Five more airlines open routes to Vietnam | Look At Vietnam

Five more airlines open routes to Vietnam

April 22, 2012

An additional five airlines have registered to launch or resume flights to Vietnam between now and the end of this year.
They include Air Hong Kong, Jeju Air (the Republic of Korea), Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudi Arabia), United Airlines (the US), and Air China Cargo (China).
Silk Airlines of Singapore, which is currently conducting flights to Danang, is also keen on opening an air route to Hanoi.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), as many as 48 foreign airlines are operating in Vietnam. In 2011, about five million visitors travelled to Vietnam by air, up 35 percent over the previous year.
Vietnam is upgrading infrastructure at Noi Bai, Cam Ranh and Danang Airports, and implementing a project to build Long Thanh Airport to meet the increasing demand for passenger and cargo transport.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast that by 2014, Vietnam will be the world’s third fastest growing market for international passengers and freight. The country’s aviation growth will likely reach 10 percent in the next three years, doubling the 2011 global average of 5 percent.
Vietnam Airlines to open Berlin-Hanoi direct flight
The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to launch a direct flight from Berlin to Hanoi on June 25.
The information was announced by Nghiem Van Khanh, chief representative of Vietnam Airlines in Berlin, during a meeting with Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany, Do Hoa Binh, on April 18.
According to Khanh, the planned direct flight from Berlin to Hanoi is part of activities to mark the inauguration of Brandenburg Airport on June 3.
Vietnam Airlines will sell tickets (895 Euros, including 40kg luggage) through East Sea Travel Germany. Passengers on the first flight on June 25 can fly back to Germany via regular flights from Hanoi to Frankfurt, where they can travel free of charge by train to their final destination in the country.
Ambassador Binh highly valued the opening of the direct flight, saying that it will help promote Vietnam Airlines’ image and contribute to the fruitful relationship between Vietnam and Germany.
VOV/VNA

Vietnam finds banned anorexiant in Chinese weight loss supplement | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Vietnam finds banned anorexiant in Chinese weight loss supplement

November 6, 2011 about Health

The Vietnam Food Administration has found sibutramine in a batch of Cishi Qingguo Capsule products imported from China.

The Vietnam Food Administration announced on October 27 that it found sibutramine – an oral anorexiant banned by the Health Ministry – in a Chinese-made weight loss dietary supplement sold on the Vietnamese market.
The administration has seized the batch of Cishi Qingguo Capsule products imported by Delta Vietnam Medical Equipment Joint Stock Co. based in Hanoi from its store.
In April 2011, the Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) banned the circulation of drugs containing sibutramine and ordered hospitals to stop prescribing the products. It also ordered drug manufacturers, importers and distributors to recall the products from nationwide stores.
According to the DAV, sibutramine increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease.
Sibutramine has been withdrawn from the market in countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

By Nam Son, Thanh Nien News

Vietnam finds banned anorexiant in Chinese weight loss supplement | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

China will keep investng by the Billions

China unlikely to cool investment as its growth engine 

August 16, 2011  about International

One-hundred Yuan notes are seen in this picture illustration in Beijing March 22, 2011.

