China feels the heat from torrid growth

The Chinese economy grew at its fastest pace for a decade in the second quarter, according to official figures released Tuesday, increasing pressure on the authorities to introduce measures to rein in runaway growth

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/18/business/yuan.php

China seeks oil security with stake in Russia firm

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/19/business/energy.php

Praise and punishment: It's a fine line in China

The case of Chen Guangcheng is typical of efforts in China to punish lawyers, journalists, and participants in environmental, health and religious groups who expose abuses or organize people in a manner officials consider threatening.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/19/news/blind.php

Taiwan-China cargo flight lands

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5193506.stm

Chinese storm kills more than 180

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5185314.stm

China says growth 'under control'

China's economy grew 10.9% in the first half of 2006 against the same period a year ago - but moves to cool growth are starting to work, the government says.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5189842.stm

China plan to protect environment

China plans to spend 1.4 trillion yuan ($175bn) over the next five years on protecting its environment

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5192376.stm

In China, economy expands at 11.3% pace

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/18/business/yuan.php

Historic India-China link to open

China and India are due to open a historic trade route on Thursday that has been closed for 44 years. The Himalayan pass of Nathu La, 4,000m (14,000 feet) above sea level, was once part of the ancient Silk Road. It links the Indian state of Sikkim with Tibet and was the scene of a fierce two-month border war between India and China in 1962. Nathu La is opening just a few days after the first train service was launched from eastern China to Tibet. The opening ceremony at the border post is to be attended by China's ambassador to India as well as local officials from Sikkim and Tibet. The BBC's South Asia correspondent, Navdip Dhariwal, says the reopening of the route signifies a huge leap forward in diplomacy and trade between both countries. Workers on both sides have been frantically laying stones and tarmac in preparation for the historic opening, under the watchful eye of Indian and Chinese border guards. Optimistic local traders have welcomed the opening and say it will have a major impact on the regional economy. "Our lives are going to change once trade gets going," a grocery supplier, Sonar Bhutia, is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. "We're hoping to profit by it." but correspondents say the opening is more symbolic than substantive, with trade confined to some local goods. India will import 15 items from China, including goat and sheep skins, yak tails and raw silk. China, for its part, will import 29 items including tea, rice and spices. "Trading will take place four days a week, Monday to Thursday," says Sikkim director of industries, Saman Prasad Subba. Diplomatic triumph Some analysts believe that trade through the land route could generate millions of dollars in trade eventually. But at the moment most agree that there are more immediate political benefits rather than economic. "This resumption of border trade is more significant for Indian diplomacy, not for trade," says Jayantanuja Bandopadhyay, professor of international relations in Calcutta's Jadavpur University. Sikkim is a former Buddhist kingdom that merged with India in 1975, a move that was opposed by China which lay claim to the state. "By allowing trade through Nathu La, China has accepted Sikkim as part of India that it refused to do earlier," Mr Bandopadhyay says. The Nathu La pass was closed in 1962 after war broke out between China and India. The famed Silk Road was an ancient trading route that once connected China with India, West Asia and Europe.

Historic India-China link to open

China and India are due to open a historic trade route on Thursday that has been closed for 44 years. The Himalayan pass of Nathu La, 4,000m (14,000 feet) above sea level, was once part of the ancient Silk Road. It links the Indian state of Sikkim with Tibet and was the scene of a fierce two-month border war between India and China in 1962. Nathu La is opening just a few days after the first train service was launched from eastern China to Tibet. The opening ceremony at the border post is to be attended by China's ambassador to India as well as local officials from Sikkim and Tibet.

The BBC's South Asia correspondent, Navdip Dhariwal, says the reopening of the route signifies a huge leap forward in diplomacy and trade between both countries. Workers on both sides have been frantically laying stones and tarmac in preparation for the historic opening, under the watchful eye of Indian and Chinese border guards. Optimistic local traders have welcomed the opening and say it will have a major impact on the regional economy. "Our lives are going to change once trade gets going," a grocery supplier, Sonar Bhutia, is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. "We're hoping to profit by it." but correspondents say the opening is more symbolic than substantive, with trade confined to some local goods. India will import 15 items from China, including goat and sheep skins, yak tails and raw silk. China, for its part, will import 29 items including tea, rice and spices. "Trading will take place four days a week, Monday to Thursday," says Sikkim director of industries, Saman Prasad Subba. Diplomatic triumph
Some analysts believe that trade through the land route could generate millions of dollars in trade eventually. But at the moment most agree that there are more immediate political benefits rather than economic. "This resumption of border trade is more significant for Indian diplomacy, not for trade," says Jayantanuja Bandopadhyay, professor of international relations in Calcutta's Jadavpur University. Sikkim is a former Buddhist kingdom that merged with India in 1975, a move that was opposed by China which lay claim to the state. "By allowing trade through Nathu La, China has accepted Sikkim as part of India that it refused to do earlier," Mr Bandopadhyay says. The Nathu La pass was closed in 1962 after war broke out between China and India. The famed Silk Road was an ancient trading route that once connected China with India, West Asia and Europe.

