China on the Rise

Chhut Vuthy

From the article:

The killing of Chhut Vuthy has shaken Cambodia. A well-known environmentalist and founder of the Natural Resource Protection Group, he had travelled to Koh Kong province in the west of the country to try to film illegal loggers. He was in a heavily forested area near the construction of a 338-megawatt hydropower dam being built by China Huadian, one of China’s five biggest power generators. The project is one of four dams which have drawn widespread criticism because of adjacent logging, and the impact the dams could have on wildlife and the livelihoods of local villagers….

Mr Chhut Vuthy’s death is the highest-profile killing in Cambodia since a trade union leader, Chea Vichea, was shot dead in 2004. Three women were also shot in February as they campaigned for better working conditions at a factory supplying Puma, a German sportswear company.

And now for something completely different… check out this article.  The rationale for making the list is as follows:

For the past few years, all eyes have been on China. Captivated by the country’s rapidly expanding economy, large population and seemingly insatiable appetite for luxury goods, global fashion brands have focused their efforts on the Middle Kingdom, opening glittering stores in megacities like Beijing and Shanghai, as well as fast growing middleweight cities like Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Tianjin, and hosting high-profile public relations events, from exclusive VIP dinners to famously large-scale productions like Fendi’s runway spectacular on The Great Wall. And judging from recent figures, the results have been strong. According to the Boston Consulting Group, sales of luxury fashion goods in China increased by 33 percent to $40 billion last year, while experts estimate that the country will surpass the US to become the world’s largest luxury market by 2020.

Naturally, China’s emergence as a powerhouse market for fashion has given rise to a number of key figures who have been highly instrumental in driving and harnessing the spectacular momentum. Here, we present, in no particular order,  The Business of Fashion’s Top 20 movers, shakers and decision makers in China fashion. They are entrepreneurs, luxury executives, PR mavens, retail experts, editors, media moguls, models, bloggers and others who each have tremendous expertise and insight in their chosen domain and, collectively, form the backbone of the country’s fast growing fashion ecosystem.

There’s a (possibly apocryphal) story about Colin Powell I recently heard: when he was Secretary of State, he told people at State that when evening rolled around and he still saw their lights on in their offices, he would not be impressed, because he’d be going home to see his family and so should they.  Work-life balance matters!  And if companies could get 40 productive hours out of someone instead of 60 Facebook-filled hours, why not stick to a 40 hour work week?

Anyway, a short section from the article:

Unions started fighting for the short week in both the UK and US in the early 19th century. By the latter part of the century, it was becoming the norm in an increasing number of industries. And a weird thing happened: over and over — across many business sectors in many countries — business owners discovered that when they gave into the union and cut the hours, their businesses became significantly more productive and profitable. As Tom Walker of the Work Less Institute puts it in his Prosperity Covenant:

That output does not rise or fall in direct proportion to the number of hours worked is a lesson that seemingly has to be relearned each generation. In 1848, the English parliament passed the ten-hours law and total output per-worker, per-day increased. In the 1890s employers experimented widely with the eight hour day and repeatedly found that total output per-worker increased. In the first decades of the 20th century, Frederick W. Taylor, the originator of “scientific management” prescribed reduced work times and attained remarkable increases in per-worker output.

By 1914, emboldened by a dozen years of in-house research, Henry Ford famously took the radical step of doubling his workers’ pay, and cut shifts in Ford plants from nine hours to eight. The National Association of Manufacturers criticized him bitterly for this — though many of his competitors climbed on board in the next few years when they saw how Ford’s business boomed as a result. In 1937, the 40-hour week was enshrined nationwide as part of the New Deal. By that point, there were a solid five decades of industrial research that proved, beyond a doubt, that if you wanted to keep your workers bright, healthy, productive, safe, and efficient over a sustained stretch of time, you kept them to no more than 40 hours a week and eight hours a day.

The conflict in the South China Sea worsens.  From a China Daily article (i.e., China’s perspective):

Beijing made a third solemn representation to Manila and warned that it is hard to be optimistic about a territorial impasse over an island. Authorities say they have prepared for any escalation of the situation by Manila….

In the wake of the incident, the Philippine side continued to send government vessels to the lagoon of Huangyan Island and repeatedly made erroneous remarks that mislead the public in the Philippines and the international community and played up public feelings, said Fu.

Manila’s moves are ”severely damaging the atmosphere of the bilateral relations between China and the Philippines”, Fu said. “Therefore it is hard for us to be optimistic about the situation.”

