Olympic Woes!!!

I read this article from Diversity.com today. This is most likely one of many stories that will be published before 08.08.08 (the start of the olympics). I am wondering how many corporate sponsors will bail out before the olympics as a protest to China's human rights violations. I am also curious about the corporate sponsors who don't bail out. I thought everyone might like this article.

Tom

www.diversityinc.com
Spielberg Quit; Should Olympic Sponsors Follow?
By Yoji Cole. Date Posted: April 03, 2008

Corporations sponsoring the Beijing Olympic Games could suffer guilt by association as critics and protesters voice their concerns over China's involvement in the Darfur region of Sudan and its controversial rule over Tibet.

Protesters disrupted a Chinese official's address during the Olympic torch-lighting ceremonies in Greece, and more protests are planned in cities along the route as the torch travels around the globe. Protesters, however, are not yet targeting the companies or the athletes involved with the Olympic Games. Instead, they want them to use their status and influence to call attention to and show support for ending the genocide in Darfur and China's involvement in Tibet.

"Companies need to release a statement addressing the issue of Darfur and say 'As a major worldwide corporation, we feel we need to play a positive role in ending the genocide.' If they want to get positive media from the Olympic Games, they should take into account what the world is asking," says Brad Greiner, cofounder and director of athlete outreach for Team Darfur, a coalition of more than 250 Olympic and professional athletes from 45 different countries who support Darfur's refugees.

China's involvement in the Darfur conflict received increased media scrutiny following film director and producer Steven Spielberg's resignation in February from his position as artistic director of the games' opening ceremonies.

"I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual," Spielberg said in a statement. "At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur." Read DiversityInc's exclusive interview with a Darfur expert who helped Spielberg with his decision to resign.

In Darfur, nearly 400,000 people, mostly Black Africans, live in refugee camps after having been driven from their homes by Arab-African militias called Janjaweed, who are supported by the Sudanese government. China imports 7 percent of its oil from Sudan, and critics say China needs to pressure Sudan to stop the violence and bring stability to Dafur.

The "Free Tibet" movement seeks autonomy from China for the three traditional provinces of Tibet. Supporters of Tibet are asking that China honor the country's "autonomy where there is democracy, freedom and justice that could exist," says Giovanni Vassallo, president of San Francisco--based The Committee of 100 for Tibet.

"Companies should feel free to sponsor the Olympics but understand the risk," warns Vassallo. "At the same time, millions of people around the world will view the Olympics and the torch as it travels around the world as blood-stained."

Tibet's supporters plan protests in cities along the torch relay's route to keep their demand for an autonomous Tibet in the news. Vassallo said the torch will pass through San Francisco April 9 and he expects tens of thousands of protesters to march in the streets.

Torch relay sponsors include The Coca-Cola Co., No. 2 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. Coca-Cola is also a worldwide sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee along with Johnson & Johnson, No. 8.

The U.S. Olympic Committee's domestic sponsors include AT&T, No. 22 on the Top 50, Bank of America, No. 3, and General Motors, No. 44.

A Coca-Cola representative said in March that the company is being watchful. "We're keeping an eye on the situation," Kerry Kerr told The New York Times. "We feel that using the torch relay to put political pressure on China is not appropriate." Coca-Cola met several times with protest groups, Kerr added, and is sharing the groups' concerns with the International Olympic Committee.

Vassallo suggests companies feature programs that will benefit Darfur's refugees or Tibet to show support for human rights.

"They should conduct awareness campaigns with their employees to tell them what to do to support [Darfur's refugees and Tibet]," says Vassallo. "If they want, they should pressure China to enter into discussions with the Dalai Lama who is recognized by Tibetans as their country's leader. And I think they should steer away from [partnerships with] companies owned and operated by the People's Liberation Army."

