It will get me current.
"Beijing news service uses racial slur against US envoy; Editorial brings widespread condemnation" by Didi Tang | Associated Press March 01, 2014
BEIJING — A major Chinese government news service used a racist slur to describe the departing American ambassador in a mean-spirited editorial on Friday that drew widespread public condemnation in China.
The article — which called Gary Locke a ‘‘rotten banana,’’ a guide dog for the blind, and a plague — reflected Chinese nationalists’ acute loathing toward the first Chinese-American to have been Washington’s top envoy to Beijing.
Locke’s ethnic background particularly interested the Chinese government and people. Locke won public applause when he was seen carrying his own bag and flying economy class, but he drew criticism from Beijing as his demeanor was an unwelcome contrast to Chinese officials’ privileges and entitlements.
In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry paid tribute to Locke as ‘‘a champion of human dignity and a relentless advocate for America’s values.’’ Asked about the China News Service commentary, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Friday: ‘‘We are not going to dignify the name-calling in that editorial with a response.’’
In his 2½ years in Beijing, Locke oversaw the defusing of two delicate diplomatic episodes when a powerful police chief fled to a US consulate and later when a persecuted blind activist sought shelter in the embassy.
See: Cutting Out the Chinese Crap
They are Locked into that ridiculous cover story?
The Chinese public also credits him with making them realize the harm of the tiny pollutant PM2.5 and the severity of China’s foul air by posting the embassy’s hourly readings of air quality.
Meanwhile, the editorials in Chinese state media turned from initial reservation to unfriendliness to the insolence of the final piece.
I get a Globe every morning, yeah.
‘‘I think it shows the unfriendliness and impoliteness by the Chinese government toward Gary Locke, and it is without the manners and dignity of a major power,’’ legal scholar Hao Jinsong said. ‘‘It is unfitting of China’s status as a diplomatic power. As a Chinese, I am very angry and feel ashamed of it.’’
Then they must have really been made angry because that is not a characteristic of the Chinese.
The editorial ‘‘Farewell, Gary Locke’’ took direct aim at Locke’s identity as a third-generation Chinese-American, calling him a ‘‘banana’’ — a racial term for Asians identifying with Western values despite their skin color.
The Asian version of an Oreo cookie.
‘‘But when a banana sits out for long, its yellow peels will always rot, not only revealing its white core but also turning into the stomach-churning color of black,’’ read the editorial.
The author Wang Ping — probably a pseudonym — slammed Locke’s portrayal as an official judicious with public funds but criticized him for being hypocritical as he retreated into his multimillion-dollar official residence and specially-made, bullet-proof luxury vehicle.
AmeriKan officials never $ee it.
Wang belittled Locke’s inability to speak his ancestral language and accused him of failing to understand China’s law and fanning ‘‘evil winds’’ in the ethnically-sensitive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.
‘‘Not only did he run around by himself, he even served as a guide dog for the blind when he took in the so-called blind rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng and led him running,’’ the editorial said. Chen later was allowed to leave China and now lives in the United States.
Related: Crazy Chen
Different Chen.
The editorial made a malicious Chinese curse at Locke, suggesting Locke’s Chinese ancestors would expel him from the family clan should they know his behaviors.
Wang also made the innuendo that Locke should be blamed for the smog. ‘‘When he arrived, so did Beijing’s smog,’’ Wang wrote. ‘‘With his departure, Beijing’s sky suddenly turned blue.’’
:-)
‘‘Let’s bid goodbye to the smog, and let’s bid goodbye to the plague. Farewell, Gary Locke,’’ ended the article, which was clearly inspired by Mao Zedong’s 1949 piece, ‘‘Farewell, Leighton Stuart,’’ that scoffed at the last American ambassador under the collapsing Nationalist government in Nanjing.
The piece shocked members of the Chinese public, who denounced the editorial as distasteful and offensive.
‘‘This article by China News Service is the most shameless I have ever seen — not one of them but the most shameless,’’ the popular online commentator Yao Bo said.
‘‘Without him, we probably still would not have known what PM2.5 is, and how did he bring the smog? You have played the snake in the Farmer and the Viper.’’
Another commentator Fastop Liu, known for his sharp tongue, said the piece is ungraceful.
‘‘When you call him a plague, you become a national shame as you lack diplomatic etiquette, damage the manner of a great power, and lose the face of all Chinese,’’ Liu wrote.
Locke gave his final news conference as ambassador Thursday. His replacement, former Montana Senator Max Baucus, was sworn in last week and is expected to arrive soon.
That should get them talking.
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What did they expect after this:
"US ambassador critical of China in parting speech; Locke speaks out for improvement of human rights" by William Wan | The Washington Post February 28, 2014
BEIJING — Outgoing US Ambassador Gary Locke broached some of China’s most sensitive topics in his last public appearance here, urging Chinese authorities Thursday to improve human rights conditions, repair rapidly deteriorating relations with Japan, and address growing distrust of the party among China’s wealthy.
‘‘We very much are concerned about the arrests and detentions of people who are engaged in peaceful advocacy,’’ Locke said in a farewell press conference, mentioning by name an outspoken minority scholar who was arrested and charged Tuesday with ‘‘separatism’’ by Chinese authorities.
Did he say it with a straight face.
Related: Chinese human rights activist held
Also see: Making This Post About Syria Disappear
As a conscientious American citizen I recognize my government has not a shred of credibility to comment on the issue, and I register my objection to their policies.
