KMT Chairman Wu Po-Hsiung meets CCP Chairman (and China President) Hu Jintao

While the Sichuan earthquake has been devastating, it nevertheless has created a climate hastening the reconciliation between Taiwan and mainland China. At this point, we would like to give a shout out to The China Desk. Bevin Chu has written an interesting article, titled, "Chairman Wu Po-hsiung: Please give Chairman Hu Jintao the Following Message"

TIME "in partnership with CNN" marching towards tabloid'ism: "Loose Laptops"

We simply could not help but point out for our readers that TIME magazine is simply not what it used to be. On its main web site, its logo even includes, "in partnership with CNN." We all know about the well documented scandal of CNN doctoring an image to completely flip the truth about the riot in Lahsa in March 2008.

This blog entry is mainly in response to an outrageous entry on TIME's China Blog entitled, "Loose Laptops" posted on May 30, 2008. The author is trying to play up a story by AP where Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez may have lost sight of his laptop and the computer is thought to have its contents copied - presumably by Chinese spies (as implied by the article). Except for the fact that this is under investigation, there is not one thread of evidence.

The TIME author is fear mongering to try to get its readers worked up, so we feel obligated to weigh in.

1. U.S. government laptops must be equipped with encryption in case of lost or theft. That is a no brainer. So, merely having the contents of the computer copied doesn't mean the data are readable. Most readers working for large corporations are likely to have such capabilities on their laptops. We are talking about the U.S. government!

2. If there is any fear - its likely countries who use Windows (which is made by Microsoft, a U.S. company). The U.S. government could secretly ask Microsoft to add a backdoor into Windows and only the U.S. government knows how to exploit.

This is probably the reason China has its own version of Linux OS called Red Flag Linux.

3. TIME has also written about China's Great Firewall (or "Net Nanny" in some cases). Obviously, if TIME reporters are focused on increasing readership, advertising dollars, and self-righteousness, then to them it is China censoring its citizens from reading the "awesome" contents at TIME.

Firewalls work to shield both directions. Perhaps the Chinese government believes its government's as well as its public Internet networks are worthwhile shielding?

4. It even throws in the terms, "asymmetrical warfare strategy." According to the U.S. Department of Defense, China spends $63billion on its military a year. The U.S. spends $419billion. It is a no brainer that if the U.S.A. were ever to invade China (God forbid and we don't believe there is intention to), China better be able to put up a good counter-punch. Obviously China would be defeated by the U.S. in an all-out war.

Those fancy words simply mean China developing a low-cost strategy to give the U.S. maximum pain in case of a military conflict. What do you do if you have been out-spent for half a century by an order of magnitude each year on your military budget?

a. The U.S. relies heavily on satellites for intelligence and communications, so China invests in missile technologies to be able to shoot them out of space.
b. The U.S. projects power through aircraft carrier battle groups. To counter that, China invests in extremely fast cruise missiles capable of taking down an aircraft carrier - which the patriot missile can't counter.
c. The U.S. has enough nukes to destroy this planet few times over. China invests in nukes too - a dozen or so - such that it can blow up just a few cities here and there to serve as a deterrent.

The Soviet Union basically went bankrupt trying to match the U.S. in all aspects of military might. It did not have a capitalistic system to keep up with funding.

China earthquake 68,000 and rising, 15.15 million people affected

The statistics are staggering. Xinhua reports that 15.15 million people have been evacuated. More than 68,000 people have been confirmed killed while 19,000+ are still missing. 365,000+ people were injured.

The most urgent problem China has is to be able to buy enough tents and getting them into Sichuan to house those who lost their homes. So far, only about 620,000 tents have been deployed. TIME's China Blog has an article describing the evacuations under way due to fear of dams bursting. Hundreds of thousands of people are on the move still.

To restore life back to normal will be a massive undertaking and surely will last at least 5 to 10 years. Help is pouring in at the moment, but Sichuan residents can use every bit more the world can spare on their behalf.

There are numerous ways to donate.

If you are planning to donate or already have donated, we would love for you to take this simple poll. You will also be able to see how your generosity stack up against other Chinese Century blog readers.

Sharon Stone apologizes, but how about raising $10million for victim as starters?

Reader Relax pointed us to a report on CNN about Sharon Stone apologizing for her vicious "karma" comments. Stone is a spokesperson for Christian Dior, and the China branch of the company is dropping her from sponsorships. Why stop there and not around the world? The report quoted Stone:

"Due to my inappropriate words and acts during the interview, I feel deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people," Stone said in the statement. "I am willing to take part in the relief work of China's earthquake, and wholly devote
myself to helping affected Chinese people."