Beijing says Huangyan Island has been an integral part of China’s territory for centuries and expects Manila not to ”misjudge the situation and not escalate tensions without considering the consequences”.

Beijing urged Manila to withdraw all Philippine vessels in the island waters and warned Manila not to disturb operations by Chinese fishing boats as well as those by the Chinese government’s law enforcement vessels, Fu said.

On April 10, a Philippine warship entered the island’s territorial waters, dispatched personnel to harass Chinese fishing boats and attempted to detain Chinese fishermen.

Beijing said the move infringed on China’s sovereignty. Two Chinese patrol ships in the area later came to the fishermen’s rescue, and the warship left.

That’s what is happening at a school in Hubei province, China.  From the article:

Mr. Xia, director of Office of Academic Affairs, said that what is delivered to the students intravenously is nothing but amino acids to restore their health.

“The state grants a 10-yuan subsidy for amino acids to each graduating senior that will participate in the gao kao(National College Entrance Exam). Any student that feels not well can go to the infirmary and take amino acids on the IV drip,” Mr. Xia explained. He said that some students had been below par recently due to the sudden weather changes in the city of Xiaogan, and the school infirmary had been packed with students. In order to spare students the trouble of running back and forth between the infirmary and the classroom and save their time, the school decided to arrange IV drip sessions right in the classroom.

…flying business class with his family, lucky him.  Thanks to Connie Paik for the link.

From the article:

The Beijing Bureau of Al Jazeera English has been forced to shut down, because Chinese authorities have revoked the visa of Melissa Chan, its Chinese correspondent, and refused to allow any replacement….

The Chinese government has also expressed its anger over a documentary aired last November on this renowned international news channel, but Melissa Chan didn’t take part in making the documentary.

Also, here’s a hilarious transcript from a MOFA press hearing about the incident courtesy of VOA (thanks to Max Dunn for the link).  Some of the Q&A below, which MOFA didn’t include when it released its own transcript of the press briefing:

Q: I just want to know whether the expulsion of Melissa Chan should be seen as a warning to other journalists operating in China? 

Hong Lei: “I have just answered relevant questions. On the issue of foreign journalists our policies and moves are easy to see. We will continue to provide convenience for foreign journalists reporting in China and we welcome foreign journalists to report in China. At the same time we need to stress that foreign journalists should abide by Chinese laws and regulations, as well as professional ethics of journalists while reporting in China.” 

Q: Under what circumstances will Al Jazeera be given press credentials and visas for a new reporter? 

Hong Lei: “The Beijing branch of Al Jazeera is still functioning normally.”

Q: So if there is a new correspondent for Al Jazeera will you give them a visa? 

Hong Lei: “We will process relevant procedure in accordance with laws and regulations.” 

Q: Can you tell us who made the decision to deny Ms. Chan, was it the Foreign Ministry or another department?

Hong Lei: “We deal with relevant matter in accordance with law.”

Q: Can you give us any specifics on why Melissa Chan was expelled from the country because there is a lot of confusion here and unless you’re more specific about it it’s very difficult for us to get a picture of exactly what’s going on. 

Hong Lei: “I have already answered this question.” 

Q: I think the main concern of the journalists is that the Chinese government, you use the issue of visa as a way to censor journalists’ work in China. Is this a precedent of how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will behave in the future? 

Hong Lei: “I have stressed that China welcomes foreign journalists to report in China and we have also provided convenience to foreign journalists in reporting objectively in China. I think you have been in China for several years and are very clear about this. At the same time I want to stress that foreign journalists should abide by Chinese laws and regulations while reporting in China.” 

Q: What could the Chinese government say if a Chinese journalist was expelled from a foreign country? 

Hong Lei: “I want to point out that the Chinese government will follow strictly relevant regulations in dealing with foreign journalists.”

Q: Chinese laws and regulations are written down, so even if we don’t know which ones Melissa is accused of violating we know what they say. No where as I know is the Chinese government’s conception of journalistic ethics written down. How can we judge whether our behavior is consistent with Chinese conception of journalist ethics, and can you offer us guidance as to what that conception looks like?

Hong Lei: “I think our policies and laws regarding foreign journalists is very clear. In your work and exchanges with us we have briefed you on relevant Chinese laws and regulations which is also the basis for your work in China. With regard to relevant issue I think relevant media and journalists are clear about that.” 

Q: What would the Chinese government say to accusations that it is censoring foreign media with the expulsion of Melissa Chan? 

Hong Lei: “I have pointed out China follows relevant laws and regulations in dealing with relevant journalists. I think relevant media and journalists are very clear about what kind of roles and regulations they have broken.” 