China’s long-term plan to cut reliance on investment as a growth engine is clashing with its short-term need for protection against a worsening global outlook.
Beijing has made it clear that consumption, not investment, must eventually do more of the work to drive the world’s No. 2 economy.
But with debt troubles in the United States and Europe casting doubt on worldwide demand, it’s likely China will keep investing by the billions for now, even if that takes Beijing further from its ultimate goal.
Chinese consumers are a long way from becoming big spenders, so massive investment is still the fastest and easiest way for China to prop up its economy if push comes to shove.
“China’s investment carriage continues to race along,” the China Securities Journal, an official Chinese paper, said in a front-page story on Monday. “Our investment-led growth model will not falter in the short term.”
Data published on Tuesday underscored expectations that China’s investment will keep growing at a healthy clip in months ahead. It showed that China pulled in $69.2 billion of foreign investment direct in the first seven months of this year, which is 19 percent above a year ago, and putting the country on track for another year of record foreign direct investment.
Without doubt, having heavy investment carries a price. Analysts say it generates waste and excess capacity, fuels inflation and produces diminishing economic returns. State investment is like an unsustainable life-support system that China needs to wean itself off.
In 2009 — the last year for which figures are available — investment made up 65 percent of China’s gross domestic product, a far higher share than in other major or Asian economies. Household consumption, however, accounted for just 35 percent, compared with 70 percent in the United States.
Unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated
In the words of China Premier Wen Jiabao, the Chinese growth model is on all counts unstable, unbalanced, uncoordinated and ultimately unsustainable.
Some of the more bearish economists argue that wasteful investment is inflating a property price bubble and saddling banks with bad loans, sowing the seeds of a future crisis.
An example of healthier investment, economists say, would be companies stepping up capital expenditures on improving China’s manufacturing technologies.
Yet, the prospect that a downturn in the US and Europe — China’s top two export markets — could wipe out millions of Chinese factory jobs and endangering Beijing’s leadership is politically unpalatable.
So, if the global outlook deteriorates, China may decide that investment is the lesser of two evils, much like it did after the 2008 financial crisis when it ordered an investment binge that helped it maintain annual growth rates of around 10 percent during and after the global recession.
“It is possible that China’s investment-led growth can continue for several years longer,” said Mark Williams, an economist at Capital Economics in London. “There is no sign yet that it is about to implode.”
In spite of global clouds, most economists still expect China to grow well above 8 percent in 2012. That is in line with the market refrain that China won’t have a hard landing. A Reuters poll in mid-July showed economists think 2012 growth will be 8.8 percent, well above Beijing’s 7 percent growth target.
Rebalancing, some day
On the surface, China seems serious about following through on promises to invest less to rebalance its economy, and it has good reasons to be wary of repeating its 2008 spending spree.
Some of the 4 trillion yuan ($626 billion) stimulus package announced in 2008 was squandered on ill-advised projects and economists now worry that a sizable fraction of loans to local governments won’t be repaid.
Banks may be wary of extending more large loans, making it difficult for local governments to invest their way to growth in the future.
Last week alone, China halted new railway projects and cut its building target for public housing by 20 percent to 8 million units for 2012, from 10 million.
Yet, economists say little has changed in reality.
China’s bullet trains may be a beguiling metaphor for its rapid urbanization, but rail investment accounted for just a paltry 1.9 percent of total fixed asset investment in the first six months of this year.
That China will stop making bullet trains says less about its desire to cut investment, and more about its need to pacify public wrath over a fatal train accident in eastern China last month, said Dong Tao, an economist at Credit Suisse.
Likewise, the cut-back in public housing is simply a realistic revision of an overly-ambitious plan and should not affect actual construction work, Tao said.
“The cut isn’t even relevant,” he said. “The 10 million a year target was too aggressive this year. It certainly would be too aggressive next year and the year after.”
If anything, some economists argue Beijing is most likely to increase investment in housing if it decides to stimulate growth in coming months.
Homes priced out of reach
Soaring property prices have put homes out of reach for many ordinary Chinese, and that has become a source of public ire. Keenly aware of that, Beijing wants to build more public homes to keep them affordable.
And with the real estate market accounting for a quarter of total investment in the first half of this year, China could get decent bang for its buck if it ramps up spending in the sector.
Judging by Beijing’s recent remarks on monetary policy, it appears that China is ready to pause its 10-month policy tightening campaign as rain clouds gather over the world economy.
Alongside wide expectations that China’s inflation is near its peak after hitting a three-year high of 6.5 percent in July, many analysts think Beijing is ready to support economic growth if needed.
“With the problems in Europe, the government won’t be tightening credit as much as in the first-half of the year,” said Paul Cavey, an economist at Macquarie, adding that Beijing’s policy easing should lower China’s interbank rates.
To be sure, Beijing says it wants to cure China of its penchant for investment-driven growth. Under its broad five-year economic plan starting from 2011, it envisions a fairer Chinese economy where consumption climbs on rising incomes.
But the grand plan drew skepticism when it was unveiled as it was short on details on how changes would come about.
Few big spenders
Many analysts have said that Chinese consumers cannot pull their weight as big spenders because the bulk of national income goes to the state instead of workers. A flimsy social safety net encourages high saving rates.
For younger workers, consumption tends to be higher, but between expensive housing and strong cultural pressure to support aging parents and grandparents, they too face limits on how much they can spend.
In a paper published last month, the International Monetary Fund outlined key reforms China should implement to empower its consumers.
It called for a liberalization of financial markets; a reduction in personal income taxes; better healthcare services, increasing the cost of land, energy and pollution; raising dividend payouts from state firms, and improving labor mobility.
However, it would be years before these reforms take effect.
“It’s too early to expect consumption to play a particularly important role,” said Macquarie’s Cavey. “For the time being, if China wants rapid rates of growth, it’s still going to be investment-led growth.”