Historic India-China link to open

China and India are due to open a historic trade route on Thursday that has been closed for 44 years. The Himalayan pass of Nathu La, 4,000m (14,000 feet) above sea level, was once part of the ancient Silk Road. It links the Indian state of Sikkim with Tibet and was the scene of a fierce two-month border war between India and China in 1962. Nathu La is opening just a few days after the first train service was launched from eastern China to Tibet. The opening ceremony at the border post is to be attended by China's ambassador to India as well as local officials from Sikkim and Tibet.

The BBC's South Asia correspondent, Navdip Dhariwal, says the reopening of the route signifies a huge leap forward in diplomacy and trade between both countries. Workers on both sides have been frantically laying stones and tarmac in preparation for the historic opening, under the watchful eye of Indian and Chinese border guards. Optimistic local traders have welcomed the opening and say it will have a major impact on the regional economy. "Our lives are going to change once trade gets going," a grocery supplier, Sonar Bhutia, is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. "We're hoping to profit by it." but correspondents say the opening is more symbolic than substantive, with trade confined to some local goods. India will import 15 items from China, including goat and sheep skins, yak tails and raw silk. China, for its part, will import 29 items including tea, rice and spices. "Trading will take place four days a week, Monday to Thursday," says Sikkim director of industries, Saman Prasad Subba. Diplomatic triumph
Some analysts believe that trade through the land route could generate millions of dollars in trade eventually. But at the moment most agree that there are more immediate political benefits rather than economic. "This resumption of border trade is more significant for Indian diplomacy, not for trade," says Jayantanuja Bandopadhyay, professor of international relations in Calcutta's Jadavpur University. Sikkim is a former Buddhist kingdom that merged with India in 1975, a move that was opposed by China which lay claim to the state. "By allowing trade through Nathu La, China has accepted Sikkim as part of India that it refused to do earlier," Mr Bandopadhyay says. The Nathu La pass was closed in 1962 after war broke out between China and India. The famed Silk Road was an ancient trading route that once connected China with India, West Asia and Europe.

Thousands demand Hong Kong rights

Tens of thousands of people have joined a rally in Hong Kong calling for full democracy in the territory. Organisers say 58,000 took part; police put the figure at 28,000. The marchers, some blowing whistles, carried banners reading "Justice, Equality, Democracy".
The rally marked the ninth anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule.
A pro-China rally held earlier in the day also attracted large numbers of people - police said 40,000 took part.

Partial democracy
Under Hong Kong's electoral system, its leader is chosen by an 800-member committee weighted in Beijing's favour. It also has a 60-seat legislature, half of whose members are directly elected. In 2003 and 2004, crowds of up to half a million took to the streets of Hong Kong to demand full democracy. But correspondents say the numbers have fallen as the economy is doing well and new leader Donald Tsang is proving popular. Thousands also supported a pro-Beijing march held earlier Cardinal Joseph Zen, who leads Hong Kong's Catholic community, urged followers praying on the march to show perseverance. "If we persist, our aim will be met," he told them. One of Hong Kong's most respected political figures, former chief secretary Anson Chan, addressed the rally to back calls for more democracy. "Today I come to take part in the march in support of democracy but this doesn't mean we are trying to challenge the government," she said. "Although the economy has been good it doesn't mean we don't need democracy. I call for people to come out and support democracy." The pro-Beijing rally held earlier in the day included performances by Hong Kong-based Chinese troops, cultural groups and local pop stars. But a speech by Mr Tsang was interrupted by pro-democracy MP Leung Kwok-hung, who was ushered away after he started heckling.

