China
What Does a New Dragon Stamp Say About China?
Associated Press A man shows Year of the Dragon stamps in Jiaxing on Thursday. Many Chinese lined up on Thursday to buy a stamp commemorating China’s Year of the Dragon, which begins Jan. 23. But the image of the only fictional Chinese Zodiac animal has caused controversy and criticism online for appearing evil and ferocious. For many, the image of a fang-baring, paw-brandishing dragon is too belligerent. In response, stamp designer Chen Shaohua said that the authoritative and powerful image of the dragon was meant to demonstrate a confident and rising China. On his personal blog , he compared his design to the previous two dragon stamps. He said the one for 1988 was a traditional Chinese paper-cut dragon because China was in a difficult time of reform then, and the design intentionally played down the dragon’s stateliness. In 2000, the last Year of the Dragon, the government was promoting a policy of keeping a low international profile, so the design depicted an elegant and sagacious dragon. For the year of 2012, he wrote, “As one of the most influential major states in the world, China is rebuilding its national confidence.” But many disagree. On his microblogging Sina Weibo account, Wang Ran, chief executive of boutique investment bank China eCapital Corp., compared the dragon to China’s notorious city inspectors, who are sometimes caught on camera beating up street vendors. “City inspectors are now on a stamp,” he tweeted. Writer Zhang Yihe wrote on her weibo she was “scared to death” by the stamp. Scholar Wu Jiaxiang uses the Chinese expression 张牙舞爪, which literally means “baring fangs and brandish paws,” to describe the image. He says animals make those gestures when they are scared or startled. In a separate post, he used to stamp image to accompany his tweet about Chinese President Hu Jintao’s newly published essay that urges the country to defend against the West’s assault on the country’s culture and ideology. Yet writer Xiong Peiyun says the image can be interpreted in other ways, “One is locking the ruler in a cage, and the other is keeping the power outside.” –Li Yuan; follow her on Sina Weibo @CWSJ
- Associated Press
- A man shows Year of the Dragon stamps in Jiaxing on Thursday.
Many Chinese lined up on Thursday to buy a stamp commemorating China’s Year of the Dragon, which begins Jan. 23. But the image of the only fictional Chinese Zodiac animal has caused controversy and criticism online for appearing evil and ferocious.
For many, the image of a fang-baring, paw-brandishing dragon is too belligerent. In response, stamp designer Chen Shaohua said that the authoritative and powerful image of the dragon was meant to demonstrate a confident and rising China.
On his personal blog , he compared his design to the previous two dragon stamps. He said the one for 1988 was a traditional Chinese paper-cut dragon because China was in a difficult time of reform then, and the design intentionally played down the dragon’s stateliness. In 2000, the last Year of the Dragon, the government was promoting a policy of keeping a low international profile, so the design depicted an elegant and sagacious dragon.
For the year of 2012, he wrote, “As one of the most influential major states in the world, China is rebuilding its national confidence.”
But many disagree. On his microblogging Sina Weibo account, Wang Ran, chief executive of boutique investment bank China eCapital Corp., compared the dragon to China’s notorious city inspectors, who are sometimes caught on camera beating up street vendors. “City inspectors are now on a stamp,” he tweeted.
Writer Zhang Yihe wrote on her weibo she was “scared to death” by the stamp. Scholar Wu Jiaxiang uses the Chinese expression 张牙舞爪, which literally means “baring fangs and brandish paws,” to describe the image. He says animals make those gestures when they are scared or startled. In a separate post, he used to stamp image to accompany his tweet about Chinese President Hu Jintao’s newly published essay that urges the country to defend against the West’s assault on the country’s culture and ideology.
Yet writer Xiong Peiyun says the image can be interpreted in other ways, “One is locking the ruler in a cage, and the other is keeping the power outside.”
–Li Yuan; follow her on Sina Weibo @CWSJ
The restructuring of the economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978.
China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development.
The country’s per capita income was at $6,567 (IMF, 98th) in 2009.
Nevertheless, key bottlenecks continue to constrain growth.
Agricultural output has been vulnerable to the effects of weather, while industry has been more directly influenced by the government.
The technological level and quality standards of its industry as a whole are still fairly low, notwithstanding a marked change since 2000, spurred in part by foreign investment.
By the early 1990s these subsidies began to be eliminated, in large part due to China’s admission into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, which carried with it requirements for further economic liberalization and deregulation.