Hopes and Prayers

During the interview with Alex Hu, Alex expressed his hopes and dreams in modern day China. Alex is a college student and looking toward the graduation. He indicated that it was most youth's goal to help their family, the society and the country. He stated that his parents were concerned about basic needs, whereas he is concerned about getting a meaning job that will ensure a good future for himself and make him financially comfortable. He believes that the future of China looks good. The article I located talked about 2 - 20 year olds who were caught racing. The article went on to discuss the rapid decline in the price of cars. This opened a market for youngsters who want to buy cars and "change their sluggish lives". The article also puts Chinese youth in the same boat as youth all over the world; they are racing and their parents are praying for their safety.

My conclusion about Alex and this article reveal that Chinese youth are no longer the secluded youths behind the "Great Wall". They are behaving just like the youth in Raleigh, NC, New York City, NY and London, England. They have wants and desires to be financially secure and live a good life. China and the West have almost completed the merger of western culture and Chinese culture within the ranks of its youths.

Tom


Drag racing in China; Sanlian and FHM
Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn, April 4, 2006 3:08 PM

Boy racers of Beijing

San Lian Life Week's April 3 issue features the cover line Drag racing youths. With the steadily-decreasing price of cars, speed-loving Chinese youngsters are taking to illegal drag racing with the same enthusiasm as their counterparts in other countries.

The 'boy racer' phenomenon has been a source of worry to parents and society all over the world since James Dean made drag racing famous in Rebel Without a Cause, and it's no different in Beijing.

The trend has become a subject of public discussion in Beijing since February 10 this year, when the police arrested two 20-year-old men for racing around the city's Second Ring Road at death-defying speeds - nearing 150kph, or fast enough to complete the circuit in under 13 minutes and place them in the Beijing racing pantheon with the legendary "Sir 13 of the Second Ring" (a title the Sanlian article conspicuously avoids). The article profiles one of the youths, and looks at the influence on China's high octane youth culture of Formula 1, which entered the country in 2004 when Shanghai opened an F1 racing track.

The April issue of FHM's Chinese edition gets in on the drag racing vocab trend, using the Chinese word for drag racing (飙 - biao1) in a coverline: You can drag race whatever you ride: Donkey, horse, camel: completely change your sluggish life.

Inside the magazine are adverts for automobile brands KIA and Buick, and a special section sponsored by Cadillac. The San Lian Life Week issue contains ads for Ford and Buick, as well as a co-branded ad for Nokia and BMW.

For more on drag racing in greater China, have a look at blogger Glutter's Hong Kong street racing section.

China, Look Who's Talking

I came across this article in the post today. The peasants are talking to someone. They were the largest group of subscribers for mobile phones recently. Is something bigger happening here - people who communicate with each other can plan.

Tom

China Mobile posts strong 2007 growth, gains music, users
The world's largest mobile phone service grew in subscribers, revenue, profit, music service members and IM.

Dan Nystedt
PC World Sunday, March 23, 2008; 10:19 AM

China Mobile, the world's largest mobile phone service provider, posted strong growth across the board in subscribers, revenue, net profit, new music service members and instant messaging users, the company reported Wednesday.
The company added 68.1 million new subscribers last year, nearly half from rural areas of China, executives said in a presentation. Subscriber growth rose 22.6 percent year-over-year, compared to growth of 22.1 percent a year earlier. The figures show China Mobile continues to grow at a heady pace, due in part to its focus on attracting more subscribers from rural areas more inland.

Subscriberstotaled 369.34 million at the end of last year, and rose another 7.04 million in January to 376.38 million.

China Mobile's operating revenue rose 20.9 percent year-over-year to 356.96 billion Chinese renminbi (US$50.48 billion). Net profit increased 31.9 percent to 87.06 billion renminbi.
The company's mobile phone subscribers sent 502.7 billion SMSs (short message service) last year, up 42.3 percent compared to a year earlier.

The number of people subscribing to China Mobile's wireless music clubrose to 66.88 million, an addition of approximately 50.75 million people last year. China Mobile says it has 250,000 songs available for users.