Q: Where can we see those regulations because we are having some problem in finding which law and regulation was broken. So where can I check the regulation if I want to see some number or article was broken according to Chinese law? 

Hong Lei: “I think have answered the relevant question.” 

A great piece that recently came out in Caixin.  This is my favorite part from it:

Some argue that the ruins should be either fully or partially restored to demonstrate the glory that was; others counter that such a suggestion borders on sacrilege – only in its ruined state can Yuanmingyuan serve as an appropriate reminder of China’s past humiliation and, by contrast, its resurgence under the Communist Party. Proponents of these opposing sides find common ground when it comes to criticizing the cash-strapped management of the park for allowing such things as the puppet show, the carnival rides, the blaring loudspeakers, the sellers of sausages and trinkets, and the “Imperial Ice and Snow Festival” to which part of Yuanmingyuan is converted each winter.

They also come together every few years – as does the general public - when one of the bronze animal heads looted from the water clock in the fountain outside the Hall of Calm Seas is auctioned by Christie’s or Sotheby’s. However, in 2009, even the auctions became a subject of disagreement when Fujian businessman Cai Mingchao bid on the rat and rabbit heads offered by the estate of Yves Saint-Laurent, won them for $19 million each, and then refused to pay – leading some to hail his “patriotic spirit” and others to oppose his maverick action. The artist Ai Weiwei jumped into the fray, creating “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads,” an artwork now circling the globe that, with its hugely oversized reproductions of the bronze heads, seems to suggest that perhaps too much fuss has been made of these sculptures – which, as Ai pointed out in a 2010 interview, are in fact, faucets designed by an Italian, Father Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) and a Frenchman, Father Michel Benoist (Jiang Youren), and - in Ai’s view - something that “only Westerners would make” and not “national treasures” at all.

This is a big screw up—a waste of money and an all too easy way for people to write off supporting American diplomacy.  From the article:

After signing a 10-year lease and spending more than $80 million on a site envisioned as the United States’ diplomatic hub in northern Afghanistan, American officials say they have abandoned their plans, deeming the location for the proposed compound too dangerous.

Eager to raise an American flag and open a consulate in a bustling downtown district of the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, officials in 2009 sought waivers to stringent State Department building rules and overlooked significant security problems at the site, documents show. The problems included relying on local building techniques that made the compound vulnerable to a car bombing, according to an assessment by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul that was obtained by The Washington Post.

The decision to give up on the site is the clearest sign to date that, as the U.S.-led military coalition starts to draw down troops amid mounting security concerns, American diplomats are being forced to reassess how to safely keep a viable presence in Afghanistan. The plan for the Mazar-e Sharif consulate, as laid out in a previously undisclosed diplomatic memorandum, is a cautionary tale of wishful thinking, poor planning and the type of stark choices the U.S. government will have to make in coming years as it tries to wind down its role in the war.

From the article:

In seeking to airbrush Mr. Bo out of public life, party mandarins in Beijing have dusted off a strategy perfected during the Cultural Revolution and further tweaked during the political purges that followed the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

“There is a manual on how to delete the legacies of a fallen leader, and they’ve got it down to the smallest details,” said Minxin Pei, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California.

The results have been swift and efficient. Residents say that just 15 hours after Mr. Bo’s ouster, Chongqing’s satellite television station, which he had required to broadcast only commercial-free “red culture” programming, began showing advertisements. Then came a media campaign meant to destroy his reputation.

But the party’s sudden vilification of Mr. Bo and his once-lauded projects has laid bare its thin ideological marrow. After years of instructing citizens to revere Mr. Bo, the party has aggravated public cynicism by orchestrating his hasty downfall.

“People here just don’t trust the central government,” said a local magazine journalist, who described the orders from editors to stop reporting on Mr. Bo’s accomplishments. “Now they’re telling us Bo’s a bad guy. But no government official is innocent. At least we know our lives got better after he came.”

A brief section of the article:

Housed in a heavily guarded, unmarked compound far from Tiananmen Square and most of Beijing’s government buildings, the Central Party School is both think tank and indoctrination center, “a furnace to foster the spirit of party members,” according to a state media report. It is a place where Chinese officials debate and form policies that address China’s most pressing and sensitive issues while remaining safely within the confines of politically correct thought. “The ultimate work the Central Party School does is create a fit-for-purpose overarching value system and a body of ideas which serve to justify the Communist Party’s monopoly on power,” says Kerry Brown, head of the Asia Program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank that has hosted members of the Central Party School.