NTDTV Headlines
This is the 15 minute version of China News, Friday January 27, 2012
Headlines:
• Exiled Tibetan PM Condemns Chinese Troops Firing on Tibetan Protesters
• Chinese Regime Condemns, and May Profit From, EU's Iran Oil Embargo
• Tibetan Temples Forced to Display Communist Leader Portraits
Other Interesting News: -
Cute Panda Cubs Celebrate New Year
And joining the festive Lunar New Year celebrations are a dozen adorable panda cubs. In Southwest China's Chengdu Panda Center, the six-month-old cubs gave visitors a cute treat.
They were exceptionally playful, even chasing their keepers. They also fought amongst each other, which zookeepers say demonstrate the panda's territorial nature.
[Yuan Bo, Panda Keeper]:
"Pandas are solitary animals. By nature they need to protect their own territory, so this character is demonstrated from an early age."
This year, 21 new giant pandas were bred in China, putting the total number of captive pandas to 333.
Rickshaw Drivers Keep Legacy of Old Beijing Alive
It takes a good rickshaw tour to get a real glimpse of Beijing's old districts. And one rickshaw business gives tourists this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Taking a rickshaw ride through Beijing's old hutong district has continued to be one of the city's most iconic and locally supported tourist activities. Hutongs are narrow streets and alleys that are formed by residential buildings with courtyards.
[Song Guangxin, Rickshaw Driver of "Eight Lords of Houhai"]:
"The Houhai hutongs of Shichahai stand out from so many others in Beijing because they are the only cluster which is surrounded by water."
Houhai, a lake-centered district in Beijing, is home to a handful of the few hutong alleys and siheyuan courtyard residences that remain in the city.
The district is Beijing's most suitable place for a rickshaw tour.
Rickshaw tours to Houhai began in 1994, when the old-style hutongs were still commonplace across Beijing.
The "Eight Lords of Houhai" is Beijing's prominent rickshaw business. It consists of eight driving guides who entertain passengers with various anecdotes and stories on the tour.
The five-mile rickshaw tour around Shicha Lake, which is lined with hip clubs, shops and restaurants, usually takes about an hour. The bustling area now hosts millions of visitors every year from around the world.
[Liu Chunhong, Rickshaw Driver of "Eight Lords of Houhai"]:
"I have been around the Shichahai area forever, and I love every inch of the place."
Few tourists to Beijing would miss a visit to the Great Wall, but as many locals would suggest, it takes a rickshaw ride to the city's ancient hutongs to make one's trip complete.
Forest Fire Breaks Out in Southwest China
A fire broke out near the popular Yulong Snow Mountain in Yunnan Province on Thursday morning. And local authorities are still struggling to put out the flames.
The fire began at the foot of the Dongshan Mountain in Lijiang City during the morning hours.
By late afternoon, the fire destroyed over 100 acres of mountain forests and authorities blocked off some roads.
The fire has been brought under control on the northern, southern and western fronts, but is still spreading northeastward.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
NYT Report on Foxconn, Apple Draws Mixed Reactions from Netizens
An in-depth report on the human costs of Apple products has set Chinese netizens abuzz. On Tuesday, Caixin—one of China's largest financial weeklies—published an article translated from the New York Times. It looks into the tough working conditions at Foxconn—a Taiwan-based manufacturer and major supplier of Apple products.
A New York Times report published on Tuesday discusses what workers face at Chinese suppliers of Apple Incorporated. It's titled: "In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad." With the focus on Taiwan-based Foxconn, Apple's major supplier, journalists Charles Duhigg and David Barboza detail conditions from unsafe work environments to inhumanely long work hours.
The article has since been picked up by Caixin—a major Chinese news weekly. The translated report has been re-posted numerous times, drawing mixed reactions from Chinese netizens.
Some see it as a call to action for Apple to do more to improve the conditions of China's low-cost laborers. Netizen Zhong Qingsheng writes: "What a great article! This is what Caixin news should be about. Apple needs to do more for manufacturing in China, like protect labor rights and the environment!"
Another writes: "Apple's high profits are at great odds with its production environment."
Others see Apple and Foxconn as being unfairly singled out, compared to other domestic manufacturers.
Netizen Helena replies to a thread on the popular QQ microblogging site, saying: "In China, Foxconn is quite proper already. They don't delay wages and provide insurance. A lot of people attack Foxconn for fun, but how do domestic factories treat workers? Some barely make enough to survive after working for months. They can't get pay, and are fired for being pregnant. Our countrymen are so strict with foreigners, but can let our own misbehave."
Many believe labor problems at suppliers are beyond Apple's control, and that authorities should be doing more. A Caixin reader writes: "While Apple's supervision is important, the government's supervision is key, because they should play the role of carrying out the law."
According to the New York Times report, Apple has a code of conduct with each of their suppliers in China. It has also started publishing an annual responsibility report on incidents of code abuse, and how they are remedied. Despite these measures, the New York Times says violations are frequent, and any overhaul is unlikely, because, according to an Apple executive "right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China."
