China/Asia/Pacific Theater... News and events of the region (Open to all to post)

[Toby]

China to launch manned spacecraft in June

AFP - China will launch a manned spacecraft this month, state news agency Xinhua said Saturday, in the latest step in a programme aimed at giving the country a permanent space station by 2020.

The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and its carrier rocket have already been moved to the launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, Xinhua said, quoting an official with the country's manned space programme.

China to launch manned spacecraft in June: Xinhua - FRANCE 24

In the mean time the Obama administration has tasked NASA with Muslim outreach.

[JIM BOB]

Vietnam asks US to lift ban on weapon sale

Have they used up what we left over there ?

[Toby]

Vietnam asks US to lift ban on weapon sale

Have they used up what we left over there ?

They are going to need some more to fight the coming guerrilla war against China Jim

[Toby]

China's economy: More downbeat data

A grimmer picture of China's slowing economy has emerged from new data. It shows that growth in industrial output and retail sales slackened more than expected last month.

A sharp drop in producer prices has also fuelled concerns that the demand for goods is faltering on the home front.

Wholesale prices fell 1.4 per cent last month, the second month of decline, suggesting that suppliers struggling to sell their goods as orders fall may be cutting prices

China's economy: More downbeat data

[Toby]

China to send its first woman into space: Xinhua

China to send its first woman into space: Xinhua - FRANCE 24

Meanwhile NASA is doing "Muslim outreach"

[JIM BOB]

$1.5 Mil To Promote Collective Bargaining In Vietnam | Judicial Watch

[Toby]

Turns Out China IS Lying About Everything

As the Chinese economy continues to sputter, prominent corporate executives in China and Western economists say there is evidence that local and provincial officials are falsifying economic statistics to disguise the true depth of the troubles.



Record-setting mountains of excess coal have accumulated at the country’s biggest storage areas because power plants are burning less coal in the face of tumbling electricity demand. But local and provincial government officials have forced plant managers not to report to Beijing the full extent of the slowdown, power sector executives said.

Even that lonely indicator that some, even us, had considered somewhat realistic: electric output, is a mirage. Electricity production and consumption have been considered a telltale sign of a wide variety of economic activity. They are widely viewed by foreign investors and even some Chinese officials as the gold standard for measuring what is really happening in the country’s economy, because the gathering and reporting of data in China is not considered as reliable as it is in many countries....But an economist with ties to the agency said that officials had begun making inquiries after detecting signs that electricity numbers may have been overstated.

Turns Out China IS Lying About Everything | ZeroHedge

[Toby]

Protests in Hong Kong after new leader inaugurated

As Hong Kong marks 15 years of Chinese rule, mass anti-Beijing demonstrations have been taking place in the former British colony. They come shortly after the inauguration of the territory's new leader.


Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday as the territory marked 15 years since the transfer from British to Chinese rule.

Marchers were protesting at what they see as an erosion of rights under the influence of Beijing, although Hong Kong enjoys a degree of civil liberty and autonomy that would be unthinkable on the Chinese mainland.

Protests in Hong Kong after new leader inaugurated | News | DW.DE | 01.07.2012

Now why would they protest against the Communist regime in Beijing? After all isn't Communism supposed to make everyone equal and bring about civil rights for all?

[Toby]

History looms behind delay of South Korea-Japan military deal

History looms behind delay of South Korea-Japan military deal | Asia | DW.DE | 30.06.2012

[Toby]

Japan Returns to Nuclear Power

Japan is returning to nuclear power, with reactivation of the first nuclear plant since all reactors were shut down earlier this year.

Japan Returns to Nuclear Power - Global Agenda - News - Israel National News