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China Gains Permanent Observer Status in the Arctic Council

Members of the Arctic Council have unanimously voted to grant China a permanent observer status in this eight-country intergovernmental organization during a Wednesday meeting in Kiruna in northern Sweden, China’s state-run People’s Daily reported.

The ruling is a huge win for China, which has long sought a higher stake in the Arctic Council, the main body setting the agenda for future developments in this energy-rich region that the U.S. Geological Survey said in 2008 is host to more than 20 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves.

Gaining the observer status will allow China to attend meetings but not participate in ministerial conferences. China will also be able to propose projects through members, make statements and present its own views in Arctic affairs. The council, established in 1996,already has six European countries as observers.

China is the most controversial candidate on the list of countries lobbying for an observer status. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India and Italy all sought a bigger say in the region as melting ice caused by climate change makes Arctic resources more accessible. Both Canada and Russia have voiced concerns to opening up the organization further to non-Arctic countries while the U.S. said it was undecided over the issue. According to the European Council on Foreign Relations, China and Russia have major disagreements on the usage of potential shipping routes in the north-east passage, which would reduce China’s dependence on the overcrowded Strait of Malacca and lower its shipping time to Europe by 30 to 40 percent.

After winning the support of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, China’s made another breakthrough last month by signing its first free-trade agreement with a European country, Iceland. During an April visit to Washington, Iceland’s President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson also called for an expanded role for China in the future of the Arctic.

#China #Arctic Council #Permanent observer status #Sweden #Kiruna #Russia #U.S.#Malacca

Lilly Eyes China Growth

Eli Lilly& Co seeks further growth in China’s animal health market amid increasing Chinese demand for safe meat products after a series of recent food safety scandals shocked the country.

After spending in April $100 million to acquire shares of animal-drug manufacturer China Animal Healthcare Limited, the Indianapolis-based Lilly will expand its China operations by setting up livestock disease research centers and scholarships on veterinary studies in various Chinese agricultural colleges, according to president of Lilly’s animal health division Jeff Simmons, who broke the news during a May 9 news conference in Beijing.

Lilly is one of the many animal health product makers that have looked to China as a market of tremendous potential. According to figures from the U.S. Agriculture Department, meat consumption per capita has quadrupled over the past 30 years as Chinese people have much more money to spend. China, turning away from the traditional diet of vegetables and rice, consumed half of the world’s pork in 2006, or 51 million metric tons that year. As the demand rises, Chinese people are also questioning the quality of their meat and conditions at livestock farms, especially after this year’s H7N9 birdflu outbreak that many suspected originated at unhygienic poultry farms.

Border Tensions Flare Up Again Between China and India

Border issues have stoked up new tensions between China and India. More than two weeks have passed since about 50 Chinese soldiers moved into the barren Depsang Valley in the northern Ladakh region, crossing the de facto Line of Actual Control between the two countries and setting up camps some 18 kilometers deep inside Indian-ruled territory.

According to Market Watch, Chinese soldiers refused to move back after military officials from the two sides met for the third time on Tuesday. The state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the two countries are closely consulting with each other to resolve the stand-off that the Sky News reported has the potential to blow into a major diplomatic row before Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s planned visit to India later in May.

China, denying India’s accusations of incursion, said it was just carrying out normal border patrols. India’s opposition parties have branded the government as “cowardly” and “good for nothing” after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh downplayed the issue, telling the New York Times that this is only a “localized” problem which the Indian government already had a plan to solve.

Border tensions have long been simmering between the two emerging superpowers. In 1962, Chinese soldiers overran but later retreated from the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which some in the central government in Beijing consider as “Southern Tibet.” Chinese Ambassador to India ignited a political firestorm in 2006 when he said China was claiming all of Pradesh. China has also been littering the porous border with infrastructure projects.