The ministry made the announcements during a press conference held in Xiamen on the upcoming United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Forum and the 14th China International Fair for Investment and Trade.
“The growth rate (for ODI) in the next few years will be much higher than previous years,” Shen said, without elaborating.
China is expected to have 200 million cars on the road by 2020, increasing pressure on energy security and the environment, government officials said yesterday.
In large part as a result of economic liberalization policies, the GDP quadrupled between 1978 and 1998, and foreign investment soared during the 1990s.
Agriculture is by far the leading occupation, involving over 50% of the population, although extensive rough, high terrain and large arid areas – especially in the west and north – limit cultivation to only about 10% of the land surface.
China is the world’s largest producer of rice and wheat and a major producer of sweet potatoes, sorghum, millet, barley, peanuts, corn, soybeans, and potatoes.
Horses, donkeys, and mules are work animals in the north, while oxen and water buffalo are used for plowing chiefly in the south.
There are also extensive iron-ore deposits; the largest mines are at Anshan and Benxi, in Liaoning province.
China is among the world’s four top producers of antimony, magnesium, tin, tungsten, and zinc, and ranks second (after the United States) in the production of salt, sixth in gold, and eighth in lead ore.
Coal is the single most important energy source in China; coal-fired thermal electric generators provide over 70% of the country’s electric power.
Other leading ports are rail termini, such as Lüshun (formerly Port Arthur, the port of Dalian), on the South Manchuria RR; and Qingdao, on the line from Jinan.
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What Does a New Dragon Stamp Say About China?
China
Ukraine war: 10% of Chinese people are willing to boycott Russian goods over invasion – new study
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some Chinese citizens express dissent through potential boycotts of Russian goods, reflecting a complex relationship despite government support for Russia.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Chinese government has been criticised for its refusal to condemn the war. In 2024, the economic and diplomatic relationship between the two nations appears stronger than ever.
Because of strict censorship and repression imposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it is difficult to know the extent to which the general public shares their government’s support of Putin’s regime. But a newly published study I carried out with colleagues found that more than 10% of Chinese people surveyed were willing to boycott Russian goods over the war in Ukraine.
This is a surprisingly large figure, especially since existing surveys indicate that Chinese people hold a broadly positive view of their neighbour. We used a representative sample of 3,029 Chinese citizens for this research, to dig into public attitudes to Russia. The survey was done in 2022 after the Ukraine invasion.
We were aware that due to widespread censorship, our participants might not be willing to give honest answers to questions about Russia’s actions in Ukraine. They might also not feel safe to do that in a regime where disagreement with the CCP’s position is often met with harsh punishment. This is why we asked them to tell us if they would be willing to boycott Russian products currently sold in China.
We felt this question was a good indicator of how much the participants disapproved of Russian foreign policy in Ukraine. More importantly, we were also curious to find out whether Chinese citizens would be willing to take direct political action to punish Russia economically for its aggressive behaviour.
In our study, we split respondents into the three different ideological groups in China: “liberals”, who support the free market and oppose authoritarianism; “the new left”, who sympathise with the policies pursued in China under Mao Zedong; and “neo-authoritarians”, who believe the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is an extension of the rivalry between authoritarian China and the liberal United States. These groups were based on the main political beliefs in China.
We found that liberals were most likely to say they were willing to boycott Russian products. Liberals believe that China should work with, rather than against, western democracies. They also place a high value on human rights and democratic freedoms. Because of their beliefs, they are likely to think that Russia’s actions against Ukraine were unprovoked, aggressive and disproportional.
Chinese and Russian economic and diplomatic relations seem closer than ever in 2024.
American Photo Archive/Alamy
The new left and neo-authoritarians we surveyed were more supportive of Russian products. The new left see Russia as a close ally and believe that Nato’s expansion in eastern Europe was a form of aggression. Neo-authoritarians, on the other hand, believe that supporting Russia, an allied autocracy, is in China’s best interest.
Boycotting Russian goods
Asking Chinese participants if they are willing to boycott Russian products might seem like a simple matter of consumer preferences. However, our study reveals a great deal about the way in which regular citizens can express controversial political beliefs in a repressive authoritarian regime.
Boycotting products of certain companies has long been studied in the west as a form of unconventional political action that helps people express their beliefs. However, in the west, boycotting certain products is simply one of many ways people are able to take political action. In a country such as China, boycotting a Russian product might often be the only safe way to express disagreement with the country’s actions.
