Xi's visit to the US

reedak · Feb 13, 2012

China's Vice-President and presumptive next President, Mr Xi Jinping, will be visiting the US tomorrow. I don't expect any breakthrough in relations during his visit, as one of the dialogue partners has yet to mount the saddle while the other is in danger of being thrown off the saddle.

While the Tibetan separatists will definitely not give him a lot of love during his visit, ironically, starting from Valentine's Day (Feb 14), they may give him hell instead.

The Chinese authorities have been underestimating the lamas all this while. If those lamas were living 1000 years ago, their resistance would not have lasted over half a century. In the world of today, however, they are supported by powerful foreign forces. Thus several centuries down the road, China will still be grappling with the problem of Tibetan separatism.

Due to this underestimation, the Lama managed to escape to India in 1959. Also because of this, the Tibetan separatists managed to catch the Chinese authorities offguard by going all out to disrupt the 2008 Summer Olympic Torch Relay. As usual, the separatists will go all out to disrupt Xi's visit and attract international attention. At least, I expect the usual rowdy protests to await him in the US. He may even get caught in the same embarrassing situation as the one experienced recently by the Australian PM.

The Chinese government should better be on its guard both at home and abroad. It would be underestimating the Tibetan separatists at its own peril.

Please refer to the article headlined "Beyond the smiles, US looks for clues in Xi's visit" at http://www.todayonline.com/World/ED...d-the-smiles,-US-looks-for-clues-in-Xis-visit

waltky · Nov 16, 2012

Granny says, "Dat's right - Obama gonna be keepin' his eagle eye inna sky onna new Chinaman boss...

Chinas New Leader Pledges to Tackle Corruption; Mostly Silent on Foreign Relations
November 16, 2012 Acknowledging the need to tackle corruption and other domestic problems, Chinas new leader Xi Jinping in his first public statements had little to say about relations with the rest of the world.

Addressing the media after the Communist Partys 18th national congress formalized his appointment as party general-secretary and military chief, Xi raised eyebrows with his frank admission of failings. Under the new conditions, our party faces many severe challenges, and there are also many pressing problems within the party that need to be resolved, particularly corruption, taking bribes, being divorced from the people, going through formalities and bureaucracy caused by some party officials, he said. To address these problems, we must first of all conduct ourselves honorably, Xi said. Our responsibility is to work with all the comrades in the party to uphold the principle that the party should supervise its own conduct and run itself with strict discipline, effectively solve major problems in the party, improve our conduct and maintain close ties with the people.

Xi also said the Chinese people wanted better education and health care, jobs and higher incomes, and a better environment. But in comments that will jar in Tibet and Xinjiang in particular also claimed that China was a country where all ethnic groups live in harmony. Although many in the United States and other nations are watching Chinas transition closely, Xis statement had little to say on Chinas relations with the rest of the world. There was only a vague reference to China standing rock-firm in the family of nations and making an even greater contribution to mankind, as well as a closing appeal to media organizations to make more efforts and contributions to deepening the mutual understanding between China and countries of the world.

An editorial Friday in Peoples Daily, a Communist Party mouthpiece, said a report presented to the partys congress had spelled out the future direction of Chinas relations with other countries. Peaceful development is Chinas basic state policy, and win-win cooperation is a banner for Chinas friendly relations with other countries, it said. At the same time, the country will resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty, security, and core interests. The two policies are two pillars of Chinese diplomacy, and do not conflict with each other. The leadership transition that took place during the national congress saw Xi elevated to party secretary-general as well as the position of chairman of the partys Central Military Commission (CMC), a body mostly made up of senior generals overseeing the Peoples Liberation Army.

In contrast, Xis two predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, both became head of the CMC only some time after they were appointed party secretary-general in Jiangs case five months later, in Hus case almost two years later. The Communist Party-affiliated Global Times quoted Huang Weiping, director of the Institute of Contemporary Chinese Politics Research in Shenzhen, as saying it was a pleasing surprise that on this occasion the outgoing leader had not held onto military power after handing over top party post. Its a great step forward in political civilization, Huang commented. The new party leader now commands the military, not the other way around. It meets the standards of a modern country that aims at the rule of law.

Source
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With an Eye on China, U.S., Australia Take Major Leap Forward on Space Surveillance
November 15, 2012 Australia has agreed to host key U.S. space surveillance equipment, including a telescope so sophisticated it can search an area in space the size of the United States in seconds, and detect a small object on the Empire State Building from as far away as Miami, Florida.

