China Challenges

Bird Flu Question Marks

Despite its promises of "complete openess," China is still not cooperating with the World Health Organization in the global fight against bird flu.  A Reuters story says:

The WHO and other international health bodies have called on China to pass on animal samples of the bird flu virus for testing, which China has not done. “It means that there is a question mark that hangs over the progress of the virus in China,” said Roy Wadia, the WHO’s Beijing-based spokesman. “It’s perhaps more significant to get animal viruses, because this virus is still something that is primarily in the animal sector.”

To read more:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10651743/from/RS.5/

Life and Death

To gain a better understanding of what life is really like for many migrant workers in China, read the sad story of Wang Binyu in the IHT. 

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/30/news/law.php

Loosen the One-Child Policy?

Will China's one-child policy hurt its economic competitiveness in the decades to come?  Alice Yan in the SCMP reports:

The mainland population is ageing at a phenomenal rate under the one-child policy and will reach a peak of 1.45 billion in about 20 years, according to a report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. This anticipated figure is lower than the 1.6 billion peak international forecasters have been predicting for 2050.

But population analysts are considering whether the policy should be loosened because the country is ageing faster than expected. They say the situation will worsen as the number of retired workers grows and the pool of people paying into pension funds shrinks.

Zeng Yi , from Peking University's China Centre for Economic Research, estimated that if the one-child policy remained in place, the population would decline dramatically after the 2025 peak and drop by 100 million every decade between 2030 and 2080.

After 2025, people 65 or over would account for at least 20 per cent of the population, more than double the ratio now.

"There is no doubt that a rapid decrease in the population will result in not only ageing problems but other serious problems like labour shortages," Professor Zeng said. "There will also be insufficient funds to cover social insurance and pensions, economic gloom and huge burdens on the education and health care sectors.

"If we maintain the present family planning policy, China will see its labour source shrink quickly and lose its comparative advantage for economic development."

To read more: ($$ required)

http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZ8HWQJRGE.html

Two Peaceful Rises?

Can Asia handle the rise of China and Japan's new national security ambitions at the same time? Mr. Brad Glosserman in the Japan Times writes:

Taro Aso's recent comment in plain words about the "threat" posed by China's military modernization effort is as remarkable as the supposed threat itself. The readiness of a Japanese Cabinet official, and a foreign minister no less, to publicly acknowledge and criticize China's military buildup marks a profound departure from past practice.

His comment underscores the fact that two processes are occurring simultaneously in East Asia -- the "rise of China" and the evolution of Japanese security policy. These changes are pushing Asia into uncharted territory. Never before has the region had to accommodate two "rising powers" at the same time.

To read more:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?eo20051231bg.htm

Reporters Walk Out

MSNBC says about 100 reporters of the Beijing News walked out after this week’s sacking of the daily’s top editor, the latest victim of China’s strict press controls.

Meanwhile, China has reported its seventh case of human bird flu.  God only knows, how many more cases will be revealed in the months ahead?

To read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10639778/

Diplomat's Death

A Japanese diplomat's suicide in Shanghai has all the makings of a real crisis.  Thomas Lifson at the American Thinker has more:

http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=4060

Few are Financially Confident

China's high household savings rate is a sign of weakness, not a strength.  A new report from McKinsey Quarterly says:

While a recent door-to-door survey of 6,000 Chinese households revealed a strong near-term appetite for consumer goods, it also suggested a considerable wariness that could influence the behavior of shoppers.

Just 37 percent of those surveyed, for example, agreed or strongly agreed with the statement "I feel confident about my financial future." The respondents also confirmed that they saved a quarter of their family income—vastly more than people in Europe and the United States save.

The survey results support the view that China's savings rate is high because the country's social safety net is thin and most Chinese must pay for health care and pensions out of their own pockets.

To read more:

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_page.aspx?ar=1717&L2=16&L3=17&srid=17&gp=0

Little Legal Protection

A story in the China Daily shows serious legal problems for many low level workers and their employers. Lui Li writes:

Four in five private enterprises in China have not signed job contracts with their employees that's the startling result of a survey by the country's top legislators.