The number of people paying for subscriptions to mobile news rose to 23.55 million at the end of last year, up by 18.05 million.

The company's Fetionmobile instant message software also fared well, ending 2007 with 73.26 million users, up by more than 67 million compared to a year earlier. Fetion can be used on PCs as well as certain mobile phones, free of charge.

China Mobile plans to invest even more money this year to expand its network capacity and start 3G (third generation mobile telecommunications) services in the run-up to the Olympic Games this August in Beijing. China Mobile plans to spend 127.2 billion renminbi this year, up from 105.1 billion last year, the company reported.

China - "We Shall Overcome" Maybe!!!

I think that that based on what I have learned about China and its current internal problems we have long since past China’s reconsideration as a world power. China is a world power. While China has GDP is steadily growing, supporting its 1.3 billion people is a challenge. China does have one plus that will have it stay a world power, “the 1.3 billion people” are a market for the world. While the internal problems may exist on a large scale, the world wants to move it products and create economic stability for itself, I believe even at the cost of the Chinese people. In order for China to solve its internal problems they will have to reform its government.. China is currently playing a game with itself. It called itself a communist state but is playing the game of capitalism. Democracy is inevitable. When and how, I do not know but solutions to internal problems will be a factor in the change.

China-Terror Plot

I read this article this morning online (MSN) about a foiled terror plot in China. I believe that more incidences like this will occur as we near the Olympics. My question is will the terror plots be based on disrupting the Olympics or bringing world attention to human rights activities in China or a slap at the political structure (CCP). This terror attempt was in the air, it will be interesting how China handles an on-ground terror attempt. Hopefully they can contain any terror attempts. Thought you might enjoy this article.

Tom

China: Terror plots targeted Olympics, plane
Officials say they foiled bid to ‘sabotage the staging of the Beijing Olympics’

updated 4:31 a.m. PT, Sun., March. 9, 2008

BEIJING - Chinese police killed alleged terrorists plotting to attack the Beijing Olympics, while a flight crew managed to prevent an apparent attempt to crash a Chinese jetliner in a separate case just last week, officials said Sunday.
Wang Lequan, the top Communist Party official in the western region of Xinjiang, said materials seized in a Jan. 27 raid in the regional capital, Urumqi, had described a plot with a purpose “specifically to sabotage the staging of the Beijing Olympics.”
“Their goal was very clear,” Wang told reporters in Beijing. Earlier reports on the raid had made no mention of Olympic targets.

China has ramped up anti-terror preparations before the August Games. The nation’s top police official last year labeled terrorism the biggest threat facing the event.
The raid and the plane crash attempt were mentioned during a meeting of Xinjiang delegates to parliament’s annual session that focused in part on terrorism.
Emergency landingThe plane incident occurred Friday morning shortly after the China Southern Airlines flight left the far western city of Urumuqi at 10:35 a.m., said Nur Bekri, the governor of the Xinjiang region.

“From what we presently know, this was an attempt to crash the plane,” Bekri said.

Bekri said the crew responded and brought the plane to an emergency landing in the western city of Lanzhou at 12:40 p.m. with no damage or injuries. He gave few details.
Chinese forces have for years been battling a low-intensity separatist movement among Xinjiang’s Uighurs, a Turkic Muslim people culturally and ethnically distinct from China’s Han majority.

China says its main terror threat comes from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, or ETIM. The group has been labeled a terrorist organization by both the United Nations and the United States. East Turkestan is another name for Xinjiang.

The group is not believed to have more than a few dozen members.

Lesson 6 - Blog Post - Shop til You Drop!

Can you believe all of the shopping that is going on in NYC. One Chinese shopper refers to it as “ Buy In America”. Just a few years ago, China was an economically depressed country. They had been left out of the market. It appears that they are now driving the market. This article indicates that NYC is expecting 159,000 Chinese tourists in NYC by the end of 2008. There must have been an economic boom. The peasant farmers may have been left out of the boom but not everyone. These shoppers are taking advantage of the drop in the U.S. dollar. The article also states that many Chinese are buying real estate in New York, and spending an average of $340,000.00 U.S. dollars. Clearly, the Chinese are shopping globally and making decisions on a how and where to spend their money in the global market.