US officials are ‘‘very concerned’’ about professor Ilham Tohti, an advocate among China’s Uighur Muslim minority.
The Chinese government has not reacted well to Locke’s parting criticism. Responding to similar words by Locke in a farewell speech on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, ‘‘We oppose any person using these so-called issues to interfere in China’s internal affairs and make thoughtless remarks and criticize summarily.’’ Hua contended that human rights in China have greatly improved when compared to previous decades.
‘‘There’s been great prosperity and an increase in the quality of life and the standard of living here in China,’’ Locke responded Thursday. But he added, ‘‘Human rights is more than just economic prosperity and economic conditions of people, but also fundamental universal rights of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the ability to practice one’s own religion.’’
Pretty obvious judging by the AmeriKan economy and its wealth concentrations -- as we lose the rest of those rights.
Locke was asked why China’s super-rich are hedging against sudden arrests and asset seizures by seeking shelter in foreign countries through visas and children born abroad. Locke said the development shows the need for rule of law and a neutral judicial system.
We all know China oppresses its children when not aborting them or shipping them to Canada.
‘‘I hear oftentimes it’s motivated by a desire for stability, and predictability and security of investment earnings.’’
Raising concern about Japan-China tensions, Locke said, ‘‘It’s important that both sides lower the temperature and focus on diplomacy. . . . The last thing we need is some unintended incident that leads to unintended consequences.’’
During his past 2½ years as ambassador, Locke, who is departing China on March 1, has guided the US-China relationship through some of its most fraught incidents in recent memory. He touched on them Thursday, recalling the high-stakes negotiations between US and Chinese officials over a blind dissident — Chen Guangcheng — who took shelter at the US Embassy, and the attempted defection of a Communist Party insider that triggered fallout among leaders.
That would be Bo Xilai?
Locke also touted two of the biggest accomplishments of his tenure: cutting down US visa wait times for Chinese trying to visit, and multiplying by the amount of Chinese investment pouring into the United States.
While he remained vague on his post-China plans, Locke said he plans to continue contributing to US-China exchanges and US business interests in China.
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I thought there was a smog warning but I must have only seen it in the mirror. Oil and coal companies carry political heft in China, huh?
I can't help but wonder if this aftermath is somehow connected to the above, or whether they were warned first.
"China accepts near-term pain in financial overhaul" by Neil Goughmarch | New York Times March 17, 2014
HONG KONG — This newfound volatility and uncertainty over the currency are just one area where, despite recent economic data suggesting that growth is decelerating to its slowest pace in over a decade, China is pushing ahead with a campaign of wide-ranging financial overhauls. If carried out, they are likely to redefine the nation’s state-driven growth model and to reverberate in economies far beyond China’s borders.
Freeing up interest rates, internationalizing the currency, and modernizing the financial system are all on the agenda.
On Thursday, China’s premier, Li Keqiang, said the government’s top priority for the year was to push ahead with financial overhauls.
***************
A key risk for companies and countries that do business with China is not that Beijing will balk at restructuring its economy if growth slows beyond a certain point; it is that policy makers will stay the course.
Over the years, China’s investors and trade partners have come to rely on what amounts to a “Beijing put,” an option that provides assurance that a minimum level of growth will be attained. When the country looked set to fall short of this level, the government would intervene to prime the pumps — freeing up credit, introducing subsidies, and otherwise ensuring that China avoided any real economic pain and remained on track as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Yet in the face of apparently slowing growth, this implicit guarantee is showing signs of unraveling. Markets around the world are getting spooked, from Australian iron ore miners to the luxury fashion houses of Europe to US scrap exporters.
This month, a small producer of solar panels based in Shanghai failed to pay the interest on a bond worth $163 million. It was the first default in China’s onshore corporate bond market in recent history, and it sent shock waves through global copper markets.
Investors are worried that Chinese buyers who imported copper purely for financing purposes could be forced to sell, and prices of the metal have plummeted on fears that hundreds of thousands of tons of copper could begin to flood global markets as a result.
So far, the Chinese leadership is showing no signs that it shares these fears. Indeed, analysts have said that allowing a struggling company to default instead of rushing in with a government bailout is a necessary form of near-term pain if China’s 8.5 trillion renminbi corporate bond market is to mature and develop over the long term.
Run that by me again.
Still....
Wall Street banks that were reckless while profiting shall be bailed out.
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Time to wrap up this shopping trip:
"Alibaba’s IPO likely to be on US market" by Michael J. de la Merced | New York Times March 17, 2014
NEW YORK —Among China’s burgeoning contingent of Internet titans, Alibaba Group, China’s online commerce giant, is unique — part eBay, part Google, part PayPal.
Its IPO could eventually raise more than the $16 billion Facebook reaped in its public debut nearly two years ago. Analysts speculate that the company could fetch a valuation well north of $130 billion.
The offering is expected to make some of Alibaba’s executives extremely wealthy, including Jack Ma, the former English teacher who founded the company in 1999.
Alibaba’s offering has drawn virtually all of Wall Street, as banks have regularly courted top officials such as Ma and Joseph Tsai, a former American corporate lawyer who now serves as the company’s executive vice chairman.
According to a person briefed on the matter, the company plans to work with at least five major banks on its planned offering: Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley. Citigroup is also expected to play a role, the person added....
I would have thought the Chinese were smarter than to deal with those thieves.
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Time for me to slow down.
