…partners.” The family’s investments reportedly spanned several sectors. The newspaper cited one holding as Ping An, an insurance company which it said had benefited from reforms enacted in 2004 by a state body over which Wen Jiabao had oversight. It said that partnerships controlled by Wen Jiabao’s relatives, along with their friends and colleagues, had bought into the firm befor…
n as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, are uninhabited but resource-rich. They have been a contentious issue between the two countries, and were the focus of a major diplomatic row between them in 2010. The dispute flared up again over the weekend after Tokyo said it had agreed to purchase them, leading to thousands of protesters taking to the streets in various parts of China. The demonstrati…
…Taiwan Analysts view the latest move as another step in China’s battle to demonstrate that the potentially oil-rich area is Chinese. Xinhua quoted the Haihang Group ship company as saying that a 47,000-tonne ship, capable of accommodating nearly 2,000 passengers, was ready to sail and that another was being built. The first tours would take place ahead of the May Day holiday, said Tan Li, th…
…he problems, the agency quoted him as saying. The Pentagon report also criticizes a “lack of transparency” in China’s military modernization programme and defense spending. “In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the US government, continued to be targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable directly to the Chinese…
Vietnam has accused a Chinese vessel of firing on one of its fishing boats in disputed waters in the South China Sea, setting it alight. Vietnamese foreign ministry said the “very serious incident” took place on March 20 near the Paracel islands. Its statement did not specify what kind of Chinese vessel was involved. Vietnam and China both claim the Paracel islands, which have been co…
China’s first aircraft carrier, a refurbished Soviet ship, has entered into service, the Defence Ministry says. The 300 m (990ft) Liaoning – named after the province where it was refitted – is a refurbished Soviet ship purchased from Ukraine. For now the carrier has no operational aircraft and will be used for training. But China says the vessel, which has undergone extensive se…
Some of the employees at Apple’s manufacturing centres in China complain about working excessive overtime without a single day off during the week, living together in crowded dormitories and standing so long that their legs swell and they can hardly walk after a 24-hour shift. Almost 140 workers at a supplier in China were injured two years ago using a poisonous chemical to clean iPhone screens &…
…ago consists of five islands and three reefs • Japan, China and Taiwan claim them; they are controlled by Japan and form part of Okinawa prefecture • The Japanese government signed a deal in September 2012 to purchase three islands from Japanese businessman Kunioki Kurihara, who used to rent them out to the Japanese state • The islands were the focus of a major diplomatic row between Japan and Chi…
Nissan has slashed its full-year profit forecast by 20% after car sales slumped in China amid anti-Japanese protests. The Japanese carmaker now expects a net profit of 320 billion yen ($4 billion) for the year ending March 2013, down from an earlier estimate of 400 billion yen. Nissan says car sales plunged 35% in China in September. A territorial dispute between Japan and China over islands in t…
e, little changed from May’s 13.8% figure. At the same time, electricity output, an indicator that many analysts use to calculate current business and consumer activity, was also flat in June at 393 billion kilowatt-hours. Optimists, however, would have been buoyed by news that new bank loans increased to $144.4 billion in June, up from $124.4 billion in May. The data will do nothing to stop…
…Kong. The latest numbers added to the optimism that followed trade figures which were released over the weekend. They showed a 9.9% year-on-year growth in exports during September, a big jump from the 2.7% growth recorded in the previous month. Zhang Zhiwei added the latest data “helps reinforce our view that growth will rebound visibly in the fourth quarter”. China has announced vario…
…apanese protests in China have forced Japanese businesses to close or scale down operations. In some cities on Tuesday, Japanese shops were attacked and vandalized on the anniversary of an incident in 1931 which led to Japan’s invasion of north-east China. The protests appeared to have diminished on Wednesday. “Regarding damage to our embassies and consulates, we plan to demand compens…
…tant strategic partners” who spoke a “common language”. President Xi Jinping will also visit Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo on his tour, which continues until March 30. In South Africa, he will attend the fifth BRICS summit from 26-27 March. BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – five key emerging economies. Xi Jinping’s wif…
…ment that it had bought the islands. The row over ownership of the islands has been rumbling for years and has flared sporadically. A spokesman from Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said that 58 fishing vessels arrived in the disputed waters at around 05:00 a.m. local time after setting off from a northern Taiwanese port on Monday afternoon. The fishing boats were accompanied by several T…
