Monthly Archives: March 2008

Inflation More Than Washington Behind Yuan’s Rise Against Dollar

When U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson arrives in Beijing on Wednesday, the Chinese currency might coincidental break through the symbolic seven to the dollar level. As Richard McGregor writes in the FT “the currency has become a litmus test of … Continue reading

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Filed under China-U.S., Economy

Olympic Flame Comes With Tibetan Protests

Despite unprecedented attempts to ensure a protest-free hand over of the Olympic flame to the organizers of the Beijing Olympics, Greek police scuffled with pro-Tibet demonstrators gathered outside the Athens stadium where the ceremonial transfer was due to take place. … Continue reading

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Filed under Beijing Olympics, Politics & Society

Li Ka-shing, Facebook and QQ

East Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, has pumped another $60 million into the social networking site Facebook run by Mark Zuckerberg, a fellow billionaire if one less than a third Li’s age. Li said during a Hutchison Whampoa earnings conference … Continue reading

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Filed under Media

Tearing Up The Script In Tibet

The best laid plans… The tightly scripted official tour of Tibet for a group of foreign journalists ran amok for 5 mins in Jokhang, Tibet’s holiest temple. Thirty young monks surrounded the tour party and shouted that there was no … Continue reading

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Filed under Media, Politics & Society

Foreign Press Taken To Tibet

A group of Beijing-based foreign correspondents has been being escorted to Lhasa to report on the situation there, Xinhua reports. This 26-strong “international media delegation” includes representatives of the AP, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Russian, Japanese … Continue reading

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Fact Checking Two Views Of Tibet

Xinhua annotates screen shots from Western TV and websites to show up reporting errors in their coverage of Tibet. This follows Sunday’s apology by German TV station RTL for using a picture of Tibetan protestors in Katmandu in a report … Continue reading

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Filed under Media, Politics & Society, Uncategorized

Bank Profits Trimmed By Subprime Losses

China’s banks are taking their lumps from losses on trading mortgage-related securities, even while the strong domestic economy is boosting profits. Bank of China reports a larger than expected $1.3 billion of subprime writedowns while Industrial & Commercial Bank of … Continue reading

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Filed under Economy, Uncategorized

Ma Wins Taiwan Presidency

Given the party leadership’s preoccupation with the pro-independence disturbances in the west, the election results to the east will be a relief of sorts. Taiwan’s voters elected the Harvard-educated Ma Ying-jeou, the opposition Kuomintang party candidate who favors closer commercial … Continue reading

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Filed under Politics & Society

China Cracks Down On Web Video Sites

The investigation started a long time before the recent troubles in Tibet, but the lesson will not be lost on web sites in China offering video that may not be to the authorities’ liking. The State Administration of Radio, Film … Continue reading

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Filed under Media, Politics & Society, Uncategorized

Two Views Of Tibet

This Bystander noted earlier how Beijing’s clampdown on media coverage was polarizing views inside and outside of China about what is happening in Tibet. The FT‘s Richard McGregor and Jamil Anderlini have done the reporting to back up my assertion. … Continue reading

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Filed under Media, Politics & Society