If she wishes the Chinese people to believe in her sincerity, she ought to help raise at least $10million to help the Sichuan earthquake victims. She should not be allowed to be off the hook so easily for such a simple apology.

Amnesty International lashes out at the World on human rights

BBC carried a report, "World 'failing on human rights'," where it mostly voiced Amnesty International's indignation towards the World's failings in human rights "abuses." Not sure if Amnesty International is trying to crawl back into relevance by seemingly attacking all nations (a rare act) or is simply crying for attention.

Few weeks ago, it also published this report - claiming that human rights in China has gotten worse since China was awarded the rights to host the 2008 Olympics. This report was flatly denied by the IOC, by the way.

Amnesty International knowingly teams up with labor unions to attack China's labor "rights" even though the labor unions largely care only about protecting their jobs. We believe in free trade and therefore it does not make sense to us when anyone feels entitlement to various jobs.

The bottom line? Amnesty International is a whiner who does not know how the world works. It is too quick to lend a hand to those with political aims, especially against the developing countries.

China economist forecasts sustainable 8% GDP growth and summarizes challenges ahead

Chinese economist and former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Cheng Siwei, was reported predicting China able to sustain 8% GDP growth for extended periods of time given China's market size, capital reserve, and relative stability. We liked a number of things he had to say in that report. His reasons:

• Huge internal demand at 1.3 billion
• Ample pool of capital at $1.68 trillion
• Massive investments in education and institutions for higher learning

We thought his characterization of the challenges ahead are also right on:

• Widening gap between rich and poor
• Environmental protection
• Securing raw materials (or commodities in financial speak)
• "Lacks a large pool of senior professionals in finance and management"

The report quoted Cheng:

"For example, we buy a lot of the United States treasury bonds. It means appointing them (US bond managers) to manage our assets and we only gained a little bit of interest," said Cheng. "We are trying to work on such problems."

We have read a report that China has about 140,000 lawyers. This means there is only 1 lawyer to 9,000 Chinese citizens. In comparison, the USA has 1 million lawyers, which means there is 1 lawyer for every 300 American citizen.s As China continues to codify new laws and beef up its legal and justice system, the number of professionals in the legal industry will grow dramatically as well.

We simply would like to conclude that the current Chinese leadership seems to have a very strong grasp of their challenges.

China to spend $224 million restoring Qinghai Lake

Qinghai Lake is the largest lake in China. Xinhua reports the local governments spending 1.57 billion yuan over the next 10 years to reclaim lost water and destroyed habitat. The report says, "the government will also relocate 4,157 residents and reduce around 1 million sheep in the area." It seems many more will be relocated in the coming years as China moves to restore its environment in other parts of China.

Sharon Stone calls China 5.12 earthquake "karma"

Sharon Stone has appeared in the limelight as of late with her comments at the Cannes Film Festival. She was asked by a Chinese television about the recent 5.12 earthquake. To that, she said:

"I am unhappy about the way Chinese are treating the Tibetans. Then all this earthquake, all this stuff happened, I thought, is that Karma? When you are not nice, the bad things happen to you."

Some might dismiss these comments as spoken by someone unintelligent. We feel this is more of her expressing her raw feelings about the earthquake. Of course, what she then didn't think about is someone posing a question back, "is Katrina (or any other natural disaster) caused by karma?"

We disagree with her claim that China mistreats Tibetans. (See: "Canadian writer Lisa Carducci - Tibetans outside of China and Dalai Lama are victims of misinformation")

Patrick French had an opinion piece in the New York Times few weeks ago, and his basic point was that the Dalai Lama should distance himself from the Hollywood crowd. (We had written about it as well. See: "Who is really looking after the interest of the Tibetans?")

To the ordinary Chinese citizen - commonality between some second rate actors like Sharon Stone and Richard Gere is that they all hold some "Buddha reincarnate" titles bestowed by their "good friend" the Dalai Lama.

If the Dalai Lama doesn't come out and renounce his "good friend" on these comments, what does that say about him? We will keep an eye out for this development. One thing is clear - she mentioned a "Tibetan Foundation" soliciting her comments about the earthquake. Whatever the ultimate goal of the "Tibetan Foundation" is, it is working actively to cultivate Hollywood towards its cause.

Some YouTube member has posted a clip of that interview:

Russia and China signs joint statement on international issues

Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a joint statement on international issues this past Friday, reported Xinhua. Following are key agreements between the two countries:

1. Support U.N.
2. Non-proliferation of nuclear arms
3. Against Missile Defense (since it negates Mutually Assured Destruction - M.A.D.)
4. Against wesponization of outer space

These are very substantive security issues which pit these two countries against that of the U.S.. Many would argue that the U.S. has steadily been undermining the efforts of U.N. since the end of the Cold War.