Reuters 

Chinese continue to intimidate Vietnam

Chinese newspapers distort truth, intimidate Vietnam

June 23, 2011 about News, Politics

The editorial published in Global Times on June 11 used threatening words such
as: “Vietnam seems completely ignorant of the reactions that China can offer”;
“If using war to resolve territorial disputes Vietnam will lose

LookAtVietnam - The Chinese newspaper Global Times published an editorial
titled “Tougher action towards China cannot benefit Vietnam” to which the
Vietnamese Dai Doan Ket Newspaper has replied appropriately “China’s newspaper
distorting the truth and intimidating the Vietnamese People”.

Position of Vietnamese vessel Binh Minh 02 during the incident on May 26 when Chinese ships cut its survey cable

Two of three Chinese ocean surveillance vessels violate Vietnam’s water
teritorry and cut off a survey cable of vessel Binh Minh 02 on May 26.
After experiencing 20 very turbulent years, Vietnam and China had normalized
their relations with a basic pledge, “Close the past and go forward into the
future”. They aimed to build a relationship under the slogan: “friendly
neighbors, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, future-oriented”.
In addition, the two nations recently agreed to set up comprehensive strategic
partner cooperation.
This was a valued and treasured achievement that was created with much effort
and a concerted will by both sides and remains firmly respected and endorsed by
Vietnam.
Unfortunately, many newspapers in China have continuously issued hostile
articles, distorting Vietnam’s image and Vietnam-China relations. The articles
have increased in number after Chinese vessels cut off cables of a Vietnamese
oil exploration vessel in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone two weeks ago. An
exploration cable of the PetroVietnam vessel, Binh Minh 2 (Sunrise 2) was cut by
Chinese ocean surveillance ships on May 26. Two weeks later, a Chinese fishing
boat rammed the survey cables of the PetroVietnam vessel, Viking II that was
operating in Vietnam’s EEZ.
Amongst all the Chinese newspapers, the Global Times has raised the biggest
voice over China’s actions in Vietnam’s EEZ.
The paper issued an editorial titled “Tougher action towards China cannot
benefit Vietnam”, which clearly distorts the actual truth and Vietnam’s reaction
to the violations.
The editorial ridiculously blames Vietnam for threatening China. It was not a
Vietnamese vessel that attacked a Chinese vessel but contrarily it was the other
way round. A Vietnamese vessel was clearly threatened by a Chinese ship. Chinese
vessels not only threaten but also provoke, which is unacceptable to any country
as defined under international law and procedure. This certainly does not call
for a large number of print and online newspaper articles that have repeatedly
used grudging and accusative wordings to deeply offend the dignity of the
Vietnamese people.
Such rhetoric does not make a nation proud nor does it portray the decorum of a
civilized country, in particular of two socialist countries that are close
neighbors.
The editorial published in Global Times on June 11 used threatening words such
as: “Vietnam seems completely ignorant of the reactions that China can offer”;
“If using war to resolve territorial disputes Vietnam will lose”… (Although I do
not want to, I am compelled to remind about events in the 1970s when China
attacked the Hoang Sa archipelagoes (Paracel Islands) and launched a war on the
Northern borders of Vietnam and the 1988 event when China attacked some islands
in Truong Sa archipelagoes (Spartly islands). This reminder is aimed at exposing
those who not only threaten but also wage war against the Vietnam-China
relationship.
The provocative actions of the Chinese ocean surveillance ships and articles
like the Global Times editorial, disturb and hurt Vietnamese people’s sentiments
towards China, though not towards all the Chinese people in general. What the
Global Times says is far from the truth: “Chinese people’s feelings towards
Vietnam that were accumulated day by day have reduced to ashes while reading
Vietnam’s reactions through the media”.
The emphasis on big country and small country was very marked by the author.
Realistically the world has powerful and not so powerful countries based on
geographic, economic and population strata. However all countries are equal when
it come to international relations. This notion has been continuously repeated
by Chinese leaders.
China’s present attitude contradicts the policy of respecting smaller countries
as the article states.
In addition, this conduct displays an encroaching attitude by a big country and
raises concerns in the public besides affecting China’s image of a peacefully
growing economy.
The editorial also incorrectly assumed that legal reaction from Vietnam was the
result of domestic pressure, stimulating internal sentiments, attracting
attention from the international community…, reflecting nationalism and causing
contradictions between the two countries.
The problem between the two countries began when Chinese vessels in the East Sea
broke international law. All Vietnamese felt betrayed as all with a conscience
in the world would as well.
International law in today’s modern world does not permit any country to behave
in an encroaching manner with another country and expect it to remain silent.
How would Global Times react if foreign vessels attacked Chinese ships and cut
their cables in the Chinese EEZ recognized by international law? Certainly not
in the area of so-called nine-stage line recognized by China itself and
thousands of miles away from the Chinese coast!
History knows that China was also invaded and the Chinese people know dishonor
at the hands of foreigners. Surely then they must understand the discontentment
of the Vietnamese people.
The editorial said that Hanoi took a back step after successfully determining
the boundaries in the Tonkin gulf. These allegations are only worth dismissing.
Does Beijing want now to change the word Ha Noi?
It is most regrettable that what took 20 long years for the two countries to
overcome and build by way of renewed cooperative relations is now being pushed
aside by regrettable action by China.
At the end of the article, the author writes “Please reconsider the history”.
Exactly! Please review the thousand-year history of your neighbors and follow
decorum and a moral code of conduct towards neighbors who value peace and good
friendly relations with all countries.
Every Vietnamese citizen has a deeply embedded desire to behave in accordance
with moral standards towards good friendly countries. Surely this too must be
the wish of the Chinese people as well!
Source: SGGP/Dai Doan Ket