Envisaged targets include space debris and Chinese space launches, a U.S. defense official told reporters after the announcement was made in Perth, Western Australia on Wednesday. The Pentagon has expressed concern in recent years over advances in Chinas space and counter-space capabilities, particularly after Beijing in 2007 launched a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy a Chinese weather satellite in orbit, some 500 miles above the Earth. The successful test of an anti-satellite weapon made China just the third country, after the U.S. and Soviet Union, ever to have shot down an object in space.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his Australian counterpart, Stephen Smith, agreed during Australia-United States ministerial (Ausmin) talks in Perth to relocate a space surveillance telescope from New Mexico, and a U.S. Air Force C-band space surveillance radar from Antigua in the Caribbean. Both are expected to be based in remote northwestern Australia, at a communications station that was used by the U.S. Navy during the Cold War. Panetta said the decision, along with the possible establishment of a combined communications gateway in Western Australia, represented a major leap forward in bilateral space cooperation and an important new frontier in the United States rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region. We recognized the need to address the rising threat presented by increasing congestion in space from over 50 years of space activities and a significant rise in space debris, an Ausmin communique stated. In particular, we need to ensure our continued access to space assets for services critical to the functioning of modern economies, as well as for national security purposes.

The C-band radar will track space assets and debris in low-earth orbit and increase the coverage of space objects in the southern hemisphere. The space surveillance telescope (SST) will provide enhanced capability detecting and tracking of objects in what are known as geosynchronous orbits some 22,000 miles above the Earths surface according to its manufacturer, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The agency said in a statement the 180,000 pound telescope will track and catalogue space debris and objects unique to the space above that region of the world that could threaten DoD satellites. Able to search an area in space the size of the United States in seconds, SST uses the first large curved charge coupled device focal array, it said. The system is capable of detecting a small laser pointer on top of New York Citys Empire State Building from a distance equal to Miami, Florida, DARPA said. These features combine to provide orders of magnitude improvements in field of view and scanning for deep space surveillance. The data captured by the telescope will be fed into a worldwide U.S. Air Force network that observes and catalogues space objects and warns on possible collisions between them. Data on small asteroid detection will also be provided to NASA and the scientific community.

The Pacific is big enough for all of us
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waltky · Dec 29, 2012

China confiscatin' Tibetan TV's...

China seizes TVs, satellite equipment in Tibetan area
Sat, Dec 29, 2012 - Chinese authorities have confiscated 3,000 TVs from monasteries in a heavily Tibetan part of the west of the country and dismantled satellite equipment that broadcast anti-China programs, prompted by Tibetan self-immolations in the region.

About 94 Tibetans, including 81 this year, have set themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule. Five self-immolations occurred in Tibetan-dominated Huangnan Prefecture in Qinghai Province, the state-run Qinghai news agency said on Thursday. The government in Huangnan said its approach in tackling self-immolations comprised of guiding public opinion on the Dalai issue, increasing patrols and blocking outside harmful information, according to the news agency, which is managed by the Qinghai government.

At this critical moment for maintaining social stability in Huangnan Prefecture ... [we must] strengthen measures and fully fight the special battle against self-immolations, the article said. We do not know anything about it, an official from the prefecture government said by telephone, when asked to confirm the report, before hanging up.

Beijing considers Nobel Peace Prize laureate the Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, a separatist. The Dalai Lama says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his homeland. The article said the prefectures agricultural and pastoral areas had relied on certain satellite equipment to watch and listen to overseas, anti-China programs.

The local government would invest 8.64 million yuan (US$1.38 million) to install 50 transmitters that would broadcast 70 percent of the prefectures TV channels, the report said. China has repeatedly denounced the Dalai Lama and exiled Tibetan groups for fomenting the self-immolations.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2012/12/29/2003551279
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waltky · Mar 15, 2013

Granny says, "Dat's right - Obama takin' new Chinese president to the woodshed over interweb hackin'...

Xi Jinping Becomes China's President
March 14, 2013 China's National People's Congress has voted to elect Xi Jinping as the country's next president. The largely ceremonial procedure marks the completion of Chinas once in a decade leadership transition that began late last year. Over the past few months, Mr. Xi and Chinas new team of leaders have been raising expectations here about the prospects for reform in this tightly ruled country.

In the space of just a few hours - representatives to Chinas National Peoples Congress voted unswervingly in support of Xi Jinpings election to the post of president. Only one opposing vote was cast as well as three abstentions. The result of the vote was never in doubt and there was an almost festive mood in Chinas Great Hall of the People. Many delegates snapped photos of themselves while they were casting votes. Others sought Xi Jinping's autograph - as well as the autograph of the man tipped to become the countrys next premier Li Keqiang. Lis vote will be held Friday and there is little doubt of what the outcome of that election will be. What remains unclear though, is how the two will handle China's immense challenges and growing calls for change.