China’s President Hu Jintao has opened a Communist Party congress that begins a once-in-a-decade power transfer with a stark warning on corruption. Addressing more than 2,000 delegates, Hu Jintao said that a failure to tackle the issue “could prove fatal to the party”. China faced unprecedented opportunities and challenges, he said, and the nation should “aim higher and work har…
l investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled, and thousands of Americans have jobs because of it. When Bryan Ritterby was laid off from his job making furniture, he said he worried that at 55, no one would give him a second chance. But he found work at Energetx, a wind turbine manufacturer in Michigan. Before the recession, the factory only made luxury yachts. Today, it’s hiring worker…
– called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The Japanese coast guard said it was the highest number of Chinese boats in the area since Tokyo nationalized part of the island chain in September 2012. China said its ships had been monitoring Japanese vessels. The State Oceanic Administration issued a statement saying three of its ships had “found” several Japanese ships around th…
…between the two neighbors. On Tuesday, Japanese carmakers reported a dramatic drop in sales in China, after recent protests in the country targeting Japanese products and businesses. Toyota reported a 49% drop in sales in September, while Honda and Nissan’s sales fell 40% and 35% respectively. Other carmakers such as Mitsubishi Motors and Mazda have also reported a sharp drop in Chinese sale…
…in foreign sales. “China’s slowdown this year has been significant, and some fear it could still accelerate,” the bank said in its latest report. After the global financial crisis in 2008 – 2009, China unveiled a slew of stimulus measures, including record lending by state-owned banks, to maintain a high rate of growth. While the measures helped it sustain growth, they also…
…wood. They are investigating Bo Xilai over “serious discipline violations”, while Gu Kailai has been detained as a suspect in the death of Neil Heywood, found dead in Chongqing in November 2011. Chinese authorities say they believe Neil Heywood was murdered. The New York Times has recently reported that Bo Xilai ran a wire-tapping system that extended as far as China's president H…
The White House has denied a report in the New York Times saying that Iran had agreed to one-on-one negotiations over its nuclear programme with the US. The report, quoting unnamed officials, said Iran had agreed to the talks for the first time but would not hold them until after US elections on 6 November. The White House said it was prepared to meet Iran bilaterally, but that there was no plan…
The Chinese economy, world’s second-largest, has slowed and performed worse than many analysts expected in the first quarter of 2013. Annual growth was 7.7% in Q1 2013, compared with 7.9% in Q4 2012. Analysts had forecast a figure closer to 8%. China wants to spur growth after it hit a 13-year low in 2012. Other key data on Monday also came in lower than market expectations, raising questio…
en mountain, literally translated as Heavenly Gate Mountain is so called because of a huge natural cave that occurs halfway up to the summit. Situated in the Hunan Province, Its highest peak is around 5,000 ft above sea level and it is home to a wealth of rare species of plants. The 200 ft long bridge joins the west cliff at the Yunmeng Fairy Summit, the summit of Tianmen Mountain and Zhang Jiaji…
Customs officials in South Korea have discovered thousands of pills filled with powdered human flesh coming from China, it was revealed today. South Korea says it will increase customs inspections targeting capsules containing powdered human flesh. The Korea Customs Service said it had found almost 17,500 of the capsules being smuggled into the country from China since August 2011. The powdered f…
…ercussions as far as Japan-China relations are concerned. It is important that we avoid misunderstanding and unforeseen problems.” Osamu Fujimura told reporters that the government had set aside 2.05 billion yen ($26 million) to pay for the three islands. Japan said on Monday that it was buying the islands to promote their stable and peaceful management – a move that followed a bid by…
Did Amanda Berry's 911 dispatcher curse at her?The 911 dispatcher, who spoke to Amanda Berry after she escaped from the Cleveland house of horrors, is being investigated over claims he swore at the end of her emergency…
Travis Alexander home becomes tourist attractionThe family who now lives in the home where Jodi Arias killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander is treated to a constant stream of unwanted visitors who drive past the home…
Apple among America's big tax avoidersApple has been accused by US Senate of being "among America's largest tax avoiders". A Senate committee said Apple had used "a complex web of offshore entities" to avoid…
Oklahoma tornado kills at least 51 people as two entire schools flattened in MooreAt least 51 people have been killed after a huge tornado tore through Oklahoma City suburbs, with the death toll likely to rise. Worst hit was Moore, south of Oklahoma City,…
Travis Alexander case: Jodi Arias' attorneys file motion for mistrialYesterday, Jodi Arias' defense attorneys filed a motion for mistrial as one of their character witnesses scheduled to testify during the May 20, 2013, penalty phase on Arias'…
Richard DeCoatsworth: Philadelphia police recommended bringing charges of witness intimidation against former officerRecent reports revealed that Philadelphia police last year recommended bringing charges of witness intimidation against former officer Richard DeCoatsworth, once hailed as a…
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