"The legal rights of employees were frequently violated in more than 80 per cent of private companies, specially in real estate, light industry, clothing and catering," He Luli, vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said yesterday at the ongoing session.

According to the Labour Law that came into effect in 1995, a contract between employer and employee is mandatory. Administrative labour departments are authorized to force dithering employers to sign contracts with employees if the delay is intentional.

To read more:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-12/29/content_507514.htm

Diplomat Blackmail?

The Japan Times reports on a going controversy between Tokyo and Beijing.  Mr. Reiji Yoshida explains:

Tokyo has lodged protests with Beijing four times since last year over the 2004 suicide of a diplomat at the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, claiming China violated an international treaty by trying to blackmail him for intelligence, government sources admitted Wednesday.

According to a report by the Yomiuri Shimbun, the diplomat, who was in charge of encryption of classified communications, left suicide notes saying he had been blackmailed by a man believed belonging to the Chinese public security agency who was seeking confidential information.

To read more:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20051229a1.htm

Massive Payout

Because of government price controls on gas and oil products, Sinopec Group, Asia's largest oil refiner will receive a massive 10 billion yuan (about $1.1 billion) payout. 

And Beijing officials can often be heard bitterly complaining  that other countries refuse to grant it "market economy status" during its conflicts in the WTO.

To read more:  ($$ required)

http://biz.scmp.com/bizmain/ZZZ1Q9CKRGE.html

Wanted: English Skills

When Chinese and other Asians study English they often spend too much time trying to memorize vocabulary and grammar points.  Because high school and unversity class sizes are too large, they often have little opportunity to improve their speaking skills.  In the South China Morning Post, columnist C.K. Lau writes:

Reading reports produced by international management consultancies that serve multinational corporations, one will find that a major yardstick in assessing the success or failure of a country's education system is its graduates' ability to function in English.

One recent report on the mainland lamented that its education system had failed, because fewer than 10 per cent of job candidates were qualified to work in a foreign company in engineering, finance and accounting, quantitative analysis and support roles, because of their inadequate English skills.

Even in India - a former British colony with the largest number of non-native speakers of English - its outsourcing industry is said to be facing a serious problem: it has run out of information-technology workers fluent in the language. One report says that only about 25 per cent of the country's graduates are "employable", because the others cannot communicate well enough in English.

To read more: ($$ required)

http://focus.scmp.com/focusnews/ZZZBMUQJRGE.html

Focusing on Design

BusinessWeek has another interesting column by Niti Bhan about the ongoing challenge India and China is giving America in many high-tech fields.  She writes:

"Designed in the USA, built in China." These words, which appear on the bottom of every iPod, underscore Apple's justly deserved reputation for understanding the value of design and its relevance to corporate strategy.

To read more:   

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/dec2005/id20051227_257940.htm

Ugly Chinese?

Some say Chinese tourists are becoming the new 'Ugly Americans.'  The Christian Science Monitor says:

Just as brash Americans attract glances from Parisian sophisticates, Chinese tourists have acquired a reputation in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia as loud, pushy bumpkins with table manners that leave much to be desired.

To read more:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1228/p01s02-woap.html?s=hns

Big Pharma in Asia

In response to the ongoing "engineering gap" controversy, reader Prad comments:

Well, inflated numbers may be true to a certain extent but not to that extent that it would change the realty.  The realty is, not just back-office work, but also high tech R&D is now slowly moving to India and China. Microsoft is in the process of moving its RFID research completely to Hyderabad, India. GE, Cisco, AMD, Oracle are just few other tech companies which are increasing their R&D investment in India right now.

Even Pharma companies have realized the talent of India's chemists and scientists. If we're still thinking that all Indian pharma companies can do is produce copy cats of US drugs, it will be a nightmare when the realty pops up. US companies actively involved in drug discovery research are increasing their capabilities in India to develop drugs cost effectively, efficiently, and more quicly.

All this really scares the crap out of me.

For more of my thoughts on this complex issue, read this comment at the American Thinker:

http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=4033

Spreading Propaganda?