The Missile Defense is a concept pushed by the U.S. to blanket NATO member countries from incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM's). Perhaps the single fear - M.A.D. - is what kept the Soviets and the U.S. from launching ICBM's at each other during the Cold War. If one launches, the other could launch in time to also destroy the first - ICBM's without a "shield" meant mutually assured destruction.

If a country has a working "shield", it increases likelihood of that country trying to destroy another using ICBM's. Or, that country may act more belligerent to get what it wants. For these reasons, China and Russia are against the U.S.'s missile shield program.

Since Russia and China are the two main members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) it will be interesting to see how SCO evolves over time.

BBC reports China condemning Gordon Brown's meeting with the Dalai Lama

Gordon Brown met with the Dalai Lama and was reported by BBC the meeting drew condemnation from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. We have written quite a few entries relating to Tibet, but would like to highlight the following three since they are more directly related to the UK:

1. The Tibetan exiles and the separatists have always enjoyed great support within UK, because these were the same rulers the British supported when Britain colonized Tibet when China was weak. We conducted a poll and it showed clearly UK overwhelmingly supported the Tibetan separatists compared to any where else in the world.
2. The British Parliament inviting the Dalai Lama to testify gives credence to this "cultural genocide" claim. The UK government obviously understands the foreign policy implication this move has when it comes to UK-China relations. What's the real cost? Ingo Nentwig refutes "cultural genocide" claim by the Dalai Lama
3. Patrick French (former Director of the Free Tibet Campaign in London) had some interesting comments about the Dalai Lama. Who is really looking after the interest of the Tibetans?

The report said that Gordon Brown met the Dalai Lama for 30 minutes - hardly enough time to ask how was his flight to London. The UK government officially recognizes Tibet a part of China. In that context, what could they achieve in 30 minutes time? We'd like to hear from you what you thought.

A reader Relax had pointed us to a Forbes opinion piece: http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/12/china-tibet-macbain-oped-cx_lbm_0414tibetchina.html

Will be interesting to keep an eye out on "progress" by this group.

"Westerners" and "Western media" deconstructed

One of our readers by the name of Michelle had some interesting thoughts about the term "Western". Below is what she had to say:

"... Western is one of those blanket terms which really do need to be clarified. Of course one way to do this is instead of saying "Western Media", target those which are truly biased. But it's funny, I've lived all over Asia, and people have different ideas. I've heard (not only in China) that Japan is 'western' because such and such, Korea is western because such and such, Vietnam, Singapore, Korea, the list goes on. I've heard Serbia isn't western but Croatia is... It's an old "us vs them"ism in which definitions shift to suit the argument one is trying to make. Same thing for a term like democracy and freedom of speech - try to get two people to agree on what they mean, and yet we all take it for granted that we know, for sure, what it is. "

We have used the terms "Westerner" and "Western media" freely, and upon reflecting on this topic, we feel very obligated to act on it. If a Canadian and an American are placed in the same room, their views about the world are vastly different. Add in a German or British citizen to the mix, the views are even more diverged.

Using the "Western" term as Michelle described, "it's an old "us vs them"ism in which definitions shift to suit the argument one is trying to make." We could not agree more.

That said, we will certainly pay closer attention to this concept from here on.

Japan planning for more constructive engagements in Asia-Pacific

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda delivered a key foreign policy initiative calling for Asia-Pacific nations to build a network to better managed disasters. Xinhua also reported Japan's "five commitments" on Asia's development.

This is an excellent development. Japan's attempts in the past to gain seat as a member of the U.N. Security Council has failed. All of Asia have been suspicious of Japan, because it still has not fully reconciled its WWII past with its neighbors. In order to normalize relations with other countries in Asia and to gain their trust, Japan is finally taking the right concrete steps to play a very constructive role within the region.

We remind our readers to pay attention to this theme - once Japan fully reconciles its past with its neighbors, and the completion of a free-trade zone within whole of Asia - that will serve as a great stabilizer to world peace.

The reason the League of Nations failed after WWI is because some powerful nations did not have representation in it. We all know which nation that was. The United Nations was founded after WWII and the establishment of the Security Council was to ensure that the most powerful nations are accorded adequate representation. This then incents them to maintain their membership and play (generally speaking) by the rules of U.N..

Given Japan's size, the U.N. body will eventually need to accord it (and other countries like India) the level commiserate with its importance around the world.

China wins a seat on WTO's top court

Zhang Yuejiao was sworn in to replace one of the two outgoing judges in the WTO. She will serve a four-year term on the Appellate Body - the highest court in the WTO - along with seven other judges. She also will be a first Chinese judge to serve in such capacity for the world organization. Japan's Shotaro Oshima is also reported sworn in.

