This news doesn't surprise me.
CHINA HAS caught up with the US in greenhouse gas emissions and the level is not likely to fall anytime soon as the country continues to expand, particularly because its industry is so dependent on burning fossil fuels like coal.Releasing a white paper on climate change, Chinese officials conceded that increased emissions of carbon dioxide had played havoc with the environment in China, but said economic growth on such a massive scale was necessary to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of poor people.
"Climate change has already brought real threats to China's ecological system and economic and social development," Xie Zhenhua, a deputy chief of the National Development and Reform Commission, said.
It is China's first official acknowledgement that it could already be the world's biggest greenhouse gas polluter, although environmentalists have said for a while now that China has surpassed the US in producing carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels. Two-thirds of China's energy needs are supplied by coal.
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It's not surprising that the rest of the world would like to see a fresh face in the Oval Office. The citizens of the world obviously don't see that freshness coming in the form of a McCain administration.
BEIJING, Oct 24 (IPS) - Beijing has a tradition of sound relations with Republican presidents of the United States, but the latest China poll shows popular opinion bucking the trend with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama becoming an "overwhelming hit" with ordinary Chinese.
The results of the online poll conducted on the China Daily website by the U.S. embassy here showed Obama enjoying a much greater lead over his Republican rival, John McCain, with the support of 75 percent of Chinese polled.
"Perhaps his age, energy and even complexion, which signify the U.S. dream, are more appealing to the Chinese," Song Zhiyuan, who analysed the survey, told the ‘China Daily’.
Rebecca Zhu, a 29-year-old bank employee, agreed. "No Chinese leader is that young," she said. "Obama is attractive because he is hip and unconventional. He has even used e-mails to advance his campaign."
The media has been awash with commentaries predicting a new, more sensitive America, vastly different from the country led by George W. Bush, should Obama win. The popular notion in China that the U.S. is out to impose its Western ideals on the world would take a hit with the election of a man of African descent.
"Many think that because of his origins Obama would be prone to considering other nations’ concerns better than McCain,’’ says Shi Yinhong, an expert on international relations at China’s Renmin University. "But for China the most important factor is that he might be more susceptible to our concerns regarding Taiwan."
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In today's globalized economy, it's not surprise that the world's financial problems will affect everywhere.
DONGGUAN, China (Reuters) - Like tens of millions of young Chinese before her, Yu Juan left China's hinterland for factory work near the coast four years ago with the dream of getting rich.
An acquaintance from her hometown of Dazhou in Sichuan province told her about an exporter in Dongguan, an hour-and-a-half north of Hong Kong, that was hiring.
The Hejun Toy Factory was large, Hong Kong-owned and paid well and on time. It also had an imprimatur that Yu and others working there thought was a virtual guarantee of job security: a stock code.
"At that time, we considered this company good because it was listed on a stock exchange," she said.
Last week, however, Hejun's owner, Smart Union Group, closed the factory gates, suspended its shares and said provisional liquidators had been appointed.
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Maijishan Grottoes (Wheatstack Mountain), located on the northern side of the Qinling Mountain Range and at a height of 1,742 m above sea level, gets its name from its giant, haystack-like shape. The mountain's fame arises not just from its appearance, but from the many Buddhist caves that are gouged into its southwestern face. This is the fourth largest area of concentrated Buddhist grottoes in China, after Dunhuang, Datong and Luoyang. The area around and on the mountain is one of the most beautiful sights in Gansu for both stunning natural, and impressive man-made, scenery. The mountain, studded with caves and strapped by many winding walkways and spiral stairs, rises majestically from the surrounding heavily wooded slopes, so any visitor here with a bit of time on their hands could easily spend a few days hiking and admiring.We only spent a couple hours at the mountain and the Buddhist grottoes, but it was well worth the time we spent there.
It is the Buddhist Grottoes (Maijishan shiku), some dated from as early as the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), that most visitors come here to see. On arrival at the sight the most prominent sculpture is the 16 m Buddha that is carved high up on the mountain. The grottoes, all packed together on the sheer, rocky cliff faces below and above this, look from afar like chambers of a gargantuan beehive. On ascending the mountain, the grottoes are divided into two sections, the western and eastern, since the central section was almost completely destroyed by an eighth century earthquake. The western section is probably the better, with statues and other Buddhist articles dating mainly from the Northern Wei dynasty to the Tang (618-907). Just ascending the mountain, on winding, rickety walkways and spiral stairs, with the wooded mountain panorama below, is a breath of fresh air for even the most unconvinced China traveler.
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It's amazing to think how much one's life can change in China based upon the whims of your local official. The pay-offs and life-altering discussions taking place over alcohol is insane.
There was a landmark decision made at the plenary session of the Party Congress this week: The Chinese government decided to give lease rights on the land to the peasants. No one knows how exactly this act will work; apparently it aims to narrow the income gap between the rich in the cities and the poor in the rural areas. For those of us who have had a little experience with rural land issues, we are a bit skeptical.
Here is my story.
About 10 years ago, we visited a painter friend who moved to the countryside and leased an abandoned schoolyard for 50 years to be his studio and home.
It was a charming residence. He had a vegetable garden and even tried to raise pigs. Compared with the compact living in 100 square meters in the city, his life seemed so much more spacious and connected with nature. My husband and I were immediately attracted to the idea and inquired about whether other lots were available in the village.
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Detaining people for years without evidence and without pressing charges, incredible. Sounds like America is following the motto: "Guilty until proven innocent."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily blocked the release of 17 Chinese Muslims held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
The appeals court granted the Bush administration's emergency request for a stay of a federal judge's order that the members of the Uighur ethnic group be released into the United States at the end of this week.
In a sharp rebuke to the Bush administration, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina ruled on Tuesday there was no evidence the detainees, who have been held at Guantanamo for nearly seven years, were "enemy combatants" or a security risk.
He ordered that the prisoners be brought to his courtroom for a hearing on Friday morning, when they would be freed and allowed to live with Uighur families in the area.
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