It is still unclear why China had carried out the surprise move, which is hundreds of miles away from the contested Pradesh area. The deployment has been interpreted as some over-zealous commanders inside the PLA acting in an irrational manner, but it may also reflect the new leadership’s increasingly assertive stance on territory issues, especially when China is engaged in several territorial disputes with other Asian countries such as Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

However, escalation seems unlikely. Sun Shihai, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told Market Watch that the two countries would measure the incident against their other goals and neither side would let it escalate.

#China #India #Border disputes #Pradesh #1962 #Ladakh #Singh

Even China can't crack North Korea's beer industry. North Koreans like alcohol as much as (if not more than) every body else. In fact, producing beer may be the one thing it does better than its southern neighbor

#north korea #nuclear #china #beer #pyongyang #Chongjin #craft beer #beer industry #seafood #Washington #Beijing #Taedonggang

Beijing Wants Washington to Talk With Pyongyang, But Can America Do That?

(Source: The Global Times)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Beijing this week, working together with China to calm down the war-mongering North Korea which the Defense Intelligence Agency document says with “moderate confidence” that has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles. News that the two sides pledge to work toward a non-nuclear North made international headlines. But Beijing’s commitment is a vague one. The Associated Press reports that Beijing wants the U.S. to talk directly with Pyongyang rather than exerting further pressure on the bellicose Kim Jong Un itself.

But the question is: Can Washington directly reach out to North Korea? America tried to do so, but failed in almost all its attempts. President Obama said in his inaugural speech, alluding to North Korea, that he would offer an outstretched hand to those who will unclench their fists first. But the North responded with a nuclear test in 2009. In February 2012, North Korea agreed to suspend work at its uranium-enrichment plant at Yongbyon in exchange for 240,000 tons of food aid from America in what is known as the “Leap Day Agreement.” The Obama administration said this agreement is “important, if limited.” But in less than three weeks, Kim Jong Un responded with another satellite launch, which used technology very similar to the one used in missile launches.

America can’t have a fruitful conversation with the reclusive North without China. After all, it is China that painstakingly facilitated the six-party talk that aims to denuclearize the state. During his visit, Kerry spoke positively of China’s efforts to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula. But China’s stance is not a significant breakthrough from the past. It has consistently voiced opposition to North Korea’s nuclear programs. Yes, it is the country that has the most leverage over North Korea. It props up the regime by providing the country with food, fuel and pretty much everything it needs to survive. It is also unhappy with Kim Jong Un’s rhetoric, but it has qualms about working with the United States.

Beijing’s mistrust of the United States is increasing because of the U.S. “pivot” towards Asia, which strengthens U.S economic and military participation in the region. A large number of Chinese scholars see this as designed to “contain” China. Plus, Beijing fears a mass influx of refugees from North Korea if it reduces aid to its communist ally.

Despite Beijing’s vague words, Chinese people said the government should abandon North Korea. “If someone who claims to be an ‘intimate neighbor’ and good friend sets off a nuclear device at your doorstep, would you still treat him as a friend?” According to Time, Zhang Xingsheng, northeast Asia director of the Nature Conservancy, wrote on his Sina Weibo microblog. “What should China do with such a neighbor? Permit it to continue being reckless? But Beijing won’t push North Korea too hard. The state-run Global Times published an April editorial saying that it is important to have a China-friendly North Korea as a buffer against U.S. allies in the region and China will adjust its North-Korea policy accordingly, but it will never stand together with the United States and South Korea.

#North Korea #U.S.A #China #nuclear #John Kerry #Beijing

Texting Plants Come to Illinois

Yes, even plants can send text messages now. A group of interactive communication researchers in New York developed a pretty neat DIY kit that let your sadly neglected hibiscus send you a text or Twitter message begging for help. The invention generated a lot of buzz in 2008 and 2009. Now, an Illinois university student has come up with a new version of the device that “gives your plant a voice.”

