China seems to always have civil discontent bubbling just below the surface. A military force loyal to the Party is essential to maintain power. With the massive loss of paper wealth in the past few weeks on the Chinese stock market, the slowing economy and lay-offs are potential flashpoints.
Speculation has been rife as to why the change in the PLA is happening now. One reason may be that the PLA is not modern in its organization and is unprepared to meet an external threat in modern times. The PRC is involved in several territorial disputes with its Asian neighbours. It has been accused of land grabs in the S. China Sea. Rhetoric has been exchanged with the US regarding the PRC’s territorial claims as well. A modern military must be efficient in information gathering and dispersing that knowledge to the correct parties. And not least is the fact that the PLA has no experience fighting a modern enemy. Since the 1950s the Party has maintained control and quashed opposition but a civilian opposition is not the challenge of facing trained and experienced foes. Aside from tightening control to ensure loyalty to the central party, the reforms may be a way to root out corruption within the PLA. President Xi has made it public policy to expose corrupt officials. It looks as if the anti-corruption campaign is serious. Fourteen PLA generals have been named as corrupt and face court-marshal. Some have already been expelled from the Party which spells disaster on a personal level. In any case, it is interesting times. Sources: Marine Corps Times The Diplomat The Diplomat
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The long shadow of the Chinese Mainland has darkened with the appearance of the disappeared Hong Kong booksellers on Phoenix TV confessing to various crimes. The booksellers specialized in selling publications that were critical of the PRC government. Many of their publications were banned in Mainland China. The booksellers vanished from HK late last year. One, Gui Minhai, appeared on TV in January confessing to a fatal hit and run accident that occurred a decade before. Monday three more of the disappeared appeared confessing to various crimes against the state. They confessed to selling banned books to Chinese citizens and making up some of the books. As part of the hand over of the former British colony, HK was to have guarantees of freedom which includes freedom of the press. While many believe that the five were kidnapped by Chinese and illegally transported to the mainland, authorities vehemently deny that their officials would act in any way that is illegal. However, in some cases the men disappeared from their bookstores in HK and had left behind travel documents, money and personal effects. Lee Bo carries a British passport. His current whereabouts are unknown in spite of efforts by British diplomats. Gui Minhai carries a Swedish passport yet efforts by Swedish diplomats have been stonewalled. The remaining three booksellers – Lui Bo, Lam Wingkei and Cheung Jiping do not have even that scanty protection. An author currently living in New York, Xi Nuo, claims that he is responsible for this crisis as he has a published a novel titled “President Xi Jinping and His Lovers”. Others see it as an intimidation of press freedom in HK in general. Several bookstores have already culled some of their publications from their shelves. Upcoming elections in the former colony may have Beijing with the jitters. There is a growing movement in HK of an independence party. Beijing has referred to those advocating greater independence as “radical separatists” and “inclined toward terrorism”. Sources: BBC Bloomberg Business While unidentified by standers claim that they had complained for many months, about the dumping of waste at the site nothing was done to stop it. Some residents are placing the blame squarely on the government’s lack of enforcing safety laws.
Shenzhen is part of China’s Great Leap Forward. It was the first city to be designated a Special Economic Zone which has allowed it to become an industrial giant. It has become one of the economic drivers in that country with extensive manufacturing, import/export and financial centers. Its location near Hong Kong has helped in its success. An unfortunate side effect of the massive changes in China since the 1990s is the increasingly dangerous air pollution levels and the sometimes lax attitude towards worker safety. There are robust laws on the books, but too often they are not enforced. Some say it is because there is simply too much to oversee with the rapidly changing scene but others would cite payoffs and corruption. Sources: Xinhua News Agency Residents of Beijing and the north east part of China have had their first air pollution crisis of the winter ease with a cold front moving through the area. The new cold weather and winds has swept some of the filthy air out over the Pacific. N. America will receive a blast of coal generated pollution from Asia in a few days. The Chinese national observatory reduced the smog warning from yellow alert(second highest). Their alert levels are instituted at levels different from those recommended by the World Health Organization for air pollution. WHO recommends that exposure to the very tiny particles in pollution – those 2.5 microns or smaller – be limited to an average of 10 micrograms per cubic metre. Beijing issues air pollution alerts when pollution levels reach 35 micrograms per cubic metre. "Increases in risk are apparent in the city with the next-lowest long-term PM2.5 mean (i.e. 14.9 µg/m3 ), indicating that health effects can be expected when annual mean concentrations are in the range of 11–15 µg/m3" . WHO Over the past week Beijing residents have been exposed to an average of 190 micrograms of the harmful tiny particles. Beijing is not the hardest hit area. Northeast of the capital, Shenyang has recorded as much as 1400 micrograms per cubic metre. The government agencies responsible for health have advised that the very young and very old stay inside as much as possible and that people wear face masks when venturing outside. Unfortunately the 2.5 micron or less sized particles are not filtered out by ordinary gauze masks. The air pollution is made worse as the winter progresses. China’s leading source of energy is coal. While the laws mandate pollution controls on stacks, it often is not done or enforced. Air pollution can initiate or make worse heart disease, stroke and cancers. In addition to the air pollution that China is wrestling with, an estimated 60% of the country’s aquifers are polluted and unsafe. Some sources estimate that air pollution kills about 4000 Chinese every day. Many countries have become addicted to coal for industrial purposes. Some are moving away from that fossil fuel to using shale gas. Another source of energy is nuclear. Neither is without serious environmental problems. Sources: Guangdong News China Daily World Health Organization
A U.S. P-8A anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft flew over waters off China's Nansha Islands in May, receiving repeated Chinese warnings. Xinhua News
Overflights by US air force planes have also enraged the Chinese government. Not all bordering the S. China Sea are unhappy with the American transit of naval vessels. Vietnam has maintained an uneasy peace with its large neighbour while periodically breaking out in confrontations over fishing rights. In all, seven countries have claims of parts of the Sea. It isn’t just the fishing rights that are important. Many maritime resources are exploited to feed the growing number of people in SE Asia and the Philippines. In addition, there is good evidence that abundant petroleum existed under the relatively shallow sea. The small kingdom of Brunei depends almost entirely on oil exploitation to run its country. The importance of the trade routes in the area may ultimately become the most crucial element in the dispute. A lengthy report written in February 2012 titled Geopolitics of the South China Sea by Energy Intelligence predicted the action of an industrialized and increasingly robust China. Sources: Xinhua News Radio Free Asia Energy Intelligence |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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