Hong Kong Says: "Delay after Delay; Enough is Enough!"

The verdict has finally been handed down: there will be no universal suffrage in 2012.

The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) has voted not to allow Hong Kong citizens to elect their own chief executive and legislators in 2012. The decision is disappointing, but not entirely unpredictable or surprising.  This is the second time the NPC has dashed the hope for full elections in Hong Kong.  In 2004, the NPC vetoed a proposal to let Hong Kong citizens elect the chief executive by universal suffrage in 2007.

Included in the verdict is a vague promise that the NPC may consider granting universal suffrage in 2017, for the election of the fifth Hong Kong Chief Executive, provided that a bill of amendment to the election method, to be submitted by the Hong Kong Chief Executive and endorsed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, would be deemed acceptable by the NPC.

As pointed out by Hong Kong based blogger Tom Legg: “If you take the spin from the Chief Executive and NPC members at face value, then Hong Kong has been granted greater democracy. On the other hand, thinking people would understand the devil is in the details of the implementation.”

"Foreigners are Forbidden to Pass Without Permission"

Reporters from the China Information Centre at observechina.net spotted an interesting new sign in Beijing.  Is this another one of those “innovations” for the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics?  A big congratulations to the “Beijing Municipal People’s Government”, the host of next year’s Games!!??

China Aid carries a summary of the report:

The China Information Centre his learned of a sign posted on Badachu Road in Beijing’s Shijingshan District barring access to foreigners in the name of the “Beijing Municipal People’s Government.” The area is close to a military district, but Badachu Road is an entirely public thoroughfare that leads to shops, supermarkets and green markets, and there seems to be no rational explanation for specifically preventing foreigners from going there. Rather, it seems more of a violation of promises made in relation to the 2008 Olympics.

According to the original Chinese report at the China Information Centre, the road sign was erected after the November Party Congress.  The last time when road signs like this one appeared in Beijing, China was going through the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.

Australian Media Warns China May Retaliate Against a BHP-Rio Merge

Australia’s national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), quoted in length an expert’s warning that the BHP-Rio Tinto merge might bring along an end to Australia’s resources boom, due to possible retaliation from China.  This is the first time that mainstream mass media in Australia openly lobby against

the merger deal, citing a perceived conflict to Australia’s national interest.  This ABC report immediately followed a widely publicized Hong Kong South China Morning Post report, which said that the Chinese government had retained financial consultants to study the BHP proposal and to come up with options to block the deal.  The close proximity of the two reports makes one wonder if China’s diplomatic pressure is already finding its way to the Australian public.

Here is a transcript of the ABC Radio report “China lobbies against BHP’s bid for Rio” by Daniel Hoare:

Christmas In Hell

The distinction of being the first entity – either personal or corporate – to be posted on Ned Kelly’s Wall of Shame, belongs to: ALL MANUFACTURERS OF CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS IN CHINA, and especially to the opportunistic Western scum (including but not limited to Wal Mart) who profit from the Chinese way of turning Christmas into a ridiculous piece of fungible plastic.

When I was a lad growing up in a small town, Christmas really meant something, something more than, and other than, waitresses at Chinese Pizza Huts wearing red hats while torturous Muzak plays on and on, “It’s baby’s first Christmas, a Christmas full of love”, or even worse, the melody of the grave, solemn, Saturnian old English Christmas carol “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” rewritten as a Mando-Rap song recorded in Chinglish by a vapid Communist Party Princess who thinks it has something to do with “economic development”.

No. No. Sorry, but I want to say to any and all CCP members who might be reading this: CHRISTMAS IS NOT ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT! Jesus was born very poor. He was born in a barn. And he was killed because he said things the government did not want to hear. Christmas is a day to celebrate everything that the Chinese Communist Party hates and fears.

Tighter Control over Computer Information Systems in Guangdong

A new legislation will give local authorities in Guangdong  Province more power to control the use of computer information systems during the outbreak of an incident.  It will also prevent the leaking of news from endangering national security, public safety and social stability.  The new amendment to the “Provincial Computer Information Systems Security Protection Regulations” will allow local police and officials in charge of national security to shut down the operations of Internet services, backup systems and computer workstations for up to 24 hours.  This new legislation, passed last Thursday, will also put in place a new classification system.  Under this system, all information networks in Guangdong Province will be grouped under five categories to determine the extent to which this new legislation will apply.

More Persecution in Preparation for the Olympics

I woke up this morning to the news from AFP via China Digital Times of further crackdown on dissent activities in China.  The target this time is the annual prize presentation dinner of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC).  This is the second incident this month that members of this organisation have been targeted by Chinese authorities. All these were done, presumably, in the name of creating harmony for next year’s Beijing Olympics.

Wang Dan on "Tiger, Ants and Chang’e"

Wang Dan, a Chinese dissident and student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests, has published an article at the Independent Chinese Pen Centre in which he discusses the political implications of the Tigergate Incident, the Yilishen Scandal and the Chang’e Moon Photograph Saga.

Civic China has a very interesting expose about how official media in China have suppressed the Yilishen Scandal.  There is also an update following the mysterious arrest of Yilishen Chairman.

The latest update of the Tigergate Incident can be found at China Digital Times, under the title “National Authorities Order Reevaluation of Tiger Photos“.

The following is my translation of Wang Dan’s article:

Sanctioned Thuggery in Vogue – Raid of Religious Gathering at Shangdong Linyi

If you think that in China putting labels on class enemies before rounding them up for torture is a thing of the infamous past, think again.

In the afternoon on 7 December, about 270 members of a congregation, who attended a Bible Study meeting, were arrested and detained for allegedly proselytising for the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement. The apparent mistake did not deter the local police from carrying out this high profile arrest. Nor did it discourage the police from charging the detainees 300RMB interrogation fee as a condition for release. The thuggery did not stop here. A witness interviewed by Radio Free Asia (RFA) described the police as acting

like bandits, confiscating two computers, videotapes and a video recorder, a television and some copies of the Bible.

Rio Tinto Takeover Update

As it turns out, I’m correct in being cautious about the Blackstone rumour. In this morning’s The Australian:

BLACKSTONE Group said overnight it isn’t involved in a bid for mining giant Rio Tinto, which has already rejected a $US150 billion ($A170 billion) bid from rival BHP Billiton.

The US private equity company was responding to an earlier report in London’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper that it was in the process of assembling a consortium to launch a bid.

“Blackstone confirms that it is not involved in this transaction in either an investment or advisory role,” the company said in a statement.

Meanwhile according to Reuters:

The Shanghai Stock Exchange said on Monday that the shares of China’s biggest steelmaker, Baosteel, would be suspended on Tuesday without giving a reason.

The stock exchange said on its website that shares would resume trading again on Wednesday.

So after all, something is indeed brewing, even though it is not what we think it is.

Blackstone: Trash or Gems?

The name Blackstone comes to my attention as I  follow news of the Rio Tinto takeover.  Blackstone, according to the Telegraph, is on centre stage this time as a possible rival contender for a controlling stake in Rio Tinto. Rumour also says that Blackstone is acting with full financial backings from “a Chinese sovereign wealth fund”. I’m treating this piece of news with extreme caution, after witnessing how a seemingly firm expression of intention by Baosteel’s Chairman could be dismissed as “a fabrication of the media”. It is also interesting to watch how the mass media in the West have been dancing to the tune of speculators at China’s Stock Exchanges. The price of Baosteel shares had been in decline ever since the company posted a much worse-than-expected 50 percent slide in third-quarter profits late October. I am sure some smart cookies would have made the best of the rumour to ripe some quick profits from China’s largely self-regulated stock market.