As noted days ago on this weblog, a new study from Duke University suggests the so-called engineering gap between America and its Asian rivals China and India is a myth. 

Now, BusinessWeek has uncovered some possible reasons behind this "propaganda."  After discussing the sensitive issue with Duke study's author Dr. Vivek Wadhwa, Mr. Pete Engardio writes:

The bottom line is that America's engineering crisis is a myth, Wadhwa argues. Both sides in the globalization debate are "spreading propaganda," he contends. India and China are using inflated engineering numbers because they want to draw more foreign investment, while fearmongers in the U.S. use dubious data either to support their case for protectionism, to lobby for greater government spending on higher education and research, or to justify their offshore investments.

To read more:

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2005/nf20051223_7594_db039.htm

For more on this topic, read my thoughts at the American Thinker:

http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=3973

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Need a New Years resolution for 2006?  Try studying Chinese.  Join a growing number of Americans.  US News and World Report says:

When the College Board surveyed high schools last fall to see how many were interested in offering Advanced Placement courses in Chinese, it expected around 200 to say yes; instead, 2,400 wanted in.

To read more:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/051226/26mind.chinese.htm

Religious Revival

In the Japan Times, Mr. Eric Teo Chu Cheow writes about a religious revival in China.  He explains:

Moreover, according to one official, there is a frantic revival of Christianity, probably China's fastest-growing religion. Underground churches have proliferated in China's urban areas and appear to be tolerated to a certain extent as long as they don't contravene the authorities. For this reason Pope Benedict XVI is said to be keen to normalize relations between the Vatican and Beijing.

China also has begun to pay more attention to the rise of Islam in society, after having quashed Islamic Uighur separatist movements in Xinjiang in the 1990s. After Sept. 11, 2001, collaboration with America helped weed out radical elements. Today, though, Islam is allowed to flourish as a religion in Xinjiang and across China, while China increases its own ties with the Muslim world, especially the Central Asian republics, in order to check separatism and religious terrorism.

To read more:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?eo20051227a1.htm

Is Free Trade A Magic Bullet?

While I strongly support free trade, Mr. George Wehrfritz in Newsweek International argues:

Many economists argue that free trade is a magic bullet—the quickest way to fuel growth and alleviate poverty. Yet free trade hasn't much helped the 47 least developed countries in the world, the poorest of the poor.

According to United Nations data, their share of world trade has declined sharply since 1950, and now accounts for a meager 1 percent of global trade volume. Collectively, the number of people living in abject poverty in those nations is expected to rise to 471 million by 2015—up from 334 million in 2000.

Even East Asia, long the poster child for export-driven growth, owes much of its rise to government-led and -financed industrial strategies, as well as outright protectionism. Japan still impedes imports of foreign rice, for example, while South Korea blocks a variety of agricultural products.

To read more:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10512431/site/newsweek/

Economic Revision

Mr. Philip Bowring writes in the IHT:

Headlines about China's advance have been coming thick and fast this past week. The economy is 17 percent bigger than previously estimated. It is about to surpass every country in Europe except Germany and still growing at 9 percent. China's information technology exports have surpassed those of the United States. It now exports more cars than it imports. Beijing seems almost embarrassed by all this good news and published a document emphasizing that its "peaceful rise" is no threat to anyone.

To read more:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/26/opinion/edbowring.php#

Record Car Production

The Chinese car market is roaring ahead.  With so much new production capacity, will prices and profit margins continue to fall?   An AP story says:

China's car production last month grew 52.1 per cent from the same month last year to a record 291,900 units, breaking the previous record set in June of 275,100 units, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics yesterday.

To read more: ($$ required)

http://biz.scmp.com/bizchina/ZZZ6H1CKRGE.html

Unfriendly Feelings

An AP story says a government survey in Tokyo showed that only 32.4 per cent of Japanese said they had "friendly feelings" towards China, down 5.2 points from last year, itself a record low. 