Tibetan Temples Forced to Display Communist Leader Portraits
The Communist regime keeps Tibet under heavy control. At the end of 2011, local authorities declared a new policy of requiring Buddhist temples to display portraits and flags of Chinese communist leaders. On Sunday they renewed their commitment to this policy. They have reportedly sent out over one million of these items to villages, homes, and temples across the region.
January 22nd, 2012, the eve of Chinese New Year. Chinese officials in the Tibet Autonomous Region held a ceremony to unveil a portrait of four Communist leaders: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. They go on to state that they will send these portraits, as well as Communist flags, to villages, homes, and temples in the region.
It's estimated that one million of these items have already been sent.
Chair of the Chinese Social Democratic Party, Liu Yinquan, believes the Chinese Communist Party is trying to use its symbols to replace those of traditional Tibetan Buddhism.
[Liu Yinquan, Chair of Chinese Social Democratic Party]:
"The Communist regime uses its single party rule and its party culture and symbols to slowly eliminate the Buddhist faith. This is in accordance with the religious policy that the Communist Party has always had. The Chinese Communist Party, on the surface, its constitution allows religious freedom, but it is actually changing religion, using religion to strengthen its single party rule, turning religion into a tool for its united front."
In December 2011, authorities in Tibet introduced the "Nine Must-Haves" policy. It dictates nine items that all temples must display or carry portraits of Communist leaders, the Communist flag and a copy of the state-run People's Daily.
[Liu Yinquan, Chair of Chinese Social Democratic Party]:
"Every situation has its specified ornaments, a temple is a place to worship the Buddha. So it should have the Buddhist scriptures, a Buddha statue, it has to have these things that are related to Buddhism. If you bring these other things in, it will make it all messed up."
On the Lunar New Year itself, and just one day after the portrait ceremony, Chinese forces opened fire on Tibetan protesters in a Tibetan region of Sichuan. Recent clashes have left dozens of people wounded, with reports of several deaths.
The Chinese regime will close Tibet from February 20th until March 30th. That's during the Tibetan New Year and the anniversary of the 2008 Tibetan riots, both sensitive dates for the regime.
Ben Hedges
Chinese Regime Condemns, and May Profit From, EU's Iran Oil Embargo
Following the EU's decision to join an international oil embargo against Iran, the Chinese regime's Foreign Ministry has criticized the move. They called the embargo not "constructive"--while China's state-run oil industry appears ready to profit.
Chinese oil traders stand ready to profit over the Iranian regime's sudden need to radically adjust its export framework.
China's Communist leaders have firmly rejected the US-led international embargo on Iran over its nuclear weapons program and other provocations. Iranian oil exports now have radically fewer target markets, and, analysts say, the country's authorities will need to make more extensive use of "stable" consumers like China.
All of this could lead to a deeper relationship between Chinese and Iranian oil companies, as well as a significantly increased volume of overall trade between the two countries.
Chinese regime premier Wen Jiabao has recently called multi-nation nuclear talks on Iran's alleged weapons program a "top priority". Yet it now must be seen whether Chinese support for the international effort to prevent Iranian nuclear weapon capability grows, or diminishes, in the face of new incentives to deepen ties with the religious regime.
Exiled Tibetan PM Condemns Chinese Troops Firing on Tibetan Protesters
The Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile is condemning the shootings in China's southwest Sichuan province. Lobsang Sangay calls for a global vigil and urges the international community to put pressure on the Chinese regime. Following the shootings, conflicting reports of the incidents and the number of deaths have emerged.
Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay condemns Chinese security forces for shooting on unarmed Tibetans in China's southwest Sichuan province.
After a prayer service on Wednesday, Sangay spoke to reporters—expressing concern for the plight of Tibetans inside Tibet.
[Lobsang Sangay, Tibetan Prime Minister-in-Exile]:
"We are really concerned about the fate of those who are injured and who are arrested, and we strongly condemn the act of the Chinese government and the violence inflicted on the Tibetan people."
Sangay calls for a global vigil on February 8th.
[Lobsang Sangay, Tibetan Prime Minister-in-Exile]:
"We call upon Tibetans and all their friends around the world to observe a global vigil on February 8th, which happens to be Wednesday, and so we can send a strong message of solidarity to Tibetans inside Tibet."
Sangay condemns the Chinese regime and urges the international community to take action.
[Lobsang Sangay, Tibetan Prime Minister-in-Exile]:
"Let it be known to the Chinese government that such kind of violence inflicted on the Tibetans will not be tolerated by Tibetans outside as well as their friends and the global community. And we urge the global community to press on the Chinese government to solve the issue peacefully through dialogues."
Following the shootings, conflicting reports emerged.
Free Tibet press stated two Tibetans died Monday and another two killed on Tuesday. The International Campaign for Tibet reported three were shot dead on Monday.
State-run Xinhua News Agency said one Tibetan died on Tuesday. It stated police used force "after persuasion and non-lethal weapons failed to disperse the mob."
The Australian reported a spokeswoman for the Australia Tibet Council saying the Chinese regime calls the unarmed protesters a "violent mob" to justify the shooting.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded saying overseas groups try to discredit the Chinese regime.
Meanwhile, the US expresses concern and urges the Chinese regime to resolve the situation through dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives.
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