Photos: Nature China

Tags: China | Photography | Culture

China's One-Child Problem

BEIJING — When a self-taught lawyer and activist named Chen Guangcheng went public with reports of forced abortions and other abuses by family-planning officials in China's Shandong province, he became a local hero.

He also became a state threat.

Roughly a year later, despite international pressure, widespread support from lawyers and an acknowledgment from national officials that many of his disclosures were accurate, the 35-year-old Chen remains in custody.

His case stands as a warning that being right is not a sure defense in a system wary of any challenge to its authority.

On Monday, the blind activist's wife was interrogated and one of his supporters beaten, the latest in a series of moves apparently designed to intimidate and punish Chen for exposing forced abortions and sterilization under China's one-child campaign, one of his lawyers said.

Chen, villagers and his lawyers say tens of thousands of women and men were subjected to forced abortions and obligatory sterilization in and around Linyi, a municipal area with about 10 million people, in order to meet stringent quotas under the one-child campaign.

National family-planning officials insist most population programs are not coercive and say the one-child effort has helped elevate millions from poverty by ensuring more resources are available for the nation's vast population, currently more than 1.3 billion.

Despite its name, China's one-child system is a patchwork of rules under the umbrella of a national policy. Minority communities receive automatic exemptions. Urban parents who both come from one-child families can have a second offspring, as can farmers whose first child is a girl. Some pay fines to have more children.

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Tags: China | Beijing | Culture

China's economy may expand up to 10.4%

Two government think-tanks yesterday predicted China's economy would expand by 10.2 to 10.4 per cent in 2006, advising further interest rate hikes to prevent overheating.

Gross domestic product (GDP) may grow at 10.5 per cent in the first half of the year and 10.4 per cent for the whole year, according to a report from the State Information Centre.

The consumer price index (CPI), the major inflation barometer in China, may grow by 1.3 per cent in the first half of the year and 1.5 per cent or more in 2006.

But CPI growth should be controlled under 2 per cent this year, despite signs of faster growth in the second half of the year, according to Wang Yuanhong, co-author of the report and a senior researcher with the centre, an influential government think-tank in Beijing.

The economy as a whole will continue to be robust investment and the trade surplus are both expanding rapidly and consumption is strong too, Wang said.

The State Information Centre predicted a 30.6 per cent urban fixed-assets investment growth for the first six months and 29 per cent for the whole year.

The trade surplus is expected to expand to US$133.6 billion in 2006.

These factors may push authorities to take more tightening measures to prevent the economy from overheating, said Wang.

A further interest rate hike in the second half of the year is therefore likely and the central bank may also ask for even higher reserve requirements for commercial banks, he said.

The rates for mid- and long-term loans, in particular, should be increased substantially.

A report by the Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission also suggested the central bank further raise both lending and deposit rates by 0.25 of a percentage point at an appropriate time to squeeze liquidity of commercial banks and rein in excessive investment growth.

It anticipated a 10.4 per cent GDP growth for the first two quarters and 10.2 per cent for the year. CPI growth was estimated at 1.5 per cent this year, according to the report.

Excessive growth of money supply and overcapacity of some industries have become two major threats to economic stability in both the long and short term.

The central government is faced with the challenge of curbing the investment enthusiasm of local governments, which has led to a rapid increase of new project launches in the first six months of this year, the start of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10).

It should adopt certain measures to cool down the economy and ensure a sustained long-term development, the report said.

Wang Yuanhong, with the State Information Centre, also said the central government should further tighten controls on land supply, in line with the credit curb, to moderate the investment growth.

But instead of a drastic policy adjustment, the macro control measures should be conducted "within a mild range," he said.

The authorities are still waiting to see the effect of the tightening methods already adopted, as there are often lags between monetary policy action and its impact on the economy.

The central bank, cautious of excessive lending growth since late last year, ordered an 0.27 percentage point rise of the benchmark lending-rate on April 28 and a half percentage point rise for the reserve requirements for commercial banks starting from July 5.

China's M2, the broad measurement of money supply that includes cash, savings and corporate deposits, grew by 19.1 per cent by the end of May, 4.4 percentage points higher than the same period a year ago. Outstanding renminbi loans also expanded by 16 per cent by then, 3.6 percentage points higher than a year ago.

Apart from interest rate rises, more specialized central bank bills may be issued to designated commercial banks to freeze liquidity if necessary, said Wang.

Besides investment and lending, other major concerns for the macro economy include a rapid growth of foreign exchange reserves (resulting from the mounting trade surplus and robust external demand), surging asset prices in housing and production materials, high consumption of energy resources and low efficiency in the application of resources, the State Information Centre report said.