- Here is the article,


Chinese purchase "cheap" goods with dollars
13:01, February 20, 2008

On February 14, after China Eastern Airlines' flight from New York landed at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, people swarmed off the plane, all carrying shopping bags. Miss Yang, who took advantage of Spring Festival to travel to the United States, said, "I bought a digital camera, an iPod, designer bags, clothes and shoes. The dollar fell and buying things has become so cost-effective."Miss Yang is only one of the many infected by the "Buy-in-America" craze now on the rise. With the weak dollar and the rise of the RMB, prices in the United States are much lower than in China. Not only are tourists physically shopping, but they are also shopping online with US dollars.During Spring Festival, on Madison Avenue in New York, the crowd was surging, and there was no room for your feet. Traffic police were dispatched to force the crowd, at a standstill and constantly screaming, to move. These shoppers mainly come from Europe; however, many also come from China.Michael Elvidge, from a tour bus company that has been operating for over 80 years, said, "This is the first time in my life to see so many Chinese people in Manhattan."Kimberly Spell, a spokesperson for the New York City Tourism Bureau said that in the last two years, the number of Chinese tourists has risen. New York City received 145,000 Chinese tourists last year; and by the end of this year, the number of Chinese tourists will reach 159,000 – a record high. The New York City Tourism Bureau estimated that once China's tourist visa to the United States opens up, this figure will see a new high.Spell said that foreign tourists contribute significantly to New York City's economy. Last year, New York City's total income from tourism reached 24.7 billion – half of which came from foreign tourists.

Chinese tourists' contribution to the city's tourism industry has become increasingly apparent.Ms. Wu, a white-collar worker in Shanghai, likes to buy cosmetics on the Hong Kong Salsa website. She likes a 30-ml bottle of Anna Sui, now selling at 22.80 US dollars. At the beginning of last year, it was 182 yuan. Now it costs only 164 yuan: a 10 percent decline in price.The biggest reason for the price gap is the weak US dollar. With the strength of the yuan increasing; the gap between in value between the US dollar and the RMB is narrowing. Early last year, the yuan exchange rate against the dollar was 7.80, but today it stands at 7.15.The value of items that are 100 USD, were once 780 yuan, a year ago. But now they cost nearly 10% cheaper.Moreover, in fear of economic stagnation, American chain enterprises launched large scale "discount sales" and promotional activities during the "end of the year" of shopping season.

As a result, the entire United States is "on sale" in the eyes of the Chinese people.According to a survey by the New York Tourism Bureau, Chinese tourists stayed in New York an average of 5.9 nights, with 79% of people living in hotels; 86 percent going out to eat; 84 percent going shopping; and 58 percent visiting tourist spots. In terms of shopping, Chinese tourists mainly buy European-brand cosmetics and clothes. And, it is worth mentioning that among the current Chinese tourists in New York; more than 80 percent are business travelers. Many of them purchase homes in New York. According to statistics, Chinese people spend an average of 340,000 US dollars on real estate in New York: 5,000 US dollars more than the British.

By

People's Daily Online

Lesson 6 - Blog Post

Here is an article that I read on February 12, 2008. In this article, it indicated that China is using “nationalism” to obtain military secrets from Mr. Chung. Chung commented that he wanted to help the “motherland”. This spying incident shows that China is interested in more than just being economic partner or competitor with the U.S. China’s spying shows that China considers the U.S. as a potential threat. Since 1999, there have been six (6) other news reports regarding China’s spying to obtain U.S. secrets is a major player in the world. It is not hard to see why China spies on the U.S. China was left out of the world market due to the wars it lost and the territory it relinquished due to those losses. In 1842, China lost the First Opium War and gave up Hong Kong in perpetuity to Britain for 99 years. IN 1958, China lost the Second Opium War and had to open up additional ports and grant unrestricted trade to foreigners. In 1895, China lost the Sino-Japanese War and gave up Taiwan to the Japanese. In 1945, the Japanese turned over Taiwan to China but the U.S. intervened and reunification has not occurred. This article mentions that a majority of the information involved was regarding the sale of military equipment to Taiwan. One has to wonder if China is planning for forced reunification.

