up by loudspeakers telling them to go to open places to avoid damage caused by a possible earthquake. Many moved household appliances out to decrease economic losses.The rumor was soon denied by local authorities. Police have detained a person who’s believed to be responsible for spreading the earthquake rumor.The source of the rumor is still unknown.
• Oxfam “rumor”. Foreign media reported on Feb 23 that British charity Oxfam Hong Kong is called a “non-governmental organization seeking to infiltrate our interior”. In a notice attributed to the Education Ministry seen on the website ob Beijing’s Minzu University along with a few other universities in mainland China. It warns graduate not to sign up for its training program. Oxfam is puzzled by the accusation. The Education Ministry told media it’s investigating the issue. Two related reports can be searched by news.baidu.com, but the pages were no longer available. Well-know blogger Ran Yunfei said in a blog article: How can China’s civil society develop if a moderate pragmatic NGO like Oxfam can be targeted?
  
  

2009 China Internet Public Opinion Analysis Report

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published the “2010 Society Blue Paper” on Dec 22, 2009, which contained a paper titled “2009 China Internet Public Opinion Analysis Report” (《2009年中国互联网舆情分析报告》).

The report points out the contrast in opinion showed on traditional portal sites and interactive web communities, the fast development of blog and microblog, and the growing influence of online opinion on ordinary people and traditional media. Regarding to the way local governments react to online opinions, it suggest that fixing the government’s credibility is the key to gain trust from public.

China to invest US$10b to DPRK

Korean’s honyap news agency reported on Feb 15 that China’s going to invest US$10bln to DPRK to build railways, housing and port facilities. Report says the deal was made when Wang Jiarui, director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, visited North Korea earlier this month. Source from DPRK’s Korea Taepung International Investment Group told honyap that several Chinese state-run banks and multinational companies had already finished negotiating with Taepung and will sign the agreement with North Korea’s State Development Bank in March.

CHINA – ECONOMY

Chinese New Year spending soars

During the 7-day Chinese New Year holiday which began on Feb 13, China saw a rapidly booming consumer market. Statistics show that during the CNY week, consumer goods retail sales reached RMB340 bln, up 17.2%. 

China’s tourism revenue rose 26.9% to RMB64.62 billion ($9.46 bln) during the Spring Festival, according to the National Tourism Administration (NTA). China received 125 million tourists from Feb 13 to 19, who spent RMB26.51 bln in China’s 39 key tourism cities and RMB30.68 bln in other areas.

Chinese mainlanders also made more outbound during the golden-week. The number of entries and exits by mainlanders across the Chinese mainland border from Feb 13 to 19 grew by 20.8 percent to almost 2.4 million, the Ministry of Public Security told Xinhua. According to the China Youth Travel Service (CYTS), popular outbound destinations for Chinese mainlanders included Southeast Asia, Australia and Taiwan. From June 2008, almost 650,000 mainlanders have visited Taiwan by the end of 2009, spending more than $1.13 billion.

Compare with Taiwan, Hong Kong hosted more mainlanders during the Chinese New Year. Statistics show 437,100 mainlanders visited Hong Kong from Feb 11 to 16, up 20.5%. Each mainlander spent on average HK$8000 on items like gold jewellery, cosmetics and clothing.

Hu’s microblog account disappears two days after discovered

President Hu Jintao’s microblog account was discovered on Feb 20 and soon attracted more than 8000 followers. But the account disappeared on Feb 22, leaving his fans disappointed. A supportive post says, “No matter when Brother Tao shows up, I will wait for him every day.” There were no updates or postings on Hu’s account before it vanished. The reason for the shut of Hu’s account is unclear, some say because it’s not confirmed by Hu, some say it’s a server problem.

HONG KONG – POLITICS

Discussion of electoral reform more “rational”

According to the Hong Kong government, during the three-month public consultation period on the 2012 constitutional review, it has received more than 40,000 written submissions regarding the 2012 constitutional development proposals and about 1.6 million signatures from different groups. But the government still can’t guarantee universal suffrage in 2017 and 2020 because “according to central government’s 2007 decision, the current HK government is only authorized to deal with the 2012 electoral proposals.”

Peng Qinghua, the director of central government’s liaison office said on Feb 22: “I have noticed that rational voices discussing the issue of constitutional reform have been growing stronger recently. In the public consultation, most citizens have expressed their wish for the political system to move forward.” But Peng did not respond to reporters’ questions on whether the liaison office would meet pan-democrats, or help arrange a meeting between Beijing officials and the pan-democrats.