This is because citizens do not have to tell others they chose not to buy a product, and their actions are unlikely to attract the attention of the authorities.
Since Russian goods are readily available to Chinese consumers and China is encouraging more Russian exports to reach its market, the Russian economy could be significantly affected by an organised boycott campaign in China. The considerable level of support for a boycott expressed by some of our participants, as well as previous acts of solidarity with Ukraine in China, suggest that such a campaign could already be taking place in the country.
This could harm Russia because it regularly exports a number of different products such as meat, chocolate, tea and wine to China. These goods made up 5.1% of China’s total imports in 2023 – and this figure is likely to increase if Russia becomes more isolated from the west, and therefore more dependent on China for its trade.
While 5.1% of the Chinese market might seem like a low figure, China is home to over 1.4 billion people. In this context, even a small boycott could result in a serious loss to Russian companies.
Our research shows that Chinese citizens don’t always support the official position of the communist party. It also shows that many people there will express even the most unpopular political opinions – if they can find a safe way to do it.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
China
Australia Can Enhance China’s Credibility in the CPTPP
In early 2024, China sought to join the CPTPP, potentially offering modest economic benefits to Australia. Key reforms include limiting state-owned enterprise subsidies, enhancing data flows, and banning forced labor.
China’s Interest in the CPTPP
In early 2024, China expressed a keen interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade agreement involving eleven Pacific Rim economies and the United Kingdom. This move is anticipated to yield modest economic benefits for Australia. However, it also opens the door for vital reforms in areas such as the control of subsidies for state-owned enterprises, allowing free cross-border data flows, and prohibiting forced labor practices.
Economic Implications for Australia
A May 2024 report from the Australian Productivity Commission indicated that China’s accession to the CPTPP might raise Australia’s GDP by only 0.01%. This modest gain isn’t surprising, given Australia’s existing preferential trade arrangement with China through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Nonetheless, the CPTPP encompasses more than just tariff reductions, focusing on broader trade principles and standards.
Reform Commitments Required from China
For China to become a CPTPP member, it must demonstrate adherence to high-standard rules initially developed with the country in mind. This commitment will help alleviate concerns among member nations like Japan and Canada, particularly regarding China’s economic practices and geopolitical tensions, such as those with Taiwan. Membership would necessitate reforms, including limiting SOE subsidies, enabling freer data flows, and banning forced labor, with significant penalties for non-compliance.
Source : Australia can encourage China’s credibility in the CPTPP
Business
Gordonstoun Severs Connections with Business Led by Individual Accused of Espionage for China
Gordonstoun school severed ties with Hampton Group over espionage allegations against chairman Yang Tengbo. He denies involvement and claims to be a victim of political tensions between the UK and China.
Allegations Lead to School’s Decision
Gordonstoun School in Moray has cut ties with Hampton Group International after serious allegations surfaced regarding its chairman, Yang Tengbo, who is accused of being a spy for the Chinese government. Known by the alias "H6," Mr. Tengbo was involved in a deal that aimed to establish five new schools in China affiliated with Gordonstoun. However, the recent allegations compelled the school to terminate their agreement.
Public Denial and Legal Action
In response to the spying claims, Mr. Tengbo publicly revealed his identity, asserting that he has committed no wrongdoing. A close associate of Prince Andrew and a former Gordonstoun student himself, Mr. Tengbo has strenuously denied the accusations, stating that he is a target of the escalating tensions between the UK and China. He has claimed that his mistreatment is politically motivated.
Immigration Challenges and Legal Responses
Yang Tengbo, also known as Chris Yang, has faced additional challenges regarding his immigration status in the UK. After losing an appeal against a ban enacted last year, he reiterated his innocence, condemning media speculation while emphasizing his commitment to clear his name. Gordonstoun, on its part, stated its inability to divulge further details due to legal constraints.
Source : Gordonstoun cuts ties with business chaired by man accused of spying for China
- Ukraine war: 10% of Chinese people are willing to boycott Russian goods over invasion – new study
- Australia Can Enhance China’s Credibility in the CPTPP
- Gordonstoun Severs Connections with Business Led by Individual Accused of Espionage for China
- China Dismantles Prominent Uyghur Business Landmark in Xinjiang – Shia Waves
- China Expands Nationwide Private Pension Scheme After Two-Year Pilot Program
- How a scandal over sanitary pads is shaping feminist activism in China