Chinese military ships bully Vietnam’s fishing boats | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Chinese military ships bully Vietnam’s fishing boats | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "-

Chinese military ships bully Vietnam’s fishing boats

June 3, 2011 about News, Politics

VietNamNet Bridge – On the afternoon of May 31, three Chinese military ships opened fire to threaten four fishing boats from Vietnam’s Phu Yen province, in the sea of Vietnam.

A fishing boat of Vietnam.

The Border-guard forces of Phu Yen province have asked for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s intervention.

Colonel Nguyen Trong Huyen, Commander of Phu Yen Province’s Border-guard forces, said that according to fishermen’s report through the phone, while four fishing boats of fishermen from Phu Yen’s Tuy Hoa city were catching ocean tuna, only five miles to the southeast of the Da Dong Island in the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands of Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa province, three Chinese naval ships approached.

At the distance of 40 meters from the Vietnamese ships, they fired to the water to threaten Vietnamese fishermen.

Captain Le Van Giup, of one of the four Phu Yen’s fishing boats, said that he quickly steered to avoid hitting the Chinese ships. According to Mr. Giup, the three Chinese naval ships, numbered 27, 28 and 989 were equipped with weapon.

According to the fishermen, the three Chinese ships closely followed Vietnamese fishing boats in the afternoon and night of May 31. Vietnamese ships had to move toward the shore to avoid threats from Chinese military ships.

In the morning of June 1, Captain Giup called the Phu Yen Border-guard forces to inform them of this case.

Colonel Nguyen Trong Huyen said that since early March 2011, it has become popular that many Chinese fishing ships illegally entered Vietnam’s waters and threatened Vietnamese fishing boats. “But this time, according to fishermen’s description, these were military ships because they are equipped with weapon,” he added.

Phu Yen Border-guard forces have told local fishing boats to avoid Chinese military ships, but continue their catching. “This is our traditional fishing ground which belongs to Vietnam’s sovereignty,” Huyen confirmed.

Colonel Huyen also said that he reported the case to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked for their intervention to protect fishermen and Vietnam’s sovereignty.