UK pondered China nuclear attack

Hong Kong was considered vulnerable to a Chinese attackThe UK wanted China to know the nuclear strength of the US could be unleashed if the Chinese attacked Hong Kong, previously secret papers show. In 1961 the UK felt nuclear retaliation was the only alternative to abandoning its colony if China attacked. Officials wanted "to encourage" China to believe nuclear action against it would follow any hostile action, papers released by the National Archives show.
Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 having held it since 1842. The letters, circulated to prime minister Harold Macmillan, were written between 1957 and 1961 when concern was growing about China's intentions. Hong Kong was thought to be vulnerable, particularly as water and food supplies, from the mainland, could be cut off at any time.
Our object is to encourage the Chinese to believe than an attack on Hong Kong would involve US nuclear retaliation Harold WatkinsonMinister of Defence, 1961 The letters do not say who initially suggested the nuclear option, but they do show that British officials were keen for the Chinese to be aware of the threat while not giving the impression that Hong Kong was an American military outpost. Defence minister Harold Watkinson wrote to the foreign secretary and prime minister, saying: "Our object is to encourage the Chinese to believe than an attack on Hong Kong would involve US nuclear retaliation." Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home wrote a "top secret" letter to Mr Watkinson and Mr Macmillan in February 1961.
Outpost He wrote: "It must be fully obvious to the Americans that Hong Kong is indefensible by conventional means and that in the event of a Chinese attack, nuclear strikes against China would be the only alternative to complete abandonment of the colony. "In these circumstances it is perhaps not so much formal staff talks with the Americans that we need so much as an informal exchange of views involving a discussion of the use of nuclear strikes. "I need hardly say, however, that I agree entirely with your view that while we should encourage the Chinese to believe that an attack on Hong Kong would involve nuclear retaliation, we must avoid anything that would allow the Chinese to claim that the Colony is a military outpost of the United States." Secret meetings between British and American officials were held in Hawaii with the possibility of further meetings on board a US naval carrier during its frequent visits to Hong Kong. However, the idea stalled after Admiral Harry Felt, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, responded cautiously when it was put to him. Any further response from the US at the time was not included in the National Archives file. The US was the only nation able to use nuclear weapons at the time.

BBC Images of new train line into Tibet

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/5128684.stm

Pact signed for 11 Hong Kong-China routes

The Associated PressMONDAY, JULY 3, 2006

Hong Kong and mainland China signed an aviation agreement that adds 11 new routes and allows this region's biggest airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, to fly passengers to Shanghai, the government and airline said Monday.
The current pact covers 45 routes between Hong Kong and the mainland, and the new deal will connect Hong Kong with all the mainland's major cities, the Hong Kong government said, without identifying the cities.
The agreement allows Cathay Pacific to fly passengers to Shanghai, which accounts for 35 percent of the passenger market and 68 percent of the cargo market between Hong Kong and the mainland, the carrier said.
Last month, Cathay acquired Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, or Dragonair, which has many routes to mainland cities, and it doubled its stake in Air China to 20 percent in a deal worth 8.22 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $1.06 billion.
"We appreciate the tremendous efforts made by the mainland and Hong Kong authorities in expanding the air services opportunities," said Philip Chen, Cathay Pacific's chief executive. "We are also encouraged that the overall arrangement supports the trend toward a more liberalized regime between the mainland and Hong Kong."
Restrictions on capacity will be relaxed on most routes, the government statement said.

Chinese law would apply to all media

By Joseph Kahn The New York TimesMONDAY, JULY 3, 2006

A Chinese draft law that threatens to fine news media for reporting on "sudden incidents" without permission applies to foreign as well as domestic news organizations, an official involved in preparing the legislation said Monday. The law, now under consideration by the legislature, calls for fines of up to $12,500 if news media produce unauthorized reports on outbreaks of disease, natural disasters, social disturbances or other so-called sudden incidents that officials determine to be false or harmful to China's social order. Wang Yongqing, vice minister of the legislative affairs office of China's State Council, or cabinet, said at a news conference that the law should apply to all news organizations, including foreign newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets that usually operate under different rules than local Chinese media.
"I think they should be included - the same as if a Chinese reporter goes to France or Britain, he also has to abide by your laws," Wang said, responding to a question about the law's applicability to foreigners. "It's aimed at the activity. If you engage in reporting activities, you also have to obey these rules." Foreign news organizations with offices inside China face travel restrictions and are monitored closely by security forces. But the authorities in charge of propaganda generally have not sought to censor foreign news reports the way they do those of domestic publications. As a result, foreign newspapers and magazines sometimes investigate sensitive political and social issues, including protests and outbreaks of disease, that local media report cannot report freely. Wang's briefing was aimed at reassuring the news media that the proposed law aims mainly to punish government officials who do a poor job of managing sudden incidents, like health emergencies or coal mine accidents. The clause pertaining to the media, Wang said, is intended only to prevent malicious behavior by news media that willfully mislead the public.

