China Archive

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  At last, Key congratulates Chinese Nobel prize winner - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  On Friday the great news came through the Liu Xiaobo, jailed for his promotion of the Chinese democracy manifesto, Charter 08, had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Within 24 hours we had congratulatory messages from Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner,  the European Commission chief, Jose Manual Barroso, etc.  Green co-leader [...] read more
  October 12, 2010 5:53 pm - 4 Comments
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  Liu Xiaobo awarded Nobel Peace Prize - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Liu Xiaobo, Chinese dissident and democracy campaigner, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China”. Liu is in jail for 11 years for advocating for democracy and human rights in China. NY Times reports that China threatened that relations with Norway would be damaged if [...] read more
  October 9, 2010 5:20 pm - No Comments
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  Hospitals, morgues overflow and coffin supply running very short - by frog

  
  
  
  Moscow has worst heatwave since records began Muscovites are dying from extreme heat and smoke faster than their bodies can be stored, cremated or buried Morgues are overflowing and one crematorium in the Russian capital is working around the clock in three shifts “The cheapest coffin costs 6,700 roubles ($225) but there are only a [...] read more
  August 11, 2010 9:36 am - 13 Comments
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  China’s competitive edge - by frog

  
  
  
  I was bemused by John Key’s statements on China’s ‘competitive edge’ yesterday, during an interview with Guyon Espiner on Q+A. read more
  July 12, 2010 11:25 am - 55 Comments
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  The Labour Party’s “Two Chinas” policy - by frog

  
  
  
  It seems the Labour Party has its own current version of the historic “Two Chinas” policy – but with respect to Tibet. Here are Labour MPs Raymond Huo and Phil Twyford, definitely not singing from the same songsheet. I’m with Phil on this one. read more
  June 30, 2010 8:56 pm - 137 Comments
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  Under the leather - by frog

  
  
  
  What would you say if I were to tell you that a New Zealand company has been fined every year since 2004 for breaches of air pollution regulations — in China? What if I was to tell you this company, which has strong New Zealand links – including a former Prime Minister on the board [...] read more
  April 2, 2010 3:04 pm - 2 Comments
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  Tibetan cause remembered at Parliament - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  The Tibetan flags being waved on Parliament’s lawn may have alerted passers by to the presence inside of high level Chinese delegation.  The delegation was visiting to “update” MPs on ‘economic and social developments in Tibet.” I was happy to attend the official luncheon and be ‘updated’ by Mr Quingba Puncog, a Tibetan who is [...] read more
  March 26, 2010 12:03 pm - 6 Comments
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  Cambodia deports Uighers to China – and an uncertain fate. - by Keith Locke

  
  
  
  There has rightly been a big international outcry at Cambodia returning 20 Uigher asylum seekers to China, where have been detained. The deportation, on December 19,  flies in the face of all refugee law, that people shouldn’t be returned to persecution. Heavy political pressure and bribery seems to have worked for Beijing. Just after the [...] read more
  December 24, 2009 7:17 pm - 6 Comments
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  Foreign Affairs is a million shades of grey - by frog

  
  
  
  I was wading through the agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia New Zealand Free Trade Area a few weeks ago – a little light reading for a Frog. Looks like New Zealand will be doing business with Burma (or Myanmar as the military dictators refer to Burma). Green MP Dr Kennedy Graham spoke about this in the [...] read more
  May 6, 2009 2:58 pm - 8 Comments
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  Letters to the editor - by frog

  
  
  
  These two letters in The Press caught my eye today: Heh heh. And on a more serious note: Incidentally the preferential trade agreement with China comes into force tomorrow (1 October).  From that point on provisions that make it easier and faster for China to get its goods through our our customs and biosecurity take [...] read more
  September 30, 2008 1:49 pm - 10 Comments
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  I’m less likely to trust them too - by frog

  
  
  
  No, not Clark and Key this time. In the Business section of the Dominion Post today: More than half of Chinese consumers say they are now less likely to trust New Zealand food products after the melamine contamination scandal, according to a just-released survey. And: Sinogie Consulting chief executive Bruce McLaughlin, who is based in [...] read more
  September 29, 2008 2:02 pm - 2 Comments
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  NZ’s melamine contamination - by frog

  
  
  
  Poisonous food and dying babies is strictly a ‘far away in China’ sort of thing, even if it happens to be large New Zealand company embroiled in the scandal?  Right? We can look sadly on and shake our heads despondently at Chinese officials and businessmen who didn’t respond fast enough or allow the public to [...] read more
  September 25, 2008 3:19 pm - No Comments
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  Knowing where your milk powder comes from - by frog

  
  
  
  Here’s some more from Question Time in the house yesterday.  The government has a longstanding position that Country of Origin Labelling on food is not a food safety issue and so it refuses to protect consumers’ right to know where their food comes from. That assertion that the safety of food has nothing to do [...] read more
  September 24, 2008 9:02 am - 5 Comments
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  A sahara desert’s worth of milk powder - by frog

  
  
  
  I just got sent this video of a Sanlu advertising campaign: Sanlu’s September 2008 TV commercial for Western media, with the copy “For the past 15 years we have enough sale volume covered the entire sahara desert”. The ‘volume’ refers to milk powder. Meanwhile Sue Kedgley has been asking some pertinent questions: While we welcome [...] read more
  September 22, 2008 3:50 pm - 6 Comments
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  Our company was a guest in China - by frog

  
  
  
  According to the Sunday Star Times this morning: [A] Christchurch political scientist says Fonterra’s lack of understanding of the Chinese political and business environment meant the dairy giant was out of its depth before it had even bought its 43% shareholding in China’s largest dairy company, Sanlu, in late 2005 for $US107m. That remains one [...] read more
  September 21, 2008 1:55 pm - 5 Comments
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  Car Free Day – more from China - by frog

  
  
  
  Beijing’s massive traffic restriction programme, launched just before the Olympics is coming to an end: The return to Beijing’s traffic- and smog-heavy status quo will mark the end of what may have been the world’s largest pollution control experiment: a restriction on cars, factories and construction that lasted for two months and resulted in the [...] read more
  September 19, 2008 9:18 am - 10 Comments
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  Fonterra’s baby milk tragedy - by frog

  
  
  
  I wonder how we would feel if a Chinese company operating in New Zealand were found to be responsible for the death one baby and made another 432 sick with kidney damage? Then the Chinese Premier steps in to defend the company, whose subsidiary had known about this for 6 months, and hopes that its [...] read more
  September 15, 2008 11:15 am - 6 Comments
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  Car Free Day in China - by frog

  
  
  
  Have I mentioned it’s Car Free Day soon?  Oh I have.  Well, China has thrown out quite a big “I dare you“: China plans to ban cars from streets in 108 cities in its first “No Car Day” on Sept. 22, part of an effort to promote environmental protection and ease congestion in the world’s [...] read more
  September 14, 2008 7:03 am - 36 Comments
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  GM chinese food - by frog

  
  
  
  I always figured when I bought food that might contain US ingredients I needed to be especially careful checking what the ingredients were and where they came from if I wanted to avoid GE food.  Not that I can check of course because there is no requirement for anyone to tell me what they are [...] read more
  September 8, 2008 4:37 pm - 25 Comments
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  Oil politics backfire on the US - by frog

  
  
  
  Open Democracy’s Paul Rogers notes that as China looks to secure oil for it’s increasing consumption it is becoming a strategic power in the Middle East in exactly the way the US would not have intended or wanted. Three transnational oil companies – Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil – were all expected to complete deals [...] read more
  September 6, 2008 9:50 am - 6 Comments