This is the latest move after the Binh Minh 02 ship case on May 26.

PV

Chartered flights to central Vietnam on the rise | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Chartered flights to central Vietnam on the rise | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "VietNamNet Bridge
- The number of chartered flights to central Vietnam is jumping between now and
the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday compared to a year ago, according to the
Danang-based tour operator Vi-tours and the aviation authority.



Vitours director Cao Tri Dung estimated local and foreign
airlines had 12 to 15 charter flights from China,
Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Korea and elsewhere in Asia
to Danang International Airport
alone in the period, with more than half of them catered to by Vitours.



Dung told the Daily on the phone on Monday that the number
of chartered flights to the region in the period would triple or quadruple that
in the year-ago period. This substantial increase is attributable to the fact
that more foreign travel agencies are choosing central Vietnam as a new destination for
their guests, coupled with a recovery of global travel demand.



“They (foreign travel agencies) charter flights for their
customers to Phuket and Bali in previous years and now is the time for them to
visit central Vietnam,”
Dung said. He added this region was able to meet requirements for accommodation
and entertainment, as it was now home to many luxury properties and
UNESCO-listed heritage sites, including the former imperial capital of Hue and the Phong
Nha-Ke Bang
Caves in Quang Binh Province.



Dung said over half of the chartered flights to central
Vietnam were operated by Vietnam Airlines from such markets as Korea, Hong Kong
and Japan, and the rest by TransAsia Airways of Taiwan and other foreign
carriers.



The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) said
Shanghai Airlines had suspended services to Danang
International Airport,
but this did not result in a reduction in frequencies of chartered flights to one
of the four international airports in central Vietnam. The others in the region
are Phu Bai, Cam Ranh and Chu Lai airports.



CAAV demonstrated that Russia’s
Vladivostok Air had kicked off their chartered flights from Vladivostok
and Khabarovsk to Cam
Ranh International
Airport in Khanh Hoa Province.



About one month ago, Vietnam Airlines started a series of
more than 40 flights chartered by the international travel firm Vietlink from Hong Kong and Danang until early May next year, using the
184-seat Airbus A321 aircraft.



Dung of Vitours said over the past years, Vietnam Airlines
and other carriers had operated their medium-sized aircraft with 160 to 180
seats for the chartered flights to and from Danang with an average load factor
of 70%.



Dung said the visitors using chartered flights often stayed
four to five days exploring services and destinations in central Vietnam,
and spent much money on services and products there.



Attracting visitors to central Vietnam on chartered flights
promises a bright future because the number of scheduled flights to the region
remains limited. Singapore’s
SilkAir now has four weekly flights to Danang while Vietnam Airlines has
launched its daily HCMC-Tokyo service with a stopover in the central city.



Dung said Vitours had invested US$40,000-50,000 this year on
promotion and support programs in order to bring more chartered flights to
Danang, or double the amount the company spent last year.



- Sent using Google Toolbar"

A change in international relations can make for good business

A change in international relations can make for good business
Hundreds of Chinese tourists arrived in Taiwan on Monday on the first luxury cruise ship to sail directly to the island from China, boosting prospects for expanded economic and tourism ties between the rivals.

The Ocean Mystery arrived at Keelung port following a two-day cruise from Shanghai, with well-wishers setting off firecrackers and performing traditional dragon dances. The 1,600 passengers are the first of several large-scale tour groups Chinese officials have promised to send to Taiwan by ship or air.

After disembarking, many of the passengers were bused to an upscale shopping mall in nearby Taipei, where they inspected luxury goods at a local department store. Zhang Yonghong and Hsu Hongying, two female shoppers from Shandong province, told reporters they planned to spend up to USD 1,460 at the store.

Since taking office last year, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has eased long-strained relations with China by promoting closer economic ties. Last December, the two sides lifted a ban on direct transportation links imposed when they split amid civil war in 1949.

Taiwanese officials hope a significant increase in the number of Chinese tourists could help shore up the island's economy. It contracted 8.36 per cent in the final quarter last year amid the global economic downturn.

Dollar rises vs yen as China news lifts risk appetite

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar scaled four-month peaks against the yen on Wednesday, as news about China's latest stimulus package and data suggesting its economy is beginning to recover revived investors' risk appetite.

