Chicago Mediation

China Mobile reiterates no plan to control Far EasTone | Industries | Technology, Media & Telecommunications | Reuters

HONG KONG, June 18 (Reuters) - China Mobile (0941.HK), China’s dominant mobile carrier, on Thursday said it has no intention of taking control of Far EasTone (4904.TW) if its controversial plan to buy 12 percent of the Taiwan company is approved.

“China Mobile reiterates that when this investment is approved, after China Mobile becomes a Far EasTone stakeholder, we won’t participate in the company’s daily business administration, and won’t pursue a controling interest,” China Mobile said in a statement

UPDATE 1-China Mobile reiterates no plan to control Far EasTone | Industries | Technology, Media & Telecommunications | Reuters
UPDATE 1-China Mobile reiterates no plan to control Far EasTone
Thu Jun 18, 2009 3:19am EDT

HONG KONG, June 18 (Reuters) - Dominant Chinese mobile carrier China Mobile (0941.HK) said it has no intention of seeking control of Far EasTone (4904.TW) and vowed to seek necessary approvals for its plan to buy 12 percent of the Taiwan company.

“China Mobile reiterates that when this investment is approved, after China Mobile becomes a Far EasTone stakeholder, we won’t participate in the company’s daily business administration, and won’t pursue a controlling interest,” China Mobile said in a statement released on Thursday.

“Industry watchers, the media and ordinary shareholders have all been very positive about China Mobile’s move to buy a stake in Far EasTone,” China Mobile said.

“We hope the relevant authorities will be able to introduce regulations that will allow for the deal to move forward smoothly.”

China ‘May Have Interest’ in Mid-Cap Mining Stocks, Says Citi - Bloomberg.com
China ‘May Have Interest’ in Mid-Cap Mining Stocks, Says Citi

By Roger Neill

June 18 (Bloomberg) — China may have an “interest” in U.K. mid-cap mining companies after the failure of Aluminum Corp. of China’s proposed investment in Rio Tinto Group, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. “the most obvious ‘fit,’” Citigroup Inc. wrote.

World Bank Raises China 2009 Growth Forecast to 7.2% (Update3) - Bloomberg.com
World Bank Raises China 2009 Growth Forecast to 7.2% (Update3)

By Bloomberg News

June 18 (Bloomberg) — The World Bank raised its growth forecast for China this year and advised policy makers to delay until 2010 any additional stimulus plan to boost the world’s third-largest economy.

China’s economy will expand 7.2 percent in 2009 from a year earlier, up from a 6.5 percent forecast in March, the Washington-based lender said in a quarterly report released today in Beijing. Stocks gained after the announcement.

The World Bank joins Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and UBS AG. in raising growth forecasts this year after a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package triggered record loans and surging investment. China, the biggest contributor to global growth in 2007, is relying on government spending as exports slump because of the world recession.

China denies reports of Beijing visit by Kim Jong Il’s son_English_Xinhua
China denies reports of Beijing visit by Kim Jong Il’s son

BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) — A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday denied reports that the son of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) top leader Kim Jong Il had visited Beijing.

The situation “presented in some media reports does not exist,” Qin Gang told a regular press briefing here.

Japan’s Asahi newspaper on Tuesday cited unidentified sources as saying that Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il’s youngest son, met Chinese President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders after flying to Beijing around June 10.

Qin repeated China’s stance on the Korean Peninsula’s nuclear issue, pledging to develop good-neighborly and friendly relations with the DPRK while firmly standing for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, nuclear non-proliferation and peace and stability there.

China Holds Firm on Software Filter, U.S. Firms Say - NYTimes.com
China Holds Firm on Software Filter, U.S. Firms Say

By EDWARD WONG & ASHLEE VANCE
Published: June 18, 2009

BEIJING — U.S. computer makers say the Chinese government has not backed down from a requirement that Internet filtering software be installed on all computers sold in China after July 1, despite reports this week that the rule had been relaxed.

Meanwhile, in another sign that Chinese officials are trying to assert more control over the Internet, the city of Beijing wants to recruit 10,000 volunteers by the end of the summer to monitor Internet content, said Ms. Guo, an employee of the Beijing government’s Spiritual Civilization Office.

China Hearsay: China law, business, and economics commentary
I Don’t Think “Rebalancing” Means What They Think It Means

Lots o news recently about the negative export numbers here (over 26% drop from the May numbers last year). As this is a huge sector in China, this of course is something to be concerned about as GDP and employment are hit hard when trade is down substantially.