To read more: ($$ required)

http://china.scmp.com/chimain/ZZZ0AOQJRGE.html

NY Times and Chinese Law

After many months in legal limbo, a Chinese journalist working for the NY Times has been indicted.  Today's Times editorial says:

After holding Zhao Yan, a journalist, for 15 months without a hearing, Chinese authorities have finally drummed up an indictment. Yesterday, on the last working day for prosecutors to decide whether to go forward with the case under Chinese law, Mr. Zhao, a researcher in the Beijing bureau of The New York Times, was formally charged with revealing state secrets to the newspaper and the lesser charge of fraud. If convicted, he faces a possible minimum of 10 years' imprisonment.

To read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/opinion/24sat3.html?th&emc=th

Going for a MBA

BusinessWeek has an interesting set of stories about the growing demand for MBAs in China.

Take a Look: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/china/

Happy Holidays!

After a slow start in late June, this weblog has grown in popularity with each passing month.  I would like wish a Merry Christmas to all of China Challenges loyal readers around the world.   

Dual-Use Exports

Read my new article posted at the American Thinker called Dual-Use Exports to China:

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5099

Net Car Exporter

In a sign of things to come, China has now become a net exporter of cars and trucks for the first time.  I wonder what percentage come from foreign joint-ventures? 

To read more: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8EL7S1G2.htm?campaign_id=apn_asia_up&chan=gb   

A Chinese General Misspoke

In July, a Chinese general claimed Beijing would consider using nuclear weapons in the event of U.S. intervention in any conflict with Taiwan.  Now he has been punished.  The IHT reports:

Major General Zhu Chenghu received an "administrative demerit" recently from the National Defense University, which bars him from promotion for one year, said the sources, who requested anonymity.

"He misspoke," a source said. "But the punishment could not be too harsh or we would be seen as too weak toward the United States."

To read more:  (scroll down after the Japan story)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/22/news/japan.php#

A Considerable Threat

According to the Japan Times, Japan's conservative Foreign Minister Taro Aso said China "possesses nuclear arms and its military budget has seen double-digit growth for the past 17 years and its content is not transparent. It is starting to become a considerable threat."

To read more:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20051223a1.htm

Another Toxic Spill

AP reports:

China' s southern business capital of Guangzhou, just north of Hong Kong, rushed Thursday to ensure water supplies as a toxic spill from a smelter flowed toward the city of 7 million. 

Guangzhou and the nearby manufacturing center of Foshan were ordered to “start emergency plans to ensure safe drinking water supplies to their residents,” the official Xinhua News Agency said. The report didn't say what the cities were told to do.

To read more:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10567658/

Hong Kong Pushs Reform

Beijing is not so happy with Hong Kong these days.  At Slate.com, Daisann McLane wrote on Wednesday:

Something extraordinary happened in Hong Kong politics tonight—something on the scale, say, of Patrick Fitzgerald indicting Dick Cheney or the Senate rejecting the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito. For the first time in anyone's memory—and I checked this with fellow reporters who go back 20 years in Hong Kong—the Legislative Council (Legco) rejected a major piece of government-proposed legislation, a Beijing-backed "reform" of Hong Kong's political system.

To read more:

http://www.slate.com/id/2132798/entry/0/

Our Perfectionist Standards

Many Americans are worried that their jobs will migrate to India or China.  At RealClearPolitics.com, Robert Sameulson makes some excellent points:

Economic performance (now good) and economic psychology (now mediocre) have, to some extent, become disconnected. Why? One reason is that Americans have developed perfectionist standards. We expect total prosperity and are disappointed by anything less. There should be no doubts or deficiencies. Today's include: high energy prices; high health costs; Hurricane Katrina's aftermath; a possible real estate ``bubble.''

Greater job insecurity also subverts Americans' sense of well-being. Since 1979, the research firm ISR has asked workers to react to this statement: ``I am frequently concerned about being laid off.''

In 1982, when unemployment averaged 9.7 percent, 14 percent answered ``yes.'' In 1996, when unemployment was 5.4 percent, the response reached a high of 46 percent.

This year, the anxiety level is 35 percent. Because workers feel more threatened, no given amount of income or wealth provides as much satisfaction as it once did.

To read more:

http://realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/com-12_21_05_RS.html

The NY Times in Shanghai Court

In an interesting move, a local court in Shanghai will grant journalists from The New York Times unrestricted access for four days later this month to study China's legal procedures.

