China's fear of Inflation!

Jan 31st 2008

Efforts to cool the economy may undo crucial reforms
Faced with rising consumer prices and signs of runaway growth.

The Chinese Communist Party in November issued a strongly worded statement vowing to stem inflation and slow investment.

At the time market players paid scant attention to it. But as the State Council's increasingly stringent policies show no signs of letting up even in the face of global financial turmoil, players in China's property and equity markets are at last waking up to the harsher reality.

In recent weeks both housing and stock prices have started to retreat from their irrationally exuberant highs.

Chinese policymakers, however, should be careful of what they wish for.

Falling asset prices could bring back an old problem that many thought had been conquered: bad debts in the banking system. Meanwhile, inflation is reviving throwback elements of state economic planning.

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As many people know China's economy is in a massive boom and growth had been through the roof, but the chinese government is fearful, they are afraid of inflation, which could set back they're recent economic boom back dramasticly stock prices have begin to fall as well as the housing market inside China, The China blog will be watching this situation very carefully in the coming months and will report back.

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Chinese Take Out

This is another cartoon about the epic saga of harmful Chinese goods. The goods do a lot more harm than help to the customers as seen above. Examples include choking on toys and being killed by toxins in toothpaste and dog food. While this cartoon may be a little farfetched, the Chinese goods still pose as a serious safety issue. In recent news, Chinese dumplings have caused illness in dozens of Japanese citizens.

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Taiwan set to hold UN referendums

Taiwan will hold two referendums next month on joining the United Nations, the island's election commission says.
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The commission's secretary-general, Teng Tien-yu, said the votes would be held on 22 March, the same day as the forthcoming presidential election.

The two referendums have been proposed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the opposition Kuomintang.

Taiwan has no seat at the UN, having lost it to China in 1971. Its attempts to regain membership have been blocked.

Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist government fled to the island as the Communist Party swept to power.

The island's latest attempt to rejoin the UN, for the first time under the name Taiwan, was blocked in September.

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This article is very importaint to China because Taiwan has been claimed by China since the end of the Civil War in 1949 and Taiwan hasn't had a seat in the UN since 1971 due to China blocking it's membership. Taiwan wishes to change this. On March 22 when they vote not only for the president but they also vote to see if want to rejoin the UN.

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Rotten Food: Poisoned on Purpose?

Dumplings poisoned 'on purpose.'

Chinese dumplings which were laced with pesticide and made at least 10 Japanese people ill were probably poisoned on purpose, Japan's health minister says.
The frozen dumplings were contaminated with a highly toxic organophoshate pesticide methamidophos.

"Judging from the circumstantial evidence, we'd have to think that it's highly likely to be a crime," Yoichi Masuzoe told reporters.

The issue has triggered intensive media coverage and public alarm in Japan. Japanese police say they want to work with their Chinese counterparts to investigate how the dumplings, known as gyoza in Japan, were poisoned.

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Japanese officials now believe that the toxins found in the Chinese made dumplings were put there intentionally because of circumstantial evidence. China, however, still denies that the dumplings are unsafe at all, but they recalled the product anyway. Could this be the beginning of terrorist activities in China? Causing the illness of ten Japanese people could be a very serious biological terrorist attack.

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China Frees Hong Kong Journalist

A Hong Kong journalist who was jailed in mainland China on spying charges has been released after serving less than half a five-year sentence.

Ching Cheong was detained in 2005 and sentenced to five years in jail in a case that angered human rights groups.

Chinese officials accused him of buying information and passing it to Taiwan - charges his family and his employer, Singapore's Straits Times, rejected.

He is now returning to Hong Kong to spend Lunar New Year with his family.

The Hong Kong Journalists' Association said the terms of his sudden, unexpected release are not yet known, and it is unclear whether he will have his full political rights restored.

"We are glad that Ching Cheong has been released early," said the association's general secretary Mak Yin-ting.

"But we regret that while he was innocent he was still put in jail and we hope it won't happen again."

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This article is significant to China because, as you can see the Chinese held Ching Cheong a journalist for Singapore's Strait Times. They arrested him because he was suspected to be spying on China's political, economical and military affairs and giving that information to the Taiwan government. In reality he was only trying to collect documents on the former leader of China Zhao Ziyang. China has yet to say why he was relesed early but his family is glad to have him home for Chinese new year.

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