The news fueled a rally on Wall Street, lifting it from 12-year lows hit on Monday, and prompted selling in the greenback versus the euro and other higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

"The biggest news today came out of China and that seems to have a bigger impact on risk appetite than market activity," said Robert Blake, senior currency strategist, at State Street Global Markets in Boston.

"The news of the stimulus package is supporting riskier currencies and generating an unwind in the safe-havens that is now more or less limited to the dollar," he added.

China on Wednesday said it would increase infrastructure and manufacturing spending, raising hopes of stimulus for the global economy. In addition, an important measure of Chinese manufacturing improved in February for a third straight month.

The report on China overshadowed data showing another slide in U.S. private sector employment for February.

In early afternoon New York trading, the dollar rose to 99.29 yen, up 1.0 percent on the day. Earlier, it climbed to 99.49 yen, the highest level since November 5, according to electronic trading platform EBS.

The yen was also weighed down by concerns about Japan's economy, which is mired in recession. That along with zero interest yields have spurred an outflow of funds from Japanese investors themselves.

BOJ CONCERNS; UNCHANGED GLOBAL BACKDROP

Bank of Japan board member Miyako Suda echoed those worries on Wednesday, saying it was difficult to judge whether the Japanese economy had hit bottom and voiced concerns over tumbling share prices.

The euro was trading at $1.2616, up 0.4 percent on the day after earlier hitting a three-month trough below $1.25. Sterling rose 0.4 percent to $1.4117 after dipping below $1.40.

"Improved equity markets have helped sentiment today and people are taking some profits" after the dollar's recent rally brought it near or beyond important psychological levels against a number of major currencies, said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

The global backdrop, though, hasn't changed, and "financial markets are still a mess, credit markets are still tight, and we are still a long way from recovery," Watt said.

Anxiety about the U.S. and world economies has supported the dollar in recent months as investors cut exposure to stocks and other currencies and sought safety in the greenback, which benefits from its role as the world's reserve currency.

Also on Wednesday, data showed Australia's economy shrank in the fourth quarter for the first time in eight years, although hopes of increased Chinese spending helped the Australian dollar recover to US$0.6484, up 1.5 percent. Continued...

Millions of Chinese migrant workers lose jobs | The Australian

LAST week's announcement by Pacific Brands that 1850 Australians were to lose their jobs to China spread gloom among workers at large-scale local manufacturing industries. But in reality Chinese migrant workers are faring much worse. More than the equivalent of the whole population of Australia, 20-30 million people, have already lost their jobs and thus also their housing in the factory towns.

They travelled from their rural homes where they had long been underemployed, barely scraping a living, to stay for extended periods in dormitories in factories in coastal cities, making goods mostly bought in the US, Britain and elsewhere in the West.

Credit and confidence have collapsed in the West, and so has the demand for the clothes, the toys, the plasma television screens they make.

And despite growing rhetoric from Beijing about broadening the base of China's economy by boosting consumer demand, the policies that would have achieved this were not put in place before the country's main export markets collapsed.

The Communist Party rules by consensus as well as control, and the leadership has found it difficult to balance the country's conflicting interests -- including between the developed coast, with the jobs, and the less developed heartland, with the struggling farmers -- while introducing a fresh wave ofreforms.

But there are signs that at last reforms to modernise the economy are under way. It is easier for party leaders to explain this on the grounds that without change now, the Government will be forced to confront scores of thousands more "mass incidents" as it calls the demonstrations and protests already stirring in rural China.

He Guangping, the deputy head of the public security department in Guangdong, the southern province that makes a third of China's exports, says: "Faced with the complicated changes in public security in society, especially given the impact of the international financial crisis, we expect the public security situation to be grim.

"All kinds of illegal and criminal activities will continue to increase ... The task of safeguarding social stability, law and order overall, is arduous."

China is big on anniversaries, and it has only just finished celebrating 30 years since Deng Xiaoping opened the door to business, beginning with the farmers.

Since then, China's remarkable development -- which has seen hundreds of millions of people emerge from poverty -- has been driven substantially by its becoming the world's factory.

