Category: China

China’s Xi Is a More Effective Leader Than Obama http://t.co/XE41K61ulB

— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) December 11, 2014

Inside China's new CCTV headquarters – known as the underpants building – it's ALL forbidden pic.twitter.com/A0PURyZR1X

— David Schlesinger (@daschles) December 3, 2014

Reading between the lines here this Chinese General appears to be signaling to the North Koreans that they will not save the Kim regime if they do something foolish like start a war.  However, I see nothing in here that says they will not get involved to stabilize a post-Kim regime North Korea after they do something foolish:

China would not help save North Korea even if the neighboring North’s regime collapses, a former general of China’s military said Tuesday, in rare explicit comments that possibly reflect Beijing’s growing frustration with its unpredictable ally.

“China is not a savior,” Wang Hongguang, former deputy commander of the Nanjing military region of the People’s Liberation Army, wrote in an op-ed published by the Global Times newspaper, which has close ties with China’s ruling Communist Party.

“If North Korea really collapses, even China can’t save it,” Wang said.

The comments by Wang were in response to a recent contribution by another Chinese expert, who urged Beijing not to “abandon” North Korea.  [Yonhap]

Here is more of what Wang had to say from the South China Morning Post:

Wang said China would not get involved in any new war on the Korean peninsula.

“China cannot influence the situation on the Korean peninsula … China has no need to light a fire and get burnt. Whoever provokes a conflagration bears responsibility,” he wrote. “Now there is no more ’socialist camp’. It is not necessary for China’s younger generation to fight a war for another country.”

Wang criticised the North for its nuclear development, using it as an example of how the country’s interests can differ from China’s and saying it had “already brought about the serious threat of nuclear contamination in China’s border area”.

But he also slammed Western countries for “demonising” North Korea and interfering in its internal affairs in the name of human rights. “China absolutely does not meddle,” he wrote.

Beijing will “support what should be supported and oppose what should be opposed” regarding the North, Wang said, indicating that China was not ready to completely give up on its troublesome neighbour.

China will neither “court” nor “abandon” North Korea, he wrote. “This should be China’s basic attitude.” [South China Morning Post]

You can read more at the link.

The Chinese continue to push this issues knowing full well that if they do not want THAAD in Korea then get the North Korea to quit making threats against the ROK:

China’s top diplomat to Seoul said Wednesday he is opposed to the possible U.S. deployment of an advanced missile-defense (MD) system in South Korea as it would hurt Sino-Korean ties, a lawmaker said.

The United States has said it is considering deploying a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, an integral part of its MD system, to South Korea, citing evolving threats from North Korea. It is designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at a higher altitude in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill method.

The possibility has been a focus of media attention as it is seen as part of a broader U.S. attempt to get the Asian ally to join its air defense system and could spark tensions with China and Russia, who see it as a threat to their security interests.

“The THAAD would have a range of around 2,000 kilometers, which goes beyond the goal of countering missiles from North Korea,” Chinese ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong was quoted as saying by Rep. Won Hye-young of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD).  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but it is interesting that the Chinese do not care that the ROK has the Super Green Pine as well as the SPY-1 radars on their Aegis ships that can also have the range to look into China.

It will be interesting to see if the Chinese military decide to crush this guy to make an example of him

BEIJING (Reuters) – One of China’s most senior former military officers hoarded more than a ton of cash and precious jade in his basement, a Hong Kong magazine reported on Thursday, the latest details to emerge from the high-profile case amid Beijing’s war on graft.

Military prosecutors have said that Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, had confessed to taking “massive” bribes in exchange for help in promotions.

Officials say Xu, who retired as vice chairman last year and from the ruling Communist Party’s decision-making Politburo in 2012, will likely face a court martial now that an investigation has been finished.

In March, prosecutors searched Xu’s luxury home in Beijing and discovered stashed in the basement “more than a ton” of U.S. dollars, euros and Chinese yuan, reported Phoenix Weekly, a magazine run by Hong Kong broadcaster Phoenix Television. (Reuters)

You can read more at the link.

China’s Selling the J-31, But Who’s Buying? http://t.co/ENP7oLxcVz

— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) November 19, 2014

Xinhua pretends NYT is denied visas because it violated rules. Everyone knows the Communist Party aims to censor NYT. http://t.co/MJ9msij05M

— Edward Wong (@comradewong) November 15, 2014

@isaacstonefish yes of course ! pic.twitter.com/SrbOWeWkSL

— Vladimir (@Vladimir258046) November 12, 2014

It is pretty amazing the length that the Chinese censors go to protect the image of their leaders:

It was a warm gesture on a chilly night when Vladimir Putin wrapped a shawl around the wife of Xi Jinping while the Chinese president chatted with Barack Obama. The only problem: Putin came off looking gallant, the Chinese summit host gauche and inattentive.

Worse still were off-color jokes that began to circulate about the real intentions of the divorced Russian president — a heartthrob among many Chinese women for his macho, man-of-action image.

That was too much for the Chinese authorities.

The incident at a performance linked to this week’s Asia-Pacific summit originally was broadcast on state broadcaster CCTV and spread online as a forwarded video. But it was soon scrubbed clean from the Chinese Internet, reflecting the intense control authorities exert over any material about top leaders while also pointing to cultural differences over what’s considered acceptable behavior in public.

“China is traditionally conservative on public interaction between unrelated men and women, and the public show of consideration by Putin may provide fodder for jokes, which the big boss probably does not like,” said Beijing-based historian and independent commentator Zhang Lifan. ( Associated Press)

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if China has some emergency command center where people monitor the news and social media all day to determine what to censor?

Smart @ZacharyKeck take on the US-China climate deal. http://t.co/f6x0Xjtqd5

— Matt Schiavenza (@MattSchiavenza) November 12, 2014