Chinese officials have made it clear throughout the meetings of its National People's Congress that one option was not on the table - political reform. National People's Congress spokeswoman Fu Ying says it is unfair to say that China's style of political reform is not reform whenever it does not follow in the footsteps of other countries. A headline in the English version of China's state-run Global Times was more blunt. It read: Socialist Path Reaffirmed, Constant Rejection of Western model sets reform tone. However, China is not rejecting all Western political ideas. In recent weeks there have been numerous reports in Chinese media about renewed interest in the writings of French historian Alexis de Tocqueville. Wang Qishan, one of the seven members of Xi's new core team of leaders has recommend the author's book, the Old Regime and Revolution, to his associates.

That has many talking here about whether China is ripe for a revolution. Chinese journalist Cheng Yizhong says the reason Wang Qishan and Xi are interested in the works of Tocqueville is because they want to learn about ruling and how to maintain their hegemonic power and keep threats at bay. Liberals and citizens, however, have a different view, Cheng says. They think China should put an end to its one party rule. They believe that if this does not happen China could undergo another revolution similar to the French Revolution, he says. Some believe true change will not come until political reform is carried out. Social activist and filmmaker Ai Xiaoming says that more than putting one's hopes in the country's leaders, ordinary citizens need to take action to help promote change.

Ai says you cannot just put your faith in [these leaders] who drink water that has been specially provided for them, whose families do not even live in China anymore. Ai says that when China's leaders assemble they just leave all the problems and criticism at the door. They do not allow people to speak up, to assemble, or protest in the streets. China spends more money on public security than it does to fund its massive military. Public distrust in the country's leaders is a big concern, particularly as it relates to the problem of official graft. China's Communist Party leaders have warned that corruption could kill the party and have been talking up the government's willingness to tackle corruption. Xi says that the government will not only target lowly flies but higher ranking officials or tigers as well.

Source
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Obama, China's Xi Discuss Cyber Security Dispute in Phone Call
March 14, 2013 WASHINGTON President Barack Obama took mounting U.S. concerns about computer hacking straight to China's president on Thursday in a sign of how seriously the United States takes the threat of cyber attacks emanating from China.

A day after meeting with U.S. corporate CEOs in the White House Situation Room about cyber threats, Obama spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the cyber issue as well as North Korea's nuclear challenge, currency and trade issues. A White House statement said Obama "highlighted the importance of addressing cyber security threats, which represent a shared challenge." Earlier this week, U.S. intelligence leaders said for the first time that cyber attacks and cyber espionage had supplanted terrorism as the top security threat facing the United States.

U.S. businesses are increasingly alarmed about the targeted theft of confidential business information and proprietary technologies through cyber intrusions emanating from China. "The international community cannot afford to tolerate such activity from any country," White House national security adviser Tom Donilon said this week. Obama called Xi to congratulate him on his new position and both agreed on the value of regular high-level discussions. To that end, Obama noted that U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will visit China next week to be followed in coming weeks by Secretary of State John Kerry, a White House statement said.

Lew lacks the international stature of his predecessor, Timothy Geithner, and may use the visit to China to boost his international visibility. Obama welcomed China's commitment to G-20 nations to move toward a more flexible currency exchange rate, a development long sought by the United States to allow U.S. exports to become more competitive in Chinese markets. Administration officials have said China has made progress in valuing its currency, allowing the yuan to appreciate by about 15 percent against the dollar in recent years.

A big drop in China's global trade surplus and a rise in labor costs have also helped make Chinese products less competitive, even as the U.S. economy continues to improve, giving currency concerns less salience. But Lew has said China's yuan remains undervalued, and has pledged to push the country to do more to appreciate its currency. U.S. lawmakers say an artificially low yuan hurts American manufacturers. On top of that, the United States has come under fire from other countries for an aggressive easing of monetary policy critics contend seeks to drive down the dollar, a charge that puts Washington in a tougher spot in criticizing China. Obama and Xi also discussed North Korea's nuclear challenge.

Source
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reedak · Mar 15, 2013

waltky said: ↑

China confiscatin' Tibetan TV's...

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Anyway, it's definitely more humane and civilised to immolate a TV than a human. Tibetan separatists and Western human rights activists should have no cause for complaints and protests.

reedak · Mar 15, 2013

waltky said: ↑

Granny says, "Dat's right - Obama gonna be keepin' his eagle eye inna sky onna new Chinaman boss...

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Grandpa says, "Dat's right - beware that his eagle eye inna sky may become the bull's eye of North Korean missile attacks...

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Xi's visit to the US

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