Strangely, back in November 2007 when Zhang was nominated for this role, Taiwan's representatives (from Chen Shui-bian's administration) attempted to block it. The BBC reported US, Japan, and other key members were taken "aback" by Taiwan's move.

We have written about Asia's rise in the past. For example, as regional trade agreements allow Asia or Europe to trade more freely, world bodies like WTO could become less relevant. For WTO then to compete in importance, it must guarantee representation also by key economies of the world, namely, China and Japan.

the Chinese Century blog - where you are reading from

The Chinese Century blog has been officially operating since April 2008, and we would like to share with our readers where you are all visiting the site from. Below is a visitor map with larger circles representing larger groups of readers.



Even though this entry is created on May 20, 2008, this map will continually update reflecting the Chinese Century blog readers visiting from around the world. The thumbnail version of this map in the navigation pane, when clicked, will bring readers to this entry.

As of May 20, 2008, the break-down of readers by countries are as follows. We will update this table from time to time.

"U.S. Senate adopts resolution to mourn victims of China earthquake"

Xinhua reports "U.S. Senate adopts resolution to mourn victims of China earthquake" - which we have decided to quote in full below. The list of senators sponsoring this resolution are particularily interesting to the China watchers. Note that both Senators Clinton and Obama are on the list - one of them will be the Democratic candidate for this years election.

This story hasn't shown up in the Western media yet. Maybe it will go unnoticed.

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Xinhua) -- In an unusual move to express its sense, the U.S. Senate on Monday adopted a resolution to mourn the victims of a devastating earthquake which struck southwest China on May 12 and convey condolences and support to the Chinese people.
"The Senate mourns the horrific loss of life and terrible human suffering caused by the earthquake in the People's Republic of China on May 12, 2008," said the resolution, jointly submitted by Barbara Boxer, Democratic senator from California, and Lisa Murkowski, Republican senator from Alaska.
The Senate also expresses its "deep condolences" to the Chinese people and to all those affected by this enormous tragedy and its "profound sorrow" for the families of all who lost their loved ones, including those who suffered the heartbreaking loss of having their children trapped in schools that collapsed.
The Senate called on President George W. Bush to respond to any requests for humanitarian assistance made by the Chinese government, saying that it stands ready to support the provision of additional resources, as necessary, to assist those impacted by the earthquake which claimed at least 34,000 lives and injured 245,000 others.
Another 19 senators also co-sponsored the resolution. They include Senators Richard Durbin (the Democratic Whip), Joseph Biden (Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee), Richard Lugar (ranking member of Foreign Relations Committee), Chris Dodd (Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs),Dianne Feinstein (Chairman of Committee on Rules and Administration), Patrick Leahy (Chairman of Committee on the Judiciary), Hillary Clinton (Democratic presidential candidate) and Barack Obama (Democratic presidential candidate).
A similar resolution has been introduced in the House of Representatives and is expected to be adopted this week.
Editor: Wang Hongjiang

Dalai Lama addressing British Parliament with human rights evidence

BBC reported the Dalai Lama is to address the British Parliament with "evidence" about human rights in Tibet. (See, "Dalai Lama starts tour in London") Some dissidents in China get into trouble precisely for doing this sort of thing.

This move simply will not bolster his case with China as his aides are resuming talks with Beijing.

Time is on China's side - as China becomes even more economically powerful the separatist element within Tibet continues to dwindle. If the Dalai Lama wishes a type of arrangement such as Hong Kong has with China for Tibet, the key audience he needs to win over are the Chinese people.

How could the Chinese people trust him if he goes to foreign countries to present evidence about human rights violations or attend various forums with groups who are separatists?

As things are, maybe the real solution is simply time.

NPR reports 4.8 million relocated and families adjusting

NPR reported that 4.8 million people were temporarily relocated due to the earthquake in an article, "Chinese Families Face Reality, Adjust After Quake". 100,000 tents have been deployed with some occupied by as many as 20 people. By October, Sichuan will become cold, and its critical that enough permanent housing be established such that those affected could find proper shelter.

Please continue to urge your friends and families to donate. See our previous entry, "Ways to donate to help China earthquake crisis."

Jackie Chan tribute to victims: "Be with you forever 生死不离"

Jackie Chan produced a tribute song to the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. He has become a hero in the eyes of many Chinese.

"Baby, if you are able to stay alive, you must remember I love you"

Many stories are surfacing now regarding the Sichuan earthquake disaster. One that deeply moved us is of a mother and an infant. By the time rescuers reached them, they had found the mother knelled and managed to stay hunched over. The rescuers knew she had passed away but thought her pose curious. They checked her and found her holding a baby sleeping. They later found a cell phone wrapped with the baby and the mother had typed a message, "baby, if you are able to stay alive, you must remember I love you."