Eduardo Torrealba at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign created what he calls the “Plant Link.” What is different now is that you don’t have to assemble all the little gadgets yourself(saves a lot of time,right?) All you need to do is plugging the white monitor into the soil and the device will be checking your plants’ moisture levels “in a few minutes” (and message you if the leaves are drying up.) So Cheers, now there is an option for those who have yearned for a “talking plant” but deterred by the some 20 steps to make one from this:

The Plant Link also comes with an optional wireless valve, which can enable automatic watering of your outdoor gardens if you are far away from home.DIY-lovers can certainly stick to the New York version. After all,there is one thing it seems to do better: It helps humans feel appreciated. The final product sends you a pre-recorded thank-you message when the plants are happy, letting owners know that they, finally, have done a good job watering their plants.

#texting #plant #new york #oso technologies #botanicalls #illinois #water levels #moisture #soil #DIY

What the world thinks of the U.S. same-sex marriage debate

The rest of the world is closely watching the same-sex marriage debate in the United States that was brought all the way to the Supreme Court in March. As the justices ponder if gay couples have the constitutional rights to wed, overseas media have offered their analysis.

In England, where the House of Commons has passed a gay marriage bill marking the first step towards fully legalizing same-sex marriages, The Telegraph comments that the issue will continue to divide America no matter which way the Supreme Court swings in June. The publication notes that white evangelical Christians, the Republican Party’s core constituent, are not likely to budge while the attitude towards same-sex marriage is shifting to the supporting side in the rest of the nation. It writes that the gay marriage issue will only widen the ideological fissure among the republicans, making it harder for them to expand the party’s appeal and regain the White House.

To a certain extent, China offers similar views. A headline on the website of China National Radio reads “ Gay Marriage Divides the U.S. As Supreme Court Holds First Hearing of Landmark Case.” The publication notes that some republicans are softening their stances on the issue while the rest of the party is firmly against it. But the article argues that it is a good time for gay rights proponents to fight for their causes because Americans are accepting same-sex couples, a trend that is also emerging in China. ABCNews reports that in March, 200 Chinese parents of gays and lesbians have written an open letter to the country’s lawmakers, demanding that their children be allowed to legally marry and have children.But being gay is still a taboo among Chinese officials.China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and removed it from the official list of mental disorders in 2001.

Spain has offered its insight on how the Supreme Court will rule. Spanish newspaper El Pais says that the justices may not guarantee same-sex couples’ right to marriage. The court, which the publication says is traditionally reluctant to impose regulations on the states, may simply let each one of them decide the matter by themselves. Spain legalized same-sex marriage eight years ago, after Netherlands and Belgium.

#same-sex marriage #the Supreme Court #the United States #China #Spain #England #Republicans #the republican party

Chinese Internet Security Firm Offers $30k for Chief Pornography Identifier

Porn sites are not easily accessible in China. After all, the country decided to censor Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained one minute after the first screening started because of a scene showing full front male nudity. Nonetheless, guys in China find ways to check out adult websites and this uncanny ability may now be called “officially” into use.

Anquan. org, a Chinese internet security company that partners with the country’s internet search giant Baidu, is on the hunt for a “chief porn identifier” whose only responsibility is to spot adult contents in a “timely and accurate fashion.” According to Anquan’s advertisement, a successful candidate must be familiar with both porn sites all over the world and Chinese regulations of pornographic contents, notes the popular Chinese blog Shanghaiist.

And the benefits are quite attractive. Anquan offers an annual income of 200,000 yuan ($32,300), which is more than enough to buy you a comfortable life in Beijing. The company says college graduates aged 20 to 35 are welcome to apply.

The job post quickly went viral on China’s twitter-like social media service Weibo. It has been re-posted some 46,000 times . Bloggers commented that this position is perfect for those who spend most of their time watching porns at home. Anquan writes in its official Weibo blog that so far, it has received thousands of applications from elites “both domestic and abroad.”

Fang Binxing, designer of the Great Firewall of China, told the state-run Global Times that the job post is just a “publicity stunt.” But he said it could be good to have someone “watch out for pornographic content.” Wei Wuhui, an Internet and new media expert with Shanghai Jiaotong University, told Global Times that the person “will have little effect” because there is simply too much information online to censor.

#China #Anquan #Internet security #censorship #chief porn identifier #pornography #baidu