It suggested the central government closely monitor investment activities initiated by local government and control the scale of urban construction. Local preferential policies should also be checked.

Source: China Daily

Tags: China | Development | Economy

Photos: Beijing Airport Terminal 3 Update

The photo shows the construction site of the No. 3 terminal of Beijing Capital International Airport, which is set to begin trial operation in 2008. A driverless train will carry international passengers from T3A (domestic) to T3B (international) in the new No. 3 terminal by then. The rail linking the two areas is 2.5 km long and one ride takes four minutes.


The photo shows the construction site of the No. 3 terminal of Beijing Capital International Airport, which is set to begin trial operation in 2008. A driverless train will carry international passengers from T3A (domestic) to T3B (international) in the new No. 3 terminal by then. The rail linking the two areas is 2.5 km long and one ride takes four minutes.


Click Here for previous update with renderings

Tags: China | Beijing | Construction

Nissan announces new line of world cars to debut in China first

TOKYO (July 6, 2006) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today announced it would release a new family of global cars over the next two years with sales of the first variant to start in China in 2006. The Livina Geniss, the name of the Chinese variant, will be the first Nissan car ever to be released in China ahead of other global markets.

"This new family of global cars represents a substantial investment for Nissan," said Nissan Executive Vice President Carlos Tavares. "We expect the Livina Geniss and the other variants to become significant contributors to Nissans growth in China and other key global markets," continued Tavares.

The Livina Geniss will make its world premier at the Guangzhou International Motor Show later this month. Based on the concept of a luxurious, yet practical vehicle, the model seats up to seven people and accommodates a wide variety of customer needs. The exterior features a bold, modern design and is complemented by a highly flexible interior that provides multiple seating arrangements and a high standard specification.

Like the other models in this new global family, the Livina Geniss has been designed and engineered at the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi, Japan and will be built on a Renault-Nissan Alliance common platform.

The Livina Geniss will be powered by a 1.8-liter gasoline engine with C-VTC (Continuous Valve Timing Control) for improved power and torque. The model will be manufactured at Dongfeng Motor Co.'s (DFL) Huadu plant in Guangdong Province. DFL is Nissan's joint venture in China with Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. The other variants will be produced at different facilities around the world.

More Sketches Below (click to enlarge)





Source: Nissan Motors

Tags: China | Automobile | Technology

China to transmit music from lunar-probing satellite

The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, which is in charge of the lunar project, is seeking recommendations from the public on which tunes to play, Xinhua news agency reported.

The satellite, which has a budget of 1.4 billion yuan (about 170 million dollars), is part of the country's three-phase lunar project.

It is designed to obtain three-dimensional images of the moon's surface and analyze the content of useful elements and materials.

It will also probe the depth of the lunar soil and the space environment between the earth and the moon.

The satellite will weigh 2,350 kilograms, with 130 kilograms of extra equipment, and will orbit the moon for one year.

In addition to having next year's project, China has already announced it hopes to have a satellite land on the moon by 2012.

By 2017, China hopes to land an unmanned lunar probe on the moon, have it collect samples and return to Earth.

(Source)

Tags: China | Space | Technology

As China Ages, a Shortage of Cheap Labor Looms

SHANGHAI, June 29 — Shanghai is rightfully known as a fast-moving, hypermodern city — full of youth and vigor. But that obscures a less well-known fact: Shanghai has the oldest population in China, and it is getting older in a hurry.

The courtyard of the Minsheng Nursing Home. Residents pay the equivalent of $100 a month to live there.
Twenty percent of this city's people are at least 60, the common retirement age for men in China, and retirees are easily the fastest growing segment of the population, with 100,000 new seniors added to the rolls each year, according to a study by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. From 2010 to 2020, the number of people 60 or older is projected to grow by 170,000 a year.

By 2020 about a third of Shanghai's population, currently 13.6 million, will consist of people over the age of 59, remaking the city's social fabric and placing huge new strains on its economy and finances.

The changes go far beyond Shanghai, however. Experts say the rapidly graying city is leading one of the greatest demographic changes in history, one with profound implications for the entire country.

The world's most populous nation, which has built its economic strength on seemingly endless supplies of cheap labor, China may soon face manpower shortages. An aging population also poses difficult political issues for the Communist government, which first encouraged a population explosion in the 1950's and then reversed course and introduced the so-called one-child policy a few years after the death of Mao in 1976.

That measure has spared the country an estimated 390 million births but may ultimately prove to be another monumental demographic mistake. With China's breathtaking rise toward affluence, most people live longer and have fewer children, mirroring trends seen around the world.


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Tags: China | Economy | Culture