Click the following link to see the story told through a Chinese television anchor:

http://video.sina.com.cn/news/s/bn/2008-05-18/104515830.shtml

President Hu thanks foreign governments and friends for quake aid

BBC reported, "China praises world's quake aid" where Pesident Hu expressed gratitude to international aid following the massive earthquake in Sichuan this past Monday. Chinese officials feared death toll may top 50,000. Over 28,000 died and 198,000 injured as of Saturday, May 17, 2008. This wound will take a long time to heal.

Out of the 6 billion yuan donated thus far, 1 billion yuan was received from outside of China. China recognizes the goodwill from around the world and this gesture will never be forgotten.

China reports U.S. donating $23 million so far

Over at TIME's China Blog, some netizens are reacting to initial reports about the U.S. government's donation being "paltry." China has just reported that the U.S. has a combined donation of $23 million (from American Red Cross, the government, and corporations), thus far to earthquake in Sichuan.

It is human nature to be critical. Few netizens have pointed out that the Chinese government gave $5million, 600 tents, and other supplies for the Katrina disaster. U.S. government's $500,000 in comparison seem paltry.

We think people should not feel entitlement. The goodwill gesture is there and should be recognized. Everybody also knows that private American citizens and corporations will contribute. Furthermore, the U.S. government is in tremendous debt.

We feel the Chinese government and the Chinese media are correct in being gracious and thankful to the U.S..

CNN President Jim Walton apologizes for Jeff Cafferty's remarks on China

CNN's President, Jim Walton, has apologized for Jeff Cafferty's insulting remarks about China. Not much coverage about this in the press.

Since Xinhua News Agency reported this, the Chinese government is probably closing on this issue.

The neat thing with the Internet is that now there is a record of this issue, as well as those egregious mistakes made in the past of this network. Hopefully this doesn't repeat too frequently in the future otherwise people will come out demanding for more than just apology.

NPR reports villagers angry with local government for collapsed school

(added 11:35pm May 15, 2008)
Xinhua News just reported a probe has been opened to investigate this issue. See its article, "Officials: China orders probe of school collapses in quake".

---

NPR had an article today titled, "Shoddy Work, Leadership Blamed in School Collapse". It reports that some villagers feel corruption is partly to blame for the school building outside of the city of Dujiangyan to collapse which killed most of the students inside of it. It said that villagers thought money the local government got should have been all used to tear down the original two stories and build a stronger brand new four story building.

On one hand, the population feels the Chinese government is doing a great deal and at its best abilities to rescue victims of this earthquake. On the other, many will divert (rightly so) their anger at the local governments, as in this example reported by NPR.

This tragedy reminds us how critical it is to have government transparency in things affecting the public. China has taken steps toward this direction. See: "New Chinese information rules to promote government transparency."

If the villagers were allowed a chance to voice their concerns during the schools construction (expansion from two to four stories), which they get through transparency laws, then things of egregious nature would have been caught. It will be interesting to watch the development on this particular issue.

This is also not to say that the local government has by default done something wrong. Governments would prefer to not have this type of tragedy occur.

Given the likelihood of earthquakes in that region, it is shocking to hear the amount of damage wrought to properties. Places like Shanghai and Beijing makes one think that China is wealthy. The earthquake disaster in Sichuan has reminded us that China is also still very poor. We hope that this disaster will serve as a reminder for rest of China to beef up its building qualities.

Finally, we also liked what a reader over at TIME: China Blog commented about blaming too early:

1World I think you jumped to conclusion too fast with you statement per post 5-14 10:50 a.m. somehow implying only the school was built shoddily and collapsed, while the rest aren't. This was quickly corrected by Zhihua which you also acknowledged. To be honest, that's clearly not the case even if you take a cursory glance only at the picture. You can clearly see a track stadium, and your so called rubbles (looked like tents to me) were very orderly laid out with a clear straight line down the middle. Very Likely the adjoining building to the North with the reddish courtyard is the school, and there were no visble signs of collapse. Please do not take this as a hostile criticism, just that there are quite a few rush-to-judgement conclusions in these blogs/posts and finger-pointing. Unfounded rumours can get started without basis. Just a reminder to exercise caution before accusations in the heat of the moment. The tragedy is still unfolding. I think the soul-searching part of the "whys" should be left a little later. Let's concentrate on helping out where we can - such as publicizing the plight of the victims, and keeping our solidarity. I don't know if there is a way we send convey condolences on-line to the victims. Does anyone know?

Posted by canchi May 14, 2008 11:14 PM

China reports NASA-lead team on human-caused climate change impacting earth

Xinhua News reports, "Human-caused climate change widely impact Earth," a study by NASA-lead. China as a nation will need to come to grips with climate change, and this will be a theme we encourage our readers to pay attention to.