To read more see my comment at the American Thinker:

http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=3981

Chinese-Made Hybrids

Despite historical mistrust, more Chinese car buyers are selecting Japanese brands.  Can Toyota's technical skills assist in making air pollution in the Middle Kingdom a less serious health threat?  Businessweek reports:

On Dec. 15, Toyota and FAW held a ceremony to herald the joint, local production of the Toyota Prius hybrid-engine passenger car, which will sell in China for about $36,000 in 2006. The China-produced Prius marks the first-ever production of the fuel-efficient model outside of Japan.

To read more: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2005/nf20051221_5333_db065.htm?campaign_id=hp_views&campaign_creative=Brian%20Bremner

One Big, Bad Toe

The Pride of Shanghai, the one and only Yao Ming, will have surgery on his inflected toe.  To read more:  http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/rockets/2005-12-18-yao-sidelined_x.htm

Boom before a Bust?

Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria has joined the growing number of experts saying China's economy is ready to slow down.  He writes:

My guess is that China's problems will stem not from failure but success. China has grown for three decades at a pace no other country has ever sustained. Much of this has been possible because its government has been relentlessly focused on economic growth, doing anything necessary to achieve that end. But this strategy does have some downsides: 2006 might be the year that we begin to witness China's problems, admittedly ones any developing country would kill for.

To read more:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10512134/site/newsweek/

Immigrants and Engineering

In response to the Engineering Gap post, reader Derek says:

I wonder how much of that number is skewed by immigration?

When I was hiring engineers a few years ago, I was inundated with resumes from Chinese and Indian grad school students. I ended up hiring quite a few of them. I would guess that half the resumes I received were from immigrants.

Good point.  At the American Thinker, I made this observation:

During my five years teaching business management courses in Beijing and Shanghai, I have realized that most “university students” actually attend full-time classes for a total of three years or less.

And to make matters worse, many Chinese professors use a traditional teaching style that puts a great emphasis on theory, at the expense of practical knowledge. This often leads to graduates with little applied knowledge that would be most useful in the workplace or on the factory floor.

To read more:

http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=3973

What Engineering Gap?

Mr. Mark Clayton in the Christian Science Monitor takes on the liberal myth that too few American students are graduating from university with engineering degrees.  He explains:

By making more specific comparisons, US competitiveness, as measured by newly minted engineers, is not eroding as fast as many say - if it's eroding at all, according to a Duke University study released last week.

"Inconsistent reporting of problematic engineering graduation data has been used to fuel fears that America is losing its technological edge," the study states.

"A comparison of like-to-like data suggests that the US produces a highly significant number of engineers, computer scientists, and information technology specialists, and remains competitive in global markets."

To read more:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1220/p01s01-ussc.html

Prisioner Organs for Sale?

The Washington Times has a story claiming a Chinese company has begun marketing kidneys, livers and other organs from executed prisoners to sick Britons in need of transplants.

To read more:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20051219-115834-8584r.htm

Sensitive Exports

The SCMP has a story about President Bush on Friday authorizing the export to China of certain sensitive equipment for a railroad project, saying it would not pose a threat to the United States space industry. They report:

Mr Bush told Congress that the export of 36 accelerometers to China's Ministry of Railways for use in a railroad track geometry measuring system "is not detrimental to the US space industry", the White House said in a statement.

Accelerometers are instruments used to track speed.

Mr Bush said "the material and equipment, including any indirect technical benefit that could be derived from such export, will not measurably improve the missile or space launch capabilities" of China.

To read more:  ($$ required)

http://china.scmp.com/chitech/ZZZ10ZV6SGE.html

The Police Had to Take Action?

Now local Chinese officials are defending their actions in Dongzhou village.  Read Thomas Lifson's comment at the American Thinker:

http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=3959 

The Global 1200

BusinessWeek has publishing its list of the Global 1200.  They make this comment about China:

For those put off by the political uncertainties of China, there are other ways to cash in on the country's growth, which is expected to continue in 2006 even though analysts disagree on whether it will be scorching or merely hot. One example is Japanese bulldozer maker Komatsu Ltd., which soared 302 places on the Global 1200, to No. 447, helped in part by soaring demand in China.