First train completes journey across the roof of the world

The Associated PressMONDAY, JULY 3, 2006
China's first train from Beijing to Tibet made the final leg of its two-day journey on the world's highest railway, reaching Lhasa Monday after climbing to high elevations that sickened passengers and tested the specially built rail cars. Girls, some dressed in track suits and others in traditional Tibetan robes, draped white scarves, a customary gift of greeting, on arriving passengers in the newly built Lhasa railway station. Many passengers spent the day coping with the altitude, breathing piped-in oxygen from tubes as the train passed its highest point, the 5,072-meter (16,640-foot) Tanggula Pass. Three passengers threw up, while others had headaches - both symptoms of altitude sickness. Outside, Tibetan antelope and wild donkeys grazed beneath snow-capped mountains and deep-blue skies. Aside from being a feat of engineering, the US$4.2 billion (€3.4 billion) railway is part of efforts to develop China's poor, restive west and bind it more closely to the booming east. Chinese leaders hope greater prosperity will help to still calls by Tibetans and other ethnic minorities for autonomy from the communist Beijing government. The line has prompted protests by activists who say it will bring an influx of Chinese migrants to the isolated Himalayan region, threatening its ecology and diluting its unique Buddhist culture. Trains completed shorter trips on the line between Lhasa and Golmud while passengers on the 16-car train from the Chinese capital were in the midst of their journey. State media gave heavy coverage to the railway, with newspapers publishing front-page photos of passengers singing and villagers waving to the passing train. The state television midday news showed President Hu Jintao congratulating workers who built the line.
Before the last leg of the trip to Lhasa, the train stopped in Golmud early Monday to switch its standard engine for three powerful locomotives required to haul the train at high altitude.
Passengers included a 2 1/2-year-old boy, a 78-year-old man and a group of ethnic Tibetans newly graduated from the Beijing Police Academy who were headed home to work as police officers. One Tibetan passenger asked a Western reporter what the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, thought of the train. The man, who asked not to be identified by name, said that with China's Internet monitoring, it was too dangerous for him to search news Web sites for the information himself. The only signs of human habitation in the arid highlands south of Golmud were traditional herders tending yaks and small train stations that dot the rail line.
After the train climbed above 4,000 meters (13,000 feet), ballpoint pens and bags of processed food burst due to the low air pressure. Laptop computers and digital music recorders failed, because moving parts in their disc drives are cushioned by tiny air bags that break at high altitude. China's government says it is spending 1.5 billion yuan (US$190 million; €150 million) on environmental protection along the Golmud-Lhasa stretch of the railway. But despite promises to minimize pollution, the sides of the line were littered with plastic bags, bottles and cardboard boxes. Large sections of the permanently frozen earth were grassless, puddled and scarred by vehicle tracks. Damaged permafrost "becomes dark, ugly, muddy water," said Daniel Wong, an engineer based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen who worked on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, also laid over permafrost. "The most unfortunate thing is that such damage will spread," he said. The railway is projected to help double tourism revenues in Tibet by 2010 and cut transport costs for goods by 75 percent. Until now, goods going to and from Tibet have been trucked over mountain highways that are often blocked by landslides or snow, making trade prohibitively expensive. New York-based Students for a Free Tibet set up a Web site, rejecttherailway.com, urging the public to wear black armbands in protest of the project, which the group says "is a tool Beijing will use to overwhelm (the) Tibetan population." "We reject the railway just as we reject China's illegitimate rule in Tibet," the site said. Communist troops marched into Tibet in 1950, and Beijing says the region has been Chinese territory for centuries. But Tibet was effectively independent for much of that time. The rail line is a decades-old dream for Chinese officials. But work began in earnest only in 2001, after engineers worked out how to stabilize tracks on permafrost. The highest station is in Nagqu, a town at 4,500 meters (14,850 feet) in the plateau's rolling grasslands.