China has a history of loss and since becoming a global player, it plays the global of rules of the spy game. Although this spy plot was discovered, China is also signaling its military capability to obtain information about the U.S. China is also showing weaknesses in our system of securing our secrets. These actions make China a global player and most assuredly a topic for discussion in every U. S. and allied forces military think tank.

Ex-Boeing engineer charged in China spying case
Page 1 of 2 View as a single page 5:00AM Tuesday February 12, 2008By James Vicini

WASHINGTON - A former Boeing engineer was arrested on Monday on charges of stealing trade secrets for China about several aerospace programs, including the Space Shuttle, the US Justice Department said.

It also announced a separate case in which a US Defence Department official and two others from New Orleans were arrested on Monday on espionage charges involving the passing of classified US government documents to China.

"We take every one of these cases very seriously," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein told a news conference.

"The threat is very simple. It's a threat to our national security and to our economic position in the world, a threat that is posed by the relentless efforts of foreign intelligence services to penetrate our security systems and steal our most sensitive military technology and information," he said.

Department officials said Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 72, of Orange, California, who was employed by Rockwell International from 1973 until its defence and space unit was acquired by Boeing Co in 1996, was arrested without incident at his residence.

He was accused in federal court in California of espionage involving economic secrets, conspiracy and other charges. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of more than 100 years in prison, the officials said.

Chung, a China native who is a naturalized US citizen, held a secret security clearance when he worked at Rockwell and Boeing on the Space Shuttle program, the officials said.

He retired from the company in 2002, but the next year he returned to Boeing as a contractor, a position he held until September 2006.

According to the charges against him, Chung took and concealed Boeing trade secrets relating to the Space Shuttle, the C-17 military transport aircraft and the Delta IV rocket.

DESIRE TO HELP 'MOTHERLAND'
Individuals in the Chinese aviation industry began sending Chung letters asking for specific information as early as 1979, the officials said. Chung responded in a letter with a desire to help the "motherland."

Between 1985 and 2003, Chung made multiple trips to China to give lectures on technology involving the Space Shuttle and other programs, and met with Chinese officials during those trips, the officials said. He also sent to China 24 manuals about the B-1 Bomber.

A Boeing spokesman, Dan Beck, said his company has been working with investigators.

"We do not comment on ongoing government criminal investigations and will not comment on the subject matter of the case," Beck said. "Boeing is not a target of the investigation and has been cooperating with the government."

The other case involved Gregg William Bergersen, a Defence Department official who had a top-secret security clearance, and Tai Shen Kuo and Yu Xin Kang, both of New Orleans.

Working under the direction of an individual identified in court documents only as "PRC Official A," Kuo cultivated friendships with Bergersen and others in the US government and obtained from them sensitive classified information for China.

The officials said much of the information involved the US sale of military equipment to Taiwan.

The criminal conduct spanned a two-year period from January 2006 to February 2008, said the documents filed in federal court in Virginia.

Kuo, a naturalized US citizen who had a furniture business in New Orleans, gathered the secret information, the officials said. Kang, a Chinese citizen and a legal permanent US resident, took the secrets from Kuo and gave them to the unidentified Chinese official.

Bergersen is a weapons systems policy analyst at the Arlington, Virginia-based Defence Security Cooperation Agency, which is part of the Defence Department. He received an undetermined amount of cash from Kuo for the secrets, the officials said.