China and Mekong River

choi

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Thomas Fuller, Dams and Development Mar Mekong Mystique. New York Times, Dec
. 18, 2009 (title in the
print).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/world/asia/18mekong.html?scp=1&sq=mekong&st=cse

Quote:

The river "courses 3,032 miles through parts of China, Myanmar, Thailand,
Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
before emptying into the South China Sea * * * The Mekong has been spared
the pollution that blackens
many of Asia’s rivers

"China has built three hydroelectric dams on the Mekong (known as the
Lancang in Chinese) and is halfway
through a fourth at Xiaowan, in Yunnan Province, which when completed will
be the world’s tallest dam,
according to the United Nations Environment Program.

"[T]he dashed dreams of French colonizers to use the river as a southern
gateway to China are being partly
realized: After Chinese engineers dynamited a series of rapids and rocks in
the early part of this decade,
trade by riverboat between China and Thailand increased by close to 50
percent.

"Civic groups in Thailand say they are frustrated that China does not seem
to care how its dams affect the
lives of people downstream. Neither China nor military-ruled Myanmar, the
two northernmost countries
through which the river passes, are members of the Mekong River Commission,
freeing them from the
obligation to consult other countries on issues like building dams and
sharing water.


----------Separately
(1)
(a) Sharon LaFraniere, Censors Put Tighter Grip on Internet in China; Limits
on Setting and Viewing Sites.
New York Times, Dec. 18, 2009 (title in  the print).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/world/asia/18china.html?scp=1&sq=censors%20china&st=cse

Excerpt in the window of the print: Hundreds of Web sites offering films,
television series and music are
shut down.

(b) 分析：中国收紧控制域名注册. BBC Chinese, Dec. 18, 2009.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/indepth/2009/12/091217_analysis_domain.shtml

Quote:

"根据中国互联网络信息中心提供的资料，截至今年6月，中国有1630万个域名，其中80
%以“.cn”结尾，其余则使
用'.org'、'.net' 或 '.com'结尾。

"在全世界，个人注册的域名在总数中占据多数。但是在中国公布的数据和统计中则不
包括有多少域名是属于个人的。

"在中国，个人域名所有权在法律上一直没有明确定义。

"反波网站负责人平客说，新规定将迫使中国网民到国外注册域名。

(2) Eric Lipton, Questions on Security Mar Foreign Investments. New York Times,Dec. 18, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/business/18invest.html?scp=1&sq=china%20gold&st=cse
(Northwest Nonferrous International Investment Company 西北有色金属国际投资有限公司, a state-owned enterprise of China wants o buy a tiny Nevada gold-mining company. US balks.)

Quote: "Washington officials, however, are increasingly concerned about Chinese dominance in the global precious metals marketplace. The Nevada mines are also close to military installations

(3) 中国学者：未来成功在于建立民族自信.
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/china/Chinese-scholars-20091218-79606097.html
("北京大学国际关系学院教授潘维对未来做出了下面的预测：'按GDP来算，今天中国的
经济规模为四万多亿美元，美国
是14多万亿。按照现在的发展速度来看，再过20年，既使不算购买力，中国也会和美国
并驾齐驱，成为世界第一。再加
上10年，也就是30年以后，中国经济规模会是美国的一倍。'”)

My comment: Both Professor Pan and China are admirable.

(4)
(a) David Barboza, American Engineer Detained for Year in China. New York
Times, Dec. 18, 2009 (title in
the print).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/business/global/18detain.html?
scp=1&sq=china%20barboza&st=cse
(Hu Zhicheng; "The print edition but not the online version of this report
states that Xue Feng has also been
detained for the same charge for as long)

(b) 美华人涉嫌触犯商业秘密法被中国拘留. VOA Chinese, Dec. 17, 2009.
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/US/ChineseCustody-20091217-79571867.html
("美国汽车专家胡志成以“涉嫌侵犯商业秘密”的罪名被羁押一年多，中国当局至今仍
未出示任何证据")

(5) China Is Disputing Status of Uighurs in Cambodia. New York Times, Dec.
18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/world/asia/18xinjiang.html?scp=1&sq=wong%20uighurs&st=cse
("The 22 Uighurs in Cambodia entered the country about a month ago with the
aid of an underground
network of Christian missionaries in China that usually helps North Koreans
reach nations where they can
seek refugee status.")

Excerpt in the window of the print: Possibly seeking the return of people
Beijing calls 'criminals.'
※ 修改:．choi 于 Dec 18 16:27:19 修改本文．[FROM: 24.218.0.0]