About 60 per cent of China's exports are made by foreign-owned or foreign-invested companies, chiefly from Taiwan and Hong Kong, and some simply locked the doors after giving their workers their tickets home for their annual leave at Chinese New Year a month ago.

Most had made profits for years, but were confronting ever-narrowing margins as costs rose and the big buyers, such as Wal-Mart, kept screwing prices down.

And they lacked access to financial support. China's banks, all state-owned, rarely lend to the private sector and especially not to small or medium businesses.

The rural communities that have depended on the money sent home by the women and men working away -- about 200 million in all, 15 per cent of the population -- are deprived of the income on which they had grown to depend. Many now also have to sustain an influx of adults who have not lived there for years.





more info->>>Millions of Chinese migrant workers lose jobs | The Australian

Hong Kong & Taipei Travel Deals

China Airlines (tel. 800/227-5118; http://www.china-airlines.com/) has a couple of great web deals up at the moment. First up, Los Angeles to Hong Kong is $600 round-trip, or $689 with taxes. This offer is good for outbound weekday travel between January 24 and April 30, and must be purchased by February 28.
Also from China Airlines, Los Angeles to Taipei is $689 round-trip, or $755 with taxes. This fare is good for outbound travel between January 24 and May 20, and must be purchased by February 6.
Los Angeles to Hong Kong $676, including all taxes
Los Angeles to Taipei $755, including all taxes

Central China province reports human infection of bird flu_English_Xinhua

CHANGSHA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- A 16-year-old male student had been confirmed as infected with bird flu in central China's Hunan Province, the fourth case of human bird flu found in China in 2009, said a provincial government official on Monday.
The student, surnamed Wu, fell ill on Jan. 8 in Guizhou, the provincial capital, said the official from the provincial health bureau.
Wu was transferred to a hospital in Huaihua City on Jan. 16 when his condition worsened.
The patient is still in a critical condition, the official said.
According to the test result on Monday from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wu tested positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
The patient had had contact with poultry, the official said. But no more details had been revealed.
The people who had close contact with the patient are under medical observation. No one has been found ill so far.
In the northern Shanxi Province, a two-year-old girl surnamed Peng was confirmed to be infected with the same virus on Saturday.
The toddler had been in critical condition and doctors had been trying to bring the virus under control, local health officials said on Sunday.
The 67 people who had close contact with the girl had been under observation but no one was found infected.
A 27-year-old woman surnamed Zhang died of bird flu in east China's Shandong Province on Saturday, which was the second death caused by avian influenza in the country in the new year.
The first death this year from bird flu was a 19-year-old woman named Huang Yanqing who died in Beijing on Jan. 5.
Editor: Deng Shasha

US Authorizes Chinese Bank to Open Branch in New York

.S. officials have authorized China's second-largest bank to open its first branch in the United States.


China Construction Bank
The Federal Reserve - the U.S. central bank - on Monday approved an application by China Construction Bank to set up a branch in New York city. The Federal Reserve issued a statement saying the branch is expected to offer wholesale deposit-taking, lending, trade finance and other banking services.

The statement said the bank holds reserves of over $1 trillion and operates branches in several foreign countries in Asia and Europe. The Chinese government owns 57 percent of the bank's shares, while U.S.-based Bank of America owns about 19 percent. A sovereign wealth fund owned by the government of Singapore owns nearly six percent.

U.S. officials judged the bank to possess sufficient capital reserves to meet international standards. They also approved steps taken by the bank and the Chinese government to combat money-laundering.

China Construction bank also is subject to additional regulation required for listing on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

The Chinese government also has a majority interest in two other Chinese banks - the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China - each of which has branches in the United States.

U.S. regulators said Bank of America must seek approval from the Federal Reserve to retain shares in China Construction Bank after it opens its New York branch.

Boeing announces $6.3B Air China order for 737s and 777s

Boeing Co. said it’s signed a deal with Air China for 15 777s and 30 737-800s.

The deal is worth $6.3 billion at list prices.

Officials at Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced the deal at the Farnborough air show in the United Kingdom and said the order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on its website.

Boeing said it has 350 unfilled orders for the Everett-built wide-body 777 and 2,200 unfilled orders for the Renton-built 737.