To read more: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_52/b3965003.htm

Chen's Decline

In the Japan Times, Mr. Frank Ching writes:

Lord Acton's maxim that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" has just been proven true again in Taiwan, where the ruling Democratic Progressive Party -- which had won power five years ago on a campaign promise to stamp out corruption -- was swamped in recent local elections by the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) now under the chairmanship of Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou.

To read more:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?eo20051219fc.htm

A WTO Compromise

A compromise deal for the WTO in Hong Kong, but the question remains:  How much better is this deal than no deal at all?  As always, the devil is in the details. MSNBC.com says:

The tentative agreement, coming after all-night negotiations, calls for wealthy countries to eliminate farm export subsidies by 2013. It paves the way for a modest agreement to cut trade barriers across various sectors, according to a copy of the final draft agreement obtained by journalists.

The draft was to be submitted for approval by all 149 WTO member nations and territories later Sunday. Since the WTO is a consensus-based organization, an objection by even one member could torpedo a final deal.

To read more:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10492241/

Three Dongzhou Names

According to this AP story, Chinese state media on Sunday published the names of three villagers killed by police during a protest over the seizure of land for a power plant and provided a rare and vivid account of the small-town politics that led to the bloody confrontation.

To read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-China-Protest-Shootings.html?ex=1135573200&en=a0b972f35f8401c4&ei=5070

The Next Generation

The New York Times has a long story titled The Restless Children of the Dalai Lama.  To read it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/magazine/18tibet.html?th&emc=th

Dongzhou and the Olympics

Mr. Thomas Lifson at the American Thinker writes:

Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympics on the theory that China's opening to market forces has made it an ordinary or normal state. Of course, the Olympics were held in Hitler's Germany and the USSR, so a free and democratic society doesn't seem to be prerequisite to fitting in with the so-called Olympic ideals.

China is very heavily depending on the Olympics to legitimize it in the world's eyes. It is therefore important that the Dongzhou Massacre be raised as in issue in determining the fitness of Beijing to host the athletic festival.

To read more:

http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=3948

Bigger than Everyone Thought

BusinessWeek reports:

Everybody knows China is big. But guess what: It's even bigger than has been generally believed. Beijing is abuzz with rumors that on Dec. 20, the country's statistics mavens will revise mainland gross domestic product upward, by around 20%. The revision means China's output actually totals $1.74 trillion, about $300 billion more than previously thought.

To read more: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2005/nf20051216_7200_db016.htm

50,000 Yuan or Get Beaten

The suffering in Dongzhou continues.  The New York Times reports:

"Local officials are talking to families that had relatives killed in the incident, telling them that if they tell higher officials and outsiders that they died by accident, by explosives, while confronting the police, they must make it sound convincing," said one resident of the besieged town in an interview. "If the family members speak this way they are being promised 50,000 yuan ($6,193), and if not, they will be beaten and get nothing out of it."

To read more: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/17/international/asia/17china.html?ex=1135486800&en=f5d4286dcacb6f6c&ei=5070

WTO Partial Agreement?

The outlook for the WTO meeting in Hong Kong is gloomy.  The New York Times says:

Trade ministers from 149 countries and customs territories are trying at the World Trade Organization conference to salvage a partial agreement. They are focusing on cutting taxes on poor countries' exports, liberalizing trade in cotton, ending agricultural export subsidies and linking lower tariffs for manufactured goods to lower tariffs for agricultural products.

The issue involving the greatest number of ministers lies in plans for rich countries to eliminate tariffs and quotas on imports from the world's 50 least developed countries. But complicating the deal is the fact that each rich country has some industry it would like to protect, like rice in Japan, or in the case of the United States, maintaining limited tariffs on textiles from Bangladesh.

To read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/17/business/worldbusiness/17trade.html?th&emc=th

Reality Check: China's Exports

Read my comment at the American Thinker about China's growing exports of high-tech products:

http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=3935