Current Events

[Randy W]

George H. W. Bush in China - from the Global Times on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/globaltimesnews/posts/2066841000063456

Global Times added 4 new photos.

7 hrs ·

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【InPics】Beijing memory of George H.W. Bush: When he served as the 2nd Chief of the US Liaison Office to China in 1974 to 1975, he loved riding a bicycle in the city and eating roast duck

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the SCMP on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/508485042987211/

More than 100 Christians detained by Chinese police

South China Morning Post

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In coordinated raids across Chengdu, police snatched pastors and more than 100 worshippers from their homes. Some claimed abuse while in custody.

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Allon]

Anyone see The Sand Pebbles or read the book? Reminds me of the simplistic response for a complex problem.

[Randy W]

Anyone see The Sand Pebbles or read the book? Reminds me of the simplistic response for a complex problem.

 

 

I'm trying to re-watch it, but I need to head to the computer store for a new disk drive first.

 

in the meantime - from China Daily - I tend to agree that the Senate is over-reaching there

 

China says US Senate overstepped on Tibet bill

Beijing strongly opposes a bill passed by the United States Congress that demands access for US citizens to the Tibet autonomous region, saying it disregards the facts and interferes in China's internal affairs.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Friday at a daily news conference that the bill violated the basic rules of international relations, and China has lodged solemn representations to the United States.

The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018, passed by the US Senate on Tuesday, demands that China grant access to US diplomats, journalists and tourists to Tibet. It also threatens to bar from the US any Chinese officials deemed responsible for what it suggested was an exclusionary policy.

"We urge the US administration to immediately take effective measures to prevent the bill from being signed into law, so as not to seriously damage Sino-US relations and bilateral cooperation in important areas," Lu said.

He said that Tibet affairs are China's domestic affairs and that China will not allow outside interference.

Foreigners can get access to Tibet through regular channels, he said, adding that a large number of Chinese and foreigners visit the region for both leisure and business every year.

Since 2015, nearly 40,000 people from the US have visited Tibet, including senior US politicians, Lu said, adding that accusations against China are untenable and cannot be accepted by the Chinese government and people.

 

 

[danb]

Anyone see The Sand Pebbles or read the book? Reminds me of the simplistic response for a complex problem.

I have seen the movie several times. It is a good movie. With Steve McQueen, A young Candice Bergen ????/ aka Murphy Brown ( I think) and the world famous boxing champ, Mako. Al, which scenario do you think has the complex problem? Today's scenario or the movie's? I would agree with today's. In my view it is an internal matter and also a case of people living in glass houses. Danb

Edited December 17, 2018 by danb (see edit history)

[danb]

I initially was going to respond to this story a little differently. I just wanted to ask. Why Now? Are there any issues with timing? Maybe.

[Allon]

It was the response the local Chinese had when the Sand Pebbles Chinese crewman was killed. They blamed it on Holman. And signs calling for Holman being turned over to them started showing up. A lie no less but still straight out of the Propaganda Ministry.

 

I am just getting that the Chinese government is heading down the wrong path. Cover up. Lie. Blame someone else.

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

 

Hong Kong’s pork prices likely to rise as pig supplies from mainland China drop sharply due to swine fever outbreak

• Numbers of pigs imported from across the border fell by half over six days around Christmas, though industry spokesman says this was due to a dip in demand
• Price increases have so far been limited to individual shops, but one Michelin-starred restaurant has been forced to cut back on one of its pork liver dishes

 

The two latest farms affected, located in Jiangxi province, were close to the contaminated area. There were 17 others in neighbouring Guangdong province and one in Hubei province.

The suspension came after the mainland reported at least 92 outbreaks of the fever – a viral infection which cannot pass to humans – at farms since it was first detected in Liaoning province in early August.

Cases were reported in 23 provinces or regions, resulting in a cull of more than 630,000 pigs, according to the China News Service, a state news agency.

 

 

[Randy W]

from the SCMP on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/404519430370145/

Tesla breaks ground on first factory in China

South China Morning Post

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This is Tesla’s first overseas factory and China’s first wholly foreign-owned car plant. Elon Musk plans to start making Model 3s here by the end of 2019.

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Meanwhile, from a competitor (BYD) - in China Daily

 

The bus fleet in Shenzhen is also 100% electric. One thing I haven't seen is an outline of their availability and charging pattern. Ideally, they would be able to run all day on a full charge and then re-charge overnight. Is that possible?

 

We saw a charging station at Dameisha (beach near Shenzhen) during the day. It was virtually unused at that time, although their were a couple of taxis charging.

Green milestone for China's Shenzhen: 99% of taxi fleet are electric

 

 

The high-tech hub of Shenzhen in southern China announced at the start of this year that 99 percent of the 21,689 taxis operating in the city were electric. Last year, it still had 7,500 gasoline-powered taxis on the roads. A few can still be found, but electric ones far outnumber them.

The metropolis of 12.5 million is the second to achieve this feat in China and the largest. The northern China city of Taiyuan, with a population of 4.3 million, has had only electric taxis since 2016.

 

 

[Randy W]

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/1604152706570250/2231579250494256/

Sixth Tone

21 hrs ·

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A court in northeastern China has sentenced Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to death for drug trafficking after the defendant appealed his previous sentence of 15 years in prison

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[amberjack1234]

The wife was telling me about this last night. I can't say whether he was guilty or not but if he was let it be so. He knew that trafficking drugs can carry the bullet in the back of the head in China. If I was guilty of that I would have taken the 15 years and be thankful. Any politics being played do you think?

[Randy W]

The wife was telling me about this last night. I can't say whether he was guilty or not but if he was let it be so. He knew that trafficking drugs can carry the bullet in the back of the head in China. If I was guilty of that I would have taken the 15 years and be thankful. Any politics being played do you think?

 

This came up in 2014, so I doubt that it's related to the current tit-for-tat

[Randy W]

from the People's Daily on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesDaily/posts/2284459521605852

 

People's Daily, China added 4 new photos.

8 hrs ·

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Bullet trains help power the Spring Festival travel rush: Photos taken in the early hours of Jan. 31 show a number of bullet trains in Nanjing, the capital of southern China’s Jiangsu Province. Like a “land aircraft carrier,” the trains provide a better travel experience for countless people. The Spring Festival travel rush kicked off today and will go on for 40 days till Mar. 1

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

now it's Australia - from the Shanghaiist

 

Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun detained in China

 

China has confirmed Yang's arrest five days after he "disappeared" upon landing in Guangzhou

 

Yang’s friends say that the popular novelist and blogger was snatched up by secret police immediately after landing at the Guangzhou airport on Saturday. Since then, he has become uncontactable and his normally active Twitter page has gone totally silent.

Yang had traveled to Guangzhou with his wife, Yuan Rui Juan, and young step-son. Afterward, Yuan reportedly made a brief stop in Shanghai where she dropped off her son before continuing on to Beijing, posting a photo onto Weibo of her arrival at the airport there.

News of Yang’s “disappearance” broke on Wednesday, however, when asked at a Beijing press conference, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that she was not aware of the situation. Later in the day, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade released a statement confirming that Yang had been detained by Chinese authorities, adding that the department was “seeking to clarify the nature of this detention and to obtain consular access to him.”