AMD set up joint research center in Beijing

Microprocessor AMD announced a joint research center in Beijing with China Electronics Standardization Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information. AMD has been battered as of late by its chief rival, Intel. On one hand, this is a way to reduce R&D cost for the chip maker. AMD's investments in Germany in terms of wafer fabs has garnered strong support for AMD within Germany itself. Since China is such a growing market, this type of investment will likely help the company gain further traction there.

In terms of globalization, this is another sign of an American multi-national soaking up talents within China. In turn, more opportunities are given to researchers in China where their work could be applied to real world products. Its a win-win for all.

China earthquake: an image that sums it all

An image that sums it all for us is a group of children buried by falling debris. We intentionally posted a lower resolution version here. For a higher resolution, you may click on the image (please be warned it is very graphic).

Most of these children are the only children of their families, because China has a one-child policy. Those parents may also have lost their homes.

We strongly urge you to donate to help the victims of this disaster.

Poll: Amount I have donated to the China earthquake and why

Dear Readers,

We urge you to donate to help victims of China earthquake that has already claimed more than 14,000 lives, 1,400+ still missing, 25,000+ buried in debris, and 64,000+ injured. If you plan to or have already donated, we ask that you take this simple poll to let our other readers know that the world cares. We also like you to comment to this post your connection to China and Sichuan and why you have decided to pitch in. Please help us spread the word.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Ways to donate to help China earthquake crisis

added May 15, 2008:

---

If you are in the USA, the best route is through TsingHua Foundation. This is a 501 organization - which means the donation through them is tax deductible. Unlike some charity organizations, TsingHua forwards 100% of the proceeds to the Red Cross Society of China which in turn gives all to help with the earthquake relief. Finally, there are many payment options: PayPal, Google Check Out (no transaction fee), Visa, Master, and other credit cards. The site also lists individual donations (Last name, first initial) and tallies the total it receives.

http://tsinghuafoundation.org/earthquake08/index.html

---

We have gotten a number of routes to donate to the China earthquake.

1. http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/china/2155
Make sure to pick the "China earthquake" program. The site claims it allocates 89% directly to its programs over the last 5 years. (We have learned that Intel Corp. has already donated $300,000 and that it will now match contributions by individual employees, up to $2000 per employee to help with the disaster. We have also learned that Mercy Corps is on Intel's approved list of aid organizations - as well as Red Cross - and others.)

2. Red Cross Society of China http://www.redcross.org.cn/
The web site was not designed to handle a lot of traffic and may not be very reachable outside of China.

3. Red Cross Society of Hong Kong https://www.redcross.org.hk/donation/user_donation.asp?langId=2
Many people on the blogsphere has mentioned that this site has been accessible and they are able to donate through it.

4. MITBBS MITBBS are now accepting donations via Paypal
account contact: mitbbs@gmail.com http://www.mitbbs.com/article1/Donation/27176194_0_1.html

5. Donating from within China to Red Cross Society of China
Account name: Red Cross Society of China
开户单位：中国红十字会总会
For those who want to donate in RMB: you can send money to the RMB account at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China branch below:
人民币开户行: 中国工商银行 北京分行东四南支行人民币账号: 0200001009014413252

6. Mail payment remittance
To:the Red Cross Society of China
Address: No.53 ganmianhutong
Dongcheng district
Beijing,1000102.

7. Bank post remittance
Bank name: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,
Dong Si Nan Branch,
Beijing
Account number: 02000010090144132—52
Account Name: the Red Cross Society of China

8. Wire Transfer
NAME： CHINESE RED CROSS
BANK NAME： CHINA CITIC BANK
SWIFT NUMBER：CIBKCNBJ
ACCT#：71121114826000002094.

9. Send a check/money order/Cashier's check to Chinese Consulate General in New York.
Title: "Chinese Consulate General in New York"
Add a note (For): "Earthquake Relief Donation"
Mailing address:Consulate General of People's Republic of China in New York
520 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10036-1003
Tel: 212.244.9392

(added May 14, 2008)
We also like our readers to know that China has promised transparency in appropriation of donated funds to help with the earthquake disaster.

(added May 15, 2008) via our reader, Relax:

http://www.jackiechan.com/charity
It is under the drop down menu where you pick "Earth quake"
Here's the detail of the fund
http://www.jackiechan.com/scrapbook_view?cid=1064

Goodwill from around the world in response to China's earthquake

Many people in China probably thought most Westerners were out to harm them in the last few months especially with the way Western media portrays China in light of the Olympics Torch and Tibet. We would like to remind them that while the media paints such a picture, Western media do not represent Westerner's feelings and sentiments toward China and the Chinese people.