On the other hand, there are a few fundamental truths here that seem to be lost in this discussion:

1. China needs to rebalance its economy, away from exports and towards domestic consumption.

2. Poor exports are a function of international demand (i.e. this has more to do with the U.S. and EU economies than China’s economy).

3. China’s domestic stimulus plan is a good thing and is sorely needed during this recession.

Chinese Pride Celebration Faces Obstacles :: EDGE Boston
Chinese Pride Celebration Faces Obstacles
by Kilian Melloy

Friday Jun 12, 2009

Shanghai’s inaugural Pride Week has come under attack by officials, according to media reports that indicate that although the event has state approval, the police and commerce bureau of the city have intimidated venues where events were initially scheduled to take place.

The English edition of People’s Daily Online said that “the municipal commercial bureau” had informed Shanghai bar that without the proper license, the establishment would not be allowed to screen gay-themed films.

A second bar pulled out of the celebration with no explanation on June 11, the article said.

And a play was pulled after an official from “an unidentified authority” paid a visit to the photography studio where the play was scheduled to be performed, the article noted.

People’s Daily Online reported that Shanghai’s “administration of culture, radio, film and TV” denied knowledge or involvement in the cancellations of events.

Shanghai’s Pride celebration, a week-long festival of events, commenced on June 7 and is scheduled to run for a full week, concluding on June 14.

The article quoted China university of Political Science and Law’s Cai Dingjian, who noted, “Although homosexuality has long been decriminalized in China, social stigma still exists and public acceptance of the community is largely limited.”

Cai opined that the government had quietly sabotaged Shanghai Pride, saying, “The authorities didn’t say directly that ’gays are not allowed to hold gatherings,’ which obviously is not legally viable, but they still intervened in a way that betrays their discrimination against this group.”

China Anti-Porn Software Censors More Than Sex (Update2) - Bloomberg.com
China Anti-Porn Software Censors More Than Sex (Update2)

By Mark Lee and Sanchez Wang

June 12 (Bloomberg) — China’s anti-pornography software that will be loaded in all personal computers sold in the country blocks anti-government Web sites and restricts users from typing in keywords unrelated to sex, a researcher said.

“Green Dam-Youth Escort” restricts access to Web sites about the 1989 Tiananmen Square military crackdown and the banned spiritual movement known as Falun Gong, said Isaac Mao, a fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society. The software also shuts down word-processing applications and Internet-chat services when some keywords are entered, said Mao, who says he’s tested the program.

Bryan Chang, chief executive officer of Jinhui Computer System Engineering Corp., which co-developed the software, said in a June 11 interview the program only blocks pornography. Wang Lijian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, declined to comment today.

The unadvertised features of “Green Dam” indicate China’s stepping up its censorship efforts as the government grapples with surging online use, according to Hong Kong Polytechnic University Associate Professor Korris Chung. China bans online pornography, gambling and politically critical content by requiring all domestic Web sites to be registered and by blocking access to foreign sites such as Google Inc.’s YouTube.

Detainees in U.S. Courts Raises Questions Over Due Process - Political News - FOXNews.com
Detainees in U.S. Courts Raises Questions Over Due Process
The contentious debate over bringing terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay prison to the U.S. to be tried in federal courts raises thorny questions about the rights afforded to them, including bail hearings, plea negotiations, jury selections — and what would happen if they were acquitted.

By Stephen Clark

Men dressed as prisoners (in orange) clash with prison guards during a demonstration at the opening ceremony for the newly refurbished part of Pul-i-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul March 25, 2007. (Reuters)

Detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison who are brought to the United States to stand trial in U.S. criminal courts, they are expected to enjoy the same rights afforded others who pass through the federal criminal court system, and that worries some.

The contentious debate over bringing terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison to the United States to be tried in federal courts raises thorny questions about rights such as bail hearings, plea negotiations and jury selections — and of course, what happens if a suspect is acquitted.

“That’s the issue that drove the whole system in the first place,” said Anthony Barkow, a former U.S. attorney and executive director of the Center on the Administration of Criminal Law at New York University.

“I think some if not all pose a risk to national security and I think the administration is going to be put in a tough spot if anyone is acquitted and faced with a difficult decision about whether to employ some other mechanism to detain these people,” Barkow told FOXNews.com.