The words of Peng were seen by the pro-democracy coalition Alliance of Universal Suffrage as a positive sign.

Civic Party member Ronny Tong Ka-wah told Ming Pao that he hopes the central government show their intention with actions and communicate with pan-democrats. He said though the coalition is moderate, it will still hold the suffrage deadline firmly.

But scholars say even technically HK government is only allowed to deal with 2012 reform proposals, the chief executive and the secretary for Justice are still responsible to tell the public their view on universal suffrage. Executive Councillor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said though there’re still differences among all parties, the pro-democrats’ attitude is much different from five years ago. The debate this time shows all groups won’t give up the chance of reform and are trying to get to concensus. 

A Legislative Council by-election will be held on May 16 to fill the vacancies caused by the resignation of five pan-democracy lawmakers (five-district referendum movement).

The referendum movement annoyed Beijing, was boycotted by pro-establishment camp and didn’t seem supported by local people. A survey done by the HKU Public Opinion Programme showed 58% of interviewees are against the referendum and coming by-election, twice those who support it (27%).

Budget 2010-2011

The Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah unveiled his third budget on Feb 24 and proposed a series of measures to cool the property market and strengthen public healthcare. It forecasts the GDP to grow 4-5% for 2010 and a HK$25.2 bln deficit in 2010-2011.  

To cool the heating property market, the government is to raise the stamp duty 0.5% from 3.75% to 4.25% on luxury homes valued HK$20 million or above. Meanwhile, to ensure the adequate supply of flats for middle-income families in the coming years, the supply will be increased in 2010. The number of private residential units completed will increase to 14,300 this year and about 53,000 private residential units will come onto the market in the coming three to four years.

But Tsang reckons the local property market is still “reasonably healthy”.

According to a Ming Pao online survey, 70% voters are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with the government’s 2010-2011 budget.

Echoes of the Rainbow wins Crystal Bear in Berlin

Hong Kong film Echoes of the Rainbow won a rare foreign prize at the Berlin International Film Festival on Feb 23, which greatly encouraged HK filmmakers.

The low-budget family drama is mainly based on the life experience of Alex Law, director and screenwriter of the film. The story revolves around a cobbler’s family, a personal tribute to the ‘can-do’ spirit of working-class Hong Kong people in the 1960s – when the city was flooded with immigrants seeking to start afresh after fleeing communist rule on the mainland. Law said, “We really didn’t complain. When we were confronted with a problem we would think about how to overcome it or how to bypass it.”

Asia Weekly said the film brought back HK’s lost humanistic value and showed HK film industry a new direction.

This “bittersweet family saga which mixes nostalgia for the Hong Kong of 1969 with reflections on the transience of life, fortune and happiness”, says Screendaily.com, “There’s a lot of affection, humanity and humour here and the most winning aspect of the film is its portrayal of a long-married couple dealing together with life’s slings and arrows.”

HK government was also thrilled by the win of the film in which they funded about 30% of its HK$12 mln budget. While according to local media, the government is not planning to protect the original post-war tenement building group on Wing Lee Street where the film was shot.

TAIWAN – POLITICS

227 by-election and Ma’s future

A legislative by-election in the counties of Taoyuan, Hualien, Chiayi, and Hsinchu will be held on Feb 27, which is regarded as a warming-up for the 2012 election.

According to the Central News Agency, the ruling KMT is confident to gain two wins and might take a third or even fourth seat because of the heavy campaigning by the party’s Chairman Ma Ying-jeou during the Chinese New Year. While the opposition DPP announced it’ll be a big victory if they can win 2 seats out of 4. The DPP is projecting to secure a win in Chiayi County, but not sure about the situation in other three counties.

Taiwan private scholar Nanfang Shuo published article on Ming Pao with saying the KMT is trying its best for 227 by-election to avoid the possible domino effect because it didn’t do a very good job in last year’s by-elections. If the KMT can’t get a seat in this time’s by-election, then the KMT members will start to talk about if they should “save Ma or the party” to secure the victory at 2012 election. The KMT’s secretary-general King Pu-tsung said his focus is on the Five Municipality Election by the end of this year is also for the sake of 2012 election. If the KMT can’t get at least 3 seats out of 5, then Ma’s chance of winning 2012 election is going to be very slim, his position in the party may even be challenged.

The Five Municipality Election is going to be held in Taipei, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, the merged Taichung County and City, the merged Tainan County and City. Kaohsiung and Tainan are in the hand of the DPP, where the KMT is unlikely to win.