In our previous post, we urged our readers to pay attention to evidence of goodwill towards China from around the world. We have come across quite a few instances of that and would simply like to list them here.

• Japanese parties, companies give donation to China over quake
• Japan (government) provides some $ 5 mln in aid to China
• Germany announces aid to China over earthquake
• U.S. offers aid to China for earthquake relief
• Hong Kong makes voluntary donations for Sichuan earthquake relief
• Arab League offers condolences to China over quake
• Russia to send humanitarian aid for quake-hit China
• Australian PM offers assistance, sympathy to China
• Britain expresses condolences over deadly earthquake in China
• Taiwan leaders convey condolences to quake victims, offer help
• Singapore PM extends condolences to Premier Wen
• Malaysians making donations to quake-hit areas in China
• EU says ready to provide aid to earthquake-hit China added May 14, 2008
• More countries, int'l organizations offer condolences to China over earthquake added May 14, 2008
• Int'l community extends condolences to China over deadly earthquake added May 14, 2008
• Chinese mainland thanks Taiwan for support in quake added May 14, 2008

7.8 Earthquake hits Sichuan Province in China

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit China's Sichuan province killing with death toll so far at 8600 and the number could be higher as rescuers reach more places, reports NPR. This happened in the afternoon around 2:30pm and many students were still in their classes.

US President Bush was quoted on CNN, "[US] stands ready to help in any way possible. . . . I am particularly saddened by the number of students and children affected by this tragedy." Japan, Britain, and other governments around the world have offered to help.

Wenchuan was the epicenter of the quake. It is also a key research center for the panda. Xinhua reported Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao flew to Sichuan to direct the rescue effort. He was quoted saying, "My fellow Chinese, facing such a severe disaster, we need calm, confidence, courage and efficient organization." 24,000 PLA troops have been sent to help with 10,000 more on the way.

BBC also carried a report and said:
"The BBC's Quentin Somerville says this is probably the most significant natural disaster to hit China in recent memory, but that the Chinese army has a good record of mobilising and getting people to safety. "

We also like our readers to pay attention to the level of support China gets from around the world in coping with this disaster. From the recent flurry of anti-Western media feelings, it is easy to forget that Western governments and citizens do care.

If you wish to donate to the Chinese Red Cross, following are relevant details:

Address: Beijing, China,100007

Tel number: 86-10-65139999

Fax number: 86-10-64060566

Beneficiary's bank: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Beijing Branch

Swift code: icbkcnbjbjm

Chips uid: 319913

RMB account number: 0200001009014413252

Website: http://www.redcross.org.cn/

E-mail: Rcsc@chineseredcross.org.cn

U.N. General Assembly, China wins 82% vs U.S.'s 22% on Human Rights

Prospect Magazine over at UK had a really interesting article in their March 2008 issue by Mark Leonard. Its titled, "China's new intelligentsia." The article is really about the "think tanks" in China and talks about the various camps pushing for various foreign policy strategies. It is a long read, but we promise our readers will find it of great interest. The thrust of Leonard's points are that China is finding ways to challenge the currently West-dominated world order. This is also in agreement with Mahbubani we blogged about in previous entries about Asia's rise.

On IMF and the World bank, Leonard had the following comments:

The IMF and the World Bank used to drive the fear of God into government officials and elected leaders, but today they struggle to be listened to even by the poorest countries of Africa. The IMF spent years negotiating a transparency agreement with the Angolan government only to be told hours before the deal was due to be signed, in March 2004, that the authorities in Luanda were no longer interested in the money: they had secured a $2bn soft loan from China. This tale has been repeated across the continent—from Chad to Nigeria, Sudan to Algeria, Ethiopia and Uganda to Zimbabwe.

On China's global diplomacy, Leonard writes:

The UN is also becoming an amplifier of the Chinese worldview. Unlike Russia, which comports itself with a swagger—enjoying its ability to overtly frustrate US and EU plans—China tends to opt for a conciliatory posture. In the run-up to the Iraq war, although China opposed military action, it allowed France, Germany and Russia to lead the opposition to it. In 2005 when there was a debate about enlarging the UN security council, China encouraged African countries to demand their own seat, which effectively killed off Japan's bid for a permanent seat. Equally, Beijing has been willing to allow the Organisation of Islamic States to take the lead in weakening the new UN human rights council. This diplomacy has been effective—contributing to a big fall in US influence: in 1995 the US won 50.6 per cent of the votes in the UN general assembly; by 2006, the figure had fallen to just 23.6 per cent. On human rights, the results are even more dramatic: China's win-rate has rocketed from 43 per cent to 82 per cent, while the US's has tumbled from 57 per cent to 22 per cent. "It's a truism that the security council can function only insofar as the US lets it," says James Traub, UN correspondent of the the New York Times. “The adage may soon be applied to China as well.”

Today's China by her numbers

The Independent over at UK has a great summary of present day China followed by a section on China statistics. In "The dragon awakens: China, how did it happen?," Hamish McRae summarizes (in which we agree whole-heartedly):

"I am not sure we in the West fully grasp the magnitude of what is happening. Intellectually we can see it affecting us but emotionally it is hard to understand that we are moving towards a world where Western ideas, our ideas, will no longer hold sway. China has other ideas. Those will increasingly co-exist alongside ours in shaping global economic and political development. You can see that most obviously in Africa now. If a country seeking inward investment does not want to submit to the guidelines of the World Bank or Western donor agencies it can, if it has something to sell, get China to supply the funds or build the infrastructure instead. This is just an early sign of the shift in power that will go much further.

We will not find this comfortable. What we think will matter less and less. But we cannot do anything about it, and in any case, consider the alternative. Would we really want a China that was failing in economic terms, with all the misery that would cause? That would surely be far more dangerous and disruptive to the world than a continuation of China's thrilling but terrifying success story."

China: In Numbers

By Simon Usborne

30,000: The expected number of Chinese MBA graduates in 2008. The number in 1998: 0

5.7 million: Students graduated from Chinese universities in 2007 (compared with 270,000 in 1977)

30: Number of nuclear power plants being built in China

500: The number of coal-fired power plants China plans to build in the next decade

10 million: The estimated number of Chinese people who have no electricity

97: New airports to be built in the next 12 years, bringing the total number to 244 by 2020

540 million: Number of mobile phone users in China, with an increase of 44 million in the past six months

180: The number of foreign press correspondents arrested or harassed in 2007

67: The percentage of journalists who replied "no" when asked in a survey by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China if they believed Beijing had kept its promise to give foreign media "complete freedom of reporting" in the run-up to the Olympics. Only 8.6 per cent said "yes"

33: The number of Chinese journalists thought to be held in prisons in 2008

95: The estimated percentage of DVDs sold in China that are fake. Uncensored foreign films are widely available from 50p

20: The approximate number of foreign films passed by Chinese censors each year for screening in cinemas. Banned films have included 'Ben Hur' (for its depiction of religion), 'Brokeback Mountain' (for its homosexuality) and the 'Borat' film (for its depiction of, among other things, incest).

Passed films are often subject to further editing. Examples include the deletion of scenes showing hanging laundry in Shanghai in 'Mission: Impossible III' and the removal of footage containing Chow Yun-Fat that 'vilifies and humiliates the Chinese' in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'

160: Cities in China with populations that exceed a million. In the USA there are nine; in the UK just two

80: Percentage of the world's zips produced in factories in the Zhejiang Province city of Qiaotou (amounting to 124,000 miles of zip each year, or enough to stretch half way to the moon). Qiaotou also produces 60 per cent of the world's buttons (15 billion a year), while nearby Datang makes a third of the world's socks. As many as 80 per cent of the world's toys are made in China, which boasts more than 10,000 toy factories

21 million: The number of Chinese-made toys recalled last year by the US toy company Mattel

0: Miles of motorway in 1988

30,000: Miles of motorway today

6.3 million: The number of passenger cars registered in 2007 (compared with 2.3 million in 2004). More than 1,000 new private cars hit the roads every day in Beijing alone

68: The number of crimes thought to be punishable by death in China, including non-violent offences such as tax fraud, embezzlement and the taking of bribes

350 million: The number of Chinese people who smoke (a third of the world’s smokers). Around a million people a year are thought to die from smoking-related diseases

240bn yuan: (£17.3bn) The estimated amount earned by the Chinese government in tobacco taxes in 2005

1.3 billion: China’s population. The country accounts for one in five people in the world 400 million

The estimated number of births prevented by China’s one-child policy, introduced in 1979

22: The number of suicides per 100,000 people, about 50 per cent higher than the global average. Suicide is the fifth most common cause of death in China, and the first among people aged between 20 and 35

700,000: The number of people living with HIV or Aids in China. The UN has warned China it could have 10 million cases by 2010 unless action is taken

45 billion: Estimated number of chopsticks China produces every year, the majority of them disposable. In 2006, Beijing introduced a five per cent tax on disposable wooden chopsticks in an attempt to help save the country’s forests

30: The number of different animal penises on the menu at Guolizhuang, Beijing’s ‘penis emporium’. A yak’s costs about £15, while a tiger’s (which must be pre-ordered) will set you back £3,000

Additional research by George Bull